Words of Wisdom: Mysteries Revealed

When I read mysteries, I like to examine the author's words--to see how the author of the mystery sees and describes the world, the insights and words they give their characters.  This is separate from the plot of the mystery.  I look for the author's words that speak to me on another level.  If you can gain insight and draw life lessons from all kinds of pop culture, why not mysteries?

There is one mystery in my library that isn't well-known to most mystery fans, but I have read it more than once--on purpose at that.  While the book is by Elizabeth Peters who is well-known for her Egyptologist Amelia Peabody mysteries, this book is a "stand-alone" mystery.  The title is Naked No More, published by Warner Books back in 1989. 

Naked No More is a mystery about a former librarian and best selling author, Jacqueline Kirby, who has been hired to write a sequel to a well-known author's bestseller.  The original author is missing and presumed dead.  Jacqueline is dispatched to the author's home to research and complete an outline for the new book that will take up where the original author left off.  But, as often happens in a murder mystery, someone is trying to dispatch Jacqueline herself, permanently.  It all works out in the end, of course, and frankly I don't even remember how. 

What I do remember is how Peters has Jacqueline describe the writing process:
"On the morning of the third day her burst of energy vanished, leaving her in a state of utter depression known in full agony only to writers."  (p. 167)

Jacqueline later describes the writing process to a Friends of the Library group:
"...you didn't get ideas.  You smelled them out, tracked them down, wrestled them into submission; you pursued them with forks and hope, and if you were lucky enough to catch one, you impaled it with the forks before the sneaky little devil could get away." 

Elizabeth Peters is the pseudonym of author Barbara Mertz who has a Ph.D. in Egyptology, earned when she was only 23. She is well educated and intelligent and it shows in her books, especially her mysteries focusing on ancient Egypt. 

I like the way Peters describes the writing process.  My doctoral dissertation is the longest piece I've ever written, and I remember feeling like the character, Jacqueline--one chapter just wouldn't come together.  So you do what you have to do--proceed on faith and keep your fork handy, hoping you spear enough of those pesky, ephemeral ideas to keep you moving forward.