Fantasy, Myth and Formula

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

Several wise people have said that it is neither politicians nor warriors who shape a culture - it is the mythmakers, the creators of legends. In other words, it is us. The writers.

Laws might made by politicians and warriors, but the hearts and minds and beliefs of a people are created and fostered by the stories they read. For example, how many of our cultural beliefs have deep roots in legends and fairy tales? I think pretty much all of them. Even  the concept of a Happily Ever After comes from a legion of fairy tales all the way from Cinderella (the earliest known telling of which comes from the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt) to Nora Roberts and her fellow romance authors. The happy ending is by no means guaranteed in real life, yet we know we can always find one in a romance novel and that always makes us feel better.

It's the same with mystery novels. Some people wonder why, in this world of crazy behavior and rampant crime, anyone would voluntarily read a book in which fictional examples of the same take place. The answer is simple - because we know before we even open the book that justice will prevail. Not necessarily the law, I hasten to add, for the two are often not synonymous. When the novel is finished, the bad guys should be taken care of and societal balance not only returned but positively reaffirmed. If a writer is so injudicious as ignore this tradition, the backlash can be dangerous. Readers want their world tidied.

So how do you keep the ancient formula fresh? This was discussed on one of my writers' lists, and the answers were occasionally startling. Everything was suggested from reversing the sexes of the hero/heroine to putting the story on an alien planet with a bunch of non-human characters. All of these ideas had a certain viability that an experienced writer could pull off handily, but the discussion ignored the most important part... that the formula itself does not have to be freshened. The formula is a constant, no matter what costumes it wears.

For romance it is one character meets another character, there is an attraction, there are problems, the problems are solved and there is a happy ending. This formula doesn't vary what sex which character is or what the problems are or where the story is set, as long as everything is satisfactorily resolved and the two main characters have a happy ending. The rest is all just set dressing.

It's the same with mysteries - there is a protagonist, there is a crime, the protagonist solves the crime incurring no little risk/danger to himself and in the end all things are resolved in a satisfactory way. Perhaps the real world may be going to hell in a handbasket, but within the pages of a mystery novel the reader knows that justice will always prevail.

Sometimes knowing how things will end is the most desirable thing. That's why formulas have always existed and always will.

I Hate Promoting

I’m terrible at it. 

A big part of the reason is that I don’t like others doing in-your-face promoting to me, so of course I don’t want to do it to others.  Too many of the listserves I’m on have become nothing but promo machines, containing post after post asking me to read a blog post, share this Tweet or that Facebook post, or buy a book.  I haven’t actually tried to count, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I get thirty or more messages a day that are either promo for a post or a book.

I totally understand that in this brave new publishing world, everyone had to do everything they can to spread the word about their books. Promo is the only way to survive in this business.
I’m also an introvert and I hate being the focus of attention. It’s not that I’m shy. In fact, I’m not at all really, but I am reserved and there are psychological costs associated with anything that seems like pushing myself or my works on front of people.

I’m looking for ways to get out the word about a new self-published book that don’t involve a lot of in-your-face sort of trumpeting. I plan to do a few ads.  I’ve done and will do a number of guest blog posts (though I’m not so good about promoting those, either), and I’m sending out galleys as far and wide as I can. On the whole, though, I’d rather let my works stand on their own. I really hope that having read one of my books, a reader will want to read more. But I know that first, you have to convince them to read one.

So I’m going to do a promo spot here, though I promise it will be only this one time. The second book in my Market Center Mysteries series, Wired for Murder, has just released, and I have to at least mention it here.

But I would love to hear other ideas for how to get out the word that I have a book available.  Please comment and give me ideas!  Best comment idea will win a print copy of the first book in my Market Center Mysteries series, A Gift for Murder.

And now for the blatant promo:

Blurb: Heather McNeil, assistant to the director of the Washington DC Market Show Center, handles many of the day-to-day issues that arise during the shows, exhibits, and conferences being held there. The first day of the Business Technology Exposition provides her with plenty of opportunities to demonstrate her skill at settling disputes, refereeing arguments, and even breaking up fights.

