I have been trying to analyze this SLOWNESS of my Cozy... the pace has picked up... I am solidly at 1000 words a day, but that is still slower than I write, typically... but Crikey, I think I've got it!
My story centers on a 'Little Miss' Pageant which, because the theme is gardening, I knew HAD to be held outside, so my first layer of research was which outdoor venue might be best in Roanoke... It was a fairly easy determination. Right downtown they have a gorgeous park with an amphitheater (though I'm having trouble finding what they call it—Ann Arbor has a park with one that they call a band shell), so Elmwood Park was an easy decision.
Next step... where will the contestants STAY... I thought I hit the jackpot... historically registered Patrick Henry Hotel sits RIGHT THERE, but when I looked it up, I found it closed in 2007... it was purchased and is being renovated for high end apartments (USELESS!) but the bottom two floors will be used for businesses and office space... okay THAT I can work with...
I went on to find my hotels and start my plans, then... I stumbled across a JACKPOT... A website called Haunted Virginia lists the Patrick Henry as HAUNTED!!! (no surprise really—you SAW that lady, yes?)
Haunted I can work with... and did, a little... but it was slow (remember how this started)... and my MURDER wasn't getting there... there was too much that had to HAPPEN first...
How could I infuse my mystery with... you know... MYSTERY?
DUH!? Why to haunters HAUNT? I can't believe I didn't think of this... local lore, dead people... MURDERED people, maybe? At least a couple of them (though there seems to be a lady in a room upstairs that just died there and refuses to leave)... but the folks on the ground floor... (4, if I am counting right) and the man on the second floor (where the office is that they are using for the blasted pageant, no less!)--you heard me—6 rumored ghosts in one building. It is supposedly one of the more haunted places in Virginia.
And OTHER than the lady upstairs, the lore seems to be lacking as to who these people are, giving ME the ability to write a little stumble upon mystery that precedes (and spooks everyone) before the MAIN mystery gets underway!
Man, I've had fun with this idea of writing the ghost layer—not that I will take this paranormal, at ALL... I just think spooked people (for real reasons) might decide to look into (and solve) an old cold case. I don't want to give too many details, as I don't want to do spoilers... but I LOVE the adrenaline that is started... It has certainly breathed new life into this endeavor.
Okay... so that is what I have, as last night (when this as written) I spent most of the evening at my son's 'next year planning' at school—he will be an 8th grader and so it is time to start thinking seriously (they have a couple classes offered for high school credit) and my time is short...
Any of you have 'Breathed new life' moments you want to share?
What about ghost stories?
