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Isabel Long Mystery Series

Listening to My Mistakes

When I was a kid, reading aloud meant an adult with a good voice repeated the words of a book to me, sometimes with voices to make it interesting. I did the same for my own. But as a writer, the term reading aloud has a different meaning. It’s how I listen to the mistakes I made in the book I wrote.

I reserve the Read Aloud function of Word for the last round of edits of the books I write. That’s what I did recently for Finding the Source, the eighth in my Isabel Long Mystery Series. I want it to be as clean as I can possible before I submit it to my publisher Bloodhound Books. And that’s where Samantha, one of the voice options available for Read Aloud, helped me out.

Read Aloud offers a variety of voices but I chose her since the book is a first-person narrative by a woman. Plus, hers was the least weird to me. (When I had an earlier version of Word, the narrator was a man I called Frank.)

Here she is reading the novel’s opening words.

Samantha’s voice has zero emotion and some of her pronunciations are a bit odd. But she’s been so useful bringing to my attention missing words, typos, repeated words, and parts of sentences that just don’t cut it. Frankly, Samantha helped me find a lot of them. 

I had gone over this novel many times, half-way through, and then when I reached ta-da the end. But as I did with other books, I’ve found it so effective to hear Finding the Source being read by somebody else, and that’s where Samantha helps out. I follow along, reading the words on my computer screen as she says them. I interrupt her to make any changes.

Yes, I tried reading my books aloud myself but Samantha does a much better job.

It is a time-consuming process. Finding the Source is almost 76,000 words, so I spread the task over four days to keep things fresh. Of course, another set of eyes and a fresh mind will likely find more. That’s what real editors are for. But right now, I am pleased with the work Samantha did.

And, yes, I did use Read Aloud for the first three books in my Isabel Long Mystery Series, recently republished by Bloodhound Books: to Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: This is a scene from the village where I live. Certainly, one of the most unusual ways to fix that problem.

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Isabel Long Mystery Series

Transferable Skills

Isabel Long, the protagonist of my mystery series, was a long-time journalist before she became a private investigator. So was I, but I don’t plan to become a P.I. Instead, I will continue writing about one.

The series is set in the small, rural hilltowns of Western Massachusetts, where I got my start in the newspaper biz. I was hired as a correspondent — paid by the inch — to cover the hilltown where I lived, Worthington, population 1,200, for the Daily Hampshire Gazette. I had no previous experience, except for reading neswpapers, but that didn’t seem to matter to the editor who hired me.

That experience grew into a 35-year career working for newspapers. including as editor-in-chief for The Taos News in Taos, New Mexico — an immensely interesting experience. My most recent gig was an editor-in-chief overseeing three daily newspapers in Western Mass. — Greenfield Recorder, Daily Hampshire Gazette and Athol Daily News.

But back to the start, I reported first on Worthington as I learned the ropes and eventually covered several towns, plus did regional stories. I loved breaking a news story and getting to know what people did. I went to town meetings and reported what interested the community from truck pulls to school events to country fairs. I covered fires and what little crime there was. I did profiles. A few of my stories went national. I even went to the White House.

One of the greatest benefits was listening to the way people talked and writing it down. I believe it has paid off with realistic dialogue in my fiction.

It also gave me insight into how people behave, and certainly I had a total immersion into the hilltowns of Western Mass., which I use as a setting for much of my fiction.

And as an aside, working as reporter broke a 25-year writer’s block.

Back to Isabel, who also covered the hilltowns of Western Mass. until, like me, she moved up to being the top editor. She lost her job managing a newspaper when it went corporate. (To set the record straight, that didn’t happen to me.) In Chasing the Case, no. 1 in the series, Isabel decides to revisit her first big story as a rookie reporter — when a woman went missing 28 years earlier from the fictional town of Conwell.

She relies on the skills she used as a journalist for that case and the ones after. The first three in the series were recently re-released by Bloodhound Books: Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.

