Gail Langer Karwoski's Blog
June 23, 2025
Meet Jane Roland, the “Shirley Holmes” of the Watercolor Mysteries
Skeleton in the Art Closet: A Watercolor Mystery
A Brush with Murder
Gail Langer Karwoski
I asked my friend, Janet Rodekohr, to write a few sentences about how she feels about having the main character in my mystery series based on her, and here’s what she wrote:
”Jane is a no-nonsense practical person who quietly analyzes the clues and makes connections. She’s not swayed by emotions or rumors. She sticks with the facts and figures it out.
How boring.
But I get it. I’m a proud (but quietly, of course) introvert. My emotional range stretches from A to B—no fireworks, no tantrums.
I sing in two choirs. I have what they call a blending voice. I stay in the background but dream of having a solo and amazing everybody.
I love to ski but I’m permanently an intermediate skier. Yet I fantasize about blazing down a slope, to the oohs and aahs of everyone else who just wishes they could ski that well.
I paint watercolors with Gail. Many in our group get into major exhibitions and sometimes win prizes. I cheer them on, but secretly dream of seeing my painting in the spotlight.
So do I like my alter-ego, Jane Roland, to be the key detective who solves crimes? Hell, yeah! I’m smiling as loud as I can.”
So would you call my main character a Plain Jane? Definitely not! She’s steady, smart, and skillful, but not loud or flamboyant. Not burdened with emotional baggage. She’s the kind of woman who keenly observes and confidently organizes, without calling attention to herself. In other words, she’s a perfect friend. And an ideal sleuth for a cozy mystery.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, click below to visit my website and see my watercolor portrait of the real-life Jane Roland:
https://www.gailkarwoski.com/uploads/...
A Brush with Murder
Gail Langer Karwoski
I asked my friend, Janet Rodekohr, to write a few sentences about how she feels about having the main character in my mystery series based on her, and here’s what she wrote:
”Jane is a no-nonsense practical person who quietly analyzes the clues and makes connections. She’s not swayed by emotions or rumors. She sticks with the facts and figures it out.
How boring.
But I get it. I’m a proud (but quietly, of course) introvert. My emotional range stretches from A to B—no fireworks, no tantrums.
I sing in two choirs. I have what they call a blending voice. I stay in the background but dream of having a solo and amazing everybody.
I love to ski but I’m permanently an intermediate skier. Yet I fantasize about blazing down a slope, to the oohs and aahs of everyone else who just wishes they could ski that well.
I paint watercolors with Gail. Many in our group get into major exhibitions and sometimes win prizes. I cheer them on, but secretly dream of seeing my painting in the spotlight.
So do I like my alter-ego, Jane Roland, to be the key detective who solves crimes? Hell, yeah! I’m smiling as loud as I can.”
So would you call my main character a Plain Jane? Definitely not! She’s steady, smart, and skillful, but not loud or flamboyant. Not burdened with emotional baggage. She’s the kind of woman who keenly observes and confidently organizes, without calling attention to herself. In other words, she’s a perfect friend. And an ideal sleuth for a cozy mystery.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, click below to visit my website and see my watercolor portrait of the real-life Jane Roland:
https://www.gailkarwoski.com/uploads/...
October 3, 2013
Confessions of a DQ
It’s not my fault. Kid readers kept urging me so how could I resist? After all, I’m the DQ. (No, not Dairy Queen, Silly Reader … get your mind off dessert! DQ stands for Disaster Queen.)
Disasters have turned the plot of many of my books. For the sake of my readers, I’ve weathered shipwrecks and tsunamis, earthquakes and epidemics. So Hurricane Katrina was a natural for me. I battened down my keyboard and now my latest novel, When Hurricane Katrina Hit Home, is ready to help young readers weather the storm.
Being a survivor of 17 years in the unpredictable publishing industry, I’ve gained both courage and chutzpah. This time, I put on my waterproof raincoat and experimented with the literary device of alternating narrators: Two New Orleans kids end up stranded on the same roof in a flooded street. One is Chazz Cohen, a teen from the well-to-do Garden District. The other is Lyric Talbert, a spunky girl from the Ninth Ward. The kids think they have nothing in common before the storm washes away surface differences. As both kids are tested to the limit of their endurance, they gain an appreciation for each other’s strengths. They come through the disaster with a new understanding of the richness of the place that they both call home.
This book grew like a well-watered weed. The first scene that popped into my head (and survived many edits and rewrites) was Chazz wading through a flooded house. Suddenly, he spots something swimming through the water and realizes … yikes, it’s a snake! With this eye-popping moment, I began telling Chazz’s story with my voice and my hands, in third person.
Then, without any planning, I began to write from a second point of view. Lyric, a level-headed, no-nonsense ten-year old girl wanted to tell her tale on her own terms, and she wasn’t gonna take no for an answer. So I gave in and alternated chapters, letting her tell it as she saw it.
But Chazz is a teenage boy, and he thought this was totally unfair – him being older, and Lyric having her own voice. So he humphed and he grumped until I gave in. “Okay, have it your way,” I told him. And he did. (I have to admit - even if it kills me to agree with a stubborn teen - that it’s a much tighter story now.)
Enough talking - the storm is under way, and it’s time for you to get reading. Go to your bookstore or library and put in your order. Remember: If you delay too long, you may find yourself stranded without a book to save you from disaster!
Disasters have turned the plot of many of my books. For the sake of my readers, I’ve weathered shipwrecks and tsunamis, earthquakes and epidemics. So Hurricane Katrina was a natural for me. I battened down my keyboard and now my latest novel, When Hurricane Katrina Hit Home, is ready to help young readers weather the storm.
Being a survivor of 17 years in the unpredictable publishing industry, I’ve gained both courage and chutzpah. This time, I put on my waterproof raincoat and experimented with the literary device of alternating narrators: Two New Orleans kids end up stranded on the same roof in a flooded street. One is Chazz Cohen, a teen from the well-to-do Garden District. The other is Lyric Talbert, a spunky girl from the Ninth Ward. The kids think they have nothing in common before the storm washes away surface differences. As both kids are tested to the limit of their endurance, they gain an appreciation for each other’s strengths. They come through the disaster with a new understanding of the richness of the place that they both call home.
This book grew like a well-watered weed. The first scene that popped into my head (and survived many edits and rewrites) was Chazz wading through a flooded house. Suddenly, he spots something swimming through the water and realizes … yikes, it’s a snake! With this eye-popping moment, I began telling Chazz’s story with my voice and my hands, in third person.
Then, without any planning, I began to write from a second point of view. Lyric, a level-headed, no-nonsense ten-year old girl wanted to tell her tale on her own terms, and she wasn’t gonna take no for an answer. So I gave in and alternated chapters, letting her tell it as she saw it.
But Chazz is a teenage boy, and he thought this was totally unfair – him being older, and Lyric having her own voice. So he humphed and he grumped until I gave in. “Okay, have it your way,” I told him. And he did. (I have to admit - even if it kills me to agree with a stubborn teen - that it’s a much tighter story now.)
Enough talking - the storm is under way, and it’s time for you to get reading. Go to your bookstore or library and put in your order. Remember: If you delay too long, you may find yourself stranded without a book to save you from disaster!
