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'Creamed at Commencement' debuts HOPE SALLEY What if a teacher was murdered during a graduation ceremony? That is what Yonkers resident and mystery author Gail Farrelly thought about before she began writing her latest book, "Creamed at Commencement: A Graduation Mystery." In "Creamed," Farrelly tells the story of a professor murdered during a college graduation and two students who try to solve the mystery. Farrelly's passion for mysteries and her academic teaching background come together in the book. "A graduation speaker at the fictional Yonkers University steps up to the podium and promptly drops dead in the first chapter," Farrelly said. "I thought for a number of years to do an academic mystery. I couldn't resist the urge." The two fictional students are 61-year-old Katie Maguire and 24-year-old Maria Pinacchio. A former associate professor of accounting at Rutgers University, Farrelly saw many senior citizens going back to school and interacting with younger students. In her book, she wanted to portray the different age groups coming together and learning from each other. "They are partners in solving the mystery," she said. A book signing event for the commencement mystery novel was held May 12 at the Womrath Bookshop in Bronxville. She will return on May 21. The book's debut comes right in time for high school and college graduation ceremonies. Farrelly chose this time of year on purpose, since many people are looking to give themed gifts to college graduates, she said. Farrelly started writing when she was a child, but learned to enjoy it more as she grew older, she said. "In grammar school, when the nuns said to write, you wrote," she said. Then, when she started her education career, working toward a tenured teaching position, she wrote non-fiction stories. "I enjoyed doing it, but I thought it would be so much more fun to write fiction," she said. Farrelly has also published articles on financial reporting issues, dividend policy and investment risk. "Creamed at Commencement" is her third mystery novel. She also wrote "Beaned in Boston" and "Duped by Derivatives." Farrelly is excited to hear what people think of the new novel. "Sometimes you find out more about the book after people read it," she said. In her first book, she based the lead character on herself. "A reader told me, 'she's kind of boring,' " Farrelly said and laughed. Aside from learning what readers think of her mysteries, Farrelly said that writing for her is therapeutic. It is almost as if she goes into a different world. "I don't think of anything else," she said. "Everything goes out of my head." She is working on getting some of her short stories published, including one about a group of jurors who secretly do private investigations on the case they were judging. Farrelly's sister, Rita, is also a mystery writer and the author of "Not in Bronxville: A Suburban Mystery." Farrelly said their surroundings often influence their stories, and she looks forward to feedback from local readers. http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/051905/a02rp0519spotlig.html |
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