Learn how to write dialogue with the author of A Clean Canvas and enter the #comp to WIN a signed copy! .@ElizabethEMundy .@rararesources #crime #mystery #fiction

HOW TO WRITE DIALOGUE

 by

Elizabeth Mundy

My top tip for dialogue to avoid characters directly answering each other. Everyone has their own agenda for what they want to get out of the conversation and their speech will reflect that. It also makes for a lot of conflict - it’s pretty annoying when you ask a question and don’t get a straight answer.

Here’s an example of it in my dialogue in A CLEAN CANVAS. Lena Szarka is my heroine, a Hungarian cleaner who turns detective. Pietro is the gallery owner – later that night his most valuable painting will be stolen and suspicion will turn to Lena.

…

Lena began to dust a hedgehog crafted from rusty nails. ‘“Tormented Illusions” is a victory!’ declared Pietro, standing behind her. ‘It is our best exhibition for years.’

It took a moment for Lena to realise Pietro wasn’t speaking to her. Instead he was orating to an imaginary crowd, likely practising for the reception this evening.

‘Today you will sell this animal, maybe?’ she suggested, hopefully.

‘Putting together an exhibition is like painting a masterpiece,’ Pietro continued, full of rapture. ‘Each painting is a brush stroke. They must all be different, but each must work with its neighbour to create a beautiful whole, a “Tormented Illusion”.’

Lena wished that she could clean the tetanus-trap hedgehog in peace. She had been delighted when she’d landed this client for her new agency, Lena’s Cleaners, but the combination of the delicate and dangerous sculptures, the terrifying price tags and Pietro’s constant orating was starting to make her wish she’d upped her rates.

‘This will be the exhibition that will see A Study in Purple find its place in the heart of a discerning buyer,’ said Pietro, gesturing to the fiercely priced painting that dominated the right-hand wall. ‘And we are lucky enough to have the immensely talented artist, Trudy Weincamp, here this evening to tell you how she came to paint this delight. This whole exhibition has been built around her work of genius.’ Pietro paused, and looked to the painting. ‘Her larger pieces dominate a room in the MOMA,’ he continued. ‘But we have A Study in Purple right here in Islington. Her work is iconic. How often can you buy an icon for £84,000?’

Lena still couldn’t believe something that didn’t have three bedrooms and an acre of land could cost that kind of money.

My Lena Szarka mystery series always throws up some special problems for dialogue. Lena doesn’t speak great English and feels very self-conscious about this, especially as she’s cleaning well-educated, rich people’s homes.

I wanted to reflect her speech patterns as a non-native speaker, but was keen for the dialogue to still be easy to understand and flow. And I never wanted her to sound stupid – she’s not.

So I went on a research trip to Hungary and listened to how the Hungarians spoke. Hungarian has fewer propositions so I used this as a tool when Lena spoke. I also decided to make her never contract her words – she will always say ‘did not’ rather than ‘didn’t’. This makes her speech sound awkward, but is still understandable and literate. Occasionally I include a Hungarian word for colour, but make sure that the meaning is clear from the context – I don’t’ want to limit my readership to Hungarians!

Here’s an example from the first book in the series, IN STRANGERS’ HOUSES. In this scene, Lena is cleaning with her fellow Hungarian Timea as they practice their English. Timea’s English is much worse than Lena’s, but she goes missing before this can get too annoying!

‘This man is cheating,’ said Lena.

Timea looked up from the petals she was sweeping. ‘Why you think he is cheat?’ she said.

‘Flowers mean guilty conscience,’ said Lena.

Timea bent down to the flower petals and gave them a deep sniff. ‘These are lovely. Beautiful roses.’

‘Roses are for funerals. Like chrysanthemums.’

‘Not in this country,’ said Timea. ‘But I like more daisies. Daisies remind me of fields back home. I miss the fields.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Maybe these are not guilt flowers, maybe they are love flowers?’

‘Képtelenség,’ humphed Lena. ‘Nonsense. There are empty Calvin Klein underwear boxes in the bin. I fished them out for recycling. Purple. Men do not buy new purple underwear for themselves to impress their wives.’

‘Perhaps wife buys them for him as present,’ said Timea. ‘Because she was pleased with flowers.’

Lena laughed. ‘I wish everyone was as sweet as you,’ she said, ruffling her friend’s hair. ‘You should live on the flying palace – where children come from apples, and flowers are not just from men who cannot keep their fasz in their trousers.’

For me, dialogue is my very favourite part of writing. I think it’s because I was lucky enough to have a mother who taught an MA in screen writing and so I’ve been brought up on it. When writing for the screen you don’t have the luxury of long descriptive passages or flowery metaphors – everything needs to be done through dialogue.

Introducing…

A Clean Canvas

by

Elizabeth Mundy

 Crime always leaves a stain…

Lena Szarka, a Hungarian cleaner, dusts off her detective skills when a masterpiece is stolen from a gallery she cleans with her cousin Sarika.  When Sarika goes missing too, accusations start to fly.

Convinced her cousin is innocent, Lena sweeps her way through the secrets of the London art scene. But with the evidence against Sarika mounting and the police on her trail, Lena needs to track down the missing painting if she is to clear her cousin. 

