Graham Quartet Interview

Good morning FFFs,

I'm in a hurry this morning since I'm late, so I'm going to just give you a few highlights from the week. Not that the week was extraordinary. ;)

Monday– I got the proof copy for "By Paths Unknown" and I wrote a short Memorial Day story. I was going to post it today, but since I was giving it away so much I decided you'd probably already read it. If not, you can get it for free if you ask me.

Wednesday– Microsoft Word decided that I had to verify my account in order for me to use it. Only it wouldn't let me verify it. It kept telling me my password wasn't valid, then, when I went to change it, that my username didn't match any account. :( Bother! I spent over an hour trying to get it to work, I chatted with someone, and finally I contacted the seller. Still waiting to hear back. Maybe today? 

Thursday – I watched the Scripp's National Spelling Bee! Wow!!!! I hadn't watched all the spelling bee since I had other things to do, but I watched all the finals last night. They started out with 16 kids and the first round not one missed. That was a record. Slowly, very slowly we lost a few. Then they were down to 8 spellers. Two rounds later we still had 8 spellers. They were told that they were going to have 3 more rounds (that's 3 more words each) and any who were still there after the 20th round would be declared co-champions. They all got their first words. And then their 2nd. On the final round the first one spelled and won! The second came up, got her word and said, "Give me the definition, I beg of you!!!" It was what she thought, and she got it right and won! So did the next speller, and the next. One had no idea how to spell the word but gave it his best shot and got it right! Just after midnight, their time, the final 8th speller won Co-Champion. All 8 had done it!!!! It was the first time in history that they had 8 winners!!! It was late, but it was sure fun to watch!

I was reminded of this interview yesterday and realized that some of you might enjoy reading it. I considered putting it into two posts, but it's a pretty quick read, and I had just sent it to some readers. I should have not sent it. ;) Oh, well. Enjoy!

Graham Quartet Interview

    The day was overcast, and a chilly wind was blowing. Though spring was coming, it hadn’t quite reached the northern woods of Minnesota as it had in my home state of Missouri, and the fire crackling brightly in the fireplace was very welcome. I had asked for an interview with the Graham Quartet and was finally able to make my schedule work with theirs. The morning had been lovely. They had taken me to their cabin in the woods, and then we drove to town and had lunch at their favorite diner. Now we were sitting together about the fire and I was ready to ask questions.

    Here is the transcription of the interview with a few added notes.

Author: First off, I just want to thank you four for letting me come up and do this interview. I’m sure my readers will enjoy it. (Four smiling faces nod at me.) I have a few questions, so let’s get started. Do all of you enjoy solving mysteries?

Matt: I think so. (He looks around at the others who nod.) I’ve never heard complaints about it.

Elsa: Sometimes it can be a bit of a challenge when you have other things going on too, but it is just so satisfying when you can bring a mystery to a close.

Author: What would you say was your favorite part of the mystery with the Day Maid? Now, just remember, my readers haven’t read the story yet, so don’t give anything away that might spoil it.

Tim: The ice cream, for sure!

(A general laugh followed that answer, and Matt said, “You’re always interested in food.”

Tim grinned and replied, “Hey, I’m a growing boy. Besides, you’ve got to admit that those ice cream sundaes were the best you’ve had.”

“Maybe,” Matt agreed. “I don’t know if they were the best, but they were good.”)

Author: Okay, now that we’ve established the fact that the ice cream sundaes were really good, was there any other favorite thing? Elsa? Matt? Selena?

Elsa: I think I would say just being on the beach and by the lake so much was probably my favorite thing. It was all so different than what we are used to here. (She turned her head and looked out at the trees which had the tiniest of green leaves on their branches.)

Matt: You know, that’s rather a hard question. I don’t want to tell anything to spoil the story, but I really enjoyed getting to know Lieutenant Ashwood. (He turned to his younger sister. “Your turn, Selena.”)

Selena: I don’t know. I really liked the beach, but getting to see a real lighthouse . . . (Her words died away as she shrugged.)

Author: Let’s talk a few minutes about your case up here in the winter with Guy Fox. Was there something you all learned that you hadn’t really thought of before?

