At the moment, I'm trying to figure out some plot possibilities on a recent idea that I thought I might do for Nano. The closest I can come to describing the setting is a cross between The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Name of the Rose with magic tossed in. In other words, a fantasy murder mystery with late 18th century French fashion and a creepy library.
One main character is a burned-out actress on enforced sabbatical. She's on the verge of getting addicted to painkillers which she is taking for the excruciating headaches that accompany visions she's been getting for about six months. The other main character is an inquisitor in disguise as a cosmologist. Obviously, he has some ulterior motives. Both of these characters will be forced to work together to solve the crime.
The murders and the story take place on a small island off the coast of a quasi-France. The island is only accessible once a month (for various reasons which I have yet to work out) and it houses a small village and a huge astronomical observatory that was once a Byzantine-like place of worship. The victims are typically found face down, seemingly asleep, and naked. Strange symbols are "carved" (not literally carved--this will involve magic) into their skin.
The main question I'm grappling with is--how can I make the villain so diabolically clever that his/her unveiling is a complete surprise, yet utterly logical?
