NEW MYSTERY - The Inspiration for My New Release

My new story, A TROLL FALLS, is set in what is now the Dallas Arboretum which borders lovely White Rock Lake. This beautiful garden paradise was a yearly field trip with my homeschool kids (pictured there more than a decade ago) and their friends for biology lessons and school photos. 

On my most recent visit, I learned a little tidbit from a fellow who worked there. It sparked all sorts of stories in my head, so when I was invited to participate in this second round of Ever After stories, I decided to use that rumor to fashion a twisted little mystery. And the DeGolyer House, the center of the Dallas Arboretum, inspired my setting for A TROLL FALLS. 

The book is set in 1948 when my mom, a Dallas native, was eleven years old and my grandfather was a fire captain at one of the Dallas stations. It was near the century mark for Dallas and the city was known for amazing Tex-Mex food, yearly cattle round-ups, and Elm Street which was called "the Broadway of the Southwest." 

I used one of the events at the Majestic theatre (which is still an icon of downtown) in a date for one of my characters. The movie, "Red River," starring John Wayne, premiered at the theatre on August 26,  1948. My characters went to the premiere hoping to see the stars, but they were at the Hollywood premiere. It's probably a good thing, because a thunderstorm soaked the block party that the city of Dallas had set up. Square dancers, cattle, trick ropers, and all the guests were thoroughly soaked just before the movie began. That was only the beginning of the trouble for my character that night, though!

I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll keep the trouble, and the rumor, to myself. I bet you'll be able to figure out what that rumor is by the time you finish reading the book! Here's a little more about A TROLL FALLS: 

Murder. Even the word sounds ugly. Almost as ugly as the corpse on the shore.

Dallas, Texas, 1948

Opal Stedman enjoys caring for old Mrs. Farnesworth. But keeping her sister Ruby out of trouble, well that is another issue entirely. Especially now that Ruby has stepped into high society with her new beau. A dubious man. Maybe even duplicitous. 

Even the handsome security guard warns her sister about him.

When a body is dragged onto the shore of the lake that borders their home, rumors and worries over the new man become assurances. But why has he involved her household in these gruesome shenanigans? 

And why are Opal’s loved ones suddenly having “accidents”?

Loosely based on the little-known fairy tale of “Snow White and Rose Red” this mystery twists its way all along the banks of White Rock Lake during its heyday.

This is based on one of my favorite fairy tales. Share one of your favorite fairy tales and why you like it for a chance to win one of my e-books! Be sure to leave your email address! (US only.)

Just released on Tuesday,
A TROLL FALLS is available in
paperback or e-book at Amazon.com

SOMETHING HAS RECURRED TO ME - FINDING THEMES IN OUR WRITING

by Ellen E. Kennedy

A writer’s work can be like a mirror, reflecting aspects of his life that has an influence on his thoughts that even he may not realize. Is Stephen King an optimist? Is Richard Paul Evans an idealist? My answers to those questions would be no and yes, simply judging by what they’ve written. In looking over my own work, I’ve noticed some themes that appear again and again.

Barbara Scott, an editor and online friend, in a tweet recently suggested looking for recurring themes in your own writing. So I did. The thread in Irregardless of Murder, I found, seemed to be reunion. My main character, Amelia, is in her forties, single and comfortable. She likes things as they are, but when she literally stumbles over a murder, it starts a domino-like effect that ends in her tying up one really big loose end in her own life.

In Death Dangles a Participle, I see reconciliation and forgiveness. Three young people, two boys and a girl, have messed up, big-time, and their road to recovery—if indeed there is one—is bumpy and loaded with potholes. The other people in their lives must decide if it’s worth the effort to repair the relationship. I also touch on the futility of revenge at the end. And, of course, there’s a murder that links all this together. I am, after all, a mystery writer.

Another Think Coming isn’t part of the Miss Prentice series. It’s set in a tiny town in Texas (that’s called alliteration, students) and is about God-fearing seventy-ish widow Esther MacBride who decides to exact justice from the man she holds responsible for her grandson’s death. Needless to say, she hasn’t consulted God about this, in fact, she declares herself “hopping mad” at Him. The theme in this one is again the futility of revenge and also forgiveness.

The corrosive effect of revenge is also showcased in my current work-in-progress Murder in the Past Tense (#3 in the Miss Prentice series) which, if all goes well, should come out this Spring. When a murderer embraces hate and the idea of revenge for decades, it can only end in disaster. I’ve enjoyed going back in time with my character Amelia, getting to know her and her friends as teenagers. We even find out why sassy, glamorous Lily Burns started smoking: boys!  

There are the trivial things, too. One fellow writer pointed out to me that a store’s fitting room (euphemistic in the extreme—especially if you’re trying on a swimsuit!) appear in both Irregardless of Murder and my to-be published Texas novel, Another Think Coming. Until she said something, I hadn’t noticed this, and would probably have put a fitting room in another story, because they’re such handy places to eavesdrop! Another triviality I noticed myself was a propensity for resting one’s head against the cool window as the character rides in a car—or in another case, a bus. I like to do this myself (but only if I’m a passenger).

I was asked in an interview why I chose to write about mysteries, and it caused me to search my reason: because I favor resolution. For instance, there is such a thing as a resolved chord, which I prefer in music. (You’d know it if you heard it.) I also prefer resolution in a story, that is, right wins out and wrong is defeated. All of my books end that way. Justice is done, even if there are some heart-wrenching moments along the way. I believe it’s part of the basic human condition to long for resolution and the ultimate resolution, the ultimate happy ending, is the one provided by God.

Our earthly plot involved getting ourselves in such trouble that we could never be forgiven. We were scheduled to be punished. But a Hero stepped in and took the punishment for us. All we have to do is accept it.

It’s what every soul longs for, resolution and a home to go to for our own happily ever after. This is a theme I can’t emphasize too much.

 

Ellen Edwards Kennedy (aka EEK) grew up in far northern New York State and has lived with her husband and children across the South and West. She's the author of IRREGARDLESS OF MURDER, the first in the new cozy mystery series. Along with the Miss Prentice Mysteries, she is the author of a Christian romance novella, "The Applesauce War," in the anthology, THE FARMER'S BRIDE, from Barbour Books.

Book Two in the Miss Prentice series, DEATH DANGLES A PARTICIPLE, follows Amelia, Gil, Vern and Lily in the wintry North Country is available now at Amazon, B&N, CBD, and DeeperShopping in both e-book and paperback. Book three, MURDER IN THE PAST TENSE that introduces us to Amelia and friends as teenagers, is scheduled to be released Spring, 2014. Ellen also writes weekly articles at The Wordsmith Journal Magazine under the title, "Behind the Mystery."