Phyllis A. Whitney

One of my favorite authors is Phyllis A. Whitney. I first discovered her in the third grade with her juvenile novel "Mystery of the Haunted Pool". At that age any book with a title that includes the word mystery had to be good.

Whitney is good and extremely prolific. She was born in Japan of American parents in 1903. Her first novel, "A Place for Ann", was published in 1941 when she was 37. Her last novel, 1997's "Amethyst Dreams", was published when she was 94. She died in 2008 when she was 104 years old.

Yes, she worked until she was well into her nineties and she lived to be over a hundred.

Amazing. Along the way she wrote 76 books and traveled throughout the world using the locations as backgrounds in her books. Often the locations took on a character of their own and were integral pieces to her novels.

She wrote in four different genres. Adult suspense/romance, juvenile mystery, books for girls, and she also wrote three non-fiction books on writing. As well she wrote over a hundred short stories and magazine articles, worked as an editor and raised a daughter.

Whitney was ahead of her time in subject matter. Her first books were written about girls discovering their careers, at a time when most girls were concentrating on marriage only.

In 1947 she published "Willow Hill" (note: cover picture from a republished version), a book set in a high school and dealing with race relations between the white kids and the black kids. This was dangerous ground, especially when she doesn't use stereotypes and the black kids are dealt with in a real and sympathetic manner.

Phyllis A. Whitney states: "Most of my writing has been concerned with understanding between people. Whether of different relations, or religions or even in the same family, I tried in my books...to deal with the subject of understanding the other fellow.

For a complete list of her work and more about the author she has a website. Phyllis A. Whitney.

Snowfire by Phyllis A. Whitney

When champion skier Julian McCabe's wife is found dead, suspicion falls upon his protégée Stuart Parrish.

Stuart's step-sister, Linda Earle, goes undercover as a hostess at the ski lodge that Julian owns in the Poconos, in an effort to solve the murder and clear Stuart's name.

But it isn't as easy as she thought it would be. People are hiding secrets, and Linda hadn't planned on liking Julian so much.

Published in 1972, Whitney weaves her magic spell and creates a mystery with a touch of romance that had me befuddled until the end. And then I hit my head because I should have seen it all along.

Unfortunately, this book is out of print but you may find editions at used bookstores.

Guide to Fiction Writing - Phyllis A. Whitney

With 76 books in both adult and juvenile fiction, Whitney is certainly qualified to write a book on writing. And a very good book too. Probably the best. There are a lot of writing books out there, but unlike many that talk about theory, Whitney actually gives you a step by step process into how she has been so prolific.

Turns out, she sets up the dots in the planning stages and in the writing one she connects them.
Although I'm a much more linear writer, I start at the beginning and write to the end, I can see how Whitney's style can be beneficial to many writers who lose steam part way through, like to have a plan or would like to attempt a different way of writing.

Added to that are some helps for every writer no matter how you go about tackling your project. Such as how to keep all those names straight. When you write 76 books you have a lot of characters and you don't want to go repeating them.

Whitney also gives us some background on her writing career and some writing wisdom that can be used in everyday life.

An excellent book for any writer.