Using Leap Year in a Story

Use Leap Year in a Story

I’m posting this a week early because next week, I’ll have a post for A Storm of Doubts, which launches on March 1. Nothing else on the calendar is quite like Leap Year and Leap Day. So using Leap Year in a story should be as unique as the concept itself.

Speculative Fiction

Such an unusual day seems ready-made for inspiring speculative fiction. In the thirteen-book, middle-grade series, The Notebook of Doom by Troy Cummings, Alexander Bopp’s Leap Day birthday proves pivotal to the plot as he and his elementary school friends battle monsters in their hometown. The first book starts with Alexander moving to Stermont right around his birthday. The importance of his birthday isn’t revealed until the last book. Mr.Cummings uses this plot point cleverly and brings a cohesion to his series that I don’t always find in middle-grade books. The Notebook of Doom is a lot of fun for second and third-grade readers.

The rarity of Leap Year and Leap Day should signal something rare for the characters and plots of speculative fiction. Perhaps a character discovers her special power on February 29th and is at her most powerful on that day. Or a particular magical phenomenon only occurs on February 29th or during the Leap Year, and various parties try to take control of it.

To give a story an Indian-Jones flavor, two groups, one good and one evil, are attempting to discover some powerful object that is only accessible on February 29th. Once they find it, they must use it during the Leap Year. After the year is finished, the object becomes dormant.

Mystery

I’ve encountered two stories in which leap day was a crucial clue. In one short story, of which I can’t recall the title, an old diary is proved to be a fraud because the person who supposedly kept it had an entry for February 29th, 1900. Leap Day occurs at the turn of the century every 400 years. 1600 and 2000 had Leap Days, but not 1700, 1800, and 1900,

In a radio episode of “The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” from the 1940’s, a Scottish nobleman waits for his inheritance, which will happen on his twenty-first birthday. Because he was born on Leap Day, he is 84 years old but has only had twenty actual birthdays. A key plot point, again, is the fact that 1900 did not have February 29th. The nobleman must wait until 1904 to celebrate his twenty-first birthday.

Another idea for a mystery is to write about greedy relatives contesting the will of a wealthy woman because she instructs her lawyers not to make its contents known until the next Leap Day. Why the condition? A relative plays detective to uncover the answer.

Or a small town had a notorious murder committed on February 29th. Legend has it that the ghost returns every four years. The town’s tiny police force is strained to the limit dealing with an invasion of ghost hunters. When one ghost hunter turns up dead, the cops have to figure out if there’s a connection between the old murder and the new one.

Other Genres

In a romance, a couple meets on Leap Day. Events and their own flaws tear them apart, but on the next February 29th, they have a chance to reunite. Another idea is for a couple who met on Leap Day to hold a special celebration every four years, and the story charts the development of their relationship on those days.

For a family drama, a tragedy on Leap Day still haunts the survivors years later. On another Leap Day, a character somehow brings peace to the family so they can move on with their lives. Perhaps the family had a misconception about the tragedy.

For more ideas on how to February can inspire your writing, check out this post. 

How can you use Leap Year or Leap Day in a story?

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Write an Awkward Romantic Scene

Write an Awkward Romantic Scene

I fell in love with this photo because it seems to capture the agony of first attraction in teens. Both teens look happy. But are the smiles happy or strained? Maybe nervous. Today’s prompt is to write an awkward romantic scene from the viewpoint of one of the teens in the photo. Here’s mine, written from the viewpoint of the boy.

Why is Ava walking so close to me? She must like me. Or the street is too narrow.

Mrs. Hall leads the class into the old house that’s now a museum. Two by two, kids squeeze through the skinny doorway.

I match steps with Ava.

The whole class contracts, getting ready to go inside.

It’s our turn.

Ava brushes her hand against mine and then her shoulder. She looks at me, smiling and pushing up her glasses.

Is that a happy smile? An apologetic one? A polite one to cover up how gross she feels because she’s rubbed shoulders with me?