When the president of industry-leader MegaComp has a very public argument with a man who accuses the company of stealing an important technical concept, she watches it but doesn’t have to intervene. Later, though, the accuser returns a phone call from Heather, and she becomes an unwilling audience to his murder.

Heather is more than happy to leave the investigation to the police, but she’s the person everyone talks to and she soon learns more than she wanted to know about the victim and all the people who didn’t like him very much, including several who might have motives for murder.

Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F81SNDQ
Amazon print: https://www.amazon.com/Wired-Murder-Market-Center-Mysteries/dp/153502027X/

Shh! Authors at Work

Wondering what's ahead from the Classic and Cozy Authors? Wonder no longer. Here are some of the projects we're working on.

SANDY CODY
Title: All That I Am
Main Characters: Peace Morrow, Flannery Donohue and Rachel Woodard
Genre & Publisher: Mystery/Crime, probably indie-published
One Paragraph from the Page I'm On:
Rachel almost stopped breathing when she read Amanda’s message: U missed it. We made the news. Check UTube. She clicked on the link that followed, then watched, fascinated and repelled. Not only did the clip show Amanda and the picketers, it included footage of the accused girl, Flannery, standing next to her grandfather, looking and sounding guilty as sin. Who said pictures don’t lie? Not true. She turned off the phone and stared into space. She turned it back on, watched the video again, this time more carefully, especially Flannery.
Publication Date: None yet
Did you know (something I learned for this story): I learned about the process of forensic hypnosis to help witnesses recall forgotten details

JEAN C. GORDON
Title: Reclaiming His Family (working)
Main Characters: Renee Delacroix and Rhys Maddox
Genre & Publisher: Inspirational Romance for Harlequin Love Inspired
One Paragraph from the Page I'm On:
Rhys ran his hand through his heat-dampened hair. This feeling that he was walking a tightrope without a net was why he stuck to his own business and didn’t socialize. The sooner he had Owen and Dylan and could concentrate on the three of them as a family, the better.
Due Date: July 25, 2016
Publication Date: None yet
Did You Know: The Welsh last name Maddox has numerous spellings, Maddox, Mattox, Madoc, Madog

KAREN MCCULLOUGH
Title: Market Center Mysteries: Wired for Murder
Main Characters: Heather McNeill and Scott Brandon
Genre & Publisher: Mystery with Romantic Elements; The book was accepted at Five Star/Cengage but released when they folded it, so I'm self-publishing it.
One Paragraph from the Page I'm On:
Dieter Gebhardt was pushing my buttons and he knew it. “I do not understand vy you say ve cannot do this.” A hint of smirk leaked onto his face. The tiny curl of his lip belied his pretended ignorance of my meaning, much less the authority behind the words. The sales representative for Schwartz-Mann GmbH was playing me, and I couldn’t tell if he really thought he could get his way by feigning stupidity or if he was just trying to score some machismo points. I didn’t care about the points, but he damned well wasn’t going to win the argument
Publication Date: July 1, 2016
Did You Know: You don't need a wireless service plan to make phone calls with a smart phone as long as you have access to a WiFi hotspot.

DEBORAH NOLAN
Title: Colleen's Story
Main Characters: Colleen Frescato, her sons, Michael, Patrick and Anthony, their fiancée and girlfriends, Lily Hanson, Juanita and Sana, and Colleen’s new love interest, Nick Rampallo
Genre & Publisher: Sweet Romance
One Paragraph from the Page I'm On:
Colleen stared at him and remembered him from forty years before. They’d been in grammar school together and had even kind of dated, if what 8th graders at St. Francis School did back then qualified as “dating.” After graduation, they’d gone their separate ways. Colleen had gone to Mount St. Dominic’s, and if she remembered correctly, Nick to the nearby public school. In any case they’d lost touch. But she hadn’t forgotten him. That would be impossible.
Due Date: I plan to finish in time to pitch at the RWA conference in July.
Publication Date: None yet
Did You Know: That Kearny, a blue collar town in Essex County, New Jersey once populated by Irish and Scottish immigrants, is now the first stopping point for Ukrainian and Polish immigrants.

