Real Life Crime

How many of you have ever been burglarized? Your home? Your car? You know that feeling when you open the door and know immediately that something is off/wrong?

It happened to me for the first (and hopefully ONLY) time a few months ago. The outrage, the feeling of being violated… well, let’s just say I was HUGELY, COLOSSALLY pissed and leave it at that, because I could write a novel alone on the anger I still feel.

I will say this. Writing suspense and having done research and interviewing police, detectives and private investigators may have rubbed off on me.

For example:

1.     I knew how they attempted to enter my house and couldn’t, and how they ultimately did enter.

2.     I knew a woman was involved.

3.     I knew in what part of my house they were interrupted.

4.     I’m fairly certain they were high at the time.

Granted some of that stuff was easy to determine, I’ll admit. Obviously they removed the window screen and used this little orange wooden piece to scratch it out. The window itself was scored with something sharp as if they tried to cut through it. Easy enough to figure out and also leads me to believe they were stoned enough to think they could cut or slice through double-paned glass. (Brilliant? I think not.)

But, how did I know a woman was involved? I won’t say how exactly other than size played a factor in breaking into my house. It was either a woman or teenager. When I was finally able to clean my kitchen after police left, I discovered glitter on my floor. I had cleaned house the day before (Sunday), so it wasn’t left over from anything I might’ve had in the house. No holiday cards or anything that might’ve had glitter on it. Somehow that glitter came with thieves attached.

The one thing I’m always reminded of when plotting a story is to avoid something too contrived with forced circumstances or coincidence. But I’m here to tell you that thieves make mistakes and all those little puzzle pieces to a crime can come together to nail a suspect. (Coincidence happens. That’s why it’s a word in the dictionary.) My case is one of those.

Ten days after the burglary, the police knocked on my door at 10:30 pm. Scared the crap out of me as I was working away in the front room near the front door. The police had just come from a vehicular crime scene and had property with our names on it. When I explained we had been burglarized a week before, it gave our detective more information to work with.  Now we had a name (the car owner, since the driver and passengers ran after the accident) to either potentially go with the sets of fingerprints lifted from my house or at least a beginning as far as having a suspect. (BTW- I should mention the fingerprints lifted from my home have yet to be released.)

Cut to several weeks later and I’m informed of another vehicular incident where a suspect is arrested. What did police find in his car? Our checkbooks and our 27” desktop computer among other things. Now we have an actual person! A name! Trust me, I was a very happy camper with this news…. Until I discovered he was released before they were able to determine that the stuff in his car was stolen! Now I’m pissed again. My first thought was why didn’t they call me immediately? Because they’re busy. I get it, kind of. The wheels of justice move soooo slooowwwwlllyyy. Ugh.

But wait… the story continues. Another couple of weeks, I receive ANOTHER phone call… The suspect was arrested again! For what, I don’t know and the police wouldn’t tell me, but now they have him for my burglary and the good news is he actually confessed to robbing my house.

Honestly, I think the only reason I’m able to write about this is because the man was caught.  The woman who helped him – yes, there was a female involved as I had already figured out – is still at large, but I think her karma will find her one day soon. (We have a first name so it's a start.) 

Anyway, my point to all this is that anything can happen when you’re crafting a story and need to pull the ends together to either wrap it up or lead your characters down a different path. What were the odds that the guy who burglarized my house would be arrested a second time so soon after getting out after his first arrest? What were the odds of catching him with any of my stuff or catching him at all?

Once I had his name, my daughter and I did more digging. The Internet is an amazing, scary thing.  We found him all right. And found where he’d sold our laptop computers online. I realize my jewelry is forever gone and that sticks hard with me. Unlike others, I’m not able to just turn the other cheek with this dude. I want him to pay and pay hard for everything he stole from my family and me.  Some areas are just not gray and this is one of them.

I eagerly anticipate my first court date with this fool and I can only hope I have a judge who’ll let me say a few words about the whole ordeal.

I guess the moral of this post is that (hopefully) justice is served when the pieces fall together.

May your pieces always fall together whether it be in real life or your story.

Why What Happened to Amelia Earhart Captures Our Attention

The news this week has been awash with new details surrounding the disappearance of famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart on July 2, 1937. Those details while not exactly brand new, are being brought to the public eye because of a history show scheduled for this weekend. Why are not only Americans, but people around the world so interested in answers to her disappearance? One simple answer is it stimulates our imagination. What defeated this woman who many were convinced was unstoppable after her trip across the Atlantic in 1928?

As a writer, I find circumstances like this perfect fodder for my devious, ahem, inquisitive mind. Wouldn’t it be fun to write the end to her story? Take the facts and twist them into an alternate history. A half dozen theories exist, as do hard-to-decipher clues. Finding Amelia has become a pastime for investigators spending millions of dollars to find the one definitive clue to prove what happened to her and her navigator Noonan.

