Some readers may be wondering why so many of my blogs have to do with email correspondence. This blog is now and always has been a window on my world. During the past couple of years for pretty obvious reasons my world along with everyone else’s has become much smaller.
Rather than hearing what my readers think about my books in person, more and more of those interactions occur through my email correspondence. So periodically I open up the mail bag and share what’s come in over the past several days. As mentioned above, let’s just say it’s soup to nuts.
This morning, for example, the first message that greeted me was from a self-professed “gun nut” letting me know that I’d made a firearm error in a book I wrote more than twenty years ago. I’m not going to tell you which one in order to keep some of you from going on a literary Easter egg hunt to find it. And I’m not going to ask my editors to go back and fix it, either. That error will just be there—in perpetuity.
Listen people, I’m a liberal arts major. It turns out, what I don’t know about guns literally fills volumes. As an author it’s sometimes difficult to sort out what you think you know as opposed to what you really don’t know. So for all you real gun people out there, I do my best, but sometimes my best isn’t good enough.
So there you have it, some input from the complaint department, but it turns out that this week compliments are outstripping complaints by a three to one margin. For instance, a wheelchair bound woman who had just read Blessing of the Lost Girls told me that she found the actions of my two wheelchair-bound characters, Brian Fellows and John Wheeler, to be really empowering. Being confined to a wheelchair isn’t part of my life experience, but I was able to write about it realistically enough to touch someone who does live that life.
Then there’s the guy who wrote telling me that he had burst into tears twice in the process of reading my Ali books—once when Archbishop Gillespie forgave his would-be killer and again when Edie Larson offered comfort to the distraught man who had been behind the wheel of a truck when her husband, Robert, stepped in front of it to commit suicide. My correspondent said the tears had caught him by surprise and were probably the result of the ongoing grieving process due to having lost his wife a year or so ago. That one got me.
And then there’s the guy who wrote to tell me that reading about Snow College in Blessing had taken him back to his college days when he spent a semester attending that school of higher learning in Ephraim, Utah, in the late fifties. Since I’ve never been to Ephraim his note got me thinking about how all that happened. As I was writing the explanation to him, it occurred to me that maybe my blog readers might be interested as well. I’m excerpting that letter here:
I’m delighted to know that my mentioning Snow College in Blessing brought back so many memories for you, but I wanted you to know how it came to be included in Blessing of the Lost Girls.
When I write books, I start at the very beginning which, as Julie Andrews said in The Sound of Music, is a very good place to start. And since I write murder mysteries, I usually start with someone dead and spend the remainder of the book, trying to find out who did it and how come.
Blessing was different. I knew from the beginning who the killer was, and the book focused on the victims, their grieving friends and families, as well as on the law enforcement officers assigned to solve those cases. When I realized the serial killer targeted barrel racers, and that the initial victim was someone Jennifer Brady had competed against, that’s how Jenny snuck into the book. That wasn’t something I planned from the beginning. It just happened.
Since Jenny was competing in rodeos at the collegiate level, I went looking for institutions of higher learning with rodeo teams. That’s how I came across Snow College. I’ve never been to Ephraim, Utah. I’ve never visited the college there, and yet by introducing Deborah Russell into the book, I was able to awaken your memories of attending Snow—as you called it, just plain Snow.
Obviously, Utah is Mormon country. Growing up in Bisbee and later living and working in Phoenix, I met lots of Mormons. Considering you grew up in Utah, I’m assuming that you were raised as and most likely still are a member of that faith. I like to think that the way I portrayed those folks in the book did so in a positive light, and I trust I did the same thing for the Indigenous people who appeared in the story.
So that’s the power of words. They took two people to Snow College in a very real way—one who had been there in person and one who never had.
For years writing my Joanna Brady books has allowed me to revisit Bisbee, Arizona, the place where I grew up. It’s also taken my readers there. Many of those folks will never visit the town in person. This morning, my brother Gary sent me a YouTube video of photos taken by him and compiled by his son, Andrew. At this point, the photos are fifty years old, so the Bisbee depicted there is closer to the one in which I grew up rather than the town as it is now.
