Jenn McKinlay: Recently my agent asked me to read a mystery that she was very enthusiastic about. Since I trust her judgment, I said "Yes, please."
Well, imagine my delight when a manuscript set in one of my very favorite places in the world -- New York City -- arrived in my inbox. Thrilled! Trust me, when I tell you that this mystery was a delight from start to finish but here's Christin Brecher to tell us more...
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Christin Brecher: In my cozy mystery, PHOTO FINISHED, heroine Liv Spyers, an up-and-coming NYC photographer, explains that “a sealed metal box which does no more than capture light and turn it into pixels can inspire me to jump into things I might otherwise have no business tackling.”
I understand where she’s coming from. I, too, relish the new perspectives and activities I pursue because of a pen and a notebook. When I started writing the Snapshot of NYC mysteries, I relished the opportunity to re-explore my hometown. I started by renting an e-bike to visit every borough. My acrophobia made crossing bridges tough, but I saw the Pepsi-Cola sign in Long Island City and learned about Bushwick’s street art tradition. I’ve also poked around Manhattan Car Club, Little Island, Hudson Yards, City College, the streets of the West Village, the ballrooms at the Pierre Hotel, the roof of a building above a small bodega. Some were fruitful, others not. All were priceless. We’ll see which make it into Liv’s stories!
When my children were about five and six-years old and buckled in their booster seats, we stopped at a red light. A couple crossed the street, staring stiffly ahead but holding hands. I waxed on with theories about them; he’s liked her, she didn’t think she liked him but now, maybe… they’re shocked it’s gone this far; are at a loss for words. Stuff like that.
“Why do you always imagine stories?” said my daughter.
I’d never consciously noticed I did that. Nevertheless, once I committed myself to writing, I was delighted to be paid to study life’s stories at a red-light. Do you have a passion which inspires you to see the world differently?
First visit to Governors Island:
Christin Brecher is the author of the Shapshot of NYC Mysteries and the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery Series. Born and raised in New York City, she lived in London, Connecticut, and Massachusetts before moving back to the city that will always have her heart. She previously worked in television production at the A&E Network, HBO and PBS before moving into business development and marketing at Time Incorporated.
Visit her online at: ChristinBrecher.com
Christin, I hadn't heard about this new series. It sounds fabulous, especially for someone like me who doesn't know New York at all!
ReplyDeleteI'm always making up stories about people in public. My poor Hugh has to hear all of them. Unfortunately, he doesn't play along and riff with me or maybe we'd have written a book together by now.
My kids never played along either, lol
DeleteCongratulations, Christin, on your newest book . . . perhaps you would tell us a bit about it?
ReplyDeleteI’m not certain that I see the world differently than others, but I do enjoy seeing it through the eyes of my youngest grandbabies . . . a child’s viewpoint always seems to be something quite special . . . .
Yes! Photo Finished features Liv Spyers, a young, aspiring NYC events and portrait photographer. After meeting Regina Montague, the top events photographer to the wealthy, she lands her first big break, shooting a high society ball at the Pierre Hotel. By the end of the night, she's sure she did a great job and will be hired by Regina again. That is, until she discovers Charlie Archibald, a celebrated fintech billionaire, murdered, and Regina suspected of the murder. Liv is someone with tremendous loyalty to those who’ve taken a chance on her and is keen to help Regina, but she’d never accuse anyone else without truly believing they committed the crime. As a result, she finds herself investigating a high-stakes world that is new to her to find a killer. I loved exploring Liv’s more ethnic Italian background with her close-knit family, her upstairs/downstairs odyssey, and a budding love affair in which Liv and a mysterious man in his own right, Harry Fellowes, help each other reach their goals.
DeleteChristin: Congratulations on your new cozy mystery series! Love the cover and the title! Are you a photographer in real life? I was at a history conference and I learned about a Deaf couple in Finland 100 years ago who were professional photographers. Your character, the photographer, sounds like people I have known in real life. Not exactly though I see some similarities.
ReplyDeleteYes, I often make up stories, especially the dialogue. Growing up with a significant hearing loss since age of 2 years, I often made up what hearing people would say. Especially those who did not know Sign Language. I just read a wonderful article on Huff Post by a deaf lady writing her memoir about a conversation with a deaf friend. She told her friend about encountering someone who asked her if she can read lips. And her friend said that she had a similar experience then asked the hearing person if they know Sign Language, leaving that person flummoxed! I am sharing this story because it is too often when someone would ask me if I can read lips. I often guess what the person is saying and the few words like "And" are easy to catch. And I invent what they would say! LOL
When I was at Uni, I dated a fellow who mentioned that he liked to people watch and I am the same way. he and I would make up stories about people we saw. Like "that lady is going to meet her husband for dinner" then we would see a man and say "perhaps that is her husband she is meeting?". We would make up a story about how the couple met and fell in love.
