Universal Truth

My high school senior English teacher was Miss Abigail Cresswell. Not merely Abigail Cresswell, mind you, "Miss" was part of her name. I did a Google search hoping that I might find a photograph of her, but there were none. Suffice it to say that if you looked up "stern" in the dictionary you might see her picture.

She assigned a "term paper," and mine featured Joseph Addison's Sir Roger de Coverley papers. The topic is emblazoned in my memory, but I had to research Addison for this post since my memory of the content was sketchy. Sir Roger is a fictional "country gentleman," and perhaps, in the dark recesses of my mind, Roger influenced my future Brad Frame character?

Our term paper had a due date, and more than once Miss Cresswell would peer out at us over the top of her glasses and say, "Woe be unto you if you do not have your paper in on time." (She never defined the consequences, leaving that to our imaginations. I pictured the guillotine, since we'd read A Tale of Two Cities earlier in the semester.)

I'd worked on the paper, but on the day before it was due I got sick. With "woe be unto you" echoing in my brain, I stretched out on the living room sofa, feeling miserable, but finished writing my paper.

What endures from her class is the concept of "universal truth." As a seventeen-year-old I couldn't comprehend its application, but in the same way that "woe be unto you" stayed with me, the notion of universal truth began to make sense when I had a few more years under my belt and especially when I began writing. When readers can identify with the people and situations that populate our books, they have broader appeal. I'm glad to finally have a chance to thank Miss Abigail Cresswell for teaching me that lesson.

Did you have a teacher or mentor that had a strong influence on your life? Join in the conversation with a comment below.

How Would I Know?

Write about what you know! Isn't that the mantra that every writer hears from colleagues when he/she decides to write a story?

I first created the Brad Frame character in 1987. My work as an arts advocate (at that time) took me to Philadelphia every few weeks via Amtrak and I would pass through the wealthy neighborhoods of "The Main Line"  where Brad Frame lives. I decided that if my protagonist was wealthy it would give him wider latitude accepting clients and more freedom in conducting his investigations. 

My diverse career working with juvenile delinquents, administering a police in-service training program, and teaching criminal justice at the college level provided a real-world connection to the life and skills of a private investigator. How many other mystery writers can boast that they've been to fourteen county jails, two state prisons, and one federal correction center? (As a visitor, I hasten to add.) Avocational experience in theatre helped me with the skills to craft a scene and write good dialogue.

But why would an independently wealthy man launch his own detective business? Writing what you know also entails an appreciation of gut level feelings. I wanted to tap into Brad Frame's emotional core, and draw on my own experience to do so. My youngest brother committed suicide at the age of 22. It was an event that is seared into my memory, and a tragedy that shook our family to the core. 

But that sad occasion helped me establish Brad Frame's motivation to become a detective. His "back story" involved the kidnapping and murder of his mother and sister. After he helped the police find their killers he joined forces with Philadelphia police detective Nick Argostino to set up his agency and bring justice to the lives of others.

UNFORGIVING SHADOWS was the first in the Brad Frame series. (Which is now priced at $0.99 for e-readers.) It afforded me an opportunity to bring his back story to life as Brad is invited to the execution by lethal injection for one of the two men responsible for the death of his mother and sister.

You can check out the opening chapter, and please join in the conversation with your comments.