CHAPTER 3: Initial Statement from Brutus the Bartender

(Detective's Note: I only got a few moments with Brutus, but he did give me some interesting information-- he knew every single one of the people in that photograph). I will finish the interview when all the mystery writers at this place aren't clogging the bar).

WITNESS STATEMENT:

"Absolutely not a single one of those people is ever allowed in this bar again!

That Fran Helsing character kept crawling under tables and scaring my customers. Ray Vuss Wordum stole my favorite lampshade and put a mustache on it. Payton Olliver's hands were covered in super-sticky shaving cream from some freaky art project -- everything at her table was covered in it. And Helen Bvtt... Brrt... Bvck... Oh heck, whatever her last name is, she stiffed me on a $27.82 dollar tab because she couldn't sign her own name to the credit card receipt. And that Reavis guy spilled his liquor everywhere and didn't clean it up. No, I don't care if he's dead, that's no excuse.

Note: Shaving cream all over the glass at Payton Olliver's table.

I don't have time to talk right now -- I've got to get back to polishing glasses, especially the ones that Payton Olliver handled, because this stuff is NOT coming off easily -- but if I were you, I'd talk to that creepy stalker chick first. Fran Helsing."

Go to CHAPTER FOUR!


 

CHAPTER 2: Detective Dee T. Ective on the Case!

Down to the scene of the crime I go!

Pardon my excitement. Murder is sad and all – and this Reavis Z. Wortham seemed to be a real hoot of a guy, who will be terribly missed – but it's been SO BORING at the station recently.

Anyway, that's poor Reavis dead at the bar. From the overturned bourbon next to his body, I'm going to go out on a limb and pronounce Cause of Death as poisoning. We'll get the Official Autopsy Results soon, but for one, there was a lot of choking and turning red involved (according to Brutus the Bartender's initial 911 call – I have to interview him later) and for two, Reavis was reportedly not a man to spill his liquor unless there was a good reason. Like he was being murder-poisoned.

Anyway, I ALSO have my first clue, this image from the security camera footage that shows several very suspicious-looking characters standing next to the bar RIGHT BEFORE REAVIS WAS MURDERED!

I'm taking this right to Brutus the Bartender. He was apparently on scene when Reavis bought the big one, so he's my best witness to this heinous act.

Of course, he could be my best suspect. Hmmm...

Go to CHAPTER THREE!

CHAPTER 1: Murder-Death! AKA My First Homicide Case

Wow, I've only been on the job for two days and already I'm in charge of a homicide! I was thinking I'd get a uniform first, maybe a firearm, but no, they're shoving me out of the nest like an unarmed baby bird. With a badge. And some handcuffs.

My first assignment. And to think I wanted to be a bartender.

Well, time to rustle up an evil doer! Detective Dee T. Ective is on the case!

Go To CHAPTER TWO!

Cast of Characters

Reavis Wortham – Innocent Victim

Detective Dee. T. Ective – new to the Raleigh Writer's Conference Homicide Squad, looking forward to her first case

Detective Jean Jeanbeaug – agent for Interpol's Crimes Against Humanity Squad, assisting Det. Ective with her first case

Suspect #1 Fran Helsing – Rabid mystery fan-at-large

Suspect #2 Helen Bvtzchknn -- Freelance editor-at-large

Suspect # 3 Payton Olliver – Artist-at-large

Suspect # 4 Ray Vuss Wordum – Mystery Author. Not at large.

Brutus the Bartender – Bartender. At the bar. Which he tends.

Chef Blarnee – Fancy Irish Chef brought in to prepare special mystery dinner

Seamus McCree – Guest Sleuth

Tai Randolph – Guest Sleuth

Pssst! : PROLOGUE

Don't tell anybody, but we're writing a play-along mystery starring Detective Dee T. Ective. Stay tuned here for more details on her first day of work with the Raleigh Mystery Writer's Conference Homicide Squad. You can check out our cast of characters HERE.

Prizes! Honor! Glory!

Ten Things We Wish YA Writers and Editors and Publishers Knew About Actual YAs (Like Us)

1. When Writing About Young People, Talk to Young People Alive and Young Right Now. Many YA Authors write teenagers who act much younger -- or much older --  than teenagers really behave. Or they write teenagers like the ones they see on TV (big mistake -- TV teenagers are about as accurate as TV CSI Teams)

Some writers make the mistake of basing fictional teenagers on what THEY were like at teenagers. Don't. Just because you were young once, doesn't mean you know teenagers now. We have since evolved.

