Murder Mystery Mystique

After one murder mystery having been published and one about to be published, I was interested in many of the reviews I have received about Evil in the Mirror, my first novel. There seems to be a morbid fascination among murder mystery readers concerning the graphic details of the act of murder. OK, so what's the problem?

Well, if readers are morbidly fascinated, what about the author? Crap, I really didn't want to self-analyze, but it's a compelling question. Am I a really sick puppy like the readers have expressed concerning my book?

Determined to find the answer, I started with the basics. What does the Wikipedia encyclopedia have to say about the subject? Click on the title of this blog and see for yourself. I read the whole explanation as to what murder is and how it is dealt with in society. Some interesting facts, but as a whole, not anything surprising. Murder is a bad thing and if you commit it, you will suffer society's wrath.

It is obvious I must dig deeper. Are murder mystery writers sicko in the heado? Don't worry, I am not going into Freudian theories about sex being the cause of all human ills, whether true or not. I am only going to dig into my pea-picking brain and see what pops out.

Let me see; I am a loving husband and father, I love animals and would never abuse one, which is the first sign of a true sicko. I treat others as I would like to be treated, I obey the laws of the land, I don't lie (maybe only withhold incriminating information is all), and I believe in my vision of God. Don't you think the above statements are normal human behaviors? I do.

If I am normal, where do all the ideas come from when I am writing murder mysteries? Enter my wife's explanation. She simple says, "It is called imagination!" Come to think of it, I have always had a vivid imagination. So vivid, in fact, that as a young person I would get in trouble for daydreaming in classrooms, or when girls were rejecting me, and when my parents would try to scold me. I still daydream when my wife is talking to me sometimes, which is a much more serious situation than when I was young.

Final analyses? I am normal, folks! The sickness must be in the minds of the people who read murder mysteries, not the writers. I can only hope the illness becomes a worldwide epidemic!

I'm just saying,

Mittster

The Magic of Bisbee

Yes, I have done my share of prospecting. I've dry panned for gold around Ruby, used flotation dredges in Lynx Creek , and even managed some nugget shooting in Quartzsite. But, the one place I have never prospected is the Bisbee area of southeastern Arizona.

I really don't know why, except that I always ended up there on a Harley or in a car visiting the old mining town and finding myself enjoying stepping back into time and history. Bisbee is on the same level as some of the great old mining towns of Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico and a heck of a lot closer to visit.

The Bisbee Blue turquoise found in the area is truly beautiful and there are many shops in town that sell jewelry with Bisbee Blue featured, and you can buy samples of most minerals found in the area. It's a wonderful place to shop till you drop, or just relax with a great meal and beverage. Artists and craftspeople who live in Bisbee offer an amazing array of items unique to the area. There are also plenty of quaint B&Bs and motels if you want to spend the night and you will want to spend the night, because one day doesn't cut it. You can't see everything in just one day. Please don't miss the underground mine tour on an old ore train it's fantastic!

Make sure you bring a camera. You are going to want to take pictures because the scenery is awesome, and while you're traveling to Bisbee, you might as well stop in Tombstone, "The town too tough to die!" It's right on the way and also a great place to visit.

I'm sure you must be thinking I work for Arizona tourism interests, but you would be wrong. I was born in Arizona and just flat love the place. I could write about Arizona's wonders full time, but I need to get back to my real job writing murder mysteries that will scare your pants off!

Write on,

Mittster

From There to Here

The newest hobby my ex-Navy daughter has taken up is cooking from scratch while trying to juggle a full-time job and full-time studies at Northern Arizona University.

After a twelve-year stint in the Navy, which included a tour in Iraq, she is close to a college degree. When she left the service and joined her stepmother and me here in Camp Verde, Arizona, she had enough credits for most degrees, but unfortunately they were not the specific ones necessary. It is hard to take the proper classes when you are traveling around the world in a nuclear submarine tender and then on a nuclear aircraft carrier.


The positive side from my perspective is all the homemade food my wife and I get to enjoy because we have a ready- made chef less than a block away. There have been some disasters, but they are rare indeed. We discreetly dispose of failures while praising the triumphs.

I really don't know what we are going to do once she graduates and moves away into her future. We are really quite spoiled, you know. Perhaps a diet to start? Oh well, in the meantime; yum, can you bring more Cornish game hens, or how about some more biscuits? "Don't forget the mac and cheese," my wife calls out over my shoulder. And, I get the last word with; "cream cheese filled tarts would be nice."















After leaving for the walk back to her house, she is probably thinking, "Good grief, chief, what kind of food monsters have I created?"

I'm just saying,

Mittster

Day Stalker

The rough draft is finally complete! Day Stalker will be published by Wheatmark and should be released into the wild by January.

If you liked Evil in the Mirror, you are going to love this one....

Tucson, Arizona, is held in the grip of fear and horror as an out of control cocaine addict desperate for money continues to terrorize and murder with impunity in the Catalina Foothills. Detective’s Jon Mull and Manny Gonzalez are back on the job and hot on the trail of a most elusive and dangerous killer.

Things go from bad to desperate when both detectives realize they are close to losing more than just the capture of the foothills murderer. It’s personal now, and they must find this depraved madman before he kills again.

Mitt Winstead’s second novel will keep you spellbound and relentlessly turning pages as you take a journey into the mind of the terrifying killer called—Day Stalker.

Beldar For President

I was watching the movie Coneheads the other night and noticed some obvious comparisons to the onslaught of unsolicited political messages on our phone 24/7. In today's world, I don't equate these repetitious, nauseating, disruptive and insanely loud calls as part of the democratic system. Politicians who use this kind of campaigning grab me by the base of my snarglies!

I think all politicians who use deceptive, cruel, demeaning and heartless advertisement should have to Narfle the Garthok. No golf clubs of any kind will be allowed in the arena. No longer will a politician be able to ask, "May I have 55,000 words with you?" Instead, said politicians shall pee their pants and speak in tongues at the sight of the Garthok. Trust me, my tired and yearning fellow Americans, the obnoxious politicians as we know them will be gone for ever more. You do not want to face the Garthok!

While watching the movie, another thought came to me. Beldar and Prymatt are the perfect couple to be President and First Lady. They are undocumented aliens and no Conehead has ever been president. Instead of the annual Easter egg hunt, we could have the annual toss the ring around the cone spectacle. All the little kiddies could throw rings at the President and First Lady's heads. What better way to stay in touch with the people who elected them in the first place than Conehead children having fun? In the movie, ring tossing around one's cone was sexual in nature, but in real life and on the East Lawn, Beldar and Prymatt would have to control themselves.


One line from the movie really sicks out (no pun intended). Otto asks Beldar if he has any more of the gum he is chewing. Beldar answers, "Certainly," and hands him a wrapped condom. That's how I feel every time a politician tries to tell me what he or she is going to do to help the economy and fix our political system.


Here is the real deal...everyone needs to vote in November. It's time to be heard and the only way is to vote the incumbents out of office. Especially the career, free-loading, ass-wipe, good old boys who hide behind legislation that enables them to have perks the rest of us working (if you're lucky enough to have a job) stiffs will never have!


I'm just saying,


Mittster