In my second cozy mystery novel, Dead Man’s Watch, the protagonist, Kathryn Frasier, takes a bad fall during a women’s half-marathon, a race she had expected to win. Even though her injuries are serious enough that she can’t continue running, she limps through the final miles. She didn’t win the race, but she finished it.
The half-marathon takes place at about the midpoint of the novel, and Kathryn’s injury and her response serve as a metaphor for the rest of the book. You see, the plot of the story revolves around a friend of Kathryn’s who is accused of murder. She wants to prove his innocence by finding the real killer, but that puts her at risk. When her own life is threatened, she has to make a decision on whether to stay the course or give up out of concern for her own safety.
We all encounter these moments in our lives. Although it may not be a question of physical danger, we face unanticipated problems in meeting our goals, and we have to decide whether to quit or to face the challenges and keep going. As writers, there are many ways to take a “virtual” fall. Maybe our editor didn’t like the story, or book sales didn’t meet our expectations. Sometimes we just don’t feel inspired to sit at the keyboard and write.
As we begin a new year, it’s likely many of us will face some of these hurdles, but there’s a lot to be gained by continuing the race. My protagonist has serious injuries, but she refuses to give up. She puts one foot in front of the other to finish the race, and she doggedly uncovers one clue at a time to solve the murder mystery. As authors, we make progress by writing one word after another. Although it might be slow, sentence by sentence, we build up the literary miles until we reach the finish line. And we’re better writers for having done it.
I wish you all a healthy and happy 2021! And I pray you will use the inevitable problems of life to hone and strengthen your character so in December of this year, you will look back with a sense of accomplishment because you didn’t give up.
“for the righteous falls seven times and rises again.” — Proverbs 24:16a
SAVING ONE LIFE IS LIKE SAVING THE WHOLE WORLD
Half-sisters Kathryn Frasier and Cece Goldman stumble into another mystery in this second book in the Watch series. When a former acquaintance of Kathryn’s is accused of murder, she and Cece go on a mission to prove his innocence by finding the real killer. But things are never what they seem in this tangled web, and Kathryn’s spunky determination to solve the mystery pushes her closer and closer to a deadly climax.
Join the adventure as these two young women commit themselves to live up to the quote from the Jerusalem Talmud: “Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”
Dead Man’s Watch is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books.
Kay DiBianca is a bestselling author who loves to create literary puzzles in the mystery genre for her readers to solve. Her characters come to life as they struggle to solve murders and create relationships amidst the ongoing themes of faith and family. Her first novel, The Watch on the Fencepost, won an Illumination Award for General Fiction and an Eric Hoffer Award for Mystery. The second book in the Watch series, Dead Man’s Watch, was released in September 2020.
Kay is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters in Crime. An avid runner, she can often be found at a nearby track, on the treadmill, or at a large park near her home. Her background in software development fuels her fascination with puzzles and mysteries, and her dedication to running helps supply the endurance and energy she needs to write about them!
Kay and her husband, Frank, live, run, and write in Memphis, Tennessee.
You can connect with Kay through her website at https://kaydibianca.com.