People often ask where my ideas come from. Sometimes they come from stories I’ve read in the local paper:

• The building of a megabox store, possibly threatening the independent shops in a small town, and the vocal opposition from residents and local businesses (The Hanged Man’s Noose).
• A young man who left home fifteen years earlier to “find himself.” No one, not friends or family, had seen or heard from him since (A Fool’s Journey).

But sometimes, ideas come from watching television. Such is the case with my latest novel, Where There’s A Will, the third and final book in my Glass Dolphin cozy mystery series. I was watching an episode of Antiques Roadshow and I thought: That’s it! I’ll have an Appraisal Day at the Glass Dolphin antiques shop. Maybe someone will bring an object (to be determined) and later on it turns out to be a murder weapon. That could work.

But here’s the thing about ideas. They often start off one way and, because I’m a complete pantser, they end up going in an entirely different direction. That was the case with Where There’s A Will. The book starts off with shop owner Arabella Carpenter hosting an Appraisal Day, but instead of a murder or a murder weapon, there’s a mysterious young woman who has been watching the appraisals all day from the sidelines.

Who is she and what could she want? I wonder, happily pantsing away.

It turns out the woman’s name is Faye Everett, she’s inherited the old Hadley house, and she wants to hire Arabella to appraise the contents.

There has to be a catch, I muse, still pantsing away. What if Arabella’s ex, Levon Larroquette, has also been hired for the appraisal, meaning the pair will have to work side-by-side? It’s always fun to write about those two and their on-again, off-again relationship.

What if Arabella’s business partner, Emily Garland, is getting married? That’s it. She’s been house hunting with her fiancé and, after dozens of “not quite rights,” she falls hard and fast for the Hadley house. Could the Glass Dolphin’s appraisal involvement pose a conflict of interest?

And what’s this about Miles Pemberton wanting the house for his reality TV show, Pemberton on Property? Can Emily compete in a bidding war?

It’s not much yet, but it’s a start. And then I remember this whole thing started with an inheritance. Where There’s A Will, I think, and keep on pantsing my way to The End.

WHERE THERE’S A WILL is now available in trade paperback and all e-book formats. Find it at your favorite bookseller or ask your library to order it in.

• A version of this post originally appeared on The Stiletto Gang.