The Name's The Thing

What oh what to write for a first blog post? Right now most of my creativity is going into editing my mystery and besides, I haven't have my first cup of tea yet on this icy Saturday morning. My book is about two brothers, last name Carstairs (which explains the blog name, no?), who live in Portland Oregon and get involved in finding a murderer.

Editing the story of these two and their fictional companions is tougher than I thought. It seems I have a fondness for commas and my computer has a fondness for indenting willy-willy, which means I spend a bit of time correcting margins as well as punctuation before I even get to the story. Happily, my editor (Ramona, you are the best) has made some good suggestions and makes me realize each time I look at her notes just what more can be done with the boys.
I love Portland, which makes it easy to include my favorite places, but I have to remember that I am not writing a travelogue, but what I hope is a true mystery...you know, the kind where no one knows exactly whodunit until the final pages. That's a task in itself, since I have o throw aroun all those red herrings and false clues...yikes. However, I'm a month away from pitching my story, so I must move onward and upward, right?

Stay tuned for more on the brothers Carstairs.