Getting To Know Us With Kay Finch

Yes, we all have bios on this website, but there is so much MORE to know about our Classic and Cozy bloggers. So the 2nd Friday of each month is dedicated to getting to know us better. This month I'd like to introduce you to Kay Finch.

Okay, inquiring minds want to know…why a writer? Certainly not for the fame and fortune…or maybe it is?
KAY:  No…laughing…it’s not for the fame and fortune.  Writers like me enjoy sitting in a room alone with a computer and are not chasing fame or fortune.  I would accept fortune gladly, but that’s not likely to happen.  I don’t remember making a conscious decision to be a writer – I just am.

When did you first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create your classic and cozy characters?
KAY:  I started writing as a little girl sitting in my room in a Pennsylvania farmhouse. I always wrote mysteries, but I kept them to myself. My mom didn’t even know I’d written back then until my first book was published in 2003 and she read about it in an interview.

Do you have a set writing schedule?
KAY:  No, I have to write whenever I find myself with a bit of free time.  Due to my full-time law firm job, I have to limit writing to evenings, weekends, and my lunch hour.

Is there a certain routine, food/drink, or location that summons forth the muses for you?
KAY:  I drink a LOT of coffee when I’m writing.  I don’t know whether that drink “summons forth the muses” but it keeps me alert enough to keep the story moving forward.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
KAY:  I enjoy inviting the grandkids to come and spend the night with us. The only problem with that is now that the older ones have learned to read they have homed in on my bookshelves.  They ask “Grandma Kay, why do all of your books have “kill” and “murder” in the title?”  Talk about uncomfortable.

I imagine you’ve been reading all of your life (all great writers have.)  What was your favorite book as a child?
KAY:  All of the Nancy Drew books.  I can’t single one out.  From the beginning, I loved mysteries.

Do you re-read books?  If so, which one have you re-read the most?
KAY:  I don’t usually reread books – not because there aren’t books I’d love to reread but simply because there are too many books out there that I want to read. I do remember rereading The Poet and The Concrete Blonde, both by Michael Connelly.  Now that you mention this, I’d love to reread his book, Void Moon, too. 

But there’s more to life than reading, writing (and arithmetic)…what is your most memorable adventure in your life?
KAY: I’m only the adventurous sort in the pages of my fiction, but going way back to high school I have one memory that felt adventurous.  We had a class trip to Bermuda that began and ended in one day. A bus took us from our high school in rural Pennsylvania to Philadelphia in the wee hours of the morning to board our chartered flight. We flew to Bermuda, ate, shopped, and swam on the beach. Then we loaded back up and flew home the same day.  Is that crazy or what? I’m not sure what the school was thinking other than they didn’t want boys and girls going anywhere together overnight.

If you were on American Idol, what song would you sing to WOW! the judges? 
KAY:  Assuming that I could sing well, which I can’t, I would absolutely love to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Or maybe Wind Beneath My Wings.  I’m indecisive, so it would take me forever to make such a big decision. 

What book(s) do you have coming out or what are you working on?

KAY:  My newest book, BLACK CAT CROSSING, first in the Bad Luck Cat series, came out on September 1.  I’m finishing up book two of the series, THE BLACK CAT KNOCKS ON WOOD, set to come out in June 2016.

Last question…movie rights…who’ll play your current main characters when Hollywood comes knocking on your door? 
KAY:  I’d have to find out if Karen Fairchild from the band Little Big Town can act as well as she sings, because she’s the person I picture as my protagonist, Sabrina Tate.  Sabrina’s love interest, the local game warden, could be played by Charles Esten from the TV show Nashville.

For a complete list of Kay Finch’s books click on over to her website www.kayfinch.com. You can also find her at Kay Finch Author on Facebook or Kfinchmysteries on Twitter.

