Island Confidential: 2015 at 02:01AM

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The Secret Crime on Campus: Guest Post by Bourne Morris, author of Rise of the Red Queen

“With The Rise of the Red Queen, Bourne Morris is poised to become the queen of academic mysteries and suspense.” – Gigi Pandian, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries

A beautiful journalism student is abducted by a man with unusual and frightening expectations. While searching for her missing student, Red Solaris must contend with a university committee quarreling over the rights of the victims and those accused in sexual assault cases. And, in the midst of all this, a journalism professor brings a gun to school and shoots a colleague. Will Red’s ambition to become dean be destroyed by scandal around her? Will she and Detective Joe Morgan ever acknowledge their true feelings for each other?

The Secret Crime on Campus

Guest Post by Bourne Morris

I was a college professor for 26 years and now I write fiction about campus violence. In the past two years, we have all seen the number of discussions and articles in the media about sexual assault on American campuses. It’s raised some serious questions in my mind about my own college experience and about the health and safety of the students I taught for 26 years. I know the topic is not cozy, but if you have a child going to college these days, it’s worth thinking about.

Should the names of Sexual Assault victims be kept secret? Some women are coming forward with stories of what happened to them. Not just older women, but often young women who are still in school. Those who go public call themselves survivors, not victims, and many regard the process of telling their stories as a step toward healing.

Yet, at many universities, the policy of the administration is still to protect the identity of the victim. And many major news organizations still have policies requiring that the name of the assaulted be kept secret from the community.

Is this discretion reasonable? From time to time someone argues that if a man or woman was robbed, his or her name would be revealed. If she was murdered her name would be known as soon as the body was identified and the family notified. If he was beaten up in a parking lot, we would know his name as well as what he could tell us about the event.

But sexual assault is a crime of violence still shrouded in secrecy. It seems we have a hard time separating the word “sexual’ from the word “assault.” The difference in attitudes, often reflected in varying state laws, is enough to drive you crazy. In some places, unless the victim actively fights back, no crime is committed.

One of the more surprising facts I learned in my research is the number of times the female victim is fearful she will lose her friends if she reports assault. In too many cases, it’s not the accused who tells her to keep her mouth shut, it’s other girls in her dorm or sorority.

Perhaps we are unwilling to identify the victim of a sex crime because even if she (or he) is badly hurt, we still think that somehow the victim was partly to blame.

Or maybe it’s because we still think that a young woman is somehow so altered by the event it will affect her chances of marriage. Or that a young man who is assaulted must be some sort of weakling.

Or maybe it’s because it’s so darn difficult to prove a crime when it’s two people telling very different versions of the same event

Or because, every once in a while, someone makes it up to get a former lover in trouble.

Whatever our reasons, the rule of secrecy causes more sorrow and depression than we know. One has only to understand what it is like to keep a traumatic event a secret for years, to keep from seeking justice for a crime committed against yourself or someone close, to know what price the survivors pay for the discretion as well as the act itself.

Why I decided to write about sexual assault in “The Rise of the Red Queen.” The basic theme of the Red Queen series is campus crime and violence. And trying to cope with the problems posed by sexual assault is a major issue for today’s university administrations. The variety of policies now in place or under consideration indicate the predicament we find ourselves in.

It seems to be no trick at all to decide that campus crimes of murder, theft, battery and vandalism are immediately reported to the police and described in the media.

Perhaps some day we will be as open and swift about sexual assault. We will believe is not about sex. It is not a form of bullying or a drunken error in judgment. It’s an act of violence and should be treated as such.

That’s what my protagonist, Dr. Meredith “Red” Solaris hopes as she battles with the murky politics of her campus and searches for a kidnapped student taken by a deranged man.

About The Author

After Bennington College, I worked at McCall’s Magazine and then went to Ogilvy&Mather, New York during the “Mad Men “ era. David Ogilvy and his colleagues treated me wonderfully, promoted me several times and then sent me west to become head of their agency in Los Angeles. I had a splendid run in advertising.

