Reluctant Detective (29 page)

Acknowledgements

My first outline for this novel followed the exploits of a male
protagonist, but something about that choice just didn't stand up.
I played with it a bit more. That didn't help. Eventually my search
took me to more remote possibilities, one of them being a female
detective. That tack seemed as if it would be more interesting. So I began to write.

When I was about thirty pages into the first draft, though, I became somewhat uncomfortable. After forty pages my hands grew clammy.
After fifty pages, I began to hear voices I hadn't scripted. They were
women's voices. I had no idea who they were. I had no idea where
they were.

“No,” said the first, “he doesn't know the first thing about women.”

“So, why is he doing this?” said the second.

“Probably some kind of creative aberration ... or constipation,” she giggled.

“First stages of mental breakdown, more likely,” said the other, and laughed.

I would have piped in and explained that I was getting expert advice from my wife, Brenda, and my daughter, Arja Page, about
what-if-this and what-if-that happened to my Anne Brown character, but my speaking up would only have reinforced the “mental breakdown” theory of the two women. Instead I did the next best thing. I told no one about the voices I heard, and I mailed
the opening chapters to my friend and fellow writer, Marion Bruce. I added a note:

“Before I spend the next year or two behind a typewriter in my basement, please tell me: Am I in over my head? Should I hang onto my day job? Turn to poetry? Or, God forbid, p.r. writing again?”

At the time, Marion was absorbed in a marathon viewing of the1970's TV series, Kung Fu, starring David Carridine and Keye Luke. After she had finished, she wrote back:

“Young Grasshopper, truths have only one gender, and genders have but one humanity. One finds both truth and fiction in every
mirror, and your dream becomes the path you choose to walk
down.”

I was both relieved and inspired by her encouragement. Thanks, Marion, and Mea culpa for my fanciful interpretation of your words.

Thanks to Terrilee Bulger and The Acorn Press for their faith in and enthusiasm for my novel.

Thanks to my editor, Sherie Hodds, for her tact, sharp eyes, and
valued suggestions. Her efforts went a long way toward clarifying and smoothing the narrative.

Thanks to Laurie Brinklow for running a fine-toothed comb through it.

Thanks to Matt Reid for great cover art.

Finally, thanks to my son, Finley M. Martin, for reading the manuscript and sharing a fresh perspective.