The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

I’ve recently had some time on trains and planes to work on the third Johnny Denovo mystery, “Entanglement,” and I’m finding myself excited by the possibilities the book has to mystify and entertain.

The first two books (“Spam & Eggs” and “The Green Monster“) have been widely praised as well-written, fast-paced, exciting, complicated, and fun, with characters you like and stories that have you guessing until the end.

“Entanglement” has all these elements, as well, but working on it in the draft it’s in makes me realize just how many ideas and twists still have to be fully developed and revealed in the writing.

A major part of writing a  novel for me is moving the ideas I have completely toward the reader, and that means writing out everything that needs to be seen by the reader so that the flow is consistent.

In early drafts, I often short-cut scenes, just putting in placeholders for exchanges I ultimately flesh out. It’s like that old saw of writing, “show, don’t tell.” Early drafts have more “tell” than “show,” and a lot of the writing of later drafts for me is about showing.

I’m also excited by the way that some characters emerge in this story, and how more of Johnny’s backstory is seen through some interesting lenses.

And it’s fun to have the characters traveling around the US, seeking the perps and grappling with local settings and their challenges.

OK, enough of this. I have a book to finish writing!