Karma

I'm a big believer. I believe what goes around comes around. I believe (for the most part) people treat you the way you treat them. I believe things happen for a reason.

Since I'm taking Edie and Elisabeth's advice and stepping away from Dead Man's Hand for a while, I'm doing a couple of things to fill those voids when I would normally work on my wip. First, I'm reviewing a new plotting method which I'll talk a little more about tomorrow on Romance Worth Killing For. Two, I'm reading Kill the Messenger by Tami Hoag.

I listened to KTM on CD about 6-8months ago. Loved it. Fast-paced. Action. Killer characters. Complicated plot. Sub-plots galore. Now, I'm reading it, trying to pick up craft tips, pacing how-to's, etc.

I have A LOT of books in my TBR file -- both fiction and craft books. But I picked up KTM. And I've decided, now that I'm on page 103, chapter 14, that I was drawn to that book for a reason. The protagonish is a loner, afraid of the police with a childhood history that makes him suspicious and distrustful--MY HEROINE in DMH! The secondary protagonist (or maybe part-protagonist, part-antagonist) is the detective involved in a murder case the protagonist is suspected of committing. He's on a quest to find that high-profile case that will redeem him in the eyes of his coworkers and himself after screwing up something fierce several months before and getting demoted--MY HERO in DMH!

Not exactly, of course. Quite a list of disimilarities when reviewed side by side, but the characters in KTM have already shown me pieces of what is missing in my characters in DMH. The KTM plot is showing me ways to deepen threads in DMH -- not the plotline itself, but the way Hoag weaves the plotline in.

Yep. It's karma. I picked up this book for a reason. Divine intervention to kick my ass and say 'Don't even think about quitting!'

Not that I had, but it's nice to get an ass-kicking now and then.

Have you ever needed a little kick to get restarted?