by jphilo | Jan 16, 2020 | Mystery Update
Adding a dollop of caregiving to the cozy mystery genre has been a dream of mine. So this winter, I’m making the giant leap from writing non-fiction to fiction while my agent pitches See Jane Run! to publishers. I’d love to have all my caregiving friends join the adventure. Because cozy mysteries are fun, and caregivers need more fun in their lives. Do you need a little more convincing? Check out the book’s elevator pitch:
When young woman dies and an old bachelor rancher goes missing, a greenhorn schoolteacher solves the mystery. But the murderer remains free to roam the vast, remote short-grass prairie of South Dakota in the late 1970s. Can she keep the killer from claiming another victim?
Jane, the schoolteacher, has a disabled father. Guilt from leaving her mother to shoulder all his care dogs her throughout the story. Years of watching multiple sclerosis steal away her once-vibrant father move her to find the person who killed the mother of one of her students.
Are you ready to leap with me? Then jump in with me as this website is transformed into my cozy mystery fiction central HQ. From here on out, the plan is to feature pictures, snippets of history, and authentic recipes from where and when the story takes place. You’ll also find exclusive content and more at Down the Gravel Road’s Facebook group, as well as on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. (Note: If you want to search for Down the Gravel Road on any of those platforms, shorten “road” to “rd” as in “DowntheGravelRd” or “Down the Gravel Rd”) Once the website’s RSS feed and mailing list are up and running, you’ll be able to sign up for those and stay up to date on everything the site has to offer.
Still not sure about adding a dollop of caregiving to the cozy mystery genre? Maybe these questions and answers will ease your concerns.
What’s a Cozy Mystery?
Cozy mysteries are a sub-category of the mystery genre, and they have several characteristics:
- They almost always feature an amateur sleuth.
- The sleuth solves crimes that impact their work.
- They usually take place in a small city or town,
- They have a limited amount of suspects.
- They have no sex, hard-core profanity, or violent scenes.
To read more about cozy mysteries, check out this Huff Post article.
Why a Cozy Mystery?
I’ve loved cozy mysteries since high school when I read Agatha Christie for the first time. Well-written cozies with vivid, character-driven stories are my favorite escapist medium. When I left teaching to become a writer, I was surprised by my 16 years of success with non-fiction. This giant leap is a return to my first love while I still can. After all, I’m 63 now and not getting any younger.
Why Are You Adding a Dollop of Caregiving to the Cozy Mystery Genre?
A first rule for writers is to write what you know, so combining my passion for cozies with my experience as a caregiver makes perfect sense. My teaching experience and the years my husband and I lived in a teeny-tiny town in northwest South Dakota are also big players in See Jane Run!
Are You Ready?
Then leap over to Down the Gravel Road. Stay up-to-date by signing up for the website’s RSS feed and Down the Gravel Road’s mailing list. Find exclusive content and more at Down the Gravel Road’s Facebook group, as well as on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Ready…Set…Go!
by jphilo | Nov 14, 2017 | Show Notes
by Jolene Philo & Anne Fleck | Home Again
We’re proud of our epic successes and want to share them with you. So here are pictures of photographable successes in the order they were mentioned during the podcast.
Living Room Remodel: Note Jolene’s technique while sweeping the floor in a wheelchair. Decorative window treatments and wall art are in the works. And the furniture will be rearranged once the wheelchair is no longer needed.
Soundproofed Laundry Chute: Foam insulation and double-sided tape did the trick!
Patio Fence: Created by Hiram with harvested posts and boards from the fence around the former horse pasture.
Garden Fence: The posts are in and ready for next spring’s fish line fence that’s supposed to keep the deer out. Click on Fish Line Fence to learn more about them. Yes, Tad is wearing Spider-man rain boots!
Anne’s Sewing Center: It’s a repurposed computer armoire she moved out of the main living area recently as her sewing and costume box business is taking off.
Worms Be Gone: Hiram’s simple caulking fix did the trick. Anne and her family quickly bid the worms, spiders, and bugs eager to share their living room a relieved farewell.
