Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 155

Time, time, time…

by Barb. Last post from Key West.

Time, time, time, see what’s become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities
I was so hard to please

A Hazy Shade of Winter, Paul Simon, 1968

[image error]

Readers, I have built myself a time conundrum. (Not nearly so fun as a time machine.)

The first five books in the Maine Clambake Mysteries take place in perfect order, with only a matter of months between books.

Clammed Up (June) Boiled Over (August) Musseled Out (October) Fogged Inn (late November, early December) Iced Under (February)

Then Kensington asked me to contribute to the Christmas anthology, Eggnog Murder, along with stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis. Since Eggnog Murder would be published before Iced Under and I had cleverly skipped over Christmas in my timeline, I was a time management genius! I nearly broke my arm patting myself on the back. Now the line-up looked like this:

Clammed Up (June) Boiled Over (August) Musseled Out (October) Fogged Inn (late November, early December)“Nogged Off” from Eggnog Murder (week before Christmas) Iced Under (February).

My resort town of Busman’s Harbor is very different in the tourist season and the off season. I had originally intended to write three books set in the (lengthy, because it’s Maine) off season, but with the addition of the novella, and the extended trip to Boston in Iced Under, my editor and I agreed it was time to get back to sunshine, lobsters, and Morrow Island. Book 6, Stowed Away is set in June as the clambake is reopening for the season.

But then–trouble. Kensington asked me to contribute to another holiday novella, Yule Log Murder. Christmas takes place in December, right? There was no way around that. So we fast-forwarded to December. I turned in Stowed Away and “Logged On,” the novella for Yule Log Murder, on the same day. As it turns out, I am sadly not a time management genius. I had only the vaguest notion of what happened to Julia Snowden, her family, and friends between June and December, but I did hint at one thing in “Logged On.” As it happens, Yule Log Murder was actually published before Stowed Away, but only a matter of a couple of months before. Now the time-line looked like this.

Clammed Up (June) Boiled Over (August) Musseled Out (October) Fogged Inn (late November, early December)“Nogged Off” from Eggnog Murder (week before Christmas) Iced Under (February) Stowed Away (June)“Logged On” from Yule Log Murder (week before Christmas).

Okay, now where to go? Clearly a lot had happened between June and Christmas during Julia’s second year in Busman’s Harbor. I went back to fill some of that in. Steamed Open takes place in August. But the Time Lords weren’t done with me. Kensington asked me to write a novella for the Halloween collection, Haunted House Murder. Halloween, as we all know, must occur on October 31. To complicate things even further, the next novel in the series had to take place on Morrow Island for a whole bunch of reasons, before the clambake shut down for the season and before winter closed in. So Book 8, Sealed Off takes place in the week before Columbus Day. “Hallowed Out,” the Halloween novella, actually begins before Sealed Off and then largely takes place after. “Look at her, ladies and gentlemen, writing without a net!” So now we’re looking at:

Clammed Up (June) Boiled Over (August) Musseled Out (October) Fogged Inn (late November, early December)“Nogged Off” from Eggnog Murder (week before Christmas) Iced Under (February) Stowed Away (June) Steamed Open (August)“Hallowed Out” from Haunted House Murder (begins late September)Sealed Off (mid-October)“Hallowed Out” from Haunted House Murder (ends late October)“Logged On” from Yule Log Murder (week before Christmas)

(One thing is clear. You are most likely to get murdered in Busman’s Harbor in June, August, October or December, so pick a different month for your visit.)

So now what, time-genius? I ask myself. Some of what is hinted at in “Logged On” gets explained in Steamed Open and Sealed Off, but there are still gaps in the story. Part of me is content to leave it that way and skip ahead to the new year. I love it when authors do that. I think I’ve mentioned here that I read every single one of Ruth Rendell’s Wexford short stories, looking for the one where Wexford’s sidekick DI Mike Burden’s first wife dies. I was convinced such a story must exist, but I was wrong. Burden is a happily married man in one novel and a widower in the next.

