I often begin my next book while the current one is with the editor. Sometimes I write three or four chapters before deciding I don’t want to pursue it. There are several givens when it comes to a new work in progress.

• It doesn’t have a title name
• It doesn’t have cover art
• I have a general plot in mind, I can picture the characters, I’ve worked out some clues, but the first draft won’t look anything like the final product
• It’s difficult to put it down while I make revisions to the previous book and Also difficult to get back into after the previous book is published

So my current work in progress, let’s call it Biblical Profiler for now, features a doctor of Theology and Psychology who is called by his old college friend to profile a serial killer. The murderer is leaving Bible verses at the scene of each crime and the profiler can help the police by figuring out what kind of person they’re looking for. (I guess I’ll need to work on a blurb too, but I usually do that last)

Sometimes the toughest part of writing a mystery is figuring out how to make it uplifting, rather than dark.