The endless turning of human behavior is so unusual, it’s sometimes unbelievable. For people who work in the criminal field, we know it’s not a TV show, so when something truly odd occurs, we’re amazed by it.

I was involved with a case of a large family who all lived together, although they lived in shifts, in a two-story home. Adults and children occupied the house and some of the adults worked real jobs to support the group. Others used government programs for support and others used criminal means to pay their share.

One uncle sold drugs to make ends meet. He’d often do the deals in the back porch while the family ate dinner, for instance.

A particular evening, he invited the buyer into the house. They moved into a bedroom upstairs to do their business. Family members who were home told police, they heard a loud “pop” from upstairs and a few minutes later, the buyer came down and left. No one seemed to notice that the uncle disappeared for the next three days.

They discovered him upstairs in the back bedroom, dead from a gunshot wound. Apparently, no one, including the children, ever thought to look for him or to see what happened in the bedroom.

True story.

Another case involved a father who had unusual ideas for disciplining his children. When they wouldn’t clean their bedrooms as instructed, he went into each one and removed their pet gerbils from the drawers where the children kept them.

In order to teach them a lesson, he took the little animals outside and called for the children to come out with him. When they stepped into the back yard, the father pulled out an air gun with a wide barrel. He loaded the gerbils into the air gun and shot them across the back fence into the neighbor’s yard. The neighbor, as you can imagine, became upset when two rat-like animals flew into his yard unexpectedly.

The neighbor returned the stunned critters. The father was so mad, he took the dazed gerbils and drowned each of them in a pail of water before the kids.

True story.

For a writer, it’s wonderful to transfer these stories into novels. My only problem is I’m afraid no one will believe they really happened!

Do you have weird or unusal stories that could make good plot lines in a book? Please let me know.

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But there are several problems about the case Ted has never seen before:

1.  The murder victim’s body has not been found.  Can the prosecutor still prove murder without a body?  And did Dan really kill her or did someone else break into the house, as Dan’s says, and kill his wife.  Can Ted and his investigator find this mysterious stranger in time to win Dan’s trial?

2.  Dan has served in Afghanistan and came back with a mental condition known as the Amygdala Hijack.  It means that a part of the brain, the amygdala, fires before the rational parts of the brain.  It causes the person to do crazy things—often violent—which are out of their control.  Did Dan really kill his wife while under an amygdala hijack?  Or, can Ted use this as a mental illness defense in his client’s trial—even though the mental illness defense law in Minnesota is a hundred years old?  Can Ted convince the judge to update the law?

3.  In his previous work as a prosecutor, Ted was fired for something he did wrong.  It tore apart his family so that when he takes on Dan’s case, Ted’s wife threatens to leave him for good.  Can Ted get the mystery solved and the case won before his wife and family are gone?

I also did tons of research about technical aspects of crime solving.  The sheriff’s office uses a new,underwater vehicle to search for the murder victims, body, Ted is educated about blood stain analysis from the crime scene, and he even learns about jazz music from his investigator, a black woman who was a former cop and plays the saxophone.

Check here on Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Aymgdala-Hijack-Rohrbacher-Criminal-Defense-ebook/dp/B00OKILWH8/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413838242&sr=1-4&keywords=colin+nelson

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1.  You will meet and talk with wonderful Minnesota authors.

Who are they?

William Kent Krueger visited in December to talk about his new book, “Ordinary Grace,” which won the Edgar Award this year.  Lorna Landvik entertained us with her humor and hilarious stories of growing-up Scandinavian.  Jonathon Odell was passionate about stories from the Deep South.  He is the best story teller I’ve ever met in person.  He wrote “The Healing.”  Minnesota Book Award winner Julie Kramer told how her work experience at WCCO TV provided material for her mystery series.  Erin Hart “took” us fro the Author’s Studio to Ireland and the peat bogs that play such a big role in her stories.  Or how about Beth Dooley who has written several cookbooks with tasty recipes and photos so gorgeous you could display her books—as art–on your coffee table!

2.  You’ll be introduced to new writers from different genres.

Are you anxious to expand your reading?  Why not come to The Author’s Studio in February, 2015 and actually meet Kristin Makholm?  She’s written a book about the art of Minnesota painter, George Morrison.  Or come to hear three editors from Nodin Press who will introduce you to nineteen (!) new authors included in the anthology of crime writers called, “Festival of Crime” to be published in September, 2014.

3. What a wonderful place to watch the show!

The Edina Art Center is an eccentric and lovely place packed full of displayed artwork.  Before and after the program, be sure to wander the nooks and crannies to view some of the finest art in the Midwest.  Tour the gift shop for art, jewelry, and the guest author’s books.  All art sold is from local artists so you can “shop local.”

4.  It’s fun!!

When Beth Dooley was the guest at the Author’s Studio, she talked about her cookbook.  The highlight came when Beth passed out food to sample and cut open a watermelon radish.  She held it up to reveal the luscious, pink interior.  The color was so intense, people gasped.  Lorna Landvik told stories that were so funny the interview had to stop until people quieted down.  This coming October 11, you’ll hear live blues music to accompany Dean Alger’s biography of a blues guitarist.

So come for the kick-off event on October 11 @ 10:00 at the Art Center.  All other shows are the second Saturday of each month at 10:00.  Watch for notices in this magazine about upcoming programs.  Be sure to get to the Art Center early as seating is limited and the audience is growing.

See you there!

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Stephen King in his great book about writing, “On Writing,” explains that for him, he views writing like working on an archaeology dig.  The story is already formed and his job, as a writer, is to dig away the sand that has buried the story to reveal it.  Well—Stephen King may be able to do that, but most authors don’t have his skills.

Writers fall into two groups: those who outline and those who don’t.  There are four factors that show how writers work:

1.  It depends on the genre of the story.  As a mystery writer, for instance, I have to know how the mystery will turn out—to some degree—before I began.  It’s difficult to plant clues and create suspects if the writer doesn’t know who the villain is from the start.  Most mystery writers actually write backwards.  They figure out the ending and who dunnit, then work backward to the beginning.

2.  Some books are less dependent on plotting than mysteries.  If the book is a romance or focuses on character development, it still needs plot, of course.  But the outcome may be less important than what happens to the characters.  As my friend and great author, Jonathon Odell told me, “I have no idea where the plot is going because I’m just writing about people and how they change.”

3.  Many writers work by not outlining the entire story because they want to discover it just like a reader.  They have an idea where the plot is going and what may happen to the characters, but they simply sit down and start to write.  They are confident that the characters will come alive and lead the story.  I find this really hard to do.  At least for me, it’s rare that the fictional characters will tell the story to me.  For others, that’s how writers work.

4.  Many authors outline the story and character development.  As I’ve written more books, I’ve come around to this method.  Now, I carefully think through the story.  I use different colored Post-it notes with plot or character ideas on each one.  I post them on the door in my office so I can see how the story develops. It also helps me to include the essential parts of a story, particularly mystery and suspense which is what I write.  For instance, there should come a point in the story where the hero is threatened with something very serious.  By outlining with Post-it notes, I can place that event in the story at the appropriate time.

Obviously, either method depends on the author and show you how writers work.

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Here’s a link to a recent article in the StarTribune about the program.  Check it out!!   http://www.startribune.com/local/271112701.html

Better yet, if you live in the Twin City area, come to visit.  We meet the second Saturday of every month at 10:00.  The Author’s Studio kicks-off for this season on October 11.  I will interview Dr. Dean Alger about his new biography of Lonnie Johnson, a pioneer blues musician.  There may even be live music.  See you there.

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