This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Please join me in welcoming back author T. C. Lotempio to Salty Inspirations! Toni has visited the blog before with several of her books, including A Blue Ribbon Murder, When Sleuthing Spells Trouble, A Dish Best Served Dead, and Murder on the Books. It’s lovely to have her stopping by again, this time with her newest book, A Tail of Two Murders, and a guest post about something every writer needs to know.
Things Every Writer Needs to Know – T. C. Lotempio
I’ve been writing most of my life and trust me when I say I still have a lot to learn about the craft. I think the hardest thing I ever had to learn was plot construction.
The first thing is plot vs story, because they are essentially two different animals: The plot is the physical stuff that happens, while the story is the emotional journey of your character. Every narrative needs these two elements!
Your story can be broken down into three acts:
Act One: There should be an event that immediately hooks the reader and kicks off the action. Background info about the protagonist and the situation is introduced. Act one usually ends with an event that causes some sort of a crisis (in my books, it’s usually a murder)
Act Two: What I like to call the ‘meat’ of the story. It contains many plot and story points, and focuses on the protagonists’s struggle to resolve the crisis.
Act Three (also called the Climax) Protagonist meets Antagonist and the situation slash crisis is resolved in the protagonist’s favor (usually, well at least they are in my books) The bigger and more exciting, the better!
Epilog: Where all loose ends are wrapped up.
Keep in mind that everything you write has a purpose! Every scene, every chapter, should move the story along. That, I confess, took me a long time to master and I still think I need to work on it! I never miss an opportunity to read up more on plot structure!
And now, it’s time for me to sit down and write!
A Tail of Two Murders (Nick and Nora Mystery) by T. C. LoTempioAbout A Tail of Two Murders
A Tail of Two Murders (Nick and Nora Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting – California
Publisher : Beyond the Page Publishing
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : October 20, 2026
Print length : 279 pages
Digital
ISBN-13 : 978-1966322689
ASIN : B0HKP4KHK4
Paperback
ISBN-13 9781966322696
ASIN 1966322690
It was the best of crimes, it was the worst of crimes, and Nick and Nora are dead-set on catching a killer without losing their heads . . . When local police suspect that a dead body found in the woods is tied to an unsolved heist of rare gold coins, Nora Charles and her sidekick cat Nick are dying to get involved. But she’s got a catering gig to plan for at her friend Lance’s bar, and it looks like that might present a world of trouble all its own. The sleazy former owner of the bar has blown back into town and is aggressively harassing Lance to sell the bar back to him. Nora’s worried her friend is in real danger—until the former owner is found dead and Lance is pegged for the murder. Certain that her friend is innocent, Nora begins digging into the victim’s seedy past to figure out who would have wanted him dead. Then a sudden spark of inspiration tells her that the murders and the unsolved heist are all connected, and that someone is knocking off their fellow thieves to get all the loot for themselves. After tracking down every person even remotely connected to the heist, Nora’s still baffled by who’s behind it all. But that’s about to change, because now she and Nick are all that’s standing between a killer and a fortune . . . Includes mouthwatering sandwich recipes!
About T. C. LoTempio
T.C. LoTempio is the award-winning, nationally bestselling author of the Nick and Nora Mysteries, the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries, and the Cat Rescue Mysteries. Born in New York City, she now resides in Phoenix, Arizona, with her two cats, Maxx and Rocco. Rocco prides himself on being the inspiration for her Nick and Nora series! For more information, check out her and her cat Rocco’s blog at www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com and visit her website at www.tclotempio.net
Author Links
Purchase Links
Tour Participants
October 28 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
October 29 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
October 30 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
October 31 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
November 1 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
November 2 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 4 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 5 – @bibliophile_foodie – REVIEW
November 5 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 7 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 8 – Romance Novel Giveaways – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 10 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
November 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today! Want to Book a Tour? Click Here
Thank you to Toni for joining me again on Salty Inspirations and sharing a little about the craft of writing! If A Tail of Two Murders sounds like a book you’d enjoy, consider adding it to your TBR list.
And while you’re here, take a little time to browse the blog for more author visits, book spotlights, and a few other Salty Inspirations.
As always, thanks for stopping by for some Salty Inspirations! —Michelle❤️
