Plot With Us Sleuths + Sweethearts Balancing Romance in Cozy Mysteries
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Plot With Us Sleuths + Sweethearts Balancing Romance in Cozy Mysteries
Plot With Us - Cozy Mystery Outlining Secrets + Story Elements
Feb 12, 2024
This transcript was generated automatically by Spotify. Its accuracy may vary.
0:01
Hi everyone and welcome to another plot with us.Hi, we're excited to have you.Yeah, so Happy Valentine's Day week.Happy Valentine's Day.Or if you have guy friends, Happy Valentine's Day.
0:16
I guess you could call it right.Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?I mean, we never really plan anything much in advance, so it's probably just something like Olive Garden maybe.
0:34
I mean, that sounds good enough.I like Olive Garden.Right, right.And they don't let you reserve in advance.So we might have a shot if we're a late planner.That's good.Yeah.I am doing afternoon tea three days this week.
0:50
Thank goodness.I'm so jealous actually.Yeah, so my friend Camille is moving, so I am trying to get all the afternoon teas in that I can before she goes.OK, makes sense.That's the plan.So today we are talking about how to create your perfect dream date, which I don't know.
1:10
When you were a kid, did you guys ever do that thing when at sleepovers where you'd write down, like, where he's going to live and you'd get to choose from a mansion or a castle or, I don't know, a yacht or something?Yeah, you're talking about MASH, I think, right?I'm not sure.
1:25
You'd make a list and then like cross, you'd pick one from each category and then at the end you'd.I don't know.It's very important that we'd tell each other all of the choices that our dream man would have.Right, right.Yeah.Yeah.So this is kind of the same thing.We're going to do the same thing today.
1:42
So I just wanted to remind everyone that we are a podcast now.So if you were like, I don't have time to watch you guys in video or I just want to listen while I'm driving, you can do that now.Very nice, yes.Live I put the links in the description.We are on Apple, Spotify and we're on iHeartRadio.
1:59
I always forget iHeartRadio, but we're on all three of those so you can listen to whichever podcast platform you like.Awesome.All right, so here's what I want you to do, too.I think if you have been out of the dating world for a while, which there's nothing wrong with that, you might want to go ahead and download some dating apps just to see what's going on out there.
2:22
Like I'm going to give you permission, even if you're married, that this is in the name of book research.You can download a dating app.I know that you want to know what's going on there.Every time I see one of my married girlfriends, they are obsessed with, like, my dating apps.They're like, let me see your dating app and they'll be like, I'm going to fix this and then oh.
2:40
Yeah, looking through they they love setting up also like your profile, right?Like, I I know I've enjoyed that with friends like help me.Let me help you write your profile.Yeah, yeah.It's always married.People are like, I have the answer to like, fix your single person problems.
2:56
I'm going to.I just know what to do, right?So So I know that you're all dying to jump on and try all of these dating apps.So here's what's kind of I don't know that these are new, but when you go through, they've made the dating apps recently as easy as possible.
3:14
And the reason is because men are lazy and they don't really like talking about a ton of different things and going on and on.And so they're like, let's just do the bare minimum, right, Like your height, where you located, you know, do you want kids, do not want kids?And then that makes it super easy for them to go ahead and pick out yes or no for swiping left or right or making a decision right.
3:37
So I want you to do the exact same.Because we talked about this before when I did the How to make a Cozy Mystery amateur sleuth.And I said, don't waste all this time making this huge back story that you're never going to.Everyone's like, oh, you'll kind of use it.
3:52
I'm like, no, you're never going to use it.Like, don't waste your time.Just get the bare minimums now.If you have not been out there in a while, there are many dating apps to choose from.So there are LGBTQ plus, I think that's the right acronym lately.
4:08
They keep changing it that are like tailored to this audience.And if you haven't read millennial cozies, that seems to be something that is coming more and more in there.There's a huge push with DEI on Marvel and Disney, so this seems to be something that's kind of trending and making its way in everywhere could make its way into cozy mysteries.
4:31
I have seen, I have not seen a main character who is LGBTQ, but I have seen them where they have friends that are.And so I feel like it's kind of working its way into the mainstream, even.What was that TV show I really liked on Hallmark Channel?