By the way, since Isabel snagged a bunch of cold case files from her newspaper, it was an opportunity for me to write news stories again — although for made-up subjects. Here’s the start of one with the headline: Conwell woman missing.

CONWELL — Police are investigating the disappearance of Adela Snow Collins, 38, a Conwell native, who was reported missing Tuesday, Sept. 15 by her family when she failed to show up for work at the town’s only store.

State Police, who were called to assist the Conwell Police Department, issued a statement they are treating her disappearance as a missing persons case and at this time, do not suspect any criminal activity.

Her father, Andrew Snow, said in an interview he became concerned when Collins wasn’t on time because she was always prompt even during bad weather. “She only lives three hundred yards from the store,” he said.

Snow said he walked to his daughter’s house on Booker Road when she didn’t answer the telephone despite calling several times. He said he thought maybe she was ill although she seemed fine the day before.

But Snow said he couldn’t find his daughter or her car in the garage. Her purse was on the kitchen table and her dog was inside the house.

“That’s when I called the police,” Snow said. “This isn’t like my daughter at all. The last time I saw her, I was locking up the store. She always tells us where she’s going especially if she’s leaving town, and she didn’t say anything. We’re all so worried for her. Please, if anyone knows anything, call the State Police.”

Customers at the Conwell General Store also expressed concern for Collins, who has worked in the family’s business since she was a teenager. She grew up in Conwell and attended local schools. She has one son, Dale, 10, who was staying overnight at his grandparents’ house, according to police.

“You couldn’t ask for a sweeter person,” said Thomas MacIntyre, who works on the town’s highway crew. “We‘ve known each other since we were kids. I hope she’s okay.”

Franny Goodwin, who was Collins’s first-grade teacher, says she can’t recall anything like the woman’s disappearance happening in the small town.

“We only have a thousand people living here,” she said. “How can a woman just up and disappear? You tell me.”

State Police say anyone who may have information about Collins should call the barracks in Vincent.

So what skills would Isabel find transferable? Certainly, breaking down the elements of a story and figuring who to contact. Good interview skills are a must. Developing a network of sources for tips is another. And she’s got to be good kind of nosy.

And there are times when a journalist has to be a bit brave. For Isabel, that means talking with somebody who has something to hide — like maybe murdering another person. By the way, she’s really good at that.

IMAGE ABOVE: That’s my first press pass. By the way, I only had to use it twice to prove I was a journalist: at the White House and Cummington Fair.

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Isabel Long Mystery Series

What’s Good About Bad Guys

Not all of the characters I create are nice people. After all, this is a mystery series, and somebody has to have committed a crime, say a murder, an attempted one, even a kidnapped baby — and got away with it. And as Isabel Long has discovered as she tries to solve each cold case, there are suspects who could be classified as bad guys. That includes women by the way.

Frankly, I enjoy creating these characters and often keep several around for more than one book. I try to create characters that are complex, so their villainy might not be apparent. Or they might have some redeeming characteristics that shows they aren’t all bad after all. And sometimes they might seem like they’re okay, but as Isabel finds out, they’re not.

I am going to focus on the first three books in the series — Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge, and Checking the Traps— which were recently released by Bloodhound Books.

In Chasing the Case, Victor Wilson is a suspect in the disappearance of Adela Collins 28 years earlier. (It was Isabel’s first big story as a rookie reporter.) He’s one of those unfriendly guys living in what looks like a stockade on one of the town’s back roads. Isabel has a good guess what he does there and it isn’t growing orchids in a greenhouse. You know the type — quiet and keeps to himself — for a good reason.

Vincent is on the permanently banned list at the Rooster for coming in one night spouting White Supremacist “crap” and carrying a gun. Here’s what Isabel has to say about him: “I typically see him pumping gas outside the general store. Once in a while, Victor comes to town meetings to bitch about something. He’s a scrawny dude with a long hipster beard, before it came into style, and naturally, a wild head of hair. I have no idea what he does for a living.”

