If you’ve been following the story behind this series, you may remember that I wrote Old Habits Die Hard on behalf of my dear friend Mariana Damon, who I met at the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival in 2004. After she moved to memory care, another member of our writing group and I visited her in 2022 and during our time with her in Portland, she shared her idea for a murder mystery. Marni and I helped Mariana flesh out the setting, a short cast of characters, and the dramatic opening scene. Before flying home, I told Marni it was a shame she’d never be able to develop the story since her condition prohibited it. “But we should write it for her!” Marni and I jotted down what we could recall and went our separate ways.
A year later between projects, I came across the little notebook where I’d written those notes and decided to take a crack at “Murder in the Abbey.” Old Habits Die Hard was born. By the time I finished the manuscript, I’d grown very fond of the characters in Old Habits Die Hard and thought if someone wanted me to write another mystery with Bernie and AJ, maybe I could come up with something. (It’s every writer’s fantasy for a publisher to ask for a sequel.) As it happens, writing a mystery’s easy compared to thinking of another situation that would pull Bernie and AJ together again. It’s tricky to bring a retired nun into an investigation with my Gen-Z detective, but what if I came at the story from AJ’s perspective? Where might he go and run into Bernie?
AJ’s a nerd, I could place him at a comic con! But why would Bernie show up at a comic con? She could be in the same city on vacation with a friend…and while away from home, her friend goes missing and she asks AJ to help find them! AHA! I could call this book A Regular Habit because they keep working together…
Once the idea hit me, I was itching to start writing a sequel but not wanting to put the cart before the horse, I sent query letters to agents and publishers pitching Old Habits Die Hard. The replies taught me two valuable pieces of information: a person cannot simply write a book and add someone’s name as the co-author without a copyright agreement AND publishers aren’t buying stand-alone murder mysteries. I heard it again and again: “This has to be a series. You need at least three books.”
Talk about biting off more than I can chew! But I had a good idea for a second book, and I could always come up with that third idea later, right? I outlined my pitch for book 2 and Dawn Dowdle, the agent who signed me, told me to start writing book two IMMEDIATELY. With barely a gasp of air, I launched myself at this story about a retired nun going to Seattle to meet her bestie for a fun weekend and discovering her friend has gone missing. I was so proud of the scene when AJ runs into her in the hotel lobby and agrees to help search for Sister Eleanor. I was nearly 2/3 finished with a first draft when Dawn informed me characters cannot travel in book 2. “Can you rewrite it so they’re back at The Abbey?”
I understood (sort of). The Abbey’s awesome, and fans want to see them again, but the comic con and hotel were too critical to my plot, the story was impossible to write in Eugene. “Can I swap the order and write a new book two?”
Yes, but book two had to take place in The Abbey, in Eugene.
I put A Regular Habit on the back burner and began writing Dropped Like a Bad Habit (where I admittedly got carried away murdering victims). By the time Bernie and AJ meet up out of town in book 3, so much more has happened and their relationship needed to reflect it. I included scenes so fans can see what’s going on with the gang back in Eugene, but I hope readers are amenable to this new adventure set in Seattle.
Oh, and as you probably guessed by now, the wise people at Tule Publishing retitled A Regular Habit to sound more sinister, hence A Fatal Habit. A nun and a bounty hunter walk into a bar…then another nun and a detective start looking for them. Plus, the setting’s crowded with vampires and monsters, a mysterious notebook, a former classmate of AJ’s, and a foot chase through a huge convention center as AJ helps Bernie figure out what happened to Sister Eleanor. Why did she meet someone dressed like Boba Fett just before her disappearance? Who would want to kill a sweet, retired nun from the UP? Is her death connected to the comic con? To the bounty hunter from Kamino? Can Bernie and AJ solve her murder before time runs out?
The links below will guide your way to answering those questions!
And I’m glad to report I wrote book 4 IN ORDER!
About the Author
Melissa Westemeier grew up around the edge of nerd culture, but marriage and motherhood with three sons immersed her in it. She’s fluent in Marvel, DC, Dr. Who, Star Wars, Godzilla, and more thanks to their influence. Her fiction work includes rom-com and a trilogy loosely based on her experience tending bar on the Wolf River in Wisconsin. She’s thrilled to realize her childhood dream of writing murder mysteries. Her books blend her humor and appreciation for nerd culture while tackling serious themes and unpacking the puzzle of whodunnit (and how and why!). In her spare time, Melissa needs to be outside or near a window. Her passions include hiking, swimming, biking, reading, and fantasizing about her next vacation destination.
