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The Big Books of Summer 2025
Eric Plume
300 ratings | 65 reviews | avg rating:3.44

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Eric’s Bookshelves

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Eric Plume

ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ Author


Born
in The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre
Mystery, Crime, Thriller

Influences
Robert B. Parker, Donald Westlake, Carl Hiaasen, Daniel Keys Moran, To ...more

Member Since
November 2012

URL





Born and raised in the San Juan Islands, Eric Plume is a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest. He has worked in a variety of fields ranging from construction to casino security; currently, he works as a writer-for-hire while furthering his career in mystery fiction.

He lives near Bellingham, Washington with his girlfriend in a house full of cats, computers and books. ...more

Ask the Author

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Eric Plume You get to do the weirdest shit while having a perfectly good excuse. I mean come on..."it's for a book" pardons a good deal of weirdness. …m´Ç°ù±ðYou get to do the weirdest shit while having a perfectly good excuse. I mean come on..."it's for a book" pardons a good deal of weirdness. (less)
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How do you write a mystery that makes sense? One that doesn't get tangled in knots and leaves the reader happy and satisfied at the end? Do you use charts and graphs to keep track of everything?
Eric Plume Excellent question! I've heard that other authors do use charts and graphs and whatever to keep track of details and make sure the plot doesn't get of…m´Ç°ù±ðExcellent question! I've heard that other authors do use charts and graphs and whatever to keep track of details and make sure the plot doesn't get off track, but I don't. For example, my outline for Margin Play was only about twice as long as the blurb at the back of the book.

What I do have are reams of notes on my characters; even minor characters (if recurring) get at least 5-10 pages of back-story which describes where they come from, what their childhood was like, their motivations/desires/goals, et cetera. Central characters get much more. I have a 35-page biography on Amber Eckart, 90% of which might never end up in a novel.

The result; the characters "talk" to me as I write. I put them in situations, and they react to events...you know, like real people do. If the characters are three-dimensional in my head, their actions stay consistent on the page. The plot stays consistent in turn, because the overall story is one of actions, choices and reactions...rather than arbitrary events which take place "because the plot says so".

An odd consequence of this is that in the draft process I find myself adding, rather than subtracting like most authors have to - because while I know my characters back-to-front, the audience doesn't. During the draft process is where I remember a reader doesn't live in my head.

This is my method for producing "WOW!" at the climax of a story, rather than "...whuuut?" Because every character acts in a consistent, believable and human way, the plot is created and resolved according to motivations a reader can get behind - and like I said, the overall story stays consistent.

At the end of the day, storytelling is about people. Nobody roots for a plot. (less)
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See all 9 answers from Eric Plume…

Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.25 · 126 ratings · 41 reviews · 4 distinct works
Biker Chicks
by
4.23 avg rating — 104 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions
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Margin Play (The Eckart Mys...
4.21 avg rating — 43 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions
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Beyond The Picket Fence: Li...
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4.08 avg rating — 37 ratings — 2 editions
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Naming the Hangman (The Eck...
4.20 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions
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* Note: these are all the books on ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ for this author. To add more, click here.

17 posts
Eric Plume's Blog

Weekend Blizzard Adventures

Earlier today I heard that we were in for a storm. So, like a smart human who’d already had to fight Mother Nature for a

The post appeared first on .

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Published on February 06, 2017 08:00
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Series by Eric Plume

Margin Play Naming the Hangman
(2 books)
by
4.21 avg rating — 73 ratings

Eric is Currently Reading

Cottonwood
Eric Plume is currently reading
by R. Lee Smith (ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
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Nov 17, 2017 04:02PM
Emotional Abuse: ...
Eric Plume is currently reading
by Zak Mucha (ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ Author)
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Oct 01, 2017 08:31PM
Red Storm Rising
Eric Plume is currently reading
bookshelves: currently-reading
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Nov 27, 2012 09:48PM

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Eric’s Recent Updates

Eric Plume is now friends with Hind
171286060
Nov 19, 2024 07:08PM  · 
More of Eric's books…
Quotes by Eric Plume  (?)
Quotes are added by the ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ community and are not verified by ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨.

“I can tell you with certainty there's no such thing as 'normal'. Just varying degrees of 'common'.”
― Eric Plume, Naming the Hangman
6 likes
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“Cullen was a bully. Bullies are cowards. You plant your feet and stay calm, they don't know what to do.”
― Eric Plume, Margin Play
tags: bullying, confidence, violence
3 likes
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“Y'know, I heard once that Washington's the only state in the union with an active gallows." "It's true," I said. "Death-row inmates can choose between that and lethal injection." "The needle or the noose,”
― Eric Plume, Naming the Hangman
1 likes
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Cozy Mysteries : SPRING 2015 Challenge 175 157 Jun 25, 2015 08:15AM  
Crime Detective M...: Reading Challenge 2015 A-Z by author 31 116 Sep 20, 2015 05:38PM  
Cozy Mysteries : This topic has been closed to new comments. Title and Author Game, Round 2 15570 1195 Mar 21, 2016 09:15AM  
Cozy Mysteries : This topic has been closed to new comments. Read Around the USA Challenge 469 1163 Nov 18, 2017 11:46AM  
Readers Sharing R...: This topic has been closed to new comments. July Discounts 38 2 Jul 31, 2018 07:01AM  
Cozy Mysteries : This topic has been closed to new comments. Title and Author Game, Round 7 5584 558 Feb 22, 2022 09:26AM  

