Sparky of Bunker Hill and the Cold Kid Case
Young Adult Mystery
Mystery & Horror, LLC (October 9, 2018)
Paperback: 216 pages

Synopsis

Lots of characters have it bad, in my Bunker Hill neighborhood smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles, but I’ve had it rougher than most.
There may be something to this 13th business.

That’s my birthday, and I’m learning to dread seeing it roll around. My mother died on one birthday. The cousins dumped me on my last. This year, 1932, I found a dead kid on a park bench. It’s my eleventh birthday, and the day me, Sparky, ended up on the run, wanted for murder.

If the dead girl wasn’t enough, the dirty newspapers pinned every body in LA on me, and even blamed me for the Great War. I wasn’t even born then. The price on my head got bigger by the day.

It was up to me to find out who killed the girl and why I got framed, before I ended up dangling from the hangman’s rope.

Guest Post

Three Short Stories = One Mystery Novel

by Rosalind Barden

Readers often wonder how an author creates a novel. Do they just start writing in a burst of inspiration? Or do they carefully plan with an end vision in mind? For “Sparky of Bunker Hill and the Cold Kid Case,” the path was more meandering.

It started back in 1999, with no thought of a girl called Sparky wanted for murder. I read a 1902 short story called “A Study in Piracy” by Josephine Dodge Daskam, which was republished by “Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine” in April 1999. I so enjoyed I this story about the wacky misadventures of a group of kids, I saved it, tucked inside the cover of “Wodehouse on Crime,” no less.

This story rattled around in my head for years. As it rattled, it mixed with the strange and sad history of old Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles. Long before I knew its story, I was drawn to Bunker Hill and still am. Though I’ve lived most of my life in Los Angeles, I didn’t grow up here, so was startled to learn that Bunker Hill was once a wealthy enclave that fell out of fashion until it was razed and shortened in a burst of wild post-war redevelopment.

Perhaps I am fascinated with LA’s Bunker Hill because I spent my most of my elementary years in a place called Fairview Hill that rises steeply up from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Before Bunker Hill was lopped off, I suspect it was a lot like my childhood home, Fairview Hill, which is populated with old houses and nooks and crannies begging for mischievous kids to explore.

I took the feeling of running around Fairview Hill as a kid, mixed it with the fun of “A Study in Piracy,” and of course I had to toss in a ghost story, because that’s what I do. The result was “The Monkey’s Ghost,” which appears in the short mystery anthology, “History and Mystery, Oh My!” published by Mystery and Horror LLC in 2015.

But the story didn’t feel finished to me yet. I knew I had to do more, and Sparky’s character began to come to life. But as Sparky took shape, another character also appeared, Tootsie, the reclusive silent screen vamp.

I wrote a short story about Tootsie’s early years, and how she came to Los Angeles, barefoot, when she wasn’t even sixteen. By story’s end, Tootsie’s life is quite a bit different, and she’s on her way to what she became, a star. That story, “Dolly Dear,” remains unpublished. I’m keeping it in my back pocket for now. I could expand it into another mystery novel. Who knows?

As the stories of Sparky and Tootsie wove together, more elements materialized. I took the Depression-ear Bunker Hill location from “The Monkey’s Ghost,” and moved it backwards a few years. Several characters from “The Monkey’s Ghost” demanded a role in “Sparky” too. Pampered Marigold is back, but older. Gossipy Mrs. Tomes returns along with her housekeeper, Mrs. Mabaline. And I couldn’t do without mysterious Old Bob and Dodger the Horse.

Of course, I had to add a nod to the story that started it all. In Chapter 12 of “Sparky,” she explores the cellar of Creepy House and finds, “. . . a brass ball that might be from an old horse harness.” That’s a bit I boldly borrowed from “A Study in Piracy.” I also tossed in a fancy brass harness that Dodger wears in “The Monkey’s Ghost” (hope Ms. Dodge Daskam doesn’t mind).

Maybe some mystery novels have a straightforward path from idea to finish. Not “Sparky of Bunker Hill and the Cold Kid Case.” It’s a tale that took a long, winding journey from three short stories to a full-length mystery novel that’s hopefully the start of a series.

About the Author

Over thirty of Rosalind Barden’s short stories have appeared in print anthologies and webzines, including the U.K.’s acclaimed Whispers of Wickedness. Mystery and Horror, LLC has included her stories in their anthologies History and Mystery, Oh My! (FAPA President’s Book Award Silver Medalist), Mardi Gras Murder, and four of the Strangely Funny series. Ellen Datlow selected her short story “Lion Friend” as a Best Horror of the Year Honorable Mention after it appeared in Cern Zoo, a British Fantasy Society nominee for best anthology, part of DF Lewis’ award-winning Nemonymous anthology series. TV Monster is her print children’s book that she wrote and illustrated. Her satirical literary novel American Witch is available as an e-book. In addition, her scripts, novel manuscripts, and short fiction have placed in numerous competitions, including the Writers’ Digest Screenplay Competition and the Shriekfast Film Festival. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Website * Amazon Author Page

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