Justice! Westerns, Mysteries, and Annie Oakley with Cindy Brown

Jenn McKinlay: Last year I was on a panel at Left Coast Crime in Phoenix where I was lucky enough to meet Cindy Brown, who charmed me silly with her fantastic Ivy Meadows series. Smart and funny, these mysteries are not to be missed. And now here's Cindy to tell us more about her latest.


Justice! Westerns, Mysteries, and Annie Oakley

I grew up watching John Wayne movies with my dad. I love them—loved all Westerns—but couldn’t have told you why. I knew it wasn’t about the “shoot-em-ups:” guns have always made me uncomfortable. I was pretty sure it wasn’t about the action, or the cowboys, or even the horses (though lots of my girlfriends had horse crushes. Me, I crushed out on Peter from the Monkees).

Later, as a teen, I grew to love James Bond and superhero movies. Again, I couldn’t pin down the attraction (other than Roger Moore and Christopher Reeve—definitely crush-worthy). And though I read mysteries as a child, they were mostly the puzzle-plotted Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden types: It wasn’t until I started reading adult mysteries that I began to understand the root of my attraction to Westerns and superheroes: my desire for justice.

I want justice, for all. I know it’s a melodramatic statement and an impossible feat, but still, there’s a little person inside me who is outraged at every incident of injustice. I want the bad guys to get caught and the good guys to win, just like in the movies. Thankfully, I can satisfy my need through mysteries. I feel good every time a sleuth wraps up a case and puts the villain in his place. I feel even better when I get to write that happy ending. It’s a little bit of closure that life doesn’t often offer.

You’re probably wondering what Annie Oakley has to do with justice. When I was researching Ivy Get Your Gun, I learned a lot about this amazing woman. Not only did she single-handedly raise her family out of poverty when she was just a teen, but she maintained an impressive level of integrity throughout her life.  Even when she was the most famous woman in the world, she knew what she stood for, and stuck to her guns (couldn’t resist J). She once caused a kerfuffle when she ignored Prince Albert’s outstretched hand in favor of his wife’s. At the time she explained it by saying,” You’ll have to excuse me, please, because I am an American and in America ladies come first.” She later admitted publicly that the snub was intentional, since Prince Albert was a notorious womanizer and Princess Alexandria a defender of the poor. Annie had to defend her own reputation, too: In 1903, newspapers reported she had stolen a man’s trousers in order to pay for cocaine. The culprit was really a burlesque performer who went by the name of Any Oakley, but in order to restore her reputation, Annie had to sue 55 different newspapers. It was the largest libel suit in history.

As you can see, I sort of fell in love with Annie. So when I re-watched the 1950 movie, Annie Get Your Gun, I was incensed. I hadn’t seen the movie or the play in years, and only remembered the wonderful music and a spunky Annie. I didn’t remember that she was portrayed as a stupid, flighty, man-chaser. And I certainly didn’t remember the ending of the movie (and play), where Annie throws a shooting competition so that her man, Frank Butler, will love her (in real life, she won the competition with Frank, who fell in love with her, courted her, and was happily married to her for 50 years).

So in my new book, there’s justice for Annie. Like my other books, Ivy Get Your Gun is a humorous mystery, but it also tells the real story of Annie Oakley. One of my readers said it should be required reading for any high school putting on the play Annie Get Your Gun. Now that would be justice!

This is great, Cindy! Thanks so much for joining us today! Readers, Cindy is offering a e-book as a giveaway so leave a comment and she will choose a random winner!

Now, Reds, tell us what stories inspire you? Westerns? True Crime? Noir? Traditional mysteries? Other?