DONIS CASEY: Write Errant

Donis is available for signings, panels, and talks. If you would like for her to appear at your event, please e-mail her by clicking on the “Contact” link above. 

I’ll be posting events as they are added. I hope to see you at one or more. Be sure and introduce yourself. I’d love to meet you. All virtual events and podcasts will be available for viewing/listening after the live event.

Sunday, July 31, at 2:30 pm, Donis will be presenting a free virtual writing workshop on Building a World in Your Novel for the Society of Southwestern Authors. 
Even if the story unfolds the same way in two novels you’ll have two very different books if the romance takes place in or the victim is killed in a beach house in Thailand as opposed to a prep school auditorium; if the suspects live on deep in the moors, or in Manhattan across from Central Park; if the object of your affection lives in a fifth-floor walk-up on the south side of Chicago or in a mansion in Beverly Hills. If Miss Wonderly had walked into Spade and Archer Detective Agency on the first floor of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, The Maltese Falcon just wouldn’t have been the same. I will share examples and techniques for creating a believable world for your readers, no matter what genre. Prospective attendees can send a request for the Zoom invite to marmorse@gmail.com

August 13 at 10:00 PDT, Donis presents a Zoom workshop on mystery writing for Arizona Authors’ Association on How to Commit Murder – Techniques For Writing a Compelling Mystery Novel. URL to come.

Mystery novels are not just puzzles. They are about someone, and often that someone is dealing with the most horrific event of their life. Mysteries are human stories involving characters the reader can relate to and care about. If your cast of characters are the ingredients of your novel, the plot is the recipe – how you put all the ingredients together and the way you order events to create suspense and interest. E.L. Doctorow said “The plot is a journey. Driving a car at night you can only see as far as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” The plot of the mystery is the roadmap that leads to your destination.