Novella, No Problem By Amanda Flower / Isabella Alan

Last summer after I turned in Murder, Plain and Simple, to my editor, my agent asked me if I would like to write a prequel e-novella to the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries. She thought it would be a great way to launch the series and my new name as “Isabella Alan.” I said, “Sure!” After which, I immediately thought, “How do you write a novella?” Although they are much, much shorter than novellas, I had tried my hand at writing short stories and failed miserably. Short story writing is definitely a talent that I don’t have, so I was a little afraid I might not be able to pull off a novella. Of course, I didn’t share this concern with agent or my editor because I like them to think I am a dependable writing machine.

I sent my editor my idea for the prequel, which was a story about some ruffians harassing the Amish. I thought it would work well for a shorter work. Maybe some mailboxes bashing was as violent as it would become. My editor didn’t agree. “You need to kill someone. Our readers expect people to die,” she said. Okay, maybe she didn’t put it exactly like that, but it was the gist. Again, I said, “Sure! No problem. I got this.” All the while I was thinking, “How am I going to murder someone and solve the crime in twenty-five thousand words? Usually I have eighty thousand words to knock someone off and my sleuth to solve the crime. Plus, I have to set up the series and main characters that will appear in future books. Phew!” This little prequel would be packed.

After more hemming and hawing, staring at my computer, and wasting time on Facebook, I told myself to just treat it like a novel. Don’t fret over how short it has to be. Just write it. Which in the end is what I did, and Plainly Murder is the result.

That’s the thing about writing; it’s the starting that’s the hardest part. The blank computer screen can send even the most successful writer into a spiral of self-doubt and despair. But then, we writers get over it because this is our job, because it’s not just what we do, it’s who we are. And in my case, I kill someone and solved the crime in fewer than thirty thousand words.

I hope you enjoy PLAINLY MURDER. It’s a fun little mystery about a fifteen-year-old murder, a unique Amish quilt, and loving relationship between English protagonist Angie Braddock and her Amish Aunt Eleanor.
About PLAINLY MURDER (Now Available!)

Welcome to Rolling Brook, Ohio, a quaint Amish community where life is less tranquil than it seems.

Angela Braddock has come to Rolling Brook to lend a hand at her Aunt Eleanor’s traditional Amish quilt shop. But when Eleanor’s quilting circle mourns the loss of their oldest member, Evelyn, they make a startling discovery about a tragic event in Evelyn’s past. More than a decade earlier, during a barn raising, Evelyn’s son Eric fell from the roof and died. Evelyn had always insisted that Eric was pushed, and now a clue in an old quilt convinces Angie to dig up the truth…and discover one of Rolling Brook’s darkest secrets.
It’s SUPER SEPTEMBER! Amanda Flower (also writing as Isabella Alan) has three novels releasing in September 2013. To celebrate, she is giving away an authentic Amish Quilt hand-stitched by Amish in Holmes County, Ohio.

*Enter to Win an Authentic Amish Quilt from author Amanda Flower! Click here to Enter!*

Follow Amanda on Social Media at: Facebook Twitter Goodreads Pinterest
Follow Amanda’s alter ego Isabella on Facebook