If writing isn’t my hobby (which, for IRS purposes, it definitely is NOT), then music probably is. I didn’t intend to become a lifelong musician, but Dad intended for his children to become musicians. I never could understand why he liked music so much. He had a tin ear—or maybe it was made of rock—totally tone deaf. He had no sense of rhythm. He loved big band music and he would move his hands, nod his head, and snap his fingers, nowhere near where the beat was. His family was poor and couldn’t afford music lessons, so maybe he was proud that he could do that for his kids.
However, at many
points along the way, we absolutely hated our music lessons. And we hardly ever
practiced. Here’s what happened, though.
We were required
to take a year of piano. After that, every new school year, we were given the
option of having lessons or not. We fell for it every time. Then, the deal was
that if we started we had to finish. That meant the end of year recital. Ugh!
After a summer
off, we would want the lessons again the next fall. Gradually, we got so we
could play. I switched from piano to violin in fourth grade, only because Mom
had a violin. I never once heard her play it. She bought it when she was
pregnant with me and bored because Dad was away in the Navy. The salesman
played Air on a G String and she said it sounded so nice that she bought it. No
wonder! The G string was the only one with any resonance. The other side of the
top had been damaged and fixed with something that stopped the vibrations in
the wood. In sixth grade I got a better violin, the one I still have.
When I started
writing mysteries, I was told—along with every other writer—write what you
know. Voilà—music. I invented a character who composed music and would conduct
orchestras, kind of what I would want to do if I made my living as a classical musician.
(There is a lot more money in almost everything else, by the way, so that
didn’t happen.) That character is Cressa Carraway, the sleuth in Eine Kleine
Murder.
None of the other characters in my other books are musicians, but I can’t resist having another one play music in her head. Honestly, I don’t know how to live without music in my head, therefore at least one of my sleuths has to have it, too. Charity “Chase” Oliver, hums show tunes throughout Fat Cat at Large (this one written by Janet Cantrell, who is also me). Her surrogate grandmother took her to summer musicals when she was little (guess who played in summer musicals for many years?), so she grew up knowing and liking the music.
The fact is, I do
like knowing how to play the violin and I did thank Dad for persisting against
our strenuous objections. Also, I like giving that depth to a character—another
tool in my toolkit.
Kaye
George, multiple-award-winning mystery writer, writes several series: Imogene
Duckworthy, Cressa Carraway (Barking Rain Press), People of the Wind (Untreed
Reads), and, as Janet Cantrell, Fat Cat debuting in September (Berkley Prime
Crime). Her short stories appear in anthologies and magazines as well as her
own collection, A Patchwork of Stories. Her reviews run in Suspense
Magazine. She lives in Knoxville, TN.
And here's a little about her newest mystery, Fat Cat at Large
The
jig is up for Chase’s adorable plus-size cat, Quincy. His new vet says
“diet”—that means no more cherry cheesecake bars. From now on he gets
low-calorie kibble only. But one taste of the stuff is all it takes to drive
him in search of better things. Quincy’s escape is the last thing Chase needs
after the nasty run-in she has with underhanded business rival Gabe Naughtly.
Chase
tracks Quincy down in a neighbor’s kitchen, where he’s devouring a meatloaf,
unaware of the much more serious crime he’s stumbled upon. Gabe’s corpse is
lying on the kitchen floor, and when Chase is discovered at the murder scene,
she becomes suspect number one. Now, with a little help from her friends—both
human and feline—she’ll have to catch the real killer or wind up behind bars
that aren’t so sweet.
INCLUDES
RECIPES FOR PEOPLE AND CATS!
