Fresh Blood: Sarah Skilton Discusses Why Mystery Elements are Vital in Non-Mystery Books

Okay, you twisted my arm. Confession: my upcoming debut novel, BRUISED (Abrams/Amulet Books) is not a mystery.*

However, it does contain mystery elements. I've come to believe every kind of book, no matter the style or genre, can benefit from the use of mystery techniques. That's because writing a page turner requires posing questions readers must want to get answers to.

Carrie Arcos' extraordinary Young Adult novel, OUT OF REACH (Simon Pulse, 2012), is about a teenage girl, Rachel, searching for her missing brother, a meth addict who has disappeared. The story isn't labeled a mystery, but readers are immediately wondering three things: Why did the brother run away? Where did he go? And most importantly, Will Rachel find him?

With only one clue to go on -- an anonymous email -- Rachel and her brother's friend, Tyler, set off on their search. The book is considered contemporary YA, and it contains excellent characters and backstory, but the mystery elements are what drive the plot.

Likewise, in Sarvenaz Tash's terrific middle grade adventure book THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST (Bloomsbury, 2012; out in paperback March 26), 11-year-old Goldenrod Moram has decided to draw a map of her town. While in the woods, she overhears a group of kids who are up to no good, and she needs to figure out what they're scheming or her younger brother could pay the price. Readers, too, will be curious about the gang (whose entertaining nicknames include Brains, Snot Shot, and Lint).

In my own BRUISED, a 16-year-old girl skilled in martial arts freezes up at an armed robbery and blames herself for not preventing a shooting. The incident is so upsetting that she buries part of it away so it can't hurt her. The main focus of the novel is her relationships -- with her parents, friends, martial arts instructor, and the boy who also witnessed the crime -- but readers will hopefully be compelled to discover what Imogen's missing memories are.

Using mystery elements in non-mystery books provides a feeling of suspense as well as a reason for a reader to commit to the story.

*How did my riff-raff self get invited to join Sleuths, Spies, and Alibis? The easy answer is that my second book, HIGH AND DRY, is an actual mystery.

Sarah Skilton lives in California with her magician husband and their young son. BRUISED received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and comes out March 5th, 2013, but you can enter to win Sarah's very last ARC (advance readers copy) at GoodReads right now!

If you live in L.A., consider attending Teen Author Night at LAPL.

What do Readers Expect from Mysteries and Thrillers?

 Last week I hosted a monthly Twitter chat with fellow members of the Apocalypsies (a group of 140+ kidlit authors debuting in 2012). Fellow Sleuths Spies & Alibis members Laura Ellen, Talia Vance, and F.T. Bradley were among the participants, weighing in our topic of mysteries and thrillers.

A lot of interesting points came out of this discussion. I've been mulling over two of them.

1. The distinction between mysteries and thrillers. Sometimes these terms get used interchangeably. For books that have elements of both genres (such as Laura Ellen's BLIND SPOT), using both terms to describe them is fine. Many books, though, fall firmly in one genre or another, and readers may be misled by the wrong label. For example, sometimes my book, TOKYO HEIST, is described as a thriller. While it has its share of danger and thrilling moments, I would call it a mystery. A puzzle drives the plot. In the Twitter chat, we defined mystery as a story that revolves around a puzzle to be solved, and a thriller as a story focused on immediate, pressing dangers. Both mysteries and thrillers have tension, but problem-solving drives the tension in mystery and action/danger (or psychological suspense) drives the tension in thrillers.

2. Readers' expectations of mysteries and thrillers. We talked a lot about Nancy Drew (I admit we weren't exactly kind to her) and how YA/MG mysteries today have changed from the classic sleuthing stories. Technology, some of us felt, was a big factor. As Kristen Kittscher pointed out on this blog a few weeks ago ("Murder, She Blogged"), technology has totally changed investigative work in real life and in fiction.

But maybe other things have changed too, raising our expectations for YA/MG mysteries and thrillers. As Talia mentioned, Nancy Drew didn't solve (or even have) her own problems; she solved other people's problems. We don't have a sense of her as a real person; one participant in the discussion couldn't even remember Nancy's boyfriend's name. (It's Ned).

It seems that it's no longer satisfying -- it may even be laughable -- to have a series with a character who just bounces from adventure to adventure. We now expect:

• More character depth
• More plot twists and turns
• More action
• More details
• Faster/better pacing
• Some degree of realism
• Emotional impact

In short: More.

Whew. Much as I tend to agree with all this, I find myself missing Nancy a little. Life seemed simpler then. Well, mystery writing did, anyway.

Are any of these criteria for modern-day mysteries at odds? Can we have "better pacing" and "more action" while still reaching for more character depth and realism than a Nancy Drew type of sleuth? Character development does sometimes get sacrificed a bit to service plot or pace in mystery -- can we really have it all?

YA author A.C. Gaughen suggested, towards the end of the Twitter chat, that "with more books, more authors, more competition, the bar gets raised." Readers don't just want a good mystery; they want "GOOD FICTION."

Are mysteries and/or thrillers harder to write than ever? Is the bar raising because there are so many being published? Do we really expect mysteries/thrillers to have it all these days? (Even in middle grade/young adult markets, where word counts tend to be shorter?) How can mystery/thriller writers overcome the potential paralysis of trying to write the mystery/thriller that Has It All?

What do you think? What do you expect from YA/MG mysteries and/or thrillers? What would you like to see more of -- or less of?

[PS - Have you entered this week's great giveaway yet? No? There's still time to win a signed copy of the just-released DOUBLE VISION by our own F.T. Bradley! Check out her great interview with W.H. Beck from Tuesday; the contest entry form is right below it. Oh - and how cool is it to have two initials before your last name? It just occurred to me that F.T. and two other blog members do this. I think I'm gong to declare a Double Initial Day in honor of DOUBLE VISION!]

D.C. Renn (aka Diana Renn) was born in Seattle and now lives outside of Boston with her husband and son. TOKYO HEIST (Viking/Penguin, published June 2012) is her first novel.

Breaking News: Peter Abrahams Interview and ARC Giveaway

Next week is an exciting one here at Sleuths Spies & Alibis. Bestselling novelist Peter Abrahams faces questioning from our detectives in the Interrogation Room! You can read the transcript of our interview on Wednesday, January 18, and learn some of his writing secrets. We're also giving away a signed ARC of his brand new novel, Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood Street. (The novel releases January 19. It's a great blend of magic + mystery, and a wonderful start to a planned series of middle grade novels; check it out!) Our signed ARC contest runs January 16-23.

January 16-23 is also the week of the YAmazing Race -- a whirlwind blog hop featuring over 50 young adult and middle grade authors whose books are debuting in 2012. Learn more about exciting new books, take a fun quiz, and enter to win prize packages. Two of our detectives, Diana Renn and Elisa Ludwig, are participating authors. Swing by the Apocalypsies site for more details.