Monday, September 17, 2012

Strange Stuff


 

I'm always on the lookout in the news for interesting bits for our next novel. This week lots of strange stuff showed up on my radar – most of it would be unbelievable in a work of fiction. Still maybe we'll find some way to use it. 

In Tulsa, OK – woman survives being trapped in a home freezer for 4 days. Details are a little hazy over how she got in there. Police reports say foul play is not suspected. Most surprising to me is that she had that much extra room in her freezer. I know if I buy two gallons of ice cream at the same time, the frozen peas have to be tossed to make space. 

In Rockhill, SC – ex-boyfriend found living in woman's attic. And this was twelve years after they broke up. When he got out of prison, he looked her up. Or rather down – he was sneaking looks at her through the heating vents. Apparently he just moved into the crawlspace, making a human nest amongst her winter coats. She heard noises but thought she had “poltergeist stuff going on" in her house.  Moral of the story – when things go bump in the night, don't call a psychic - call an exterminator. Works equally well for both cockroaches and ex-boyfriends. 

I don't know what to say about it – some people just have too much spare time on their hands. Pretending to be Bigfoot could get you some attention – I'll give him that. But pretending to be Bigfoot (although dressed in a camouflaged costume) and standing in the middle of the highway traffic means you're just not playing with enough marbles. Usually that would be enough of a story – but the reporter goes on to hint at a conspiracy. Maybe someone paid this idiot in an attempt to get a pseudo- reality television show to film in their community. See, you really couldn't use this stuff as a plot in a novel – readers would never buy it.
 
What's the strangest story you've heard lately? Got any that you think would make a good mystery plot?
 
Rhonda
aka The Southern Half of Evelyn David
 
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Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle - Trade Paperback (exclusive to Amazon for 90 days)
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
 





Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah - trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 - I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 - A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Romances
Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

1 comment:

  1. I know, Rhonda. Some things I read in the news and even things I've seen in real life would be unbelievable if you put them in a novel. Editors and readers would say, "Oh, come on now!"

    I find myself thinking of the missing-presumed-dead DA in the Sandusky-Penn State child molestation scandal. He knew about it and presumably had been politically pressured against prosecuting since after that he didn't like Sandusky a bit. He was about to retire (which might have left him free to pursue Sandusky perhaps by going to the feds). He disappears. His car is found in a river, as is his laptop with the hard drive taken out and smashed to pieces. His money's sat untouched in his bank for years. Now, there's evidence arising that Sandusky was part of a giant boy-victim-procuring ring that included the wealthy and powerful. Seems like a mystery novel plot to me.

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