1. Act of story statement
Sylvie March is a food writer who often neglects her feelings and relationships. When her best friend actress Sugar Mark drowns in front of her, Sylvie must face her complicity in allowing her friend to die. When she is accused of Sugar’s death—is it murder?—an old flame reappears to defend her. Did he love her or only Sugar?
2. Antagonist
Sugar Mark has been Sylvie March’s best friend for decades, but she always gets more attention. Is Sylvie finally tired of being second?
3. Title
Mostly True
Recipe for Murder
Watching Her Drown
4. Genre: Women’s Fiction/Chick Lit/Beach Read
Paging Aphrodite by Kim Green
Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
5. Hook line
As she watches her famous best friend drown in her swimming pool and hesitates to act, a food writer must discover her true feelings for the friend she thought she loved.
6. Inner conflict/Secondary conflict
Sylvie March always hesitates, putting others first and stepping away from the spotlight. She hides behind her writing, letting others—especially her best friend, an actress—get the attention. Is she finally tired of coming in second?
Accused of murder, Sylvie March faces a long lost love and questions her true feelings.
7. Setting
“East Coast girls are hip…” sang the Beach Boys and Sylvie and Sugar have lived from Boston to Cape Cod, Virginia to D.C., and enjoyed the best of their East Coast experiences—from beach to city and the mountains of the Blue Ridge to the cobbled streets of Boston. Oh, and time in London, too.
Algonquin Novel Development.docx