2. Not All Characters Need A Tragic Backstory. Nor do they have to be the Misunderstand Loner (also known as the "I'm Not Like The Other Susans" Rule).

3. Adults Are Not Always Evil/Boring/Patronizing/Incompetent. We live with adults, and we actually care about them and sometimes even like them. And we have people in our lives who care about us.

4. Don't Force the Romantic Elements. If you want to include a romantic element in your story, go for it! But it's not required for YA readers to find the story interesting. Really.

Important Point #1 -- No Creepers. Teenagers must date other teenagers close to their own age or it's very very problematic.

Important Point #2 -- Trust chemistry. There's nothing worse than characters who act out of character just to create a relationship subplot. Make sure each character matters to the plot, and make sure they're not just in the story to be romantic decoration.

Important Point #3 -- Romance doesn't always mean boy/girl (see #6), and your romance plot does not have to include only TWO characters. If you see a love triangle forming in your story, instead of pitting the love interests against each other (creating unnecessary drama), maybe you could see how they work as a triad. Polyamorous people are real, and they are often sorely misrepresented in modern media.

In other words, YAs tend to view things -- including relationships and gender -- in non-binary ways.

5. No Cheap Tricks. Don't kill animals just to illicit an emotional response, and don't threaten them just to heighten tension. Don't dangle little children over cliffs just to hear them squeal.

6. Create A Diverse Cast of Characters.

Important Point #1 -- More LGBTQA+ characters! Please! Now! And make sure they have something to do in the story that doesn't involve their LGBTQA+-ness. Also, queer youth don't always join Drama Club or Chorus -- think outside the stereotypes. (FYI -- The A in this acronym refers to Asexual/Aromantic, which is an orientation, and not Allies. Though Allies Are Awesome).

Important Point #2 -- Also more racial and ethnic diversity. Please make sure that you do more than change a character's outward appearance (hair/skin/clothes). Diversity requires that you show us the texture of their lives and language, their identities as whole people.

Important Point #3 -- Also more differently-able people. Wheelchairs can make really awesome weapons, you guys; think about the possibilities.

Important Point #4 -- Go sit in a busy public park. Pay attention to the different kinds of people you see in one hour's time.That's how your stories should look.

7. Treat YA Mysteries As Seriously As Adult Mysteries

Important Point #1 -- Mysteries should be solved by the protagonist, through the clues she or he discovers. Readers should have access to the clues -- we don't like having solutions pulled out of magic hats at the end.

Important Point #2 -- Villains are characters too. Don't spring them on us at the end of the book. Develop them as fully as the other characters.

Important Point #3 -- Effective endings require realistic closure. We don't always need justice, but we do need loose ends tied up.

Important Point #4 -- Secondary characters require development and depth too.

Important Point #5 -- Doublecheck your plot points, people. We are very thorough readers and we don't like to drive our brains over plot holes.

8. Strong Female Protagonists™ Do Not Act Like Stereotypical Men. Also, contrary to popular opinion, guys will read books with a female lead. If they are good books.

9. Leave Your Moral Soapbox At Home. We can smell a lesson a mile away.

10. It's Okay To Be Serious. And Funny Too. We will read books that address serious issues, but we want them addressed in a realistic manner and we want them to matter to the book and not be added simply to illicit a response (see previous #5). But books don't have to be one or the other. Real life is a mix. YA novels should be too.

Review Time: MR. SAMUEL'S PENNY by Treva Hall Melvin

By: Maddy

This review is one that is long overdue. Our book club read this book a while ago, and I was the one who volunteered to write the review. Unfortunately, my laziness and general procrastination got the best of me, and something that should've been done a long time ago is only getting done now. My sincerest apologies to the author and the five or so people who check this blog often (five being a very generous number), and not only I, but the rest of our team as well hope to be more effective in the future.

Mr. Samuel’s Penny is a book about a young 14 year old girl who is a yankee at heart but goes down south to stay with her aunt, Aunt Alice, over the summer, in the small town of Ahoskie, North Carolina. This small town is mostly known for being quiet and peaceful, but this all changes when tragedy strikes. Mr. Samuel, owner of the town’s lumber yard, has been found dead along with his two year old daughter in a river after skidding off a bridge. Everybody is the under of the assumption that this was an accident as Mr. Samuel was a man liked by almost everyone in the town, but when the town’s sheriff finds evidence that they were bullets fired on the bridge, this turns an accident into a full blown homicide. However, even though it has been confirmed to be a homicide, there is almost no evidence linking to who the perpetrator is, with only one piece of evidence found at the scene; Mr. Samuel was found clutching a 1909 wheat penny as he drowned.