Getting To Know Us with Susan Aylworth

Yes, we all have bios on this website, but there is so much MORE to know about our Classic and Cozy bloggers. So the 2nd Friday of each month is dedicated to getting to know us better. This month I'd like to introduce you to Susan Aylworth, author of 13 novels, mostly romances, and one cozy mystery. Her 14th book will be released soon. 

Okay, inquiring minds want to know…why a writer? Certainly not for the fame and fortune…or maybe it is? 
Some of my best friends are in books. That may be a slight exaggeration, but my parents were grade school teachers, my mother had me reading before I started school, and I’ve been a reader all my life. It was a natural step to go from reading stories to wanting to create my own. The next natural step came in wanting to create stories others would enjoy. Because I taught English at the university level, my whole adult life has been in words.

When did you first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create your classic and cozy characters? 
I started my first book when I was nine. It was called Buff, The Proud Stallion, a rip-off of Black Beauty. I wrote with a huge round pencil on a yellow legal pad and I produced eight whole pages! For fifth grade career day, I declared my ambition to become "a rich and famous author." Decades later, I’m delighted to have achieved the "author" portion of that goal and realistic enough to know "rich and famous" may never come. That’s fine with me. Fame has a down side, which I’m exploring in my newest book. I love writing about all kinds of people from every career and background. It's one way to live many lives at once.

Do you have a set writing schedule? 
Yes and no. I still have a day job, so like many authors, I have to make time around the obligations of work, family, and normal life. I’m part of an author group called the “100 words a day challenge” and each day I report how many words I’ve added to my current work in progress. That keeps the project fresh in my mind. Then I use Stephen Covey’s approach to scheduling by the week instead of by the day. When I look ahead at my week and see a blank, I block it out as writing time. Because the work is always fresh, I know exactly where I’m going when I sit down.

Is there a certain routine, food/drink, or location that summons forth the muses for you? 
Not really. I have a place where I work and I always sit down with a full glass of ice water. That puts my brain in working mode. The muse usually comes when I’m listening to the news, watching a movie, or reading another story. Then I think, “But what if…?” Images come to mind, I start picturing characters, and I’m off and running.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing? 
I love to travel, go new places and see new things. Thank goodness my husband feels the same way. We go exploring whenever we can. Spending time with family and friends is my other favorite recreation. In spare moments, I also quilt and make jewelry, though I’m not especially good at either. Watching British TV series on Netflix fills my down time. Not surprisingly, my favorites are mysteries and romantic comedies.

I imagine you’ve been reading all of your life (all great writers have.) What was your favorite book as a child? 
The Secret Garden was one of my ultimate favorites, as well as anything by Marguerite Henry or Walter Farley. I loved anything with a horse in i!. By junior high I was devouring the medieval romances of Thomas B. Costain.  

Do you re-read books? If so, which one have you re-read the most? 
There are too many great books for me to spend much time rereading, but I do go back to favorites. Sometimes I reread parts of beloved novels to put myself in a certain time, place, or mood which I can then carry into my own work. The most recent book I reread and loved the second time was On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves. I’ve also reread some Debra Holland, Christina McKenna, and Catherine Ryan Hyde.  

But there's more to life than reading, writing (and arithmetic)…what is your most memorable adventure in your life? 
Having children is the biggest (and boldest!) of all adventures, but to pinpoint one, I’ll choose the trip we made in 2010. We flew to Italy and spent about ten days in Florence and Rome. Then we caught a twelve-day cruise in the Med which included stops in parts of Greece and the Greek islands, Turkey, Italy and an especially memorable stay in Alexandria, including a visit to the pyramids. That was my first trip to Europe or Africa and it opened my eyes to wonders I’d only imagined. Of course, there's also the trip I made in 2005 accompanying my daughter and a group of college interns to Bolivia. We happened to be in La Paz during their last (almost bloodless) revolution. That was more adventure than we'd planned for! I intend to keep traveling and discovering and I hope for many great adventures still to come.

