Catherine Maiorisi
This month, The First Two Pages continues to feature posts by some of the authors who contributed stories to Where Crime Never Sleeps: Murder New York Style 4 (Level Best Books, September 2017), the fourth anthology of crime and mystery short stories by members of the New York/ Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Let me start by saying that I’m a “pantser,” i.e., a writer who doesn’t do a lot of planning. So presented with the prompt to write a crime story that involves an iconic event or public place in New York City, my thoughts immediately went to a protagonist. And, no surprise, I’m sure, I thought of NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli, the main character of my mystery, A Matter of Blood, which will be published in January 2018.
Catherine, I’m glad you raise the issue of when to begin a short story. It’s often taken me a long time to realize that I had to kill a backstory I’d fallen in love with but did nothing to move the plot forward. The choice you made with”Love, Secrets and Lies” was perfect. Jo Bradley is an appealing protag and I hope we get to follow her and her partner Griff taking on the bad guys.
Thanks, Anita. I took some time to find it but I’m happy with the beginning. It’s hard when the characters are like old friends and you want to share their background with the reader. Nothing like a word limit to bring one back to reality.
Cathi– I really enjoyed how you play with sexual stereotypes. I thought the male was going to drive. Even though we tend to think of cops as tough guys and very macho, this guy really respects the woman’s ability and treats her like a real equal.
Actually, Roz, I didn’t even consider it. In my mind, she was in control, wanted to be in control, so I put her behind the wheel. But I what I did want to portray was his respect for her and it seems that you got that. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
You accomplished so much in the first two pages. The cops sound like true New Yorkers, and their relationship reads authentic. Yet right away we see Jo has a secret she hasn’t been able to share with her work partner, which adds depth to her character and makes her very sympathetic…there’s a soft side to the tough cop. And I thought I knew all the little corners of Manhattan, but Rockefeller/Penny Park is new to me. I do love those little figures in the subway but I never gave a though as to how they got there. Now I can see more of them in Penny Park.
Thanks, Ronnie. I’m glad so much came through. Penny Park is fun, the bronze figures are satirical look at the financial world. Definitely worth a walk downtown. And it really is lovely down in the Battery Park area.