Augusta McKee: Singer, Teacher, Director, Amateur Sleuth

Hearing from readers how much they like a character from one of my books is pretty nifty, to say the least. A number of readers fell in love with Jake Cameron from the Cameron saga, Memories of Jake and Man with No Yesterdays. Every reader I’ve heard from about my most recent release, The Case of the Slain Soprano, has been impressed with Augusta McKee.

“It’s 1963. Former opera singer and now a professor of music, Augusta McKee finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Not only has one of her students been murdered, but now she’s short one leading lady for the school’s annual musical. However, Augusta, a strong force to be reckoned with, isn’t the type to take bad news lying down. Instead, she decides to do a bit of snooping on her own, especially when her red stilettos and sassy wit cross paths with the hunky, smart homicide detective, Malcolm Mitchell.”

“McKee makes a strong protagonist and I liked her instantly as she asserts herself in defiance of the detective, who seems a bit overwhelmed by her, but later regains his composure sufficiently to woo her …  I hope Jordan will choose to continue the McKee character in future books.”

Writing a cozy mystery … a totally different genre from my historical novels, which tend to cover a long period of time and a lot of life challenges … was more fun than I expected. Rather than putting Augusta in a small town,  I chose instead to situate her in a city I love, Cincinnati, and a community of musicians and educators within that city. Augusta came to Cincinnati to study voice at the Conservatory of Music (exactly as I had, many decades ago); studied and sang in Europe for a time (which I did not do, so I envy her that experience!). She eventually returned to Cincinnati as a member of the voice faculty for her alma mater and taught as well at a Catholic women’s college, Cliffside College.

“Augusta McKee, (the) heroine, is well-drawn for us and we are soon thoroughly intrigued by this well-dressed and extremely well-shod woman in midlife with many roles - professor of music, voice teacher, stage play director, and supportive mentor to faculty and students.”

I understand Augusta pretty well, even though her personal life definitely does not parallel mine. And physically she’s everything I am not … she’s 5’9” and slender. She also wears stilettos. I will admit to owning a pair of those when I was young. But Augusta and I both have a passion for helping young singers discover their gifts. And we both enjoy the challenges of directing a stage musical or an opera.

 “Augusta McKee takes her place among the memorable women of the mystery genre -- imposing in her height (enhanced by her beloved stiletto shoes), her no-nonsense approach to life, her love of music, and her bulldog determination to find answers when confronted with a mystery. She meets her match in Homicide Detective Malcolm Mitchell…and the adventures begin!” 

The Case of the Slain Soprano (Kindle edition) is currently on sale on Amazon for the measly price of $0.99. Sale runs until 8 a.m. September 4. Grab a copy now and enjoy!

cover design by Taylor van Kooten

Order now: https://www.amazon.com/Slain-Soprano-Augusta-McKee-mysteries/dp/1718802420/

Or visit my website: www.susanmoorejordan.com

WRITE WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

We writers hear: “write what you know,” and that’s probably good advice. But even better, I think, is this: “Write what you don’t know.”

Every time I’ve gone on a journey to gain knowledge about a subject, I have found that people are remarkably generous about sharing their expertise. This was true with my second novel, Eli’s Heart; my fourth novel, Jamie’s Children, and of novels number five and six, Memories of Jake and Man with No Yesterdays.

I’m currently at work on a totally new genre, a “cozy mystery” (I think this book falls within the guidelines, though there’s definitely a budding romance throughout the book. Maybe a “cozy romantic mystery”?). My as yet unnamed novel takes place in Cincinnati in 1963, on the campus of a women’s college. I lived in Cincinnati—a city I loved—at that time, but fortunately was never on the wrong side of the law. Consequently, I had no idea how law enforcement in the city of Cincinnati worked.

What to do? Well, I couldn’t write without my computer and Google, and searches took me to a perfect place: The Greater Cincinnati Police Museum and retired CPD Lieutenant Stephen Kramer, Director of the Museum, which is staffed entirely by volunteers. The Museum’s website is impressive, and photos show displays of guns, badges, murder weapons, and even uniforms from different eras, as well as newspapers, plaques, and other memorabilia. The organization has a Facebook page as well, which attests to visitors finding it worthwhile to stop in and browse. It’s a place I hope someday to visit.

  Their website also contains a gallery of tributes to fallen law enforcement officers not just from Cincinnati, but also from the eight-county surrounding area that makes up Greater Cincinnati. Lt. Kramer authored these, and those I have read are factual and moving accounts of not just the incidents in which these brave policemen and women died, but also the story of who they were and of what happened to wives, children, and other family members following the loss of their loved one. There are over two hundred entries.

 Equally important for my novel, Lt. Kramer has generously and eloquently shared his thoughts as a former homicide detective to help me better understand my principal male character. Detective Malcolm Mitchell is a homicide detective and very different from the men who have appeared in my other books, who are mostly musicians and artists. It’s engrossing to begin to understand Malcolm Mitchell. The more I get to know him, the more I like him and appreciate what he does.

My female protagonist is a musician, teacher, and stage director for two colleges in Cincinnati, so I am combining what I don’t know—but am learning about—with what I know well. While Augusta McKee may bear some resemblance to the author in that she is a singer, a voice teacher, and a stage director, Augusta, independent and self-sufficient, is a woman who has never married, loves fashion, and has had a sometime career as an opera singer. She’s also five feet nine inches tall and wears stilettos.

The murder of a young female student and the ensuing investigation take place against the background of a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s farcical operetta, The Pirates of Penzance. Linnea Murphy was to have played the leading role of Mabel, and her death occurs within a few weeks of opening night. The idea of this dichotomy … an intense murder investigation, a light-hearted stage production … I hope the reader will find intriguing.

Who killed Linnea Murphy? That’s the mystery Augusta McKee and Detective Mitchell will face together.

Visit my website: www.susanmoorejordan.com

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