I, on the other hand, was interested in developing a lighter mystery series where the sleuth was a non-pro, but still skilled at working in a tough town. I needed her to be independent of an office, mobile enough to move around the city. An event planner really fit the bill. The series, after all, focuses on those living on the edge of the Hollywood experience. In addition, I was thinking of story possibilities.
Party planners go everywhere.
I seem to write. So for those reasons, plus the additional joys of writing sensuously about food, I gave Maddie a culinary profession. I'd been reading mostly the classics, Christie and Sayers, and also many current big names, Hillerman, Francis, Grafton and Paretsky. I was a little shocked to later discover so many fine contemporary writers doing amateur sleuth series, and how many include food. By the end of the 90's, it had become increasingly difficult to sell any type of mystery series, as so many had gotten their start in the earlier part of the decade.