SFWritersU

Patty and I were driving down to Lancaster, PA this past April for a relaxing visit to Amish Country, one of our favorite get-way places. One the way down, I happened to spot a sign advertising a sub shop. Nothing clever, just two simple words: Sub Express. And it got me thinking--if I owned a sandwich shop, what would I call it. A couple of minutes later, inspiration struck: Sub-Versive--the Sub half for the cafe, and the Versive for a literary arts center. I patted myself on the back for this stroke of genius, and we went on our merry way.

Except that a couple of miles later, I suddenly had all these characters crowding their way into my head: Maggie Harper, former software developer turned owner of the Sub-Versive. Her partner, Colin Ritchie, former poet and professor, now baker of bread at Sub-Versive. And Carter Dorrance, a particularly nasty specimen of poet, who inconveniently got himself murdered at Sub-Versive on the opening night. They all started telling me their stories, and before we reached Lancaster I had a title (Read Before Dying), a setting, a basic plot, a list of characters, and a story that needed telling. I spent hours with pen and paper (I hadn't brought the computer) trying to write it all down, and driving Patty crazy. I'm now about halfway through the book. And, unlike Maggie at this point, I think I even know whodunnit.

I think that, once Read Before Dying is done, there will be other Sub-Versive mysteries to tantalize Maggie and Colin, and perhaps even Colin's Uncle Bernie, the shyster. I hope so--I like these people and the world they inhabit. Even if I did make it all up on the way to Lancaster.

Here's the teaser for the first book, Read Before Dying: