Plot twists, bodies, red herrings, murder scenes, cops, and bad guys aren’t all there is to a mystery.  Your characters are the stars of the story.  Therefore, the characters need to draw in the reader.  They have to be likable or, at the very least, intriguing. 

     Editors didn’t like my first mystery.  No, that’s not true; most of them liked the mystery.  I have the lovely long rejection letters to prove it.  However, they didn’t like my main character.  She was too independent, too gritty.  They couldn’t warm up to her.  No matter that, her father and several loving but gristly ranch hands raised her.  She was a person they didn’t understand.  Their world wasn’t ready for that character.

     However, my agent loved her.  She worked hard to sell the book.  Willing to continue to try to sell it, I think she felt let down when I pulled it to write something different. 

     Several years have passed, and maybe I should have her shop it around again.  After all, since then the program Saving Grace became a hit.  Grace is gritty, tough, and an independent character.

     Could it be that editors would give the book a second look today?  One never knows, but for now, I’m too busy with my works in progress to rewrite that one.