Snooping around

What can you learn about someone from a half-eaten tuna sandwich or their radio station pre-sets? Lots.

As someone who is forever rummaging through my characters' refrigerators, glove compartments, pockets and closets, I was intrigued when friend and blogger Alison Stevens reviewed a book all about the subject, Snoop: what your stuff says about you, and interviewed author Sam Gosling. Today I'm participating in Alison's Super Snooper Blogfest with a little scene snipped (or snooped) from my work in progress, Death Over Easy.

Even before she winds up in the middle of murder, amateur sleuth Emma Trace is a collector of details. What she writes down in the notebook that she takes everywhere in her "I Love Libraries" tote, combined with her memories and associations about the people in her town, bring the murderer down. Would you expect anything less from someone who played Harriet the Spy in the library stacks as a child?

You should be able to learn a few things about Emma's employer, Able Editing, from her observations at the beginning of the book.

One of the perks of being a freelancer is that I can work at home. Every time I stop in at Able, I am very glad of this fact. The room is paneled in fake knotty pine à la 1950’s suburbia. To the right of the door, four sunken plaid chairs face each other over a kidney-shaped coffee table. A dusty fake ficus mopes in the corner. To the left of the door is a water cooler and another ficus, this one covered in Christmas lights from last year.

A vomit-colored counter dissects the room from left to right, separating the reception area from the work space. Behind the counter sits a massive oak desk that looks like it’s been gnawed by beavers, and on it is a typewriter that is actually used on a daily basis. Old steel file cabinets line the walls. Every surface, including the floor, is piled high with file folders and open reference books. A large sign on the back wall reads, Is There Life After Death? Trespass Here And Find Out.

Inez Lipschitz, the office manager, was on the phone when I got there. It would be more accurate to say she was in it, as she was wrapped in yards of curly cord that wound around lamps and chair legs, book stacks and coat racks, before making two or three journeys around her waist. She walked back and forth in a small clearing behind the desk, making rapid clicky taps with her pumps. When she saw me, her eyes got round and she held up one finger to indicate she’d be right with me.

I pushed my envelope across the counter and studied a small notice that said Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

Where do you like to snoop to find out about your characters?

Stop by Alison's today for more Super Snoopers.

On Monday, March 7,
join us for another
scintillating
Three for Tea!