4:48
The Good Witch, They finally added a fourth cousin, was the third cousin or 4th.I don't know what it was, but she was also, they made her a lesbian and I think that's because they were trying to get into more of the DEI.So that's something about.
5:04
Right.There are Poly apps too.This wasn't really popular when I was growing up, but now it's like I think it's a Gen.Z thing.It seems to be very they're very popular, these polyamorous relationships, and again, it might fit more with the millennial cozy.
5:20
It might not be your main protagonist, but maybe it is for sure a friend or offshoot.And honestly, this can kind of help you come with ideas for suspects you like are looking at the wife, but maybe it's their their other girlfriend or their other boyfriend if they're in a big polyamorous relationship.
5:41
Right, right.I also know Craigslist has their own section for everything too.Anything and everything.But I don't think they're as trustworthy.That's the dark area.Maybe like the dark web area you don't want to go into.But yeah, they can have that too.
5:57
And now, just to be clear, polyamory should be confused with polygamy, which is also a totally valid thing you can actually do.Because polyamory just says, you know, it could be many women and many men, whereas polygamy is like there's only one guy.And yes, I'm obsessed with this show.
6:14
I've watched every single episode, sister wise.I love this thing.And just so you know, it has millions and millions of I'm waiting for someone to write a polygamy like mystery.That would be a lot of suspects.Yeah, it would be so helpful to let it just write your mystery for you.
6:32
Don't forget there is a workbook that goes along with today, so I left the link below.So let's go ahead and jump in.So the first thing you need to do is choose your gender.Doesn't matter what you choose.And I think this would actually be an amazing thing where you're looking for maybe a past criminal who was a guy he didn't know, that he had a new gender orientation surgery and now he's a girl, so you can be looking for clues in all the wrong places.
6:57
Exactly.And these are romance books, obviously, but these books all have a ton of reviews.I think red, white and royal blue.They're making a movie out of that on Netflix.I think it has like 51,000 reviews.So these are like popular trending things that are going on in I guess media, books and movies and TV.
7:17
So cozy mystery, romance.I just want to stop and talk about sex, just because typically cozies don't have that.However, the books on now, the books on the left, Tessa Bailey and Jessa Santanto, those books are doing amazing.
7:36
We're talking like selling through the roof.I think Tessa Baileys book has, like, I don't even know, 50,000 reviews on it.Again, wow, they have sex in them and they're a mystery.And typically we used to say, oh, people don't want that, but Are you sure?
7:51
Maybe they do want that.And I'm just going to say if you want to, you should feel free to go ahead and do that now.I did a review on Dial A franchise and I said it's really more of a romance and not a mystery.However, it's still highly like hardcore, marketed as a cozy mystery.Right, right, right.
8:07
And so these feel more also like chick lit.Maybe they are really Chiclet.They're like, they're pretty hardcore, like there's a lot of masturbation scenes in the Tessa Bailey books.Oh, OK, I know HP Mallory has has that going on too.
8:25
Yes, that's a good point.HP Mallory had that in her books too.So there's definitely an audience for that.I think my thing would be, if you are going to do that, I would do that under one pen name and I would make sure all the books within that pen name are consistent because people get really upset when they find sex in one book and then they go to read your other books and there's no sex, right.
8:45
So you're setting up a baseline, whatever that is, and you need to be consistent for that brand.These two books on the right side, I've actually never heard of them, but they were the only ones that came up that had high heat levels and.Oh, OK.A cozy mystery romance set.
9:01
Yeah.And I guess that's good to also determine.Put it down, that this is a cozy romance mystery, right?Or cozy mystery romance.Yeah.Well, the first book is written by a dude, so I don't know.I know.Yeah, could.Be different.
9:16
That's true.Interesting from his point of view, I guess.OK.OK, so cozy boyfriend.So in my book, Ava has actually two She has a love triangle, which is probably usually love triangles.You figure that out within like book three or four.Like by then usually the love triangle's over.
9:33
Unless you're Janet Ivanovich.You can do whatever you want.We'll still read it.Right?Love triangle.I think she's on book.What is it, 19 or 20?Oh.Gosh, yeah, I've lost count.Yeah.And the love triangle, just so you know, is still going on.And at the end of every book, you're like, Oh my God, she's going to choose.
