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Spring, 1996
Volume 1, No. 1 You may wonder what "Nuns, Mothers & Others" has to do with mysteries or writers. Well, the four of us are all mothers, but we're referring here to our fictional sleuths, not to ourselves. Lee Harris writes about an ex-nun, Valerie Wolzien and Jonnie Jacobs about mothers (and others, but more about that later), and Lora Roberts about a freelance writer. The title grew out of a tour we did together last summer. Because two of us hail from the east coast and two from the west, our first idea was to call the tour "East Meets West in Your Backyard." But people thought we were referring to some new-age Zen experience, a confusion we could do without. Then, in a fit of late-night e-mail madness, Jonnie jokingly suggested "Nuns, Mothers & Others." Valerie and Lee liked it. Lora wasn't thrilled about being designated "other" but she decided it was preferable to having her sleuth become a nun or mother. And she now has company. Valerie has a new series about a woman contractor (who is also a mother) and Jonnie has a new series about an attorney (definitely an "other.") Recently, we've done a couple of smaller tours together. We've had such great response (not to mention great fun) that we've decided to keep in touch with readers through a newsletter. In this issue, subtitled "My sleuth, myself?", we talk about the similarities and differences between our fictional sleuths and ourselves. We'd love to hear your questions and comments, and your suggestions for future issues. Look for our e-mail addresses and get in touch.
Jonnie Jacobs All my life I've had trouble making choices. Maybe that's why I write two series with two different sleuths. Kate Austen has a young daughter, a rocky marriage, a sexy lover, and a nose for trouble. I'm happily married with two teenage sons, and no sexy lover unless you count my husband. Like Kate, my curiosity (all right, nosiness) sometimes trips me up. Kali O'Brien, like me, is an attorney who's fascinated by the law, but not law practice. Hers is the life I sometimes yearn for, independent and free of clutter. But her past brims with family secrets (mine's fairly dull) and she has bad luck with men. Both of my sleuths are younger, bolder, and quicker than I am. But we share an appreciation for the irony in life and a faith that people do make a difference. Shadow Of Doubt is the most recent Kali O'Brien. The paperback edition of Murder Among Friends, the latest Kate Austen book, is due out in Fall, 1996.
Lee Harris My sleuth and I are different in a lot of ways. Christine Bennett is an ex-nun; I'm not even a Catholic. Chris never learned to cook so she conveniently married a man who could do the honors and boy, do I wish I had! She's about to start her family; mine's grown. But we both have that itch to dig below the surface, to find what lies hidden in the past—where all the good stuff in life is buried. Chris is probably a better person than I. She always sees the best in people, does volunteer work in her community, tries not to tell even little white lies, finds it hard to spend extra dollars. She's outgoing and I'm not very. I sit up in my third floor office, look out at the tree across the street that tells me what season it is by the color of its leaves, and work. The Passover Murder is the most recent Christine Bennett mystery. The Valentine's Day Murder will be out in February, 1997.
Lora Roberts When I first wrote about Liz Sullivan, she seemed as far from me as she could get. She lives in her VW bus; I never have. She's single, childless; I've been married to the same man for countless years and have two teenagers. She's younger, thinner, and far more self-reliant than I. However, my mother pointed out several points of similarity, and I discovered a few more for myself. Liz gardens, and I do too. She sews from necessity; I sew when I get the chance. She's a freelance writer of non-fiction articles. I write novels. Neither of us makes much writing. Perhaps I should be more like Liz—certainly that younger, thinner part has considerable appeal! Murder Mile High is Liz Sullivan's latest adventure. Murder Bone By Bone comes out early in 1997.
Valerie Wolzien I don't dress as well as Susan. Or as badly as Josie. Same goes for my cooking skills—although I eat everything from Susan's gourmet fare to Josie's caloric snacks. Like Susan, I've served time in PTA meetings. I know which end of a hammer to use, but, unlike Josie, I hope someone else will use it for me. All three of us are mothers, and my husband and I have been married as long as the Henshaws. I live with a golden retriever whose resemblance to Clue is quite amazing. And a cat just like Urchin is perched on my computer monitor as I type. But if I ever find a dead body, I'm going to call the police, go home, and pull the covers over my head until they discover the murderer. And neither Susan nor Josie will ever spend hours staring at a computer and writing, writing, writing... Shore To Die is Josie Pigeon's latest outing. A new Susan Henshaw, Elected For Death, will be out in October.
Lee Harris ~ Jonnie Jacobs ~ Lora Roberts ~ Valerie Wolzien ©2005-06 by Lee Harris, Jonnie Jacobs, Lora Roberts and Valerie Wolzien. |