I’ll be adding the link below, and I’m hoping you’ll enjoy scrolling through what’s there. But as you do so, please notice the red shale hillsides as well as the stark gray limestone outcroppings. While I was writing the second Joanna Brady book, I was trying to describe the town’s physical surroundings. It wasn’t until I was struggling to find just the right words that I suddenly realized, decades after graduating from Bisbee High School, why the school colors are red and gray. That’s also the power of words. They can jolt us into finally noticing something that we should have figured out years earlier.
I’ll probably be reusing much of this in next week’s blog, so thank you for inspiring it. You’ll find the link posted below. If you study the background of this initial photo, you can see a small peak in the sunlight in the distance, just to the right of the hillside in the foreground. That’s Geronimo—the place that was front and center in Downfall.
JAJ
PS: It turns out that when it comes to compliments and complaints, this week compliments are winning four to one. This morning I received a note from an Audible reader who was recently notified that in 2023 she spent 105,126 minutes listening to books by J.A. Jance. That adds up to someone spending 1752 hours on my books in a single year. If that isn’t a compliment, I don’t know what is!
Susi and I visited Bisbee because of you. When we return, we always wonder where your landmarks are.
Good writers like yourself do their homework and research. However, as you said, most are not experts in every field they might write about And, key point, it’s fiction. You’re meant to suspend belief to allow yourself to enter the fictional story to enjoy it. Your books allow that, and certainly thankful too for your willingness and openness about writing about the writing process. I learn so much and find myself relieved when you mention your own process. Thank you JA for your wonderful gifts to us readers.
I second that appreciation of Judy’s sharing the writing process with us readers-
Knowing about the way Judy’s characters operate on their own was a real revelation to me- It made me realize how dynamic the process of writing novels is, and explains why I see so many of the protagonists as old friends- There is nothing phony or artificial about them-
Please thank your brother and nephew for the wonderful pictures of Bisbee. I enjoyed one of them, including the snow. I love all of your books, but as I’ve stated before, JP is my favorite. How he changes through the years is an amazing progress. I would never critique anyone’s writing, since I can’t write myself. The music put to the photos was so relaxing and comforting. Please keep up the good work in your books. Thank you.
Hello JA, I have been reading your books for years and reading your blog now for just a few months. I clicked on the link so I could see the photos of Bisbee. I was born and raised in Douglas and although the pictures were from the 50s, I remember how Bisbee looked in the 60s. My aunt and uncle lived in Bisbee so we were there often. I live in Tucson now and seldom get back to Douglas so I haven’t been through Bisbee in quite some time. It was a pleasant journey back watching the video. Thank you for the hours of reading you have provided me through the years!
Great pictures! I went to Bisbee a few years ago with my sister who lives in Phoenix. We stayed at the Copper Queen and took a tour with a local guy. It was a great trip, one I’d have never made without you and Joanna. Thanks! Btw, I recognized some of the sights in your pictures. Some things never change…
Just want to say “Thank You” again for your books and your blog. You have such a gift for telling a story with either. Did not find the link to Bisbee 🙁 however, you paint a great picture with your words. Long may you write.
Try clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Plwk_8PXtc
Thank you for sending the link. I enjoyed watching. I’ve never been to Bisbee, except in your books, but it looks like I imagined through your words.
I have lived in Sierra Vista for the past forty years and Bisbee doesn’t look much different than it did in the pictures from Doug Smith!!!!!!
What a nice montage of pictures. I really enjoyed them, and it makes me want to read your books that take place there. So far, I’ve strictly been a JP reader.
It must be so rewarding to receive compliments by your readers. I don’t understand people who feel the need to complain or criticize though. I would only complain to a company or organization if I was having a problem with them, but never to an artist who pours their heart and soul into work. I’m glad today’s compliments outnumbered the complaints.