And I would love to know what was it like for you working at PBS.
Jenn, thanks for introducing us to this new to me author. I want to read the novel AFTER I finish writing my novel in progress.
Diana
Diana, I love your friend who signs back when people ask if she reads lips. I am working in a library today and some heads turned when I chuckled at that! She sounds fabulous.
DeleteReading about your experiences with hearing loss and how you made up stories as a kid about what people were saying makes me wonder if there is a cozy mystery sleuth who is deaf? I feel like it could be so interesting - with unique skill sets and obstacles we don't usually read about. I know of one series where the sleuth is blind: Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander. It's about Sir John Fielding who founded the Bow Street Runners in London in the 1700s and how he manages his job without sight. I think it was made into a TV series too! As for my experience at PBS, I had the unique opportunity to work on a documentary tracking the opening of the original Broadway production of Angels in America by Tony Kushner. It was a once in a lifetime experience where I sat in a Broadway theater watching rehearsals, went to a drag show down at the pyramid club, and did a lot of research on AIDS in the 80s. I moved over to the business side for most of my career but I treasure those early days out of college when I was on the production end.
Christin, thank you so much! Did I mention that I wrote a guest post in September? It was on the 14th of September about Deaf awareness and Royalty. I am currently writing a cozy mystery with a deaf sleuth. My deaf sleuth will be somewhere between a "bright young thing" and a "serious scholar". The story will be set in the 1920s.
DeleteDiana
Christin,
DeleteHere is the link to my guest post from September: https://www.jungleredwriters.com/2022/09/dr-todd-and-mystery-of-deaf-royals.html
Diana
Well don't I look clever thinking that a deaf sleuth would be a good idea!! lol. Thanks for sending the link and CLEARLY I am going to buy your book. Can't wait.
DeleteI love that this new cozy series takes place in New York City. I can visualize all the places mentioned. Congrats on your new series and I was lucky to get an early copy and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dru! I am so happy you enjoyed the book. It was so fun to write.
DeleteWelcome to the Reds Christin! I too love New York, though I don't know it as well as Dru does. Maybe a decade ago, publishers were insisting that cozies couldn't be set in a city (or a foreign country for that matter.) I'm glad your series came along at the right time!
ReplyDeleteNYC is huge but you quickly find when you live here that it's a lot of neighborhoods linked together in a rare way. Really, there is community everywhere which is what makes this town so amazing. Even an apartment building can serve as the equivalent of a cozy "town." I think that Only Murders in the Building proved that! I think readers who like that show would enjoy my book. Many thanks to the Reds for hosting me today!
DeleteCHRISTIN: Congratulations on your new cozy series set in NYC! I enjoy taking photographs of places, especially when I am visiting for the first time.
ReplyDeleteI love taking photos too. I usually focus on the people I'm with but I'm starting to appreciate photographing the spaces around me as well. I have Liv Spyers, my sleuth, to thank for that!
DeleteCongratulations on your new series, Christin. NYC has so many possibilities, millions of people and millions of stories, plus the ones you make up. Television and film certainly use the city, why not a cozy author?
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in the photography aspect of your series. Is it set in the present or some time in the past?
Hi, Judy! And yes, Murder + NYC = Cozy Mystery opportunities! The book takes place in the present day and Liv is an independent, hard working entrepreneur with a lot of dreams, just like so many thousands of others in this town. I'm going to actually borrow a bit from a reply I made earlier which is a quick snapshot of the story: Photo Finished features Liv Spyers, a young, aspiring NYC events and portrait photographer. After meeting Regina Montague, the top events photographer to the wealthy, she lands her first big break, shooting a high society ball at the Pierre Hotel. By the end of the night, she's sure she did a great job and will be hired by Regina again. That is, until she discovers Charlie Archibald, a celebrated fintech billionaire, murdered, and Regina suspected of the murder. Liv is someone with tremendous loyalty to those who’ve taken a chance on her and is keen to help Regina, but she’d never accuse anyone else without truly believing they committed the crime. As a result, she finds herself investigating a high-stakes world that is new to her to find a killer. I loved exploring Liv’s more ethnic Italian background with her close-knit family, her upstairs/downstairs odyssey, and a budding love affair in which Liv and a mysterious man in his own right, Harry Fellowes, help each other reach their goals.
DeleteCongratulations, Christin! NYC is such a wealth of experiences and cultures. I love to visit! For me it's all about paying attention. So often, I'm in my own head and not really seeing anything. I've found if I look at the same houses from the other side of the street, I notice different details--but I have to be looking and not just walking by thinking about my worries or my day.
