Author’s Notes for the Sunvale Mystery Collection

Personal Journey

I have always been an enormous fan of mysteries, and I am quite determined to own every single Agatha Christie book in existence. That being said, writing mysteries is a lot harder than any other kinds of stories, so I decided that my first mystery book would be on easy mode. A collection of short and simple mysteries that take place in the same town, with the same cast of characters for the most part. It was a lot of fun to write and definitely a good entry level to the world of mystery writing.

Story Theme

I don’t necessarily live in a traditional “small town”, but I am very familiar with having a community. I have been part of the same church all of my life, and our church is made up of people with different skills, experiences, jobs, and walks of life. Because of the military base so close to us, families come and go all the time, so we meet a lot of people passing through. I’ve also been blessed to make friends for life, some who are still here and some who have gone elsewhere but are still only a phone call away.

There have been rough times, conflicts, drama, and even enemies that have stepped through our doors, yet through it all our church has stood and our people have done their best to have unity in spite of all our differences. The friendships and quarrels and laughs that come from knowing a particular group of people all your life is the main inspiration and theme for this series.

Where Did I Get this Idea?

There is an evangelist who visits our church quite regularly, and he has mentioned many times that he was originally an accountant. Which is a funny job to have for someone in the ministry. Multiple times he looked at how much it cost his family to serve God and they should not have been able to make it work. It did not add up. And yet God always took care of them. Money would come from places they least expected, in a time they never expected. Every time that evangelist mentions that, I’ve had the idea to write a story with an accountant as a main character. I had that idea saved for a while, and when I sat down to write this little collection of stories, I knew this was the perfect place to use that idea. An accountant turned investigator is such a fun idea, I simply had to try it out!

Characters

Having the right character to follow is a crucial part of a mystery, and I knew I needed someone who had the means of seeing what not everyone noticed immediately. Duncan is no genius, but he has a love of numbers and addition. When things don’t add up, he is quick to look for the mistake. But it’s not only his accountant skill that makes him a good detective. Duncan has a heart for the people in his town. He does not immediately assume malicious intent when things go wrong, because he knows that humans make mistakes.

This is quite contrasted by his best friend Leonardo, who knows just how wicked the human heart can be. While Duncan grew up in a small, quiet town with parents who took him to church and taught him how to be a gentleman, Leo has been fighting to survive since he was a child, being abandoned by his mother and left to live on the streets of an overpopulated city. Duncan and Leo work off of each other well, knowing that there is always more than one side to every incident, and making up for wherever the other lacks.

I created Roy as a loving tribute to all the younger brothers I’ve known in my life. Not just my two younger brothers, but the young boys I’ve grown up with and watched grow into young men, who still retain that eager and often times unpredictable spark of excitement. Roy is loyal, and hates injustice of any kind. Perhaps he’s not the smartest person in the group, but point him in the right direction and he will have your back through it all.

Wilhelmina is also a kind of tribute character. Girls can be such strange creatures in wonderful ways, and I like to believe Willy captures the unique but charming nature of the type of girl who does not notice very often what people think of her, as she’s too busy focusing on the things that are more important in life: the secrets of the universe and the deepest most inner feelings of those around her. You don’t always know what she is going to do next, but she is a most trustworthy companion.

Fun Fact

Cary is a real city in North Carolina! I give it a bad rap in the book sometimes, generalizing it as a big city with overpriced shopping districts, a rather lazy police force, and too much going on for it to have any heart or passion. I don’t think that about the actual city of Cary. I don’t even go there often, and have simply noticed that it’s a well funded city when I drive through, given how many bicycle lanes there are and neighborhoods with wrought iron street signs. That’s pretty fancy to me. Hopefully any residents of Cary, North Carolina won’t take offense to it’s portrayal. I have heard that you guys have some awesome thrift stores, so that’s pretty cool.