fiction – Page 2 – Ladies of Mystery

Eons ago, when I wrote my first book, I actually had to go to the library to research untraceable poisons, fast acting poisons, skin absorption poisons. Yes, I was poisoning someone and yes, I’m that old!

I loved going to the library, I mean after all it is filled with books! But as a single mom at the time, with two young boys, my opportunities to languish in a palace of books were limited.

Also, during my early writing days, there were no TV shows like Criminal Minds or CSI. Though I have a dark and twisty mind, I didn’t know anything about “behavioral analysis” or “DNA” or “national criminal databases.”

In my next WIP, my villain convinced another inmate to kill himself while posing as the villain. The villain would then assume the dead inmate’s laundry job and smuggle himself out of the prison in a laundry truck. My weapon of choice was a lightbulb gasoline bomb, an idea I stole from “The Longest Yard.” So, I was back in the library researching how to make such a bomb. When I found no such information, I resorted to asking my electrician uncle who said he’d remember not to make me mad.

Then, when I wanted to know what type of firearm an FBI Agent carried, I emailed the FBI. Instead of receiving an email reply, the FBI called me. Evidently, at the time, they kept this information secret, and I was told I’d be placed on a list as an author in case I emailed them again.

A side note about lack of technology when I wrote this book, it was written longhand on countless sheets of a legal pad. Then I would spend hours carefully typing the novel on a non-autocorrect typewriter. Good times!

Imagine my delight when the World Wide Web was created, along with my ability to own a desktop computer! And, of course, my creative brain couldn’t get enough of shows like CSI and Criminal Minds.

By the time I wrote my next novel, it was 2004. My husband and I were finally empty nesters, and I was blessed with the opportunity to work from a home office.

I have an overactive imagination, which isn’t always accurate. Now when I need to verify an action one of my characters might take. Or the consequences for a specific crime if my villain is caught. Maybe I just need to know what the times are for sunrise/sunset in a specific month. Whatever the question, Google is at my fingertips!

I love that I can get instant information from several sources and within minutes to hours, I have my answer. Generally, I copy and paste my newfound knowledge and store the Word file in a folder for my current WIP. Another great tool is the ability to search my Word program for a specific item, but if I failed to save the nugget of info, I can always Google it again!

Googling does have its pitfalls. When I researched how to smuggle drugs in an RV (think gas tank) I received a phone call from Homeland Security. At first, I thought I was being pranked and the following conversation ensued:

“Hello, Mrs. Setzer,” a baritone voice filled my ear, “this is Agent Michaels from Homeland Security. I’m calling regarding your recent research on how to smuggle drugs into the United States from México.”

Okay,” I laughed, “who is this really?”

“Agent Michaels from Homeland Security.”

“How’d you get my cell number?”

“We’re Home Lane Security, ma’am.” Agent Michaels sounded annoyed. “Please answer the question.”

“I’m an author and just doing research for a book.”

“Understood. You will be placed on a list as an author, but you may want to be careful in the future with regard to your Google searches.”

Oh, good, I’m on another list!

Recently, I was struggling to settle on titles for two new WIPs. One book centers around a character’s survival while stranded on a ledge after a fall. The second WIP is about a serial killer who places bodies into a river. These two books will be part of a series that has two-word titles, which are my favorite. As I had my hair cut and colored, my stylist, Larry, and I tried out different word combinations. We landed on “Ravine”, which I really liked, but needed a lead word beginning with R.

You guessed it, we turned to Google! During my two-hour visit, Google sparked our imaginations with words like rescue and remote. We had fun trying different words with “Ravine.” Given a ravine is generally in the woods, our search led us to rattlesnake dens located on rocky ledges. We finally settled on “Rattlesnake Ravine.” Not only do I love the title, but our brainstorming created another threat for my Hero. And if you hate snakes as much as I do, researching and writing about their behavior was creepy!

This series already has “Redneck Ranch”, “Whispering Willows”, and “Willow’s Woods.” And though the titles are perfect for their novels, I really wanted to use a different consonant. So, on another recent visit to Larry, we repeated our title Googling session, finally landing on “Fatal Falls.”

Now, in an era of instant information, I am in awe of the tools available to me. From acquiring specific knowledge to checking facts to looking for inspiration, I can use Google, Bing, Wikipedia, and more.

