Funnest Story to Write Ever!
I absolutely loved every aspect of writing A Fool and HIs Monet, about FBI Special Agent Serena Jones and the art crimes she investigates.
First of all, St. Louis–Serena’s hometown–is an amazing city to explore.
My friend Vicki McCollum and her sister-in-law treated me to an in-depth tour of the city’s neighborhoods, eateries, famous places, hospitals, the art museum and all the other awesome destinations within the amazing Forest Park. We explored potential locations for Serena’s apartment, her folks’ home, the locales of various crimes and so much more.
Secondly, I was permitted to visit Serena’s workplace, the FBI headquarters in St. Louis, and interview her real world counterpart. What an enlightening experience that was.
Then there was the fascinating research into art crimes and how they’re investigated.
Creating Serena Jones
Lastly, creating the character of Serena Jones was a delicious escapade all its own!
The Serena Jones Mysteries were my first foray into writing in first person, and I discovered I really enjoy writing in that point of view. Of course, it helps when the character has as active a thought life as Serena. The two great–and seemingly opposite–guys in her life helps too. 😆
Serena’s personality is partly based on my experience growing up as the daughter of British parents and is partly inspired by my friend Laurie Benner’s quirks and wit. I affectionately call Laurie Serena’s alter ego. 😎
We spent many laughter-filled evenings hashing out several scenes.
Did I mention the guys in Serena’s life? 😉
Their relationships are strictly friends, but I invited readers to tell me which of the two she should end up with at the end of the series. Unfortunately, my publisher decided to end the series after only three books, which meant mere months after this book released, the tally had to be taken.
And what a heated race it was!
Download A Fool and His Monet for FREE
The best news of all is that for the next 6 days, you can download a digital copy of A Fool and His Monet for free!
Get it for: Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Google Play, and iBook
Although if you prefer holding a book in your hands, some retailers still have print copies for sale.
If you missed downloading Deadly Devotion for FREE, today is your last day.
You can also still enter: the rafflecopter giveaway for Boughs of Folly.
Your Turn:
Are you a Serena Jones fan?
P.S. Our 7th book recipient is…
Randomly selected from amongst newsletter subscribers, today’s recipient is: “jers1958.” Congratulations! I’ve sent you an email to ask you which book you’d like mailed.
RSS - Posts
It’s so interesting to hear the inspiration behind your writing! I hope the publishers let you write more books in this series – it’s my favorite!
Sadly, they didn’t sell well for my publisher. They’ve had trouble making traction with mysteries. Not sure why since the market is definitely out there. They released around the time of my grandson’s accident, so I definitely didn’t help with marketing as much as I should have. But the good news is I’m free to publish more Serena books myself or with another publisher.
The Serena Jones Mysteries are my favorite! (I love Serena’s aunt, too!)
🙂 Me too! Yee! What’s so funny is that my aunt, doesn’t like Serena’s aunt. LOL
Yes! I was soooo disappointed when the series ended. They were such a great read, maybe because your enjoyment of writing came through in the reading.
Yes, I do hope to resurrect her one day soon!
I miss those days!!!
Me too!