My current book is this weird hybrid of domestic suspense and noir revenge thriller that I envision as part A STRANGER IN MY GRAVE and part IN A LONELY PLACE (book not movie), but I can never settle in my mind if it’s worth writing.

Over the last two years, I’ve cut it from seven or eight third person POVs to two first person POVs and found the perfect voices for both. My concern that the two styles wouldn’t mesh were alleviated by a couple of insightful friends I sent pages to, but I still doubt this book.

After writing three smaller (size, scope, and stakes) novels, I knew I wanted my next book to really up my game and I keep doubting whether this book will do that, but really what I’m doubting is my ability to pull it off. I have a firm grasp on the characters and the language and even the pace, but what always trips me up is when I have to start adding plot pieces. They always seem so artificial and I don’t know how to get past that.

Writing a big, bombastic thriller, I have no trouble letting my imagination run free, but writing something like this, even though most of the domestic suspense I read has some wild and awesome over the top plotting, it always feels more forced. I just need to push past it.

Thanks for listening. It felt good to get that off my chest, and my journal has been no help.