My Story's Origins

Welcome to the early days of my blog. I thought I would share a bit of inside information about the origins of my debut murder mystery, The Etiquette of Murder, with the people who have taken the time to learn more about me and my book. I very much appreciate your interest. 

While I spent many (many) years in the advertising industry, I always had an unrelenting itch to write a contemporary murder mystery. My kind indulgent friends, family, and especially my late husband and soulmate, Perry, must have heard it a million times. They would listen patiently to my various attempts at intriguing murder plots and motives that would blend psychological depth, moral ambiguity, and unexpected twists. As if to encourage me throughout the years, my parents would retell how, when I was a little girl, I used to sit with my grandfather on his favorite bench at dusk and tell him all kinds of tales as he slowly sipped his scotch. Poor man. I would make notes and even went so far as to write detailed outlines, but alas, everyday life called, and I did not dedicate the necessary effort to bring my dream to fruition. Nonetheless, my husband and family never stopped believing in the possibility. For this unconditional support and encouragement, I will always be grateful. 

So let me tell you how this book finally came to be. But first, understand this: I always envisioned it as a stylishly dark murder mystery in a cozy, aspirational setting with compelling characters I would want to have dinner with and spend time around. 

It was Christmas Eve, 2023, and it was tradition for my husband and me to host my family, including my parents, my four siblings, and their children. Although my beloved husband had passed away almost two years earlier, at the loving insistence of my family, I continued the tradition. Well, that night, after a wonderful evening of Christmas cheer and feasting, and everybody had left for their own home and traditions, I had never felt more alone, or even worse, more irrelevant. It was at this loneliest moment of my life that a thought entered my head like a thunderbolt that would not be dismissed. It was, if not now, when? When would I ever realize my lifelong dream of writing a book? Over the next week, with music as my constant companion, the concept and storyline of the yet-to-be-named book, The Etiquette of Murder, took shape.

Next time, I will share the uncanny synchronicities from that fateful Christmas Eve forward that told me I was on the right path. Carl Jung’s theory of synchronicity refers to (I’m paraphrasing here with GROK’s assistance) meaningful coincidences that cannot be explained by cause and effect but carry significant psychological or spiritual meaning. These are events that seem to align in a way that feels purposeful, like thinking of someone and then unexpectedly running into them. The first of these meaningful coincidences would be my uncanny horoscope for the year 2024.