Location, Location, Location

This fall I’ve been concentrating on finishing two mystery novels, both of which were started years ago. I made a commitment last winter after The Expendable Man was publishing to finish these stories next. While writing them, I had them take place in a fictitious city in Connecticut and introduced overlapping characters. In fact, Karen Battaglia, the protagonist in Making the Grade, takes the job vacated by Jake Barnes, the protagonist in In the Game.

Now, however, I’ve decided to move both stories to Albany, New York. Why?

Having lived in Albany for 40 years I certainly know the area so well that it is easy to include local color into the stories rather than make up everything about the location. When you create a fictional location there is the danger of introducing inconsistencies and failing to provide enough detail to give the reader a feel for the environment in which the stories unfold.

Both novels will be available early in 2012 in the same formats as The Expendable Man.