The story behind Old Habits Die Hard begins in 2004 when I attended the University of Iowa’s Summer Writing Festival where I met four women who would become my writing partners. One of those women shares the author credit on Old Habits Die Hard, Mariana Damon came up with the idea of a murder taking place at a retirement community set in a renovated church. When I met Mariana in 2004, the spunky woman from Nebraska with a low voice, wild red curls and long flowing skirts was writing a murder mystery set in a fictional reservation in the southwest, featuring a Native American police officer solving a crime involving a murder and ancient artifacts. Mariana’s writing journey took her next to France, then to Cambridge, England, and finally to Kuwait before her dementia made further work as a writer impossible to pursue.
Mariana and I shared many trips together over the years we worked together and often bunked up together, too. We’d share our secrets, dreams, wishes, and histories deep into the night. Wickedly funny and brave, Mariana’s generous spirit meant I could trust her with anything, she’d be honest and loyal in every circumstance. It’s funny how our lives mirrored each other’s—we both taught English in public schools, both lived in the Midwest, both mothered only sons, and both set aside our own ambitions for our spouses’. She was truly a sister from another mister.
In 2021 another partner, Marni Graff, and I visited Mariana in her new home at a memory care facility. During our time together Mariana shared her desire to write one more murder mystery, so Marni and I gamely took notes and helped her flesh out ideas for a setting, murderer, victim, motive, and cast of characters. “Death at the Abbey” was set in the assisted living facility where she lived before her condition worsened, and she had a terrific concept for an opening scene.
Marni and I felt tremendous sadness at our friend’s struggle with her disease and helplessness as dementia stripped away her capacity to focus, let alone write. “We should write it for her,” I suggested to Marni over breakfast before we boarded our flights home. It seemed like a fitting tribute to our friend if we could flesh out her final idea and put her name on it. We’d left the character worksheets and plot outline with Mariana, so I jotted down what we could remember in a tiny notebook.
A year later I was between projects and dug that little notebook out of my purse. I’ll just flip through it and see what I might be able to do—maybe turn these ideas into a short story. I’d never successfully written a murder mystery before, but Marni has written eight of them, so I figured I could get things started and Marni could clean up my mess and we’d take it from there. The joke was on me because when I came up for air, I’d written 30,000 words, almost half a book! I sent the pages to Marni and our other writing partner, Lauren Small, to get their feedback. Their response was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging so I kept writing. Four months later I had a complete, polished draft of this book, retitled Old Habits Die Hard.
I preserved Mariana’s original ideas. Sister Bernadette, a retired nun, solves the murder of Toni Travi at The Abbey with the help of her former student, Detective AJ Lewis. All six of Mariana’s original characters are in the story, and the opening scene is all Mariana’s. She’d determined who committed the murder and why, so it was up to me to fill in the rest. AJ’s less heartbroken and much younger than she’d planned him to be, but I hope she’ll recognize him and be happy with how he turned out.
Mariana Damon sparked this series and it’s exciting to take her ideas further than she imagined they’d go. Neither of us expected that visit in 2021 to result in a book and we certainly didn’t predict a series would happen. It’s pretty cool how our friendship that twenty years ago wound up with both of us on the cover page. Old Habits Die Hard and I’m honored to be Mariana’s ride or die until the end.
PHOTO: Lauren, Mariana, Melissa & Marni Summer 2014
OLD HABITS DIE HARD:
When retired nun and teacher Sister Bernadette returns with her fellow residents to The Abbey: Senior Living, she is the first to discover the body sprawled in the hallway of the converted school where she once taught English and now lives. Instead of freezing with horror, Sister Bernie has questions. Lots of them. Why does Toni Travi, the bedazzled and bejeweled resident from apartment 218, have so much chest hair? Did anyone at The Abbey know Toni was a man? Was Toni’s death related to allegations that she cheated at cards? Where’s the murder weapon? Who had motive? And did someone kill Toni, or the man hiding beneath the Revlon foundation and blonde wig?
Detective AJ Lewis is charge of the investigation though Sister Bernie acts as if he is still her student. With unholy stubbornness, she dogs his every step, eavesdrops, sneaks beyond the police tape and offers conjecture and clues. He wants to keep her safe, but she’s determined to lend a helping hand—it’s her habit, after all!
BUY LINKS
Amazon https://a.co/d/exKs6zn
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/old-habits-die-hard-6
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/old-habits-die-hard-melissa-westemeier/1146452143?
Melissa Westemeier is a Sister in Crime and teacher from Wisconsin. She uses humor to explore serious subjects, and her published books include murder mysteries, rom-coms, and a trilogy loosely based on her years tending bar on the Wolf River. She likes her coffee and protagonists strong and prefers to work barefoot with natural lighting.
MEL’S Website: https://www.melwestemeier.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100027992959383
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mwestemeier/
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