9:49
I know some people must still love it or there wouldn't be #19.Yeah, I'm getting to the age now where Janet Ivanovich, I think she's 80 and I'm getting weird.I'm like, I hope she wrote in her will, like, who's gonna know?End up with who?I didn't even know.But anyway, so the love triangle, if you are going to do a love triangle, you usually make these like 2 polar ends of the spectrum, right?
10:12
You don't want a love triangle with two guys who are like basically exactly the same.So she has Wesley who's the detective and very like macho, manly, whatever.Marcus is a billionaire and he's very touchy feely and he's like her partner in crime like helping her investigate.
10:29
And so that's basically the difference between the two guys that I chose.OK all.Right next you need to give him a job.So first, so I don't know if anyone's watching I love.Have you ever seen the Hannah Swenson Mysteries?I have not.
10:45
You haven't, OK, You don't watch the Hallmark Channel though, right?Not lately, not too much.Usually around Christmas.OK.But the Hallmark, Sorry, the Hallmark Mysteries channel, Not the Hallmark Channel.Right, right.And yes, I know what you're talking about, and I have not seen the mysteries there.OK, so Hannah Swenson has a ton of movies, and this guy at the top, I can't remember his name, but he is going away.
11:07
He went over to the sister channel, Great American Christians Channel.I don't know what it's called, but it's the one where Hannah Cameron Beret went away and then, like, she stole a bunch of people from the Hallmark Channel, recruited them, I guess, and they all went there, right?He went there.
11:22
So now in the books, just so you know, Hannah doesn't actually end up with the cop, she ends up with somebody else.So this new book coming out, this is actually done from a different movie, but they're going to pair her up with this guy.I think his name's Victor Matheson and instead of a cop, he is a lawyer.
11:40
Oh, interesting.Better I.Mean.So does he.In the book, she actually ends up with her like a second chance romance with someone that she already dated.It's not him.So we'll see what she does in the movies, 'cause I think nobody.I definitely was not excited about her Second Chance romance guy that came back in the last movie, but that could just be me.
12:00
Anyway, so the most popular cozy boyfriend, as you guessed it, is a cop.So you can be a sheriff, the deputy, the detective who's the love interest in your books.A detective that is a wolf shifter.Okay.So I don't know why in these action scenes with guys, they always have their feet up in the air, but you can choose.
12:19
So just because you're doing a cop, just like everybody else, you can give him a personality too.So these are all my favorite cops.They're like funny people.Right, right, right.They're not.Super serious.I would love to see a mall cop.Oh yeah, Paul Blart.Love interest.
12:35
Oh wow, that would be good.Go on a date on his, What do you call it?I forget what those are.Called.Segway Yeah, you can chase people down on the Segway, but really your main love interest could be anything.
12:52
So if they are not a cop, they usually pay more of a sidekick role.So if you remember from the Aurora Tea Garden movies when she switched from, she was dating Martin who was an FBI agent.And then she switched over to this guy who is a college professor.
13:09
Instead of like hindering her and being like don't get yourself into danger, he was like, I will help you and I'm tracking clues down for you and they would meet up together and like talk about the crimes.And then same thing here where she did not.So Hannah Swenson mystery started out as a love triangle with her with the cop and then also Norman and this guy is a dentist.
13:28
So her mom really wanted to set her up with the dentist.And Norman's kind of like this nice, dorky, like friendly guy.And she's not really attracted to him and but he's like super helpful for all of her women.Like, he will go dumpster diving with her for clues.They will drive out to places together and like, you know, put on little shows pretending to be somebody and be in disguise.
13:49
So he's like, usually that ends up being a sidekick if it's not the actual cop.Right, Right.Then he's a professor.Interesting.So also he should come with some benefits.So usually he knows some inside information where he has a special skill or expertise to like help contribute to the investigation.
14:10
So for this one, she has Marcus who is a billionaire and because he is a billionaire, he has access to tons of gadgets.It's almost like her own private queue for James Bond.So he has, yeah, he has an underground submarine, he has a helicopter, He has these fancy watches that are super sci-fi and can do anything.