Loved the old Bisbee travelogue, tho never been there, your writing brought it pretty accurately to the mind’s eye (slightly updated!) My mother owned the same model Cadillac pictured in front of the Gulf station – the last car she owned, so also brought back a memory for me. Have really enjoyed your books (sorry never got into Ali stories) and look forward to the next ones.
As usual, I love this blog. Someone writes to complain about an error made years ago? Who cares?! Your fans way outnumber the nay-sayers because you write for the average person. Your brilliant wit keeps us all entertained and waiting for the next story. We’re fans because we feel a part of the cast of characters in each series. Many thanks to Doug for the Bisbee video. Frank & I need to make another trip to that charming little town.
I enjoy your books and blog very much.
So you can put this in the compliment column.
My husband and I have read all of your books and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I am so thankful for the pleasure you have been able to afford us. You’re a great writer! I guess Eli Reynolds is my favorite, but I read her first. So there. We lived for two years in Cottonwood, Arizona and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are back in Minnesota. you’re a writing and where you place your stories brings us right back. I read you before we moved, and it was so much fun to envision the environment because of what you had written. Thank you, Diane.
Love the slide show! I’ve been going to Arizona since 1986 but have never been to Bisbee. I’ve just added it to my trip from Arizona to Florida at the end of February. Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!
Unfortunately, I was unable to view these photos. First I was told I could not access the site. Then
When I got to your brother’s website I was told I had to subscribe.
None of the pictures looked 50 years old!
Try clicking on this link. It’s a YouTube video, so you’ll have to wait through the commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Plwk_8PXtc
I’ve just completed a marathon read of the first 15 paperback JP Beaumont books that introduced me to this series and they stood the test of time incredibly well. Since then my rheumatoid arthritis has caused me to become an ebook reader but Beau, Joanna Brady and your other characters continue to amuse and entertain me. Thank you.
Loved the video! I’ve been reading your books for years with much enjoyment. I’ve been fortunate to see you in person several times. Reading your blog on Friday mornings is a weekly ritual.
Thank you!
I don’t listen to books. I read them. Never in order so it some times gets confusing. I don’t listen to books because they go too slowly. Every book of yours is captivating
That’s 4.8 hours a day. I wish I could carve out that much reading time in a day.
Bisbee is on my itinerary for my retirement trip to AZ-NM this winter.
I must differ with you about the world becoming smaller since the pandemic. For some of us, on-line connections have made the world a much bigger, more diverse place. Some examples: my spouse used to play (string instruments) with other people once or twice a week, and it was usually the same small group of people. During the pandemic, on-line jams attracted people from Europe and Australia as well as all over North America, and now she plays every single day with people from all over, and has become friends with some of the other regulars. I’m part of a music community that is associated with science fiction/fantasy, and the on-line festivals that started during the pandemic still occur at regularly scheduled times. I know a psychologist who struggled to be fully employed while still living in an isolated area for family reasons. The burgeoning on-line therapy business has saved her bacon! Or brought it in — mixing metaphors? In general, as people got more comfortable with on-line connections, opportunities for broader connections have become commonplace.
The true power of words lies in who reads or listens to them, otherwise they are just letters on a page. You have the ability to transform those letters into personal memories, which in turn evoke emotions and lead readers into another realm.
Bless you, Judy!
Loved the video. I always wanted to explore southern AZ when we lived there but we never did. All over from Phoenix north but not south other than to Yuma. Saw the snow in the one picture and thought it’s amazing how many people don’t think it snows there. Only hot and sunny. Not!! We were snowed in one year on the Navajo reservation. It’s like KS, everyone thinks it’s just flat. Nope. We have hills you can’t get up when it snows and is icy. It is snowing now and we are in the Artic blast of cold air for the next several days. They lowered the one hill by us when they were resurfacing the street because of so many accidents on it during the winter.
Bisbee is a mile high town, and altitude makes all the difference.
