Mystery Music

My heartfelt thanks to all veterans, past and present. God bless you!

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I turned on the local news on Saturday morning and heard a story that should pique the interest of most mystery writers. Imagine that.

The Delaware River runs between New Jersey and Delaware. For the last couple of weeks people have been hearing loud (lots of base) music. It starts in the early evening and ends around two or three o’clock in the morning. It’s equal opportunity music, meaning it’s rock, jazz, salsa, classical and who knows what else?

The people in both states hear it, and it sounds like it’s coming from the Delaware side of the river.

Needless to say, it’s driving people nuts and interfering with their sleep. There have been numerous complaints to the police about the noise, and yet no one has been able to determine where the music is coming from. Apparently the music suddenly stopped, but many people have said they’ve heard it occasionally over the past few months. It was only recently that it became a nightly event.

By the way, I don’t live in either state, but across the country. However, how could I, in good conscience, pass up sharing this story?

Would this inspire a mystery? Of course, it would. The story could take so many different directions.

Ghostly music trying to lead the authorities to a murder scene? Maybe someone is purposely trying to drive people nuts. It could be an elderly woman who can’t hear the music without the volume turned up. She could be a little crazy and she’s buried bodies in her basement over the years. Maybe someone is trying to make some kind of point.

If you presented the original scenario to seven hundred mystery writers, they could probably come up with at least five hundred ideas. (You have to draw the line somewhere. I figured five hundred was a good cutoff point.)

You could add something to the music. Maybe the music suddenly stops and a loud scream is heard from one side of the river to the other, and then the music starts in again, like nothing ever happened. Or a dog could howl soulfully.

Anything can inspire a good mystery, so why not music with a secret source? I kind of like the little old lady idea, although it reminds me a bit of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” which you should watch if you haven’t seen it – talk about crazy people and good laughs.

There’s always the possibility that some kids are playing a prank. What if that prank went awry?

Oh, here’s one. What if it turned out the music was coming from an old cemetery and the only music anyone heard was from a specific time period, like the 1880s or the 1920s? Since I don’t believe in ghosts, I’d have to come up with another idea for the source of the music. I know, plenty of people do believe in ghosts, so I’ll leave those story ideas to them.

If an individual decided to look for the source of the music, bear in mind that curiosity killed the cat, figuratively speaking.

I wish someone would take this news item and run with it. Create a good mystery. I’d probably read it.

Can you think of a good storyline with the music in mind?

Until next time, pay attention to any unusual stories you hear on the news. You might come up with a unique idea.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

A Well-Kept Family Secret and Bubba’s Ghost are now available in audio format. Prudy’s Back! is in the works. Just thought I’d mention it.

If you’re looking for something light, you might give One Adventure Too Many a try. These are all Sandi Webster Mysteries.

A Different Kind of Memorial Day Story

First, a posthumous thank you to those military people who are no longer with us.

A few years ago my aunt and I were talking and she asked if she’d ever told me the story about how she and my uncle met. No, I hadn’t heard the story, but I wanted to.

Going back to the forties, my grandmother ran a USO in Monterey Park, California. One day my then sixteen-year-old aunt wanted to go to the beach with her friends, but she had to ask her mother’s permission. One of her friends drove her to the USO where her mother was working.

She asked for permission and her mother told her that no, she could not go with her friends. She made an odd request of her daughter. She asked that she go into the other room and listen to a young man who was playing the piano. Grudgingly, she dragged herself to the room. (I can see a sixteen-year-old dragging her feet because she wanted to go to the beach.)

There sat a young soldier, playing boogie woogie with flare. Interestingly, he couldn’t read a note, and yet he was pounding those keys with ease. Not knowing that he couldn't read music, my aunt walked over and started turning the pages to music that sat on the piano. He kept his eyes on her hands while she flipped pages.

My aunt watched him. He finally looked up into her big blue eyes. It was, as they say, love at first sight. Some things are just meant to be, and this was one of those times.

