On a lighter note -- I hope everyone had a drama free holiday as peaceful as Laura's ride on the beach, and that no one gains any wait on Christmas goodies sure to come.
On Writing Mysteries:
I write mysteries, suspense and historical fiction, mostly
involving horses, all based in reality.
In Shadow
Horse and its sequel Whirlwind, Jas must prove that Hugh Robicheaux
killed two horses for insurance money. The mystery revolves around true scams
that can happen in any sport, but in this case, the high stakes sport of horse
showing:
“One of the worst cases of fraud happened in
the early 1990’s,” Miss Hahn told Jas. “Some of the top paid riders and
wealthiest owners in the business paid a lowlife named Tommy Burns to kill
their horses.
“In one case, a horse named Empire
was galloped until sweaty. Then he was put in a clean stall and electrocuted.
Based on the sweat and clean stall, the vet ruled colic.”
There were worse details in the
magazines and articles that I read for research and at the rescue farms I
visited, details that turned my stomach. I wisely left many of them out. An author continually makes choices about the
amount of research and reality to include. Too little can result in a bland
story, too much can make it gruesome.
In my “Racing
to Freedom” trilogy (Gabriel’s Horses,
Gabriel’s Triumph and Gabriel’s
Journey) set during the Civil War, my research sent me to the dark times
when African Americans were treated with brutality and disdain. I definitely
had to make choices, leaving out graphic incidences of slaves being hung, whipped
and sold from their families. However, there was plenty left for a true and
gripping tale such as the scene from Gabriel’s
Journey, set during the real Battle of Saltville, Virginia and based on a true incident:
Hoofbeats thud in the foggy distance. Then
angry words drift down the hillside from the cabin of wounded soldiers. “Drag
them coloreds outta there!” a gruff voice hollers.
The surgeon’s voice rises in
protest, but moments later the report of revolvers echoes through the hills. I
startle with each shot.
“Oh my god,” Captain cries out
hoarsely. “They’re killing the wounded.”
Private Black’s words flash in my
mind like a warning. When those Confederates see our black faces charging
them with rifles and bayonets, they’re going to attack us with a vengeance.
I’ve
written over sixty books. When people ask me where I get my ideas, I tell them,
“Just pick up any newspaper. Or read a history text. Horror, crime and mayhem
are everywhere.”
And they
make terrific stories.
Oh, I hate when I am in a hurry and make a spelling error or typo as in 'Wait' for 'weight'. Or perhaps I did mean 'wait' since my life has been too busy and I sure would love to sit a spell!
ReplyDeleteI used the "killing horses for insurance money" scam as part of one of my mysteries, too. Its so tempting...since it has definitely happened in real life, and more than once.
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