But instinct tells me the next Maine Clambake Mystery gets squeezed in between Halloween and Christmas. Don’t ask me where it takes place or what happens. When he accepted my manuscript for Sealed Off, my editor at Kensington wrote, “Looking forward to reading the outline for the next one once it’s ready!” Him and me both, is all I can say.

Maine Clambake Readers, what do you think about my dilemma? Any feelings about what you want to read next? Everybody, how do you like to see time managed in a book series? Strong feelings? Good and bad examples?

International Working Women’s Day

Jessie: Feeling grateful for her job!

During the course of my research for my Beryl and Edwina books I encounter a lot of things that set my imagination on fire. One of the most interesting things I discovered as I worked on the first one, Murder in an English Village, was that women were not allowed to enter into every profession until the passage of the Sex Disqualification Removal Act of 1919.

[image error]

It lead me to give a lot of thought to jobs I might not want to have. So, Wickeds, which job could you not imagine yourself ever doing and why not?

Edith: I could never imagine being a mathematician or an actuary. Too many numbers! Nor a bungee jumper, parachutist, or cliff diver – those jobs are the stuff of nightmares for me.

Liz: I could never do a math-focused job either, Edith. I also could never work in retail again. I did that as a kid and now, well, I don’t think I could deal with that many people all day!

Sherry: I couldn’t do anything in the medical field or having to do with bodily functions of any kind. I’d be the one on the floor needing the medical attention.

Julie: There are so many jobs I don’t have the skills, patience, or ability to do. But I saw a picture of folks who work on skyscrapers recently. Folks sitting on a beam hanging over empty space, eating their lunch. That is a job I could never, ever do. I’d weep and crawl around. My palms are sweating thinking of it.

Jessie: I’m with Sherry. I don’t want to even imagine circumstances that would lead me to a life that I would take a job in the medical field. I have an absolute phobia of blood drawing, needles, the smell of rubbing alcohol and the sound of sterile packaging being ripped open. I can barely type the preceding sentence without becoming light-headed. Also, the idea of wearing scrubs makes me almost as upset as the rest of it.

Barb: I’m a bossy type, so I wouldn’t want a job where I wasn’t in charge of something substantial or couldn’t see the impact of my efforts. I’m always looking for a measure of control, which is why I am now the boss of an entire fictional realm.

Readers, which job could you never imagine yourself doing and why?

Subplots

[image error]Sherry here — it’s obviously spring in Virginia. We’re having light jacket, parka, no jacket weather. And the National Park Service announced that peak cherry blossom blooms would be April 3 to 6.

Last week I got a lovely email from a reader saying how much she liked a subplot in The Gun Also Rises. The main plot has Sarah looking for the Hemingway manuscripts she found in Miss Belle’s attic. One of the subplots has Sarah doing a fundraiser for an active duty Air Force man with PTSD who misses a street dog he adopted while serving in Afghanistan. Sarah is raising money so the dog can be flown to Massachusetts.

This particular subplot came out of a conversation with freelance editor Barb Goffman. I wanted to add a subplot with more depth because the main subplot in I Know What You Bid Last Summer was fun but very light. Lasagna anyone? I like to mix things up from book to book. Another subplot I wanted to explore was about a military spouse who has her own struggles with depression. The two combined when I made the military spouse, Tracy, the wife of the man with PTSD.

[image error]The reader also said she didn’t know anything about the military or military life and she enjoyed reading about it in my books. Being a military spouse isn’t easy. You get stuck between the needs of the active duty member which takes precedent over everything and the needs of your children. Your needs are often way down in the list of priorities.

And there is still a certain attitude that you must keep a stiff upper lip. It always seems that everything goes wrong the minute the spouse leaves. The kids get sick, the garage door breaks, the hurricane comes, the earthquake occurs, etc. (Oh, subplots – they aren’t nearly as much fun when you are in the middle of them!)

My husband traveled a lot. So much so that when we lived in Ohio a neighbor asked me if I really had a husband or if I’d just sneaked into base housing. (Trust me if you saw that housing you would know no one would sneak in to it!) Writing is one way I learned to cope with everything. It started as writing long letters to everyone I knew. Then I saw an ad for a short story contest and tried writing fiction for the first time in a long time. The short story grew too long and I realized I was writing my first (still unsold) novel.

