Adventures and Misadventures of Writing in a New Genre by Sue McGinty
Marilyn: Sue, you have published five mystery novels featuring Bella Kowalski, a former nun turned obituary writer and amateur sleuth. What’s your new book, and how is it different? Sue: My current work, “The Sojourner Chronicles,” is historical fiction. It takes place in 1943, during World War II and features the Detroit defense industry as a backdrop. M: Four of your five previous novels have showcased local California Central Coast settings. Why is this setting so important to the story? S: Many southerners, both black and white, migrated to Detroit to work in the defense industry during the war years of 1942 to 1945. This was the first instance of them working together as equals, which created a lot of tension between the races. The culmination of this was the Belle Isle riot of 1943, the first of several Detroit has experienced over the years. M: Okay, we now know the scene. What’s the story about? S: Thirteen-year-old Sara LeBeau, whose mother h...