Quinn Hollister was born amidst unexpected chaos.
I met the protagonist of the Tall Pines Mysteries
series when I was laid off from Kodak in 2009 after nearly thirty years of
service. I’ll never forget it. The angst. The shock. The feelings of betrayal.
And yes, the extra time for writing that was one of the many unexpected
blessings associated with the layoff.
Quinn and the love of his life, Marcella, her mother,
Thelma, and their bird, Ruby, surprised me right around that same time by appearing
in a dream.
I know, how clichéd can you get? But it’s true. The dream
was vivid and enticing, depicting a luxurious bird resort in the Adirondacks,
and a little tangerine-red bird named Ruby who snuggled on my shoulder and won
my proverbial heart.
I’ve never owned a bird. I never knew a bird, aside from
those morning doves outside my window. And until this happened, I never thought
about birds.
From this bewildering dream the Tall Pines Mystery series developed.
And with it, Quinn Hollister, the bird’s owner and husband of my female
protagonist.
Life was quite tumultuous at this point, as you can probably
imagine, with me constantly on the hunt for engineering work for the day job, but
in spite of the trying circumstances of worrying about survival and putting
food on the table, I also had some free time to travel locally.
In a strange and convoluted way, the layoffs opened up a new
world of opportunity, including the birth of this new, totally unplanned, third mystery series set in the
Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, as well as the creation of Quinn
Hollister. (the other two series are LeGarde Mysteries [10 books] and Moore
Mysteries [3 books])
My wife and I found a cabin overlooking the Sacandaga River in
Hope, New York. It was inexpensive, relaxing, and a perfect setting for a
mystery. We fell in love with the majestic beauty of the area, especially the
soft, cleansing waters of the Sacandaga River over which the rustic cabin
perches.
Quinn evolved slowly. At first he was an OCD Italian name
Joe, until a friend pointed out that he resembled a popular TV character in the
Monk series.
I’d never heard of Monk and rarely watched television, but I
didn’t want the world thinking I’d copied his persona. So, I encouraged this
character to evolve.
Probably because I’d been obsessing lately over my own
somewhat distant Native American
heritage, Quinn morphed into a tall, serene, half-Seneca antique collector with
clear turquoise eyes bequeathed to him by his long-dead English playwright
father. Married to Marcella, his wife of eight years, he adores her and manages
to drive her nuts at the same time with his borderline case of OCD. This gentle
man moves with grace, builds sweat huts, and wears in his glossy black hair long.
He swims every morning in Honeoye Lake and likes things evenly spaced and on
plan. Piles of magazines must be neatly stacked, forks and knifes should be
aligned and parallel, socks need to be neatly separated by color in the drawer,
and if a stock pot isn’t clean upon inspection, it will be rewashed without discussion.
I’ve grown quite fond of Quinn and his family, and I feel terrible
about what I’ve put them through. Especially in this last book, MURDER ON THE
SACANDAGA (est. 2014/2015 release).
Quinn loves Marcella. He’d do anything for her, including
putting up with her very annoying mother, Thelma, who lives with them. But
there’s one thing he doesn’t like one bit, and that’s Marcella’s long time association
with her former lover, Sky Lissoneau.
Sky—Marcella’s first sweetheart—proposed to her twenty years
ago after her college graduation. Alas, she broke his heart when she lovingly
declined, deciding to pursue her operatic singing career in New York City instead
of marrying him. Completely devastated, Sky joined the military and eventually
went MIA, where for eighteen years friends and family agonized over his safety.
In Essentially Yours,
book two in the Tall Pines series, life changes in a most surprising way when
Sky’s backpack arrives on the doorstep jammed with a mysterious collection of
essential oils, a password-protected memory stick, a bag of emeralds, and a
book of Shakespeare’s sonnets. After an intense adventure involving an evil
drug company and a possible cure for leukemia, Sky shows up. While it’s confusing
to Marcella (she still has feelings for him, but loves her husband at the same
time), Sky’s return spikes jealousy in Quinn, and ultimately this homecoming
causes a great deal of grief and what ends up being a tantalizing trio filled
with plenty of sexual tension.
Coming back to the subject of my current work in progress, MURDER
ON THE SACANDAGA, I really do feel bad about what I did to Quinn in this story.
I tore a rift between him and his wife, and almost destroyed their marriage.
What’s wrong with me? Why did I allow such conflict between
two happily married people? Didn’t they have enough problems with the big evil
drug company chasing them all over the mountains, trying to kill them?
Frankly, I still blame Downton Abbey, which I have recently claimed
made me into a virtual murderer. (You
can read about it here
if you wish.) I’m afraid being exposed to all kinds of family drama pushed me
into a mode I hadn’t yet experienced. Great conflict, high tension, and lovely
surprises. Horrible deaths of beloved characters.
(Evil chuckle) Did I tell you I loved it?
In time, my characters and I both found resolution to our
problems. After a year of searching, the perfect day job arrived. I am now
happily employed at a small German company. Our Rochester office has four
employees and an office dog. How cool is that, right?
In the end of MURDER ON THE SACANDAGA, I allowed Quinn and
Marcella to make up, and to forge ahead in the world I’ve created for them in
the Tall Pines Mystery series. Who knows what book five will hold? I hope I’m
not too hard on them. After all, they need to carry on for many more books to
come. And I really do have to live with myself. Somehow. ;o)
***
Twilight
Times Books by multi-award winning, Kindle bestselling author, Aaron Lazar:
VIRTUOSO
(~2014)
FOR
THE BIRDS (print, eBook, audio book coming 2013)
ESSENTIALLY
YOURS (print, eBook, audio
book)
MURDER
ON THE SACANDAGA (~2014)
WRITING
ADVICE:
Aaron Paul
Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle
author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley
countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with
their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his
website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times
Books releases DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (2013), SANCTUARY (2013), and
VIRTUOSO (2014).
HONORABLE MENTION Eric
Hoffer 2013 GRAND PRIZE * FINALIST 2013 EPIC Book Awards * FINALIST 2012 FOREWORD BOOK OF THE YEAR
AWARDS * Finalist DaVinci Eye Cover Award 2013 * WINNER 2011 EPIC Book Awards,
BEST Paranormal * FINALIST 2011 FOREWORD BOOK AWARDS * WINNER 2011 Eric Hoffer
BEST Book, COMMERCIAL FICTION *Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Top 10 Reads for 2012 *
2X FINALIST Global eBook Awards 2011 * Preditors & Editors Readers Choice
Award – 2nd place 2011* Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s Top 10 Books of
2012 * Winner of Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s 9th Annual Noble (Not
Nobel!) Prize for Literature 2011 * Finalist Allbooks Editor’s Choice Awards
2011 * Preditors&Editors Top 10 Finalist * Yolanda
Renée's Top Ten Books 2008 *
MYSHELF Top Ten Reads 2008 * Writer’s Digest Top 101 Website Award
2009-2012
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