The Plot… er, the Snow, Thickens (There’s a Giveaway, too!)

Chilly west coasters are coping with the intrusion of an Arctic ridge of high pressure. It’s creating strong outflow winds and bringing frigid temperatures from the Interior of the province into our normally balmy south coast. As the front pushes towards the coast it’s meeting warmer Pacific onshore currents, producing… what else? More snow.

Just what I always wanted! I already have as much as I need, thank you very much. It has the perennials nicely insulated, shrubbery beginning to bow under the weight, and the early Snowdrops buried in icy graves. Now I’m starting to worry about what’s coming next.

Funny… that’s what it’s like when I’m reading a mystery story. The foreshadowing is there, the clues start piling up, and while I wait for the damage to hit, I’m gnashing my teeth that I didn’t pay more attention earlier in the season… um, in the story.

By the look of the forecast, I might as well throw another log on the fire and make myself some hot chocolate. This story has to play itself out and I want to stick around to see if the ending fulfills the earlier promise. The plot is thickening as we speak!

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Is it my imagination, or are there other plot similarities to be found in weather situations? I’m offering a $10 Starbucks gift card for the most creative comparison. Leave yours in a comment under today’s post before tomorrow (Thursday), 6:00 p.m. Pacific time, and I’ll reward the most innovative writer with the means to wrap cold hands around a hot mug. 🙂

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Book Giveaway – Last Chance

Just a reminder: tomorrow morning, Friday at 9:00 a.m. PST comments will close on the draw for Brandilyn Collins’ EYES OF ELISHA, a Christian murder mystery. Check out yesterday’s post for details and if you’ve never read one of Brandi’s books and would like to be in the draw, just add a comment. I’ll post the winner’s name at noon tomorrow.

A Secret in the Snow

Bundled into warm woolens I walk with the dog through the woods behind our house to the marsh beyond. Pristine snow etches every blade and branch in Currier and Ives fashion. Billows of mist rise from the surface of snow-laden water. The stillness is a silence into which God whispers a reminder that Christmas is coming, a time when his creation will honour him.

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On the return walk I discover a line of tracks along the edge of the back lawn. Like subtle clues in a story they share a secret of wildlife nearby, hidden somewhere in the trees. A mystery, until I stoop to examine the tracks and see they were made by a deer.

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I love mystery in any manuscript – being tantalized by suggestions that hover just out of sight until the moment of discovery.

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Question for you:

How do you incorporate mystery – or that all important element of suspense – into the pages of your stories when the genre is other than a true mystery?

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