Writing About Older Women Sleuths

I was an avid fan of “Murder She Wrote,” which probably sparked my latent interest in writing about older women sleuths. So my two 60-year-old widows, Dana Logan and Sarah Cafferty, were born. The first novel in the series, A Village Shattered, features a retirement village, where both women live until their friends and fellow Sew and So club members are killed alphabetically by a killer hiding in the San Joaquin Valley fog. The fifth novel in the series, Murder in RV Paradise, will be on sale on Kindle Monday, February 23-28 at Amazon.com.

I subconsciously based the two women’s relationship on my own with my best friend Marge, who can make me laugh under any circumstances. So, Sarah Cafferty took on Marge’s characteristics, although not her actual appearanc, and Dana Logan took on mine. It’s been fun writing about the duo as they sell their homes in the retirement village and buy a motorhome between them. Traveling the West, they stumble over bodies and solve murders with Dana’s daughter Kerrie, a journalist, who always manages to get involved. When Dana’s sister, a famous mystery novelist, is found murdered and leaves her mansion to Dana, Logan & Cafferty are then based in Wyoming, my adopted state.

I’m currently completing the sixth novel in the series, Murder at the Mansion, and loving nearly every minute of the research and writing. Older women are not only fun to write about, they bring with them wisdom and mystery solving skills that younger protagonists haven’t yet acquired. They're also open to adventure, humor and romance. How do I know? I'm an older woman. : )