MYSTERY SHE WROTE...
MOSQUITO CREEK DETECTIVE CLUB
This 7book mystery series targeted to young teen readers, didn't originally start out as either a series or a mystery plot for a juvenile audience.
The title "Mosquito Creek Inn" popped into my head one morning while I was pulling weeds in the front flowerbed of our [then] house at Terry Lake, Fort Collins, Colorado. For two years after that moment the title and only the title rolled around in my head attached to no plot idea at all.
In one of my many 3ring binders [with plot concepts for several mystery directions] also contained a light romance I had made some notes for based on the quirky experiences of one of my best friends in high school. After graduating from the University of Alberta with a degree in education Kathy took a job in a rural Catholic boarding school on the Blood Reservation west of Cardston, Alberta. But there was still no working title with those pages of looseleaf notes. And every time I tried to revisit those notes to build a plot in which seven of the older kids planned a secret blind date for their teacher - nothing happened.
However, one restless morning when I found myself concentrating only on the seven preteen main characters I had created, a great deal began to tumble into place. Yet once again 'not' exactly as I intended...My setting moved from a small rural town in southern Alberta to a small rural town in northern Montana [Deer Lodge] that does exist -- but my swiftly typing fingers promptly renamed it -- Mosquito Creek.
Any other writer-novelist will understand, the unknow factor-X that had simply dissolved my original plan. Even the evolution of that mystery series often led me and not the other way around. Just when I thought the series would be four books [using the four seasons] the plot ideas of Book5 and Book6 'arrived'. So, I thought okay, 8 was a nice round number for this series. Nope, once again, not even research for the 7th book fell into place. Trusting the process, Book8 became Book7 and the series conclusion.
No one knows from where any inspiration comes whether you're a doctor searching for a medical diagnosis, or a carpenter grappling with more storage in a small space or a poet with just the right word hovering at the tip an ending line... It's not there, it's not there, it's not there then it IS there - delivered by the Universe - from somewhere...
This was truly a fun project for me. I got to be ‘12’ again, or maybe a large part of me never stopped being 12. But I drew from my dad’s childhood stories, mine and my sibling’s childhood experiences and even my own children and their peers… And, interestingly, many of these books were bought by adults who either read them with their kids and grandkids, or by adults who didn’t know my original target reader was 10 to 16. Regardless, they wrote to tell me [via my website] they liked them.
Then also gratifying, Story Monsters Ink, magazine selected “Mosquito Creek Inn” as one of their 2023 winners for Young Readers literature…
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MOSQUITO CREEK DETECTIVE CLUB
In creating this [MG/Young Teen] mystery series, I sought to offer material with a few more distinctive features. Besides intricate mystery plots with action and a coming-of-age element, I also chose to include a character for kids with ‘special-needs’. To that end a charming supporting character, Philip Peters born with Down Syndrome, takes an ever increasingly active role in each consecutive book.
The series plots empower seven seemingly average kids growing up in the town of Mosquito Creek, Montana to discover when they combine their individual skills, have a unique ability to recognize and unravel clues missed by experienced adults. My characters from six cultural backgrounds [4boys, 3girls age over the series-4-years from 11/12 to 16/17]. They ride horses, race go-carts, canoe, practice archery, go on scavenger hunts, build go-carts and more, entwined in the suspense. Danger is paired to material that is either historically correct, and/or technically possible for juvenile characters to execute.
My intent soon became the development of characters who were/are inclusive [besides health, special needs and mixed race] in with plots that don’t just tell a story to the reader - but involve the reader so readers may experience the adventure and see themselves able to emulate some qualities in the character[s]. Also, when I showed the first two drafts to my neighbor across the road [a local Middle Grade teacher] she had a special request that I try to keep each book under 200 pages. Though Harry Potter was a remarkable boost that 'sparked' new interest for young readers, she and other teachers still struggled with many students she described as "reluctant-readers" who saw any book that wasn't a comic, daunting.
Sonia Molosky: Polish heritage, oldest of four children, lives with single mom & grandfather, babysits and helps in mother's real estate office;
Gordon McKenna: Irish heritage, oldest of two, lives with both parents, object of Sonia's crush, helps at grandfather's newspaper;
Mia Cho: Asian heritage, oldest of two, lives with both parents, helps in mother's flower shop and fathers accounting office;
Hanna Gaikis: Greek heritage, only child, lives with single mom, babysits for spending money, has a crush on Stephen Anderlund;
Leif & Stephen Anderlund: Norwegian heritage, mother deceased, lives with father & stepmother & stepsister, both help in family store;
Joey Salas: Hispanic heritage, oldest of two, lives with father and paternal grandparents, helps in family restaurant, father is pharmacist, has a crush on Mia.
Book1 "Mosquito Creek Inn" [summer] -- Book2 "Black Eagle Pass" [Christmas] -- Book3 "High Stakes Gamble" [spring] -- Book4 "Dakota Mist" [Halloween] -- Book5 "Toy Master" [Thanksgiving] -- Book6 "Grandma's Red Convertible" -- Book7 "WingMan".
MYSTERY SHE WROTE (intrigueinprint.blogspot.com)
Author Website: Patchwork Publishing, LLC
Mosquito Creek Inn - by Sherrie Todd-Beshore (substack.com)