I get asked sometimes why I chose to write mysteries. Surely, there are other genres out there. Some may say that so-called "literary fiction" is better and more impressive. So, why choose genre fiction? Why mysteries?

After some thinking, I've traced my interest in mysteries all the way back to when I was a kid in grade school. My mom would take my brother and I to the library in the summer so we could get books. Sometimes, if we were lucky, we'd go to a bookstore and be able to…