For some reason, my protagonists, Darcy, Flora, Nettie, are always running into problems. Well, let’s be honest – they run into lots of problems and that’s what makes the story. They face danger, death, and desperation with the same fear and trembling that you or I would but, due to their firm resolve to get to the bottom of a mystery and bring the doer of nefarious acts to justice, they ultimately triumph.
However, there are a few little niggling technicalities with which they need help – legal advice. In Moonlight Can Be Murder, Nettie (known to her friends as Ned) came up against a very old will written by someone before Oklahoma became a state. The wording of that will completely upset her world. Was it valid? Did it re-shape a later will? Was the maker of it reaching out from the grave to snatch away the future Ned had planned? She had no idea. So, with fear and trembling, she consulted her lawyer.
As the creator of Nettie’s world and the writer of dastardly deeds in which moonlight not only can be murder, but is, I’m supposed to know what I’m talking about. Readers from all possible backgrounds may pick up my book and read it, including those with a knowledge of the law. So, could a man who was long dead actually affect Nettie’s life in twenty-first century Oklahoma? I emailed my trustworthy cozy critiquers for their input. They gave me some well thought-out ideas and advised me to ask an expert or the go to the internet. I heeded their advice and for my answer, I did what Nettie did – I consulted a lawyer. I talked to a very nice Fayetteville attorney who kindly returned my phone call and answered my question in depth, asking for nothing as payment but to let him know when the book is published.
Fiction is just that – make-believe. Writers can take a lot of liberties with the truth but some things have to be authentic. So, even though poetic license is my stock in trade, I want to be believable and not lead anyone astray. If my protagonist comes up against a situation where expert advice is called for, I ask an expert. And, in the process, I learn something myself. Writing fiction is not only fun, it’s educational!
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