If you were on American Idol, what song would you sing to WOW! the judges? 
Judges would be wowed by anything I sang—wowed and covering their ears! One of the great injustices of life is the reality that not all who love to sing actually can. Although I can keep a tune or sing a part, my voice often sounds like rusty door hinges or a crow’s caw. If magic happened and I was allowed the voice to sing one song one time, it would be Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You.” Now that’s a song!

What are you currently working on? 
What can we readers look forward to seeing from you? My fourteenth novel, the ninth and last in the Rainbow Rock Romances, is Roman’s Holiday. It’s in the final stages of editing. A release date will be announced soon, scheduled sometime between mid-October and mid-November. I’m also branching out, working on more complex stories, and I hope to write more adventures in the Maggie Rising mystery series.

Last question…movie rights…who’ll play your current main characters when Hollywood comes knocking on your door? 
That one is tricky since I know exactly how Roman and Lottie should look. Still I think James Franco and Emma Stone would look good in the roles. Now I just have to persuade them!

Getting to Know Us — Karen McCullough

Yes, we all have bios on this website, but there is so much MORE to know about our Classic and Cozy bloggers.  So the 2nd Friday of each month is dedicated to getting to know us better.  This month I'd like to introduce you to Karen McCullough. 

Okay, inquiring minds want to know…why a writer? Certainly not for the fame and fortune…or maybe it is? 
Good question and I’m not sure I have a good answer.  Definitely not for the fame and fortune.  Not that I’d mind the fortune, but I’d just as leave skip the fame part. It’s just that being a writer is part of what I am.  My imagination is always at work and seems to bring up new story ideas and characters regularly. They begin knocking at my brain and demanding release.


When did you first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create your classic and cozy characters?
I wrote my first short story when I was eleven or twelve. It was a mystery and three pages long, which seemed like a lot of writing at the time. I wrote my first serious short story in 1980 and submitted it to a couple of magazines. They all turned it down, but a couple added nice remarks about my writing, which was all I needed to keep at it. I think I finished my first complete novel somewhere around 1984 or 1985 and sold my first novel (the sixth complete novel I’d written) to Avalon in 1988.  It was published in 1990.

Do you have a set writing schedule?
I wish I did, but I have a full-time job (though I’m working my way toward retirement from it) and family commitments. I try to save a couple of hours a day for writing and try to get 500 words done per day, but it doesn’t happen every day, and I don’t beat myself up about it when it doesn’t work.

Is there a certain routine, food/drink, or location that summons forth the muses for you?
Not really. I often re-read the second I wrote the previous day, making corrections, and that gets me into the story enough to get the ball rolling. If I’m having trouble, I allow myself one game of solitaire while I’m thinking, but then I have to write one sentence before I can play another game. Weird as it sounds, it works and gets me rolling. However, a cup of coffee always at the ready nearby is a definite necessity

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I watch sports on TV - Carolina Panthers football, Duke Basketball, Atlanta Braves baseball, along with going to games of our local minor league team, the Greensboro Grasshoppers.  I also putter in the garden, play computer games, and travel. 

I imagine you’ve been reading all of your life (all great writers have.)  What was your favorite book as a child?
Yes, I have a lifelong addiction to reading. I remember tearing through every Nancy Drew book I could lay hands in my pre-teen years. When I couldn’t find any more new ones, I went through the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and a couple of other series whose names I don’t even remember now. But Nancy Drew was always my favorite.

Do you re-read books?  If so, which one have you re-read the most?
Yes, although not many. I’ve re-read the books of my idols, Mary Stewart and Barbara Mertz (aka Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters) numerous times, but the book I’ve re-read most often would have to be The Lord of the Rings.