Matt: One thing that I learned was not to discount any scrap of information. Some things, such as what a person is wearing, may seem insignificant, but in the end it may be of great importance.

Tim: You’ve got to be ready with a quick answer for anyone. I mean someone might start asking some nosy questions that you shouldn’t answer, but if you don’t, you know they’re going to get suspicious.

Author: That’s a good point, Tim, and brings up another question. Which one of you is the fastest at warding off those inquisitive questions?

Elsa, Matt, Tim: Selena.

Matt: She’s pretty quiet most of the time, but (He grinned at the girl curled up on the couch near Elsa.) when the need arises, she can give an answer before I’ve fully comprehended the question.

Author: Is it true that Tim asks the most questions?

Graham Quartet: Yes!

Elsa: Mom said he started asking questions when he was really young, and he hasn’t stopped yet.

Matt: And I don’t think he’s going to stop any time soon.

Author: If some of my readers were wanting to get started on solving mysteries, what tips would you give them? Tim, let’s start with you and just go around the room.

Tim: That’s easy, ask lots of questions about everything. But try not to be too direct if you’re trying to get information about a secret thing.

Selena: Always have someone to work with, so you can talk things over and share ideas. And make sure you pray about it too.

Elsa: Yes, prayer is a must. We might have given up the last case if we hadn’t taken the time to pray. Another thing would be to practice noticing details. Teach yourself to remember what someone was wearing, what someone said, or which direction they went. Notice anything and everything.

Matt: Now what am I supposed to add to all that? Hmm, well, learning Morse Code can be very helpful. And, like Selena mentioned, never go out to investigate on your own. It’s too easy to become discouraged or get into trouble when you’re by yourself.

Author: Those are some great tips. Thanks for sharing. Now, I do have a few random questions that some of my readers have suggested. Which one of you four is the tallest?

Matt: Tim.

Author: Really? Was he the tallest in the winter case?

Elsa: No, he was about my height, but he grew over the summer and is now just barely taller than Matt.

(Tim’s grin and look of satisfaction made me want to see for myself. I asked both boys to take their shoes off and stand back to back so I could see. Sure enough, Tim was about a quartet of an inch taller than his older brother.)

Author: Well, Tim, if you keep growing, are you still going to be able to fit through those small windows?”

Tim: I don’t see why not. It’s not like I’m getting fat or anything; if anything, I’m getting skinnier.

Matt: If the need arises, I can always give his feet a shove to get him the rest of the way in.

(There was much laughter in the room and a few more remarks were made about Tim’s height before we returned to the final questions.)

Author: Some of my readers might think that your adventures are along the lines of the Happy Hollisters, Nancy Drew, or the Hardy Boys. Do you consider that to be true? Elsa, it looks like you are going to burst. Do you want to go first?
Elsa: I sure hope we aren’t like Nancy Drew! She–
Matt: Uh oh, you’ve gotten Elsa on one of her soap boxes. Perhaps the rest of us should answer that first.
Elsa: I was going to keep things brief. (She made a face at her brother, but I could see the amusement in every face and was wondering what she would say.) I’ve never read the Happy Hollisters, so I can’t really compare their cases to ours. I think Tim might have read a few when they came out, so he might be able to answer that comparison. But back to Nancy Drew. I can’t stand those books! They are so unreal! She goes off on her own, almost gets killed most of the time, finds the bad guys that the police can’t find, and even disobeys authorities just so she can be the one to solve the mysteries! That’s not real life! How many young people go around almost getting killed all the time? It’s ridiculous, and–
Matt: Sorry, Elsa, but I’m interrupting here. You’d talk for a hour about the those books if you had time. (He smiled at his older sister before he turned to me.) The original Hardy Boys books aren’t bad. Yeah, they were always just a little smarter than the police, but I guess that’s what happens when you want to make the kids the heroes. Another thing is there were two of them.
Author: One of your own rules.
Matt: Yep. And they try to keep in touch with their family. Sometimes they help their dad or learn from him.
Elsa: Unlike Nancy Drew.
Author: I’ll have to agree with you, Elsa. I don’t much care for Nancy Drew myself. And the movies are only good for a laugh. Tim, you want to add anything about the Happy Hollisters?
Tim: How many are there? I’ve only read the first four or five, maybe six. They’re kind of young, but all the kids are involved and their parents usually are too, at least to some extent. It is a bit crazy though because they sure do travel a lot. Maybe we should do more traveling so we can find more mysteries.
Matt: Do they ever go to school? Or get older?
Tim: I think they go to school, but I don’t see how they could have time to study at all. As for getting older, I don’t know, I haven’t read all the books. They keep publishing a new one.

