Finished the proof!

If you look on Amazon you’ll see the new book, After The Exhibition.  It’s out in March and I’ve just finished reading through the proofs.  And, although I say it myself, I think it’s really good, with lots of twisty turns and general bafflement as to what’s what.

The downside of finishing a book, though, is that I can’t put off any longer thinking about a new one and thinking’s really hard.  Yes, I know X has bumped off Y, but that’s only the start of the story.  The chances are X isn’t who they say they are and Y probably isn’t either, and they all have to have a reason for acting as they do.  And what are they doing anyway? And where do they live and how do they earn their living, etc, etc.

The great thing to get sorted out in this sort of story is what does the villain want.  Now that’s a bit of reverse psychology, as (naturally) our attention is focused on the detective, whether it be Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or Jack Haldean, and it’s their thoughts and feelings that we follow.  However, behind it all, like the god in the machine, is the malefactor, malefacting away like mad.  After all, if Moriaty hadn’t decided to become a criminal mastermind and become an accountant, say, instead, Sherlock wouldn’t have hounded him to the edge of the Riechenbach Falls. 

So what does my villain want?  This is work in progress....