Embroiling herself in the sketchy world of thwarted talents, unpaid debts and elegant fraudsters, Lena finds that there’s more to this gallery than meets the eye.

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About the author, Elizabeth Mundy.

Elizabeth Mundy’s grandmother was a Hungarian immigrant to America who raised five children on a chicken farm in Indiana. 

An English Literature graduate from Edinburgh University, Elizabeth is a marketing director for an investment firm and lives in London with her messy husband and two young children. 

A Clean Canvas is the second book in the Lena Szarka mystery series about a Hungarian cleaner who turns detective.

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Giveaway to Win a Winsor & Newton pocket-sized Watercolour set and a signed copy of A Clean Canvas. UK Only

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for the fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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If you like fast-paced thrillers, check out THE FAILSAFE QUERY. Author, Michael Jenkins, is revealing all about his main character from the book. @rararesources #political #thriller #booktour #author #givaway #win @FailsafeQuery

The Failsafe Query

The Failsafe Query is a gripping thriller set in the contemporary world of modern British espionage.

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Sean Richardson, a disgraced former intelligence agent, is tasked to lead a team to search for Alfie Chapman, an Intelligence officer on the cusp of exposing thousands of secrets to the media. This includes a long lost list of Russian moles embedded since the Cold War, one of whom remains a public favourite in the British parliamentary system.

The action moves with absorbing pace and intrigue across Central Asia and Europe as the puzzle begins to unfold through a deep hidden legacy.

Tense, fast paced, and insightful, The Failsafe Query twists and turns to a satisfyingly dramatic finale.

The theme on WWBB is all devoted to the character, and today Michael Jenkins discusses his character Sean Richardson from The Failsafe Query

The main character, Sean, is a complex individual forged from his many life experiences - his traumas, his loves, his loyalty, and his sense of duty – even if he has to kill. The complexity of his character shows his empathetic side, but equally, he is able to switch to a ruthless side to get the job done. He thinks a lot. He considers his options. His wisdom and experiences tell him ‘this is the right thing to do’ - but on occasion, his risk-taking side tells him he should bend the rules and go beyond the established boundaries to achieve his aims.

Sean grew up with a tough father, worked on building sites and frequented tough east London pubs, before being groomed for a career in military intelligence. His chosen career was successful, but as the years passed by, he found himself more and more involved in the dark arts of espionage. Sucked into the killing, the denial operations, and having a number of enemies always on his tail. Then he crashed and burned.

Sean is often conflicted, often a dreamer – having his own desires which were often in reach, only to be snatched away at the last moment. Such experiences and traumas have made him a cautious but driven man, a survivor against all the odds. Unsure of his own destiny, he knows he has left death and destruction in his way, but always feels he has done the right thing for his service to crown and country. But that loyalty is forever being tested by the duplicity he uncovers within central government and the seditious nature of many of the officers and departments he had to serve. The more he uncovers, the more he has a sense of betrayal – to himself and his nation - but how far can he continue in his chosen career he never really knows. He feels trapped. Trapped by the adrenalin, the adventure, the sense of making a difference. He is everything that real counter-terrorist and intelligence officers deal with – he is often gentle and kind, polite and understanding – but equally, he has a brutal side for those who have betrayed him, or where violence is needed to achieve the aim.

Sean is based on three individuals I had the honour to serve with – each of them had very specific characteristics and behaviours, and I blended those into Sean to make him the complex operator he is. Charismatic, gregarious, honourable, a killer, a smart operator, wise and sharp, but often conflicted with his inner turmoil and the trauma he carries – those traumas, he places in a drawer, and only allows each of those drawers to open if absolutely needed – when he is deep in thought. His way of coping is to generally keep them all closed.

Sean is a lover of risk, but also a man of culture – he loves painting and is an accomplished artist. He loves to travel and the cultures of the countries he visits. He likes solitude, but equally, he relishes the time he has with his mates whether at work or having a few beers with them.

His hidden desire is for a simple, quiet life with a loving wife and children. But circumstances collide against him time and time again. Now he is trying to find a future and a way to his dreams. His friend can see he’ll make it – somehow and someway, and they’ll always be there backing him when the chips are down, and he thinks he has failed. They see him as human. Wise, respectful, tough, full of fortitude and vigour – and above all else loyal to the people he trusts. They will follow him anywhere as their leader.

There is much more to come from Sean, and while his backstory has been partially told in the novel, there is much more to him than meets the eye, as there is with any friend you begin to learn about over time.

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 About the author Michael Jenkins

Michael Jenkins served for twenty-eight years in the British army, rising through the ranks to complete his service as a major. He served across the globe on numerous military operations as an intelligence officer within Defence Intelligence, and as an explosive ordnance disposal officer and military surveyor within the Corps of Royal Engineers. 

His experiences within the services involved extensive travel and adventure while on operations, and also on many major mountaineering and exploration expeditions that he led or was involved in.  

He was awarded the Geographic Medal by the Royal geographical society for mountain exploration and served on the screening committee of the Mount Everest Foundation charity. 

He was awarded the MBE on leaving the armed forces in 2007 for his services to counterterrorism. 

The Failsafe Query is Michael’s first novel. He has started work on his second spy thriller, The Kompromat Kill, and hopes to publish in the spring of 2019.

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