Surely there's been some mistake! Wow, everyone, I really did not expect this at all ... . Thanks very, very much and I hope you enjoy reading the first of the Guy Marlborough stories as much as I still enjoy writing it!
The two AARs of which I'm most proud (and which have had the most interesting characters) have in fact been mysteries and thrillers of sorts:
Debts Unpaid and
The Hussite Lament. That's because I'm a huge mystery reader and writer; this morn I finished P.D. James' novel
The Murder Room. It was fascinating how powerfully psychological the portraits of the suspects were in her book, how deeply the author understood each of them. I may read it again; there was definitely a great deal to learn from in her writing, in the carefully planned histories and consistently sympathetic narrations of each person's life. This stood in contrast, though, with James' detective, who seems to be a sort of unfinished sketch.
Guy Marlborough as a character will be, I hope, more than that. I was originally going to throw my two favorite detectives (Columbo and Kinky Friedman) into a bowl and stir unenthusiastically, but the result's sort of gotten away from my control and is turning dangerously real. The same is true for most of the other characters, especially his wife, who was originally going to be a sort of comic punching bag. And regular readers will be frightened to know that we have yet to meet most of the suspects!
I've received a good deal of help and advice from several great writers on and off the forum, especially coz1. Thanks all, and to my regular readers who have already begun trying to unravel the story and characters!
Now for the fun part: I get to pick a successor ...
*starts his reading*