Marilyn's Musings

            My father’s notebook from World War One has long been a prized possession, together with his dogtags, and a photo of his billet on the front lines. Dad enlisted in the Signal Corps, U.S. Army, was on a July, 1918 convoy to Great Britain from Halifax, and spent several months being assigned ever farther east until reaching his front line position in the American Sector at Mousson Hill, Meurthe-et-Moselle (Lorraine).  We all knew about his notebook entry for Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, as he described intercepting messages from both sides, and finally, the guns falling silent. But with the centennial approaching, it seemed the right time to look at the entire notebook, and see what it contained.             It wasn’t an easy task. Some of the notebook was in pencil, and the handwriting wasn’t always clear. The references, too, were sometimes...

Marilyn: So, William, you’re writing a diplomatic mystery series, what gave you the idea for this? ANSWER: I was a career diplomat. One evening when on duty for the Secretary of State, it occurred to me that there was no diplomat-sleuth in the literature. That was odd, when a diplomat sees so many secrets - intelligence and diplomatic reports, and crime reports and FBI assessment. The material was all there, and when I retired, I decided to put it together. In the process, I invented the "diplomatic mystery" genre, stories set largely in American Embassies overseas.     Marilyn: Do you share some of the hero’s characteristics? ANSWER: I share Robbie Cutler's cultural curiosity and like him, I am at home everywhere. Also, like him, I tend to understand logic better than people.     Marilyn: What about the settings? Are these places where you’ve been? ANSWER: Vintage Murder is set in Bordeaux, where I was Consul General. The second in the series, Mu...