How to develop your storylines with Author Stacy Wilder

Speaker A: Welcome to Enterprise Radio, the signature show of the Enterprise Podcast Network, featuring some of the most prominent business professionals in the world today. And now your host, Eric Dye.

Speaker B: This is Eric Dye. And once again, welcome to Enterprise Radio, a part of epn, the Enterprise Podcast Network. Today we are joined by Stacy Wilder. She has traveled to six out of seven continents, but her favorite place in the world is is Charleston, South Carolina. Books have shaped her life and her travels. Her love of mysteries began with Nancy Drew and Stacy's debut novel, Charleston Conundrum, and is the first in the Liz Adams mystery series. And looking forward to the conversation. And Stacy, thanks for joining us here today.

Speaker C: Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker B: You are more than welcome and a pleasure, certainly all mine. So tell me, walk me through your story, how you started to. How you got to where you are today. Let's kick it off with that.

Speaker C: Oh, gosh. Well, for years, my life revolved around spreadsheets, budgets, HR policies and procedures. But there was a creative muse inside of me that refused to remain quiet. Uh, my college major originally was journalism, but I switched to a more practical business degree and then spent years in the corporate world working in both accounting and human resources. I used my left brain, a whole bunch to the point of exhaustion. And my right brain, the creative side, was screaming to be heard. And that's when I found, um, a book written by Julia Cameron called the Artist's Way. And I joined a small group of fellow creatives, and we worked through that book. Julia recommends journaling every morning. And as I journaled, the ideas bubbled up. So not only do I write mysteries, I also dabble in poetry and children's stories. And the ideas would just bubble up as I journaled on the pages. And as you mentioned, I've always loved to read, and I've always loved Nancy Drew. Um, but I also admired my grandfather's storytelling abilities. And I had no idea that I had that same passion burning inside of me. And once I started writing, I discovered the joy of creating characters and watching their stories come alive. And, um, a bonus for me is connecting with other avid readers and other authors. I found the author community to be very supportive. And Charleston Conundrum, the first book in the Liz Adams mystery series, took me nearly 20 years to write, but I finally finished committing to finishing it, and it was published in 2021. And now I'm working on book number six, Colorado Conundrum.

Speaker B: Quite interesting. And all these years you had that book inside of you, and you're already on your sixth. You gotta love it. Tell me about the series and how you develop your storylines. I'm sure that would be interesting as well.

Speaker C: As much as I've tried to plot out the stories, I'm what, um, the writing community calls a panster. I usually start with a general idea. And when I came up with the idea for Charleston Conundrum, I actually had ideas for the next two stories in my mind, just at a high level. And with a series, you kind of always have to be thinking ahead. But I usually start with a general idea of the plot and then I just flesh it out as I type. My first draft tends to be heavy on dialogue with the characters pretty much dictating much of the story. And after I've written a scene or a few pages, I'll circle back and edit, adding more descriptions and depth and emotions and, um, you know, more about the setting. Since my books are set in real locations, I also do a lot of research. Um, Charleston is obviously set in Charleston, South Carolina. I have a book that's set, uh, in on the island of Grand Cayman. One Carmel Conundrum is at. In Carmel by the Sea, California and Colorado Conundrum is, um, in Colorado Springs. That's the one I'm currently working on. So I have to, I have to get the details right. And I also do a lot of research when I'm writing and I get stuck and I want to describe what character is wearing. Uh, I'll look up images online or, um, you know, if I'm, I'm. I have recipes in the book, so if I want to, you know, look up different versions of recipes. So I did a lot of research. My dual monitors also come in handy for research and edits. I couldn't live without those. And, um, often I live in Houston, Texas, where we have quite the traffic. And often while sitting in Houston traffic, I'll hear a song on the radio and I have playlists in the books and I'll go, oh, that'd be a good one for Colorado Conundrum. Or that would be a good one for Coastal Conundrum, which is the one I have planned after that. And as soon as I get to my destination, I'll write it down on post. Its that I keep in my purse. And I've also been known to jot down ideas on cocktail napkins and m. Another thing that I find useful is I create a. Especially since I'm writing a series, I create a binder for each story. And inside the binder are character bios, timelines, index cards, torn out pages from my journal Post its. And of course, those cocktail napkins.

Speaker B: You gotta love it. I love all the details, the vivid picture, the, the music playlist. I think that is a fabulous idea. And all these great locations. Quite interesting and certainly whetting the appetite. Uh, to hear more, what inspired you to create the character, by the way of private investigator Liz Adams and her trusty sidekick Duke?

Speaker C: I'm drawn to strong and clever female sleuths. So we talked about Nancy Drew. I also love, uh, Kenzie Mahone and, uh, Sue Grafton's Alphabet series. And Alexander McCall Smith is another cozy mystery writer. And his character Precious, who investigates, um, crimes in Africa, is a, um, strong, clever woman. Private investigator Liz Adams is also a magnet for trouble. And she's a bit of a foodie and a fashionista. And, um, you mentioned her trusty sidekick Duke. I also enjoy stories with an animal sidekick. And Duke is a Labrador retriever. And our own lab was the inspiration for Duke. So Duke can detect when people are lying, which comes in handy when people are. When Liz is trying to solve a case. And whenever someone lies, he yields. And although Eve can't detect when people are lying, our lab, she is a communicator. She has the words I love you for her breakfast. And she also has an amazing nose. She knows whenever a treat is anywhere within, um, 10ft. Our family has had Labradors for 30 plus years, and they're so full of personality. I really hope that my love for the breed bleeds through the pages. And I do donate part of the proceeds from the books to organizations that help the homeless, both people and pets, including Texas Sporting Breed Rescue, which is where we adopted Eve. And originally, Duke was just Liz's companion. So when I first wrote Charleston Conundrum, Duke was just along for the ride. And then I entered a contest and the judge commented that he needed a purpose beyond just looking cute on the COVID And around that time, I watched the documentary Super Power Dogs and I thought, started thinking about all the different abilities canines have. And that's when I decided that true Duke was going to be a true sniffing Labrador who would help Liz solve the case. And readers really enjoy that unique twist.

