Writers Who Kill

Exercise is overrated. Eja Kane joins a dojo to shape up before her wedding but instead of inner peace she finds a simmering cauldron of sex, greed and jealousy. When a con-woman’s corpse falls at her feet, Eja and future in-law Anika Swann confront a cunning murderer and a nasty bullion scheme involving Deming’s clients. Boston society shudders as members of the elite confront their dirty secrets and darkest passions.

Touch of death, is an ancient Chinese technique that enables one to inflict fatal injuries by exerting pressure on vital organs. Mystery writers always try to unearth bizarre murder techniques and I loved this one. COOL FACT: Last winter after Gilt Trip was published, an episode of NCIS—New Orleans featured the Dim Mak technique. Coincidence—I think not!! Maybe Hollywood is following me and stardom beckons.

Yes, Eja Kane is her real name. I once had a friend named Eja and this was an homage to her.

Eja is desperate to find a wedding gift that will please Deming, the man who literally has everything. Since he is an exercise fanatic and she definitely is not, she chooses martial arts training. Since Eja (like this author) is clumsy and awkward, her efforts are doomed to fail.

Deming is definitely hot stuff (a film star crossed with an underwear model), but despite the sophistication and big bucks, he can often be petulant and overbearing. He expects the adulation of women, and Eja violates his playbook. No doubt that is why he loves her and has since they were children. Frankly his daddy (Bolin Swann) is the one who meets your description: Legal James Bond with an Asian twist. Yum!

I envisioned Kim Basinger as an Anika Swann type although Lauren Bacall works equally well. My board on Pinterest shows my role models for these characters. Deming and Bolin were based on the young and (now) more mature Russell Wong. Worth considering.

Eja was raised in a family where intellect was valued over material things. She jokes about her “Trotsky-ite parents” but they were fairly left-wing professors who cherished books not bling. There are objective measurements for intellect, and Eja knows how gifted she is. When it comes to appearance, however, she agonizes over the svelte beauties who surround Deming. (Recall the dreadful Pamela Schwartz). Eja’s first husband Gabriel dumped her for someone better looking and that permanently scarred her.

Deming blames himself for his twin’s murder and has therefore vowed to protect Eja and Anika from any danger. Naturally it doesn’t work out that way and it almost ends his relationship with Eja. Bolin Swann is way cooler about the entire thing. As he tells Eja (Mantrap), he had to learn that living with a strong, independent woman was the price he paid for loving Anika. Both he and Deming compromise by trying to anticipate the scrapes that the ladies may blunder into and lessen the blow.

Cato the wretched spaniel loved only one person—Deming’s twin CeCe. Because he was a rescue, allowances are made for his bad behavior, but Cato is indifferent to canine stereotypes. He metes out affection to Eja in very small doses and considers Deming’s shins his chew toys. On occasion he strikes out at villains but that is by sheer coincidence.

We moved all over the country when I was a child so I spent plenty of time at libraries. Books and their protagonists became my real friends and helped me to love language. I also went to Catholic schools from kindergarten to my second year of college (I married in order to attend a public university-LOL). In those days nuns wearing scary black habits forced you to memorize vocabulary lists or suffer. I have never been a fan of pain.

Eja writes mildly acerbic mysteries that are high on snark and low on blood. For her, following the clues and finding the murderer are key. She most often features amateur sleuths although her biggest success involved writing a true crime account of CeCe’s murder (aka Swann Dive).

I adore this character and featured her in three of the four Swann sagas. In my mind she was the actress CCH Pounder, an incredible, strong woman. With Euphemia (don’t you love that name?), I tried to portray the balancing act that public servants, especially the police, often have to master when dealing with influential stakeholders like the Swanns. Mia considers Eja a nuisance and an obstacle but deep down she likes her. Most law enforcement professionals detest amateurs because they may really do DUMB things that can compromise a case or get someone killed. Eja is respectful but let’s face it, sometimes she’s a pest!

Although I never lived there I have spent lots of time in that part of Boston, a city I love.

So many of the mystery series that I used to love went on too long and became formulaic. It was such a disservice to splendid characters that I vowed not to let the Swanns suffer that fate.  Forthcoming Swann Song tracks Eja and Deming’s married life, which is upended by the reappearance of Gabriel, the husband who broke Eja’s heart. He begs for her help and reluctantly after prodding by Deming, Eja agrees to intercede. Naturally mayhem involving the entire Swann clan ensues. By the end of the novel, they are in a good place, happy and safe, where their lives can sail onward sans murder.

I love big cities, so I am in the beautiful city of Paris during late fall, reading the latest book (Radiant Angel) by my favorite author Nelson DeMille. That man is a master of dialogue, and I prostrate myself at his literary feet.