U is for Underground, Undertaker and...

U Is For Underground, Under Taker and Under Cover Cops

An underground railroad for escaped slaves in Michigan's Upper Peninsula seems like a long reach, a stretch of the imagination, but it wasn’t. Truth is often stranger than fiction. The same place had been a stage coach depot, a prohibition era bootlegging operation, and, in its hay day, a Crime Family/Mafia hangout/resort. Bed and Breakfast Murders, and other novels found their story in this setting.

Not only do mystery writers' find spots like this fodder for a story, sometimes, as in this instance the location spawned many stories.

The Pink Lady Slipper and its sequel Bed and Breakfast Murders got a paranormal twist, an undercover cop and a body or two left for the undertaker after a visit to the coroner and forensic lab to determine cause of death. Zero Cemetery Lane by Cricket Sawyer, a paranormal Romantic Suspense, made good use of the past, the history of the sprawling brothel aspect of this same spot. 

Your sleuth can use the darkened hallways of history and to shroud mystery and intrigue and undercover cops, underground railroads, speakeasies and undertakers with all the aplomb a good mystery needs.

So dig around in the archives, or explore the real estate in your own back yard, you are sure to find some fodder for your muse. A book titled A Writers Guide to Places by Don Prues and Jack Heffron can give you a place to start.  Or Coast to Coast Ghosts, by Leslie Rule perhaps. Check your local library and bookstore for more places to start your mystery quest. 

P.S.

Sign up for The Mystery Readers Connection today and get your copy of the mini-mystery "Black Roses." Recommend a friend sign up and when they do you will receive a copy of the mini-mystery "The Hanging Tree."    

Hurry sign up today you don't want to miss a single fact, and entertainment packed issue of The Mystery Readers Connection. Once a month, in your in box, several columnists, several new (to you) authors join us to present their unique look at mystery and story. There is a safe unsubscribe link in every newsletter so you never have to stay (though we hope you will) if you don't want to. Hurry – get your name in quickly! You won't want to miss a single issue.

T is for Trap, Tiptoe and ...

T Is For Trap, Tiptoe and Tracker that is what a detective does, but in the case of Tracker it's also a career. The protagonist raises and trains bloodhounds for her search and rescue operation, Shadow and Tail Kennels.

"The Tender Trap," a sixties movie, was a romantic comedy. The trap in a mystery is very often, where the sleuth finds herself, if not at the very beginning of the story, quickly afterward.

April Shauers, in the novel Tracker is trapped physically (though sometimes in mystery the trap could be mentally rendered)and she must tiptoe to the tune played by the antagonist, serial killer, Jeddah Close, if she is to save her severely injured bloodhound and herself from certain death.

Very often by trapping our sleuth, giving the antagonist his goal early on—the mystery writer can plot a course that propels the reader along wishing she could see around the twists and turns ahead for the protagonist.

Engage your reader quickly. Paint your protagonist into the corner with no way out—except his or her wits and your reader will be searching the scenes to signal a way out, dreaming avenues, and tunnels, sky hooks and ropes as your protagonist ferrets a way out from the traps that keep our hero jumping to escape their jaws, until the very end.

Smile at your reader. Give her thumbs up and a thank you for her help. Good job, well-done, mystery solved, protagonist saved, and antagonist receiving his just desserts. You reader will sigh and search the bookstore for your next book. (we hope).

P.S. 

Sign up for The Mystery Readers Connection today and get the free flash fiction story "Black Roses." Recommend a friend sign up and when they do you will receive a copy of the flash fiction mystery "The Hanging Tree."   Hurry sign up today you don't want to miss a single fact, and entertainment packed issue of The Mystery Readers Connection. 

Once a month, in your in box, several columnists, several new (to you) authors join us to present their unique look at mystery and story. There is a safe unsubscribe link in every newsletter so you never have to stay (though we hope you will) if you don't want to. Hurry – get your name in quickly! You won't want to miss a single issue.

P.P.S Tracker is out of print. Order your copy today from the author while she still has a few print copies left.

S Is For Sleuth, Scurrilous, Skullduggery and...

S Is For Sleuth, Scurrilous, Skullduggery and Skull Music which has all of the aforementioned.

When your sleuth (accidental or detective-type) is on the case, she must be constantly alert for scurrilous or vindictive people who would purposely mislead her in order to bad mouth or destroy the reputation of another.

Many a mystery uncovers the skullduggery under way, finger pointing, blaming others…all the while that one finger points at someone else the true sleuth is aware of the three other fingers pointing straight back to the accuser. Whether that accuser is the real criminal or not, the misdirection distracts our sleuth, because she needs to investigate every lead. She will, of course, keep in mind the green eyed beast, jealousy; possibly it has reared its head again. Or maybe, just maybe, the information is valid.

