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Spring, 1999
Volume 4, No. 1 Four years ago, a group of women mystery writers from different sides of the country got together to share expenses in a publicity tour. We didn't know each other all that well before we created the group known as Nuns, Mothers and Others, after our sleuths' predilections, not our own. Since then, we've e-mailed each other constantly, met at conferences, and traveled together many times, as we will be doing in May. We know each other much better—week-long car trips will do that—and value each other's friendship. So naturally we thought about the way friendship shapes the main characters in our books. And decided that made a great topic for a newsletter compiled by friends.
Valerie Wolzien My two sleuths, Susan Henshaw and Josie Pigeon, don't have a lot in common, but they both have something I believe every woman needs—a best friend. In fiction, as in life, these friends provide support, companionship, and an occasional home-cooked meal. In a mystery novel, they also contribute a different point of view and another pair of feet to get out there and investigate. In a series, all the characters grow and change. When Susan's friend, Kathleen, was introduced in Murder at the PTA Luncheon, she was an unmarried police woman scornful of Susan's suburban lifestyle. Over the years, she's acquired a husband and two children and has discovered the joys—and trials—of life as a mom. Without Kathleen's help and support, Susan would have ended up in a psychiatric hospital in Weddings Are Murder. Josie Pigeon's best friend is going away. Betty Patrick, as foreshadowed in Deck the Halls with Murder, is getting married and moving off the island. But Betty will return to the series. In the meantime, maybe Josie will discover another of the delights of life—being married to your best friend. Or, then again, maybe she won't. Valerie's latest Susan Henshaw mystery, The Student Body, will be published in August. Another Josie Pigeon is in the works. E-mail: valerie@wolzien.com.
Jonnie Jacobs Friends are important in my own life, so it's only natural that they play a role in my characters' lives. In fact, it's usually a friendship that prompts my sleuths to investigate. Although Kali O'Brien is an attorney, her fictional cases all spring from some personal connection. In Motion to Dismiss Kali defends the husband of a law school friend—first on charges of rape, and then murder. Kali's friendship with Nina, who is pregnant and fighting cancer, and her discomfort with Nina's husband, were driving motivations for me in writing the story. In Evidence of Guilt, it is because of Kali's friendship with an older attorney that she winds up defending an uncooperative client in a grisly double murder. And in Shadow of Doubt, Kali's best childhood friend is accused of murdering her husband. Kate Austen falls into the amateur sleuth camp, but it's important to me that she have a believable reason for investigating a crime, and that's usually because someone she cares about is in trouble. Kate's friendship with Daria in Murder Among Neighbors is pivotal to the story and provides a key plot twist—so I can't say any more! Motion to Dismiss (third in the Kali O'Brien series) is now available in hardcover. Murder Among Us (the third Kate Austen novel) is just out in paperback. Jonnie can be reached at jonnie@jonniejacobs.com.
Lee Harris Everyone needs a best friend and Chris has two: Sister Joseph, General Superior of St. Stephen's; and Melanie Gross, her Jewish neighbor. She has known Joseph for close to twenty years, and besides her affection and admiration for Joseph, she visits her whenever she needs help in solving a murder. Joseph has a keen mind and a unique, objective viewpoint that usually directs Chris to ask the right questions of the right people, as she did in The Christening Day Murder. Joseph is also an understanding person who guided Chris spiritually when she went to live at St. Stephen's and also helped her make her decision to leave. Melanie is a young mother who teaches, loves to cook and bake, and has helped Chris adjust to the secular world, which included assistance planning her wedding and picking out her gown, as well as providing the house on Fire Island where The Labor Day Murder takes place. She is a fun person, a modern, educated woman who works and cares for her family. She has introduced Chris to Jewish people and practices and the celebration of Jewish holidays, expanding and enriching her life. Most of all, she is the person Chris can talk to and confide in, as well as have a good giggle with. Lee Harris's next book is The Father's Day Murder, due to be published by Fawcett in June. She can be e-mailed at MysMurder@aol.com.
Lora Roberts My character, Liz Sullivan, started the series in Murder in a Nice Neighborhood as a loner, an onlooker of life who participated only reluctantly. By the end of that book, Liz discovers that she does have friends, whether she wants them or not. These friendships open her to the world again. Bridget Montrose, Liz's true best friend, is always there to offer emotional support, practical advice, and fresh-baked cookies, in spite of being a harried mother on the go. Claudia Kaplan, acerbic, opinionated, and fiercely loyal, can be depended on to offer moral support, rabble-rousing, or room and board in an emergency. But Liz's best friend has become Paul Drake, the police detective who lives right in front of her, and who has pursued a more romantic relationship with her over the course of each book. Drake has given Liz the time and space she needed to open up to him and allow him into her life; in return, she lets him get closer than any man has gotten for years. Liz still has the temperament of the loner, an unwillingness to put up with much guff from the people around her. Luckily, she's found true friends who love her for what she is. That's the best kind of friendship, NMO style. Lora Roberts' last book about Liz Sullivan was Murder Crops Up. E-mail: myslora@pacbell.net.
Doggone Fun By now everyone should have picked up Canine Crimes, an anthology from Fawcett edited by Jeffrey Marks, with stories by a number of illustrious mystery writers, including NMO's own Jonnie Jacobs and Valerie Wolzien. Jonnie's story, "Doggone", shows how dogs get their just desserts. And in Valerie's story, "Nosing Around for a Clue," Susan Henshaw's dog Clue uses a dog's natural resources to solve a problem and maybe find a career. The rest of the stories in the anthology are also first rate, with authors ranging from Deborah Adams to Steven Womack. If you've wondered why the cat people seem to have a stranglehold on mysteries, strike a blow for dog-o-philes everywhere by reading Canine Crimes.
Lee Harris ~ Jonnie Jacobs ~ Lora Roberts ~ Valerie Wolzien ©2005-06 by Lee Harris, Jonnie Jacobs, Lora Roberts and Valerie Wolzien. |
