Last night as I stepped out on the deck and glanced up at the trees, I was struck by the beauty of contrast. Shadows draped the lower trunks of the tall trees in my yard while the sun brightened their top branches. Sunshine and shadow, light and dark. If I had not looked up, it would have seemed that the sun had set and night was upon me; but, I looked above the darkness and there was the sun turning the leaves to gold.
These last moments of the day painted a picture of life itself. Sunny days when everything is going right and then, suddenly, the light disappears and we flounder in darkness made up of fear or despair or worry. Even though we sometimes feel that the sun will never shine again, it does; in fact, it’s there all the time, we just can’t see it for the shadows. A good author tries to paint contrasting pictures with words.
Some stories are filled with nothing but sunshine; others paint a picture in dark, somber colors from the beginning to end. Neither of these appeal to me. I’d like to see the clouds blot out the light for a time and then, through the ingenuity and daring of the heroine, the darkness run for cover and the dawn of hope reappear.
Barbara Burgess and I present the contrast between light and dark, good and evil, in our cozy mysteries. For example, in Grave Shift:
Spring Creek hurried southward, hugging the rocky hillside before disappearing among the trees. Somewhere among those trees, two whip-poor-wills called, no doubt discussing the departure date for their annual trip south. An owl hooted softly and a chorus of crickets announced that autumn was on the way out. Strange disappearances, love, hate, and envy had no part of this quiet autumn night. An alien crackling sound broke the stillness. Somewhere close by, a foot stepped onto crisp, dry leaves and I realized how alone I was, how far from help.
No, I certainly don’t welcome the times when I can’t see the day but when those times come, it helps to look up and realize that while night might last for a while, it’s not forever. The sun will reappear. Light and darkness, safety and danger, love and hate are colors that the writer uses to reflect life and paint an interesting cozy mystery.
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