A peaceful Thanksgiving

Most of us want Thanksgiving to be a happy, peaceful time when we gather together with the people we love to give thanks for our many blessings.  But family dynamics can sometimes get in the way of that - if we let them.

In Secrets in Storyville, when Kate's daughter, Mandy, announces her plan to do a family tree for a school project, Kate's parents and grandmother are against it. Kate doesn't understand why - but she's determined to find out. However, in order to have a peaceful Thanksgiving with her family, she decides to let them think she and Mandy have agreed to drop the project. Whatever it takes to keep the peace.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Dad patted his stomach. “Gloria, you’ve outdone yourself this year. Everything was delicious, as always.” He raised his eyebrows. “But there was something different about your stuffing.”

“I added mushrooms this year.”

He reached across the table and patted her hand. “Well, it was the best I’ve ever tasted.”

My mother actually blushed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She stood up. “Is anyone ready for pumpkin pie?”

We all shook our heads.

I laughed. “I’d love some but it’ll have to wait till later. If I have another bite, I won’t be able to get out of this chair. Thanks, Mom.”

One by one, we all pushed back our chairs and stood up. Dad, Gram and Mandy headed for the living room to watch TV. Mom and I cleared the dining room table, carrying the leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and cranberry into the kitchen.

It felt good to have things back to normal. Although I hated deceiving my parents, I was glad I’d decided to do it. I shuddered to think what Thanksgiving would’ve been like if they knew the truth about Mandy’s project.

“I’ll wrap up some of everything for you to take home,” Mom said. “That way, you won’t have to cook dinner tomorrow. How early do you have to be at work in the morning?”

I sighed. “Five o’clock. It keeps getting earlier every year. I’d like to shoot whoever invented Black Friday.”

“Well, it’ll be over before you know it. At least it’s only once a year.”

Easy for you to say, I thought. You’ll be snuggled up in your warm bed. But, of course, I didn’t say that. Instead, I asked her, “Do you want to wash or dry?”

I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!

Mystery without Murder

I’ve always been an avid mystery reader. Growing up, I read Nancy Drew mysteries like most other girls my age but my favorite books were the Judy Bolton mysteries written by Margaret Sutton. Titles like The Midnight Visitor, The Mark on the Mirror, and The Forbidden Chest fascinated me. Each book held a mystery for Judy to solve and, if memory serves, there were no murders in any of the books. Just an intriguing mystery.

Of course, those books were written for young girls, not adult women, so there were limits on the subject matter and graphic nature of the published material. Understandable. Although I love a good murder mystery, I also like the idea of mystery without murder, which I attribute to all the hours I spent with Judy Bolton. 

There are no murders in Secrets in Storyville. Only mystery. 

Kate Morgan, a single mother, lives in the small town of Storyville, Ohio where she grew up. A want-to-be author, she works as a sales clerk in the town’s only department store doing what she describes as “a job a monkey could do.” Although she’s bored with her job, she’s reluctant to consider making any major changes in her life. However, she’s about to find out that change is inevitable.

When Kate’s ten-year-old daughter, Mandy, tells the family she plans to do a family tree for a school project, the negative reaction of Kate’s parents and grandmother shocks her but also arouses her curiosity. Why are they so against Mandy’s project? Surely her family is too “normal” to have any skeletons in their closet.

Kate decides to support her daughter even if that means defying her parents. As she searches for the truth, she discovers some long buried secrets that, if she decides to reveal them, will change her life and the lives of the people she loves - forever.

What inspired me to write Secrets in Storyville?

As a reader, I’ve always loved a good mystery. Most of the books I’d read were standalone mystery/suspense novels. But, several years ago, I picked up a cozy mystery, which took place in a small town, and I was hooked on cozies. Now, I still love a good suspense novel but I find that I read more cozies than any other mystery sub-genre. Some are standalones and some are part of a series.

As a writer, I never know where inspiration for a story will come from. But it’s always from people, places and things that have crossed my path. Sometimes they’re recent and other times they emerge from my memory bank.

When I finished writing my fifth Malone mystery, Marnie Malone, I wasn’t sure what my next book would be. I’d spent so many years on the series and had become so involved in the lives of the characters. I knew I’d miss the Malones but I also realized it was time to end the series and to do something totally different.

My Malone mysteries are all written in the third person and they are set in real locations, places that really exist. An old Victorian in my neighborhood was the inspiration for the series.

For a long time, I’d wanted to write a cozy mystery in the first person and set it in a fictional small town. Now I had my chance. Secrets in Storyville is completely separate from and different than my Malone mysteries but the books have one thing in common: an old house inspired me. As it turned out, I didn’t use that house as the main setting in my new book but it is a secondary setting and important to the plot. 

The other elements of the book came to me in the usual way – bits and pieces that somehow eventually coalesced to form a book. A book that was so much fun to write!

I hope you enjoy reading Secrets in Storyville as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Mystery and Mirth

We all know that laughter is cathartic. No matter what’s going on in our lives and in the world, a good laugh or even a chuckle has the power to make us forget about whatever challenges we’re facing if only for a short time. The more we laugh, the better we feel.

Kate, the main character in Secrets in Storyville has what she calls “a healthy sense of humor.” I have to agree with her because I found myself laughing out loud as I wrote many of the scenes in the book. I hope, as you escape into Kate’s world, you will too.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

I pushed the button on my radio for our local oldies station. As I drove back to work, I cranked up the music and sang along to the strains of Frosty the Snowman.

The song reminded me of the “anatomically correct” snowman Bobby had built in our front yard when we were in our early teens. As long as I lived I would never forget the expression on my mother’s face - a combination of shock and rage - when she pulled into the driveway that day and saw the snowman.

She slammed her car door, stomped over to us, grabbed one of the two carrots Bobby had used – it wasn’t the one for his nose - and tried to pull it out. That carrot must’ve really been stuck because she yanked and yanked before it came out in her hand.

Bobby and I exchanged glances, trying so hard not to laugh out loud because we knew better than to do that. Somehow we managed to control ourselves until my mother had stormed into the house. Then we both lost it. Thinking about it now as I drove back to work, I couldn’t stop laughing.