THE STILETTO GANG

 

Writer, humanist,

          dog-mom, horse servant and cat-slave,

       Lover of solitude

          and the company of good friends,

        new places, new ideas

           and old wisdom.

 

Today, I delve into the decade I was born into but have only a vague recollection of—the 1950s. The vehicle for time travel was Lynn McPherson’s delightful The Girls Dressed for Murder. So far, there are three books with Izzy: The Girls' Weekend Murder, The Girls Whispered Murder, and The Girls Dressed for Murder.

I really want to go shopping in Twin Oaks, y’all, and that is saying something since I don’t have a shopping gene. But in lieu of that, I am chatting with Lynn.

TK: So, Lynn, what made you pick the 50s decade?

Lynn: Several years ago, I ran my own business. After five years, things went downhill, and we were forced to close. During that time, I became pregnant with my first child. My life changed overnight, and I went from a small business owner to a stay-at-home mom. I felt like I'd transported back in time, to the 1950s. It was a huge adjustment, and I began to watch a lot of I Love Lucy reruns. I thought about what a fun protagonist a homemaker from that era would make. From there, ideas began to percolate, resulting in the Izzy Walsh series.

TK: I love the interplay between your characters, “The Girls.” My favorite line was “Sometimes there was no other cure for a sad heart than a best friend.” How important are relationships to your stories?

Lynn: They are the core of the Izzy Walsh series. The love between Ethel and Lucy inspired me to show how important and amazing good friends can be (nevermind when you have a murder to solve)!

TK: Do you write the Izzy Walsh stories with a character arc or does Izzy get to just dig into the mysteries in the cozy coastal town of Twin Oaks? 

Lynn: Thanks TK. I always start out with a character arc and an idea of where the story is going to go and how it will get there. However, Izzy and her friends often get in the way. Sometimes they have a mind of their own and I have to fight to keep them in line. Usually by the end, we make up and a compromise is reached.

 

TK: What about the Brenna Flynn mysteries?  How are they similar or not?

Lynn: Brenna Flynn, the protagonist in Death On The Set, by Rose Kerr, definitely has some similarities to Izzy. Both characters are smart, inquisitive, and have a knack for trouble. I'd certainly recommend it as a fun read. The series is set in the current day, and Brenna Flynn is widowed, like Izzy, but she has no kids. Brenna is a former guidance counselor who lands a position as a production assistant on a cooking reality show.

TK: I see from your website that you have jumped out of an airplane. What, pray tell, drove that and how was the landing?

Lynn: Well, that was an adventure. I guess you could say I have a knack for finding trouble, too. I've gone skydiving three times and it was a blast. My best jump was in Australia. It was a tandem jump (I was attached to my instructor) and we jumped from 14,000 feet over the Great Barrier Reef. I saw turtles! We landed on the beach, and I couldn't shake the smile off my face for days.

TK: What did you do at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police? This sounds like fertile writing ground! Can we expect to see a plot thicken there at some point? I was a civilian employee and worked on transcripts for court prep. I read some pretty spicy stuff (too spicy for the cozy genre!). It certainly gave me some insight into character building, and I have a few ideas I might dive into at some point. But my true writing love is cozies so for now, I'm going to stick to small towns and amateur sleuths. 

Thanks Lynn, it was great to get to know you a bit, SG Sister!  

Lynn’s website:  https://lynnmcpherson.net

Purchase all her books on Amazon

T.K.Thorne is a retired police captain who writes Books, which, like this blog, go wherever her curiosity and imagination take her.  More at TKThorne.com