Cheryl Hagedorn - Author

My newest novel - just released!

2008-06-04T16:15:00.002-06:00

My newest novel has just been released! I really like the cover - I'd asked the artist to use a photograph of a senior citizen competing in an athletic and I think this one is super. The book is the second in the series I'm writing on senior centers and murder. This story takes place at the Six county Senior Olympics, a real event, which is generally held at Maine East High School in Park Ridge, in late July. There are lots of other venues which those folks in the Chicago area will recognize.

You can purchase the paperback ($16.95) or the eBook ($5.95) through BookLocker.

Second Novel is Underway

2007-10-03T12:53:00.000-06:00

The second novel in the Senior Center Murders is now being blogged at Gold Medal Murder. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Characters who are returning are: Detective Stanley Nevins, suburban cowboy; Teresa Cusentino, the senior center director; Stan's mother, Stunning Stella Nevins. This time the setting is the Six County Senior Olympics and the old folks aren't playing the games you think (or maybe they are!) and they sure aren't playing by the rules.

Guest Appearance on Radio Show

2007-09-11T15:19:00.000-06:00

On July 10 I was the guest of Dr. Niama Williams at PIVTR - Passionate Internet Voices Talk Radio. I've just received the links for the mp3 file which you can download and for the audio file which you can play here. I read two of my works: "Bearing Witness" and "Flight." "Bearing Witness" is a personal essay which recounts instances of abuse which I was forced to witness and my responses. "Flight" is a short story that takes place on Chicago's L.

Interview by Michael Burke

2007-06-09T13:20:00.000-06:00

Michael Burke is a Chicago celebrity.

Michael Burke: What's the best and worst advice you've received as a writer?

Cheryl Hagedorn: Professor Lucy Rinehart told me to trust my own voice, bless her. S.L. Wisenberg pretty much forced me to personalize an essay that eventually blew my mind when I finished.

I wrote an author whose work I respected asking him to write a blurb that I could use in promoting my book. He offered to do so if I would send him a chapter. I did. He essentially rewrote it according to his style and his lights. I think he may have been miffed when I wrote back, thanked him for his comments, and then told him it was already in print. [Read the entire interview]

What Mike did NOT include in the interview has been posted on the Senior Center Murders site under Ignorance.

Jeff Markowiz, host

2007-06-09T13:16:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Jeff Markowitz who turned over his blog to me for a bit of a personal-type essay. I was so pleased with all Jeff's readers and my friends who took time to stop by and leave comments. [Jeff's blog]

Interview by Lesa Holstine

2007-06-05T07:26:00.000-06:00

Lesa Holstine of Lesa's Book Critiques departed from her book review format to interview me yesterday. Since she's a librarian, one of the questions dealt with libraries, but you'll have to visit Lesa's site to find out how I responded :-)

Lesa: I'm going to take a short departure from your books, and ask you about yourself. I understand you went back to school to get a Master's degree, after a lengthy absence. What difficulties did you face going back to college as an adult?

Cheryl: I was 36 when I got my bachelor's. Then the biggest problem I had was understanding how the other students thought they could learn anything when they couldn't even take notes on the lectures! But undergraduate work was very different than what I encountered twenty years later. I can remember sitting in my first class on Composition Theory and thinking that I'd made a $30,000 mistake.

The degree I had selected was an MA in Writing at DePaul University. Luckily for me, there was no specific undergrad degree required (mine is in Pastoral Theology). It made for an interesting mix of opinions. The only problem I had was with the English undergrads in the program. They brought a lot more theory into the classrooms, raising the level of discussion to the point where I often couldn't follow it. But I survived!

[Read the entire interview]

Review by 3Rs - Real Reader Reviews

2007-06-02T07:51:00.000-06:00

The interview with author Cheryl Hagedorn and the review of PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder have been posted at the Blog Writers and Artists Network.

RJ McGill writes:

"I must say that I found [Cheryl's book] to be a refreshing alternative to the cookie-cutter who-dunn-its. The characters are three dimensional, the setting itself plays a significant role throughout the novel and with the added complexity of two opposing love interests, there’s something for everyone… The most surprising aspect has to be the fondness I felt for the murdering pinochle players. Although their acts are despicable, I couldn’t help but find them quite like-able in many ways. For a first time author to create such a conflict of emotion within the reader, is a testament to her abilities. This is a cozy mystery that will undoubtedly make Cheryl Hagedorn a name well known to mystery lovers everywhere. And with another installment in the works - readers will not be forced to wait very long to be reunited with this unique and intriguing cast of characters."

[Read the interview]

Interview by Mystery Buff

2007-05-31T12:17:00.000-06:00

Mystery Buff: Of all that you've written, What is your favorite?

