Morgan St. James found her path to mystery writing through her love of fiction and a renewed relationship with her sister, writer and journalist, Phyllice Bradner. “We were both published writers (me with magazine articles, her with journalism) but neither of us had written fiction. We also were not close because she moved to Alaska when she was only twenty and I lived in California. Our mother was the conduit, letting me know what she was up to and vice versa. We would talk on the phone a few times a year and I visited Alaska a few times.
“Then Mom had mini-strokes and Phyllice had to come to California to help sort out how we were going to help Mom. In the process we spent a good deal of time together, relative to what we'd done through the years, and discovered that we really liked each other and we both liked funny mysteries.”
With the rebirth of the two sisters bond, so came The Silver Sisters. While the two were both established journalists and writers, they didn’t yet know how to create a novel. “We didn't know it at the time, but we really had to learn the ins and outs of writing fiction.We worked hard at it, modeling the twins after ourselves to some degree and creating characters reminiscent of our wacky family and friends. Our fans love the goofy names and funny situations our characters find themselves in, as well as our double and triple twist endings.
After many workshops, conferences, etc. we had a publishable novel. "A Corpse in the Soup" was named Best Mystery Audio Book 2007, and it was followed by "Seven Deadly Samovars." We are now completing "Vanishing Act in Vegas" and already know the title of the next one: "Diamonds in the Dumpster."
But these accolades were simply the icing on the cake. “We are now as close as sisters can be. We've become best friends through our writing.” St. James and Bradner have discovered the best of both worlds, all through the magic of writing. In the process of creating new worlds, they have redefined their own.
To learn more about Morgan St. James, visit www.morganstjames-author.com
Be sure to check out: www.silversistersmysteries.com for what the sisters are up to next!
*image via author website
Comments
Thanks so much for shining the spotlight on me. I'm so used to spotlighting others in my Las Vegas Writing Examiner column that it's really neat to be in the glow.
PostScript: We just finished the first draft of "Vanishing Act in Vegas" so we're on track for late 2011.
MORGAN ST. JAMES
Morgan is a dynamo! Looking forward to "Vanishing Act in Vegas"...
Morgan is a force to be reckoned with. Always giving so much of her time and energy to the writing community.
Looking forward to the next book!
Morgan rocks! I don't know how she maintains her non-stop pace. She's really impressive.
I have interviewed Morgan about her writing, and she's fantastic. However, I had not known about how the Silver Sisters actually started writing together until this article. Great interview and showcase of a lovely lady!
Susan Whitfield
www.susanwhitfieldonline.com
I've always thought it would be great to have a writing partner. It's also interesting to see how an author reaches publication. Congratulations on your honors and success. This is a great article. www.dkchristi.com author of Ghost Orchid, a mystery of love, lies and redemption wrapped around a ghost orchid.
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