Thank you to everyone who dropped by during the A to Z Challenge. My theme this year was Murder Most Foul, which meant that I was sharing an episode a day of my murder mystery, The Case of the Cursed House, or rather the bare bones of it.
Everyday, I revealed more about my developing Cozy Mystery: descriptions of scenes; character details; locations; clues to the mystery. And, at the end of each post, I gave everyone a chance to vote on whodunnit. So, I thought I'd share some of the results of the votes, revealing no details on who the murderer actually is...
I excluded any character who got 1 vote or less, and, as you can see, Alice Rigden, the superstitious housekeeper, was a strong contender early on and maintained her lead, with Lord Michael, the charming, but snooty Lord of the Manor, and Bethany Mortby, possibly the spurned ex, began to catch up later in the plot. This kind of info is going to be really useful to me for when I turn the notes into the full novel, because it's giving me hints as to whether I'm giving away too many clues or not enough, so thanks to everyone who popped by and voted.
All parts of the mystery are linked below if you want to go back and read it (I'm not revealing here whodunnit, so it'll still be a surprise ;P):
A to Z Reflections
This year I found the A to Z tougher than previous years, and there was but one reason - I didn't finish my posts before the start of the A to Z, which meant I was trotting to keep up. I had finished my posts for FB3X Drabblerotic, which was a minor mercy, but I dropped the ball on our other blog, the Wittegen Press posts, so I have to give a BIG THANK YOU to my sis, Tasha, who picked up that ball and did all but 2 of the Literary Smackdown posts.
Because I was running to keep up, this year was lot more stressful than others and I didn't get round as many blogs as I would have liked, but the ones I did are below. It was still a lot of fun, I made some new friends and rejoined some old! I never quite know which blogs are going to catch my attention, which ones I'll be going back to day after day, but there are always some, and there are also the lovely ones that I just popped by, but that didn't make me enjoy them any less.
The A to Z is a source of myriad wonders :).
A to Z Shout Out!
This year I found the A to Z tougher than previous years, and there was but one reason - I didn't finish my posts before the start of the A to Z, which meant I was trotting to keep up. I had finished my posts for FB3X Drabblerotic, which was a minor mercy, but I dropped the ball on our other blog, the Wittegen Press posts, so I have to give a BIG THANK YOU to my sis, Tasha, who picked up that ball and did all but 2 of the Literary Smackdown posts.
Because I was running to keep up, this year was lot more stressful than others and I didn't get round as many blogs as I would have liked, but the ones I did are below. It was still a lot of fun, I made some new friends and rejoined some old! I never quite know which blogs are going to catch my attention, which ones I'll be going back to day after day, but there are always some, and there are also the lovely ones that I just popped by, but that didn't make me enjoy them any less.
The A to Z is a source of myriad wonders :).
A to Z Shout Out!
I had great fun bouncing around blogs this year. I kept a list of those I visited so I'd like to share with you some of the blogs I have enjoyed:
| Curling Stones for Lego People | Mars | Glass Beading Journey | http://www.curlingstonesforlegopeople.com/ |
| The Cynical Sailor | Ellen & Scott | Sailing Nancy Drew Mystery | http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Yolanda Renee | Yolanda Renee | Murder and Obsession | http://yolandarenee.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Jingle Jangle Jungle | Mary Burris | Women in Music | http://www.jinglejanglejungle.net/ |
| Patricia Lynne Author | Patricia Lynne | Phobias | http://www.patricialynne.com/ |
| The Old Shelter | Sarah Zama | Jazz Age | http://theoldshelter.com/ |
| Multicolored Diary | Zalka Csenge Virág | Diversity in Folk | http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Stephanie Faris | Stephanie Faris | Unsolved Mysteries | http://stephie5741.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Djinnia and the English Language | Djinnia | Ghost and monsters | http://djinniaandtheenglishlanguage.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Megan Morgan Author | Megan Morgan | Awful Romance | https://meganmorganauthor.com/2016/03/21/the-a-to-z-challenge-theme-reveal/ |
| Murderous Imaginings | Yolanda Renee | Serial Killers | http://murderousimaginings.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Mop Dog | Zalka Csenge Virág | Crazy Hungarian Cartoons | http://hungarykum.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| The Quiet Writer | RachelJWalkley | Castles | http://thequietwriter.com/ |
| Making Life An Art | Gail Park | Explaining British Things | https://seezooeyrun.wordpress.com/ |
| Deena's Days | Deena | The 80's | http://deenasdays.com/ |
| A Bench with A View | Betty | Sights & Sites of Arizona | http://viewsfrombenches.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Darla M Sands | Darla M Sands | Music | http://darlamsands.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Poetry Penned in Moondust | Leslie Moon | Poetry | http://moondustwriter.com/2016/04/05/mans-best-friend-atozchallenge-haiku/ |
| Flash Fiction | Lisa Vooght | A Slightly Fictionalized Memoir | http://lisavooght.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Back Porchervations | LuAnn Bradley | New versions of songs | http://backporchervations.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin | Stepheny Houghtlin | Historic Hotels | http://stephenyhoughtlin.com/ |
| The Faux Fountain Pen | Sarah Foster | Revision | http://thefauxfountainpen.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| A Creative Mind | Dianne Riggins | Writing | http://a-creative-mind.com/ |
| My Life in Retirement | Denise | Why book is on shelf | http://msdeniseh553.blogspot.co.uk/ |
| What Are They | J Lenni Dorner | Fiction Tips | http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com/ |
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I never got around to Wittegen Press as much as I wanted for the challenge. It was a theme I thought was cool too. I'll have to try to remember to visit later. I just had so many blogs during the challenge I wanted to read. Next year, I think we all need Time Turners or TARDISes for it. LOL
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean! We all need 3 days for every one :)
DeleteSophie, I enjoyed your challenge a lor (well, I'm a mystery reader and fan, guess what ;-) )
ReplyDeleteI think your challenge was super. But I hear you, I had a hard time in April for family matters and my challenge wasn't the one I'd planned either, but hey, as you say, it's always great fun.
