After putting out four books this year, as well as a novella, I was happy that an unexpected financial windfall allowed me to get away for a seventeen-day business-slash vacation in Europe. Last time I wrote here,  I was on my way to London, Cologne, and Paris. The business that brought me there was a first-ever production of my musical, Pride and Prejudice, in London. It went fabulously well, with sell-out crowds and a few actors who, in my humble opinion, was Broadway worthy.

Besides the musical, I was able to hang out in my favorite museums (The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, The British Museum, the Tate Modern, and the Natural History Museum, all in London); and discover a couple of new museums as well (including the Imperial War Museums in London, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and the Roman-Germanic Museum in Cologne)

Still, with deadlines on two books looming, my mind was a constant whirl of plotting and scheming.

Okay, I admit it: not all of my ideas dealt with the books which will soon be due, but with new books I’d love to write.

For example…

1. Murder in the Dom Cathedral
Of course, this book would take place in December, during Cologne’s renowned Chirstkindlmarkts, which are located in and around the plaza surrounding the baroque Dom Cathedral, which was built over ancient Roman ruins.  Is it gluwein, or blood, that covers the priest? And whos 75-year-old corpse was found among the old bones uncovered during  the anthropological dig that also revealed a priceless jeweled scabbard?


2. Murder in the Musée d’Orsay
What with its collection of grand Impressionist paintings and large clock faces, this old train station-turned-museum is a perfect setting for mayhem. What if a beautiful art thief pulls off the robbery of a Monet, but gets nailed for a murder she didn’t commit, just because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time? Where was the body found? Stopping the clock, of course!

3. Murder in Trafalgar Square
This famous gathering spot has been around for centuries is steps from the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, as well as St. Martin in the Fields Cathedral,  and  my favorite British pub of all time: The Chandos, which is also a theater hang for patrons and actors alike.  I could envision a plot with a missing painting, a dead thespian, and clues that are dropped by those who hang in the always late-night party taking place on the second floor of The Chandos.

When you travel, do plots pop out at you? Are you inspired enough to hit the keyboard, or rummage through the shelves of your local bookstore, to scratch your itch for a great yarn, in a great setting? If so, tell me about it.

– Josie

 

Now tell me: which of these stories would you be interested in  reading, and why?
Those who comment by Friday December 14th, at midnight, will get a chance for me to gift them an Amazon Kindle or BN.com Nook copy of Book three of The Housewife Assassin series, Killer Christmas Tips (Please note: This book is only available via Amazon.com and BN.com)