Isabel Long Mystery Series

When You Gotta Write Poetry

I wrote poetry before I could write prose. I began in college, where I fancied myself a poet, and a few years afterward until real life, including having six kids and a 25-year writer’s block, took over. When I did resume writing, I turned to prose, that is, novels and short stories. I no longer wrote poetry. But that changed when I wrote the third book in my Isabel Long Mystery Series, Checking the Traps.

I should note that book was re-released along with Chasing the Case and Redneck’s Revenge on Nov. 15 by their new publisher Bloodhound Books.

In Checking the Traps, Isabel is hired by a local bad boy drug dealer, Gary Beaumont, to find out how his half-brother died. Did Cary Moore jump from a bridge known for suicides or was he pushed? But what fires up Isabel’s interest in this case is that Cary drove heavy equipment by day and wrote poetry at night.

Gary lends Isabel the notebooks in which his half-brother transcribed all of his poems. As Isabel discovers, Cary’s poetry in the early books are really juvenile. But he gets better, well, enough that a famous poet uses the poems for his own in what turns out to be an award-winning book. He actually paid Cary for the poems, but he put his own name on them in a book that garnered big awards. Yes, the poet is a suspect in the man’s death.

Cyrus is indeed a noted poet, hence the snarky nickname, the Big Shot Poet, which the irreverent Isabel Long secretly calls him. He made it big after growing up poor with the release of his first book of poetry, Yonder.

He’s done well for himself, building a swanky home in the hilltown of Penfield and driving a Mercedes. He has a slew of adoring fans, mostly women. He’s quite the charmer. And, no, I don’t know anybody like him. Cyrus is a figment of my imagination.

One of my favorite scenes in Checking the Traps is a bookstore reading Isabel and her mother attend. I tried to capture poetry readings I’ve attended, including those loud sighs and moans from adoring fans.

Isabel also finds poetry that Cary wrote as gifts for other people.

So, that meant I had to write poetry, too, for this book.

Actually I found writing poetry wasn’t hard at all. I was able to channel that inner poet to come up with several complete poems plus lines from others. I tried to imagine what a man who had never gone farther than 100 miles from his country home would write about and how he would write it. I figured on a plain but sturdy style of writing. There would have lots of imagery from nature. The poems would not be long.

Poetry, including a reading where Isabel corners the famous poet, figures big in this book.

There are not many full poems but excerpts like this one: The wind tells me things my mother never did. And this one: gliding on ice/ if only life was still that easy.

Here’s one Cary — and I — wrote for Jack, the owner of the Rooster Bar, where Isabel works part-time. He’s also her love interest in this series.

What’ll it be tonight, boys?

The barman asks each one.

Give me some hope in a bottle.

Give me courage.

Give me love.

The barman laughs.

Sorry, boys, it’s only beer.

Did the experience inspire me to write more poetry? I will be honest and say no. But I enjoyed letting one of my characters do it instead.

Once again, here are the links to Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

Standard
Thanksgiving

Trunk Turkey and Alice’s Restaurant

Here are two Thanksgiving traditions: one that I no longer have but fondly remember, and the other I still do that day.

Here’s the first. Driving with six kids 2½ hours through the woods to grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving got old. So, when I finally had the nerve, I informed our extended family we were staying put at our home, but they were welcome to join us.

My parents took us up on our offer. They didn’t mind making the drive. But my mother didn’t trust that I would roast a proper turkey, so she volunteered to bring the cooked bird. I could make the rest of the meal. My mother was indeed an excellent cook of anything that had feathers while it was still alive. And besides she wanted to contribute something to the meal. I said yes even though the smell of roasting turkey is such a savory thing.

The first time, however, the kids and I were surprised when my father opened the trunk of their car and carried an aluminum pan of cut-up turkey into the house. What no beautiful bird on the table? Not this year.

One of the kids – I don’t remember which one – was the one who called it Grandma’s Trunk Turkey. Of course, not to grandmother’s face. But the name stuck.

I should say my late mother was a school cafeteria lady in those days. Serving food cut up in aluminum pans was part of the job. Her trunk turkey, however, was delicious. So it was Grandma’s Trunk Turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner if my parents came to our home.