In 1983, I joined the University of Nevada Reno as a full professor in Journalism where I taught until 2009. I learned about campus politics when I served as chair of the faculty senate. I retired to write mysteries in 2009 after a wonderful teaching career.

I live with my husband of 34 years in a ranch house with a view of tall trees and mountains. We have four children and eight grandchildren. Life is good.

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Filed under: Author Interviews, pychology, Writing Tagged: academic mystery, Author Interviews, blog tour, Bourne Morris, campus crime, red queen
from The Secret Crime on Campus: Guest Post by Bourne Morris, author of Rise of the Red Queen

THE SILENCE OF THE CHIHUAHUAS

Pepe, aspiring P.I. Geri Sullivan’s muy clever Chihuahua, has stopped talking. But why now, with Geri’s best friend Brad missing and her ditzy sister in grave danger? Geri’s lost without Pepe’s dogged detective work, especially when a client of Brad’s expires under very murky circumstances.

Luckily, Pepe turns out to be an excelente blogger, and his nose for clues soon has the detective duo chasing down leads. But they’ll have to put a bite on crime quickly, because danger’s afoot – and it’s making tracks in their direction . . .

Waverly Curtis is the joint pseudonym for mystery writing team Waverly Fitzgerald and Curtis Colbert.

Curt Colbert is the author of the Jake Rossiter and Miss Jenkins mysteries, a series of hardboiled, private detective novels set in 1940’s Seattle. The first book, Rat City, was nominated for a Shamus Award in 2001. A Seattle native, Curt is also a poet and an avid history buff. He is the editor of Seattle Noir, a collection of crime stories published in 2009. He was a judge for the Edgars in 2008 and is a member of the Mystery Writers of America. Curt and his wife, Stephanie, live in a Seattle suburb under the thrall of their cat, Esmeralda.

Waverly Fitzgerald is the author of three historical romances set in Victorian London under the name of Nancy Fitzgerald. Ever since her first novel was published in 1981, she has been teaching writing classes for adults at various venues including the UCLA Writers Program, the University of Washington Extension, and regional conferences. She currently teaches at and works for Richard Hugo House, the literary arts center in Seattle. Waverly also writes non-fiction, and has published a book called Slow Time: Recovering theNatural Rhythms of Life. She lives in an apartment in the heart of Seattle with her daughter, Shaw, and Shaw’s Chihuahua, Pepe.

Waverly and Curt met in a writing class in the late 1980s and have been working together ever since. Curt took Waverly’s novel writing class while he was writing his first novel. Waverly was his writing coach while he wrote his trio of historical mysteries set in Seattle. For about a year, they worked on twin novels in which Waverly’s protagonist, a female P.I. appeared as a sidekick in Curt’s novel about a hard-boiled Vietnam vet and vice versa. When Curt came up with the idea of a mystery featuring a talking Chihuahuanamed Pepe, Waverly asked if she could help and the collaboration began.

Pepe is an eight-year old Chihuahua, adopted by Waverly’s daughter Shaw when he was a puppy. He likes stuffed toys, especially if they squeak. He hatesthe rain, which is unfortunate since he lives in Seattle. Like his namesake character, he hates being dressed up and thinks he is much bigger than he is. Unlike his namesake, he has a sweet disposition and doesn’t talk much, but he does have his own Facebook page.

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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy Tagged: Author Interviews, Christmas, cozy mystery, Dickens, Writing
from THE SILENCE OF THE CHIHUAHUAS

Author Interview and giveaway: Alice Loweecey, author of Second to Nun

A malevolent ghost seems to be haunting Stone’s Throw Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast. But ex-nun Giulia Driscoll has connections and she’s about to use them.

Enter to win a handmade nun doll! (Cute cat not included)

Q: Alice, thanks for stopping by! I’ve never interviewed a former nun before. Can you tell us about Second to Nun?