Author: That’s an interesting take. I wonder if most mystery books keep the kids the same age? But that’s off the subject; let’s move on to the next question. Who usually takes charge of a mystery case?
(All four siblings look at one another in silence.)
Matt: I don’t know if any of us really ‘takes charge’ so to speak. We usually discuss things and agree together about what we are going to do.
Selena: But Matt usually is more of the leader than the rest of us.
Elsa: That’s true. It’s usually Matt who takes charge, if someone needs to. I’ll give my input, but I’d rather not be the head.
Author: I’ve noticed that when you split up, it’s often Elsa & Tim and Matt & Selena. Is there a reason for that or is it just something that happened?
Tim: I don’t remember really thinking about it before. Why do we split up like that, guys?
Matt: I think it started by accident, but it seems to work well. I think the pairs seem to balance each other.
Elsa: Sometimes it just seemed better to have one of the boys along in each group and pairing one of us older ones with one of the younger ones–I didn’t say young, Tim–just came naturally.
Selena: In the latest mystery we did split up girls and guys a few times, but I do feel safer if Matt is around.

Author: Do you four see any other mysteries in your futures? Or have you decided to call it quits?
(A laugh greeted this question along with looks I couldn’t quite read.)
Matt: We didn’t plan for these mysteries. They just happened, so right now we couldn’t give any satisfactory answer except that we haven’t grown tired of helping solve them.
Author: I guess that means that my readers will just have to wait and see what happens.

Author: Well, it looks like that’s all the questions I have. Could you mention something about one of your siblings that my readers wouldn’t know about but might enjoy? Just for the fun of it.
Tim: Matt cooks the best steaks you’ve ever had! Hey, Matt, why don’t you tell Mom you’ll cook steaks tonight for supper?
Matt: Because we don’t have any steaks left. (He turned to me and added an invitation to come back and visit again and he’d make sure they had steaks, if I wanted any.) Elsa speaks French fluently.
Author: Really? I didn’t know that. I mean, I wondered if she knew any after the last mystery, but didn’t ask. When did you learn?
Elsa: I started learning when I was about ten. A family moved down from Quebec and spoke French. The children, all girls, and I played together all the time and I picked up quite a bit. Then I studied it in school.
Author: Have you taught any of your siblings any French?
Elsa: Not really. No one was interested. But here’s something about Selena. She once had a pet fox, and she taught a crow to say hello.
Author: What? She taught a crow how to talk? All the crows I know just sound like they are laughing at me. ‘Haw, Haw, Haw!’ How did you do it?
Selena: He had a broken wing and so I kept him until he could fly, and I just said it over and over again. He finally said it before I released him.
Author: Do you ever see him any more?
Selena: Yes. Not as often, but he always says ‘hello’ when he sees me.
(I leaned back in my chair. I would never have guessed that quiet, almost shy, Selena had taught a crow to say ‘hello.’)
Author: Now I am impressed. But what about Tim? Surely he has some talent or skill that I don’t know about.
Elsa: He plays the trumpet in band at school, and he sings.
Matt: He’s good too. Though when his voice changes he might have to find a new range.
Author: Will you sing something for me, Tim? I do love music.
Elsa: Tim, why don’t you ask Mom to come play the piano for you.

    And so our time ended with music. I stayed for dinner, and then the Quartet drove me to town to catch the train back home. All in all, it was a very informative time, and I hope to go back again. Perhaps another mystery will call me back to shadow the Graham Quartet as they try to solve another case. And I do want to taste that steak Matt promised me.

Did you watch the Spelling Bee?

Did you learn new things about the Quartet?

Have you read my Memorial Day story?