Now for the second tradition — listening to a recording of Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant. For over 18 minutes, Arlo recounts in word and song how he got arrested for dumping trash illegally after a raucous Thanksgiving feast hosted by Alice Brock in an old church, which gets him arrested and convicted, a status he uses to get out of being drafted to Vietnam. I was lucky enough to hear him sing it in Taos, when we lived there.

Recently when we were in Stockbridge, we saw the restaurant that used to belong to Alice Brock. That’s the doorway in the photo above. Note the sign for Alice Ave. (By the way, Arlo announced Alice’s death at 83 on Nov. 22.) I will play Alice’s Restaurant at some point while I am cooking the meal Thursday for what will be a full house of family. 

As for the turkey, I’ve done my research on the best way to cook this turkey. I now have a great pan and a high-tech thermometer, plus a daughter to supervise. But part of me secretly wants me to put the cooked bird in the trunk of my car and take if for a spin before dinner. But only my mother could get away with that.

And a final note: I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I will spare you the list, but near the top are those who read what I write, including my books and these posts. Thank you.

Standard
Isabel Long Mystery Series

Writing about Strong Women

When I decided to write a mystery series, I wanted to create strong female characters. They wouldn’t be damsels in distress but women who knew what they wanted and went after it. 

Topping the list, of course, is Isabel Long, the protagonist of the series, which began with Chasing the Case. The next two are Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps. All three were re-released Nov. 15 by their new publisher Bloodhound Books. (Note: I am writing no. 8.)

Isabel Long is a former journalist turned amateur sleuth after she lost her job as editor-in-chief of a newspaper. Isabel is smart, sassy and doesn’t take crap from anyone. She’s also a good listener with a big heart, which makes it easy to connect with people, especially since she encounters a rather rough crowd while investigating her cases. A recent widow, Isabel is also done grieving and takes a part-time job at the Rooster, the local watering hole where she develops a relationship with its owner.

Many sleuths have a sidekick. When I chose one for Isabel Long, I went for someone unusual — her 92-year-old mother, Maria Ferreira, who’s come to live with her. A big fan of mysteries, she gives her daughter ideas to ponder and even goes on interviews. Maria is just as excited as Isabel about finding new cases to solve. She says it is boring without one. By the way, my late mother is the inspiration for Maria.

Annette Waters aka the Tough Cookie makes her  first appearance in Redneck’s Revenge when she hires Isabel to investigate the death of her SOB of a father. She runs the garage and junkyard that used to belong to him. She’s a single mother who is raising her son via a regimen of tough love. Annette is a woman who loves a good time with men and doesn’t hesitate to say what’s on her mind, usually with a sense of humor. I so enjoy Annette I carry her through the rest of the series. 

Other women in my mystery series includes Marsha Dunlop, who is Annette’s cousin. Aka the Floozy, she was a suspect in the first case and connected Annette with Isabel in the second. The two cousins are often seen together. Eventually, they buy the Pit Stop, a convenience store in the middle of nowhere. Isabel can count on Marsha for intel on the locals when she stops by the Pit Stop.

Then there is Ruth, Isabel’s daughter, who isn’t happy about her mother’s new career choice as a private investigator. She worries about the danger although it’s interesting she also made sure her mother has business cards. Ruth has a successful career and is the mother of Isabel’s only grandchild. 

Other women in these three books: a police chief, the first woman in her town to serve in that role, and the co-owner of a gas station, who eventually finds her inner strength after being in an abusive relationship.

Once again, here are the links: to Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

Standard
Isabel Long Mystery Series

Meet the Old Farts

I call them the Old Farts. Actually, that’s what Isabel Long, the protagonist of my mystery series, calls them — with a capital O and a capital F. And they are an amusing source of intel for her.

The Old Farts are a group of six gossipy old men who hang out early mornings in the back of the Conwell General Store. They appear to know everybody’s business for miles around, including Isabel’s.

For that reason, she finds the Old Farts useful when she takes her first case — in Chasing the Case — trying to find out what happened to a woman who went missing 28 years earlier in that town of a thousand people. They know all the players.

That’s true of the next cases she investigates — Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps, which now have a home with Bloodhound Books, had a Nov. 15 release date on Amazon. Just clink on the titles below and you’re there.

