Author, Judy Penz Sheluk, is celebrating her new release, SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC. This first book in her Marketville Mystery Series may make us all a little edgy....
Tell us more, Judy.
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I’d been sitting in the
reception area of Hampton & Associates for the better part of an hour when
Leith Hampton finally charged in through the main door, his face flushed, a
faint scent of sandalwood cologne wafting into the room. He held an overstuffed
black briefcase in each hand and muttered an apology about a tough morning in
court before barking out a flurry of instructions to a harried-looking
associate. A tail-wagging goldendoodle appeared out of nowhere, and I realized
the dog had been sleeping under the receptionist’s desk.
That’s the opening scene of my latest mystery novel, SKELETONS IN
THE ATTIC. The idea came to me when I was sitting in the reception area of my
lawyer’s office. I was waiting with my husband, Mike, and we were there to
update our very outdated wills.
Like my opening scene, our lawyer had been delayed in court, and
judging from all appearances, the case had not gone well. And like my opening
scene, his goldendoodle hung out in the office.
It amused me that my lawyer, who is the very definition of shrewd,
would have a goldendoodle in his office. So much so that I wrote this scene:
Atticus took up residence
in a chair by the corner. Going by the blanket that covered the fabric, this
was his regular seating arrangement. It amused me to think that Leith Hampton,
a criminal defense attorney known for his blistering cross-examinations and
ruthless antics, both in and out of court, owned a goldendoodle, let alone one
that was allowed on the furniture.
Of course, my lawyer doesn’t specialize in criminal law (hey, I
write about crimes, I don’t commit them), but the point here is this: Writers
get inspiration from everywhere. While Mike was reading back issues of Bicycling Magazine (from which I deduced
that our lawyer is also an avid cyclist), I was scribbling notes into my teeny
tiny paper notebook I carry everywhere. Before long I was thinking: What if my
protagonist inherits a house with strings attached. Major strings? What if
those strings include trying to solve a thirty-year-old murder? And Skeletons in the Attic was born.
I’d like to credit my lawyer for the inspiration, but I’m afraid
he’ll bill me for it…
About the book:
What goes on behind closed doors doesn’t always stay
there…
Calamity (Callie) Barnstable isn’t
surprised to learn she’s the sole beneficiary of her late father’s estate,
though she is shocked to discover she
has inherited a house in the town of Marketville—a house she didn’t know
existed. However, there are conditions attached to Callie’s inheritance: she
must move to Marketville, live in the house, and solve her mother’s murder.
Callie’s not keen on dredging up a
thirty-year-old mystery, but if she doesn’t do it, there’s a scheming psychic
named Misty Rivers who is more than happy to expose the Barnstable family
secrets.
Determined to thwart Misty and fulfill her father’s wishes, Callie
accepts the challenge. But is she ready to face the skeletons hidden in the
attic?
About the author:
Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery
novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose, was
published in July 2015. Skeletons in the
Attic, the first book in her Marketville Mystery Series, was published in
August 2016.
Judy’s short crime fiction appears in World Enough and Crime, The Whole She-Bang
2, Flash and Bang and Live Free or
Tri.
Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime
Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction
Society.
Find Judy on her website/blog where she interviews other authors and blogs about the
writing life.
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