Sherry Harris--The Making of Officer Awesome

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Ever wonder how writers come up with their characters? I love our Jungle Red friend Sherry Harris's account of the making of Officer Awesome! (And of course now I'm dying to read the book...)

SHERRY HARRIS: Debs and Reds thanks so much for having me back! It's always a blast to be a Red for the day and hang out with some of my favorite authors. 

The Making of Officer Awesome

Sometimes a character is born through a long painful labor of writing full character sketches, thinking about how the character affects the story, and how the character helps/hinders the protagonist’s journey. Other times a character comes in a flash from a comment or experience. Officer Awesome, who shows up in my third book, All Murders Final, is the latter.

I’ve been lucky enough to go on two different police ride-alongs in two very different situations with two very different officers.

My first ride-along was with Sergeant Patrick J. Towle of the Bedford, Massachusetts, Police Department. He is also a member of the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council’s SWAT team. Patrick is a great contact for me because my fictional town of Ellington is based on Bedford, and Patrick gave me an insider’s view of policing there. (Patrick is the cousin-in-law of my friend and fellow Wicked Cozy Authors blogger Julie Hennrikus. Thanks, Julie, for introducing us and joining us on the ride-along!)

There’s not a lot of crime in Bedford but Patrick showed us where past crimes had occurred, took us to an old Nike missile site, pointed out where a body had been dumped, and told us about the one unsolved murder in Bedford. He also shared tales (some fact, some lore) about Bedford that I’d never heard. Our biggest call during the ride-along was for a python in the road. Another officer picked it up and somehow wrangled it into a pillowcase. We met the officer at the station and peeked at the injured animal. It was taken to an animal rescue.

Patrick is a season professional with a laid back manner. He’s knowledgeable, confident, and just the kind of guy you want on your side out there fighting bad guys. Interestingly enough, the night before I met Patrick, I was writing about Officer Pellner for my first book Tagged for Death. I gave Pellner dark hair and then I added some dimples at the last minute. I was stunned to meet Patrick and find that he had dark hair and dimples.

My second ride-along was with the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia. The county has over a million people. The department is the 33rd largest in the country. And while Fairfax County isn’t the crime capital of the world, there is plenty going on.

The officer I rode with was just completing his first year on the job, but at 40 he had already started and sold a tech company. He’d wanted to be a police officer since he was a teenager and now was fulfilling that dream. We started the ride-along with him showing me the panic button on the computer monitor and how to work the radio to call for help just in case something went wrong. That got my adrenaline going. Then we went to court, a traffic accident, sat waiting for people to run a stop sign, and we also answered house alarms going off. We caught teenagers with pot (the pot was in a glass container that said “this isn’t weed” on the lid) and pulled people over for traffic violations. At one point we roared down streets, lights blaring, looking for guys who had stolen a pizza delivery guy’s car. The police helicopter was flying above us as we joined other officers in the search. It was so exciting but we didn’t catch the bad guys. We also patrolled closed parks and parking lots—yes there were a lot of fogged-up windows.

In the parking lot of a closed, dark park, surrounded by woods, we came across a woman sitting alone in her car, crying. It was a scary place—nowhere for someone to be alone. My officer talked so kindly to her, explained that she couldn’t stay there, that it wasn’t safe, asked if she needed any help, or if there was anything he could do for her. I was impressed more in than moment than at any other time.

It was quite a night! At the end of the evening I asked him if I could name a character after him in All Murders Final. He smiled and said, “yeah, Officer Awesome.” Figuring out how to name a character Officer Awesome was a bit of a challenge but ended up being a lot of fun. I gave him the years of experience that Patrick has and a bit of swagger from my own Officer Awesome. I hope you’ll like him as much as I do.

Readers: What draws you to a character? Writers: Have you had a similar experience writing characters? And do you have any fun ride-along stories to share?

DEBS: Sherry, this is so much fun. I love Officer Awesome. I've never done a ride-along--I definitely think I should. Wonder if they do them in the UK...

