Faith in the 1960s by Sally Carpenter
Most people see the 1960s as a time of social turmoil, a
rejection of traditional values, rebellion and an attitude of “please yourself”
and “turn on, tune in, drop out.” However, in Middle American, the mindset
among the common folk was more like the 1950s.
My new retro-cozy series, the Psychedelic Spy, is set in a
small rural Southern Indiana town in the 1967—much like the hometown where I
grew up during the 1960s. In a town of 10,000, we had about 30 Protestant
churches and one Catholic parish and elementary school. The town had at least
one black church, a small AME (African Methodist Episcopal) congregation. The
nearest synagogue was 30 miles away, so the city’s religious makeup was pretty
homogenous.
The public schools in my town never scheduled activities on
Sundays or Wednesday evenings because those were “church times.” In deference
to the Catholic students, on Fridays the school cafeteria always served fish
sticks (that tasted like cardboard)—even though after Vatican II in 1965
Catholics only had meatless Fridays during Lent.
My fifth-grade class in public school began every school day
with the Lord’s Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance—and all the students remained
standing for both. I doubt that this activity is still carried on today.
Of course not everyone in my hometown went to church, but
most did. Going to church every week was just something a person did, same as
showing up at school or the office. Church attendance was more of a habit than
a devotional act.
My family was active in one of the largest churches in town,
First Methodist. I was spoiled because the congregation was large enough to
host a fine adult choir and plenty of youth activities to keep me busy: Sunday
School, Sunday night youth group, youth choir, the Christmas pageant and
Vacation Bible School.
First Church attracted the town’s “elite”: dentists,
doctors, city leaders and businessmen. Most of the women members were wives and
homemakers. I only know of three members who were single women—two were
schoolteachers and one was the vice president of a bank.
Some members no doubt saw the church more of a social
organization or service club like Kiwanis and Rotary than a place for spiritual
nourishment. But they were good people who didn’t drink, smoke or swear in
public and who gave service to the community.
I drew on this experience for my 1960s protagonist, Noelle
McNabb, a member of Bethlehem Community Church in the fictitious town of
Yuletide, Indiana. On Sundays Noelle and her family are in church. On Wednesday
evening she’s at church again for the weekly potluck dinner and program. Noelle
is in the Modern Issues discussion class, which is also attended by the city’s
“elite”—the mayor, a nurse, teacher and a nosy newspaper reporter.
Most of Noelle’s friends go to church. In future books I
want to give her some Catholic friends as well.
Noelle also lives out her faith. A spy agency recruits her
to work undercover as a go-go dancer in a nightclub. Some customers insist that
she share a joint with them. How does Noelle keep from smoking weed while
maintaining her cover?
When she and her partner, veteran agent Destiny King, are
hiding from the police in a safe house, Noelle says grace before a meal. The
worldly Destiny thinks Noelle’s behavior is silly.
When the women are after an enemy spy, our heroine finds she
must shoot and possibly kill the enemy to stop him. Noelle is abhorred. She
hates guns and refuses to murder another human being. How can she capture the
spy without compromising her moral values?
So far none of the reviewers have complained about the
book’s religious aspect. Noelle’s faith is present, but not overblown. She has
her faults and is no Pollyanna or saint. The book is a great alternative for
readers looking for a more gentle story than found in a hard-boiled mystery.
Flower Power Fatality: The Cold War gets cozy in this
retro-cozy spy caper set in 1967, a year of music, miniskirts—and murder!
Actress Noelle McNabb works at the Country Christmas Family Fun Park in
Yuletide, Indiana, but she longs for the bright lights of Hollywood. Real-life
drama comes her way when a stranger with a fatal gunshot wound stumbles across
her doorstep. When she attempts to finds the man’s murderer, Noelle encounters
a super-secret spy agency, SIAMESE (Special Intelligence Apparatus for Midwest
Enemy Surveillance and Espionage). SIAMESE recruits Noelle on a quest to find
missing microdots under the guidance of a street-wise agent, Destiny King. As
Noelle goes undercover in a cheesy nightclub and faces the enemy in late-night
chases, she uncovers family secrets and finds her moral values put to the test.
Along with her pet cat, Ceebee, and the kooky residents of Yuletide, Noelle
discovers it takes a village to catch a killer.
Author bio: Sally Carpenter is native Hoosier living in Moorpark, Calif.
She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University, a Master of Divinity, and a black belt in tae kwon do.
Her Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol retro-cozy series is comprised of four books, including The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper, 2012 Eureka! Award finalist for best first mystery novel.
Flower Power Fatality is the first book in the Psychedelic Spy retro-cozy series.
She has short stories in three anthologies. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles.
Reach her at scwriter@earthlink.net. Her website is sandyfairfaxauthor.com and she blogs monthly at ladiesofmystery.com.
Buy link:
https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Power-Fatality-Psychedelic-mysteries-ebook/dp/B07DLJS6FF/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1537570274&sr=1-1&keywords=flower+power+fatality
Comments
Thanks for posting this here. Thanks Marilyn for hosting her.
Jackie