Man or Bear or Setting? by Jenn McKinlay

 JENN McKINLAY: Recently, my Instagram feed was full of the debate of man vs bear. For those of you who missed it, let me sum up. The question was if a woman was alone in the woods would she rather come across a strange man or a bear, meaning would she feel safer with a strange man or a bear? 

Pic from the CBC article: How the 'man vs. bear' trend exposes troubling issues (Hint: It's not about the bear)

As you can imagine there were many many many opinions, some very strong, about this topic but that’s not why I’m writing this post. 

Pic from Life Hacker Australia article: The Man or Bear Question: Why It’s Capturing the Internet’s Attention Right Now

I’m writing it because I posed the question to several of my female friends and every single one of them said they’d choose the strange man, which blew my mind because I’d choose the bear. Deeper analysis leads me to believe our different choices come from the quality of the adult male role models in our formative years, but that, too, is a post for another day.

CNN: Man or bear? A viral question has spawned scary responses

Now when I flipped the question and asked, “Okay, you walk downstairs to your kitchen for breakfast and there’s a strange man seated at the counter or a bear foraging in your refrigerator, which do you choose?” They all said bear. Which made me realize that this entire conversation speaks to the importance of setting!

A few books/series where I believe the setting is as important as the main characters are Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series, as well as, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe’s Los Angeles.

What about you, Reds? What are some of the books where you believe the setting was as vital to the story as the characters? And just for the heck of it, strange man or wild bear in the woods? Strange man or wild bear in your house?

HALLIE EPHRON: And I wanted to talk about “the man or the bear”! What kind of bear? It makes a difference. What kind of man??? That makes a difference, too. We could talk wardrobe…

But addressing the question: Where’s the bear? And does setting make a difference. OMG yes!

Looking for creepy? You can’t do better than the deep South of Joe R. Lansdale’s EDGE OF DARK WATER. Or cold in Julia’s Adirondacks in winter (I read IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER huddled in a blanket.) Or Leonia Swann’s verdant Irish countryside where a flock of sheep come upon their dead shepherd, George, in THREE BAGS FULL. Or Ruth Rendell’s Notting Hill in PORTOBELLO.  

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Wait, in the woods? A bear, definitely. You’d just run.  Or whatever you’d do. And is the bear attacking you, or just..over there? 

A strange man not in a ranger outfit would terrify me.

And if I saw a bear in the kitchen, I’d just go back upstairs. And call Bear 911.

A man is much scarier–they have a different kind of intentions.

 I kinda  think it’s less setting and more…motivation.

And this is hilarious.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: We had this discussion during the family Zoom call. The girls and I agreed “bear in the woods” instead of “strange man in the woods,” but Spencer, the one man, began to ask, “What if it was an angry mother bear?” and somehow the conversation devolved into what the best ways to fight a bear might be.

As for the kitchen scenario, I’d rather see a man in the house - I figure I have a chance of talking him down, a la, Queen Elizabeth when she woke up in her bedroom with that strange man there. Plus, my Shih tzus might scare him off, where they’d probably get squashed by a bear.

Books where the locale is absolutely central? I’ll go back to my two most important early influences: Margaret Maron’s BOOTLEGGERS DAUGHTER series, and Archer Mayor’s Joe Gunther series. The former is so steeped in North Carolina, you can smell the curing tobacco and BBQ. The latter is utterly evocative of Vermont - I’ve said a reader could drive all across the state, navigating solely from Mayor’s books.

RHYS BOWEN: There are so many variables in these decisions. If the strange man looks like a fellow hiker with backpack, and is walking purposefully up the trail I’d be happy to say good morning and pass him.  If I find him following me or sitting looking ‘strange’ then I’d not be happy. Clare tells me that this discussion has been going on for a long time on social media with women concerned that they will not be believed or be arrested if they fight back against a man. If they kill a bear nobody minds.

In my kitchen, definitely the bear. I’d make sure it has an easy exit then make a big noise to scare it off if it’s a black bear. A grizzly? I’d retreat until it had gone. Any my insurance would cover the damage.

Locale in books is so important to me. Think Prince of Tides. The locale was the story. IN my Constable Evans series the mountains play a big part in every plot.

LUCY BURDETTE: On the bear subject, definitely prefer to meet the bear rather than the man. According to Rhys Bown in the latest Molly Murphy book, all you have to do is make yourself look as big as possible and make a lot of noise. (Or am I hallucinating the bear in your book, Rhys?)

Setting: Kent Krueger is a master at this, both in series and standalones. Ditto for CJ Box’s Wyoming. And it seems like the Icelandic authors are amazing at writing setting, which is NO surprise, given how important that cold and treacherous landscape is. 

Okay, Readers, your turn. What books have a setting that you felt were as important as the story? And man or bear? If you're a dude, the same question applies (I just watched a documentary on serial killer Gacy and men are at risk, too, which is something I don't think we acknowledge enough).

Paddington it shall be.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Aw. Love you, Mary Feliz.  We are honored to have you here today.

Reds and readers, grab a cup of tea or coffee. Just–take a minute for this.

   

Two men and their bears...

   By Mary Feliz

When I first spotted Michael Bond holding a Paddington Bear who clearly adored him, I gasped. It was the same noise that might result from being punched in the stomach, but I'd been punched in the heart. Or had my heart squozen so hard the sound splurted out.

I couldn't figure out a way to tie my need to write about the death of Paddington Bear author Michael Bond with a blog about Mystery and Thriller writing. But I knew I couldn't write about anything else.

Michael Bond died in June 2017. My own father had died weeks earlier. Born six months apart, they grew up in the Great Depression and served in World War II. And both had bears they loved, with photos to prove it. Both had enormous respect for children and bears and were dispensers of the unconditional love some people connect to only in dogs or stuffed animals.

