Meet Ms. Schuster McCoy, Ph.D.
Smart, Determined, and Freezing Her Tail Off — The Protagonist in My Next Mystery
This is one possible cover for the book we are exploring.
Fellow readers often tell me that now that I am focusing on writing novels, the next one should be a sequel to Doppelganger. The idea is that readers who enjoyed the first book will want to read the second one. This makes enormous sense. I wish I could cooperate. The problem is I am terrible at this sort of thing because my ideas seem to emerge from someplace over which I have no control. They are scattered like my laundry used to be when I was a bachelor, which is to say all over and without reason, if clothes can be unreasonable. I also began writing White Out before I completed Doppelganger so it’s just closer to being ready for prime time. Thus, whether we like it or not, the next novel out of the chute won’t be Doppelganger II (not yet), but White Out.
This isn't all bad news, I hope. Because White Out, like Doppelgänger, IS a murder mystery. It’s just that it happens to be set in the wilds of the Arctic Circle rather than the wilds of the future. Both are unpredictable and dangerous places … where mysteries can unfold, and secrets revealed.
The idea for White Out came to me after I visited Barrow, Alaska (now known as Utqiagvik - UT-KEE-AG-VICK) when researching my most recent non-fiction book, Immortality, Inc., published by National Geographic a couple of year back now. Utqiagvik is the northern most human habitation in the United States, so thoroughly embedded into the arctic circle that there is nothing between it and the North Pole, except the wild waters of the Arctic Ocean.
The town is simultaneously one of the ugliest places I have ever seen and one of the most arresting. It locked itself into my brain when I visited and I have never gotten it out. As I walked it streets and roamed its wind-whipped beaches along the Beaufort Sea, the town kept telling me this was a place for stories and mystery. Luckily, I already had a protagonist in mind before before I had even visited — a tough, smart and witty woman partially inspired by my second daughter Hannah (who also happens to be a great lover of mysteries).
The name of the character is Schuster McCoy. Her names came to me after the Pittsburgh Steelers hired a wide receiver with the same nomenclature. McCoy came from my great-grandmother born and raised on the wild plains of Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Her name was Molly McKid. (I might still keep that name in the book, but for some reason McCoy feels right to me.)
Despite her Scottish name, Schuster is mostly of Inupiat heritage. The Inupiat are the ancient native peoples of Alaska's North Slope. They’ve been living and hunting in some of the planet’s most inhospitable lands for thousands of years. They are a unique race, and Schuster is deeply connected to her native roots.
Schuster is not your run of the mill detective. In fact, she's not a detective at all. She's a trained evolutionary psychologist with a doctorate from Stanford, but, unfortunately, defrocked. Why Schuster is defrocked and how she finds herself solving murders in Alaska's tundra is something you’ll learn when you read the book.
In case you're wondering what an evolutionary psychologist does in the real world, you only have to hear Schuster’s description in the novel.
"Well,” said Schuster as she bit her upper lip for a moment, “The dictionary definition is, ‘a theoretical approach in the social and natural sciences that argues that much of modern human behavior is the result of psychological adaptations evolved long ago to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments.’” She pulled her gloves and heavy cap off and dropped them on the table. “But really, it’s just about what makes us tick; you know, why do we do and think and feel the strange things we do. Like trying to comprehend the behavior of a couple of Neanderthals like you."
That tells you a little bit about Schuster. She’s a good woman, but you wouldn’t want to get on her wrong side. Look for more insights about the novel as I continue working. A solid first draft is complete. Now I’m filling in the research, filing away unneeded words while adding more authenticity and flesh on the narrative bones, After all, we want the book to deliver more than a solid plot, even though this is a murder mystery. We want full blooded characters that pull you in and keep you plastered to the page. We want you to care. That's my primary job. And I'll keep working at it and hope you'll look forward to reading it once I’ve got all the words in the right order. In the meantime, Doppelgänger II is simmering on the back burner.
This post is part of an ongoing series about the creation of my next novel, currently titled White Out. From early inspirations and research travels to character development and plot twists, I’m sharing the journey as it unfolds. Read the entire White Out creative series here. To get future installments delivered straight to your inbox, join my newsletter.