The Story Behind the Story of Her Hidden Grave: You Don't Have to Be Right to Write

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Funny but true: my editor gave me the titles for the books in this series before I’d written them, based on my synopses. And I—because I’m a genius—didn’t write them down and remembered the second one wrong.

When I sat down to write #2, I thought I was writing Her Silent Grave and that #3 would be Her Silent Cry. I was like, um, okay, I’ve got this, I need a grave in a very silent location.

Turns out it was Her HIDDEN Grave. My location was not hidden, although it was remote. Luckily, my editor greenlighted it.

Ultimately, this is one of my favorite books I’ve ever written. Go figure.

When Eric and I brainstormed it, we were trying to think of a great, atmospheric visual for the murder scene (which ended up being the opening chapter of the book). As soon as I had decided who the victims would be, which occurred mostly in the six months before I starting writing the series, the story wrote itself. Except for one hiccup. I had envisioned teenage boys, but my editor named the book HER Hidden Grave. So, I gender swapped one of my victims, and we were good to go.

Just goes to show that my Marine Cobra pilot brother’s old favorite expression is true: flexibility is the key to air power. Or writing crime fiction.

Catch Delany in Her Silent Bones, Her Hidden Grave, and Her Last Cry in ebook, audio, or print, here: https://amzn.to/3Th7dOy 

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