"Writing a mystery novel is like writing two stories at once," says author Joan Lowery Nixon. "The main character has a problem - or maybe it's a good friend's problem - and she must solve it. And at the same time she becomes involved in a mystery and must solve that, too. It's the author's job to take these two story lines, intertwine them, and make them both come together at the end of the book."
Nixon says she cannot recall when reading and writing mystery stories were not an integral part of her life. With a background in journalism (a B.A. from the University of Southern California) and education (an elementary teaching certificate), she has used her skill in writing as well as teaching the craft.The author has traveled widely with her geologist husband, Hershell, and lived in California and several other states before settling in Texas.
"Writing mysteries is something like working a puzzle backwards, since I have to know how the mystery will end before I begin to put in all the pieces."
These puzzle pieces and ideas for story plots come from a variety of sources. Two of her children inspired her first book, "The Mystery of Hurricane Castle" published in 1964.
More than 50 books later, with plots coming from news stories or true incidents, Nixon still finds the mystery genre appealing because of the element of deduction involved in each. Additional research adds spice to the writing, such as understanding the possibility of an out-of-world experience for "The Seance" and learning how magic tricks are performed for "A Deadly Game of Magic."
Following is a partial list of Joan Lowery Nixon's awards and books, which range from easy readers to young-adult fiction:
"The April Fool Mystery" (grades 1-3).
"The Alligator Under the Bed" (grades 1-3) (Winner of Texas Institute of Letters for the best children's book of 1974).
"The Boy Who Couldn't Find Anything" (grades 1-3).
"A Deadly Game of Magic" (grade 6 and up).
"The Easter Mystery" (grades 1-3)
"The Ghosts of Now: A Novel of Psychological Suspense" (grade 7 and up).
"The Halloween Mystery" (grades 1-3).
"The Happy Birthday Mystery" (grades 1-3).
"The House on Hackman's Hill" (grades 1-3).
"The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore" (Winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, 1979) (grades 7 and up).
"The Mysterious Prowler" (grades 1-3).
"The Mysterious Red Tape Gang" (Winner of an Edgar Scroll from the Mystery Writers of America in 1975) (grades 6 and up).
"Mystery of the Secret Stowaway" (grades 4-6).
"Oil and Gas" (in collaboration with her husband) (grades 5 and up).
"The Other Side of Dark" (Winner, Utah Young Adult book Award, 1991) (grades 7 and up).
"The Seance" (grades 7 and up). (Winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, 1980).
"The Stalker" (grades 7 and up)
"The Thanksgiving Mystery" (grades 1-3).
"The Valentine Mystery" (grades 1-3).
"Volcanoes, Glaciers, Earthquakes" (Certificate of Honor from National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council) (grades 4-8).
- Marilou Sorensen is an associate professor of education at the University of Utah specializing in children's literature.