 When Sarah Winston started the virtual garage sale, it seemed like a keystroke of genius and the next logical step in her business. No more collapsing card tables and rainy-day washouts. But what began as a fun way to run garage sales during the long New England winter has become a nightmare of managing people and putting out fires. Online, she can avoid the crowds–but not the crazies.
She certainly never bargained on dealing with frightening threats. And when a client is murdered, it’s time for Sarah to swallow her pride and seek the help of her ex–C.J. Hooker, chief of police. Forging a tense alliance, they search–online and off–for the killer. But solving this crime before someone else gets tagged seems virtually impossible…

 

Dreams Do Come True: J.A. Hennrikus and JUST KILLING TIME

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: It's wonderful to see someone's dream come true, isn't it? J.A. Hennrikus, who writes under the pen name Julianne Holmes, published her first novel, JUST KILLING TIME — and fulfilled her aspiration of being a published novelist. Congratulations from all the Reds, J.A.! Brava!

J.A. Hennrikus: As of Tuesday, October 6, a long time dream of mine was realized — I became a published novelist. JUST KILLING TIME by Julianne Holmes, my pen name for this series, marked the end of the chapter entitled “Aspiring Author.” I am thrilled that my first published novel is a cozy mystery, set in the Berkshires. I’m a lifetime reader and lover of the traditional mystery, and love when a new book comes out in series I follow. It’s like visiting an old friend, where justice prevails, and order is restored. What a terrific escape!

While there is tremendous pride in this moment, I have something to confess. I’m surprised by how mixed my emotions have been about this transition, so I’ve been checking in with other recent debut authors. Many have assured me they felt the same way. Ray Daniel put it best: “We knew how to be aspiring authors. We were good at that. But then you get published, and you’re living your dream. Now what?”

Happily for me, I have mentors who help me navigate this path. Two of them are on this blog — Hallie Ephron and Hank Phillippi Ryan. Both have reminded me, several times, to enjoy every minute of this time in my career. That I will never have a first book again. That this is a milestone to be celebrated. I am grateful for these women, and the others in my life, who both ground me, and lift me up.

Dorothy Parker once said “I hate writing, I love having written.” A lot, most, writers understand this quote. There are times when writing is a joy, when the words flow and are beautiful, when the editing process (which I consider writing) uncovers a diamond instead of stone, when the word count goal is met and surpassed with energy to spare. Then there’s the rest of the time—the slogging through the middle of the book, characters who won’t cooperate with your clever plotting, creating tension where there is none despite your best efforts. All writers, regardless of their place on the path to publication, understand this. We understand this, accept it, and still find joy.

There is one other aspect of writing a series no one warned me about. My main character, Ruth Clagan, has moved in with me full time. I see shoes, and think “not for me, but Ruth would wear these.” It goes beyond research when you think to yourself, “I need to tell Ruth about this clock exhibit” before you pause and remember that Ruth isn’t real. 

Ruth is a clockmaker. What an interesting, challenging, profession. I always found clocks fascinating, but never really thought about what it takes to make them work, and to keep them working. The profession takes years of training and apprenticeships before you can hang out your shingle. I am so lucky that the Roberts brothers at Clockfolk of New England patiently answer my questions. Visiting their shop helped me think about the Cog & Sprocket, the Clagan family clock shop. 

The series is set in Orchard, Massachusetts, a made up town in the Berkshires. What a great setting for a series—close enough to Boston and New York that you can get a stream of visitors, but a small community where everyone knows each other’s business, and the past drags down the future. I’m fortunate that I live close to the Berkshires and Western Mass, so research trips are easy and a lot of fun. 

JUST KILLING TIME is the first book in this 

series. I’m thrilled that I have written, I am published, and that the Jungle Reds invited me on the blog to celebrate!

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Well, I'm pouring virtual) champagne! Reds and lovely readers, what do you think it is that makes getting a first novel published so special? What did you/ would you/ will you do to celebrate such a milestone? How do you celebrate the milestones in your own life?

Julianne Holmes is the author of Just Killing Time, the debut novel in the Clock Shop Mystery series and is the pseudonym for J. A. (Julie) Hennrikus, whose short stories have appeared in the award-winning Level Best Books. She serves on the boards of Sisters in Crime and Sisters in Crime New England, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. She blogs with the Wicked Cozy Authors WickedCozyAuthors.com. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts. She tweets as @JulieHennrikus. Visit JulianneHolmes.com

Ruth Clagan may be an expert clockmaker, but she’s always had a tendency to lose track of time. And when trying to solve a murder, every minute counts…

Ruth’s beloved grandfather instilled in her a love of timepieces. Unfortunately after her grandmother died and he remarried, Ruth and Grandpa Thom became estranged. She’s wanted to reconnect after her recent divorce, but sadly they’ve run out of time. Her grandfather has been found dead after a break-in at his shop—and the police believe he was murdered.

