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About Sue
Hi, Nancy Drew here. (Yes, that Nancy.) Sue McGinty, an old chum with a new mystery, has asked me to write her bio. I read MURDER IN LOS LOBOS in one night. Let me tell you, it's a hoot. I wish I'd had a character in my stories like that ex-nun, Bella Kowalski. And what about Bella's cop-husband, Mike? He's a hunk, a lot sexier than Ned.
My old sidekick still checks out the female residents at Sun City where we live. But "Sex and the City" it definitely is not. There was a time...
Wait, I'm getting off-track. Happens a lot these days.
Sue and I first started channeling in 1949. That's when the nuns at Detroit's Saint Francis de Sales Grade School busted her for reading THE GHOST OF BLACKWOOD HALL in religion class. Hey, I thought, a rebel, and a sneaky one at that. My kind of fan.
On wicked-cold Saturday afternoons, she'd hurry home from the library with several of my books in her satchel. Her mom would have cocoa waiting.
A mom—is that neat-o, or what? I had only the housekeeper. But this isn't about me.
Sue would join her parents in the living room of their modest duplex. They'd lose themselves in their novels until it was time to turn on the TV for "The Show of Shows."
Sheesh, that screen was smaller than today's Blackberry.
On those long Saturday afternoons, Sue's parents would watch her as she watched snowflakes fall on the nearby boat canal. I knew something they didn't; their Little Princess daydreamed of writing a mystery of her own.
Who knew it would take more than fifty years?
She had a good reason. It's called Life. After moving to Los Angeles, Sue juggled several lives: wife, mother of boys, computer nerd at Lockheed, technical writer for McGraw-Hill.
At least she had a life. Like Peter Pan, who never grew up, Ned and I went directly from River City to Sun City. Maybe I just don't remember the in-between part.
Enough kvetching.
She took early retirement in 1994 after the boys grew to men and started families of their own. The funky Central Coast beach town of Los Osos beckoned. Perfect for new grandkids to visit!
You know, I'd have been a grandmother to die for. Think of the stories I could tell.
Earth to Nancy. This is Sue's story.
Once settled in, it was finally time to write that mystery. But she has this focus problem and also longed to be a small-town journalist and a children's writer. In typical Sue fashion, she started off in all directions at once. It took a long time to learn to the craft of fiction. Critique groups, writers' conferences, and workshops proved incredibly helpful. Eventually, she got it.
Two years ago she channeled me with a story idea—a Flying Nun-meets-Dirty Harry kind of story. I said "go for it" and MURDER IN LOS LOBOS was born.
I don't know how she does it, but she's also written articles for local publications and SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR, a young readers' novel. Her short stories have appeared in three Central Coast Mystery Writer anthologies and the Crime and Suspense e-zine. She's 2008 President of the Central Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime.
When not writing, she hikes the hills of Los Osos, where we continue our "girl talks" and she plots more mysteries. And she cooks! Let me tell you, this Princess makes more than just reservations for dinner.
I taught the child well.
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