Come Home Again every time a new podcast is added just by visiting your inbox!
by jphilo | Nov 16, 2015 | Out and About
One of my earliest memories is of sitting with my big sister on our bed, the kitchen radio between us, waiting for Dad to read the market report for our hometown radio station. Our bedroom door was tightly shut to avoid feedback from the dining room, which was HQ for Dad’s broadcast.
The glamour of hearing Ole Oleson announce–”And here’s Harlan Stratton with the morning market report for K-L-E-M, 1410 KLEM.”–sent shivers of delight down my spine. Listening to Dad’s voice come through the radio was magical.
Dad’s radio career was cut short by the progression of his multiple sclerosis, which soon left him unable to read. But KLEM’s magical aura lingered clear through numerous high school treks to the station to promote the theater productions that were my lifeblood in those days.
This week I’m in my hometown again to speak at 4 northwest Iowa libraries, the Le Mars Public Library included, about caregiving. Monday morning, at 11:45, I’ll join the city librarian at K-L-E-M KLEM to talk up the Le Mars event. Thanks to the magic of the internet, you can listen to 1410 KLEM live from wherever you may be–in the next room or in the next continent.
Dad’s been gone 17 years now, and his last radio broadcast was 50+ years ago. But if his name comes up during the broadcast and my voice wavers, you will know that the magic of hearing Dad’s voice still lingers. No longer on the radio for the morning market report, but forever in my heart.
by jphilo | Jun 26, 2015 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
These three thoughts for a June Thursday in 2012 seem appropriate, especially #3, as Mom’s annual mammogram was yesterday. No tress. Just the press.
For the past couple of weeks, my life has revolved around caring for friends and family – Hiram’s surgery June 12, a Camp Dorothy overnight last weekend, and taking some kids swimming so their pregnant mama could get some rest. Such circumstances rarely shine a light on my finest hour, but the situations did result in three care giving thoughts for Thursday:
1. I’m pretty sure the doctor prescribed a 5 pound lifting limit for a certain male patient who had back surgery to keep him from lifting more than 10 pounds.
2. Taking imaginative children to the swimming pool isn’t about going swimming. It’s about prowling in the water like a tiger cooling off on a hot jungle day, hopping in the water like a frog in a pond, and swimming underwater like a tadpole. But after 2 1/2 hours of prowling, hopping, and swimming, the tiger, frog, tadpole, children, and adult weren’t pretend tuckered out. They were honest-to-goodness, for real tuckered out.
3. I usually take Mom for her annual mammogram, but since it was the same day as Hiram’s surgery, my brother took her instead. She had a haircut the same morning, so during our Camp Dorothy overnight last weekend, I asked her, “Did you survive your big squish and snip morning okay?”
She shook her head and smiled. “It wasn’t squish and snip. It was press and tress.”
Yup, Mom’s still got her sense of humor!
Have you had any memorable care giving moments lately? If so, leave a comment.
by jphilo | Jun 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
Every Wednesday I spend several hours with Mom at her new home in assisted living. Here’s a peek at what’s best about Wednesdays with Dorothy.
10. The staff at the assisted living facility is friendly to me and loving towards Mom.
9. Getting to know other residents who live there has been delightful.
8. Mom treats me to supper.
7. Mom’s favorite game is Rummikub and the primary colors on the tiles make me feel so happy.
6. Mom’s second favorite game is Uno, and when she wins she gives an evil laugh because she knows it will make me laugh, too.
5. At least once a visit, she looks around and says “I can’t believe Genworth* is paying for this” with wonder and delight.
4. Mom still has a great sense of humor. (See #6)
3. She takes great joy in looking at pictures of her great-grandchildren and showing off the cards and crafts they send.
2. When we are together on Wednesdays, I know without a doubt that I am where God wants me to be, doing what he wants me to do.
1. Mom loved and cared for me in my early years and being able to reciprocate that love and care in her last years is a gift to both of us.
*Genworth is her long term care insurance company.
