Take two pillow cases full of empty baking powder tins and thirty pounds of stolen cash. Put a quantity of hundred dollar bills in each can, seal lids. Hide this mixture somewhere in Hot Springs, Arkansas. After the mixture has seasoned for forty years, sift together all the people who know about the hidden treasure. Cut in one investigative reporter and one unsuspecting Elderhostel coordinator. Bake until too hot to handle, and place before Carrie McCrite and Henry King. See who survives. A TREASURE TO DIE FOR is the third To Die For Mystery by Macavity-award nominated author Radine Trees Nehring.
You can begin writing whenever you want . . . as long as you don't do it for the money! More write for satisfaction and enjoyment than for money, especially these days. My own writing career (non-fiction) began when I was old enough to join AARP, and didn't expand into fiction writing for a number of years after that. Yes, a journalism and feature writing career was satisfying, it was great to see my work in print and know others were reading what I had researched and shared. But then I thought, hmmm, I love reading mysteries, could I write one?
Turned out I could, and fiction writing then turned out to be the most fun of all. I don't outline my novels, and, while I'm creating the continuing adventures of Carrie McCrite and Henry King, I can enjoy their unfolding adventures at the same time they are pouring out from their life experiences--and mine.
I firmly believe those who have been here on earth for a spell have a wealth of observations and ideas to draw on for their writing. And, the longer we live, the more of this wealth we have to share. As for research necessary to write about Carrie and Henry's adventures? Well, who could ask for more fun? Friendships made with "research assistants" at each location are a huge plus that I hadn't expected at start-up. Friendships with readers, met in person and on the Internet, are another valued plus.
My second career as a writer has turned out to be "To Die For!" (Used in the positive sense, of course) and it's something everyone can enjoy along with me as they read my novels. So, welcome to the adventure!