But there’s more to life than reading, writing (and arithmetic)…what is your most memorable adventure in your life?
Hmmm.  That’s a hard one since I’ve done a few.  But, yes, the most memorable adventure happened in 2005.  Along with our two daughters, my husband and I went over to England for our son’s wedding.  (He attended graduate school at the University of Bangor in Wales, and while there met his future wife, a young woman from Kent in England.)  We decided to use the opportunity to see more of the United Kingdom, so we flew into Edinburgh, Scotland and spent a few days there, before we headed for a few days in London, and then down to Hastings to the hotel on the waterfront where we’d stay for the wedding. It was my first time in the UK and it was all new and wonderful. Sharing it with family made it extra special, and then the culmination in the wedding was marvelous. Another thing that made the trip so great was that in Hastings we got to meet so many members of the bride’s family and spend time with them, learning more about how they lived, etc. I recall that every moment was packed with things to do, see, and talk about!

If you were on American Idol, what song would you sing to WOW! the judges?
Ouch, this is a little painful because there was a time when I could actually sing. I had vocal training as a kid and sung in a number of choirs in school, then later in pop/rock groups, cover bands, and a couple of church music groups. But ten years ago I had two rounds of surgery to remove some things from my sinuses that weren’t supposed to be there, and my vocal cords were damaged, resulting in the loss of almost all of my range. (Same thing that took Julie Andrews’ wonderful voice.)  But if I were still able to sing, I’d probably cover Both Sides, Now, by Joni Mitchell, or Memory by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  

What are you currently working on? What can we readers look forward to seeing from you?
I’ve recently turned in the second book in my Market Center Mystery series to Five Star. The first in the series was A Gift for Murder, released in hardcover in 2011. The sequel is titled Wired for Murder. I have no idea yet when it will be released. I’m currently working on a novella in the series which I’ll likely self-publish myself to support the series.  My working title for it is A Gift for Destruction, but that could change. And finally I have a short story just released in July as part of the Frostgrave: Tales of the Frozen City anthology, which is connected to the Frostgrave game world.  My story is titled, “Best Served Cold.”

Last question…movie rights…who’ll play your current main characters when Hollywood comes knocking on your door? 
Oh, dear.  I don’t know…  Jennifer Lawrence in a dark wig would make a wonderful Heather McNeil.  For Scott Brandon, maybe Chris Pine.

Catch more of Karen McCullough the second Saturday of every month here on the Classic and Cozy Blog.   

For a complete list of Karen McCullough’s books click on over to her website http://www.kmccullough.com

And be sure and check out her blog http://www.kmccullough.com/kblog

Six Ways to Find New and Exciting Plot Ideas for Mystery Novels

Novel ideas come to writers in many different ways—by what they’ve personally seen or experienced, through an interesting event they’ve heard about, or because of something read about in a nonfiction book.

As an author, sometimes ideas just come to you, other times you have to dig for them.  Here are a few places to look for plot ideas.

1. Read the Newspaper

The newspaper is a good place to find mystery plots or those involving intrigue and scandal.  Murders and other crimes, the details stranger than fiction, are planned and executed daily by real criminals.  Who would believe that a man could get away with keeping women hostage in his house for decades without being apprehended?  Celebrities are always getting into mischief.  Husbands and wives sometimes commit murder for unknown reasons.  How many books have been spin-offs of the Scott Peterson case?  If you get ideas from a news source, it is best not to use real names and to change the events and the settings for legal reasons and so your book will not be just a re-hash of the news.

2. Search the Internet

There’s also a wealth of information in the Internet about true crimes, forensics, and other aspects of murder.  By “googling” certain keywords such as “murder”, “crime” or “forensics” a list of good sites to browse will likely appear.

Crime Library (http://www.crimelibrary.com/index.html) has a huge listing of serial killers, gangsters, and spies.  The Writer’s Forensic Blog (D. P. Lyle, MD) (http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/)  also has quite a few good links for crime and mystery writers.

3. Watch True Crime TV Shows

TV documentaries such as the Forensic Files (on Netflix) can provide valuable information on the details of crime scene investigation.  Taking notes while watching these types of true crime programs can add realism to fictional crime scenes.

4. Read Books on Crime and Forensics, and History

There are many good books on true crime and forensics where a reader can find ideas.  Author Jay Robert Nash has about ten books on murders and disappearances in the United States.  Two books that are good for starters are: Murder, America and Homicide in the United States from the Revolution to the Present.

