Fun Is For ShaLLow PeopLe
Elizabeth Myrddin
Elizabeth Myrddin works, lives, and plays in beautiful San Francisco. She
writes for enjoyment and because the individuals and experiences that pepper
her life, for good or for ill, inspire her. Although her writing tends to lurk on
the darker side of storytelling, she finds the soft-boiled pulp mystery
subgenre appealing. Fun Is For Shallow People is her first full-length novel.
The penning of Part Two of the story is already in progress.
Author Links
Writing blog: inkyheels.wordpress.com
Facebook: facebook.com/InkyHeels
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7362068-elizabethmyrddin
Link to book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18654243-fun-is-for-shallowpeople
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fun-Shallow-People-Elizabeth-Myrddin/dp/1492807532/
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mystery novels, mystery, mystery and suspense, Fun is for Shallow People, Elizabeth Myrddin,
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Book Genre: Mystery
Publisher: CreateSpace, self-published.
Release Date: September 29, 2013
Buy Link(s):
http://www.amazon.com/Fun-Shallow-People-ElizabethMyrddin/dp/1492807532/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18654243-fun-is-forshallow-people
https://www.createspace.com/4455452
Book Description:
Parlors, petticoats, and poison! A half-empty bottle of absinthe and
a dead man in costume are found in a drifting rowboat. As
Detectives Ted Rose and Alexa Sheldon unravel intrigue and ferret
out motive, they bump up against the heaving bosom of theatrics
that is the Laurel Bay Costume Society. Soon, a group of suspects
emerge from the clique of unconventional people. Two beautiful women seek to influence the
proceedings. One is Trina, the blond, wanna-be femme fatale. The other is Yvette, the cunning, redhaired scene queen. Yvette and Trina turn their battle for social standing among peers into an
extreme sport as they try to sway the investigation. Ted and Alexa are determined to out-maneuver
the manipulators in order to crack the case.
Excerpt One (300-500 or so Words): From the opening chapter/scene.
Detective Ted Rose sat on a bench on the dock and tried to ignore the chill mist that swirled around
him as he entered notes using an iPad.
adrift rowboat on lake pulled in by mgmt. contains one dead adult male in costume.
His work partner, Detective Alexa Sheldon, studied the boat and he heard her remark, “Interesting.”
She joined him and by way of greeting said, “So we have, apparently, a dead fop. Or rather, a man in
a foppish costume, but still very dead.”
Ted glanced up as she pulled on a black wool beret and opened an umbrella. He resumed typing after
acknowledging her presence with a faint smile. Ted had worked with Alexa for eight months. The early weeks
of their partnership had been tense. His reserved, aloof demeanor frustrated her, he knew, but he had
eventually relaxed his guard. They were finally getting know each other a little better. Or rather, Ted allowed
himself to be more communicative.
Alexa held out the umbrella so that it sheltered them from the sprinkling rain. “What’s the word on
this situation?”
Ted felt her lean over his shoulder to read the screen. He shrugged. “I don’t have much yet. I met the
owners, Martin and Eunice Caldwell. They’re married and Parrot Lake Boating has been their business for
thirty years. Martin said a bunch of costumers held a gathering in the lake area yesterday. After the party, they
left the park. At least one individual stayed behind with a rowboat and a bottle of absinthe. The guy was found
dead in the drifting boat this morning. That’s all I’ve got except for the name of the group that reserved the
gazebo and rowboats for their event – The Laurel Bay Costume Society.”
“Suicide ruled out?”
Ted tapped, half-empty bottle of alcohol. smells like absinthe. empty glass with absinthe residue. to
lab for analysis. He powered down the device and stood. “Nothing is ruled out yet. The coroner’s office will
take care of things and get back to us. Let’s finish with the owners.”
As Alexa followed him to the reservation office, Ted zipped shut his black, hooded fleece jacket. The
drizzle of rain had eased and the weather was again a dense mist. Jesus, the clinging damp was more
annoying than a full-on rain.
He entered the boating office and Martin, a lanky, older man with steel gray hair worn in a short
ponytail, stood behind a counter writing in a ledger.
Martin looked up as the detectives approached. “All done out there or do your people need more time
to do what they do with the boat and the body?”
“They’ll let you know when their work is complete,” Ted responded. He gestured to Alexa. “Martin,
this is my partner, Detective Sheldon. We’d like to ask you and your wife a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
Excerpt Two (500-800 or so Words): From the interview with one of the first suspects.
They entered the flat and Ted spent a few moments taking it in. The front room resembled a cluttered
Victorian parlor. Memento mori décor dominated the space. A row of antique cabinets lined one wall – one a
large taxidermy display filled with stuffed birds and reptiles, a black rabbit sitting on its haunches, and a
sleeping fox. The other cases held old-fashioned apothecary containers, teacups, and various other decorative
items – all vintage looking. The décor in the room was overwrought, but he was fascinated by the more
macabre items, one of which was a large casket in a corner propped on end being used as a sort of open closet
for wigs, hats, scarves, and gloves.
Ted watched Yvette closely as he asked, “You know a Nathan Collier, correct?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Nathan is my ex-husband. We’ve been divorced for a short while, and we
travel in the same social circles, but only out of necessity. Whatever trouble he’s in, I don’t want any part of
it.”
As she spoke, Yvette straightened her posture and tilted her chin slightly upward. Her attitude made it
clear she wanted to exhibit disdain, which she did in an exaggerated fashion that was almost comical. With an
affected gesture, she tossed her long hair behind her shoulders and awarded Ted a polite smile.
He scrutinized Yvette, his gut pinging. The way she talked and presented herself mirrored that of the
Meryl Streep character in She-Devil. Instead of blond hair like Streep in that movie, Yvette’s was a bold plum
red, long and wavy. What was that character’s name?
After Yvette breathed a heavy sigh, she said, “I’d really like to finish my makeup. Please continue
with this business of yours, whatever it is.”
“At the park event on Sunday, did you notice Mr. Collier or anyone else missing at any time?” asked
Alexa.
A frown creased Yvette’s forehead. “I am the organizer and hostess for that event. I had too much
going on to pay attention to Nathan’s whereabouts. He was probably screwing around somewhere, which
would be typical. And I certainly can’t recall the location of everyone else. I was focused on my poetry
recitation and those of the others who participated.”
“Where did you go after you left the park?” pressed Alexa. “Did you return home or go elsewhere
that same night? If you were with another person, we’ll need him or her to verify your whereabouts.”
Yvette raised her eyebrows in surprise and stiffened. She replied as though affronted. “After the event
ended at four, I returned here to change out of my Mary Shelley costume. Then I met up with my current
paramour, Gabriel, at his place at about six or seven for supper. We stayed in at his apartment the rest of the
night and I returned home the next afternoon.” Yvette gestured to a nearby couch, “Would you two care to sit?
I get the impression this might take a while.”