The Mother of Invention
By Kathryn Lane
For most writers of mystery and romance, we don’t look to change the world. We intend to entertain.
But COVID-19 has changed our world. When I read or hear the news, I realize we have a plethora of ideas that can and will influence our work. For example, in mystery novels, a detective might attend a funeral service to glean information through observation of the attendees. Now that funerals have gone virtual, will that detective be able to gather information by watching the service on-line? Instead of seeing the interaction among the mourners, the video feed will limit the view of the gathering and the detective’s ability to catch suspicious nuances.
COVID-19 has ushered in hi-tech innovations, such as a bar “The Crazy Gypsy” in Seville, Spain, whose latest hire is a
Besides hi-tech applied to daily life, this pandemic has also brought a return to low-tech yet wonderful traditions, like the milkman who leaves containers of fresh milk, cheese, and organic fruit and vegetables near the front door. Now the milkman can be blamed for love affairs, fathering children, witnessing crimes, or even killing someone.
Innovation is great. Without it, we’d still be in the stone age. What I worry about is the loss of human interaction. Kids’ birthday parties and graduation ceremonies becoming drive-by events. My husband and I watched a video stream as our grandson “drove-by” to pick up his high school diploma. To me, it was sad that we could not be there in person and celebrate after the ceremony. But as we watched the students drive by, every single one of them was smiling and looked happy.
Who is your favorite fictional character?
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