14:34
And then he also bought her a really expensive Range Rover.Wow, He's.A great boyfriend.So that's why I'm saying you just make this guy however you want him.Whatever gives easy access to help solve your mysteries, it sounds like.Yeah, for sure.And the other thing too is you need to choose a meet.
14:51
Cute.So if you've never heard the term meet cute, it just means this is how they first meet each other.And it's also the reason I passionately dislike Second Chance romances, 'cause there is no cute meet cute like, whatever.He met right?Years ago, yeah.
15:08
So lame you're just recycling.I don't know why I don't like them, and I even saw that I don't know if anyone is on Alex from Kay Litic's e-mail mailing address.He sent out an e-mail this morning saying that Second Chance romance is up, like exponentially since COVID.And I think that's just because people were stuck in their house and they weren't able to meet new people, so they were like just recycling old people, but.
15:29
Maybe.Yeah, now that covid's over, we can stop that.We can just meet new people.There's something.Very magical about the first meeting ever.Kind of like the first intimate moment, the first you know, so.So these are some cliche openings that I would advise you to stay away from and just use your imagination and just work a little harder, right?
15:53
So the coffee spill is probably the number one most popular ROM com meet cute Lisa Simpson just bumping into somebody, same thing.And then these two at the bottom.This is from I can't.I don't remember what movie it is from, but they're obviously both looking at cards and like, moving the thing around.
16:12
So sometimes the meet cute's like a little antagonistic, and then that's kind of how they meet.It can be people that are already married.But again, I do think that's lame.I don't like watching you like where they're already coupled up, but you could do that.
16:30
There's nothing wrong.There was another I clearly watch TV way too much.There was another Hallmark mystery movie where they were already married.But to put some spice into it, she was filing for divorce because he was like, doing too much of looking into mysteries.Right, right, right.
16:46
So again, you have to, like, I feel like it's false.Like fake.Was it conflict when you like, pretend like they're getting married?I don't know, like they're getting divorced.Like, either they're married or they're not, right?Right.Well, and it's fun.It's a fun arc.Go to go from dating and first meeting and then you can continue on and have a marriage and even a baby.
17:07
I've seen people do so.Yeah.You can go years in your cozies with a whole relationship and family forming I guess.Yeah, for sure.That's a great point.So this is another.This is more just my pet peeve.I don't know if anyone's read this book and not to call this off road the Erberg was fine, but don't If you're going to have somebody who's married, don't make them a cheater.
17:30
So the woman, the main protagonist in this paranormal series, is married, but she's constantly making comments about other guys like, oh, his butt is so hot.Look at those ABS.Oh, I'd like to lick that.And, like, sure, that's OK if she was single, but because she's married and it like, grosses me out and I don't know if it's just me.
17:52
I just, I don't think people like cheaters in books.No, no.And I've never read this one, but I've seen his carrots by Coleen Helms.She has.A.Beautiful cover, yes, but no.Just knowing that too, that does seem like a little ick, right?
18:07
Well, and make sure.I think she was obviously going for a love triangle, right?And to me sure, if she had maybe a boyfriend maybe it's a love or even then I don't think I would like it.I just don't think.I think once you're committed as a boyfriend or fiance or wedding like and then once you start cheating and having these thoughts, like they're not cute.
18:30
They're just kind of like slimy and you just don't like.I don't definitely did not like the character and didn't finish the series.Right, right.Especially as a protagonist, not the villain.Right.So yeah.So for mine, I had Ava meet Marcus at a fair.
18:47
So they were she was having a town fair.She doesn't actually meet him until book 2.And so he is a client of her best friend Ruby.And he's really cute.And he comes up in the line and she's like, oh, you take care of this customer.And Ruby pushed her for her.
19:03
She's like, no, you take care of this customer.And so that's how they end up meeting.And plus, lucky her cat jumps on to Wesley and ends up liking him.So then she has to chase the cat down because the cat goes off with Marcus.So that's their meet Q.And then Wesley was at a crime scene so that was their meet Q, which is usually how you meet the cops.
19:25
Is that how your character met her cop?Yeah, it was basically had to go down to the station and be a witness to some part of what they saw, right.Not the full picture.Yep, exactly.So Step 4 is to work him into the investigation.
