True to my extremovert self, I hosted the most wonderful/stressful murder mystery party last weekend. I’d been working on this plot for months, and after 11,000 words of character descriptions and plot point instructions, it finally all came together. A dozen different old friends showed up on my doorstep pretending to be MY imaginary people. I can’t tell you how rewarding that was. The whole thing went off smother than any murder mystery I’d ever hosted before, and the premise was murder at an art auction. Here are some of the highlights:

The auction begins, and Gabriel Perez, the post-modern genius himself, says a few words about his masterpiece before Lester Slick begins the auction.

Madeline, our art historian, and the detective she is helping, both who doubt the authenticity of the painting up for auction. Also, Bella, a curator for the Manchester Museum of the Arts.

An unfortunate death shows us just how filthy the filthy rich can be.

The joyful winner of “Dying of Mercy,” and the very happy man who she bought it from…maybe now he can pay off his debts to the loan sharks.

Plus, yours truly with the artist, portraying a small-time journalist and old (unwanted) high school friend!

I’m thinking about novelizing this plot at some point down the road. Murder mystery parties are just too fun and intricately fun too share with just the dozen or so people I can fit in my house. It was the best one ever, not the least of which because I got to keep the painting “Gabriel” did for the party…but that’s a story in it’s own right, and I already did a blog about that 🙂