Thanks for sharing, it was a great ride!
Thanks for keeping up with the mystery - I'm glad you enjoyed it :) I had fun with your blog too.
DeleteThank you so much for the mention! Again, I'm really sorry you fell ill during the challenge. It almost makes one want to start writing now for next year. I had a difficult time following the mystery, and now that I know you havent revealed the whodunnit, I look forward to a book coming out so I can read it in full :)
ReplyDeleteMary
Jingle Jangle Jungle
I know what you mean about wanting to start for next year! The year I felt most in control, I started planning the previous August :)
DeleteHi Sophie - hope you're feeling better - tasha covered your tracks well.
ReplyDeleteLove the way you've set out the sites you've visited too ... and congratulations on finishing - by fair means or sisterly help ... cheers and take care - Hilary
She did, didn't she :)
DeleteHope to see you in next year's A to Z!
Thanks for the shout-out! There are a number of interesting blogs on your list that I missed during the challenge. Looking forward to checking them out. I really enjoyed your theme - it was a lot of fun. Can't wait to see what you come up with next year :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by so regularly - every year is a new adventure :)
DeleteThank you for the mention. It's been a fantastic year for the challenge and worth all the effort.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a good year :)
DeleteSophie I don't think I came across your blog this time but what a fantastic idea for your theme - will be stealing :)
ReplyDeleteI found it really fun theme to do this year - although I had to keep biting my tongue and not giving away more clues than were in the text ;P
DeleteThanks for the shout out :) You had a very interesting theme; I didn't read them all but I like all you all pulled it together and the work it took to lay them out and organize them!
ReplyDeletebetty
Thanks for popping by when you did, and I enjoyed popping in and out of your theme as well :)
DeleteWell you must have guessed by now that I LOVED your theme! It was so well done and really interesting to see your votes graph, I did wonder how the voting was going and often clicked on the results button after I voted to see what others thought.
ReplyDeleteSorry you were ill, that sucks, but Tasha obviously did a grand job, I got to Wittengen less times than I intended as I had too many "everyday" blogs on my list for the time I had to spend!
I will definitely be interested in reading your novel version of this in the future!
Mars xx
@TrollbeadBlog from
Curling Stones for Lego People
Thank you, as a writer I am grinning all over my face that your enjoyed it so much :)
DeleteI'll be posting updates as I get on with the novel :)
I love your book covers, you should send me some information... I would love you feature you in the book section and also the cover the books too, not just the covers. Wow I think that makes sense... well maybe.
ReplyDeleteWe made it...Hope you had a great time, thank you for your Reflection!
Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2016]
T-SHIRTS, MUGS, FREE MAGAZINE... OH MY!
HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?
Thank you, yes, we should touch base. :)
DeleteThat's one of the main things I love about this challenge - that moment when you visit a new blog and just click with it and know you are going to love every post!
ReplyDeleteDebbie
That is so good, isn't it! There are just some posts you don't want to miss :) But I also love the ones where I can dip in and out as well.
DeleteHi Sophie. I didn't discover your blog during the A-Z but you were mentioned during the Reflections post and I'm very interested in reading your Murder Most Foul theme. I love a good mystery and The Case of the Cursed House sounds great. I'm glad to have discovered you now!
ReplyDeleteMichele at Angels Bark
Hi :) Nice to meet you :)
Delete