Loved the pictures, thank you for sharing
My husband and I enjoy your books so much that we drove to Bisbee to see if we could find some of the places you wrote about. The only place we saw for sure was the Copper Queen Hotel but I’m not well and was unable to climb all the steps to get to it. Instead, we had an excellent dinner at a restaurant across the street from it. It didn’t occur to us until later that we probably could have driven behind the hotel and would have easy access. Maybe next time. Still, we enjoyed our walk down memory lane. The Johanna Brady books are my favorite but I love all of them and haven’t missed a single one. My eyesight is failing so I use a Kindle and usually order your books in advance so I can read them ASAP. Being old with a poor memory, I can reread them a couple of years later and enjoy them all over again.
Dear Judy: Complainers are people with no self love and serious inadequacies. So please please don’t give them any place in your life. I love your blog almost as I have loved your books. As I read I see that you have researched deeply into fields that the rest of us do not know. I know that for a fact because my cousin Carol Murren taught you about forensics in Seattle. Actually, you are quite amazing for your insights into subjects most foreign to the regular public.
Having read all your books, I am re-reading some. To my sheer amazement, I sometimes cannot remember who the “bad guy” was. I also see things I missed the first time. I am always so eager to see what is going to happen, I know I read to fast. You have touched my life and helped me through some issues. I wrote you a while ago that because of my love for Beau I was able to forgive my first alcoholic husband. And at this time I am also a care giver for my second husband, a keeper. Let me share something…..I was about 10 when I heard a neighbor ask my mom if I played with dolls. She said with a tone “no, her nose is always in a book”. At the time tho, I thought it to be a compliment. And I still do. The 4 children I raised alone are all “readers” as my grandchildren are. I must have done something right Thank you for you. Blessings, June Ellis
Great video. Thanks for sharing
What a lovely slide show of Bisbee! Some of the pics (mountain, valley, snow) were as I imagined the scenery while reading all of your books set there.
You are something else, JA! The pleasure you yourself receive from writing is transformed many times over when we readers absorb it. Thanks much.
In 2019 I was on a 15 state road trip with a gal friend when we visited with a cousin in Tucson. I was determined to see Bisbee so we went the extra miles south and spent the afternoon exploring the old town. I drove up into the residential area and came to a dead end, turned around and finally found my way back down to town. It was such a great experience to finally see Bisbee in person. I went into a bookstore and bought 2 more of your books there. We did’nt even know there was a newer part of town as we went back out the way we came in, but we saw the part I wanted to see – your town and so glad I did. I took lots of pictures, too. Wondered which house was yours and where Joanna Brady’s ranch was. Thank you for leading me to such a unique and enchanting little town.
When I read that gun passage, it took me back to how our relationship started. I pointed out a gun problem in the first Brady book. And I did so with an editor’s perspective: let’s correct the error to keep it from future printings, e-books, and audiobooks.
My wife Barbara introduced me to your books with that Desert Heat, and I finally, at her urging, began the Beaumont series. What a pleasure it has become to read all four marvelous series.
And what a pleasure to have met you at book signings in Tacoma and Carmel (that’s Carmel, Indiana, not Carmel-by-the-Sea, California!), and to be a “cheap date” at dinner in Seattle.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful early photos of Bisbee. That terrain was a huge change from your earlier residence in South Dakota, an area I am quite familiar with as my family is from Kingsbury County, which is near where you lived prior to Bisbee.
Ms. Jance: I was touched by your nephew’s photo montage of Bisbee. It was fun to see the old cars and clothing styles of the high school students. I suppose we all have our own “Bisbee” with memories unique to the years and places where we grew up. It seems like times were so much more simple back then.
I have enjoyed your books for many years. I hope you have many years of writing ahead of you.
Don’t worry about making mistakes about types of guns or their uses. As a former army lieutenant I get a laugh whenever I read in a novel that no one heard a thing because the killer used a silencer. Um, you can suppress the sound, but there’s no silent firing of a gun.
If a novelist wants to take down someone, a taser would be more silent if not lethal.
During 2020, I really got into audio books. I haven’t listened to every J. A Dance book yet but I’m working on it. I wonder how many hours I spent in 2023 on Jance books. Audible hasn’t told me. I have read them all previously including After the Fire.. In fact.I just finished listening to Downfall today.. I’ll.have to check out the picture of Geronimo and see if it matches my imagination.
