MYSTERY SHE WROTE...
THE COUNT OF BALDPATE
Manuscript [adventure] number four was a murder-mystery with historical elements...
It came about in a rather unusual way, but like most of my plots grew first from curiosity. One morning in 2002, [then living in Colorado] while driving from Fort Collins to Denver I happened to catch an NPR radio program that had originated with the BBC-- titled "Born A Girl".
An anthropologist had studied how girls grew up, were educated [or not] and basically treated in several cultures from advanced to underdeveloped.
Her findings were disturbing. And it started me wondering.
How was it that the female [which is still 51% of all live births] of our species remained basically deferential to the male of our species in every culture throughout the centuries? Did it start out that way? Was there a time when the female was considered equal or even in charge? Naturally, I 'went' looking. But that research was slow, and the evolution of the plot took 12 years...
*****
American women finally got the vote in 1920, but what in that 20th Century struggle became motive for 21st Century murder...
*When a business card belonging to CSU History Professor Hank Rule is found on the body of a murder victim near Baldpate Inn, Estes Park, Colorado - the new sheriff wanted to know why...
So did Dr. Rule.
With the historical element of a skull carved from coal and a 1913 fiction classic, Dr. Rule is asked to consult temporarily...But as the investigation progresses discovering 'why' becomes more complicated and more convoluted and more treacherous for everyone connected to the case.
Chasing clues across the country from another century and a sly killer across Europe Dr. Rule discovers a stunning motive more ancient than written history.
Author website: Patchwork Publishing, LLC
Read full chapters via: Sherrie Todd-Beshore | Substack
**Every writer's journey is the same, but different...In "FROM THERE TO HERE" a memoir, [of sorts] I share more detail of 'my' unique journey that may be of some help to others who find themselves compelled to write too...