History books also can provide good ideas for stories that might happen in a certain time era.  Loretta and I often read books on the Old West and travelogues of certain areas to get background and ideas.  When traveling, it is a good idea to visit the book rack of tourist attractions for stories about unusual crimes, ghost sightings, and other bits of history related to a certain area.

5. Visit Museums

A trip to a museum can often be rewarding when it comes to finding an idea for a story.  My sister and I have found several in that way.  Sometimes a display or one of the stories below an exhibit will spark the imagination.  We were going through a museum when we came upon an old class photograph.  Under one name someone had written in pencil, NEVER GRADUATED.  This gave us an idea for our Jeff McQuede mystery, Murder in Black and White, where a young man goes missing just before graduation.

6. Take a Course or Talk to Locals about the Area’s History

If there is a local university or place where you can take a course, this is also a good way to find a plot for a mystery.  In the local area, there are some archaeological digs that my sister and I plan to sign up for.  While living in Wyoming, I took a few classes in forensics and Wyoming history.  The tale of the Pedro Mummy, who had been found in the 1930s by miners near Shirley basin, began to spark my interest.  The tiny mummy was examined by scientists at the time, then disappeared.  This led to our writing Whispers of the Stones, where this curious artifact appears to have resurfaced--along with collectors who might kill to own it.

Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson are authors of the Jeff McQuede High Country Mystery Series: Murder in Black and White, Whispers of the Stones, Stealer of Horses, and The Executioner’s Hood.  To read more about the Pedro Mummy visit  Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson's Writing Tips and Fiction. 

Vickie Britton andLoretta Jackson’s Writing Tips and Fiction.

KILLING CLUTTER by Kay Finch

I don't know about you, but clutter makes me crazy. Not only do I have trouble concentrating if I'm surrounded by clutter, I really enjoy straightening up clutter. A fellow Pennsylvania native recently commented when I used the term "straightening up" and said it was good to hear since everyone here in Texas where we both now live says "picking up." I had never noticed this until she pointed it out. But I digress.

Scan a magazine rack on any given day, and you'll notice many articles on organizational topics. Genius Organizing, De-Clutter Your Life, Clutter Diet, Meaning Behind the Mess – a few titles chosen from my current magazines. I trust magazine editors have a handle on popular topics to pull in readers, so I guess the public – at least those who read magazines – is obsessed with getting organized and killing their clutter.

My obsession with clutter began at a very young age. I didn't have nearly as much stuff (a technical term in the organizing world) back then, but you can bet that everything in my small bedroom was regularly purged, straightened, stacked, and alphabetized. In my adult life, people often comment that I am so organized. Which means I'm more organized than they are – not nearly as organized as I would love to be. As I sit here writing this blog I'm thinking about how the dresser drawers sure could use cleaning out and the bathroom cabinet absolutely must be reorganized this weekend.

When a friend mentioned her professional organizer years ago in casual conversation, I began thinking about becoming one myself. I attended a couple of local professional organizer meetings and soon realized that my day job as a family law paralegal paid a lot better and had better benefits than those of a self-employed organizer. Not to mention I wasn't all that crazy about tackling someone else's mess. Take one look at the TV show Hoarders, and you'll see what I mean.

Then the brainstorm hit – don't become a professional organizer, write a cozy mystery novel about one. And she can uncover a dead body under a mess in the bathroom or in the walk-in closet. Wait – this book is going to be set where I live. It's way too hot in the Houston area to hide a body for any length of time in a house. Okay – make it February, and the body's in the garage. That'll work. And so my character – professional organizer Poppy Cartwright – and her business, Klutter Killer, came into being.

How about you? Are you blind to clutter, do you hire someone to take care of your clutter, or are you obsessed like me?

Cozy mystery author Kay Finch is currently writing her new Bad Luck Cat Mystery series set in the Texas Hill Country to be published by Berkley beginning in 2015. Kay lives in a Houston, Texas suburb with her husband, two rescue dogs and a cat. Visit her web site at www.kayfinch.com.