Perils of Creating a Teen Amateur Sleuth by Susie Black

MUSE MONDAY

Susie Black is a welcomed guest here on Discover... Her muse has guided her to write a cozy about a young sleuth. She's here to tell us all about it on Muse Monday.

I am the author ofsix published humorous cozy mysteries. While my adult female protagonist in TheHolly Swimsuit Mystery Series is younger than me, the age difference between usdid not present any verisimilitude issues when I created her personality,lifestyle, or career. One key element that made it easy is that she was basedon me.

But writing aseries with a teen amateur sleuth who again was based on me—this time as a highschool newspaper investigative reporter presented several challenges that hadto be overcome to make the tale realistic.

Fourth down…you’re dead.

How much dangercould I/should I put my young sleuth into?

Would she tell herparents what she was doing or lie to them? The protagonist insisted on notrevealing to her parents what she was involved in. I had to enlist the help ofher Nana who figured out what Hannah was doing to convince Hannah to fess up toher parents.

Who would take ateenage amateur sleuth seriously? If she interrogated an adult suspect wouldthey even give her the time of day, much less answer her questions? How wouldshe know what questions to ask? Even her school friends asked these samequestions.

If she hadsuspects in mind, how would she go about investigating them? How would she knowwhat to do? How would she gain access to conduct her investigations?

If she did somehowdiscover proof that a suspect was the killer, would the homicide detective takeher information seriously or blow her off?

While the seriesis based on my experience as a high school newspaper investigative reporter, Ithankfully had never made such a gruesome discovery as Hannah White did. Howshould she react? Terrified? Shocked? Faint? I took a risk and had her reactexactly as her wise-cracking, irreverent personality would dictate. And theresult was one of the funniest one-line zingers of the story:

Dean gulped. “Who are youcalling?”

“Donofrio’s Pizzeria. Deadbodies give me the munchies.”

 

So, how did I overcome seeminglyinsurmountable challenges?

1.     Icreated two adult characters who interacted with the teenage sleuth:

Bart White: Hannah White’s uncle andthe defense attorney for the teenage murder suspect. He enlisted her to get theinformation he would be hard-pressed to obtain on his own.

H.S. Whiperski: A Private InvestigatorBart hired to work with Hannah. H. S. tailored the questions to ask and thesteps the teenage sleuth could realistically and safely take.

 

2.    I incorporated Hannah’s investigative reporter skills intohow she approached suspects and the methods she employed to question them.Hannah questioned several teacher suspects under the guise of interviewing themfor a story she was writing for the school newspaper.

3.    I created a group of Hannah’s friends called the YoungYentas who served as a sounding board for Hannah to bounce ideas off of and asassistant sleuths.

4.    I added a teenage sidekick for Hannah who gave her accessto a key site at the high school to search for proof that a teacher hadcommitted the murder.

5.    I created a school janitor who served as a trusted sourceof information, to bounce ideas off of, and who helped Hannah save a teacher’slife.

6.     I devised a“rope-a-dope” mechanism Hannah employed to interview suspects without themrealizing what she was doing.

 

The Case of the Croaked Coach,the debut title of The Hannah White Mystery Series was simultaneously theeasiest and most difficult manuscript to write.

Blurb:

There wasn’t an honestbone in Buzz Bixby’s body. The Encino High School’s head football coach was anequal-opportunity scoundrel. Bixby cheated and lied his way to the top andscrewed anyone and everyone in his wake. So, the question wasn’t who wanted thecoach dead. The question was, who didn’t? Despite how guilty Dean looks, Hannah isconvinced he’s innocent. When Snyder is arrested for Bixby’s murder, thewise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to flesh out thereal killer. But the trail has more twists and turns than a slinky, and nothingturns out how Hannah thinks it will as she tangles with a clever killerhellbent on revenge.

Excerpt:

Ipeppered Dean with questions. “Call 911? Try to help him. Check his pulse.Perform CPR? Anything?”

Deanhung his head. “No.”

 “What the heck is the matter with you?”

Hebunched his shoulders.

“ Ifyou’d at least called 911 he had a chance of being saved.”

Hepointed the trophy at the corpse. “Is he dead?”

Deanbent over the coach’s crumpled body. “I’ve never seen a dead body before. How doyou tell?”

The backof the guy’s head is smashed in like roadkill. How much more proof do you need?

I rolledmy eyes. “Well, since he hasn’t so much as twitched, it’s a safe bet thenext game Bixby coaches is gonna be played in the stadium located at the GreatBeyond.”

Buy Links: The Case of the Croaked Coach: https://t.co/X2W29k2Why  

A Bit About theAuthor:

Named Best USAuthor of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, multi-award-winning cozymystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunnySouthern California home. She has published seven books and # eight is slatedfor release in May 2025. Avoracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highlyintelligent man and is the mother of one incredibly brainy but smart-aleckadult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.

Looking for more? Contact Susie at:

Website: www.authorsusieblack.com

E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com 

Susie Black Social Media Links: 

BlueSky: @hollysusiewrites.bsky.social

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