Actually, Isabel takes this relationship one step further and gives the men secret nicknames. Here they are: the Fattest Old Fart, Serious Old Fart, Bald Old Fart, Silent Old Fart, Skinniest Old Fart, and the Old Fart with Glasses. You can guess how she came up with those names.

The Old Farts, of course, don’t know a thing about it. It’s likely the only one they don’t.

And once in a while, there are Visiting Old Farts, but they aren’t regulars.

Isabel started visiting the Old Farts in the back room on a regular basis after she lost her job running a newspaper and decided to be an amateur P.I. She always sits on a bench besides the Fattest Old Fart, who could rightfully be called the Loudest Old Fart, because nobody else does. He always announces her arrival.

The Serious Old Fart always offers Isabel a cup of the store’s crappy coffee along with a joke that the expresso machine is broke — yes, he mispronounces espresso.

The conversation is lively although the Silent Old Fart lives up to his reputation and rarely speaks. (When he does, it’s significant.) They like to tease Isabel about her personal life. But they do give useful tips or at least some history because unlike Isabel, they are all natives of Conwell. They’ve known each other forever. And they have no better way to start the day than to drink coffee, eat a donut, and shoot the shit, so they love it when Isabel shows up and groan when she leaves too early.

Perhaps you have a group of Old Farts who meet in your town. They might meet regularly at a coffee shop or like mine, in the back room of a general store.

So many readers say they get a kick out of the Old Farts. You can meet them in the first three books in the series. Here are the links: Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

Standard
Isabel Long Mystery Series

When One Mystery Inspires Another

Sometimes I love the characters I create too much for them to have only one book. That’s the case of Isabel Long and many of the characters in the mystery series named for her.

I started with Chasing the Case. Then came Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

Currently I am working on the eighth in the Isabel Long Mystery Series. But those three books now have a home with Bloodhound Books, which re-released them Nov. 15. So I’m going to focus on them.

Each book features a cold case Isabel Long tries to solve in the fictional hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. In the first, she’s coming off a bad year — the untimely death of her husband and the loss of her job as editor-in-chief of a newspaper. She decides to put her free time and skills she learned as a journalist to good use solving a 28-year-old mystery in which a woman walked home from her family’s general store and was never seen again. It was also Isabel’s first big story as a rookie reporter. 

Since the disappearance happened in the hilltown where she lives, Isabel knows the people connected to the case and they know her. Besides, she has an unusual sidekick, her 92-year-old mother who has come to live with her. Maria may be up there in years but she as a keen fan of mysteries, she helps to bring insights. 

Other helpful sources include the men who gossip in the store’s backroom — she calls them the Old Farts. Isabel also takes a part-time job tending bar at the Rooster, the only watering hole in town, which is a great place to get people to blab.

Isabel does solve the case, but I’m not telling you anything more. 

With that case under her belt, Isabel is ready for another. Her next client is Annette Waters, who deservedly is nicknamed the Tough Cookie because she runs a junkyard and garage, and doesn’t take crap from anyone. (She is one of my favorite characters.) Annette hires her to investigate the death of her father, who allegedly was too drunk to get out of his shack of a house when it caught fire. I introduce new characters, such as Gary and Larry Beaumont, two feral brothers who are also drug dealers and it turns out, suspects. Plus, I keep many from the first. 

Oh, state law requirements for being a private investigator means Isabel has to work for a licensed one for three years. So Lin Pierce, who runs a seedy little P.I. biz, comes into her life. He pays her a buck a day for the arrangement and she shares what she makes with him.

Then Isabel and I moved onto our third case. Interesting that a drug-dealing suspect from the second case, Gary Beaumont, hires her to probe the death of his half-brother, who supposedly jumped off a bridge known for suicides. What convinces Isabel to take this case is that the victim was a highway worker who wrote poetry good enough for a well-known poet to steal. (It also meant I had to write poetry for this book.) Cyrus Nilsson aka the Big Shot Poet becomes a regular in the series as does Gary and Larry. 

From my experience of reading, watching or listening to a series, the trick is to give continuity but not drag down the story with too much from the previous one. No flashbacks. Just enough info so each book in the series is standalone. But if you read the ones before it, you can smile because you know a whole lot more than what I revealed.

Here are the links to Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

Standard