Cheryl: Since we were just talking about "The Color of Cowboys," I guess I would choose that short story. When I was in graduate school, I remember clearly getting poor marks on the original AND the second draft. I got angry because I felt the professor just wasn't understanding it at all. So I turned it upside down and inside out. She was right, I think. The last version had a lot more power.

[Read the entire interview]

Interview by Quality Book Reviews

2007-05-31T11:54:00.000-06:00

QBR: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Cheryl: Contrary to the advice I’ve seen almost everywhere, yes, my mystery novel has a message. Essentially, it’s this: don’t make the mistake of assuming you know what’s best for someone else.

QBR: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Cheryl: Good question and the answer is yes. I don’t think I would let my readers off as easy as I did. Let me explain. The motivation for the murders comes from a seething resentment, not like road rage which blows up over the slightest offence. I thought that readers who couldn’t pick up on the depth of this resentment might need help in justifying the murders. So I supplied plausible but fairly trivial slights that supposedly had festered.

I was correct that some people would miss the point and need to glom on to the trivial excuses for the murders. Unfortunately this happened with some reviewers as well. If I could, I’d go back and take out the cookie crumb trail, forcing readers to look up into the forest and try to see behind the trees.

[Read the entire interview]

Clarion Interview

2007-05-30T12:16:00.000-06:00

"As the editor of the Chicago Writers Association CLARION Newsletter, I had planned on interviewing Cheryl in June 2007. Happily, that plan coincided with Ms. Hagedorn’s online virtual book tour. I was very impressed when I first met Cheryl and more enamored of her when I read her new book.

"As I have continued to add candles to my birthday cakes, I thought I might learn something important about my latter years by reading “A Senior Center Murder.” Until I discovered her book was not a “how to” for the elderly in nursing homes.

"I delved further into “A Senior Center Murder” and was enthralled by Cheryl’s very different plot. She sets in motion murders by four elderly pinochle players at their Park Ridge Senior Center. Two men and two women seniors come to resent a zealous director who tries to redefine “active” and “passive” for the Senior Center populace. She tells the card players to get off their lazy “whats-its” and do something other than play pinochle.

"In turn, they retaliate by providing eternal rest for their tormentors. To learn more, visit Cheryl’s website, Amazon.com, or BookLocker.com, to buy her book.

"Chicago Writers Association: Cheryl, in the beginning, I had promised not to say more about “A Senior Center Murder”, but I found your book so mesmerizing, I’d like you to say a little extra about the suspense readers will find between the covers of your book.

"Cheryl L. Hagedorn: The mystery within my first novel is whether the detective can discover who committed the crimes and if he will be able to convince the State’s Attorney that “old people” can be pushed to murder."

[Read the interview]

Interview by Marlys Marshall Styne

2007-05-29T08:28:00.000-06:00

I was especially pleased when Marlys Marshall Styne agreed to interview me for her award-winning blog (first place award from the Illinois Woman’s Press Association in 2007). Marlys is very careful to distinguish her age as senior as opposed to my age which is boomer!
_________

Seniorwriter: Do you believe that senior citizens, or most human beings, for that matter, harbor "deep, focused resentments" that can lead to murder?

I admit I'm not really a murder mystery fan, but I guess I've always thought of that kind of resentment as mainly the province of disadvantaged youth, a few hardened criminals, and victims of domestic abuse. I've always considered those of us in the over-65 or 70 group forgiving and peaceful. Am I wrong?

Cheryl: Why do some wines get better witgh age while others turn to vinegar? I like to think that as the years have passed I've become more tolerant, mor thoughtful, more patient. For me the things that seemed black and white when I was younger have become various shades of grey. But I've watched others harden with age. They've become more bitter, more bigoted, more defensive than ever. [Read the entire interview] [Read about Marlys]

Interview by Donna Jackson

2007-05-26T09:40:00.000-06:00

The Doc: You once told me that you were surprised by the twists and turns the story took. How so? What were the two most significant surprises?

Cheryl: When I began writing the description of the detective, I found myself putting cowboy boots on him. That was a big surprise. I ended up adding a string tie, western shirt, jeans, leather belt with huge buckle, and a Stetson. In the second book Stan’s character goes to a funeral dressed as Bart Maverick, complete with ruffled shirt. The ironic part of this is that no one in the book itself seems to react to his unusual choice of dress.

The second biggest surprise was deciding to add the detective’s mother as a member of the Senior Center. Once I did that, I wanted to work her into the plot in a significant way. Since one reviewer already mentioned it, I guess nobody will mind if I say that it turns out Stella (the mother) is dating one of the murderers.

The Doc: How did these surprises change the way the story took shape?

Cheryl: Well, having Stella date the stuffy Professor meant that I had to create a way for them to meet, had to imagine what sorts of common interests that they might have. I created a whole secret life for the Professor that probably would not have happened otherwise.

