Sue McGinty's appearance at SJ SinC Meeting

At 5 a.m. in the morning, or late in the afternoon when the sun is at ‘just the right angle’ for that certain glow conducive for writing, you will find Sue McGinty in her office or deck overlooking the ocean, writing her Bella Kowalski cozy mystery series. Sue left the corporate world of McGraw-Hill in LA and escaped 200 miles north to the Central Coast hamlet of Los Osos where she is now a writer. Not the Cabot Cove of "Murder She Wrote," but close.

Sue came to speak Saturday at San Joaquin Sisters in Crime and we loved having her. She was engaging and answered all the questions flung her way.

Her character Bella, a former nun turned sleuth, gets entangled in all sorts of situations—always having to do with a dead body discovered usually somewhere on the California Central Coast.

Asked where she gets her ideas, Sue mentioned standing on one of the cliffs on the coast, looking down and wondering, what if a body were found down there on the beach below? And so as any good mystery writer, she began the ‘what if’ questioning: what if the person had not just fallen but were pushed, or dumped, or? Then, after the where is decided, the other mystery questions follow: who, why, when, how of the murder.

Though most of Sue’s mysteries are set at the fictional small town of Los Lobos, it’s based on the real Los Osos, but she doesn’t limit where Bella can do her sleuthing (you may find her following the clues of a drug death to the doors of Detroit’s crime families). 

Sue has recently started working on another series, but whether Bella has any more adventures and sleuthing to do is still undecided. She might get herself mixed up in sussing out yet another murder.

Sue’s Books can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sue-McGinty/e/B001JS1XRQ

Book 1: "Murder in Los Lobos:" Introduces readers to former Detroit nun, Bella Kowalski, now a Central Coast obituary writer who can't help getting involved in murder investigations.

Book 2: "Murder at Cuyamaca Beach:" Bella volunteers for the homeless program at her church and people start dying on her.

Book 3: "Murder in Mariposa Bay:" Bella takes on the Mafia when they try to muscle in on a controversial Los Lobos public works project.

Book 4: "Murder in a Safe Haven:" On a quick trip to Detroit, after Bella witnesses a murder at the airport, she is stalked by a mysterious woman with a raven on her shoulder.

Sue’s website: http://suemcginty.com/

--reported by Cora Ramos

Questions Readers ask Writers, by Sue McGinty

Thanks for asking me to contribute to your SJC blog. I will be the speaker at your monthly meeting on November 5^th. As many of you know I write the Bella Kowalski Central Coast mystery series.

What kinds of questions do you get as a writer?

As a mystery writer I get all sorts of questions about my books, my characters, even my personal life. Concerning the latter, sometimes I am forced to answer, “None of your business.” I mean, really…Are the love scenes based on real life?

Do you welcome questions from your readers?

Absolutely, it shows that the reader is connected with me and with my protagonist, Bella Kowalski, obituary writer, former nun, former cop’s wife, now single woman on her own.

Do readers ever give you advice about Bella?

All the time. A reader told me I should have Bella color her hair because all that gray makes her look old. Don’t know how she knew that because there’s never been a photo of Bella, per se, anywhere, but obviously the reader sees her in her mind’s eye.

Do you get questions from men?

Rarely. But mostly they critique the writing, saying they love it or they hate it, that this character is underdeveloped, or overdeveloped.

Do you ever create characters of add plot details base on readers’ questions or comments?

Sometimes, though mainly I depend on my beta readers for these. For example, in “Murder in a Safe Haven,” my newest, all three of the beta readers said if I mentioned the old slave tunnel under the convent, I had to put Bella there. I didn’t want to, but I did, though I thought her being in a tunnel violated the norm of a cozy mystery. However, I kept it short, readers like it and it turned out well.

What is your preferred way to ask and answer the questions of readers?

Definitely via social media like Facebook, because then others can chime in as well. It’s amazing the number of opinions I get about even simple things.  

(To find out more about the meeting and Sue, scroll down.)

November Meeting, Sue McGinty Speaks!

NEW LUNCH PROCEDURE AT THE NOVEMBER MEETING

1. We are trying out a new order/serving system lunch.

2. No need to reserve, you will have the whole Yosemite Falls lunch menu to choose from.

3. Please arrive by 9:45 and sit at your table until a server takes your lunch order. Then if you wish you can mingle and visit.

4. Each member will be given their own bill to pay at end of lunch. Food & drinks will be itemized separately so drinks are optional. Water will still be provided at the tables.

Tip will be automatically added to the bill.

5. Note: there is good selection of senior lunches which are smaller portions and cheaper in cost. And
most salads come in two sizes.

6. Visitors will be charged a $5 fee at the door.

SUE McGINTY'S BIO:

With little more than an urge to hang out at the beach, write mystery novels and calm a cat experiencing his first car ride, Sue McGinty left Los Angeles June 17, 1994, the same day OJ Simpson took his infamous ride. Unlike OJ, Sue had a destination in mind: the Central Coast hamlet of Los Osos. Not the Cabot Cove of “Murder She Wrote,” but close.

Her California Central Coast mysteries include:
“Murder in Los Lobos,”
“Murder at Cuyamaca Beach,” and
“Murder in Mariposa Bay.”

Her new release, “Murder in a Safe Haven,” takes Bella back to Detroit, her hometown, for new
misadventures.

Sue’s short fiction has also been featured in four Sisters in Crime Central Coast chapter anthologies.

Sue McGinty, Author Guest for November Sisters in Crime

A Little About Sue McGinty:

With little more than an urge to hang out at the beach, write mystery novels and calm a cat experiencing his first car ride, Sue McGinty left Los Angeles June 17, 1994, the same day OJ Simpson took his infamous ride. Unlike OJ, Sue had a destination in mind: the Central Coast hamlet of Los Osos. Not the Cabot Cove of “Murder She Wrote,” but close.

Her California Central Coast mysteries include “Murder in Los Lobos,” “Murder at Cuyamaca Beach,” and “Murder in Mariposa Bay.” Her new release, “Murder in a Safe Haven,” takes Bella back to Detroit, her hometown, for new misadventures. Sue’s short fiction has also been featured in four Sisters in Crime Central Coast chapter mysteries.

In her “real” life, Sue worked as a technical writer for McGraw-Hill.

Summary of presentation:

“So, Have You Ever Been in Jail?” 12 Questions of a Writer

Readers often feel a writer’s life is fair game for all kinds of questions: often thoughtful, sometimes rude, a few way too personal. Sue will ruminate on the questions she’s been asked in the eight years since her first Bella Kowalski mystery was released. On the table will be small cards where audience members can write their own questions. The one deemed the best or funniest by a show of hands will receive a free copy of her latest, “Murder in a Safe Heaven,” which has been nominated as a Michigan Notable Book for 2017. 

This will be a most special presentation, do come and meet Sue.