19:40
Now if he's the cop or the sheriff or the deputy, that's not a big deal.Like it's pretty much done now.The only difference would be in here.I don't know if anyone saw this movie.Is that Tia or Tamara?Yeah.Yeah, I did not see it, but I love her or them she.
19:56
Was in There's the book called Murder in G Major.It's actually a really popular book that Hallmark made it into a movie, and so she is.Over in I think Scotland.I want to say Ireland.I think it's Scotland.Anyways, I don't even know what's going on.
20:11
She shows up in Scotland and like every guy is falling over her, like they can't get enough of her.But in this one, the cop is actually not interested in doing the investigation because she can talk to a ghost who died like tons of years ago.The case was solved, but he wants her to like reopen it so the cops like, I'm not going to reopen it.
20:31
It's already been solved.Now this is her work colleague, so he is super overprotective.Of course he has a crush on her, like every single other guy in this entire book.Yeah, well, we we love guys crushing all over the protagonist.Yeah, well, I do.
20:46
Anyway, I think it's kind of fun.So he actually has local historical knowledge because she's new there to Scotland.She just came in, I guess for work and she's never been there and so he actually ends up saving her too from one of like the mean suspects that she's investigating so.
21:04
Okay, That definitely ties him in.Yeah.So that's how he's worked into the crime now.This is so when I read the book.So when you watch the movie, it actually cleared a lot of things up because when you read the book because again, every guy like has a crush on it, right?This is the ghost.And the ghost in the book is, she's like 20 in the book or 22.
21:21
And the ghost is like 70, okay or something.He's like way old, right?And then, but in the book, because she's with him all the time, because she's the only one that can hear him and talk to him, I'm like, is this like a ghost Like love connection like.I would think you know what?Yeah, I've written a story in the Dead X-Files about like, they're exes.
21:41
Oh, but there's a ghost and you get a little romance with that ghost.So I would think But that age gap what was what happened was.It yeah, it's kind of creepy.Well, it was so in the book.I was like, I don't understand.She's like, stringing all these guys along.But in the movie, they made it very much so that he's not a love interest.
22:00
Like the way they portrayed it did a better job than the book.He's just kind of like this old curmudgeonly but nice guy like your grandpa.Right.Yeah, which I think.Is what she was trying to do in the book.But because it's a book, I was like, huh, I'm getting the creep feeling.
22:16
But yeah, so he's always with her.The other now this is the cop, so he doesn't want to investigate anything.So she has to go ahead and do all of it.And then when she gets in trouble or somebody calls the cops on her, he does show up, but because he has a crush on her, he doesn't arrest her.
22:34
So once you've worked all of your love interests into the book, then you need to do what I call the pre kiss flirt.So most people, and this is basically the number one way I can always tell a beginning romance writer.And not that I'm like an expert thing, but I could just tell they'll just keep going on and on about how hot he is.
22:55
Oh, he's so hot.Oh, I'm so excited when I see him.Oh, his chiseled jaw.Oh, his great ABS.Oh, his strong shoulders.Right.They are 100% just obsessed with looks.A couple things.One, that's very superficial.
23:11
There's nothing wrong with being attracted to him.I think you can say it once and then you can let it go.Or you can let other people talk about how hot he is.Or you can have your mom, the character's mom, talk about it.But like, her obsessing about it all the time isn't like leading up to any chemistry, I guess.
23:29
Basically it's just like, you know, just somebody who idolized, like someone you'd put a poster up on your wall if you were 10 and this was the 80s, but So what can you do?You can do witty banter.So they're reading a book and so whether that is in text format or it's a conversation or it's thought, but it should be something going back and forth where you can see his personality and you can see her personality and they should be very different cause a lot of times too, I can also tell when people are first writing, they make the guy sound like a girl, right?
24:04
So just in general, girls have longer sentences and paragraphs and dialogue, and guys have shorter thoughts, right?And like, a lot of times when you talk to guys, you're like, oh, what'd you think they're like?I don't know.Like that is their answer.Right, right, right.That's how.It goes.And then when you make him like, so he's saying a lot of stuff.
