Conventional wisdom tells storytellers to write what we know. I prefer to write
what I want to know more about. For fiction to be compelling, it must be
grounded in fact. Since I spend about 50 percent of my writer's life doing
research, I'd prefer to invest that time in learning about things that interest
me. That was part of the impetus behind my Sister Lou Mystery cozy
mystery series featuring a Catholic sister as the amateur sleuth. [Note:
She's a sister, not a nun. Sisters work in and with the community whereas nuns
are cloistered.]
I was born and raised Catholic, which means there are things that I know that I
don't understand. There are things that I do, but don't know why I do them. And
I can't help thinking there are things I should know and should do, but am
ignorant of. Writing my Sister Lou Mystery series gives me an outlet for my
research into Catholicism. This research is embodied in my amateur sleuth
heroine, 63-year-old Sister Louise "Lou" LaSalle. She's a Catholic sister with a
doctorate in Philosophy who left higher education to serve as a member of the
congregation's leadership team.
My Sister Lou Mystery cozy mystery series features a fictitious congregation of
Catholic sisters, the sixty-three member Congregation of the Sisters of St.
Hermione of Ephesus. I've located the congregation in the fictional small town
of Briar Coast, New York, which I've decided is just southeast of Buffalo, New
York. The town has fewer than 1,000 residents.
The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Hermione of Ephesus was inspired by the
very real Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Peace, which is located in
the capital city of Columbus, Ohio. The real congregation has an impressive
history that demonstrates the members' strength of character, intelligence and
determination. Some might call it stubbornness. The Dominican Sisters of Peace
also are known for their charism of hospitality. "Charism" refers to the way
we're called to serve God. The Dominican Sisters are called to serve God by
being welcoming and hospitable to all. Hospitality, intelligence, toughness and
stubbornness are some of the traits that I've tried to embody in my cozy mystery
amateur sleuth heroine, Sister Lou. I've also endowed her with a dose of
pragmatism to help with her investigations.
My Sister Lou Mystery series has been compared to the Father Brown series and
the television cozy mystery series Murder, She Wrote. But unlike Father Brown or
Murder, She Wrote's Jessica Fletcher, Sister Lou is a reluctant amateur sleuth.
She'd rather concentrate on her commitments to her congregation and their
community than chasing down suspects and solving crimes. She prefers to leave
that work to the town's sheriff's deputies. Unfortunately for her, no matter how
hard she tries to get away from murder investigations, she keeps getting pulled
back in.
I realized that, in addition to a mentor to lead the journey into Catholicism, I
needed a student who could appreciate the stops along the way. My investigative
reporter, Sharelle "Shari" Henson, perfectly fits that role. Shari didn't grow
up with a faith background, but her natural curiosity drives her to learn more
about Sister Lou's devotion to a life of faith.
The final member of my amateur sleuth trio is the connection between the
Catholic and lay communities. For that character, I gave Sister Lou a nephew,
Christian "Chris" LaSalle. Although as a Catholic sister, Sister Lou is active
with the community her congregation serves, Chris provides insights into the
town's residents. He knows the side of them that they'd rather not show to a
member of the Church.
My cozy mystery series also gives me a platform to help dispel the stereotypes
of Catholic sisters. The mainstream media often portray them as bitter,
judgmental, humorless people who are trapped in the past and spend their entire
lives on their knees in prayer. This is not representative of the sisters I
know. The sisters I know are warm, intelligent, inquisitive, welcoming women who
are passionate about their faith as well as their communities. They are
well-informed on current events and dedicated to social justice locally and abroad.
I also incorporate diversity in my cast of characters. Whereas most of the
Catholic sisters depicted in mainstream media are white, Sister Lou is black and
her good friend Sister Carmen is from Mexico.
Far from being physically inactive, Sister Lou is a lifelong jogger who's
training for her first marathon. She also has a tendency to drive fast. Too
fast. In fact, when we first meet her in Mayhem & Mass, the first
book in the Sister Lou Mystery series, the deputies have suspended her license
for excessive speeding.
Now Sister Lou is back in the second Sister Lou Mystery, PERIL & PRAYER. The story
starts shortly before the Advent season. Sister Lou is helping the ever
disagreeable Sister Marianna with plans for the congregation's Advent retreat,
which is to be held at a cabin resort. When someone murders one of the resort's
co-owners, Sister Marianna makes it to the top of the suspects list. Here's the
story description.
Peril & Prayer: A Sister Lou Mystery
Avoiding deadly habits ...
How do you solve a problem like Marianna?
This year's Advent retreat has been booked for the Congregation of the Sisters
of St. Hermione of Ephesus at the pastoral Briar Coast Cabin Resorts in New
York. But when the combative Sister Marianna practically loses her religion
arguing over minor details with resort co-owner Autumn Tassler, Sister Louise
"Lou" LaSalle blessedly steps in as peacemaker.
Only days later, Autumn is found strangled in her office, and hot-headed Sister
Marianna becomes the sheriff's deputies' prime suspect. They believe her missing
scarf may be the murder weapon, but Sister Lou believes Sister Marianna's being
framed. If she has a prayer of keeping Sister Marianna out of prison, she'll
need to once again put her faith in her nephew, Chris LaSalle, and reporter
Shari Henson to help her solve the case. As the trio tries to cross suspects off
the list, Sister Lou has no choice but to stick her neck out – if she's going to
unveil who was desperate enough to resort to murder.
There are plenty of other suspects, though, including:
- Her business partner
- A business competitor
- Her ex-husband
- Her ex-husband's new wife
- Her cousin
- Her catering manager
- Her resort's accountant
Sister Lou hasn't always seen eye-to-eye with Sister Marianna, but when a member
of her congregation is in need, she drops everything to help prove her
innocence. She assembles her amateur sleuth team – Shari and Chris – and with
Sister Carmen's counsel, and God's guidance works to bring a murderer to justice.
Olivia Matthews is the cozy mystery pseudonym of award-winning, national
best-selling author Patricia Sargeant. Patricia has been inspired by writers
such as Walter Mosley, Dick Francis and Tami Hoag, who put ordinary people in
extraordinary situations and have them find the Hero Inside. Her Sister Lou
character was inspired by Catholic sisters whose courage, determination and
faith have helped build communities and formed rich, lasting legacies. Learn
more about her at website, PatriciaSargeant.com.
1 comment posted.
We deliver professional web design and website development agency service, offering excellent bespoke website design and development. We use WordPress and WooCommerce as standard. On demand we also use Drupal CMS and for E-Commerce, we use Magento in delivering excellent web design and build for eCommerce sites . All our web designs are fully responsive for different screen sizes so it looks great and work perfectly on any device.
if you want more just look here "Website design"
(Nayon Shaha 4:01am August 30, 2018)