Chatting with Lydia

Last week Untreed Reads brought out a new edition of A MURDERER AMONG US, my first Twin Lakes mystery that was awarded a Best Indie by Suspense Magazine. Lydia Krause, my clever, gutsy sleuth, is eager to meet those of you who don’t know her. After reading our little chat, feel free to ask Lydia anything  you like.

Marilyn:  Why did you move to Twin Lakes?

Lydia:  After my beloved husband Izzy died, I figured it was time to make changes in my life. My daughter Meredith suggested that I move to this retirement community only minutes from her home. It seemed like a good idea, and so I sold my business and my house in Queens, and moved to Twin Lakes out in Suffolk County.

Marilyn: Are you glad you made the move?

Lydia:  Not at first. I love my granddaughters, but Meredith had me babysitting constantly. She was very moody—happy one day, nervous the next. I began to suspect something fishy was going on. Where was she going? What was she doing? I found out soon enough. Since I don’t want to besmirch my daughter’s reputation, I won’t say another word on the subject.

Marilyn: I understand, but readers will find out Meredith’s big secret.

Lydia: I suppose that can’t be helped.

Marilyn: To change the subject, you caused a major disturbance at Bingo, your first venture into Twin Lakes activities. Care to talk about that?

Lydia: I appreciate having the opportunity to explain exactly what took place that evening. My neighbor introduced me to a man I knew to be a convicted embezzler. What’s more, this very man drove my baby sister to take her own life. I merely exposed him and his phony new name, which didn’t suit his wife, Claire. And so…we had words.

Marilyn: I understand Claire was found murdered the following morning.

Lydia: Yes, that was sad.

Marilyn: Detective Molina thought you might have killed her, given the evidence.

Lydia: I had an alibi!

Marilyn: What do you think of Detective Molina?

Lydia: What do I think of Sol? As a detective or as a man?

Marilyn: However you choose to answer.

Lydia: He’s very…nice. Good looking. And he’s a pretty good detective. Of course living in Twin Lakes, I had more opportunities to question, that is, talk to the residents.

Marilyn: What did you learn in the course of helping to solve the Twin Lakes murders.

Lydia: That everyone has secrets, secrets that often reach far back into the past.


Lydia and I welcome your comments and questions

A MURDERER AMONG US is available at:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1bySEcj
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/18Ezvpd

Is Your Protagonist Your Alter Ego?

Many years ago, after reading the first novel I’d just finished writing, someone told me she could see me in every page. There were many similarities between me and my protagonist. We both wore glasses. (Now I wear contact lenses.) We liked the same foods and had many of the same hang ups. Soon after I started writing books for kids. Since I have two sons, my protagonist was usually a boy. I’d simply put myself inside the head of a boy and imagine how it feels to have an older brother with neurological problems (And Don’t Bring Jeremy.) I imagined how it would feel to suddenly have magical powers (Rufus and Magic Run Amok.)

The more books I wrote, the more my protagonists developed traits of their own. But certain personality and character traits of mine cling to each of my sleuths. Sometimes fiction precedes real life. In my Twin Lake mysteries, Lydia Krause is newly widowed and starting a new life in a gated community. She beat me there, as I became a widow after I wrote the book. Still, we both have a cat and we both live in a gated community.

Gabbie Meyerson in Giving Up the Ghost is also starting a new life. She’s divorced her husband, something I never did, after helping to send him to prison. (Didn't do that, either.) She takes a job teaching English (I taught Spanish) in a small Long Island community, and discovers she’s sharing a cottage with the ghost of Cameron Leeds. Pressed into service, Gabbie finds out who murdered Cam.

Ardin Wesley in Dangerous Relations bears the emotional scars of an abusive marriage, something I’ve never experienced. She finds herself wanting to adopt her murdered cousin’s little girl, which pits her against her cousin’s widower. She tries to ignore the fact that she’s falling for the guy, telling herself she doesn’t want anything to do with romance. In the course of the novel, Ardin comes face-to-face with her ex-husband. Even more painful is overhearing him tell his current wife that he'd never loved Ardin. Through it all, Ardin grows stronger and is able to love again.

There’s no question that Lexie Driscoll in Murder a la Christie is intelligent (she’s an English college professor). But Lexie’s not always wise when it comes to choosing the men in her life. Her first husband left her when she was pregnant with their son. When she decided to divorce her crazy second husband, he burned down her house with himself inside. Lexie finds herself spending the summer housesitting in affluent Old Cadfield, blocks from her college roommate and best friend, Rosie. Rosie is married to one of Lexie’s rejects and lives the life of luxury. Lexie realizes that this life could have hers. But would she have done things differently if she'd known how everything turned out?

The more books we write, the more our characters take on lives of their own. I suppose we subconsciously borrow traits from people we know, from characters in TV series, books and movies. How they behave and interact with one another are offshoots of their personalities and characters. My sleuths vary in age and social position, but they are all strong, intelligent women. Of course they’re all bolder than I am – never afraid to ask questions or to follow up on a clue, which often gets them into trouble as they go about solving murders.

In what ways are your sleuths like you? How are they different?