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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022
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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUG. 13, 2022 • B1
Photos by Lissa Brewer/The Astorian
Peninsula author Jan Bono poses with her newest book release, “Pen Pals.”
Mysteries abound
Peninsula author pens latest book, switching genres and aiming high
By PATRICK WEBB
For The Astorian
A
fter writing poetry, newspaper
columns, mysteries and now a
darker novel, author Jan Bono’s
latest goal is to draft a screenplay for
a Hallmark movie, ideally one with a
Christmas theme.
Amid taking online screenwriting
courses, the Long Beach, Washington,
author recently released her 17th book.
“I don’t want to stop creating,” Bono
said. “I have story ideas from here until
I am 99.”
Bono was a teacher for 30 years,
most of that time spent working with
the Ocean Beach School District on the
Long Beach Peninsula.
She retired in 2006, and in the 16 years
that followed she produced 17 books, as
well as a beloved series of humor col-
umns for the Chinook Observer. Her
fi rst published books were compilations
of columns, poetry and other writing.
She then became one of the busiest con-
tributors to the “Chicken Soup for the
Soul” series.
When she won a Coast Weekend
mystery writing contest a decade ago,
the support inspired her to write what
became the Sylvia Avery Mystery Series
— six “cozy mystery” novels set in the
thinly disguised peninsula area. “Cozy
mysteries” are a genre that may involve
murder, but leaves the unsavory material
off the page.
However, Bono said she had long
hankered for a change of pace, writing
in the third person and on a more seri-
ous topic.
“Pen Pals” meets both criteria. It is
a fi ctional work about a Lincoln City
woman who corresponds with a prison
inmate, with almost inevitable conse-
quences when he becomes eligible for
parole.
The work is not autobiographical,
although Bono recalls many years ago
placing an advertisement for poten-
tial dating partners in the 1990s and
LEFT: Mystery author and retired educator Jan Bono keeps stacks of her published books in the back of the car she calls the
“bookmobile.” RIGHT: “Pen pals” is Jan Bono’s 17th published book. BELOW: Author Jan Bono is inspired by resting along the
Astoria Riverwalk, brewing up ideas from the water’s edge.
‘ANYBODY WHO THINKS THAT WRITING
FICTION IS EASY HASN’T A CLUE ABOUT
HOW MUCH RESEARCH GOES INTO IT.’
Jan Bono | author
received multiple responses, including
one from a prisoner.
She said she focused on other proj-
ects until the time was right. “I was
not ready to write a suspenseful, grip-
ping novel,” she said. “Everyone has an
opus. I had looked forward to writing
that book for 28 years.”
Novel writers vary in style from what
Bono teases are “pantsers” (who write
“by the seat of their pants”) and “plod-
ders.” For example, Lee Child, who
writes the modern “Reacher” series
about a retired military policeman’s
cross-country adventures, apparently
starts with a blank slate and claims he
does not know where it will lead.
In contrast, Agatha Christie, who
penned 80 murder novels, used to plot
back from the denouement, fi rst adding
rich detail and then red herrings. Bono’s
preferred strategy is closer to the latter,
fi rst typing 20 to 40 single-spaced page
summaries then fl eshing out the details.
But she admitted that at one point that
the novel had four options for an end-
ing. There was research involved, too,
involving police procedures and prison
rules. “Anybody who thinks that writing
fi ction is easy hasn’t a clue about how
much research goes into it,” she said. “It
has to be accurate – and that’s hard.”
In between coursework and writing,
Bono is busy promoting her books. Her
sales strategy is hands-on. She appears
in person at bazaars and other North
Coast events. For some local buyers,
she can deliver. “They are always in my
trunk,” she said. “If you see me in the
grocery store, you can buy a book.”
Patrick Webb is a former managing
editor of The Astorian.