Guest Blog Post
by Jennifer McAndrews
Making notes is not my best skill. Even when I jot down quick, daily messages to myself like “pick up milk, return library books, mail packages, PUT GAS IN CAR” I often leave the list behind as I head out on my errands — which, as you can imagine, becomes problematic when I run out of gas. It’s no surprise, then, that I keep horrible notes when writing a book. I’m forever leaving that task until after the book is complete. This means that while I would enjoy sharing the history of how I created Friday, I have no clear memory.
This is not to say I created Friday the day – I think we all know better – but Friday the kitten. She’s just right there on the cover of Ill-Gotten Panes. A little white ball of fluff with a smudge of gray between her ears. That’s Friday. My main character, Georgia Kelly, finds her early on in the story – minutes after her beloved grandfather is picked up for questioning in relation to a murder.
I knew early on that Georgia would have at least one pet and she had to start somewhere. And because she’s only recently returned to her childhood home and doesn’t have plans to remain there, maybe I thought a cat would be the best addition. Should Georgia leave the community town of Wenwood (should she manage to clear her grandfather’s name), Friday would be able to go with her, cats being generally easier than dogs to convince a landlord to allow.
But what about the apparent risk of having a cat tiptoeing around when Georgia creates stained glass boxes/windows/lamps? All those sharp edges and colorful shards might tempt a playful feline.
To answer that concern, I had to look to my own life. Of the five (yes, five) cats sharing my home, only one has any interest in my glasswork. Though three years old, she has lost none of her kitten-like curiosity. When I am working with glass – cutting, breaking, soldering in much the same way (but with nowhere near the skill) my main character Georgia would – Anya takes up residence at the end of the table, eyes wide, tail circling her seated form, and watches my every move. During this time the senior cats are sleeping, Anya’s litter mat is no doubt plotting a coup, and the youngest is stalking doorways to the outside world, hoping a bug (aka protein snack) might crawl through. Anya never reaches for the glass, never walks across a work surface or tries to steal any of the pattern pieces or lighter-weight tools. She merely watches as though learning, and shares her comforting company with me.
So while I don’t have any notes to tell me exactly why I thought Georgia should have a cat, I suspect my own Anya is much of the reason.
About the Author:
Jennifer McAndrews has been writing since the seventh grade and totally refuses to divulge how many years have passed since then. After serving on the newspaper and dabbling in spectacularly bad poetry during high school, she took creative writing classes at Nassau Community College and studied the art of the essay under the tutelage of the incomparable June Jordan while at SUNY Stony Brook. In her professional life, Jennifer has worked in legal, medical, and scientific publishing, but is dedicated to fiction in her private life. She lives in the greater New York Metro area with three dogs, four cats, kids, husband, and dumbo rat called Owen.
Jennifer is currently at work on the next book in her Stained Glass Mystery series as well as the follow-up to Deadly Farce.
Stained-glass aficionado Georgia Kelly packed up her city life for the quiet of small town Wenwood, New York. But the sleepy village’s peace is about to get shattered—by murder…After a banking scandal loses Georgia her job and fiancé, she decides that a change of scenery will help piece her life back together. But escaping to her grandfather’s house in the old-fashioned, brick-making Hudson River hamlet of Wenwood, New York, turns out to be less relaxing than she expects. Not only is the close-knit community on edge about their beloved brickworks being turned into a marina to draw in tourists, one of those most opposed to the project winds up dead—cracked over the head with a famous Wenwood brick.Georgia wouldn’t be broken up over the news except for the fact that the main suspect is the deceased’s biggest adversary—her grandfather. Now, to remove the stain from her Grandy’s record, Georgia will have to figure out who in town was willing to kill to keep the renovation project alive, before someone else is permanently cut out of the picture…
Jennifer’s Review of Ill-Gotten Panes
Review (4.25 Stars): I enjoyed this debut mystery because it was nice to read a book about someone that had a hobby I knew nothing about. Recently losing a job in high finance and losing her boyfriend in one fell swoop leaves Georgia in need of a place to regroup so she moves to the one place that has always made her feel safe. Living with her grandfather in Wenwood, New York. Once living there, Georgia finds that in small towns everyone knows your name before you do and holds a lot of secrets that people want to stay hidden. After having a run-in with the local owner of the hardware store, who has a long history with her grandfather, Georgia is surprised to learn that the man was murdered shortly after her encounter with him. Her grandfather is now the prime suspect and everyone in town believes that he may have committed the crime. Now, Georgia needs to dig a little deeper into the town’s history and her grandfather’s rivalry with this man to find the true killer before her grandfather is charged with the crime.
I think that Ill-Gotten Panes is a delightful and fun mystery that is shaping up to be a great series. I liked Georgia because she was spunky, opinionated and had a great personality. Her world was falling apart after losing everything in New York but I liked that she didn’t whine about it, she just made the most of it until she found something better. At times, she seemed unsure of her place in this town because she was used to living in a big city where no one knew her name compared to Wenwood, where people she didn’t even know had already heard her life story. The secondary characters made this story interesting because unlike other cozy mysteries, I wasn’t exactly sure who Georgia could trust. One minute people seemed happy to see her and then the next, they were rushing her out of their store or gave her the cold shoulder. Because of this, I had no idea who was the killer until the final reveal which made it fun trying to guess who it was. Ill-Gotten Panes is a quick and easy read and I have a new author to add to my list of favorite cozy mystery writers.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Jennifer McAndrews has been writing since the seventh grade and totally refuses to divulge how many years have passed since then. After serving on the newspaper and dabbling in spectacularly bad poetry during high school, she took creative writing classes at Nassau Community College and studied the art of the essay under the tutelage of the incomparable June Jordan while at SUNY Stony Brook. In her professional life, Jennifer has worked in legal, medical, and scientific publishing, but is dedicated to fiction in her private life. She lives in the greater New York Metro area with three dogs, four cats, kids, husband, and dumbo rat called Owen.
I loved this book! It latched onto my heart and made itself comfortable. I also fell madly in love with Friday, and as someone who cannot enjoy cats in real life (allergic) I do so enjoy getting to play with them in books.
The moment Georgia rescued Friday and fell in love with her, I loved Georgia.
Can’t wait for the next book!!