Plotting Murder

When I set out to write Redwood, the idea that an angry ghost was going to unleash her wrath upon the vineyard and its inhabitants was easy enough to wrap my mind around–ghosts do have unusual abilities. The concept had my full buy-in until that is, I realized in order to have a ghost I also had to write the death of my treasured Autumn.

I had to “kill my darling” to borrow a line from the master–Stephen King. My Autumn was beautiful and in the prime of her youth, but she had her faults as well. For those of you who’ve read Redwood, you are aware that she is highly critical of her husband, a man she married out of family duty, not love. Autumn is self-absorbed as well, but neither of these two character traits could ever justify murder and that is why her death is so tragic. I love a good ghost story, where one’s imagination steers their fright and fear of the creaking door, the moving shadow, and the imagined whispers piercing one’s ears. I’m not a fan of gore so my Autumn would die, but not by an act of overt violence. The year is 1913, and therefore, I decided the murder weapon needed to fit the time period and in my mind, poison seemed to be the perfect weapon. I researched poisonous concoctions, but I decided that sipping tea was too obvious. I decided the consumption of a berry, herb, or some other naturally growing food source was perfect. I researched native, poisonous plants and came across Autumn Galerina, a deadly mushroom that just happened to grow in the area of Redwood’s vineyard. The name was pure luck. And so I delved into my murderer’s mind as he plotted Autumn’s consumption of the poison. The poisoning would take place during a simple dinner marked by random conversation.You can imagine the two of them sitting at opposite ends of the table while James watches, with anxious anticipation, his new bride consuming the chopped mushrooms he had sprinkled into her stew and salad.

This mushroom’s poison attacks the organs. It causes an immediate case of intense diarrhea. The victim falls into an eventual coma after appearing to make a brief recovery before death. Nothing pleasant, but the timeline assured I could gather Autumn’s family around her to keep a deathbed vigil. The scenes provided me an opportunity to delve into James’ psyche a bit more as he struggled with slight eruptions of sadness and guilt. It allowed me to bring Autumn’s parents into the story line as they had pushed her into the doomed marriage. The scene of Autumn’s death is personal. I took on the grief of each of my characters. I drew on my personal, parental experience of dealing with anxiety and heartbreak while sitting at the bedside of a sick child and worrying about life and healing and the unimaginable while holding onto my faith in God to heal. Each time I reread the scene I would feel physically ill and it is this feeling that convinced me the scene was spot on correct. It would be nearly a year later that I would experience a role reversal and spend nearly two-weeks at the bedside of my mother as she fought a losing battle with cancer, clinging to my rosary for strength and eventual acceptance as she slipped into heaven surrounded by her loved-ones. And so, with this scene, Autumn’s new life began, easing some of the sadness in having to write her demise. Autumn has now awakened and awaits for you to join her inside Redwood.