An Interview with Susan Van Kirk By E. B. Davis

When Jill Madison returns to her hometown to become executive director of a new art center, she never would have dreamed unexpected secrets from the past would put her life in danger. When her parents’ old friend, and Jill’s mentor, Judge Ron Spivey, is murdered, he leaves behind more than a few secrets. His baffling will makes Jill a rich woman, if she can survive the six-month probate period.

She finds a target on her back when the judge’s estranged children return and form an unholy alliance with a local muckraking journalist who specializes in making up news. According to the judge’s will, if Jill dies, the family inherits.

Jill and her best friend launch their own investigation, determined to find the judge’s killer. In the meantime, Jill must run her first national juried exhibit, launch a new seniors’ group, and move the weavers’ guild into the art center. Her arch nemesis and art center board president, Ivan Truelove III, watches her every move, determined to remove her if she makes a mistake. And, in between finding dead bodies, Jill may also discover a bit of romance with a newly arrived doctor in town, if she can live to enjoy it.

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It isn’t often that a second book in a series compels my reading more than the first in the series. But I could identify with the internal struggles that main character Jill Madison endures in Death in a Bygone Hue.

The plot contains complications that harken back to the Vietnam War, which brought back memories I’d left behind. In addition, the murder victim was someone we came to know in the first book and who championed the main character. This intimate knowledge of the victim made Jill’s quest for justice meaningful. Too frequently, that element is missing in mysteries—mainly cozy mysteries—because no one wants the victim to be mourned too much. And yet it is this element that makes the story compelling and memorable.                                                                        E. B. Davis

 

How do colors get their names, such as Naples yellow?

That is a huge question. Sometimes it's because of where the colors were first discovered or who discovered them. But references to different color names go clear back to early Greek literature. While the history of color names isn't conclusive, those names are affected by culture, language, and our perception of color. And, over time, color names and actual colors change, just like language. Naples yellow goes back to a Latin fresco treatise written between 1693 and 1700. It first appeared in that writing by Andrea Pozzo, an Italian Jesuit and painter. The term made its way into English in the eighteenth century. (The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair, John Murray Publisher, 2016) This is a huge topic, and this book by St. Clair is fascinating when it comes to learning all about the history of colors.

Remind readers from the last book, what was the second chance Judge Spivey gave Jill?

A couple of situations put Jill in hot water with the art center board. First, she forgot to set the alarm at the building, leaving it open to anyone, and this resulted in the theft of an expensive sculpture made by her award-winning sculptor mother. Second, when a body was found in the basement, the board realized it wasn’t Jill’s fault. But then Jill was found at the scene of another murder. The board members are appalled by bad publicity, and they think Jill should leave murder investigations to the police detective. Her mentor spoke up for her, believed in her, and got the board to give her a second chance. 

What is a juried art exhibit? Who qualifies as a juror?

A juried exhibit is one that utilizes an outside expert to discuss and evaluate artwork. For example, for Jill's exhibit, she contacts a curator, Anthony Arteaga, from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He is an expert in the art of rural and agricultural communities. That would fit perfectly with Jill's exhibit, which has a harvest theme. He attends the exhibit and judges the artwork. This means a juror must be an expert in the type of artworks used in the exhibit, and the juror should be familiar with the show’s media.

Jill keeps three white boards, but none of them hold murder suspects. What does she track on the boards?

She talked the board into buying her three white boards because her job is filled with so many activities. Her white boards keep them straight. Currently, on her white boards are grant writing, social media, exhibit schedule for the next year, partnerships for sponsors, and reception details. In addition, one board has membership drive, check with juror, newsletter, and volunteers. This stresses the variety of jobs Jill must do as executive director, and it also lets the reader know how crazy busy she is with this job.

Why does the legal concept of “residual legacies” provide motivation that could threaten Jill’s life?

This is a legal term. In Illinois, an estate the size of the judge’s requires a six-month probate period. During that time, the executor must pay the debts, funeral expenses, and taxes. After probate ends, the executor distributes legacies or specific items marked as gifts. Everything in the judge’s will is earmarked for people or organizations, including Jill. Because he has named but not given anything to his children, they receive nothing unless Jill dies before the end of the probate period. Then the “residue,” or what she would have received, goes to the children.  Get the picture? Target on her back.

What is the “slayer law?”

This is yet another legal term. If Jill were convicted of the judge’s murder, she would not be eligible to receive anything from his estate nor could she make money, say, writing a book about the victim. Again, the children would get the residual inheritance she would have received.

Does probate have to take six months or is that the average time needed to process the will?

In Illinois, where the story takes place, probate is six months as determined by law.

Why does Jill need emotional balance to paint?

Her painting is a product of her emotions. When she first came back to Apple Grove in Death in a Pale Hue, she couldn’t paint and hadn’t been able to in several years. Her parents had died six years earlier, and that emotionally crippled her thoughts and her painting. But slowly, as she comes to terms with their deaths and finds the love and support of her brothers and town again, she notices the shape of a hand, the light resting on a vase, and the shadows in the trees of her yard. Slowly, slowly her emotional balance begins to return, and she can paint again. The first book centers on “community” and the newest centers on “second chances.”

What is gesso and why are canvases coated with it?

Gesso is a primer, brushed on the canvas and dried before the artist begins painting. It makes the canvas less absorbent and smoother. Otherwise, the paint would be absorbed by the canvas texture. Gesso is made of a combination of chalk, gypsum, binder, and pigment.  

What is Savvy B?

