When local crime reporter Emma Fletcher is asked to help identify her friend’s blackmailer, she discovers a link to the recent death of a teacher at Allensbury Dance and Drama School.
Meanwhile, a police investigation is uncovering some dark secrets, and it is clear that someone is seeking revenge for past wrongs.
As Emma’s list of suspects continues to grow, the discovery of a second body puts her in the killer’s sights.
Warned off the investigation by the police for her own safety, Emma decides the best way to save herself is to find the culprit first.
With the help of fellow news reporter Dan Sullivan, Emma must work out who is targeting Allensbury Dance and Drama School before the killer strikes again.
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Guest Post
Casting A Deadly Portrayal
One benefit of writing a series is that you can cast the major roles easily. For instance, in the Allensbury Mysteries, you know that Dan, Ed and Emma (the news reporting team) will lead the way, with Detective Inspector Burton and Detective Shepherd attempting to keep them away from the case.
Don’t tell the others, but…Dan is my favourite. When I started writing, all my female characters came out two-dimensional and predictable – always pretty without realising it, super clever and marvellous in every way. That was very dull, so I made my protagonist a male. It was much easier giving Dan a flaw when he was ‘different’ to me. And he has some dangerous flaws, the most dangerous being ambition. And it gets him into trouble a lot.
Who plays the lead role in individual books is the big choice because it can change the tone of the book. Dan and Emma seem to fight among themselves who’s going to have that, but whoever wins, it has to be a legitimate choice. In A Deadly Portrayal, Emma takes centre stage, as she has the connection to the school and is the crime reporter.
Once I have that all sorted out, it’s time for the rest of the cast.
In A Deadly Portrayal, Natasha was possibly the character who developed most while I was writing. She started out as someone to whom things happened, but I soon discovered she was stronger and more active than I previously thought. The decision to make her black stemmed from the fact that, while researching character names for the male dancers, it was difficult to find an image of a black ballerina. Natasha was already developing into a strong character, but I felt this added an extra dimension; attitudes from other dancers suggest she has to fight prejudice as part of her competing for every role, but Natasha is more than up for it.
Travers McGovern was much easier. I wanted him to be good-looking in a way that appealed to younger women – the heart throb in a soap opera, albeit a little older these days, and with the charm to seduce them at will. He’s a truly objectionable character, as the reader discovers, and again, as the story developed during writing, he almost made me feel sick in places. If I’m feeling it, hopefully my readers will as well. His attitude toward those women is horrible, but sadly reflective of some places in the world, I feel.
In the supporting cast, you find a range of characters, some trying to help Natasha, some trying to hinder and, at times, it’s not clear who is on which side. This is important because I felt like even Natasha wasn’t sure.
What I usually find is that my setting almost becomes a character in itself. Allensbury Dance and Drama School is a closed environment, almost like a small town (or Agatha Christie-style country house). It’s also a competitive environment with big egos, which allows for incredible tension and jealousies to fester. And, of course, it eventually explodes when the pressure becomes too much.
Obviously, creating the villain is also great fun, but there’s too much of a risk of going into that now. Suffice to say, it’s important to make sure that your bad guy is believable and doesn’t tip into parody or become like a pantomime villain. Granted, in Allensbury Dance and Drama School, Aladdin’s villain Abanazar in full costume might actually fit in!
Suffice to say, your characters are the lifeblood of a novel. Without them, the story wouldn’t happen and often they’re the reason that the reader keeps turning the page. If you find a character you gel with, even if that’s the baddy, then you stay engaged with the story, desperate to see how it turns out.
I hope you feel that way about A Deadly Portrayal too.
LM Milford is a crime fiction author who writes the Allensbury mysteries, covering the exploits of local newspaper reporter Dan Sullivan.
A former newspaper journalist, Lynne’s experience has influenced her work, although her stories were never as exciting as Dan’s.
Lynne was born and brought up in the north-east of England, but now lives in Kent with her husband and far too many books. She loves cooking, baking and holidays in Spain. She’s partial to a good red wine and plates of cheese.
Social Media Links –
https://www.instagram.com/LMmilford
Bluesky – @lmmilford.bsky.social
