Sandra Murphy had two articles published in the Historical Mysteries 2 Summer Issue of Mystery Readers Journal. The first, “Music Defines a Decade,” explains how, as editor, she chose twenty-two stories for the anthology Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the 60s, and how performers as different as Frank Sinatra, Frankie Valli, and Blind Faith or the Stones could work as the selected songs featured in the stories.
The second article is “Writing What You Don’t Know but Can Research.” She co-wrote “Gracie Saves the World” with Michael Bracken. Set in the 40s, it’s about a woman who finds a dead stranger in her bed and saves the world by solving the case. Sandra’s research topics included salaries for the women who worked in factories to replace the men who served in the Armed Forces, what goods were rationed during WWII, and details like the fact that women were unable to get silk stockings during the war and couldn’t go to church bare-legged until priests made a special ruling allowing it. .
The Chicks on the Case interviewed Sandy about how books are selected for review, how the reviews are written, what to do if you don’t like the book, and more.