Tracy, in The Gun Also Rises, is reluctant to get help. She’s busy with four kids, her husband’s issues seem more urgent. But Sarah gently persists – maybe she should have suggested writing. I reached out to one of my former neighbor’s whose husband is still active duty to find out where Tracy could get help. I hope it reminds people that we don’t have to shoulder everything on our own. I was lucky because no matter where we were stationed I always found a wonderful group of supportive friends. They became my family and helped me through rough times.

The email buoyed me on a particularly bad day. It made me realize again how important every aspect of a book is. It energized my writing on my current manuscript. It’s amazing what a note can do for a person and I thanked her for taking the time to reach out.

Readers: How has a note changed your day?

Wicked Wednesday- Favorite Woman in History

Jessie: In New Hampshire feeling grateful for handknit wool socks.

Since March is Women’s History Month I wanted to ask each Wicked which is her favorite historical female figure and why?

[image error]

Edith: So many women to choose from, so little time! I’m going with Lucretia Coffin Mott. A nineteenth century Quaker born on Nantucket, she was a leader in both the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements. At a hundred pounds and barely five feet tall, she founded the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, and also co-wrote the Declaration of Sentiments in 1848 for the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, which ignited the fight for women’s suffrage. She risked life and reputation living as a risky Friend even while raising five children. I can only wish to be so brave.

[image error]
By
Billy Hathorn at Wikimedia Commons.

Liz: As a former journalist I’ve always been fascinated by Nellie Bly, the investigative journalist who went undercover in a mental institution to expose abuse and mistreatment. She was a pioneer in the investigative journalism field, and her book about what happened on Blackwell’s Island caused major reform.

[image error]
H. J. Myers, photographer [Public domain]

Julie: Liz, your post brings Ida B. Wells to mind–another reporter, civil rights activist and amazing woman. For so long, too long, women’s stories (and stories of people of color) have not been part of the narrative, so I love this topic. Abigail Adams was an amazing woman, close advisor to her husband John, mother of John Quincy. When I was very young I read a biography of Deborah Sampson, a woman who disguised herself as a man so she could fight in the Revolutionary War. BTW, the History Chicks is a great podcast on this subject.

Jessie: One of my favorites is Victoria Woodhull. She ran for POTUS before women had won the right to vote. She opened the first female owned stock brokerage in the history of the nation. She fought for reproductive rights for women in a time when printing educational information about contraception was considered immoral and by the Comstock Law illegal. But she wasn’t a saint, by any means. She was a con artist and a grifter who was not above using any means necessary to further her own interests. She was complex, whip-smart and someone I wish I oculd have met. I highly recommend a book about her life and that of her beloved sister Tennie, The Scarlet Sisters: Sex, Suggrage and Scandal in the Gilded Age by Myra MacPherson.

[image error]This is the copy of Little Women that was in my house growing up. The copyright is 1915. I had no idea it was that old.

Sherry: I’m going with Louisa May Alcott. I read Little Women while I was in elementary school and immediately fell in love. After we moved to Massachusetts visiting Orchard House, where Louisa lived the longest, became one of my favorite things to do. While Louisa is widely know for Little Women she wrote thirty books. She also was a nurse during the Civil War and adopted May’s daughter after May died. When Louisa was fifteen she vowed to save her family from poverty and she did.

Barb: I am loving “Overlooked,” The New York Times column telling the stories of accomplished people who didn’t receive obituaries in the Times when they died. Many of them were women and/or people of color. They are almost uniformly fascinating. People truly are amazing. Given my previous life working in software startups, I find myself most drawn to the stories of female entrepreneurs. Here are two of them.

Mary Ellen Pleasant was born into slavery. She said she wrote the note found in John Brown’s pocket when he was hanged, and she contributed $30,000–$900,000 in today’s money–to fund the attack on Harper’s Ferry. And that’s just a small part of her remarkable life. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/obituaries/mary-ellen-pleasant-overlooked.html
Bette Nesmith Graham was an artist who earned a living as an executive secretary. She combined those skills to invent Liquid Paper, and built the company that produced it until she sold it to Gillette for $47.5 million. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/obituaries/bette-nesmith-graham-overlooked.html

Readers, which historical female figure do you most admire?

