Most of us crime writers find one horse, and we ride it.
We get a series character, and we stay with him or her.
A classic example . . .
– Rex Stout. He wrote 47 Nero Wolfe mysteries. He also turned out 40 novellas that featured the same detective and his assistant, Archie Goodwin.
And a more recent crime writer of prominence . . .
– Sue Grafton. She's written 21 books in her alphabet mystery series, starting with her first in 1982, A is for Alibi, to her most recent out two years ago, U is for Undertow. All feature her P.I., Kinsey Millhone.
Those of us who know Chicago crime writer Julie Hyzy thought she might go that way, too, when she started out.
But she didn't.
Julie Hyzy diversifies
Julie Hyzy's career as a published writer started in 2004 with her cozy mystery/romance novel, Artistic License.
She won a Lovey Award for it—for best first novel—at the Love Is Murder mystery writers conference.
Turns out the book was a one-off, a stand-alone because Hyzy then wrote the first of her amateur detective series that featured Alex St. James, a television news researcher. That book, Deadly Blessings, came out in 2005.
She followed that with a sequel, Deadly Interest, the next year. It, too, won a Lovey.
Dead Ringer came in 2008.
Hyzy co-wrote the book with fellow Chicago crime writer Michael Black. In it, their detectives from their respective series work on a case together . . . Hyzy's news researcher Alex St. James and Black's private eye Ron Shade.
Earlier in the year, Hyzy launched a second mystery series, a cozy built around a chef in the White House, Olivia "Ollie" Paras.
Berkley Prime Crime published State of the Onion as mass market paperback.
Great humor in the book. It, too, won a Lovey, this time for best traditional mystery. It also picked up an Anthony and a Barry award, prestigious honors in the mystery field.
The White House Chef mystery series became Hyzy's new horse to ride, and she's ridden it well . . . four books out to date and two more under contract. Book 5 is written and will come out next year in January.
While writing this series, Hyzy began playing with an idea and a character for yet a third series, the Manor House mysteries. Penguin picked it up.
Grace Wheaton is the amateur sleuth here. She's a curator at a mansion that is both a museum and the home of its owner, millionaire Bennett Marshfield.
A true cozy.
Lots of humor.
Book 1, Grace Under Pressure, came out last year as a mass market paperback. It won Hyzy her third Lovey.
Book 2, Grace Interrupted, will be out in June.
So Hyzy now is writing two books a year, one for each of her current series.
I'm not a fan of cozies, but I do like Hyzy's White House Chef series.
The story concept is great. Yes, there are White House mystery series out there, but no writer has ever put her sleuth in the kitchen.
That, Hyzy says, is the hook, and it's caught a lot of readers.
"People like Ollie. I get so much email about Ollie and Tom—'I hope she breaks up with Tom' or 'I hope she stays with Tom,'" she says.
Penguin has given her carte blanche to write whatever story she wants, but for book 5 the editors did make a suggestion . . . could you please have Ollie work with Peter Sargeant.
Peter Everett Sargeant III is the White House sensitivity director. He minds all matters of protocol, making sure everything is done correctly. And he's totally the wrong man for the job because Sargeant is anything but sensitive.
"That's why it's fun to write him," Hyzy says. "Peter is completely insensitive. He likes to keep an eye on Ollie. He's shorter than her, so he picks on her."
He's a crank, the thorn in Ollie Paras' side.
So Hyzy set about exploring the character of the sensitivity director.
"I now understand why he is as he is," she says. "He's all cranky because he had a tougher experience growing up than what we knew. I know, a tough experience growing up, it's true of everybody, but Peter's experience was unique.
"While he doesn't change in the book, I do hope the readers will find that there's a little bit of him that's not so nasty by the end of the book. He's not so intolerable."
In book 6, First Son Josh, who's 9 years old, comes to the forefront.
"There has been such a groundswell of support for him that I'm planning a story with him now," Hyzy says. "Everybody seems to really want more Josh plus Ollie time."
If there is a book 7 and 8, and Hyzy expects Penguin to contract for them, Ollie will take to the campaign trail in one and be off to Europe in the other.
Putting Ollie out on the campaign trail with the president running for re-election opens all kinds of story possibilities. She'll be out of the kitchen, in new locales, with new opportunities for humor.
The Europe story line grows out of something few people outside the culinary world know exists.
"Every year—and this is true," Hyzy says, "there is a summit of all the chefs for the heads of state. I would like to take Ollie to the chefs' summit and have the tourists take over."
For more about Hyzy and her books, pop over to her website.
© Jerry Peterson.