A writer could concoct an adventure novel where the reader wonders if each step in the journey would be Amelia’s last. Or it could just as easily be developed into a political thriller, considering some of the following details. Mrs. Roosevelt liked and encouraged Amelia, so much so she convinced her husband, the president, to set the government in motion to support her flight around the world. America colonized (with four people) tiny islands in the Pacific where the government could build airfields. They eventually built a runway on Howland Island for Earhart to have a place to land. It is interesting a civilian pilot could get the government to use their resources to support a private venture. Of course, the government had various reasons for doing so, that looked further down the road to strengthening our power around the world, but they also did it to spite other countries like Britain that didn’t want to allow Earhart to land on their islands in the Pacific. And then there is the photo and claim that the Japanese captured her after she crash landed or even shot her down. That suggests a dozen more questions about why the Japanese, who knew she was making the flight (she  originally had planned to land in Tokyo when going east to west on her first attempt) would not tout their rescue of her. If true, why hide that they knew what happened to her since this occurred years before we went to war? The stories a writer could weave from real life.

A few years ago at a mystery conference, I had the opportunity to listen to Ric Gillespie, a veteran of historical aircraft recovery, a pilot, and one of those mounting expeditions to search for answers to Amelia’s demise. From his voice, enthusiasm, and meticulous details, I could see the drive inherent in mankind to solve great mysteries. That drive is exactly what makes a strong character in a novel. What if Amelia had been your friend or sister or lover? How hard would fight to uncover the story of her flight?

People frequently ask where writers get their ideas. Just look around and listen to the stories of real life. The story of Amelia Earhart has everything a good mystery, drama, or thriller needs. Perhaps someday it will have an ending…but until then, perhaps we can write our own.

You might wonder why I personally have an interest in the story of Amelia. Partially natural curiosity, but also because she was the first president and a founding member of an organization I belong to, the 99s, an international women pilot’s organization. A 99s scholarship exists today with Amelia’s name to advance flight training and education of licensed pilot members.

LIVING UP TO THEIR EXPECTATIONS

LIVING UP TO THEIR EXPECTATIONS

     What do the characters we write about want, need, expect and wish for? Our characters emerge from our imaginations, and like their writers, they would like to be someone a reader thinks about, discusses with friends, and recognizes after the last page of the novel ends.

     The baddie prefers to be a multi-dimensional scoundrel—a rakish fellow—someone the reader finds attractive. Does he despair of ever being understood and ask you to blame his childhood, his parents or his genes? Did someone inflict an injury that made her vow revenge? Is she immoral? Reprehensible? Why? She/he doesn’t want to be typecast and become a common, everyday stereotype.

                                                                                                       

     Heroines grow bored with being buxom blondes or innocent big-eyed waifs—they need that special something that can be hard to name. It? Sex Appeal? Depth? A touch of wild ginger? A sense of humor?

     Our heroes want more than divine ancestry, courage, money, and a body to drool over. Intelligence is requested—more of those “Little gray cells,” Hercule Poirot talks about.

     And what of our secondary characters—they have their needs too. Casting directors are fond of saying,” There are no small parts, only small actors.”

      We are asked to insert a quirk, a tick, a line that enables our less important characters to keep the chapter and plot going. Tidbits that will make the auxiliary individual stand out without overshadowing the principals.

     Let’s give them what they ask for.

Celebrating Independence

In the United States, July Fourth is also known as Independence Day, the holiday when we celebrate our nation’s freedom and all that comes with it. So in today's blog, I’d like to reflect on the importance and blessings freedom brings all of us around the globe. And I'd especially like to express my appreciation via food. ;)

Typically in the United States, July Fourth is celebrated with family, barbecues, picnics, getting outdoors or playing on the lake, and town parades. The food portion of this celebration often includes cold watermelon, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and various casseroles and cakes. Oh, and let's not forget the cocktails!

Photo courtesy of the FoodNetwork.com blog.

My sister celebrates with a red-white-and-blue mojito. Click here for the recipe. It has to be healthy with all of those berries, right?!

Calico Beans - Photo courtesy tasteofhome.com

My father's family has a lake house in Michigan. While we lived many miles away in Texas, we occasionally got back to celebrate with Grandma and a couple dozen aunts, uncles, and cousins for a week during the summer. Whenever we did, my aunts made a delicious casserole called "Calico Beans." Here's a link to the recipe.

Just thinking about those summer days at the lake conjures memories of fireflies and fireworks (which they shot off right over the hill behind the lake house), waterskiing and canoeing, and playing dominoes or cards with my aunts and uncles. It was a tiny house with one bedroom and one bathroom (no shower or bath), and we all slept on the floor, but it was always filled with warmth and love—the perfect way to celebrate the blessings freedom brings.

As my kids discover a love for cooking and baking, I'm always on the hunt for new, fun recipes.  A "4th of July S'Mores" recipe from Delish.com came across my Facebook feed last week, and so of course we have to try it! After we enjoy some BBQ'd burgers and hot dogs. ;)

This year, we hope to continue the family Fourth of July traditions with food and cocktails, relaxation and grilling, and pausing to reflect on the blessings of freedom. I am so grateful I live where I do, and am blessed that others fought for that freedom.

Happy Fourth of July to all! May your celebrations be safe (and yummy)!

If you’re not in the U.S. (and I know many of you read our blog from around the world), what is an equivalent holiday or celebration in your country? Tell me the story behind your independence. (And feel free to share a recipe!)