24:22
Sometimes it's kind of unbelievable.You're like, OK, now I'm just reading about two women or it sounds like the same character answering herself, right?So just be really, really careful about that.And that reminds me, I was reading, like you said, from Male's point of view, his thoughts in a in a romance.
24:38
And he was talking about the foliage and you know, different things and and it just didn't feel right for his macho character, like make.Just make sure the descriptions feel like his personality, yeah?Yeah, so also they could do actual hand to hand combat.
24:56
Maybe she runs into him somewhere.She thinks he's an intruder and she likes misses.Smith.Yeah, yeah, they could try to kill each other.You could use nicknames.You know, something that either to compliment him or to put him down.Something clever, right?
25:13
To show that she has class without just being an overt, like third grade insult.Right.So some back and forth.Now if you are not good at this, which I am actually not, I would highly recommend reading Abby Jimenez.She is hands down 1000% the number one best author ever of any genre for chemistry.
25:34
Like the back and forth quick.She like does an excellent job of the text messaging of conversations.She had one relationship where literally I can't remember which one.I think it's a happily ever after playlist where this woman finds this guy's dog and the guy is on the other side of the country and all they do is text and sit on the phone, which I thought was going to be so boring I could not put the book down.
25:57
It was so good.Like she is excellent.Now the only heart.These aren't my ratings.I just copied and pasted this image from somewhere else.But the only thing that you probably want to skip in Abby Jimenez is I don't know why this woman is obsessed with disgusting, repulsive, like sicknesses.
26:14
Like every person in the book has cancer.They're getting dialysis, They have things coming out of every orifice they like are leaking.It is so gross.And every single book, I'm like, what is wrong with this person?I don't know.
26:29
She's obsessed with it.Even like she wrote this short story wing woman or whatever, Even then they were at the hospital.Someone's dying, oozing stuff.I was like, what is going on?So this is in a romance, right?So it's that.That's one downfall, however, and she's like the best for dialogue and conversations.
26:49
In fact, the latest book I read, yours truly, they just write little notes to each other inside the lockers.She's just that good at dialogue.So anyways, that's Abby Jimenez.OK, so the next thing you could do is what they call fun and games.So if you've ever watched some of those romance in movies, they'll do what's called a love montage, right?
27:08
And they'll be out.They'll be skiing and then they'll be, you know, feeding the birds and then they'll be out at the dog park and then they'll be just always laughing and like, you know, joking with each other, dancing.I don't know.There's just so many fun things going on.
27:23
You need to think of things that are fun for your characters to do, even though they're investigating.Right.Right.I love, like, the very first thing.Going undercover.Like together.Like you're stinking something out, Right?And you're stuck together.I love that.Yeah.Yeah, or maybe someone needs a date for a wedding.
27:40
Or someone.One of the suspects is getting married and they just need to go crash the wedding, dancing together, ice skating, build a snowman.They're going out to eat together and it doesn't really matter what it is.Even like a morning run, they like, go in.Maybe she wants him to investigate, but he doesn't want to.
27:57
So she tries to do his morning run, but she's not a runner, so she's like dying on the path, right?Or something, right where they're doing something together.So that is B.Now C, they need to share some meaningful deep secret.So it doesn't matter what it is.
28:13
It doesn't even have to be related to the case.It just has to be something that brings them closer and something that like, gives you a little insight into his personality or why he is the way he is.Right.Most popular superhero stories are always the origin stories because people want to know, like, what makes you, why are you like this?
28:32
Yeah, what happened to you?Like, so the most famous one is Spider Man, right?Because Spider Man was, it's like, so tragic, right?So he gets these powers, but he, like, uses them for, I think it's like wrestling.There's many versions of this.And then his uncle, you know, is like, oh, you should, you know, not do this or be good.
28:52
And he's like, whatever, I just need money.And so he lets this guy go like this criminal, and the criminal ends up shooting and killing his uncle.So it's like a tragedy for him.And that's why he's so driven to like, stop all criminals.So it makes his whole mission and him as a person more meaningful.
29:11
So you can do the exact same Spider Man effect for your character.You just need to find something that they haven't maybe told anybody else, something that explains why they're always so rude in the mornings, or why they won't drink coffee, or why they don't like Christmas trees, right?
