COLLAGING YOUR FEARS AWAY WITH MAGGIE

By Maggie Toussaint

Maggie Toussaint

“I’m not brave.” There. I’ve said it. Out loud. Sure, I take risks with my books, but me, Maggie Tousssaint, I’m a big ole chicken. But that very fear turned out to be the saving grace for Murder in the Buff.

When I had a hard time breaking into publishing with conventional mysteries, I wondered if my subject material was too tame. How could I think outside of the box? How could I challenge myself as a writer and a person?

As I cast about for ideas, I remembered there was a naturalist colony in the woods of my old stomping grounds. Most of us locals debated for hours on end – what were they doing in there with all the bugs, ticks, snakes, and buzzards? I’ll admit my curiosity level rocketed off the chart.

Uh oh. A puzzle. I love puzzles. The idea of writing about a nudist colony tantalized me. And it scared me half to death. Could I do it? How would I do it? Would I have to do onsite research?

That idea nearly gave me heart arrythmia. But it got me thinking. If everyone was naked, where would they hide the murder weapon? Strangers would stand out, so it would have to be someone known to the victim. Hmm. I liked this idea more and more.

But. I did not want to see naked strangers. So, I did two things that really helped me. I talked to a former classmate of mine who’d been in there, and her eyewitness account was invaluable. And I decided to create a collage to use as a writing focal point.

I collected images of people, of items I thought would be related to the story. This wasn’t hard for clothed people. But it was increasingly difficult for the naked people. I started looking for images of people that looked more free-spirited or mean or conniving. I stumbled onto an article about naked grannies in England that gave me hope for my project. I found several images in magazines of naked people with the sexual parts out of eyesight through careful positioning.

I needed images that were provocative without being lewd. Granted, “racy” is in the eye of the beholder, but I didn’t need to see EVERYTHING. That’s what my imagination is for.

I labeled everyone on the collage, and I propped the final posterboard on the wall behind my computer monitor. Instant centering during my writing phase.

The final project turned out great, but it needed a special publisher to allow it to shine. Muse It Up took a chance on MURDER IN THE BUFF, and I’m so glad they did.

Here’s the blurb for MURDER IN THE BUFF:

Reporter Molly Darter’s world is crashing around her. Her cheating husband and trashy sister wrecked her marriage, and now she has to collect a nudist’s obituary to keep her job. The nudists convince Molly their friend was murdered. Molly scoffs until explicit pictures of the nudist with town leaders and her father surface. Family loyalty kicks in, and she hunts for the killer in earnest to save her dad.

Who killed Barbara Jean? Was it the judge, the preacher, or the banker? Or was the killer someone she knew intimately? Only one thing’s for certain. The killer is watching every move Molly makes.

MURDER IN THE BUFF is available at: Muse It Up Publishing and Amazon.
Maggie Toussaint
www.maggietoussaint.com


Thanks to Maggie for sharing with us today. For those of you who missed my review of her fun mystery, MURDER IN THE BUFF, please go to the post for March 14th at
http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-of-murder-in-buff.html

Thanks for stopping by!

REVIEW OF MURDER IN THE BUFF

MURDER IN THE BUFF

By Maggie Toussaint
MuseItUp Publishing

Molly Darter is a charming, responsible mother whose job at the newspaper depends on her personally collecting a family-placed obituary from the Naturalist Woods nudist colony. Molly’s conservative policies collide with the colony’s testosterone-laden male leader, Mama Leon. He is convinced the dead woman was murdered and insists Molly is the only person to find the killer’s identity. Molly has her own problems. She is convinced her hunky estranged husband, Hadley Darter, has cheated with her irresponsible and trashy sister, Clarice. Molly needs the newspaper job and that means obtaining the obituary information so she can meet her boss’ deadline.

Forced into investigating the murder, Molly opens a Pandora’s box and learns more than she ever wanted to know about various leading men in Marshview, Georgia. She also learns that she knew the dead woman as the friendly saleswoman at the roadside organic vegetable stand. Now Sheriff Otis Blizzard, the man who beat her husband in the last election, appears to be trailing Molly. Why is that?

MURDER IN THE BUFF is one of the best cozy mysteries I’ve read, and I read cozies frequently. Maggie Toussaint is a gifted author whose wit shines through to provide a fast-paced, hilarious read. The only point in which I disagreed with the plot was that Molly didn’t listen to Hadley’s explanation about Clarice. I won’t belabor that because this was such a fun read with surprising twists and turns guaranteed to provide suspense, laughter, and a smile at the perfect ending. I’d give a 5 out of 5 rating to MURDER IN THE BUFF and recommend it highly!

This book was given to me for an honest and unbiased review. The buy link at Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/Murder-in-the-Buff-ebook/dp/B007HOPSFE/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1331721775&sr=1-6

Mystery and Romance Author, Maggie Toussaint

For more information on Maggie Toussaint and her books, see www.maggietoussaint.com and her blog http://mudpiesandmagnolias.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by!