Writing a Gay Private Investigator

How did a hospital secretary and single mom of four end up writing a series about a gay private investigator?

My wonderfully intrepid and at times hot-headed character David Lloyd came about through a fusion of my love of crime novels, my undying support for GLBT rights and acceptance, and the brutal attack of a young police officer in my town. But maybe I should take a step back to comment on how I came to be published at all.

In 2007 my marriage came to an unceremonious end, leaving me thirty-four years old, unemployed and in the full-time care of four children. After a few months of (admittedly) worrying and feeling sorry for myself, I made a very conscious decision to turn what could have been a disastrous situation into the catalyst to make my life what I wanted and needed it to be. I found myself a decent job, joined a gym, bought a new house and made sure everyone under my roof was receiving everything that they needed. Then, satisfied that I’d managed to turn things around, I decided to go one step further—I started to write again.

Well into my teenage years I’d fantasied about being an author, a dream that faded as I took on an adult role and responsibilities. I’d come from a family of avid readers, and there was never a shortage of books in my home. Early on I was drawn to tales of monsters, ghosts, and alternate worlds, and delved into the novels of Stephen King and Dean Koontz at the tender age of ten. From there I discovered mysteries, and in the decades since have read everything from the fun alphabet series by Sue Grafton to the horror-crime crossover novels by Michael Slade. I’d excelled in English and creative writing all through school, and had written many poems, stories, and even plays, though only within the context of scholastic requirements. Only once had I tried to write something for the purpose of getting published, and this work that was set aside as life intervened.

And so I dusted off that old and not well-written novel, My Love Eternal, which had been sitting in a box for more than ten years. After much re-writing, critiquing, and even more re-writes I sent it off and to my great surprise and delight I was offered a contract. Thus my Dark Kiss series was born.

Having accomplished writing a trilogy, I decided to turn my sights to new genres, styles and format, dabbling in shorts stories, romance, and erotica before I finally found my niche with my David Lloyd Investigations series. Despite my voracious reading I had not come across a gay PI/Police officer character (though I now know there are others out there) and it got me thinking: Could I craft such a character?

In the wonderful, creative author’s way of thinking, this premise co-mingled with an actual event that had occurred in my hometown some years earlier, wherein a young police officer was brutally attacked and the perpetrators never brought to justice. Though the incident was not of a homophobic nature, I could see how the situation could be transferred to just such a situation and thus the back story for David Lloyd was born.

Now that I had a character for Missing Daughter, Shattered Family, I had to find him a city to call home, a circle of friends, family, and associates and, most importantly, a case. I decided to stay contemporary (2000), and close to home, settling on Toronto, Ontario for David. I gave him a police background, and decided he was forced to leave his job after a homophobic attack left him with injuries that prevented him from continuing on as an officer.

So this is one woman’s story. Despite the usual competition and expected rejections, I have found the overall experience to be a positive one, and have been warmly embraced and treated well by publishers, fellow author and readers alike. I hope this can offer encouragement and inspiration for others to get out there and try!

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Liz Strange is an author of mystery, horror, and fantasy. The David Lloyd Investigations Series is currently made up of three books: Missing Daughter, Shattered Family, A Fresh Set of Eyes, and the upcoming Destination Unknown. You can follow her on Twitter, @LizStrangeVamp. Visit her website and check out her novels on Amazon.

Tags: David Lloyd Investigations Series, featured, gay protagonist, Liz Strange, women writers

Category: Being a Writer, Canadian Women Writers, Contemporary Women Writers