I glance at her and away as Mrs. Hall starts to tell us why we’re all crammed into this dim entry hall.

Maybe Ava will think I think it’s gross to have touched her because I looked away so fast.

I turn, bumping into her, and our gazes lock.

For more characters prompts, click here.

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Writing about a Nice Family (That’s Not Boring)

Writing about a nice family that's not boring

I take issue with the opening line from Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way.” I think a happy family is happy in their own, unique way. But I understand Mr. Tolstoy’s point. Writing about a nice family that’s not boring can be more challenging than writing about a miserable one. Writers think they have more to work with when they create unhappy characters within a family. But as long as the kind members of a family aren’t perfect, and writers don’t shield them from unhappy events, nice families can prove just as interesting as unhappy families. I’ve learned this writing about the Malinowski family in my Rae Riley mystery series.

Not Every Member of a Family Always Gets Along

Even when they love each other. You know from your own experience that there are times when you’re in conflict with some relative. Creating believable conflicts between loving characters adds a lot of interest and tension to a story.

My amateur detective Rae Riley has recently found her father, Mal, and his family. Her father’s mother, sisters, and brother-in-law have been very warm and welcoming. But … in my latest mystery, A Storm of Doubts, Rae’s Aunt Carrie, Mal’s younger sister, is angry at her brother. She’s angry with him for keeping such a huge secret as fathering a child in high school. She’s angry because she feels like she doesn’t know him any more. But more than that, Carrie’s angry that there’s more to Rae’s story that she and Mal aren’t revealing.

So although the siblings love each other, they have a giant problem to resolve that is subplot for my mystery. And because of that love, neither one of them can go off the deep end and do something like spread lies about the other. They may hurt each other, but the family love keeps them trying to fix their problem, instead of sabotaging each other.

In my other Rae Riley mysteries, I’ve established the close relationships Rae is developing with Mal. But that doesn’t mean they can’t have conflict. A major plot line in A Storm of Doubts is Rae’s habit of feeling sorry for people in trouble and trying to help them. Since Mal is the sheriff and seen a lot of life’s ugly side as a cop, he wants her to stay safe.

Their conflict not only makes their relationship real, it also underlines their love. If Mal didn’t care for Rae, he’d let her help whoever she wanted and leave her to clean up her own mess when it goes wrong.

What happy family in fiction is your favorite?

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A Valentine’s Day Haiku

A Valentine's Day Haiku

A Valentine’s Day haiku seems an appropriate writing prompt for this week. I wrote this haiku for my husband. And I know I have six syllables instead of five in the last line. I tried it a couple different ways, and I think this line best conveys my meaning. If you’re inspired, please leave a haiku or any kind of Valentine’s Day poem in the comments.

A blaze, a whisper,

A sigh, a laugh, or a touch–

However you need love.

For more poetry prompts, click here.

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Another Author Interview with Bettie Boswell

Author Bettie Boswell

So pleased to share another author interview with Bettie Boswell. You can read her previous posts and interviews here. Today we’re discussing her latest novel, Hidden Names, her first novel in the romantic suspense genre.

You write in so many genres, for a wide variety of age groups. What made you decide to write a romantic suspense novel? 

Bettie: My reading interests have expanded over the last few years and I decided to give this genre a try. It is a fun challenge to add another level, beyond pure romance, to my novels. I like variety in my life and love to explore both new and favorite genres. Hidden Names is a big leap away from my picturebooks and chapter books, but the craft lessons I learned, regarding children’s books, taught about good writing techniques for any genre. Each genre has its own appeal and I find it refreshing to change things up.

What was different about writing romantic suspense compared to the other genres you’ve written in? 

Bettie: The biggest change was weaving in the imminent danger that would be lurking around the bend in every scene. I learned to leave more dramatic cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter during the process. The romance stayed at bay because of the danger involved. While there was plenty of interest between the couple all through the story, they needed a year between the end of the book and the prologue for an off-stage courting to occur before a proposal took place.

