I read all kinds of fiction—fantasy, crime, suspense, thriller, science fiction—but they all have to have one thing, or I won’t finish the book: strong characters.
The story can have a fascinating plot, with amazing twists and turns, but if it doesn’t have characters I care about, I’m gone. Think Atticus Finch, Armand Gamache, Severus Snape, Scarlett O’Hara. However you feel about them, they are unforgettable.
But how do these great characters spring forth from the minds of writers? From their fertile imagination, of course, but also from real life.
These writers, like me, steal from people.
Little things, like an interesting turn of phrase, or a clumsy gait, or the way eyes shift away in disapproval.
A bit like Frankenstein building his monster, we add a little of this, take away a little of that.
But sometimes, sometimes we meet someone whose very presence twangs a response in us.
This is what happened with Estelle Martin, the main character in “Chuck Berry is Missing.” Estelle (better known as Stella) emerged from my subconscious fully formed and inspired by a woman I once worked for. Let’s call her Harriet.
Harriet was my boss in a big organization that will remain nameless. I should mention here that this nameless organization was blessed with a number of strong, smart, and quirky women leaders, but Harriet strode into our lives like a ship plowing through stormy waters: sure, steady and powerful. She towered physically over most of us even though she always wore flats. She couldn’t care less about being fashionable. She was fierce, capable and not afraid of hard work. She was invariably kind and patient, but did not suffer fools gladly or people who wasted her time.
And one day, she popped into my head when I started writing a story about a retired RCMP officer and the adventures that fell into her lap. So Harriet became the kernel for Stella Martin, former chief superintendent of Royal Canadian Mounted Police “M” Division in Whitehorse, Yukon.
While Stella retained some of Harriet’s best attributes, I gave her a waspish tongue and made her older, more impatient, and a little antisocial. I also made her disconcertingly honest and ferociously loyal, with an abiding thirst for justice.
She’s not easy to befriend, but certainly worth getting to know. At least, I think so.
The first Stella story, “The Mittens,” appeared in the Jan/Feb 2023 issue of AHMM. “Chuck Berry is Missing” is in the July/Aug 2024 issue.
Trace Evidence 