Whenever I write a book I ask my friends and family to contribute to the work by giving me a few words to use; I offer them a thank you in the book for having done so. This time, boy oh boy, the words have been pouring in, and let me just say, if you read the book you'll have fun learning new words!!
One of my friends suggested three really cool words and I thought long and hard about them in that they really sounded out there; where did she come up with these? I wanted to know. Turns out she found a really cool creative editorial about the game pinball and in the article, there were some gloriously wonderful words. I won't spoil it by telling you which ones she suggested, but it's really awesome that she took the time to go look up an article about what she thought the subject of the book was about!! LOL, jokes on her!! The reference to pinball the game, is used metaphorically because the mind is pinged and tossed around the brain at times in the psyche of two of the noted characters who are both murderers and both flat nutcases.
I've decided to talk about the game Pinball as well, but the thing is, the name Pinball without a hyphen (pin-ball) didn't come around until 1931, which may or may not be of any significance, but my book takes place in 1930. LOL...just one year before the game's name was given. Oh well, it's a novel, right? I can say pin-ball and be OK. I've decided to do that, but not change the title's punctuation. It will remain PINBALL. So there! I can do that. I have my creative license, and I am not afraid to use it.
I've written nine chapters so far, and am about 28% finished if I have my goals set the same as I did with Murder Book and Of Kilted Pleasure. I think 86000 words is a good amount. I think it's a good goal to set. I have held and read both books, one being a 6x9 and the other being a 5x8. I like the shorter thicker book. I'm not just saying that. I do. I think the longer book is good, it's nice, but it's not as bookish to me. Maybe the "new" size is just too new. I prefer a Kindle, and I can buy the books soon for my Kindle, but until I get all of my books in Ebook format, they are going to be perfect bound paperbacks. All of the romances are 6x9 and all of the murder thrillers are 5x8. That's my own doing; no one is responsible, just me.
Chapters 8 and 9 deal with the court cases of the Fiona Brown murder case as well as the cases brought to move the court on behalf of the People of Culloden who are being represented by an American. Chapter 7 reintroduces Posh's mother Ama and her love for her native land of Oklahoma. She and her friend Wilma discuss another very time-sensitive matter, the foreshadowing of the era of the Dust Bowl. While it didn't take place until about 1933-34, they saw signs of it in the earlier years, and Ama discusses this with her friend over tea.
Each chapter is laid out and planned before I write it, but I have to be honest, I will write out what I think is going to happen and then something takes place and my mind shoots off and I don't have much control over what comes out of my keyboard. Nope, not gonna lie. I could have 10 points to put into a chapter and hit only 2. When that happens I try to regroup for another chapter, but it's not likely to be the next chapter as I rarely write things in exact chronological order. I do skip around. I go from one country to the next, I go from one person to the next. I even change times, dates, and memories, you just never know. I regroup. That's the best I can do.
Wayne Stringfellow (my dad) makes an appearance in this book, much like he did in the last. It's not really my dad, it's my dad's name. My dad was born in 1932, and he was born in Arkansas. The Wayne Stringfellow in the book is a lot like my dad, but he's in Scotland. They both worked/work for Western Union, but that's because I can do things like that. I like doing things like that in fact. If you know me, you'll see quite a few "hello" moments in my books. I like to give a nudge and I like to give a wink when it's possible.
I will give you a spoiler alert now...there is sex in the book. I've already written one nasty ugly horrible scene that isn't fit to be printed. I know that sounds funny coming from the author, but it was a terrible decision that needed to be made. It's a scene where one of the murderers fights within his own mind, and he deals with the hatred he has for the other ego in a very physical way. Sorry, it's nasty. I could put a disclaimer in the front of the book saying it's for mature audiences. I may have to do that. I did research the material to be sure I wasn't way off in my writing. I'm not. I am in fact tame compared to some journalistic material I found. I ran across some testimony from the court(s) and they have to transcribe the words verbatim. I didn't do that.
Well, that's about all I have for you today. I'll write three more chapters tomorrow, two or three each day over the weekend. I think I'll be 50% done by Sunday. Pretty sure about that. I'm at 28% now. I think I'll have the book finished by October 2 or 3rd, and I'll take the 4th and 5th to review it before uploading it. I'll approve it around the 10th of October and start on the next novel in the series. LET ME TELL YOU...the next novel is the cat's meow! Wait, that's a spoiler. LOL. I can't wait to write it.
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