I like the idea of the couple dating a year before the proposal. It makes the story seem more realistic. Your main character makes jewelry. Is this something you know how to do or did you have to research this art? 

Bettie: I did some research, but I have always had an interest in gemstones, rocks, and minerals. As a young teen, my father and I joined a rock hound club. We went to shows where people talked about how to put rocks into jewelry. I still have a few purchased bracelets and necklaces in the bottom of my jewelry box from those events. One of my bookshelves contains some rocks that we collected.  We also went to digs and dug for particular types of stones. Some of our rocks came from a local creek bed. We were in Virginia at the time and there were beautiful quartz pieces in many colors, which inspired me to use white quartz in the jewelry for Hidden Names. There is also a verse in Revelation about names revealed in a white stone.

It’s so much fun to weave our own interests in our stories. Your plot also involves cybercriminals. Since I know you don’t have experience in that field, what research did you have to do for your novel?

Bettie: I didn’t do a lot of research in that area, other than being aware that it is something that is happening in our world. That part of the crime ring appeared off-stage, other than the threat of them wanting to get the information revealing their names before Amber and Agent Graham did. The real research occurred in remembering some electronic technology that my father taught me as a child. You’ll have to read the book to see how Amber uses that information to discover the message her father left behind after his death.

Nice teaser! Since this is the first book in your Forest Glen Suspense series, what can readers look forward to in the next books? 

Bettie: I am about one-third of the way through the next novel in the series. One of the characters in Hidden Nameswill have her own spin-off story that parallels a similar timeline. Winifred Grimsley’s adventures will take her in a whole different direction when the past confronts the future. Hidden Names hints that there are more people involved in the cybercrime ring and Winifred, aka Miss Freddie, is a witness to some of the earlier crimes at MAX Enterprises. Her testimony is vital to putting the criminals away. The enemy will seek to make sure she doesn’t testify now that she’s been located. Agent Kent Russell can’t believe she’s shown up to ruin his life again.

Sounds like the second book has a lot that romantic suspense fans will enjoy. And now for some personal questions … which do you prefer, tea or coffee?

Bettie:  I’m mostly a water drinker. 

Where is your favorite place to write? 

Bettie: I usually use the family computer in a room in our house that was originally a breakfast nook. Home computers were getting really popular when we moved into the home and that’s why it became the computer room, instead of a place to eat breakfast. I also have a small laptop that goes with me when going out of town and know I will have time to write.

What is your favorite season? 

Bettie: Fall and spring are both favorites because neither is too hot or too cold. The temperatures provide comfortable conditions to walk in the neighborhood or a park. Each season has colors that appeal to me. Blossoming flowers in the spring and colorful trees in the fall appeal to me as an artist. The air seems fresher and I can breathe in the scents of each season.

To read more author interviews, click here.

*****

BUY AT AMAZON

Amber’s father, Max, betrayed her and her mom when she was sixteen. Determined to make it on her own she refused all contact with the man and paid her way through college by making jewelry. Now, she finds it hard to let any man get close to her heart.

Months ago, he asked her to make some jewelry. She reluctantly agreed, needing the money he offered to set up her new venture, a studio for artists. Then he died, leaving a jeweled trail of trouble connected to a ring of cybercriminals. 

Against her will, Amber must team up with Federal Agent Graham to gather up clues and stay one step ahead of people who don’t care who they hurt to protect their secrets. 

The wounds of Graham’s past complicate their cross-country race as he becomes attracted to Amber. As they uncover the secrets her father left behind, they must learn to trust each other, before time runs out to defeat their nameless enemies, and find long-delayed healing.

*****

Bettie Boswell always loved to read and create stories for family and friends. In 2016 she began writing and illustrating stories to share with the world. She is now an author/illustrator of both children and Christian adult fiction and non-fiction books. Her efforts include contributions to educational works, leveled readers, magazine articles, and devotional and short story anthologies. Bettie has two grown sons, one daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, and a busy minister husband.  Follow Bettie on her website, Bettie Boswell Author/Illustrator.

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