[Read the rest of the interview]

Vignettes on subway riding

2007-05-21T12:50:00.000-06:00

Strangers in Transit
A series of vignettes on the CTA by Cheryl Hagedorn
Published by Gaper's Block

Human Development

A young woman had a book open on her lap. She was writing responses to the second page of a questionnaire. Probably a student. As she got ready to leave, I saw that the title of the book was Human Development. While she has been studying humans in a book, I have been watching three small children travelling with Grandma just across from her. Two of them have been attempting to peel fruit rollups from the backingsheets without taking off their winter gloves. A toddler in a stroller has been sloshing a bottle of juice, not a baby bottle with a nipple, a regular glass bottle, with every jerk of the train. She can't get it near her mouth. Grandma is oblivious to all the children. Maybe she, too, reads books about Human Development. [Read the full article]

Interview with Lonnie Cruse

2007-05-21T09:44:00.000-06:00

LC: Please tell us a bit about your book.

CH: Four elderly pinochle players, (two men, two women) have taken verbal abuse for years -- "Get off your butts and do something besides play cards all day!" They are confronted with a life-altering decision when Jack follows Gordon into the billiards room and whacks him with a pool cue.

Sure, it looks like Gordon fell and hit his head. Senior citizens fall all the time, don't they?

The other card players know different. They make a pact to cover up the murder. Worse, they decide that Jack had the right idea and each comes up with a target. After all, at their age they have nothing to lose. [read the full interview]

[See my blog article on Lonnie and Self-Publishing]

Interview by Kaye Trout

2007-05-20T15:15:00.000-06:00

Kaye: Why do you continue to write?

Cheryl: I enjoy it and to tell the truth, I’m curious about what’s going to happen to the characters. I’ve just finished the second in the Senior Center Murder series and am hard at work on the third. I’m not sure that there will be a fourth. But if there isn’t, I’ve already started a sci-fi sort of book and I have an almost book-length allegory that I want to get back to. Then, when I’m done with fiction and can take a breath, I’ll get back to the biography of Theodora Van Wagenen Ward that I started two years ago. [read full interview]

Interview by Kestrell

2007-05-20T14:55:00.000-06:00

Kestrell: When I first read the description of Park Ridge: A Senior Center Murder at the book site I assumed it was a dark comedy about senior citizens turning the tables on an over-controlling eldercare staff. The book site provides this synopsis of the book: "Four elderly pinochle players at the neighborhood drop-in center decide to whack the overzealous activity boosters." I understand that a number of other people reacted the same way when they first heard the description of your book. Could you suggest why so many people first thought a story that features a murder in a senior citizen center would be rich material for a dark comedy?

Cheryl: Actually, there are five murders. The first is committed in the heat of the moment but the others are plotted out by the pinochle players. One of the reviewers said that the thought of four elderly grandpa and grandma-types sitting around a card table planning on how to kill the people that aggravate them was really funny stuff. That response came as a real surprise to me. [Read the entire interview]

Review by Midwest Book Review

2007-05-20T14:44:00.000-06:00

"Hagedorn does a nice job of recreating daily business at a Senior Center and creating characters who are interesting. Human nature drives her plot, and one can imagine the seething resentments, even in a place that should be completely non-threatening. But there's the rub. Take a seemingly neutral environment and add passion and cruelty, and one has an excellent plot. Hagedorn's own understanding of human nature from years of experience provides the spark, and her writing skills tell the rest of the story. PARK RIDGE is an entertaining whodunit that rates with Agatha Christie and could easily convert to an enticing television movie." [read full review]

Review by Reader Views

2007-05-20T14:40:00.000-06:00

"Cheryl Hagedorn’s “Park Ridge” is a delightful murder mystery. The plot is interesting and not only held my attention but also was extremely funny. The characters are well developed. Jack, Margaret, and Ellie were a senior center’s worst nightmare -- out of control card players, developing a new game, one that’s deadly. The romance between Stan and Teresa was nicely developed without rushing things. I eagerly turned pages to see what the seniors would come up with next. This is an excellent read. I highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers." [read the full review]

Review by Kestrell

2007-05-20T14:27:00.000-06:00

Park Ridge is a very different mystery than the one I was expecting. It is a story full of surprises, but the most notable surprise is that the author chose to create a mystery which goes beyond cardboard cutout characters and instead chose to write a mystery which exposes many of our cultural stereotypes about people over the age of sixty. Park Ridge demonstrates one of the lures of mystery fiction: it's ability to show us how mysterious we can be to one another. As the Chicago area author replied when I asked her if she felt mysteries as a genre offered opportunities for exploring relationships, "[W]hat's more mysterious than relationships?" [full review]