Speaker B: So much to love about all this, certainly appreciate it, and certainly, uh, have enjoyed your speaking on it as well. Today we're speaking with author Stacy Wilder and author of her debut novel, Charleston Conundrum, and is the first in the Liz Adams mystery series. She's joined us here today on Enterprise Radio, a part of epn, the Enterprise Podcast network. Now also, Stacy, have you ever incorporated something that happened to you in real life, into any of your novels?

Speaker C: I have both, uh, things that have happened to me and real people in real places. So in A Camping Conundrum, the, um, last book that came out, Liz is reluctant to go camping because of a terrifying experience she had as a child. And that story was inspired by something that actually happened to me. When I was 10 years old. I was on a Girl scout camping trip in Audubon park in New Orleans, and two men attempted to rob our cabin. They had stocking caps over their heads. Um, and since this was before cell phones, our counselors had to call the police from a payphone. And needless to say, it made an impression and scared me to death. Uh, for the novel, I adapted the event by moving it to a campground in Poinsett Park, South Carolina, and where Liz and her husband Brad and their dog Duke are taking, um, a camping trip and dramatize the details. But the fear Liz deals is very real because that's also what I experienced. And to this day, I'm not much of a camper, which makes writing a camping conundrum especially personal. And I mentioned I've also fictionalized some real life people and places in the stories. I've had friends that have asked to be in the stories. And then for A Camping Conundrum, I actually moved some local Houston business businesses to Sumter, South Carolina, which is close to the campground.

Speaker B: How about that? Yeah, I would have added that into the novel and into the series as well. Even that horrible event that took place there. So well done and a good decision, I thought as well. Uh, tell me, also looking at the business side here, how do you handle the business side of being an author? I'm sure there are quite a few challenges.

Speaker C: That's a great question. Um, I do have that business background. I, um, do consulting, human resource and accounting consulting as well these days. And I treat my author career as a small business. I'm a bit of an Excel nerd and I track my revenue, expenses and sales in a spreadsheet. And I'm also self published. So I have, I enjoy, really enjoy having a strong team of individuals who help me in the production of the stories. My cover designer is amazing. Um, I have multiple editors throughout the process, Developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading. I also have beta readers. So, um, readers who just love reading stories and providing feedback in the early stages. And then I recently hired a publicist to assist with the marketing end of it, which is, which is challenging. Um, and I do outsource tasks where specialists can do them better than I can, which allows me to focus on that next book. And publishing today involves so much, including learning lots of different softwares, you know, managing a website, maintaining a social media presence, and constantly experimenting with new marketing strategies. I love to learn, so I also enjoy that part of it, even though it's a lot to juggle. But at the end of the day, nothing beats the joy of putting that book out there and then hearing from a reader who really enjoyed the story. That just makes my day. That's the business side of it.

Speaker B: Well, Stacy, we can't thank you enough for joining us here today. I think this sounds like a must read and you're certainly passionate about what you're doing and certainly is intriguing as well. No doubt about that. Where can listeners learn more about you? And tap into the Liz Adams mystery series and especially your debut novel, Charleston Conundrum?

Speaker C: If listeners would like to connect with me, they can Visit my website, www.storystacy.com or I'm also on Facebook and Instagram and of course Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Uh, you can find me those places as well.

Speaker B: And of course listeners, as always, you can pick up that same link within the show notes of this broadcast for your convenience at any time. Stacy, all the best and thanks so much for joining us here today on Enterprise Radio. Certainly wish you all the best.

Speaker C: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker B: And you're certainly more than welcome. Again, we've been visiting with author Stacy Wilder and author of her debut novel Charleston Conundrum and is the first in the list Liz Adams mystery series. And for further details visit storystacy.com and that wraps up another episode of Enterprise Radio, working in association with the Author Channel. We hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as we did. If you have any thoughts, questions or just want to say hello, we'd love to hear from you. And remember, you can always catch up on previous episodes@epodcastnetwork.com and stay connected with with us on social media. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and exit ePodcast Network to join the EPN community. And again, a big thank you to our guest, Stacy Wilder for sharing her wisdom and experiences. And of course, thank you dear listeners, for tuning in. Your support means everything to us. And before we say goodbye again, don't forget to subscribe@epodcastnetwork.com or, uh, wherever you get your podcast rate and leave a review. Your feedback helps us improve and brings more amazing content to your ears. And a quick reminder that new episodes go out every day. So stay curious, stay inspired, and until next time, this is Eric Dye signing off from Enterprise Radio. Take care and we'll catch you on the airwaves real soon.

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