SHE DIDN'T KNOW HER PLACE

One of the most universal themes in literature is alienation. How much of personal isolation is due to making unpopular moral decisions, to being an outsider, and to being stubborn? This is the theme in She Didn't Know Her Place. 

In this mystery, Dana Richardson faces two dilemmas in her new job as VP of Research at State U. The Natural Resource Center, which reports to her, is alleged to be "doctoring" data to help industrial clients meet federal pollution standards. Her boss Guy Beloit, the president of the university, doesn’t care. Really no one, but Dana, cares. That's not true. Sally Stein cared and she died under mysterious circumstances, and others are too scared to talk. 

This mystery can be viewed on several levels. Dana's attempt to uncover and eliminate the scientific  and financial fraud in the Natural Resource Center is an example of a different type of police procedural. You'll be surprised how complex the laws governing research are and how they can be used to ensnare the villains. You'll also wonder how much of Dana's efforts are driven by inner demons and the fear of meeting the same fate as Sally Stein. Thus She Didn't Know Her Place is a bit of a psychological thriller. Then too Dana faces the problem of being a woman administrator in a predominantly male world - the academic scientific community is not kind to feminists.

Ultimately, themes are what make reading so satisfying. They make us think. 

Here's how to get She Didn't Know Her Place. The kindle and paperback versions are available at  Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/ dp/1979733112

GoodReads is doing a free giveaway of three signed copies of this mystery. Enter before December 22 at: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/267677-she-didn-t-know-her-place.

Life Isn't Simple

My long term publisher, Billie Johnson, has had several strokes and couldn't keep Oak Tree Press functioning well. So, I had to reclaim my rights to Murder...A Way to Lose Weight and publish a second edition. This insider's view of a medical school has won several prizes: first prize in the 2016 Public Safety Writers’ Association (PSWA) contest and finalist for the 2016 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. 

If you haven't read this medical mystery, try it now. You'll not only enjoy an intriguing mystery with a poison not found in any other novel, but learn a bit about clinical trials (those mysterious tests needed for approval of new drugs and therapies) and to learn about new (but real) research linking obesity and gut bacteria. 

Here's a recap of the plot: Dieting is hard. So is fitting into a new job where you aren’t wanted. In Murder. A Way to Lose Weight, Dr. Linda Almquist attempts to do both as she investigates two diet doctors who are endangering the lives of their obese patients. When she finds one diet doctor dead, she and the police suspect the other diet doctor but soon learn the dead diet doctor had annoyed many. While Linda fears for her job, the police fear for her life.

I couldn't reuse the cover of the first edition on the second edition of Murder...A Way to Lose Weight. However, I wanted the cover on the second cover to be reminiscent of the first one. I've included the cover of first copy for comparison. Did I do a good job?

POINT OF VIEW: A WAY TO ADD MYSTERY TO YOUR WRITING

Don’t run. This is NOT a discussion of how to avoid multiple points of view in a scene.  I'm tired of that lecture, too.

I learned a trick for creating unforgettable characters when I wrote short stories—SELECT THE NARRATOR OF YOUR TALE CAREFULLY. I realize this isn’t a new concept. Ishmael in Moby Dick and Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby certainly shaped those tales.

Before I wrote my short stories, I interviewed dozens of acquaintances about their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. In several cases, I listened to tales about the same person from siblings or spouses. I also knew several of the women described. I quickly recognized that reality depends on the eyes of the beholder, i.e.narrator.

Then I wrote vignettes with surprising plot twists about mothers in the 1940s and 1950s (THEGOOD OLD DAYS?) and modern women (OTHER PEOPLE'S MOTHERS). The women in each story made choices. The narrators of the stories often didn’t understand the basis of the decisions because of incomplete information or personal biases. Accordingly, they warped the portraits of the women, and I could develop the characters to be more memorable.

Even if you don’t usually read short stories, try these tales. They’re short three to fifteen pages (great bed time reading). They might encourage you to experiment with a different point of view in your next story. 

You might also consider your mother differently or think about your parenting style.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS? (https://www.amzn.com/dp/1537743813) & OTHER PEOPLE'S MOTHERS (https://www.amzn.com/dp/1544895011) are available on Kindle & in paperback.