Eric’s Quotes

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
― C. S. Lewis
tags: freedom, morality, politics, wisdom
1423 likes
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“If I were to write some of the strange things that come under my eyes they would not be believed.”
― Cora M. Strayer
0 likes
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“There's no easy way to be free.”
― Pete Townshend
2 likes
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“In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
tags: inspiration
1223 likes
Like

“Politics divide us. Fiction connects.”
― Elif Shafak
1 likes
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recent posts
Eric’s Groups

172928 Romance & Erotica: Critical, Political, Unsafe and Adult — 330 members — last activity Oct 17, 2023 06:20AM
This is a place for adults maintained by adults without kindergarden teachers holding your hand. Conversations about all types of erotica and romanc ...more
507884 Reverse Harem Revolution — 1621 members — last activity May 17, 2025 09:11AM
This is a group for 18+ readers who love reverse harem and are interested in chatting with like-minded readers and buddy reading books in this genre. ...more
196353 Romance Writers & Readers — 738 members — last activity Jan 13, 2025 07:18AM
We write romance. We read romance. We do everything romance.
128221 Fringe Fiction Unlimited — 2277 members — last activity May 15, 2025 04:19AM
Publishing is rich with hidden gems and diamonds in the rough that belong to self-published, indie, and otherwise underappreciated authors. Our focu ...more
83510 Crime Detective Mystery Thriller Group — 2765 members — last activity May 17, 2025 07:48AM
This is a book club/group for ALL books about crime, mysteries, and thrillers. From romantic suspense, to pulp fiction, to cozy mysteries, british det ...more
213290 Women Out Loud — 188 members — last activity Nov 24, 2017 01:04PM
This is a group dedicated to discussing badass women in literature and issues affecting women today.. We will talk about female authors who make us t ...more
56640 Connecting Readers and Writers — 3902 members — last activity Feb 09, 2025 04:40AM
We connect adventurous readers with Indie Authors. This group is about connecting writers with readers in a way that has not been done on ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ b ...more
88212 A Good Thriller — 20863 members — last activity 4 hours, 27 min ago
Action packed gripping, exciting and tense thrillers, mysteries, that's what we like reading. So many great authors out there to read. Let's share our ...more
6966 NaNoWriMo 2012 — 1051 members — last activity Oct 31, 2013 03:51PM
NaNoWriMo 2012
25x33 ReadingWithJacob BookClub — 20 members — last activity Nov 03, 2015 06:18AM
This is my new group! In this group we will do readalongs, games, challenges, and TONS more of fun!
More of Eric’s groups…

Eric’s Friend Comments




Comments (showing 1-13)    post a comment »
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message 13: by Eric
Dec 26, 2018 06:35PM

Eric Plume Brittain *Needs a Nap and a Drink* wrote: "Oops! Well we've both been on each other's feeds forever so that counts!"

Yeah it does.

Also, ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ needs to seriously re-think how it handles "authors" versus "readers" and "friends" versus "following". There are more bugs in the interactions between all those concepts than an ant farm.

Like, I seriously thought we were already friends, and then I went to idly compare books with you, and it said "following". I was all "huh?" because there's like no difference between how you show up in my feed and how people I know are friends show up in my feed.

Of course, ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨ needs a serious overhaul in general, but we already knew that. :D


message 12: by Brittain *Needs a Nap and a Drink*
Dec 26, 2018 06:06PM

Brittain *Needs a Nap and a Drink* Oops! Well we've both been on each other's feeds forever so that counts!


message 11: by Eric
Dec 26, 2016 09:13PM

Eric Plume Steelwhisper wrote: "Hi Eric, thank you for the friending! And now you get one of your own, as well :)

"

Hello to you as well, and welcome aboard! Love the graphic...I'm doing Christmas at my own house for the first time ever, so its well-timed.


message 10: by Steelwhisper
Dec 26, 2016 09:03PM

Steelwhisper Hi Eric, thank you for the friending! And now you get one of your own, as well :)




message 9: by RedL.
May 27, 2016 06:32AM

RedL. Hi Eric, thank you for accepting the invite, and welcome :-)


message 8: by Karlyflower *The Vampire Ninja, Luminescent Monster & Wendigo Nerd Goddess of Canada (according to The Hulk)*
Feb 16, 2016 04:38PM

Karlyflower *The Vampire Ninja, Luminescent Monster & Wendigo Nerd Goddess of Canada (according to The Hulk)* Hmmmm, I am just seeing this now. I may have had a couple drinks, yes.


message 7: by Eric
Jan 21, 2016 09:53PM

Eric Plume Karly *The Vampire Ninja & Luminescent Monster* wrote: "Smutt good. Me like. Want Gabriel. Sentences hard."

Been drinking? :D


message 5: by Figgy
Dec 25, 2015 05:37AM

Figgy Merry Christmas, Eric! I hope you're having a great one!




message 4: by Eric
Mar 23, 2015 12:55PM

Eric Plume Auntie J wrote: "Shelby *wants some flying monkeys* wrote: "

"

You beat me to it!

But Eric, Shelby said to spam you anyway, so, here ya go!

"

Awww, thanks you guys! :D


message 3: by Alexandra (last edited Mar 23, 2015 10:58AM)
Mar 23, 2015 10:56AM

Alexandra Shelby *wants some flying monkeys* wrote: "

"

You beat me to it!

But Eric, Shelby said to spam you anyway, so, here ya go!

description


message 1: by Eric
Jan 15, 2014 01:09PM

Eric Plume After skimming several romance-novel previews I have come to the following conclusion; that the genre would be better if it featured less adjectives and more pepper spray.


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