My Town Monday: Carolyn Wheat, local mystery author

It's that time again: My Town Monday. Only this week, we're talking about books to do with our hometown.

I'm writing about Carolyn Wheat, a San Diego mystery author.

I first met Carolyn at a San Diego Sisters in Crime meeting. I ended up taking a mystery writing class she taught. It was pretty informal. We all sat around someone's living room while Carolyn talked. You had to pay attention because she was a rambler and, hidden in her ramblings, were nuggets about clues and red herrings and dialogue and characterization and plot. The class also involved her dissecting our manuscripts. Definitely not for the thin-skinned because Carolyn didn't candycoat. I learned a lot. Both from listening to her critique others' WIPs (works in progress) and from her comments about my own stuff.

Carolyn writes a smart mystery. Lots of twists and turns, everything nicely tied up at the end, interesting well-developed characters. She's the kind of writer who always delivers so when you read something of hers, you can kick back and enjoy. No worries that there'll be a gaping hole in the plot.

Carolyn practiced law in New York City for twenty something years. Her series of five mysteries showcases Cass Jameson, an attorney in New York City. It's a good series. Also, Carolyn has edited a few anthologies, and she's written many mystery short stories.

Personally, I have a weakness for short stories. Especially dark short stories. Which means Tales Out of School is right up my alley. This is a collection of 19 crime stories written by Carolyn Wheat, most of them dark and depressing. Tales Out of School was nominated for a 2001 Anthony.

Funnily enough, Carolyn didn't realize short stories would be a forte. She wrote the first one only because a bunch of other mystery authors were getting into an anthology, and she didn't want to be left out.

We have several really good mystery authors here in San Diego. Carolyn just happens to be one of my favorites.

My Town Monday comes to us via Travis Erwin. Thanks, Travis! Click on his site to read his post about The Bone Pickers by Alan Dewlen and find links to the other participants. And thank you Josephine Damian who came up with pairing My Town Monday posts with book reviews.