 

Multiple Personality Day

Jessie: Thinking about booking a vacation anywhere warm!

I love those publicity calendars with made up holidays and every now and again one of the dates mentioned especially tickles my fancy. Today just happens to be Multiple Personality Day which of course made me think of the Wickeds.

[image error]

All the Wickeds now write more than one series and four of us write under multiple names. What I would like to talk about is how you juggle your different writer’s personas and/or the personalities of your varied protagonists and POV characters?

Edith/Maddie/Tace: Let’s do one thing at a time! Juggling author names is a challenge, but not insurmountable. Tace Baker is the pen name I used for the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries, but since Lauren is on a semi-permanent sabbatical, Tace is, too. Edith Maxwell (the name I grew up with) writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the five-book Local Foods Mysteries, and short stories, and she also manages the web site for all my writing. Maddie Day creates the Country Story series and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maddie and I get along splendidly. Nobody ever said my multiple personalities couldn’t link our names, and we do so enthusiastically!

[image error]Edith/Tace/Maddie’s latest books

As for my various protagonists, I’ll echo something I heard Wicked Accomplice Sheila Connolly say a long time ago: These characters are so real to me, and are so different from each other, I don’t mix them up.

Sherry: I’m just dipping my toe in the second series pond as I’ve recently finished the first draft of From Beer to Eternity, the first Chloe Jackson Redneck Riviera mystery. At first I thought maybe I’d write one series in the morning and one in the afternoon, but it didn’t take long to figure out that wasn’t going to work for me. So, I set aside the first draft and I’m now working on the ninth Sarah book. Since Sarah and Chloe are at very different points in their lives and live in very different places, it hasn’t been hard to separate the two series.

[image error]

Barb: I thought my series would be easy to keep separate. Julia Snowden of the Maine Clambake Mysteries is in her early thirties and the books are narrated in the first person. Jane Darrowfield is in her early sixties and the books are narrated in close third person. But recently, when I was revising the eighth Maine Clambake book, I found two paragraphs written in third person! It was so strange. I often stray into present tense when writing first drafts, even though the books are written in simple past tense. But I’ve never found third person narration in a Maine Clambake book before. What was going on there?

Liz: I had a similar incident, Barb! My Pawsitively Organic series is written in third and Cate Conte’s Cat Cafe Mysteries are written in first. I did start mixing them up during my last draft and had to change a whole Stan chapter back to third person. But aside from that, Stan and Maddie James are pretty different. Maddie is younger, and a little spunkier than Stan. She’s always worked for herself and ran her own life, whereas Stan takes a little longer to unravel herself from the corporate mindset and get comfortable in her own skin. They are both really fun to write. Although every now and then something comes out of one of their mouths that clearly belongs to the other character and has to be revised…

Julie aka JHAuthors: I faced the multi-name challenge when I signed the contracts for the Theater Cop Mystery series and the Garden Squad Mysteries series around the same time, and each publisher wanted a separate name. I’d chosen Julianne Holmes for the Clock Shop series, and wanted my name on one of the new ones. (I chose the Theater Cop series, since that was coming out first, and I wanted my folks to see my/our name on the spine). So I decided to go with JH names, so they books would all be near each other in a book store or in the library. And the first names are all Julie-like names, so I can respond. That’s why I brand as JHAuthors, so folks can find my other series.

Readers, which parts of your life require the most juggling? Do you wear a lot of different hats in your work and personal life? Writers, any tips for writing multiple series?

Downsizing

In my life I’ve lived in more places than I can count, starting when I was a child. The earliest house I remember was in Newark, Delaware, where we moved when I was three. After that we lived in New Jersey, Pennsylvania (two different houses), and New Jersey again (one house, then an apartment—after which I went to college and started adding more places to my list). No, my father was not in the military—he was an engineer with good skills but some issues dealing with employers.