But did Victor have anything to do with Adela’s disappearance. I’m not saying.

In Redneck’s Revenge, Annette Waters hires Isabel — for free mechanical service for life at her Rough Waters Junkyard and Garage — to investigate the death of her father Chet. It appears Chet was too drunk to get out of his house when it caught fire. Her father might have been an SOB of a guy, but Annette doesn’t believe his death was accidental.

Among the suspects are two brothers, Gary and Larry Beaumont, drug dealers who terrorized Isabel. The brothers live in a dump of a house and have the manners of feral dogs. They allegedly were responsible for drugs found in a junked car that was delivered to Rough Waters. Oh, Gary’s the father of Annette’s grown son after a brief relationship as teenagers — a secret she keeps to herself.

Isabel goes with Annette to Baxter’s Bar to meet Gary and Larry who were being elusive. (They are banned from the Rooster for selling drugs in the parking lot.) This is what Annette says when the brothers arrive: “Hard to tell ’em apart, eh?” Annette says. “Well, the ugly son of a bitch with the mustache is Gary. The other ugly son of a bitch with the scar down the side of his face is Larry. It’s from a car crash, not a knife fight although he’s been in a couple of those.”

I grew so fond of the brothers, I have kept them through the series. I have also added more complexity to their personalities. Maybe they’re not upstanding citizens, but they aren’t just bad guys.

For instance, Gary, the alpha brother, hires Isabel for her third case in Checking the Traps. Gary wants Isabel to find out what happened to their half-brother Cary. He doesn’t believe for a second that Cary, who worked on a highway crew and wrote poetry at night, jumped off a bridge in a neighboring town that is known for suicides. He is sure somebody murdered him.

The chief suspects are one of Gary’s business associate, yes, Victor Wilson, and a famous but rather snotty poet, Cyrus Nilsson, who plagiarized his brother’s poetry for an award-winning book. Could a poet be a bad guy? Sure, why not?

Here are the links to those books: : Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revengeand Checking the Traps. Thank you if you do.

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Isabel Long Mystery Series

Meet My Victims

My mysteries always have a victim. And it’s Isabel Long’s mission to find out what really happened to that person.

Isabel, a longtime journalist turned P.I., focuses on solving cold cases in the fictional hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. So, I try to give her cases that will challenge her — and readers of the series. 

Since the setting is a rural area, likewise the characters I create fit right in. Most are locals whose families have lived there at least a couple of generations although there are newcomers, including Isabel who moved with her family to the small town of Conwell, population 1,000, from Boston.

After living in small rural towns for many years, I feel I have done enough people watching to create authentic characters although I should be clear none are based on real people. As I’ve shared before, my motto is: I take what I know and have my way with it.

Currently, I am completing the eighth in the series. In all but one, which was the case of a missing person, the victims are long deceased. Their deaths were ruled accidents, presumed dead or a suicide, but a person closest to them doesn’t believe that’s what happened. Actually, let me back up and say that no. eight has an outright murder that happened 43 years ago. 

But for this post, I am going to focus on the victims from the first three books in the series, since they were recently republished by Bloodhound Books.

In the first, Chasing the Case, a woman disappeared 28 years earlier. Adela Collins 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. As she finds out when she pursues this case, Adela has a few secrets.

In the second, Redneck’s Revenge, Chet Waters, a junkyard owner supposedly died in a fire because he was too drunk to get out. But his daughter, Annette Waters, who now owns that junkyard, doesn’t believe it. Chet might have been an SOB, but Annette, believes he deserves better.

And in Checking the Traps, the victim is a highway worker by day and a poet by night. The official ruling was that Cary Moore jumped from a bridge known for suicides. For years, his half-brother Gary has been trying to get someone to look into it, and now that Isabel has solved two cases, he turns to her for help.

In each book, I try to give readers a portrait of each victim through the words of the people Isabel Long interviews. You can check out her handiwork in the first three books in the series: Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps. Thank you if you do.

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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.

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