Inspiration strikes ! #crimefiction #mysterywriter #amwriting

 

Today I was reading a headline in the British papers that seemed to come straight from a crime novel; the case itself is tragic, and current, and involves the loss of a real person, but the alibi presented by the accused is as twisty as an Agatha Christie plot.

I take a lot of inspiration from newspapers.  Not just alibis or details of crimes but often a seemingly innocuous story will spark off a chain of thought. An important plot point in The Body Count was inspired by a newspaper article on abandoned safe boxes held by banks across Ireland and plans to finally open them. What, I wondered, would we find in them? 

Another article inspired the plot theme for The Body Beautiful (out May 23) A fitness craze in America was criticised for its cult-like structure. Although to date they haven’t tried to effect a coup, the idea was planted for The Progress, a sinister cult-like "wellness" group with political affiliations.

Old newspaper accounts of murder are fascinating,  both for the style of reporting and the details of the crime itself. It's good to hark back to an era without instant communication,  social media,  phones, ot ubiquitous cameras and pare the story back to its basics. Whodunnit, how and why!

So many ideas, so few hours in the day to write...

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