And all along the way my grandmother and then my mother collected and hoarded “things,” many of which had belonged to other family members (on their side of the family tree only). Now my sister and I seem to have inherited all of those things.

The most recent time I moved was over 15 years ago, after living in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania for the prior 15 years. That last move came about because my husband got a job in Massachusetts, on Cape Cod (I would happily have stayed in Swarthmore). One of the plusses of that change was that because he’d been a government employee in Pennsylvania and was moving to a comparable government job in Massachusetts, the government paid for the move. All of it. Which meant we didn’t even bother sorting through our possessions—we just packed everything up and took it all with us. Which means that we haven’t gone through all our possessions for over 30 years.

Can you guess where this is going? In Massachusetts we found a lovely 1870 Victorian house in a mid-size town (no, it’s not a mansion; it’s a nice house in a middle-class community, and it was built by a guy who worked at the local grocery store, and shared the house first with boarders, then with his mother in law). It has two parlors, a dining room, and walk-through pantry and a kitchen, and four bedrooms. Plus a full basement and attic (with a servant’s room, without heat), and what was once a stable out back. Guess what? They’re all full, with the original stuff we brought plus things we acquired since.

And now it’s time to reverse the process. My husband has Parkinson’s Disease and is now in assisted living. Our daughter graduated from college and is living in the Chicago area. So it’s just me, bouncing around all these nice Victorian rooms. Which means it’s time to downsize.

[image error]Given to great-great-grandfather Silas Barton, for his service to the Grand Army of the Republic after the Civil War

It’s hard to do, as anyone who has tried it will know. There are so many items that have sentimental value, even if they belonged to an ancestor I never met. Things like my great-great-grandfather’s commemorative Civil War sword, or his daughter’s extraordinary lamps, including one from Tiffany Studios in New York. And the whole blinking family seemed to collect china: last time I counted I had 14 vintage teapots and 69 tea cups, not including the every-day sets in the kitchen. Don’t get me started on pots and pans (I think Revere Ware will outlive us all) and baking tins and cookie cutters and generations of mixing bowls, and … you get the idea.

[image error]When I was young I called this the Naked Lady Lamp (actually they’re mermaids and dolphins)

I can’t take it all with me. Which means some of it has to go. But how to decide what? Some of the things I have were among the few constants in our gypsy life around the East Coast. I still use many of the heirloom items, thinking fondly of those people who used them before me. They are part of my life, so how do I get rid of them?

Other random items:

[image error]My great-great-grandmother’s cast-iron peacock doorstop (it’s really only six inches high)
[image error]My great-grandmother’s childhood embroidery (it looks so very New England!)
[image error]A painting given to my great-grandmother when she was a wealth widow by a suitor, because her father had shown the artist’s works in his shop in Lynn years earlier

But one thing offered me hope. You may recall that a couple of years ago I bought a cottage in Ireland. It’s only 1500 square feet. It was unfurnished when I bought it. It took all of two days to furnish it with a range of pieces of furniture that included a lot of 1920s vintage things, like an amazing drinks cabinet, and a collection of figural lamps, one of which incorporates a real stream of water and a windmill that turns. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen anywhere else, and certainly no one else in my family would ever have looked at it twice.

[image error]The insane windmill lamp

Bottom line? The place is small and uncluttered. I furnished it with things I like, without considering anyone else’s opinion. Nothing is particularly valuable. I wiped the slate clean and started over, and surprised myself. I like the simplicity of it (although so far there’s only one bookshelf in the place).

But it’s still hard to say goodbye to so many years (and generations) of heirlooms. My sister is coming later this month to help with weeding things out and maybe finding them good homes. I wish there was a ceremony for bidding farewell to things you once cared about—maybe we’ll make one up. I know it will be hardest to get rid of all the books.

What about you? Have you been faced with this dilemma? How did you do it?

Women’s History Month!

Jessie: In New Hampshire where the signs of spring are doing a great job of remaining hidden!