A: The Other Side has hired Driscoll Investigations. The owner of Stone’s Throw Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast insists that a tarot reading told her to hire Giulia to evict the family ghost. Since the ghost is cutting gas lines and flooding cellars, Giulia and her husband Frank head to the B&B to discover the real perpetrator.
The client also has a family legend: A highwayman who stole a pile of gold. Giulia has a pile of suspects, including a psychic the client hired to conduct weekly séances. So much for romance with Frank at this getaway.
Instead, Giulia’s juggling arson, creepy clown dolls, and the psychic going all Exorcist on her. Then the ghost tries to push the client off the lighthouse and throw Giulia down three flights of stairs. It should’ve known better than to mess with an ex-nun. Giulia has connections and she’s about to use them.

Q: You had me at “creepy clowns.” That sounds terrifying and fun! Now, your biography notes that you recently celebrated your thirtieth year outside the convent! How much of ex-nun Giulia Driscoll is based on your own experience and observations? What about convent life would surprise most people, do you think?

A: A lot of Giulia’s history is based on my convent years. It needs to be authentic for the reader and for me. I also know nuns from different orders, and their experiences are both similar to and different from mine, but underneath it, all convents are much of a muchness.

People might be surprised that convents can be just as petty and politicking as a large office. Then again, they might not. When you put 10-95 women all together for a long time, personalities can clash. (Didn’t I put that nicely? Yeah.)

Q: What kind of research did you do for Second to Nun? Did you have to study arson, ghosts, lighthouses, or anything else? Were there surprises or unexpected findings?

A: Oh, yes, all those things, plus psychics and Ouija boards. So much fun. I found a Ouija board lunchbox online and I wanted it so bad! The biggest research surprise I found was the treasure hunting websites. Treasure hunters are True Believers. The websites are filled with people who are convinced that one more map, one more trip, one more search with metal detectors will unearth a fortune. From stashes of stolen diamonds or gold coins or bars, they believe. Some have quit their jobs to search 24/7. It’s rather eerie.

Q: Will the characters change as the series proceeds? Where will you allow Giulia and the other characters to evolve, and what will you keep constant?

A: The characters change and develop as the books progress. Giulia has loosened up quite a bit since her first adventure in Force of Habit. Sidney is still as perky as ever, but she’s getting wiser when dealing with some of the low-lifes she encounters through Driscoll Investigations. Frank is enjoying married life and equality with his brothers. The Driscoll competitive gene is alive and well. Zane is keeping quiet about what’s in his future. You know how they say never to trust the quiet ones?

Q: Writing can be very solitary. How do you balance the need for solitude with the need to get out and be with people?

A: Conferences help a lot. I love to meet my fans and make new ones. Hanging out with other writers is a huge boost. We understand each other. I attend Malice Domestic and sometimes Bouchercon. We have a local Sisters in Crime chapter, as well: Murder on Ice. Those days of massive interaction balance out the other 50 weeks of the year when I’m holed up in my writing cave. There’s a sign posted: Don’t poke the bear or you might be my next Redshirt.

Q: And now, perhaps the most important question of all. What are nunmobile cookies?

A: They’re gingerbread cutouts in the shape of Giulia’s car. She drives a copper Saturn ion nicknamed the Nunmobile, thus the gingerbread. I piped white icing on the cookies to outline the car and a window. I always bake a goodie for my book launches. For Second to Nun, I found a lighthouse-shaped cookie cutter and a recipe for coffee cookies. Giulia would be proud.

About The Author

Baker of brownies and tormenter of characters, Alice Loweecey recently celebrated her thirtieth year outside the convent. She grew up watching Hammer Horror and Scooby-Doo Mysteries, which might explain a whole lot. When she’s not creating trouble for Giulia Falcone-Driscoll, she can be found growing her own vegetables (in summer) and cooking with them (the rest of the year).

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