A Mind of its Own. (article) by Patrick J McCormick on AuthorsDen

My second fiction novel. I have been working for some time on my second book, which seemed to take a life of its own. Without realizing where it was leading me I found I had gradually closed off all the channels of my original plot and opened new ones. The final plot had never entered my mind when I started and evolved as the story progressed. I found myself on occasions writing without knowing where the story was leading me, which I understood from all the experts should never happen. Because of this I found when I was finished that some areas of the story that were not critical to the final plot and outcome had too much detail. I had to reduce this detail, but wanted to retain the outline of it. For those that are not romantics at heart, the book may therefore seem to start very slowly, but picks up when trouble starts and a little romance never hurt anyone. I have also left in some of the leads to my original planned plot, which now of coarse are false leads. I also had to change the title from 'A Family Devastated' to 'Ultimate Terror, Ultimate Sacrifice', since the original title did not seem appropriate tto the final story. Although I would not describe it as a �Who Done It�, these false leads do give it a slight �Who Done It� flavor. This book is a prequel .and a sequel to my first book (Jim, Where Are You?) as the central character Sergeant Bob White was an important character in my first fiction novel. The story is also set in the same fictitious New England town of Billington. I checked an atlas and could not find a town of that name and if such a town does in fact exist, I apologize to all residents and anyone else involved with that town. Many of the characters of my first book turn up at one point or another in this fiction novel as well. There are however many more characters in this book. Some of coarse are just mentioned by title where it did not become necessary to give them personal names. However since there are so many I am thinking of including a list of characters, lest someone may lose track and want to check who they are reading about. I don't know if this has been done before, but I have not seen it. I would therefore be very interested in comments about this idea. Unlike the first book, which at the start at least was based on a personal experience, this bock is entirely fiction. It is not necessary for you to buy the first book to understand the second. Both books will stand entirely on their own. However I do not wish to discourage you from buying the first book if you so desire. I have included the first chapter and the start of the sixth chapter on Author's Den and if you have time, I would appreciate you reading it and letting me have your comments. I hope you enjoy it. P.J. McCormick

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