Curiosity Created the Manuscript by Sarah E. Burr

Hi, I’m Sarah E. Burr, and I’m honored to be here. As a new Writers Who Kill member, I’m beyond excited to start contributing to this blog. I’ve followed this stellar group of authors for years and am continually inspired by their work. I only hope that my articles will add something fun to the blog’s fabulous content.

I still have those “pinch me” moments when I’m introduced as “a mystery author.” As much as I loved reading mysteries as a kid, I never thought I could actually write one. Believe me, I tried. I never made it past Chapter One. In fact, when I dramatically left my career in the healthcare IT industry back in 2016, my goal was to revise a YA adventure fantasy trilogy I’d started writing in college. I took six months off to focus on that body of work while asking myself what I really wanted from life. Spoiler alert: working in healthcare IT wasn’t it.

It turns out that asking myself questions is a significant catalyst for change. They aren’t always big questions. Mostly, they are little inklings, struggling to get attention. Case in point: I remember sitting down in my chair with my laptop one day after a particularly frustrating session with my YA WIP, thinking to myself, “What if I just wrote something completely different?” I needed to step away from that mess of a manuscript and gain perspective on my writing. So, I began toying with a very half-baked idea. Another question, actually: what if a Duchess, who lived in—bear with me—a fantasy, medieval realm, solved a crime?

The answer would reveal itself in ways I never believed possible. After the publication of my first work, a novella called The Ducal Detective, I assumed that would be the end. You know what they say about assumptions? Ha, thankfully, I was wrong. That teasing, initial question would grow into the Court of Mystery series; Book Nine is in the works right now.

The Court of Mystery Series

Once The Ducal Detective was out in the world, I felt in my bones that I was just getting started. It was the first time I’d been passionate about my work, and I couldn’t let that feeling slip away. To complement my writing’s change in direction, I began exploring everything the mystery genre had to offer. During that time, I rediscovered a genre I so loved as a teen: the cozy mystery. I adored the beautiful, welcoming towns, the funny, quirky characters, and the idea that an ordinary person would be willing to risk it all to bring someone to justice. I got lost in these books. My Kindle made it easy; I could download the next-in-series as soon as I read the last page. My trips to the bookstore always ended with armloads of cozies, bought either because I found the title clever or the hook caught my eye. I was obsessed.

It would be a few months before another life-changing question popped into my mind: “Could I write one of these?” The notion stemmed from a trend I’d noticed in the cozy genre; most main characters hated technology. Like, more than my mother hates technology. I read about twenty-some-year-old women forgetting to charge their cell phones or leaving them behind on a daily basis. At the time, I was a twenty-some-year-old woman, and the thought of leaving my phone at home gave me night sweats. It still does. The only time I’m without my phone is when I’m walking the dog, and even then, I have a watch that lets me make calls in case of an emergency. I love technology. I know it’s created many problems in the world, but it’s also done so much to bring us together. The information we have in our hands has revolutionized how we learn…or how an amateur sleuth might solve a crime.

So, back to my question: “Could I write one of these?” Well, I had to try. I wanted to create a character who embraced the wonders of technology, as well as all the bad. Then, Coco Cline, my MC from #FollowMe for Murder, knocked on the door to my imagination and introduced herself to me. We’ve been inseparable ever since. Coco and I are working hard on Book Two in the Trending Topic Mysteries. Although, when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.

Looking back on my writing journey, it’s the questions that have pushed me to create. “What if I did this” or “What if I wrote that?” I’ve never considered myself a curious person, but now, I’m beginning to think otherwise. My curiosity about what I can do inspires every manuscript I write, and it’s such a thrill to witness those questions take flight.

What questions, big or small, have changed the course of your life?

A bit about Writers Who Kill newcomer Sarah: Sarah lives near New York City, where she writes the Trending Topic Mysteries, Glenmyre Whim Mysteries, and the Court of Mystery series. When she’s not writing or reading, Sarah is singing Broadway show tunes, video gaming, or taking walks with her dog, Eevee. You can always find Sarah on social media; connect with her today!