Allan Tuttle’s wife identifies his body, the victim of a homicide, and no one is more surprised than he is. Framed for his own murder, Allan Tuttle is in a struggle for his life, his freedom and even his identity. His wife, Sarah, insists he is not who he says he is. The police are trying to build a case against him. And he can’t seem to come up with a single person who can vouch for him. With Sarah pulling the threads that unravel his very existence, Allan meets a stranger who helps him discover a version of himself he never knew. As the police close in on the ambiguous truth and Sarah works to establish her reality, Allan faces challenge after challenge that threaten to land him behind bars or in the morgue.
Can you be framed for your own murder? Will Allan be able to convince the police, his wife and everyone around him that he hasn’t murdered himself? To guide us through a few of the lies in this mysterious murder, William Coleman, author of ‘The Widow’s Husband’, has joined me at ItsWriteNow.com today. William, being framed for your own murder is an intriguing idea. How did you come across it?
I was on a long drive thinking about different story ideas and I had the thought: What if you were framed for your own murder? The book came at a rapid pace after that.
Now, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you haven’t been framed for your own murder, so I’m curious to find out how you used elements from your own life to give the story a bit more realism?
I always draw details of the characters from people I have met over the years. I don’t create a character based on any one individual, but rather a blend of people.
Tell us a little bit more about the blending process for some of your characters?
Allan, I knew, had to have characteristics that would allow this impossible tragedy to occur. Sarah had to be a strong-willed character who could run with it.
What do you think about as this mystery plays out before you on paper?
When I am writing, I am solely thinking about the characters and the story.
Is there any preparation that you undertake that helps you get right into the story, and in turn the minds of the characters?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I have always enjoyed creating the characters and plots that develop into stories to entertain.
*Laughs* That is a tricky question to answer when you’ve been writing so long that the writing process is second nature. Do you feel that your commitment to writing over the years has to lead you to develop a stronger voice?
I hope my voice has become stronger over the years.
After a few years of practice, I’m sure it has. One way to get a solid benchmark would be to find out how readers have received your work. What have they said about this book?
I have received positive responses. A lot of people ask how I came up with the idea.
It really is a nifty idea, and I’m glad to hear that overall it’s had a positive response from readers. Have there been some negative comments that have made you think a little bit harder about how to improve your next book?
I tend to have misspellings and typos that my beta readers luckily find for me, however not without the occasional jibe. Especially when the error changes the meaning of the sentence altogether.
Tiny errors like that can drive you crazy, but I’m glad to hear that you have beta readers on the case to help you try and catch as many of those tricky little typos as possible. I’d love to know more about how the mystery unfolds and if we’ll see these characters again, but we can’t spoil the book for everyone, so can you instead tempt us with what new work you currently have in development to round out our chat for today?
I am currently working on a private eye, mystery series. It is early in development, but I hope to put out several books with the characters I am creating.
A series of mystery books! If they have answers to intriguing questions like ‘can you be framed for your own murder’, I’m sure you’ll have no shortage of eager readers. William, thanks so much for meandering into your mystery ‘The Widow’s Husband’ with us today.
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Excited to read the book we discussed today? Find it here on Amazon: ‘The Widow’s Husband ( ASIN: B07P6T1P4B )‘.
Want to find out more about William Coleman? Connect here!