Author Spotlight: Melissa Westemeier Brings More Nun the Wiser Fun!
One of the best parts of being a part of Tule Publishing on both sides of the desk is getting a first peek at their new books. I’m having a ball copy editing Melissa Westemeier’s Nun the Wiser series. The stories are delightful! I especially loved the whole Comic Con vibe in A Fatal Habit, which released on February 16 and is available wherever you get your e-books! Have fun!
Melissa Westemeier is a Sister in Crime and teacher from Wisconsin. She uses humor to explore serious subjects, and her published books include murder mysteries, rom-coms, and a trilogy loosely based on her years tending bar on the Wolf River. She likes her coffee and protagonists strong and prefers to work barefoot with natural lighting.
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The Easiest Mystery Set Up: Disguises!
My brilliant idea to set A Fatal Habit at a comic con stemmed from a desire to showcase Detective AJ Lewis doing something he loves. I dragged Bernie into this story by sending her on vacation with her best friend in the same city (Seattle). Bernie arrives at the hotel to find Eleanor’s missing. As she begins searching the hotel, she runs into AJ in the lobby and asks for his help.
Right away I saw the potential for humor as I placed Bernie in a setting full of cosplaying adults. Comic cons are like Halloween for grownups, and ALL the universes show up! AJ’s in his element surrounded by vampires, monsters, wizards, medieval warriors, superheroes, anime creatures, and the entire Star Wars galaxy. The unfamiliar set up throws Bernie off her game at first, and her confusion made me chuckle as I wrote different scenes. Early in the book, the generation gap between AJ and Bernie comes into sharp focus as they watch surveillance video showing Eleanor meeting a man in costume for a drink:
“Why was she having a drink with the robot man?” Bernie said.
“He’s a bounty hunter from Kamino,” AJ muttered softly. The scene was puzzling. Whatever brought the two together involved something on her phone, it was important enough for Eleanor to bring it out at the table. But it must not have mattered to the other person because they gave it back to Eleanor.
“What would Eleanor have to do with a bounty hunter?” Bernie asked. “Don’t they track down criminals? She doesn’t know any—well, that I’m aware of, anyway.”
“He’s not a real bounty hunter. Boba Fett is a character. That person’s wearing a costume.”
The manager’s lips twitched. It was comical. AJ suppressed a grin.
“What makes that a bounty hunter costume?” she persisted.
“The character is a bounty hunter,” AJ said. He reminded himself that patience was a virtue, especially when it came to working with Bernie. “The person Eleanor met was dressed like Boba Fett who is a character in Star Wars. Boba Fett is a bounty hunter.”
“And a Mandalorian,” the manager added. “I’d say he’s really from Mos Espa if you want to be technical about it.”
AJ glared at the manager. While he appreciated his Star Wars knowledge, there was no point in further confusing Bernie.
“What’s a Mandalorian?” she asked.
AJ sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s not important. We need to find out where she went after leaving the bar. Can you show us the camera feed for the lobby at the time Eleanor left the restaurant?”
The last known person Eleanor spoke to was wearing a Boba Fett costume the entire time, which makes her disappearance becomes nearly impossible to solve! How many people attend the Jet City Comic Con wearing some version of a Boba Fett costume? (Hundreds) Could the person with Eleanor have changed their costume? (Absolutely) Is the prime suspect in Eleanor’s disappearance and murder wearing a costume? (Very likely) Can red herrings abound because of all the cosplayers roaming Seattle that weekend? (You bet) Are AJ and his friends dressed up? (Of course) Will Bernie wear a costume? (Sort of)
Wearing a disguise makes committing any crime easier. In fact, it’s almost criminal that I didn’t think to use costumes in a murder mystery first!
You can find out more about AJ and Bernie’s costumes and how the killer disguised themselves by reading A Fatal Habit! Click the links below to grab your copy!
A Fatal Habit
When everyone’s in costume, even a killer can hide in plain sight…
Sister Bernadette Ohlson planned a quiet weekend in Seattle catching up with her old friend Sister Eleanor—not tracking down her murderer. But when Eleanor improbably turns up dead after having a cocktail with a cosplaying character during Comic Con, Sister Bernie refuses to return safely home and pray for answers. With the clock ticking before the convention ends and thousands of possible suspects scatter, Bernie teams up with her former student, Detective AJ Lewis, to uncover the truth behind a killer hiding behind a mask.
From movie characters to anime icons, every cosplayer could be a suspect—and every clue seems to lead to a dead end. AJ worries his favorite nun is in over her head, but Bernie’s faith in human nature and her unholy habit of ignoring good advice may be the only things standing between justice and a perfect crime.