Heart Strings is my first novel. I began writing it as a hobby but decided last summer to get serious, finish the book, and publish it. It’s been an exciting journey. I can’t wait to complete the second in the series and find out what happens to my characters—some of my favorite people.
I played with several titles before settling on Heart Strings. The book was almost finished before it named itself. As the characters began to take form, I saw how each was ruled by his heart, whether by finding self-worth in the eyes of another, having an attitude softened by a lost kitty, or in sacrificing time and effort to help others.
I’ve memorized a Bible verse that says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 NIV) It wasn’t until I got well into the book that I began to see how each character was tethered, in one way or another, by those strings leading from their treasure to their heart.
View of a Small Town, Jan van der Heyden, wikimedia commons
I’ve always been intrigued by mystery and suspense but particularly drawn to the cozy mystery. They involve regular people experiencing normal small-town life until it’s interrupted by something that isn’t so normal—usually a murder. I love that the main characters are usually not trained in detection or in chasing bad guys. They just imagine they can do it. I’ve dreamed I could be that character who discovers the secrets. I solve mysteries all the time.
My crime solving tends to be closer to:
Who stole the repairman’s wrench? Answer: My dog confiscated it and took it to her bed.
Or
Why is the neighbor’s garage door open in the middle of the day? Answer: She left in a hurry and didn’t realize the door didn’t close.
Jessica Fletcher, wikimedia commons
This is why I write mysteries.
Someone asked what I’d do if Jessica Fletcher moved into my neighborhood. Eek! I’d wonder when the body was going to turn up. But wouldn’t you love to be Jessica’s best friend?
Although I live in the second largest city in Indiana, I grew up in a small town—5000 people when I was young—and I miss that simple life. When I get homesick, I write neighborly, sit-on-the-porch type scenes into my books.
I formed the original idea for Heart Strings while at a class reunion. There was one classmate who didn’t look anything like my memory of him. That’s where the book began and the similarity to real life ends, lest my classmates find themselves in the characters of my book. All my characters are fictional. I had fun creating their individual, sometimes humorous, personalities.
Recommended Article: Heart Strings -a Review
