How The Story Began - Requiem Murder

First, an autographed copy of Requiem Murder will be given away and announced on Mnday. Just need to know how to reach you.

Having published Murder and Mint Tea and seeing it sell a number of copies of books I realized the heroine was a really great character. Katherine had bits of myself and bits I wish I had. I begnan thinking about producing another story with her as the character. When I first came to visit in the town where I now live, a friend who was a church organist showed me his new church. The choir loft overlooked the pews. The bench was level with the balcony railing. There was also a large back placed on the bench. My friend had this removed. For me this was frightening, especially since my friend was an animated player. I had visions of him plunging to the ground. For years this image remained tucked in a corner of my mind.

Now comes the way the story began. There were beginning to be bits and pieces about men of the church taking advantage of young boys. I could have used this in a book but I really saw maybe not red but definitely a dark pink. This had been happening to girls for centuries and no one seemed to care so I made my villain one who liked young girls and who set out to seduce them but there were some twists. The girls had to be musically talented. The story began to unfold.

Katherine is part of the committee to find a new church organist and this means traveling to a number of churches to hear the organists. The moment she hears Roger's mastery of the instrument she knows St. Stephen's must have him. The story then takes on the politics of a church choir with the jealousies and other things that go on. My first murder mystery followed the path of when is someone going to kill her. This one takes on the idea of which person is going to be killed, the church organist or the diva of the choir. The murder weapon is one very unusual one but I won't tell you what it was. This then is how the story began and how it came to fruition.