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Shadow of the Gypsy a Mystery, Thriller by Shelly Frome ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway
Shadow of the Gypsy
by Shelly Frome
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Only a few weeks more and he'd begin anew, return to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Molly (if she'd have him) and, at long last, live a normal life.
After all, it was a matter of record that Zharko had been deported well over a year ago. The shadowy form John had glimpsed yesterday at the lake was only that --- a hazy shadow under the eaves of the activities building. It stood to reason his old nemesis was still ensconced overseas in Bucharest or thereabouts well out of the way.
And no matter where he was, he wouldn't travel south over eight hundred miles to track Josh down. Surely that couldn't be, not now, not after all this.
Quickly, he was outside in the snow again, searching frantically for the Christmas present. Trudging through the stands of evergreens in his slippers, shivering so hard he couldn’t stand it, frozen crusted pine combs under foot till he spotted the van in a clearing. There were shouts and threats. There was a bloodcurdling scream. He thrust himself forward to see, though for the life of him he didn’t want to see, didn’t want to ever know. A dagger flashed in the moonlight. Zharko’s hand raised up and plummeted down over and over, finally cutting off the screaming for good.
Spinning around, Josh scurried over the pine combs and raced off, shaking with fear and cold, searching for the Christmas present. Longing to join the kids beyond the woods, snug inside, embraced by their mothers and the warmth of the hearth, glistening presents dangling under the tree laced with tinsel and garlands of spangled light.
He thrashed around seeking this first-ever Christmas present that would make everything nice but found only his pillow and woke with a start. He sat up. There was no going back to sleep opting for dreamy images of walking to school with Molly as the weather turned to spring, buttercups lining the path. No way to erase anything. He was left with the same chill again from this morning turning into an ache that had no name.
An ache it was useless to gloss over.
Characters who hijack the story vs. keeping a firm grip
by Shelly Frome
At first glance, the title of this piece was taken from someone who apparently was opting for the safe and predictable. A person in favor of plot-driven formulas and opposed to chancy character driven narratives. An issue that reminds me of something a dean at the Yale School of Drama once told me: “By and large, Americans seek the quick fix. Some sure-fire formula that will get them to the head of the pack or at least enable them to keep up in the belief the race is to the swift.”
On the other hand, looking at it from an organic perspective, a noted creative writing instructor at a leading Midwestern college always tells his charges that the only way to write a meaningful novel is to do your damnedest not to write. When some prized assumption no longer holds water, or some imaginary quest takes hold, or some longing for something you’ve lost or never had just won’t let go—if you wake up yelling “I can’t take it anymore, I have to work his out!”—only at that point are you ready to begin.
Now, at last, it’s time to do some groundwork, to make sure you’re on firm footing. The famed British crime writer PD James always began with the setting. Spent weeks if not months looking for a provocative place like a secluded country hospital or laboratory harboring secrets where all kinds of mischief could conceivably take place. Next, she sent her prime character, the poet and Scotland Yard detective Adam Dalgliesh into the fray at the advent of some great disturbance, never taking for granted how anyone was going to respond. After all, this surely was not just another day. Once she had the place and the life firmly in place before the inciting incident, and Dalgliesh’s backstory at this particular moment, then and only then was she able to pencil in a possible progression of events. All of it subject to change, all dependent on the push and pull of events and hitherto unknown response patterns, even subject to a wintry storm closing in during one escapade.
And this is only one of hundreds of possible approaches within dozens of genres and literary pursuits if the work is ever going to become an honest venture.
Then again, if you just want to fit in and don’t wish to go to all this trouble, you can always latch onto some readymade format and avoid those pesky unpredictable human beings.
Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at UConn, a former professional actor, and a writer of crime novels and books on theater and film. He also is a features writer for Gannett Publications. His fiction includes Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Lilac Moon, Twilight of theDrifter, Tinseltown Riff,Murder Run, Moon Games,The Secluded Village Murders and Miranda and the D-Day Caper. Among his works of non-fiction are The Actors Studio: A History, a guide to playwriting and one on screenwriting,Shadow of the Gypsy is his latest foray into the world of crime and the amateur sleuth. He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
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