Ann Arbor writer’s debut novel is a cozy mystery with Tree Town setting

This story is part of a series about arts and culture in Washtenaw County. It is made possible by the Ann Arbor Art Center, Destination Ann Arbor, Larry and Lucie Nisson, the University of Michigan Arts Initiative, and the University Musical Society.

Ann Arbor-based writer D.E. Carr is quick to acknowledge that plenty of books already fit the “cozy mystery” bill: “There’s so many out there,” she says. “People would ask, ‘Well, how’s your mystery different than anybody else’s?’”

Carr’s debut novel, “When Squirrels Fly,” manages to combine cozy mystery tropes with quantum physics, migraine research, virtual reality, and the supernatural. “When Squirrels Fly” will be published by She Writes Press on July 28, and a book launch event will be held Aug. 6 from 6-7:30 p.m. at 211 W. Washington St. in Ann Arbor.

The book is about a young woman, Allie, whose oddball aunt, Mel, disappears one night after a phone call with Allie in which Mel sounds even more unhinged than usual. Allie races to Ann Arbor, where Mel lives, to find her. Along the way, she encounters a handsome but possibly suspicious neighbor, George; a chihuahua that everyone refers to as a “little shit”; and a mislabeled bowl of chocolate mints Allie samples before realizing they’re laced with cannabis.

Ann Arbor itself plays a major role in the novel, with references to Zingerman’s, Graffiti Alley, and other local landmarks. Carr, who’s originally from Indianapolis but has spent decades in Ann Arbor, says that was partly her way of “poking a little bit of fun at my family,” who have remained in Indianapolis and are “all quite conservative.”

“They think that my brain has been corrupted by living in a college town,” she says, and adds, “I’ve lived away from home for so long. This is a way for them to get a glimpse at my experience, even though it’s a bit whimsical.”

Carr worked in program and community development for the Ann Arbor YMCA from 1996 to 2017. She’s also worked with Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation and the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center (which also gets a shoutout in her book).

All her previous positions involved writing to some extent, Carr says. As an undergraduate at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., she also minored in journalism and worked for the school newspaper. But writing a novel, she says, “was a big departure.”

That departure followed a period of upheaval in her life. In 2017, the same year she left her longtime job at the YMCA, Carr’s brother, Rick, died by suicide. She says she “was just starting to pull out of that” difficult period “when Covid hit.”

At that point, she was managing the Rec Center. But, she says, “of course, everything shut down. You couldn’t go anywhere, do anything.” Carr, who says she’s “always been an avid reader,” turned to books.

“Since my brother’s passing, I was really avoiding any reading that was heavy [or] emotional,” she says. During lockdown, she adds, “I was having trouble … finding the book that I wanted to read. I needed something to lift my spirits, or make me laugh. … When I couldn’t really find anything, I decided to write the book that I wanted to read.”

Carr says she’s always enjoyed the “cozy mystery genre, where you have an amateur sleuth who’s pretty smart, pretty sharp, but out of their element — but is able to adapt,” and was drawn to write one herself. At first, Carr says, she “knew absolutely nothing about how to write a novel” — so she learned on the fly.

“I wrote the first draft pretty quickly, but then I started going back and realizing [what was missing],” Carr says.

Carr’s brother even inspired one of the characters in the novel. The real-life Rick became the fictional Nick in a process she says was cathartic. She made tweaks, asked a consultant for feedback, did some rewriting, attended conferences, and eventually wound up with a finished novel — and a publisher.

Carr says she’s been surprised by various aspects of the process – for example, the fact that “writers … do our own marketing, too.”

“Going into it, I wasn’t thinking of it like a business — and it is a business,” she says.

“I suppose Stephen King and some of those people don’t have to do so much of that,” Carr acknowledges. “… Debut authors? You’re on your own.”

Carr says she isn’t sure what she’d like to do next, though she does have a science-fiction thriller in mind. She’s even finished an outline for it, a step she skipped while writing the mystery.

She says she’s heard from other writers who’ve “had people tell them that everyone can write one book,” but the real question is “whether or not you could do one after that.” That’s something she seems to have taken to heart.

Carr says she wants to see how her debut does before finalizing any other plans, but adds, “I definitely think I will do a sequel.”

More information about “When Squirrels Fly” is available here.