Now Ruth has been named the heir to Grandpa Thom’s clock shop, the Cog & Sprocket, in the small Berkshire town of Orchard, Massachusetts. As soon as she moves into the small apartment above the shop and begins tackling the heaps of unfinished work, Ruth finds herself trying to stay on the good side of Grandpa’s bossy gray cat, Bezel, while avoiding the step-grandmother she never wanted. But as old secrets and grudges start to surface, Ruth will have to kick into high gear to solve the killer case before someone else winds up dead…

Liz Mugavero — Deadlines, Day Jobs, and "Book Jail"

 SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Please welcome Agatha-nominated author Liz Mugavero — her latest Pawsitively Organic Mystery is The Icing on the Corpse. She also has two of the most adorable dogs, ever, as you will see when you read her post. Take it away, Liz!

Liz Mugavero: I’ve become that reclusive writer. The one the neighbors regard curiously in those rare times when I do step out of the house in some strange outfit, hair gone awry, blinking like I haven’t seen the sun in months. Which, come to think of it, we haven’t here in the northeast until the past few days.

This has truly been a winter to forget. Never mind the godforsaken weather, I’ve also been working on two back-to-back deadlines, celebrating the launch of my latest Pawsitively Organic Mystery, The Icing on the Corpse, working a full time corporate America job, doing freelance work, sitting on two boards and helping plan an event for another related committee. Along with family and taxes and leaky roofs and all the other everyday Things to Address.

I’m not sure I’ve been doing any of them particularly well.

Please note, I recognize how blessed I am to have these problems. They are truly in the category of “good problems to have.” I’m successful at two careers and have found ways to give my time back to two excellent causes.

My weekdays look like this:

Get up.

Stumble to the coffee/tea bar. Make drink of choice.

Get a bleary-eyed half hour (hour if I’m lucky) in at my personal computer.

Make a green smoothie in the Vitamix.

Get ready for work.

Drive 45 minutes to the office.

Spend eight hours looking at another computer, or sitting in meetings.

Drive 45 minutes home.

Eat dinner.

Sit in front of my personal computer until I fall asleep on top of it, hopefully not deleting the day’s work.

Weekends are a little different. For example, last weekend I spent 12 hours both days in front of the computer. I had a couple of breaks to throw the dogs a ball outside. (They’ve been enjoying the nicer weather, rolling in the grass, exploring the long-forgotten bare ground.) On Sunday, the neighbors came over to drop something off. I had barely showered when they showed up and had to answer the door with my hair wrapped in a towel at one in the afternoon, barely able to form a coherent sentence. When I did speak, I called someone by one of my character’s names.

At this point, I’m not fit for public consumption. My body feels like it’s slowly atrophying from lack of movement. I went outside at lunch the other day while I was at my day job office. Fresh air and sun made me feel a bit vampirish. I have unrequited dreams of being in the car, sunroof open, enjoying the breeze and going (gasp!) somewhere fun. I long to pick up a set of barbells or do some kickboxing.

Someday. Someday.

Over at Wicked Cozy Authors, we call it book jail—but this has graduated to an alarming level of solitary confinement. The good news is, in exactly two weeks the locks are springing open, whether I’m ready or not. Deadlines must be met. I HAVE TO leave this desk. I never want to look at another computer again. At least for a week, until I have to jump into the next book. I have to reintroduce myself to those around me, and remind the dogs that there is such a thing as a walk on the town green.

So I’m wondering, is this just me? How do others handle multiple deadlines and major commitments, especially us multi-career authors? 

Would love tips…in the meantime, spring is here! I’m going to at least open the window next to my prison so I can see the flowers blooming, watch the dogs play and smell some fresh air…

Liz Mugavero is the author of the Agatha-nominated Pawsitively Organic Gourmet Pet Food Mysteries Kneading to Die, A Biscuit, A Casket, and The Icing on the Corpse. As you can imagine, her canine and feline rescues demand the best organic food and treats around. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Salem State College and a Master of Arts in writing and publishing from Emerson College. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sisters in Crime New England, Mystery Writers of America, and the Cat Writers’ Association. She lives in Connecticut. Find her at www.lizmugavero.com.