March is Women’s History Month and I for one could not be more pleased! I love real history, historical fiction and unapologetic tall tales, myths and legends. I love all of thoses things even more when they feature women.

[image error]

For those of you as enamoured of the topic as I, here are a few things I’ve encountered lately.

In 1715 Sybilla Masters was the first American Colonist, regardless of gender, to have a patent granted on an invention. Unfortunately, at the time British law did not allow married women to receive patents in their own names. The patent was granted to her husband, Thomas Masters, with a mention of the credit for it going to Sybilla.

A jury in Barrington, MA, August, 1781 agreed with Elizabeth Freeman, an enslaved African American woman, that the newly ratified Massachusetts declared all people were born free and equal. Her groundbreaking case set a precedent for changes that lead to abolition in Massachusetts.

On January 1, 1892, a young woman, Annie Moore, was the first person to be processed at Ellis Island.

Mary Roberts Rhinehart was not only a famous novelist known especially for her mysteries but was also the very first journalist to reach the front during WWI and her experiences influenced her work.

In 1922, despite deep-seated prejudice against Americans of Chinese descent, Anna May Wong had a leading role in the very first technicolor film, The Toll of the Sea. Not only was the movie the first of its kind technologically, Anna was the first American-born Asian actor to star in a major Hollywood movie.

Margaret Rudkin’s family faced a serious economic downturn in the wake of the stock market crash of 1929. Driven by financial necessity and inspired by the benefit to her son’s health from a bread recipe she developed Margaret went on to build the business that would become Pepperidge Farms. She later sold the company to Campbell Soup and became the first woman to serve on their board of directors.

Readers, have you a story about a newsworthy woman to share with us? Is there someone in your personal life or in your community that you would like to celebrate?

My Favorite Ingredients for a Mystery by Shari Randall

[image error]I am delighted to welcome back talented author and amazing woman Shari Randall! If you haven’t read her delightful Lobster Shack mysteries you need to right now. Shari is giving away a copy of Drawn and Buttered! Look for details below!

Thanks for having me back, Wickeds! I love visiting you here and love it even more when I can see you in person.

Sherry asked me to tell you about my new book, Drawn and Buttered. Of all the Lobster Shack Mysteries, this one was the most fun to write, because I took to heart some writing advice. Annie Dillard said, “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”

Many ingredients give a savory chowder or stew deep flavor. It’s the same with story elements. I wanted to give this book as much flavor – and twists and turns and fun – as possible. So I decided to add all the elements that I like to find in a mystery, starting with setting.

Since I started writing the series, I’ve been dying to set a book at Halloween. It made sense to set the earlier books in the summer – the Lazy Mermaid is a waterfront lobster shack that caters to tourists.

With a Halloween setting, I was able to bring in the beauty of New England’s autumn foliage, the chill in the air that makes it fun to wear a cozy sweater, the lengthening shadows falling from a church steeple onto Mystic Bay’s town green, and the spooky feel of darker days.

What are some of the other ingredients in Drawn and Buttered? Black swan ballerinas, old cemeteries, family secrets, urban legends, psychics, swordplay, glamorous Halloween parties, fraternities, hidden libraries, two rare Russian Blue cats named Raisa and Rudy, sexy professors, absent minded professors, broken taboos, a super-sized crustacean named Lobzilla, plus the secret recipe for Aunt Gully’s New England Clam Chowder….

Whew! These are just a few of the ingredients in Drawn and Buttered. I hope you enjoy!

Readers: Do you have a favorite time of year you like books to be set in?

GIVEAWAY #giveaway Tell us about your favorite Halloween treat  and one lucky commenter will win a copy of Drawn and Buttered! US and CAN only please.

BIO
[image error]Shari Randall is the author of the Lobster Shack Mystery series from St. Martin’s Press. The first in series, Curses, Boiled Again has been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. A native New Englander, Shari has worked as an editor and children’s librarian. She enjoys dancing, reading, yard sales, and all things mermaid.

The Dark Side of Love

[image error]They say there’s a fine line between love and hate. Do you believe that’s true? How does that play out in your writing? Do you have one book in which it has been a stronger theme than others?

