Mystery We Write Blog Tour, Jennifer DiCamillo Visits Today

Hi, Marilyn and friends.

You asked me if I had to do any research to make my books more realistic, and I do. I have a collection of mysteries coming out titled MENTALLY UNSTABLE and there is a big variety of things I had to look up. 

One is about a murderer who kills according to the “Seven Deadly Sins” in the Bible. The story isn’t religious, but I had to look up the seven sins. Amazing what you think you remember until you have to make an accurate list. I challenge your readers to see if they can name those without popping the good book.

Another thing I had to look up was the word DESPICADO. It means “It satisfies.” Who knew? It features in another hard-boiled mystery in the anthology and almost became the title of the collection. But my publisher thought MENTALLY UNSTABLE, which is the name of another story, a cozy mystery tale, was a better choice. For that one, I had to go read Arsenic and Old Lace again. All I could remember about it was the play my sister starred in during High School. Unfortunately, that was a night I was sorely distracted by the bleachers. I was nine months pregnant and well, you can guess that bleachers aren’t the most comfortable place to sit while trying to store details.

In another story, I had to learn what type of handgun a character would be likely to use. Sometimes I put the info into the story, sometimes I end up leaving it out, but I always learn what weapon would be appropriate. In another story, I needed a lock pick. I needed to know how they looked, and worked. The most interesting thing about that journey to the locksmith was to learn that in hotels and buildings where key cards are used…if someone pulls the fire alarms, it automatically unlocks all bedroom doors. 

So, grab your stuff, folks, when you run, or relock your door manually before you skedaddle. The idea is to make rooms more easily accessed/searchable for firefighters. Unfortunately, it can make it easier for people to steal from you, especially if they know the fire alarm was set deliberately.
Locks are reset automatically at the front desk if it is determined that the fire was just a false alarm. Interesting, huh?

In another mystery, I had to check back to dates in the Civil War.
I have other mysteries that your readers might be interested in. DEADKNOTS is a paranormal mystery anthology written with CJ Winters. That has some fun stories in it. For example, I could have named one of my stories GOPHERS GONE WILD.  There’s a problem in Baxter County. Gophers escaped from the High School Science Department. Murders are happening all over the county, and ghosts are being seen at the Baxter County Cemetery.

And I also have FOUR DEAD soon to be released. Two detectives have been following a serial killer for four months. They have four dead bodies and are a week away from the next killing. By now, they have realized that the female detective fits the serial killer’s taste, and her apartment lays right smack in the middle of the other four murders. Was she the main target all along? Who would want Beth dead? Beth’s desperate to find love before she dies. It’s a romantic suspense title from Mojocastle.com. While that publisher often publishes very graphic works, readers should know before going to look for Four Dead, it is not an erotic work.

And last, I’d like to mention my first novel which is still available. For those looking for a mystery of epic proportions, The Price of Peace might suit them very well. It’s sword slashing, tongue lashing romantic suspense that starts with murder and ends with five clans coming together in one demesne for a final confrontation. When you finish with that, you will have won the war!
Thanks for inviting me to your blog, Marilyn. And thanks to your readers for checking out what I’ve been writing.

~Jennifer DiCamillo
http://www.jenniferdicamillo.net
http://jenndicamillo.wordpress.com/