My own relationship with Paddington is a meandering one. I didn't grow up with him, but the bear wandered into my life several time. At age eleven, inching beyond the age of wonder but with one foot still firmly anchored in childhood, I discovered the Paddington books. I don't remember the text so much as the illustrations, which looked nothing like bears, as far as I was concerned. With his ears covered by a slouchy hat and a nose that was far too pointy, I thought Paddington resembled a porcupine or muskrat more than a refugee bear. I wrote to the author and told him so. I don't remember receiving a response, but Paddington was a refugee in London and as such needed a hat to keep his ears warm and dry. He's also not the sort of bear who worries about keeping his hair coiffed, or who bothers about spilled marmalade.

Eight years later, I embarked for a year at a British university. While I immersed myself in academics I didn't skimp on sightseeing or gastronomic exploration. I made friends and became part of a community. When I left I was given a stuffed Paddington, which had recently taken toy stores by storm. The shopkeeper instructed my friends that his boots were "specially made for him by Dunlop." My housemates were quite taken by Paddington's wellies, and by the idea that "when you have children, they can wear them." At 19, the idea of children was terrifying, but in little more than a decade, both my children stomped around in Paddington's wellingtons. (Paddington was happy to share.)

Paddington now supervises my writing desk. He kept me company in the days following my father's death, when creativity and sleep escaped me. Bond knew similarly difficult days and credited Paddington with pulling him through, “There is something so upright about Paddington. I wouldn’t want to let him down."

Which brings me to my father's bear. I don't know whether he had a favored soft toy as a child, but he certainly honored those my brother, sister, and I chose as companions. He conversed with them and instructed them to watch over us. He solemnly tucked them in at night when he put us to bed. Many years later, when my husband's mother suffered from dementia, my father suggested a stuffed animal might provide comfort. In her case, we chose a snuggly elephant who protected her when she was in the hospital among strangers and surroundings that were stranger still.

A year or two later Dad's memory began drifting. His hallucinations included gang members who lived in his living room and threatened my mother. As his doctor struggled to find a medication that would banish the gangs, I lived a continent away and scrambled for ways to help. In the wee hours one morning, I decided Amazon could provide a bear to protect my Dad from his demons. (My stuffed Paddington supervised while I logged into my Amazon account. Paddington hales from Peru, which is home to the Amazon River. Coincidence? I think not.)

Did my Dad believe the bear I sent him was real? I don't think so. But, partly to entertain me, he spoke to him in "bear language" and made sure he was tucked in at night with a view of the front door he guarded. When I learned my dad thought 24-hour protection service might be too arduous a chore for a single bear, we adopted a friend. The second bear was smaller, fit under my Dad's chin when he slept, and became known as Rusty. On a dark, rainy night when my Dad fell out of bed, we called paramedics to tuck him back in. When they handed him Rusty (with all the respect a proper bear companion deserves), raindrops shed by their turnout gear had dampened Rusty's fur. My dad noticed. "Rusty! You're all wet! What happened to you?" Full of concern, he dried Rusty gently with a corner of the sheet. "He gave the fireman a hug," I told him. "The fireman's coat was wet because it's raining outside."

"Ahhh," said my father. "Well, you're safe now." And they both fell asleep quickly.

Years ago, I learned that many law enforcement officers stash bears in the trunks of their squad cars to give to youngsters in trouble. In comforting the stuffed toys, the children feel stronger. And while a child might not admit her fears to a stranger, she might be willing to reveal the terrors stalking her bear.

And that brings me full circle, back to talking about writing, characters, and the community we all need to feel safe and connected. Community arises spontaneously among humans even in the most dire of situations because we all feel that need to both give and receive comfort. My mysteries look at what happens when that sense community takes a damaging blow, and what members do to restore the balance between good and evil. While my characters aren't based on real people, I strive to make them seem authentic. Michael Bond felt the same way about Paddington,  “Unless an author believes in his character, no one else is going to."

Whether my father or Bond believed their bears were real isn't important. Both respected bears and people, particularly people in danger of being overlooked. In 2014 when tempers erupted in Europe regarding the influx of refugees, Bond said, "Paddington, in a sense, was a refugee, and I do think that there’s no sadder sight than refugees.” 

Bond didn't shy away from Paddington's illegal entry into the UK. In the books, the bear's adopted family is ever aware of his risk of deportation. (Paddington reached London after stowing away on a steamer from Darkest Peru.)

After my father's death, friends, neighbors and former co-workers wrote to my mother. Nearly all of them penned some version of this description, "He was a kind and genuine man who helped me when I needed it most." I think the same could be said of Michael Bond and any man who is beloved by a bear. My Dad and Mr. Bond, had a capacity for unconditional love and an ability to embrace the imaginary world that means they both will live forever.

HANK: As I said. Oh, Mary, you are a treasure. And Paddington, too. We talked about him recently, I know…(and our darling Coralee told me where to find an okapi! Thank you!) 

Do you still give stuffed animals as baby  gifts?  Which ones?

And aren't you glad Mary came to visit?

  

Mary Feliz writes the Maggie McDonald Mysteries featuring a Silicon Valley professional organizer and her sidekick golden retriever. She's worked for Fortune 500 firms and mom and pop enterprises, competed in whale boat races and done synchronized swimming. She attends organizing conferences in her character's stead, but Maggie's skills leave her in the dust.

Mary's newest:  

     Dead Storage 

Silicon Valley Professional Organizer Maggie McDonald tackles her toughest case yet when a dear friend is falsely accused of murder. Aside from a depressed mastiff with PDSD, the only witness is an undocumented teen. Should he make a statement and risk deportation or stay mum and let the bad guys run amok? Or can Maggie organize a third solution without putting her friends, her family, and her community at risk? 

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