29:31
It doesn't really matter what it is.So it gives you a chance to, and it doesn't matter who's sharing.For one person to share and then the other person to reciprocate with empathy, and then that kind of shows that they now have this special connection.The last thing is put them in danger together.
29:48
So there's nothing better than having all of your emotions heightened because you're worried about getting caught.And also, it's a really great way.Everyone always wants to save the damsel in distress, right?But you don't always have to save them.Maybe someone has a gun and they're like, come out with your hands up and maybe they're fighting over who's going to come out, right?
30:07
And so they're both trying to save each other.Or they'll say, you go and I'll give you cover, right?Something where somebody is making a sacrifice for the other person.Could be small, could be big, it doesn't really matter.Or maybe it could be a natural disaster, like a flood or a hurricane or something where they're coming and maybe.
30:26
It it just reveals like that further dimension in each of their personalities like, OK, we know like what?How they act this way on the job or this.But in a heightened situation, like with the adrenaline going, it's also it's also kind of hot, like when they win and they're together and it's a cozy romance thing, right?
30:48
Yeah.So in my next book, like, there is a natural disaster.It's a tornado.It's never come to Maine and so she's avas out of town.But Marcus is there.So Marcus knows how much she loves her cat and her cats.Not with her.He goes and rescues the cat for her, risking everything and doesn't evacuate the city like he's supposed to because he knows that she wants the cat and she wouldn't leave without the cat.
31:14
So you can do things like that.It doesn't always have to be him saving her.He could be saving a pet, or her friend, or her parents or something else.Right.And I think that's the last one.Give them a common enemy.So maybe they both are like, Oh my God, maybe they disagree on everything, but there's like one person they hate, right?
31:32
Like the enemy of my enemy is my friend, that kind of thing.So then they kind of bond over that.Or maybe it's a shared memory or a location or some pet peeve that they both have where they find another character doing it.But it should be something that they both agree on.Right, right.
31:48
And then finally, you can have them kiss.So in mystery 101, she's a professor.He's a cop.I don't There's a lot of kissing in this, like mystery.And so it's like, there are tons of different situations under which you could make the kiss happen.
32:04
The most popular one is the I'm happy to be alive kiss like, Oh my God, we just survived death.And then maybe later she's like, oh, I didn't mean that.And he's like, Oh yeah, I didn't mean that either, even though they did both mean it.So, and you could do that.A distracted kiss.
32:20
So maybe like a suspect is coming their way and they're like, we have to pretend to make out so the suspect doesn't think we're like observing them or whatever, or staking them out.It could be a dare.It could be a kiss.Like a lot of times in ROM Coms, they'll say, I will prove that I don't love him.
32:39
There's nothing.There and there will be no feelings at all whatsoever.Or it could just be a classic romantic moment.So either way, when you think about your kiss, I want you to think about The Who, what, when, where, and why, right?Like, who else is there that's going to be there?See it?What are they doing before and after that leads up to that?
32:57
When is it going to happen?Daytime, night time?Where will they be at?Why is it happened and how is it going to happen?Is it going to happen, you know, while they are riding the Ferris wheel, or while they're cooking, or because they accidentally turn and bump into each other?
33:15
Right, right.Yeah.And sometimes when you're writing your your mystery novel or romance, it will just kind of spring out.You'll just feel the tension in that moment.It's like, OK, I wasn't this, but this feels like the right moment for a kiss now.Got to insert it.
33:33
And that's it.You're done.Did anyone have questions?I didn't even click the questions over here in the section.So that's Jesse.Good morning.Yeah.Hi, do you want to read that?I'm on a smaller.Yeah, it says.I hate dating apps.
33:49
Romance is my very least favorite genre.I'll stick with what Abby Emmons teaches about character profiles, development, and back story.I'm guessing it says.OK.And then?And then Antonia says May and dead December.
34:05
I don't know what that's referring to.That's a May December romance where there's a younger person and an older person, I think.So that's what I was what I was talking about.The geriatric ghost.I see.I don't know what's going on in that ghost.
34:23
There we go.All right, so don't forget, download today's workbook and we will see you next time in two weeks for Molly's session, which is.About the magic of witchy mysteries, why they're so popular.All right.
34:39
Bye everyone.Bye.
