Meet the WIP: "The Deadly BINGO Society"
I'm going to be brave today and share a little (or a lot, whoops!) about my current work in progress (or WIP): "The Deadly Bingo Society". So here goes!
Official(ish) Synopsis:
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 1973
Fostered by the elderly BINGO ladies - Beatrice, Ingrid, Natalia, Gertrude, and Opal - since birth, 18 year old Lucky has never known her parents, only the life of roller skating, diner milkshakes, and Wednesday night bingo parties. But when Lucky discovers a clue from her past and has a chance encounter with a handsome journalist, secrets and suspicions start to fly, unraveling the life she knows. Propelled by her desire to find the truth, Lucky is thrown into the darker side of San Francisco and finds herself tangled in a web of mafias, assassins, and bloodied bingo cards. Who will Lucky choose to trust? And will she be able to protect those she loves even when the truth comes out about her family?
Meet the Characters!
Lucky - sweet, sassy, and stabby roller skating teen who is loyal to a fault
Reuben - level-headed and thrill seeking journalist with a penchant for finding the truth
Beatrice - tired and retired nurse who has the patience to stab embroidery more than 10,000 times
Ingrid - warm-hearted gardener who’s a whole lot tougher than she looks
Natalia - a hardened Russian and compulsive baker
Gertrude - the bingo hall gossip who is Southern-And-Refined™️
Opal - soft and forgetful car mechanic who is obsessed with the color orange
And now to the questions! *disco dancing ensues*
Q: What is it about?
A: In a nut shell, The Deadly BINGO Society is about an orphan raised by five elderly ladies and her story as she seeks to discover the truth about her family. So think Italian Mafia, assassins, hippies, a lot bingo playing, and so! many! secrets!
Q: What's the genre?
A: TDBS is a slightly campy and eccentric historical fiction full of thrills and set in the early 1970s (light on the historical, heavy on the fiction).
Q: What inspired the idea?
A: I was playing bingo with my elderly next door neighbor and her friends and “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen was playing in the background. I was sort of hit by the idea while I was sitting there and the rest is history.
Q: Will it be a series?
A: Nope! Just a standalone :)
Q: How far along are you in the process?
A: I am still writing a first draft. I am a slow writer, so this version is just for me to write and enjoy. If I feel like it's worth pursuing after I finish this draft, I'll continue to revise and edit. :)
Q: Are you hoping to publish it?
A: To be honest, I think TDBS is a unique enough idea to try querying to an agent when it's as polished as it can be. So the answer is yes, but it will be long while from now.
Q: How did you pick your characters names?
A: Because my brain is tired and forgetful, I knew I would need something simple for the 5 old ladies I had planned so I decided to make their names an acronym for bingo. (As a side note, I also assigned a color/aesthetic for each of them in my mind so that I could tell them apart haha!)
I also knew that 5 ladies who go by “the BINGOs” would name their adopted daughter "Lucky". Believe it or not, I had the idea for Lucky's name WAY before the story idea came to me. So once two and two came together, I knew it was meant to be.
Reuben's name was probably the hardest just because I had no inclination one way or the other so I'm pretty sure I just googled boy names until I found one that I liked!
Q: How did you come up with the title?
A: Believe it or not, the title came first. It seemed like the perfect and eccentric title for a story like this!
Q: Which Hogwarts houses do your characters belong in? (Because there are too many to sort into Enneagram and MBTI types right now)
A:
Lucky - Gryffindor
Reuben - Slytherin/Ravenclaw
Beatrice - Ravenclaw
Ingrid - Hufflepuff/Slytherin
Natalia - Gryffindor
Gertrude - Slytherin
Opal - Hufflepuff
Q: Hardest scene to write so far?
A: Ugh. I have rewritten the opening chapters so many times just to find the right feel and starting point for my story. It’s been a big pain but I’ve found many ways NOT to begin my story. *facepalm* (As a side note, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend writing and editing back and forth like I do ...oof)
Q: Most fun scene to write?
