Author R&R with Lynn Slaughter

Lynn Slaughter is addicted to the arts, chocolate, and her husband’s cooking. After a long career as a professional dancer and dance educator, she returned to school to earn her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Her novels have received numerous accolades, including a Moonbeam Silver Medal, two Agatha nominations, and a Silver Falchion Award. Lynn is excited about the recent release of her debut middle grade novel, an identity-swapping fantasy, The Big Switch: Varney and Cedric, as well as the release of Death in the End Zone, the sequel to Missed Cue.

In Death in the End Zone, homicide detective Caitlin O’Connor is faced with another puzzling case: the murder of two star football players whose bodies are discovered in a compromising position in the end zone of their high school’s football field. While Caitlin identifies several suspects who might have had reasons to want to harm the boys, no clearcut evidence points to the culprit. Meantime, Caitlin deals with her partner’s alcoholism at work, continuing fears of commitment in a new relationship at home, and her conflicted feelings about her widowed mother’s new relationship—all while worrying that she may get pulled off the case if she doesn’t figure out who killed the boys left in the end zone.

Lynn Slaughter stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching the book:

The Internet: An Amazing Resource for Writers

My latest release, Death in the End Zone, is set in New Haven, Connecticut. Since I grew up in Connecticut, I’m familiar with the city and have been there many times. But in writing a novel, it’s the little things, the specific details, that bring a setting, the characters, and key events to life. For this, I’ve found the internet to be an invaluable resource.

For example, Death in the End Zone centers around the investigation of the murder of two star football players whose bodies are discovered in the end zone of their high school’s football field. My protagonist, Caitlin O’Connor, returns to the scene of the crime and visits a practice with her partner. Since I know zilch about what goes on in a football practice, I turned to the internet. Would you believe that there are YouTube instructional videos on how to run efficient practices and what drills and exercises to use? That’s how I knew Caitlin would observe players doing strength and conditioning exercises like Monkey Rolls and the Bear Crawl.

To figure out where characters live and what their houses are like, real estate listings which often include photos of both the interior and exteriors of homes, as well as neighborhood descriptions, are incredibly helpful. For example, despite its liberal reputation, New Haven’s neighborhoods remain mostly segregated, which is how I learned that the Dixwell neighborhood was a popular one for middle class folks of color like the family of Elijah Williams, one of the young homicide victims. Reading about New Haven’s neighborhoods and crime hot spots is also how I figured out where the prostitutes and drug dealers Caitlin interviews might be hanging out.

I love researching where characters might go out to eat and what they’d eat, and restaurant websites are a goldmine. Many not only include their menus but photos of their interiors. I enjoyed sending my detective and her boyfriend to a romantic dinner at Tre Scalini’s, and having Caitlin make frequent runs to Zoi’s, a popular deli in the city. And learning about kid-friendly places is also how I decided that Caitlin would take her boyfriend’s young son Jack to Shake Shack for dinner.

One of the young men murdered had been the victim of an adult sexual abuser. Having worked with a number of young people who’ve been victimized by predators and having done a great deal of research for my earlier nonfiction book, Teen Rape, I was familiar with this  subject. But I wanted my character to have written about the pain he felt from being abused. I discovered poems and personal experience pieces posted on the internet by survivors that were agonizing to read but incredibly helpful.

When Caitlin’s mother’s boyfriend Peter is shot, I wanted him to be critically wounded but not fatally. This led me to extensive research on gunshot wounds, which is how Peter ended up with a punctured lung and a great deal of internal bleeding, but a decent chance of recovery after surgery.

Forensic investigators at the football field found evidence of wheelchair tracks, so Caitlin gets the idea that perhaps the killer rented a wheelchair to transport his victims to the end zone. Amazingly, I was able to find names and locations of pharmacies in the New Haven area that offer wheelchair rentals. When Caitlin discovers that the pharmacist at Switzer’s has records of renting a wheelchair to her key suspect and can identify him, she knows she is close to cracking the case.

I could go on and on, but I think it’s clear that I found my internet research a huge help. I admit that I love research, and it’s easy to get lost in the weeds and spend hours and hours checking into things that I don’t absolutely need to know for my story. But still, I know my novels benefit from all I’ve learned. Besides, exploring is endlessly fun!   

You can learn more about Lynn Slaughter and her writing via her website and follow her on Facebook and Goodreads.  Death in the End Zone is now available via all major booksellers.