Osterman, Helen Macie (Helen Osterman)

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Osterman, Helen Macie (Helen Osterman)

PERSONAL:

Education: Mercy Hospital-St. Xavier College, B.S.N.; Northern Illinois University, M.S.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, novelist, artist, and nurse.

MEMBER:

Mystery Writers of Amerca, American Association of University Women, Southwest Chapter of the Lyric Opera.

WRITINGS:

The Web, Vista Publishing (Long Branch, NJ), 1997.

Things Hidden, Vista Publishing (Long Branch, NJ), 1998.

The Accidental Sleuth, Five Star (Detroit, MI), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals and journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Helen Macie Osterman is a novelist, artist, and retired nurse who spent forty-five years in the nursing profession. In an autobiography on her home page, Osterman stated that she possessed the desire to write since she was a young child: "Ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil in my hand," she stated. She fulfilled this desire on occasion while working as a nurse when she would contribute articles to nursing and medical journals. She is also an artist with four paintings of Chicago's Maxwell Street housed in the permanent collections of the Chicago History Museum. On her home page, Osterman professes a lifelong love of opera and admits that she has long wanted to be a supernumerary, an extra cast member in an opera. Her career and family prevented this dream from becoming a reality, but Osterman has been able to achieve this goal vicariously through her fictional character, Emma Winberry, the protagonist of The Accidental Sleuth, Osterman's 2007 novel.

Emma, physically and mentally active in her sixties, enjoys extra advantages in life that most people lack: a fully functional sixth sense, and the presence of a protective and alert guardian angel. After selling her house and moving to Chicago, Emma moves in with her adoring companion, Nate Sandler. Life in their waterfront condominium is peaceful and uneventful until a family of new neighbors moves in next door. Emma immediately suspects that something is not right with the newly arrived Evans family. The father is furtive and rarely at home, and may well be a criminal. Emma suspects him of abusing his wife and daughter. The mother, Laura, seems timid, even frightened, particularly of her husband. Their gaunt teenaged niece, Theresa, is an anorexic and an emotional wreck, hungry for attention or even for human contact outside her tense and dysfunctional family.

When Emma and Nate volunteer to be extras in a movie being filmed nearby, they expect to learn about the moviemaking process and have some fun. Instead, Emma is mistaken for a homeless woman and kidnapped by a pair of murderous thugs who tie her up and leave her in an abandoned warehouse to die. At Emma's peril, her guardian angel steps in to help save her, assisted by a homeless man who has found shelter in the abandoned building. Soon, Emma and Nate have located the homeless woman who was the actual object of the thugs' kidnap attempt. They learn that she took a ring from the hand of a murder victim, and that the two brutal crooks are determined to get the ring back. Soon, Nate, Emma, and the guardian angel find themselves embroiled in an increasingly dangerous situation they never expected, even as Emma works to solve the murder, recover the ring, and rescue her next-door neighbor.

Feminist Review Web log contributor Harriet Klausner called the novel a "delightful sometimes humorous cozy." The novel is "not much of a mystery, but strong-willed Emma and protective Nate are amiable additions to the cozy world," remarked a critic in Kirkus Reviews.

Osterman told CA: "When I begin to write a story, I start with an idea, then a proposed title, and go from there. I do not follow a chapter-by-chapter outline but prefer to let the plot unfold as I go along. I have a folder that I jot down notes in when thoughts come to me, and I consult these when I begin to write. I usually know the beginning and have a vague idea of the ending. But that can change. My writing muse then takes me through the journey of bringing the story to life.

"I found that, unintentionally, I addressed two social issues in The Accidental Sleuth: homelessness and anorexia. In the next book of the series I found myself confronted with the issue of acceptance of homosexuality. I decided that if I can open the eyes of my readers to social issues, I can give them something to think about besides an enjoyable story. I already have other ideas brewing."