A: I absolutely love writing banter between the BINGO ladies. They each have there own unique personalities and voices and it’s been a blast having them interact. Is it any good? Who knows. Do I like writing it? Heck yes.
Q: Songs that have inspired or helped your writing process?
A: Ooo I always have character and story playlists but there are definitely some songs that have helped define the vibe I'm going for with this one. Here are a few:
- "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen was the song that started it all
- "These Boots are Made for Walkin' " by Nancy Sinatra and "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore reminds me of my main character, Lucky
- Quite a few Johny Cash songs for my boy Reuben
- "Pistol Packing' Mama" by Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters was a recent addition to my list
- "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond but the version with “extra percussion” aka gunshots LOL (here)
- "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn and "My Way" by Frank Sinatra for slightly secret reasons
Q: What sorts of research have you had to do?
A: Lots of research on the layout of San Francisco, 1970's history and culture, the Italian mafia, and of course bingo!
Q: Favorite Character?
A: I love all my charries but I have a special place in my heart for Opal <3
Q: What are the main themes?
A: There a quite a few smaller themes running through this story but two of the main ones are true family and reconciliation with the past.
BONUS Q: If you characters were alive in 2020, what would they be doing in quarantine?
A: Beatrice would check everyone for flu symptoms every 12 hours and then embroider in silence for the rest of the time. Ingrid would be working hard in her garden, very happy to have everyone home. Natalia would be baking so much bread as well as reading up on all the conspiracies and proving at least six of them true. Gertrude would be bored out of her mind and trying to teach everyone ballroom dancing “just like the good old days”. Opal would be happily doing her arts and crafts 24/7. Reuben would be loving all the time to catch up on his reading but Lucky would be constantly bugging him to play Monopoly again (even though she beat him brutally the last time).
And of course, they would all play bingo every single night.
Thank you so much for joining me today! I can't wait to share more about my writing journey with you in the future!
Until next time!
~ K.J. Haakenson
Thank you to Harpley (@harpleyart) for drawing Reuben and Lucky!!!
(I only own the character art and background. The rest of the images are from PicsArt)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 1973
Fostered by the elderly BINGO ladies - Beatrice, Ingrid, Natalia, Gertrude, and Opal - since birth, 18 year old Lucky has never known her parents, only the life of roller skating, diner milkshakes, and Wednesday night bingo parties. But when Lucky discovers a clue from her past and has a chance encounter with a handsome journalist, secrets and suspicions start to fly, unraveling the life she knows. Propelled by her desire to find the truth, Lucky is thrown into the darker side of San Francisco and finds herself tangled in a web of mafias, assassins, and bloodied bingo cards. Who will Lucky choose to trust? And will she be able to protect those she loves even when the truth comes out about her family?
Meet the Characters!
Lucky - sweet, sassy, and stabby roller skating teen who is loyal to a fault
Reuben - level-headed and thrill seeking journalist with a penchant for finding the truth
Beatrice - tired and retired nurse who has the patience to stab embroidery more than 10,000 times
Ingrid - warm-hearted gardener who’s a whole lot tougher than she looks
Natalia - a hardened Russian and compulsive baker
Gertrude - the bingo hall gossip who is Southern-And-Refined™️
Opal - soft and forgetful car mechanic who is obsessed with the color orange
(I do not own any of these pictures. They are all from Pinterest.)
And now to the questions! *disco dancing ensues*
Q: What is it about?
A: In a nut shell, The Deadly BINGO Society is about an orphan raised by five elderly ladies and her story as she seeks to discover the truth about her family. So think Italian Mafia, assassins, hippies, a lot bingo playing, and so! many! secrets!
Q: What's the genre?
A: TDBS is a slightly campy and eccentric historical fiction full of thrills and set in the early 1970s (light on the historical, heavy on the fiction).
Q: What inspired the idea?
