This winter I am finalizing edits on my mystery novel, currently code named White. It takes place in winter (during an ice storm!) so this is the perfect season to finalize all the little fixes I’ve highlighted on rereads.
When the slush of February starts to melt I’ll start writing Red, a spooky guy I’ve outlined to death who keeps itching the back of my brain, trying to be told.
But back to the mystery! White is a project I’ve been working on longer than I would like to admit, but once I figured out what was stopping me from getting words on the page the whole book flowed beautifully! It is a closed circle mystery, set in a crowded house in the middle of an ice storm. Years ago my then husband, our 14 month old toddler, and I were lucky enough to stay with his sister when half of Michigan lost power due to ice. The majority of his local family and a group of friends also descended on the house, all between Christmas and New Years Eve. A few years later I thought about how difficult that time was and how the only thing that could have made it more stressful would have been a dead body. And the idea for this mystery was born.
It’s my first mystery and I have had a lot of fun writing it. Tabitha is a stay at home mom struggling to keep her toddler safe while they are displaced. Carter is a young private investigator trying to make a name for himself. Together they take on a dead body and a whole lot of pent up emotions from the people cooped up together in too small a space. As I look for an agent my hope is that Carter and Tabitha can share a few more stories with the world.
Kelly M. Hannon 
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