I was listening to the radio the other evening and an author was on talking about her new crime novel which had been published; I like crime novels and my ears pricked up. The author was Denise Mina who had just won the crime novel of the year for the second year running. I hadn’t heard of her before (so much for crime novels being my favourite genre!) but she sounded so interesting that I must remedy that.
The interviewer asked her about a mystery dedication in one of her books and Ms Mina explained that someone had come up to her in a book shop in New York and asked about one of her earlier books. Apparently there is a great hole in the continuity and something which just doesn’t make sense. Ms Mina obviously didn’t reveal what it was but had asked her reader to please keep it confidential and she would dedicate a book to her, which she has done.
This made me think about my own work… sometimes people have mentioned things which I did not make clear, or sometimes I have skimmed over something which makes there seem to be an inconsistency… but I hope (fingers crossed) that I haven’t made any great mistakes. However… in Flipside I have suddenly realised that two things happen which I neither explain… nor at the moment can explain… oh heck! I shall have to think about this? Someone gets into, and then out of, a very secure house… and there is no explanation of how they did it but there definitely needs to be otherwise certain other things don’t make sense! Thank goodness I have realised in time.
Another thing struck me as I was editing Flipside… a certain aspect of the main character Jaz’s personality is not properly highlighted; I’ve just assumed people will understand she is impulsive and stubborn rather than stupid and obstinate. A couple of changes of a description of her, a casual thought she has, the way she describes herself in a moment of reflection, … it was as little of that…
Now how to get into and then out of a very securely locked house?
Lois Elsden 