A
bout the book: After surviving a pirate attack in the tropics, teens Chase and Mackenzie escape to an exclusive resort in the Arctic Circle. But just after they arrive, suspicious accidents begin to occur. It seems like someone’s trying to scare away the guests. When the accidents turn deadly, it’s up to the girls to figure out whodunit … before they become the next victims. This holiday’s going to be killer!
bout the book: After surviving a pirate attack in the tropics, teens Chase and Mackenzie escape to an exclusive resort in the Arctic Circle. But just after they arrive, suspicious accidents begin to occur. It seems like someone’s trying to scare away the guests. When the accidents turn deadly, it’s up to the girls to figure out whodunit … before they become the next victims. This holiday’s going to be killer! —
SARA GRANT ON CHASING DANGER
The idea
The idea for this Chasing Danger mystery was inspired by my trip to a real ice hotel in 2009. From the moment I arrived, I knew that this would be a great location for murder and mayhem. (Yeah, that is what I think about when on holiday, but only the fictional kind.) When I started planning the book, I simply grabbed a big pad of Post-it notes and started writing all the amazing things I experienced and imagined could happen at this snowy, secluded spot in the Arctic Circle: runaway dog sleds, dead bodies in blocks of ice, getting lost in a blizzard, an amazing Northern Lights show, falling through the ice of a not-so-frozen lake, snowmobile chases, etc…The book really wrote itself.
My process
Because this is a second book in a series, I already know my main characters – Chase, Mackenzie and Ariadne – inside and out. I know how they will react and also how I want to develop the mega-story that bridges the first four books I’ve outlined for Chasing Danger. I’m a planner. I want my mysteries to have lots of twists, turns and surprises, and to do that, I need to plan out everything in advance. I plot all the Post-it notes from my brainstorming on a
timeline. Then I fill in any gaps and connect all the dots. This is usually a page or two of bullet points. Next I break the action down chapter-by-chapter. I carefully chart the rollercoaster of action and surprises. I wrote a 9,000 word storyline for Mystery at the Ice Hotel. At this stage I look for how I’ve scattered my clues and hints. I double-check my pace and make sure I’ve tied up all my plots and subplots. When I’m satisfied with the storyline, I send it to my editor. She will give me feedback on the big picture at this point. Once we are both happy, I’ll start writing the book.
The story isn’t set in stone. As I write, it evolves and changes from the original storyline. I always write several drafts before I send it to my editor again. The great thing about a series is that by the end of writing one book I already have loads of ideas for the next. And one of the fun things about Chasing Danger is that I reveal the location for the next adventure at the end of the current book. And luckily for me, there are endless exotic locations for Chase, Mackenzie and me to explore.
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About the author: Sara writes and edits fiction for children and teens. Her new series Chasi
ng Danger is an action-adventure series for tweens. Dark Parties, her first young adult novel, won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite Award for Europe. As a freelance editor of series fiction, she has worked on twelve different series and edited nearly 100 books. Sara was born and raised in Washington, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University with degrees in journalism and psychology, and later she earned a master’s degree in creative and life writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She lives in London. http://www.sara-grant.com
ng Danger is an action-adventure series for tweens. Dark Parties, her first young adult novel, won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite Award for Europe. As a freelance editor of series fiction, she has worked on twelve different series and edited nearly 100 books. Sara was born and raised in Washington, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University with degrees in journalism and psychology, and later she earned a master’s degree in creative and life writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She lives in London. http://www.sara-grant.com
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