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Spring, 2000
Volume 5, No. 1 In the spring a mystery writer's fancy turns to thoughts of love—love interests, anyway. Among us, we've created more than half a dozen stalwart fellows for our characters to interact with romantically. And although we've conjured up entire universes of characters, brought villages to life, invented geography out of whole cloth, and spent way too much time thinking about clever ways to kill, the most complicated thing we do is to attempt to fathom the male mind.
Lee Harris The last thing on Chris Bennett's mind when she left St. Stephen's Convent at the age of thirty was finding a man. She had promised herself not to look for one, but one showed up, and a very good one. Jack Brooks was a detective sergeant at the 65th Precinct in Brooklyn and he was immediately taken with her when she went there to investigate The Good Friday Murder. As a husband, Jack is kind of an ideal of mine. First off, he not only cooks, he loves to cook and he's inventive. He respects Chris's desire to be her own person, hold a job, and combine work and motherhood, traits that I hold dear. Although he's always trying to improve himself professionally—which takes time—when Eddie comes along, he's a devoted father. So what's the downside? Cops don't make a lot of money, but now that he's a lawyer, Jack has new options. Will he stay with NYPD or try to practice law? It isn't clear what he wants to do. He spent a couple of years coming home late at night after law school, spent more time studying for the bar, and in next year's book, we'll find out what else he's trying to achieve. But hey, they're still young. Lee Harris's new book, The Mother's Day Murder, is in the stores right now. She can be e-mailed at MysMurder@aol.com.
Valerie Wolzien Susan Henshaw has been married to Jed for almost thirty years, and I can't imagine Susan without him. He provides the emotional and financial support that makes her suburban lifestyle possible. When I began writing about Josie Pigeon, I realized that, although she's a single mother running her own company, Josie would need help solving murders. She lives on a resort island with a limited year round population and I considered using a policeman for a romantic interest as well as for his professional skills. But I decided antagonism between Josie and the police might be more interesting. So I created Sam Richardson as her romantic interest. Sam, an urbane and literate retired prosecuting attorney, not only helps Josie catch the criminal, but teaches her to appreciate good wine, good food, and the love of a good man. Upcoming in July 2000: This Old Murder. Josie and Island Contracting are going to be part of a PBS series—until the show's host is murdered. And this fall, Valerie's short story, "Just One Bite Won't Kill You", will be published in the Berkley anthology, Death Dines at 8:30, edited by Claudia Bishop and Nick DiChario. A recipe for Valerie's mother's Very Southern Fried Chicken is included. E-mail her at valerie@wolzien.com.
Jonnie Jacobs Since I write two series, I've had to deal with the "significant other" question twice. Kate Austen has been far luckier in that regard than Kali O'Brien. Not long after Kate's husband leaves her (Murder Among Neighbors), Kate meets police detective Michael Stone. By the third book he's moved in with Kate and is talking about marriage. Their relationship hits some rough spots, however, in the newest book, Murder Among Strangers. And because part of the story is told from Michael's point of view, I've seen a side of Michael that even Kate hasn't! My other series sleuth, Kali O'Brien, has rotten luck with men, and it's all my fault. Having learned how difficult it is to keep an ongoing relationship fresh, I thought I'd write about someone who was more of a loner. But I discovered that was no fun (for me or my sleuth.) So there are men in Kali's life, but so far none have stuck around. One moved east, one went back to his wife, and Mark, her latest... well, you'll have to read the book to find out what happens to Mark. Murder Among Strangers (4th in the Kate Austen series) is just out in hardcover, and Motion to Dismiss (3rd in the Kali O'Brien series) is now available in paperback. Jonnie can be reached at jonnie@jonniejacobs.com.
Lora Roberts I've been writing about Liz Sullivan for 6 books now, but I've actually known Paul Drake, the man who is interested in her, for a longer time. Of course we all know Paul Drake from Perry Mason books. I wrote my first mystery, Revolting Development, in 1985, and I needed a name for the Palo Alto policeman whose point of view I alternated with Bridget Montrose, the amateur sleuth of the story. My father was a tremendous Perry Mason fan, and I read the books from an early age. It seemed natural to name the policeman in my book after a character I loved in the Perry Mason series. My Paul Drake's story was that his father, Seattle policeman Frank Drake, named his son Paul as a sort of in-joke. No wonder Paul moved to California as soon as he could! All this back story came out in book number 5, Murder Crops Up. When I began writing the books about Liz Sullivan, I set them in my fictional version of Palo Alto where my first mystery was set. I used the fictional characters I'd already created, because that was less work. And since the amateur sleuth and the police will meet in the course of a mystery, Liz and Paul were forced to work together. And the rest, as they say, is history. Lora Roberts' sixth Liz Sullivan mystery, Murder Follows Money, is out right now! For the time being, she's at myslora@pacbell.net.
Lee Harris ~ Jonnie Jacobs ~ Lora Roberts ~ Valerie Wolzien ©2005-06 by Lee Harris, Jonnie Jacobs, Lora Roberts and Valerie Wolzien. |
