The Streets Were Dark With Something More Than Night...And Other Quotes

The author Raymond Chandler was a veritable fount of pithy quotations. For instance, here's one that caught my eye the other day:

"At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution, once revealed, must seem to be inevitable."

My next release from Champagne Books, due out April 1st, just so happens to be a mystery novel with a whole lot of romance.

I must confess that Suspicion of Love does, indeed, violate this rule. But then who made up that rule anyway? Is there really a rule regarding the solution to mysteries?

I have always thought that the best mysteries keep the reader guessing; that the solution is not one they would have thought of. It makes it more suspenseful to not be able to guess the eventual outcome. That is what I hope I have accomplished with Suspicion of Love. Well, that and some good, steamy sex scenes.

Of course, Mr. Chandler also had this to say about writing a mystery novel, "When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand."

Now that's one I definitely used. Mystery novels should always include a bad guy with a gun.

Anyway, I am anxious to find out if readers enjoy reading Suspicion of Love as much as I enjoyed writing it, because it truly was a lot of fun and a labor of love. And of course, you are always welcome to let me know what you think. Just remember what Raymond Chandler said about criticism, though: "Good critical writing is measured by the perception and evaluation of the subject; bad critical writing by the necessity of maintaining the professional standing of the critic."