Welcoming Patricia Driscoll, mystery writer, probation officer today. (I try to stay on the right side of the law!)

I’d like to thank Camille Minichino for inviting me to be a guest on her blog. After all, I hold Camille partly responsible for getting me involved in this crazy world of mystery writing. Several years ago, I interrupted her while she was taking a quiet break on the patio during the Book Passage Mystery Conference. I asked her to sign my newly purchased copy of “The Nitrogen Murders,” and from there a conversation was born.

What am I working on/writing?

I’m working on the final edits of my sequel to “Shedding Light on Murder.”  The working title is “Shedding Light on Evil.” The setting is an antique lamp store called Pearl’s which is located in a Cape Cod village. The lamp shop is inspired by a real lamp store in Yarmouth Port, where my mother worked for 27 years. It’s a very unique store, with beautiful lamps, mostly glass oil lamps that the owners have refurbished and repaired. They also make shades out of gorgeous papers and fabrics. A nice setting for a cozy mystery.

How does my writing/work differ from others in its genre?

As far as I know, there aren’t any other probation officers or former probation officers writing mysteries. Grace Tolliver, my protagonist, is a former probation officer who has decided to give up her career to take over Pearl’s lamp shop. My experience as a probation officer for San Francisco Adult Probation, gave me exposure to the entire criminal justice system. I like to say that the police have the excitement of the chase, the lawyers the drama of the courtroom, and the probation officers the less than glamorous years spent working with the defendants on a personal basis. P.O.’s visit defendant’s homes, and meet their families, all in an effort to keep them from re-offending.  Experience with issues such as drugs and alcohol, mental health, domestic violence, stalking, gangs, sex abuse, robbery, burglary etc. give the probation officer an up close and personal understanding of the criminal, their motivations and desires. I also interviewed several murderers who were never going to be granted probation, but by law, are entitled to a pre-sentence report. All fodder for mystery writing.

Why do I write what I do?

I spend a lot of time on Cape Cod, as my family lives there. I chose the setting for my books first. I’m inspired by the Cape, a unique place surrounded by water, filled with historic homes, dirt roads that disappear into groves of shrub pines, hidden lakes, and ponds known only to the locals and what I like to think of as curious nooks and crannies. It struck me as a perfect setting for mystery. I write cozies despite my background working with real life offenders, who are anything but cozy.

How does my writing process work?

Since Grace Tolliver is an amateur sleuth I feel that it’s important to have a reason for her to get involved in a case, so I start with that. In “Shedding Light on Murder,” Grace is directly involved because an employee of hers is accused of the murder of a customer, who has been hit over the head with a lamp. (Of course!)

In the sequel, Grace discovers a body floating in a pool, while hiking with the merry widows hiking group. The murdered man is the godson of Bella, Grace’s friend and employee. Bella makes it clear, in no uncertain terms, that Grace will help her find the killer.

Then, I set out the general story line, keeping in mind the basics of novel writing such as acts, characters arcs, and plot twists. I figure out who did the crime, and how the case is solved. I loosely outline the first few chapters. As the story develops, often in ways that surprise me, I make the necessary changes. When I get stuck, I take a long, hard walk up and down the hills in my neighborhood. For some reason, this always works and I get much needed exercise as well!

I’m on a field trip today to a post office in Canyon, CA — research for my new Post Office series, which will be launched next summer.

I’ll be back next week with photos and a report. For now, a look at a miniature I’m building with the help of a 10-y.0. crafter (hmm, like another  series I’m associated with):

My one-inch-to- one-foot-scale post office

Also, for fun: a word about what is (NOT) the official motto of the USPS (it has no motto).

The inscription

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

is loosely based on the ancient Greek equivalent of the pony express. It was translated and inscribed on the James Farley PO Building in New York, now part of the US National Register of Historic Places.

Do you love your post office? Tell me your story and it might be in the series!

Here’s what happened when my first book, The Hydrogen Murder, came out in 1997.

I set up a signing at a market close to my home. The manager had always dreamed of owning a bookstore and having author signings, and I was only too happy to be her first.

My friend went all out, with a special carpet on the floor, coffee from the café next door. The local paper devoted a couple of column inches to the event. I got all dressed up and lugged a crate of books to the store.

Imagine my excitement when the first customer walked in and headed right for me.

“I saw the announcement. Are you the author?” he asked.

A resounding “Yes!”

The man handed me his card. “I’m an artist. I’d love to talk to you about doing your next book cover.”

Cue the low notes.

That was 17 years ago. Things are about the same; I’m just not shocked any more.

Raise your hand if you like to sell. I mean, sell anything—cookies, your book, a product you’ve created, or yourself.

My hands are by my side. Not a good posture in today’s world of 24/7 marketing and promotion.

For authors, it’s essential to keep our names out there, they tell us. A recent article in a popular writers’ magazine suggests that authors doing signings at bookstores start by “easing a copy” of their book into the hands of anyone who seems curious, and tell them what a “terrific book” it is and how “people are talking about it.”

hahahahahahaha.

Here’s how I started my sales career.

In the early 80s, I formed a company around products I made. The idea was to put images and quotes from science and engineering on common items such as potholders, mugs, note cards … anything that had a design. I wanted to replace the mushrooms and butterflies that dominated kitchen towels with an educational theme.

One of my first products was a calendar of dates in science and engineering. Pre-internet, it took nearly a year of evenings and weekends to come up with at least one entry for every day. For May 29, for example, I typed in Hoover Dam set in concrete, Solar eclipse confirms Einstein’s theory, 1919.

I thought a good market for the calendar might be the many bookstores around the UC campus where I lived. I made a list and ventured out. (Pre-internet, remember.)

I walked into the first bookstore, stepped to counter and said (and this is pretty much verbatim), “Excuse me, I hate to bother you. I have something here and you’re probably not interested. It’s a calendar and I know you already have a lot of them and maybe don’t want another one.”

The response was something like, “Yup. No, thanks.”

I was shocked when the business failed.

I’ve gotten a little better in “promoting my books,” but the phrase still has a slightly grating sound to me. I don’t like people who promote (anything) aggressively; I don’t want to be like them. Yet we’ve seen how often aggressive promotion “wins.”

P. T. Barnum, a pioneer in the art of promotion said, Without promotion, something terrible happens … nothing!

So it’s not enough to make a good product or write a good book, you have tell everyone it’s good; even better if you claim it’s the greatest show on earth.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to do that without blushing.