Jill and Angie drink some wines that are widely sold to thirty-somethings in the Midwest. Savvy B is what they call a particular Sauvignon Blanc wine, and it’s very popular. In fact, it’s Jill and Angie’s favorite.

In a weird way, I felt sorry for the judge’s kids. They had been spoiled, but then they were discounted because they were spoiled. Yes, you grow up and get over it, but cutting them out of so much money without anything almost feels spiteful. Why did the judge leave them nothing?

It’s true that they were spoiled growing up. You can tell that from the conversations about their pasts. However, the judge has made this decision based on his children’s bad decisions in their adult years when they are no longer thoughtless teenagers. For years he supported them, but their ingratitude, selfishness, and lack of self-discipline always came shining through. His decision about his will describes the judge’s code of ethics and how his children’s ethics disappointed him.

The judge invested in paintings. I’ve never heard of a fire sprinkler system that sprayed powder. Are these common where valuables are kept?

Our local art center has this system to protect the artwork in the gallery. There are advanced clean agent fire-extinguishing materials out there on the market to safeguard high value assets like rare books, paper documents, archival film and video, antiques, and artworks. If water were used, these valuable objects would be destroyed. These clean agents leave no residue (like on Judge Spivey’s paintings), and they are non-damaging and non-corrosive. Some are gaseous agents that extinguish a fire by depleting the oxygen. They are widely used by museums and archival collections.

Is Death in a Bygone Hue fantasy or is it real? The description of the painting gave me such a visual I wondered.

This painting came from my imagination. Having lived through that time, I have vivid memories of photographs both from the news and in books. I created a painting that would be a reminder of that war, but it would also be cloaked in sepia tones that made it seem like a long-ago dream. As Jill describes it, “It was about the years that chip away at human memory, forgetting the thousands of lives lost on both sides of the conflict. A filmy curtain covers the entire scene, taking away our memories of the details and statistics. It was about the irony of what time does to sacrifice. A reminder our lives and deaths were such a small slice of the continuum of time.” For those of us who lived through that time, it’s a part of who we are. And in this story, it’s a reminder that the judge, who had been in Vietnam, bought this painting because he either wanted to be reminded or he couldn’t forget.

The judge had asked Jill to find him a forensic art examiner for appraising his paintings—or at least one of them. Why does Jill think Death in a Bygone Hue might be a forgery?

Jill has a lot of experience with art materials and the history of paint colors. She did a job where she learned about tests used for authenticity. So, she is suspicious of the paints used in this particular painting. As it turns out, the signature of the artist is also something that gives her pause. What kind of paints were used and were they available or typical of the artist’s work? Are there multiple layers of paint or the use of a canvas or frame that post-dates the artist or the artwork?

Is the IAAF real?

No. I made up this appraisal organization for the book. However, I based it on such a group in Palm Desert, California, called the National Institute of Appraisers. They both appraise and authenticate artwork for insurance, divorce, bankruptcy, collateral, and estate probate among other things. I also had to research the techniques they use to do their work so Jill could speak about it with authority. However, I moved my IAAF group to Chicago so it would be easier to transport the judge’s paintings for authentication.

It’s ironic that newspaper editor Jezbhel Gushman brings up the subject of journalistic integrity.  Have today’s journalists forgotten why the press was deemed “the fourth estate?”

Some of them for sure. I based this journalist on someone I know who used to be the editor of a newspaper. Integrity was not her key characteristic. Innuendo and rumor peppered her work, but not so specifically that she could be sued. I often had the same reaction as Jill when I found myself in her crosshairs. Ironically, some of the least honest journalists are the ones who write about integrity the most. Fortunately, they are not all like that. But this particular editor puts pressure on Jill, helping to form a bad opinion of her in the minds of the townspeople.

When the IAAF determines that Death in a Bygone Hue is a forgery, why do they call in the FBI?

The FBI has a special unit that investigates art fraud and theft. Both comprise the third highest-grossing criminal trade in the world in the last forty years. It’s a six-billion-dollar industry worldwide. The FBI assembled a special team that has recovered billions of dollars in stolen art. Money laundering is one of the biggest scams because it’s an unregulated market. Its lack of transparency or regulations on art transactions make it a target-rich environment for thieves and forgers.

Is there sales tax charged on painting sales?

Yes, unless it is an illegal transaction as explained above.

Poor Sam, the emergency room physician. He insists that Jill have no more investigations. He won’t be “the one” for her, will he?

That remains to be seen. They are still in the glow of just getting to know each other. He’s worried, after several incidents, that she’s dealing in dangerous investigations that her brother, the detective, should be investigating. She isn’t a detective. He’s looking out for her well-being. Her brother Tom does this too much. Suppose she will notice the similarity?

What’s next for Jill?

This is the preliminary work-in-progress thought, but as always, I reserve the right to make changes in this third maybe-plot.

Jill Madison decides to liven things up at the art center by staging a radio show of Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost” by the senior group. The opening of an art exhibit that features ghosts will accompany the big event. The theme of Wilde’s novella is forgiveness and redemption. Strangely, odd things begin to occur at the art center and rumors spread that there is a ghost haunting the building.

Meanwhile, the young man who killed the Madison family’s parents in a DUI accident returns from prison, determined to make a new home in the town. He has done his time, become involved heavily in AA, and been sober. When Andy Madison threatens him at Wiley and Angie’s bar, the unfortunate felon is soon murdered, and Andy is the number one suspect. Jill cannot let Andy go to prison for a murder he didn’t commit. You know where that leads…