While I love being able to use technology with my writing projects, I’m not planning to go down the AI rabbit hole. My mind is already dark and twisty without the benefit, or detriment, of Artificial Intelligence.

I very rarely visit a library these days to do research, but I do still write longhand on a legal pad. My favorite writing spot is a noisy bar where I get lost in the cacophony of sound. And when I need a tidbit to round out a character, to verify the average temperature in Oregon in October, or fact check how a rural Sheriff’s Department would handle a crime scene … I just Google it!!!

Happy Googling, Ladies!!!

One of the questions I have come to almost dread is the standard one about where I get my ideas for a story or a novel. The question is frustrating because no one really knows where an idea of any sort comes from. These things pop into our heads and we either play with them or toss them. But this morning I was trying to recall a thought about a particular memory that had been nagging at me. And that got me thinking about story ideas.

Some of my story ideas are not story ideas at all but arrive first as an experience I’ve heard about or undergone and can’t quite shake. One day, while still employed in social services, I was working quietly in my office when a conversation beyond my door caught my attention. A woman waiting to see her social worker had gotten into a conversation with the volunteer on the desk, and they were exchanging information on what happens after you’ve been convicted, served time, and are released. The man explained that the County House of Correction bus took you back to where you were originally picked up, usually right outside the courthouse. As he pointed out, you were wearing the clothes you had on when you were picked up. In his case, he was wearing shorts and was sentenced to six months. He was released when it was January and snowing. The woman said the situation was different for women. No one provided transportation for women. She got a voucher for a bus or train ticket and had to walk to the station. Two stories grew out of this overheard conversation.

I had seen the navy blue bus before, along with the man checking off names, and never really thought about it. Now I did. In “Kenny Orslow Shows Up on Time” (Mystery Weekly February 2020), a young man is convicted of buying drugs and shows up at the bus stop at the appointed time, but he’s not on the list and the officer won’t let him on. Kenny is now homeless and stranded—and desperate. I had a lot of fun with this story.

The second story grew out of the differences between how the men and women were treated. In “Francetta Repays Her Debt to Society” (AHMM October 2014) a young woman is released from prison but no one is there to meet her. While away, her boyfriend died and she has nowhere to go. She makes her way back to her hometown and arrives at her cousin’s apartment. The cousin is cool and then surprisingly friendly.

The overheard conversation took place in the early 2000s, but it stuck in my imagination for years until I figured out what to do with it. Another odd bit of information came to me more than thirty years ago. A college student drowned in a snow-covered reservoir. The chief of police attributed the accidental death to the student being from the Midwest and not recognizing that the flat expanse was not a field or pasture but a body of water. That comment stuck in my head for years until it emerged in “The Pledge” (AHMM July/August 2020).

Years and years ago I came across a poster of cartoon faces (like the smiley face) showing a range of emotions, with titles underneath—rows of little round faces each with a different expression. This had been developed as an aid for autistic children learning coping skills. This made me wonder how a person otherwise capable could manage in a world where human interaction seemed so opaque. That question lingered in the back of my mind for years (probably decades) until I finally got an idea, which appeared in “Picture This” (Saturday Evening Post, online edition Friday, April 30, 2021).

When one of these factoids, or odd bits of information, comes to me, I don’t think, Oh, there’s a story here. I just remember it because it seems so peculiar, so different from my regular life. Most of my short stories and novels grow out of this kind of tidbit. Right now I have a few of these rattling around in my brain and I’m not sure what to do with them. One involves a man probably in his sixties. He parked his pickup out front of my house and knocked on the door. He wanted to know if I would trade some of the apples in my tree for a bucket of his—he had several buckets in his truck. I agreed because, why not? While he harvested what he wanted (“Please, take more. I can’t use them all.”) he told me about all the fruit trees in Salem that were on public land and therefore whatever they produced was free for the taking. He’d been harvesting, hence the filled buckets in his pickup. I know he’ll end up in a story but I can’t say when.

Meanwhile I’ve been working on a story about an inept hustler who learns damaging information about a friend and tries to use it as leverage with a drug dealer. The idea came from an interview with one of the guards at the Stewart Gardner Museum. A reporter tracked him down in a shabby apartment in a small town and told him some people thought he was in on the robbery. His comeback? “Would I be living here if I had been?” We’ll see where that one goes.

So when someone asks me where my ideas come from, the answer is, Well, it’s complicated. Mostly from life.