My aunt glanced toward the doorway and there stood her mother, grinning from ear to ear. My grandmother wasn’t the type of woman who enjoyed matchmaking, but there was something about this young man that caught her attention. He was twenty and my aunt was sixteen, which could have been a deal-breaker for my grandmother, but she was fine with it.

My Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Scotty were married in 1944 and had 59 wonderful years together before we lost him. They had two children, and I adore the entire family.

We can always use a little romance in our lives, right? I hope you’ve all found your Elizabeth or your Scotty.

Remember all of those who’ve gone before us. They had a hand in making us who we are.

Until next time, go listen to some boogie woogie. You’ll find that you can’t sit quietly and simply listen. Here’s a sample for both listening and watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWDfxgngrNc

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Prudy's Back! - A Sandi Webster Mystery involves both a woman who became a P.I. when her husband was killed in WWII and a crime from that same time period. Can Sandi solve it after all these years?

Merry Christmas

Laura Reading, please send me an email at hello@marjamcgraw.com with your address. You're the winner of a copy of "Having a Great Crime - Wish You Were Here, A Sandi Webster Mystery." I hope you enjoy it.

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Once a year I write about my beliefs, and this is your lucky day.

I thought long and hard about what to write for my Christmas blog. I read about the origins of celebrating on December 25^th, and then I thought some more. I know from reading the bible, books, articles and from listening in church that Christ wasn’t actually born on that date. December 25^th was probably chosen for all the wrong reasons, but it’s the date we’ve become accustomed to for celebrating the birth of Christ. I still didn’t know what I was going to write about. Logically, a Christian should probably celebrate that birth every single day of the year. Many of us do.

 

 Then I remembered a song. It’s the one song I’ve ever heard that makes me cry. I doesn’t matter if I’m shopping at a mall or sitting at my desk, or even watching television. If I hear this song, it makes me cry, no matter where I am or what I’m doing -- and I'm not a crier. O Holy Night is the most beautiful and powerful music I’ve ever heard.

CLICK HERE to listen to O Holy Night, and listen to the end. I’m amazed that Charlotte Church (love her last name) can hit that oh-so-high note.

Christmas has been neatly deleted from schools, public buildings, stores and all types of places (except for the Santa Clause angle), but the joy of the Lord is still in my heart. Someone might wish me Happy Holidays, but I’ll always wish them a Merry Christmas. Yes, Santa came to our house when I was a little girl, to my house when my daughter was small, and he kept coming after my grandson was born. However, first and foremost was the real reason for celebrating – the birth of Christ. We never lost sight of this.

I know not everyone believes the way I do, and that’s okay. Celebrate whatever you want to in any way that pleases you. I’ll do the same.

Someone might think, “But, hey! She writes murder mysteries. How could a Christian write something like that?” Well, there really are murders and there really are mysteries. My intent isn’t to gross someone out, but to entertain. While there is drama in my books, there’s also some humor. My characters, for the most part, have heart. They’re just ordinary people who sometimes find themselves involved in extraordinary circumstances. Although one of my characters goes to church each week, the books aren’t religious. Oh, well, there was one book about some church ladies wanting help to find a missing friend, but it still wasn’t a religious book. The Church Ladies are fun and funny, and they remind me of some of the women in my life.

No, I don’t keep my Christianity and writing exclusive from each other. I’m simply not a writer of religious stories. Might be fun though.

So back to Christmas and O Holy Night. I confess, as if you couldn’t tell already, I am a Christian and I love the Lord with all my heart. I celebrate Him each and every day. I pray for people. I try to do the right thing, but often fail miserably. Am I perfect? Not on your life! I make more mistakes than you can shake a stick at, but I am forgiven, thanks to the birth of one small boy.

This week I wish you all a very blessed Merry Christmas, and I hope you’ll keep coming back here to find out what little tidbit I’m talking about each week. It’s usually something about mysteries and/or writing, and I hope you have a good time when you drop in.

Until next time, celebrate whatever’s right for you, and please keep an open mind when people like me pop up in your life. We care.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Wishing you all a happy and memorable New Year, too!