Perception and Timing

Perception and timing are two important things you must take into account when writing, especially when you're writing mysteries like me and the other fabulous ladies here at Killer Fiction. There's a subtle art of misdirection while still giving real clues that must happen or the reader might feel cheated at the end of the book or at a particularly surprising turn in the story. Sometimes this happens in real life and it makes a situation humorous - a combination of events and people that lead to a conclusion that isn't necessarily what you were expecting. I'd like to share a story with you about my brother and my grandma that I think you'll enjoy.

First of all, to understand the story, you have to understand a bit about my grandmother. Grandma Heyse was born in 1909 in Louisiana and started picking cotton when she was four. She died just one week before her 93rd birthday. She was a strong women - the kind they only made back then - widowed in her thirties left with seven kids to support and raise and she did it all on her own. She was an oldest of the old school Southern Baptist and in fact, cleaned God's house for decades until retiring at age 85. Religion was part of Grandma, not just something she believed. She was in church every time the doors were open. She read her Bible every day and never missed a Billy Graham special. And Grandma was the real deal - not a bit of hypocrisy anywhere. If faith was ever going to move a mountain, this was the woman who had the faith to do it. She never drank, never smoked, wouldn't even play Old Maid because she considered it gambling, and didn't cook or sew on Sundays because no work was allowed.

As kids, my brother and I were fairly sure she had a relationship with God so personal that he might just call her directly on a land line and chat. She always seemed to have the answers for everything, including when we were up to something and exactly what it was. And since she lived next door to us our entire life, it was like having a second mother with second sight.

My grandfather died young, and was buried in a cemetary in a secluded wooded section of my hometown in Louisiana. There was no charge for the land or plots. You simply needed to find a spot, bury someone and mark it. Well, as time went by and the cemetary grew more crowded, my grandma began to worry that someone might "get her spot" next to my grandpa, so she decided to pre-purchase her tombstone to save her place. Now the cemetary was really secluded and dark with huge oaks and cypress trees and quite frankly, over the years had become the type of place that women really shouldn't venture to alone. So when my brother was home on leave from the Marine corp, she asked him if he would drive her out to the cemetary so that she could ensure the marker was up and everything was in order.

My brother drove her out to the cemetary and they found my grandfather's grave with grandma's shiny new headstone next to it. My brother stood there, waiting patiently, as Grandma studied the stone. After a minute, she made that "hhhmmmmmpffff" sound that she always made when something had perturbed her and said to my brother, "Well, they got the date wrong."

Now, bear in mind what I just told you about my grandma and her life.

My brother panicked and his first thought was "My God, she knows when she's going to die." It didn't even occur to him that she was talking about her date of birth.

Now, of course, when he was telling this story to my mom and I, we all got a huge charge out of it, but given our lifelong perception of grandma and the perfect timing of that statement delivery, I can totally see where he got that thought. But it doesn't make it any less funny every single time I think of it.

Grandma Heyse passed away in 2002 and I miss her still. My latest release, UNLUCKY, is dedicated to her because she is the strongest woman I've ever known and has been such an inspiration to my my entire life. I wish all women had an example in their lives like my grandma.

Deadly DeLeon