murder.booklocker.com

Q:  Who is the real hero in your novel?
A:  I began with wanting Teresa Cusentino, the center director, to be an integral part but she’s no sleuth. She does, however, give me access to other senior centers for other novels. I can’t really say that Detective Stanley Nevins is the main character either. One of my readers said, “Stan and Teresa behave like the adults they are. Stan is intelligent and thoughtful – if only all our law enforcement officers were like that.” So I guess if you’re looking for strong, heroic characters you’ll be disappointed. I was a lot more concerned that they be believable.

That said, I think that the murderers also read as genuine. A great deal of time was spent delving into who they were as people and how they related to each other and particularly to the boosters.

Q:  Successful books seem to be first person narratives, why not Park Ridge?
A:  For one thing, I would have to choose either Stan or Teresa if I was primarily interested in the crime-solving aspect which I wasn’t. My second choice would have been one of the murderers but there were four – each killing in their own way and based on their peculiar history. Using the special murder sections was one way to give them each a voice.

Q:  In PARK RIDGE, Teresa comes across as a fashionable, sexy Italian woman very much aware of her appeal. What’s the attraction for her in the cowboy-costumed detective?
A:  So many fictional detectives have eccentricities that fuel the story, impact how they are perceived and how they perform. Stan just has a preference for cowboy clothes. As Teresa says in my second novel, “He looks good to me with or without clothes.”

Q:  When did you begin to write?
A:  I’ve written off and on most of my life but didn’t think about doing anything seriously with it until I attended a creative writing class at Oakton Community College, just to get back in the groove academically. Then I entered a master’s program in writing at DePaul University, graduating in 2005.

I had visions of doing academic writing, certainly non-fiction.In fact, I’m halfway finished with a biography of Theodora Van Wagenen Ward, an authority on Emily Dickinson. Murder mysteries couldn’t have been farther off the radar.

In the spring of 2006 I had the class – I teach writing at the senior center – do some exercises in writing short-short murder stories. That project evolved into a contest. For my contest entry I started with my personal bias about seeing older folks sitting around playing cards when you first walk into the senior center. I always felt, “Hmm. This reminds me of an old people’s home.”

I allowed myself to fantasize what it might be like to be one of those pinochle players, sitting there day after day, with people traipsing by to go to dance or exercise classes, watching people queue to go on trips. I wondered how I would feel if anyone approached and suggested that I “do something” — meaning something other than play cards. Could that turn into a motive for murder? The answer was, “Sure enough.” The short story then evolved into the novel.

Q:  Who is your favorite author?
A:  I was a big fan of Taylor Caldwell who turned me on to historical fiction. I’m an avid reader of biographies and autobiographies.

In the murder mystery genre, I’d have to say that I’m a big fan of Patricia Cornwell because I find forensics fascinating. I’ve read several psychological suspense novels by Ruth Rendell and would like to think my novel is similar in style.

Q:  Why choose a senior center as the setting?
A: Originally because that was one of the contest rules! But also because I don’t think that most people think that “old folks” are capable of cold-blooded murder. I was pleased to discover that one of my readers thought that,” The Senior Center with its many rooms and flucuating population was a perfect setting.”

The second thing that caught my attention is the idea that if a senior citizen is found lying on a floor, even in a public place, that people just assume it’s age-related, a fall, a stroke, not a crime. On the other hand, if a younger person is found, crime moves way up on the list of possibilities. Which meant to me that murder should be easier to get away with if you are in the middle of an elderly population. Isn’t that why nurses, etc. are able to get away with offing elderly patients in nursing homes?