ON WRITING DARKER--Marni Graff
When I decided to write a mystery series, one of the things that I was determined NOT to do was to write the same book all the time. In my Nora Tierney English Mysteries, American children’s book author Nora has solved murders in Oxford and the Lake District. However, all three, starting with The Blue Virgin , through The Green Remains and The Scarlet Wench , have been “Whodunits,” as I’ve wanted to explore what would made a person feel it’s reasonable to take another human’s life. When it came time to plot the fourth, The Golden Hour , I wanted to do more than vary the setting. I decided to veer into new territory for me, and instead wrote a “Cantheystophim” mystery, featuring a psychopath named Viktor Garanin, whose life’s goal is to destroy the English people. There are scenes in Brighton, Cornwall, and Oxford with a hefty dose of action taking place in Bath. The theme of this book revolves around “what is family and home.” We see Nora and her partner, DI Decla