Debi Graham-Leard

…I said to myself, “Why can’t I write a book like this?” Unfortunately, I have no idea which mystery novel I had just finished, cuz I would share it if I could remember the title. Anyway, that’s why I started writing my first novel I sat down at my desktop and opened up a word document. All I needed to begin was my main character, the place where she would live, and a problem to mess up her life.

In my sleepy New England college town, there’s an old village library on the edge of the common, abandoned since the 1990’s when a larger, more modern library was built. I’ve always thought that old library would be the neatest place to live, and so that’s where my story began. Not a large building, it was built with huge brownstones and bricks. How much fun would it be to imagine the conversion into a home!  I was not able to gain entrance into the interior to get a good feel for the space and size, but my imagination has taken care of that for me. In my fictional world, I have walked through the open floor plan every day as I work on the novel. If I managed to get that tour now, it might be disappointing when compared to the home I’ve created in my mind.

I decided my main character would be named Gwen, a retired music professor at the local college in her 60’s, and widowed over two years ago by a freak accident that killed her architect husband on the golf course. This would provide her with vulnerability, plus a potential romance sub-plot. Her problem ended up to be the return of her old nemesis Henrietta, and Gwen is blackmailed by Jack at the music shop to hostess the woman until the music competition ten days away.

After I’m published, you’ll have to read the novel to find out what happens!