Writing on From Another Story's First Sentence, by Gavin Howley

Days before she met the novelist, Cora went to the library and brought home a stack of plastic-sleeved hardcovers with one-word titles like Heirloom and Ruffian andSeductress. She knew she needed to do a little research for her project, for it to be carried out successfully.  The novelist was appearing at the local Barnes and Noble Thursday night at 7.  Cora knew she had to be absolutely ready.  She was already pretty sure she had all the supplies ready to go.  They could be inconspicuously placed in her jacket, which she would certainly need in this chilly fall weather.  The sleazy low-rent romance novels from the library she knew would be required reading, unfortunately.  The novelist, Scarlett Lovewell, almost certainly a pen name, and a horrible one at that, even for this genre, had caused Cora enough pain and was going to have to pay.  This was going to be a very memorable scene, when all was said and done.  Cora’s extensive knowledge of anatomy was going to allow her to hit many of the main arteries.  Bright red blood.  Not the darker, slower moving deoxygenated blood returning in the veins.  Nope, she was after the high-pressure system, and if the store re-opened at all it would only be after an extensive cleaning of the walls and likely ceiling as well.