MORE REVEALED IN ND 17 MYSTERY

One cool thing about writing mysteries is that sometimes they’re real! In ND 17, Nancy solves a few mysteries that co-writer Stefan Petrucha and I made up. But the biggest puzzle in the plot, the one that Nancy almost pays the ultimate price to solve has to do with an ancient technological wonder, called the Antikythera device. It’s pretty easy to get caught up in the speculation about what kind of brilliant mind could create what was touted “the first computer ” 2000 years ago. Nancy and I were hooked.

Figuring out exactly how to end this story was kind of the opposite of a deus ex machina in which a convenient device arrives at the end to explain all kinds of loose plot ends. Instead, time consuming research and even math (!) was needed to come up with a plot that brought Nancy to a very specific ending. It was sometimes necessary to do a little writing backwards (which I don’t recommend!!). For those of you who aren’t caught up on your reading and haven’t gotten to Nancy Drew, issue 17, I won’t give away the ending. But the denouement, thanks to the art of Sho Murase, was spectacular. Thanks, Sho!

Newsflash! We just got news that the Antikythera device is even older than we thought.

Here’s the link so you can stay up-to-date on the discovery.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jul/29/archaeology-astronomy

Wanna be a detective!

A fan recently wrote and asked if we ever wanted to be detectives — (uh, I guess because of all those girl sleuth stories we write). I remembered  watching the classic noir detectives and the thrill of figuring out whodunit before Spade or Marlowe and while Nancy Drew isn’t quite so hard boiled, she always gets her perp. I love that! I couldn’t really think of any detective stories where the mystery is NOT solved (Citizen Kane doesn’t count). So, maybe I DO want to be a detective and while I admit to having trouble keeping up with House (the diagnostician), I love the challenge of solving a good mystery.

This fan letter also reminded me of the fun coming up at the Book Expo at the end of May in NYC. I love librarians!! Looking forward to meeting fans and  signing books!

Sarah Kinney invites you to chat

Sarah Kinney, girl graphic novel writer here! I spend a LOT of time on the computer writing the Nancy Drew Graphic Novels. Since I’m not a total criminal mastermind, myself, I also have to Google a lot of stuff that bad guys (and gals) probably already know about how to commit certain crimes. I also cruise the net for pictures to help artist, Sho Murase draw what I’m talking about and work her ND magic.

Number 18: The City Under the Basement, got me Googling like crazy. I wanted the underground city’s mystery to be something pretty spectacular, so I went a little overboard investigating ancient scientific innovations. Writing Nancy Drew gets me investigating myself, and learning about all kinds of things. Some of these facts and figures never make it into the stories because they just don’t fit or in the case of City, they’re astronomical equations that make my head spin! Like some other investigators, I guess I can get a little obsessed.

Something I don’t spend a lot of time doing, though, is blogging. This is a very cool, new experience. Can’t wait to hear from ND readers! Stefan Petrucha and I are excited about the chance to respond to comments, questions and general Nancy Drew-ism. So, write soon!