A fun and fascinating hour was had at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library when four mystery writers from the southeast region converged. Dubbed the Sisters in Crime, Sharon Healy-Yang, Sharon Ward, Maureen Boyle and Stephen Rogers led the audience through a process of building a mystery story. Not that it is the actual process they use, but more an entertaining game of “who done it and why,” using one’s imagination.
Each of the featured authors has their own unique style when developing their plots. Healy-Yang places her characters in the 1940s and even came dressed in vintage style clothing. Her featured main character is Jessica Minton. Sharon Ward’s main character is Finn Fleming, a scuba expert whose plots keep finding death and drama in underwater spaces. Rogers not only writes mysteries in the short-story form but is a poet as well. And then there is Boyle, who writes about true crime, stories she has heavily researched and of which, “I always know how the story ends,” she quipped.
After the introductions, the authors took the audience on a journey exploring possible story lines, character development and even murder weapons.
The audience was invited to provide character names, story locations, motives and what time setting should be used. The audience offered such diverse responses as Prince Harry (he started out in the 21st century but ended up in medieval times.) There was also a Vosco and a Jean Paul who ended up being an undercover police officer. Locations offered by the audience included Hiller Farm, a hunting lodge and/or London Bridge. Not surprisingly, a small seaside village was also offered up. Motive became the age-old infidelity.
Time travel was layered in adding new intrigues and allowing for Prince Harry to stay in the past, while other characters were busy solving a modern-day mystery. By the time they were closing in on who did what and why, the authors and audience had at least 10 characters moving through the pages in their mind.
Somehow a pumpkin became the place where important ancient manuscripts were hidden in the medieval times, but the authors and audience modified that bit to a pumpkin painting behind which the documents were hidden.
The authors, in real life, approach their craft in different ways. Boyle, for instance, has to rely on in-depth research of real crimes that have taken place, while Healy-Yang noted, “we go where the characters take us.”
Rogers said he was a plotter when it came to writing, and that might be necessary in keeping the short-story form tight, not letting it run amok.
Ward, a certified diving instructor, has taught diving for many years. With years of experience under her weight belt, she is at no loss to create underwater crime locations and the story surrounding them. She said she had nearly 15 storylines in the cue, just waiting for their time to come.
Sisters in Crime was funded by the library’s Purrington Lecture program.
To learn more about these authors, visit sharonward.com, stephenrogers.com, sharonhealyyang.com and maureenboylewriter.com.
By Marilou Newell