Edith: Love and hate are both strong emotions, the strongest, perhaps. Someone truly off balance might act out of hate because they didn’t get what they thought they loved, but I think for healthy people the line is pretty thick. In Biscuits and Slashed Browns, the motive was revenge on someone who had deeply harmed a person the killer loved very much. A similar thing happened in Turning the Tide. I think of my 16 books in print, those two have the finest line.

Liz: I do believe that! It’s easy to see how someone maybe a bit unstable could be pushed over the edge. In Cate’s first Cat Cafe mystery, Cat About Town, the victim was doing something to harm a person, and someone who felt they loved that person and wanted to protect them killed him, similar to what Edith described.

I also think it can happen in many attached-couple relationships, although I haven’t actually written that story yet!

Sherry: In All Murders Final!  Sarah starts getting pictures sent to her through a fictional photo sharing app. The first one is of Sarah right after she finds the dead body of a wealthy, well known woman in Ellington, Massachusetts at her isolated house. The photo chills her because she looks around but can’t see anyone. Photos continue to be sent to her throughout the story. Some she assumes are from friends until she realizes that something much worse is going on. One person’s love is another’s hate.

Julie: Both love and hate are passionate responses, and I’m not sure if there is a fine line or when a passionate love goes bad, the hate is as passionate and dangerous. In A Christmas Peril love plays a role in the final denouement of the novel. I’m perking a Garden Squad mystery idea about long ago passion for book #3.

Barb: This question made me go down the list of motives for murders in all my published mystery novels. It’s a list that goes something like–jealousy, love, hate, greed, love, love, greed, fear. But not love/hate. My short stories tend to be darker and there you can find love and hate. In “House Calls,” in Blood Moon, infatuation turns to hate. In “Key West,” in Thin Ice, a mother’s love threatens to slide into hate. In “The Perfect Woman,” in Red Dawn, love turns to hate and desperation with tragic results. Passion makes a great motive because it ups the stakes for the perpetrator. Passionate love, passionate hate. Both work.

Jessie: What a great question, Sherry! I think the line between might be thin but it takes most people a long time to get to the place where the two meet. I tend to write books where the motives are about protecting, preserving or keeping secrets hidden rather than those that involve hatred. My latest Beryl and Edwina novel, Murder Flies the Coop, has more love angles than the previous book in the series but it would probably create spoilers to say more than that!

Readers: What say you? A fine line or a wider one? Do you care about the motive for the murder? What’s your favorite love/hate line in crime fiction?

Of Dogs and Character Traits

By Liz, wishing for spring in chilly CT

I was having a conversation with my fellow Wicked Sherry Harris recently, and of course the dogs kept coming up. I mean, how could they not? Look at how cute they are…

[image error]

In any event, in thinking about their different personalities, it occurred to me that they are the perfect example of a great antagonistic pair in a cozy novel. And my other fellow Wicked, Barb Ross, once pointed out that these two were like the dog version of Jessie’s Beryl and Edwina – one trying to live within the norms of society, and one, well, not. Can you guess which is which?

[image error]



[image error]

So what makes a great pair? Here’s a few of my top traits, translated into dog speak:

They have many differences of opinion, but they can totally team up when they need to. Like when there’s a bowl of cat food nearby and they have to work together to reach it.They’re each working toward the same goal, but they have different ways to get there.  For instance, that same bowl of cat food – one will make very stealthily attempts to possess it, while the other doesn’t care what she has to do or who sees her (like jumping on the counter), as long as she wins. They keep things interesting with their individual quirks. How boring would life be if everyone was the same? The best pairs have opposite character traits that make the days lively. Like one who sleeps all day, and one who finds trouble in every corner of the room.They both have flaws and redeeming qualities. It’s easy to imagine one is an angel and the other a devil, but nothing is that black and white. Both these girls have good and…challenging traits. I wouldn’t have it any other way. They look out for one another. These two have their differences, but if one of them was in trouble, the other would come to her defense. I’ve seen it happen, and it’s pretty awesome.

Readers, do you have a favorite pair of characters in a series? Tell us below.