ReplyDeleteGillian, please send me your snail mail address! To edith@edithmaxwell.com. You were one of my winners.
DeleteThanks Edith, I will! Looking forward to your book.
DeleteLooks like my response didn't go through earlier! I loved your post because it reminds me of a dear friend of mine and the adventures we go on. Inevitably, we spend half the time admiring the local houses, and then decide we must move there... Until the next trip!
DeleteCongrats on the new book!
ReplyDeleteCount me among those who make up stories about strangers - especially ones I see in stores or coffee shops. My family rolls their eyes, but it's fun.
I think we're seeing by the comments today that we are not alone! I didn't expect so many others would relate, lol.
DeleteCongratulations, Christin! I would love to read your new series!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judi!
DeleteChristin, I love the pic of you on the e-bike! It makes me think I might gather the courage to try one out some day...
ReplyDeleteI also used to make up stories about anything and everything that I ran across. Honestly, I figured it was some sort of mental illness. Thank goodness it turned out I was a writer, instead.
Maybe we also have a mental illness, lol? Although I am delighted to see from all the comments today that we are not alone. We are just story seekers!
DeleteRiding around NY on an e-bike? Yikes. My grandson was hit by one in Sunset Park (Brooklyn)... Fortunately he's little (5 years old) and bounces. They terrify me and I'm not even on one. But I can totally relate to the joy of discovering NY. I went to college in Manhattan and lived on the upper west side after. My kids and grands are in brooklyn. Hudson Yards!!
ReplyDeleteYour poor grandson! That sounds terrifying. I stick to bike lanes most of the time. I've found biking in Brooklyn along the water is wonderful. I take the ferry from Manhattan to Dumbo and start at the Brooklyn Bridge park. It's a gorgeous ride.
DeleteP.S. Hallie, you unwittingly helped me on Photo Finished! I took your Sisters in Crime class in January and loved it. Thank you.
DeleteHi Christin,
ReplyDeleteYour series sounds like something I would enjoy. I’ll be on the lookout for it.
I love to make up stories about the people I see when I’m out and about. I thought everybody did that, until my friends started rolling their eyes at me when I would tell them what I was imagining. I did have one childhood friend who would join in with me when I started making up stories as we were playing. But we had “creative differences” about some things!
DebRo
This is so sweet, but did your "creative differences" create conflict in your friendship? How fun to have had a little pal to make up stories with.
DeleteNo, no problems in our friendship! We just had to accept that we approached things differently! We were nine years old and liked to play “make believe”!
DeleteDebRo
Those were fun days!
DeleteCongratulations on your new series, Christin! Love the cover :)
ReplyDeleteThank you and I love the cover too! The design team at Kensington knocked it out of the park!
DeleteChristin is trying to reply to comments but Blogger is being moody and sending her error messages. She'll chime in when she can! And now I want to go to NYC...
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new series!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark!
DeleteCongratulations on your new series, Christin! I love your e-bike photo, and I'm very intrigued by the photography theme. Are you a photographer yourself?
ReplyDeleteI don't believe my comment published earlier - but thank you for your good wishes! And I had responded to your post to say I am a total amateur but I have a dear friend who is a professional photographer. She kindly did an early read of the book and helped me understand the business and other details to paint Liv's world. I was lucky to know a real pro!
Delete"Life’s stories at a red-light" is one of those phrases that is going to stick with me and have me making good use of catching a red light that I'd rather not. The phrase is also going to have me reading your new series, Christin. I love the photography theme. I've always looked at pictures, especially older pics, of people and wondered what they were doing the moment before this picture was taken and the moment after. I think your e-bike adventures were a brilliant idea, but I couldn't have done the bridges unless there was a really wide area for walking and riding bikes across. Heights are scary to me, and heights over water do something terrifying to me. Good luck with this new series. I'm looking forward to learning more about NYC.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture on the e-bike. I gotta get me one of those! As you know, I loved this mystery, Christin. Can you tell us if there will be a book two?
ReplyDeleteSeems like some of my comments say published but I don't see them. This being one of them - which was that I am working on Book 2 right now and can't wait to tell everyone more about it!
DeleteThis sounds so good, Christin! Just think of all the plots you could dream up just from what may appear in the background of a shot. Blow-Up anyone? I love the upstairs downstairs theme too. I like to observe people in the wild but I don't make up stories about them. I just wonder about them.
ReplyDeleteThis look great---and the Brooklyn Bridge on an ebike! You are BRAVE! And I love the idea of a cozy in NYC. Totally makes sense, and hurray. ANd being a photographer would definitely make a person see the world in a different way.. Red light stories--love that, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. Brave or crazy? But I loved scooting around town on an e-bike like a tourist. It's good to get out of your comfort zone. I'm so glad to share my red light story with the Reds!
Delete