A: I was playing bingo with my elderly next door neighbor and her friends and “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen was playing in the background. I was sort of hit by the idea while I was sitting there and the rest is history.
Q: Will it be a series?
A: Nope! Just a standalone :)
Q: How far along are you in the process?
A: I am still writing a first draft. I am a slow writer, so this version is just for me to write and enjoy. If I feel like it's worth pursuing after I finish this draft, I'll continue to revise and edit. :)
Q: Are you hoping to publish it?
A: To be honest, I think TDBS is a unique enough idea to try querying to an agent when it's as polished as it can be. So the answer is yes, but it will be long while from now.
Q: How did you pick your characters names?
A: Because my brain is tired and forgetful, I knew I would need something simple for the 5 old ladies I had planned so I decided to make their names an acronym for bingo. (As a side note, I also assigned a color/aesthetic for each of them in my mind so that I could tell them apart haha!)
I also knew that 5 ladies who go by “the BINGOs” would name their adopted daughter "Lucky". Believe it or not, I had the idea for Lucky's name WAY before the story idea came to me. So once two and two came together, I knew it was meant to be.
Reuben's name was probably the hardest just because I had no inclination one way or the other so I'm pretty sure I just googled boy names until I found one that I liked!
Q: How did you come up with the title?
A: Believe it or not, the title came first. It seemed like the perfect and eccentric title for a story like this!
Q: Which Hogwarts houses do your characters belong in? (Because there are too many to sort into Enneagram and MBTI types right now)
A:
Lucky - Gryffindor
Reuben - Slytherin/Ravenclaw
Beatrice - Ravenclaw
Ingrid - Hufflepuff/Slytherin
Natalia - Gryffindor
Gertrude - Slytherin
Opal - Hufflepuff
Q: Hardest scene to write so far?
A: Ugh. I have rewritten the opening chapters so many times just to find the right feel and starting point for my story. It’s been a big pain but I’ve found many ways NOT to begin my story. *facepalm* (As a side note, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend writing and editing back and forth like I do ...oof)
Q: Most fun scene to write?
A: I absolutely love writing banter between the BINGO ladies. They each have there own unique personalities and voices and it’s been a blast having them interact. Is it any good? Who knows. Do I like writing it? Heck yes.
Q: Songs that have inspired or helped your writing process?
A: Ooo I always have character and story playlists but there are definitely some songs that have helped define the vibe I'm going for with this one. Here are a few:
- "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen was the song that started it all
- "These Boots are Made for Walkin' " by Nancy Sinatra and "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore reminds me of my main character, Lucky
- Quite a few Johny Cash songs for my boy Reuben
- "Pistol Packing' Mama" by Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters was a recent addition to my list
- "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond but the version with “extra percussion” aka gunshots LOL (here)
- "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn and "My Way" by Frank Sinatra for slightly secret reasons
Q: What sorts of research have you had to do?
A: Lots of research on the layout of San Francisco, 1970's history and culture, the Italian mafia, and of course bingo!
Q: Favorite Character?
A: I love all my charries but I have a special place in my heart for Opal <3
Q: What are the main themes?
A: There a quite a few smaller themes running through this story but two of the main ones are true family and reconciliation with the past.
BONUS Q: If you characters were alive in 2020, what would they be doing in quarantine?
A: Beatrice would check everyone for flu symptoms every 12 hours and then embroider in silence for the rest of the time. Ingrid would be working hard in her garden, very happy to have everyone home. Natalia would be baking so much bread as well as reading up on all the conspiracies and proving at least six of them true. Gertrude would be bored out of her mind and trying to teach everyone ballroom dancing “just like the good old days”. Opal would be happily doing her arts and crafts 24/7. Reuben would be loving all the time to catch up on his reading but Lucky would be constantly bugging him to play Monopoly again (even though she beat him brutally the last time).
And of course, they would all play bingo every single night.
Thank you so much for joining me today! I can't wait to share more about my writing journey with you in the future!
Until next time!
~ K.J. Haakenson
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