Story or Plot: Take a Pick (And Always Sit Downwind of the Smoke) Do I write mysteries or romance? Detective stories or literary stories? I’ve been labeled ‘literary-noir.’ Great. What the heck is that?
Allow me.
Imagine sitting around a campfire and there’s a decision to make. One—of two people—will be chosen to speak to the group that night. They will each be given the opportunity to say one sentence about their topic and then it goes to group vote. Ready?
Person one: “I’ve got a plot to tell you.”
Person two: “I’ve got a story to tell you.”
How do you vote?
I’m a story man, myself. But I write mysteries and that presents a problem. Mysteries, you see, are supposed to be all plot. Every word should advance the plot, the MFA crowd chants. Patton could have used that type of frenzied narrowed thinking when he was gunning down the German’s Seventh Army. But I don’t buy it. Don’t read it either. And this ain’t WW two.
It’s life, for Pete’s sake. The one and only. An arena where even a tarnished heart holds hope, the strongest warrior harbors self-doubts, and the most loyal and passionate lover disguises a wandering eye.
That needs to be in every story, detective or not. Mystery or not. If not, make pigs
fly—go ahead—for none of it is real.
Plots are great. Gotta have them. Like the foundation of a house, a mystery needs a great one. But they are not the finished product. Not why readers keep coming back.
Stories are what we remember, the real reason we turn the page, keep returning to our favorite writers.
Cooler Than Blood is my second stand-alone Jake Travis novel. Jake’s loyalty is challenged by the return in his life of Mandy Blake, who he only shared one dinner with, but they both felt that timeless tug. We’ve all been there. What if you got a second chance with that person? What if you didn’t want a second chance, because who needs those challenges and temptations in their lives? Jake has no choice. Mandy asks Jake to look for her missing niece, Jenny Spencer. Jake is, as they say, powerless to say no.
Jake discovers that Jenny’s safety is strangely entwined with Kathleen’s past. He soon finds himself conducting a two front campaign; find Jenny and protect Kathleen. Unfortunately, the easiest, and surest way, of protecting her is by becoming a man she could never love. A conundrum of the heart.
That’s the story.
The plot, you ask? Does he find Jenny before she is abused or killed? Who kidnapped her and why? Who kidnapped her from the first person who kidnapped her? And…yawn, excuse me… did I tell you how Jake feels about Kathleen? For that’s what’s on his mind. He is victim to those uncontrollable thoughts that jolt his body without warning and knock him to his knees. They rudely interrupt the plot, for the heart knows no manners and suffers little patience. At least not Jake’s. In the end, the story creates the plot. And that’s it—literary-noir.
The story creates the plot.
Read a four star review of Cooler Than Blood by clicking here.Buy a print copy of Cooler Than Blood from Amazon by clicking here.
Buy a Kindle copy of Cooler Than Blood from Amazon by clicking here. – ONLY $4.99!
Books in the Jake Travis series in the order they should be read:About Robert Lane
Author Bio:
Robert Lane’s Cooler Than Blood is his second stand-alone Jake Travis novel. It follows the successful debut of The Second Letter. His third Jake Travis novel, The Cardinal’s Sin, will be released in October 2015.
ForeWord Clarion Reviews calls Jake “…at once a classic noir character…a fascinating protagonist.” Florida Weekly adds, “(Lane) has created a winning hero.”
Robert Lane resides on the west coast of Florida.Connect with Robert| Website | Newsletter | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Books by Robert Lane| Reviews of Robert’s Books |
CONTEST INFO: Open to readers worldwide.
Prize: A $100.00 Amazon Gift Card
Mar 4, 2015
Author Robert Lane Release Party and $100.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest LIVE Here!
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