Can a milquetoast, cat loving, insurance accountant really be a deranged malevolent murderer? Skull Music may change your mind, maybe not.

Many a mystery uncovers skullduggery and scurrilous motives, ulterior motives for reporting what might have been. Also note, what every police officer knows, eye witnesses are unreliable observers. 

Just as with writers given a certain writing prompt, say—"yellow" or "an abandoned tricycle," no two stories will be the same no matter the size of the group. Check out the winners in a Writer's Digest Magazine prompt contest sometime for proof, and there are hundreds who enter their contests.

P. S. Sign up for The Mystery Readers Connection to stay abreast of all the mysterious activity, events, and news. Find new (to you) authors who lend a different twist to all things mysterious. Get a your copy of the mini-mystery "Black Roses" just for signing up and if you refer a friend and they join, you'll get a copy of the mini- mystery, "The Hanging Tree." There is an unsubscribe link on the bottom of every newsletter, and the newsletter comes out once a month on the 26^th. There may be an occasional news or event message – to keep you up to date, but your email is never shared or sold—a win, win situation. Hurry, sign up now! You won't want to miss another opportunity to be entertained by some of the best writers you'll find anywhere.

R Is For Red Herring, Ruse, Raven and...

R Is For Red Herring, Ruse and Raven as in Watch Forthe Raven

Red Herring is to mystery like frosting is to cake. It's just not the same if either goes missing. Mystery readers don't consciously think red herring while they're reading. The groan, or the aha! usually, comes later. Like the little boy in the spelling bee commercial for Yoplait Yogurt.

 "Swapportunity" says the judge. 

"That's not a real word," says the disgruntled child. His frustration and angst tugs at our hearts. The audience roots for him—he's right—but nonetheless, wrong. It's the same with a red herring. It fits, but it's not a real clue.

We've created a ruse, and eventually the reader knows it. The title Watch For The Raven provides the red herring. A raven is a big black, scavenger-type bird, cleaning up the bones of road kill and dead animals. It is also a Native American animal spirit guide so we could think the helper is in the title—but is he? Read Watch For The Raven and you will know. 

In mystery as in life, don't be in any hurry to jump to conclusions. You may be leaping into an abyss of muddy, gator-filled swamp. Watch overhead, but also look around you for that raven that might not be flying at all, or that Red Herring that is as it's original smell fish trying to cover the tracks of the real with the stench of the fake.

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for The Mystery Readers Connection to stay abreast of mystery news, new columnist's stories of mystery, and much more all for free, once a  month in your in box, plus you will get the free flash mystery "Black Roses" for joining. And, if you recommend a friend and they join you will get a copy of the flash fiction mystery, "The Hanging Tree." There is a safe unsubscribe option in every email from The Mystery Readers Connection. You have nothing to lose. Sign up today, Hurry! Don't miss the next issue!

Q Is For Questions, Quixotic, Quisling and...

Q Is For Questions, Quixotic, Quisling and…what does that have to do with mystery?

In mystery the question often arises about the quixotic goal of the antagonist. It's his/her goal really that delivers the conflict, the reader interest in the story.

The word taken from Cervantes character Don Quixote defines the idealistic, impractically so, fanciful dream of romance and chivalry of a time when men were men and sworn to love and protect the fair maiden.

Then came the quisling, feme fatale and all bets were off. 

Mystery can benefit from these two types. Death by Candlelight, idealistic protagonist Danielle is in love, head over heels with –well the relationship we discover appears to be quixotic, she pinned her star to a typical bad boy and now she must get rid of him. An arsenic laced candle (her hobby is making candles for sale) solves her problem or—does it? Or, is this just the beginning of her problems.

Our other Q word finds its way into My Brother'sKeeper.  Is the protagonist's (Elle's) best friend the one who begged her to come home to rescue Elle's father, the Ojibwa Chief and the tribe from unbelievable trouble—is she a quisling, nemesis or friend begging for help? 

In a place where nothing is as it seems, quixotic, quisling and questions muddy the water for the solving of mysteries making engaging reading for the mystery buff. 

Quixotic: Impractically idealistic, fanciful from the name of an Quixote the hero of a chivalric romance by Spanish writer Cervantes (1547-1616).

Quisling: A traitor collaborating with an occupying enemy force. Taken from the name of Major Vidkun Quisling who ruled German occupied Norway in World War II.

New (to you) words can create as much mystery as the story you wish to tell. Don't toss words away. Use them for all their merits.

P. S. Sign up for The Mystery Readers Connection and receive a free flash fiction mystery "Black Roses" or recommend a friend and when they sign up you will receive the flash fiction mystery "The Hanging Rock."

Hurry! You don't want to miss a single episode, contest, event or new mystery. Do it while you are thinking about it. Hope to see you there.