I tried to view the “Fifty Years Ago” thing. I couldn’t get it to open. It went sort of crazy, like a dog chasing his tail! It’s probably my computer. I’ve been over working it today!
Resending the link
I thought I was resending the link, but I didn’t attach it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Bisbee a couple of years ago. Looking forward to my next visit. I think I’ve read all of the books in 3 of the series and enjoyed every one. I’m introducing them to my friends also. My favorite pastime is reading mysteries and yours are the best!!!! In enjoyed the video and recognized the locations of some. I love the the “light bulb thought” of the Highschool colors.
In reference to pointing out errors, Ruth Rendell has written a delightful short story “Piranha to Scurfy” (which is the title of a volume of encyclopedias which figures in the story) A poor soul, Ambrose Ribbon, goes thru new books and points out errors in letters he writes to the authors. Of course, he never hears back from them
I don’t want to tell any more of the plot, but I think you’ll enjoy it.
.
Thanks for sharing the video. I was in Bisbee probably 20 years ago.. Still had some of the Charm
Thank you for the video and the music with it was perfect! We lived in Sierra Vista in 1964 when the Twins’ drive-in was at the town’s East edge. We were not disappointed when we drove to Bisbee to view the largest open copper mine. We found Bisbee a charming town. I love your books and will look into audiobooks as my eyes get tired after reading several chapters. Muggsy. (Athena’s aunt)
Thank you for the video and the music with it was perfect! Muggsy. (Athena’s aunt)
Never been to Bisbee. But looking at your pictures brought back the days we were in Ely and McGill Nevada. Same mining towns and tight little communities.
And right in so many ways…. you make us cry, laugh and remember feelings long gone.
Thank You!
How blessed all of us are to witness some of the communication you have with fans. I have been the recipient of that myself. You make yourself accessible and are willing to share your thoughts with us. I’m sure when the guy who’d gone to Snow College received your lengthy email, he probably felt as though he’d won the lottery. You are so generous with your fans. Thank you!!
I lived in Sierra Vista for a number of years. Bisbee was a favorite place to go. Loved the houses on top of each other. My daughter have been there twice in the last two years. Our latest journey there we couldn’t park and walk around- part of the parking area was blocked by police. We were so disappointed. It is such a fun place to go. Thank you for Blessings of the Lost Girls. Read it in two days and I work. Have read all your books.
We made the Bisbee pilgrimage years ago, before there was a “JaJance tour,” and stayed at the Copper Queen, and toured the Copper Mine with a wonderful guide-
It was great to be at the “Scene of the Crime Novel!”
I have always been impressed and grateful for your portrayal of those with physical disabilities as able to function fully in society, and to contribute as much as those who are “Able- Bodied-”
Perhaps you missed a subtle aspect of a firearm 20 years ago- However, it is very clear that you know a great deal about many things- This can only be the result of painstaking research- My brother-in-law is a forensic pathologist- He once told me that what bothers him about many crime-novels and T.V. mysteries is the notion that “Time of Death” can be readily pinpointed by a pathologist- It cannot most of the time- The detectives and pathologists in your mysteries do not make this mistake- In that way your fictional crime-novels are very realistic-
One of the things I liked in “Blessings” was that folks didn’t think much about the bad guy. He was just another resident of the trailer park. However, the little dog who lived next door didn’t like him. That should have alerted the people there sooner than it did. Animals know who is bad.
Lovely pics of Bisbee… the brick and stone buildings are just charming… the cars in the pics don’t look that old to me?! Fifty years ago was only 1973! Oh can it be….i visited in the 1990’s, had lunch at the hotel and stared down into the lavendar pit…enjoyed the warm sun (i’m from WA) That was before I had read any of your stories…now my husband and I have read all the Beaumont books and some of the Ali books and again feel the AZ warmth… thanks for doing what you were designed to do, you do it well… just one of your myriad fans….a new Beaumont!! ???