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Behind the Scenes of My Murder Mystery Novella The Reporter at the Gate
Hello, Book Lovers!
Over the weekend, I pressed publish on the re-launch of the first book in the Rookie Reporter Amateur Sleuth Mystery series under a new title, The Reporter at the Gate.
But more on that later.
So, I thought I’d share the behind the scenes or the making of the novella that as a reader you never get to see unless I take you along with me. In this blog post, I’m going to answer a few questions about my murder mystery, The Reporter at the Gate and my plans for the Rookie Reporter series.
But first, before I forget here are a few buttons with location-friendly urls to the online ebook retailers.
About the Paperback
At present, the paperback has not been released and is still in the book formatting and cover design stages. After that I need to order proofs, the make the book available in trade paperback size, large print, and a dyslexia friendly edition that has a special font.
What can I expect from the Rookie Reporter series?
Five years before, James Lalonde was the editor for the Northampton Tribune and discovered that the legendary sword, Excalibur, was stolen from Elizabeth James’s home in Missing. He was a gofer dreaming of writing his first byline for the Northampton Tribune. The Rookie Reporter mystery series follows James Lalonde’s first year as a journalist, starting with his first-ever case in The Reporter at the Gate. Essentially the books are his professional highlight reel.
Each novella in the series will be a self-contained story under 40,000 words, with no cliffhangers, a satisfying conclusion, and will hit the popular tropes in the murder mystery or amateur sleuth mystery sub-genres. Technically, the books are short novels or novella with around 150-ish physical book pages.
Throughout the series, I plan on taking James to a few different places around Europe, including Burgundy, Cannes or Nice and Strasbourg, so he won’t just be stuck in Northampton, England.
What inspired you to start writing the Rookie Reporter mysteries?
On a hot summer’s day on June 12, 2019, I decided to write a short story using Rory’s Story Cubes. My murder mystery novella, The Candidate, is the result of a roll of those die; almost all of them. One of the dice had a flower, which I forgot to include in the story. Unless you associate flowers with a hospital visit, but that’s a stretch.
The Cubes in the Story
As I cast my eyes over the die with the walking cane, arrow, file, earth, and liquid, I envisioned the very first scene in The Reporter at the Gate. At the time, Albert was merely a nameless old man staggering through a pristine-white hallway after being stabbed in the chest with an arrow. After this, I imaged the scene he left behind him. A pool of blood on the floor, splatter on the antique globe, the bodkin arrow was laying on the floor next to a walking cane.
Honestly, these scenes came to mind in quick succession. And, I added the floor to ceiling bookshelves and the mediaeval amour in Albert’s home study because that’s my dream office scenario.
At the time, I cast the story idea aside to finish editing and publishing, Suspicion, the first book in the James Lalonde series. Next, I started working on book two in the series, which is called Duplicity.
From Idea to Outline
One year later, while we were all in lockdown, writing became difficult. Creatively, I struggled to function. Then an idea came to mind, and I loved it. I decided to write a series of novellas set in James Lalonde’s first year as a journalist, starting with his first-ever case. That’s when I remembered the idea and scenes I documented after using the story cubes.
During fourteen days, I created an outline for the story, created the characters with strong motivations, and established the timelines for the story. After that, I put the outline aside, perhaps out of fear. Then nine months later, I started writing, revising, and editing this story, and I’ve finally reached the finish line. Today, I look back at that journey, and I’m glad I took my time and wrote The Reporter at the Gate.
How many books will there be in the series?
There will be six to twelve books in the Rookie Reporter mystery series. Yes, I know that’s super vague but it depends on what happens in the story and how James changes as a character during these stories. I need to make sure that he doesn’t change too much because technically, this is a prequel series where I have to follow the rules I set for myself in the James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery series.
Now for the good news.
The second book in the Rookie Reporter series is currently with my line editor and I’m due to get it back any day now. Its title is The Woman in the Lake. the story is set 14 days after the events in book one and it takes place at the wedding between James ex-girlfriend and former best friend. So, it’s a little messy in terms of the relationships between the characters.
Also, I have an idea for book two and a super vague idea for a book set in Strasbourg around Christmas time. Beyond that, I have no further thoughts; I’m going to see where inspiration takes me.
Why did you republish, The Candidate and The Reporter at the Gate?
The original title, The Candidate, sounded a bit too much like a political thriller when in reality it was a gripping murder mystery, which created some minor disappointment for readers expecting something political. The new title better reflects the murder mystery at the heart of the story.
Since I was changing the ISBNs for the various paperbacks and audiobooks because of the title change, I took the opportunity to create a more immersive reading experience by adding depth to the setting through the eyes of the point-of-view characters, James, Anwar, and David.
Initially, the story was a little bare-bones, a classic beginner’s mistake. I wanted to ensure that book one would be an enjoyable read for years to come, so a second edition made perfect sense.
Why did you choose to start the story with Albert’s death then jump back in time?
Much like a good murder mystery, the story begins off the page, the unseen events that led to Albert’s murder. These events are brought to light through James Lalonde’s investigation. If the events were told in chronological order, the story would read like a thriller instead of a mystery.
So, it’s a stylistic choice. But also, I think it can be intriguing for the reader to have some interaction with the victim before they meet their tragic end in a murder mystery. So much of a victim’s life is told through the perspective of other people, some of which have not so-great agendas and its nice, where possible to give them their own voice, no matter how brief.
spoiler alert (click to read spoiler)
Did you include any real-life locations in this book, as you did in Suspicion and Duplicity?
The short answer is no. Now for the long answer.
I was inspired by many real-life places and some that are merely pictures of beautiful places found on Google. For example, the parish church of All Souls was heavily inspired by the interior of the real-life parish church of All Saints, which can be found in the inner city centre of Northampton. Its interior is breathtaking, according to the photos.
Tragically, you can’t shop at the Book Bin because that too is fictional. While searching for images to help me describe the setting a little better as I wrote the first draft and I came across the first image. This book shop is perfect and exactly how I imagined the Book Bin to look in real life. I particularly love the floor to ceiling bookshelves. And you can find this used book shop in the 3rd arrondissement in Paris.
And then there’s Hammer and Nail. That, too, is fictional. Again, I was inspired by my local hardware store. It, too, is a narrow, one aisle-wide shop and is a common find in the larger cities in the united kingdom. The second image contains an image similar to what I envisioned for Hammer and Nail.
Last but not least, in the first chapter, there is a reference to Delapre Abbey and a reenactment of a famous battle. That is a real event held in July where they reenact the mediaeval Battle of Northampton, which was a major battle in the war of the Roses. Every year they hold a similar mediaeval reenactment. I thought this would be something that James would have to research in his job as a research assistant at the Northampton Tribune.
What are you writing next?
At the moment, I’m working with my line editor on The Woman in the Lake. By “working” I mean anxiously waiting for their feedback. Also, I’m finishing writing book two in my Emma Warwick Cozy Mystery series, A Will to Murder, which I publish under the not so secret pen name, Amelia D. Hay.
Amelia xx
