Guest post: Brenda Baker, author of The Elusive Mr. McCoy
When I first heard about The Elusive Mr. McCoy, by Brenda Baker, I was excited since I’m fascinated with bigamy and polygamy for some odd reason. When I had the opportunity to ask Brenda a question, I knew exactly what it would be: How do you do research for a book with a bigamist in it? Here’s what Brenda had to say:
While working on THE ELUSIVE MR. MCCOY, I came across some fascinating material that couldn’t be used in the book, because as everyone knows, truth is stranger than fiction. So I was delighted when Kathy asked me to do a guest post on researching bigamy. Writing can be hard work, but research is all play for me, and bigamy is a very juicy topic indeed.
When I started writing the character of McCoy, I had the typical layman’s concept of bigamy: a rare and dastardly crime performed by handsome, morally-depraved men. It didn’t take me long to discover that unrepentant con artists for whom matrimony is a profession are the exception rather than the rule.
My favorite stereotypical bigamist was the awesome Oliver Killeen, who may have married up to eighteen women, all but one without the benefit of divorce. He was also accused of practicing psychotherapy for five years in Ireland without a degree in psychology, or any degree at all for that matter, since his public Facebook profile clearly states he attended the School of Hard Knocks. Ollie was convicted on one count of bigamy last year and is currently serving a 90-day intermittent sentence in a Toronto jail on weekends.
Another exceptional bigamist I found was Charles Edward Hicks, who littered the eastern seaboard with broken-hearted wives and girlfriends. Undeterred by the jail sentences he has served for bigamy, Charlie continues to frequent internet dating sites, although after being outed on an episode of Dr. Phil, he is forced to use an alias to get dates.
Neither of these men were what you’d call eye candy, so I deduced they must have some other quality that caused large numbers of women to fall at their feet. Because few of their wives pressed charges, and one of Charles’ victims claims to still love him, it seemed reasonable to assume both men had the ability to give women the illusion of love and I concluded that bigamy, like tango dancing, took two—the deluder and the delusional. How else to explain this lack of vengeance after proof of such blatant betrayal?
Ollie and Charlie aside, most of the common ideas of bigamy seem to be myths.
Myth number one: Bigamy is rare. Actually, it’s much more common than you’d think, especially in China where it is described as “rampant.” In America, the Fight Bigamy website maintains a list of bigamists currently in the news. Here’s the link in case you want to see if anyone you know is on it: http://fightbigamy.typepad.com/
Myth number two: Bigamists are amoral dastards. On the contrary, bigamists are more like serial monogamists, moving on to the next relationship only after the previous one has collapsed. My admittedly unscientific research indicates that most of them are either careless people who didn’t bother to ensure their divorce was finalized before taking their next trip up the aisle, or lazy people who felt it was unnecessary to go through all the expense and trauma of getting a divorce.
Myth number three: Only handsome, smooth-talking men are bigamists. That one must have started prior to Women’s Liberation because bigamy is an equal opportunity crime now. Also bigamists of both sexes seem to be, for the most part, quite average-looking, and a few are downright ugly.
Myth number four: Bigamy is a serious offense. Actually, it’s a class C or D felony in most states, barely a crime at all. Punishment is usually a small fine or a few years in jail that is commuted to parole unless the conviction is for multiple offenses.
After a few weeks of research, I realized creating a fictional bigamist from real life examples was going to be problematic. In fiction, while it is possible to give the villain any number of flaws, there must be at least one redeeming quality to create a believable antagonist. I had found a wealth of flaws to choose from, but redemptive qualities were conspicuously lacking.
Then I ran across a news article about a man who was both a loving Christian husband and a happily married Muslim. He possessed the perfect redeeming quality for my story. Unfortunately, and I’m terribly sorry about this, I can’t tell you what it is, because that would be a spoiler.
But I can tell you this: everyone who has read the book so far, ended up liking, or at least feeling sorry for, the elusive Mr. McCoy.
Born in Toronto, Brenda spent 35 years writing computer programs in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands, before becoming a novelist. Her passion is exploring new cultures, with knitting and reading tied for second place. She likes cats, but resists owning one herself, since everyone knows little old ladies can’t stop at just one.
Brenda’s recently released book, THE ELUSIVE MR. MCCOY, is a richly emotional journey of two women drawn together by an unexpected and unwanted bond. To read an excerpt, visit www.brendalbaker.com
Great guest post! I’m more intrigued by Sisters of the Sari, I think, but The Elusive Mr. McCoy sounds good too. I enjoyed reading your humorous comments about your own life and background on your Web site.
Thank you so much for this post, bigamy and polygamy are a interesting topic. Great interview. Mr. McCoy does sound indeed like something I need to read. Oh so many books… so little time.
This was fascinating , Kathy! I also had assumed that all bigamists were handsome men, or that they were dyed in the wool con men, but it seems that isn’t so. Like you, I have a lot of interest in bigamy and polygamy, and I think it’s just the strangest thing. I would love to read this when I can, and I am looking forward to your review. This is one that I am going to be adding to my list right away. Great guest post today!
Like you, I am interested in the stories of polygamists, and I do confess to watching a season or two of Sister Wives — though i did not watch much this year.
This book sounds interesting, and one that I hadn’t heard about before.
This is fascinating. I had never thought much about bigamy and polygamy except for seeing mystery programs on TV, but now I think I’d like to read this McCoy book.
Great guest post! The subject of bigamy and polygamy are fascinating to me and I’d love to read this one at some point. I’m always amazed by just how unattractive these bigamists or con artists can be. I can’t imagine being attracted to them, charming or not.
Terrific guest post. I had no idea that bigamy and polygamy are as common as they are!
That is amazing stuff! Those myths surprise me…who knew?
Thank you Brenda and Kathy for this fascinating guest post! I’m very much looking forward to reading Brenda’s book, too. I think polygamy and bigamy are extremely interesting topics. I know very little about both. The four myths Brenda uncovered in this post makes bigmay all the more fascinating and somewhat bewildering and confusing to me. I wonder if the women wh get involved with and marry a bigamisyt know about their former wives. If so, what is it about a bigamist they are attracted to? Especially a plain looking, middle-aged, basic man? Like I said, fascinating!
Thank you for a great post. I’ve added The Elusive Mr. McCoy to my tbr list.
I bet this book is fascinating! What a great guest post. Loved how she combated those myths.
So interesting! Like Heather, I always believed myth number 3.
Love your guest posts…I knew none of this stuff!!!
Well, I’m happy to know I’m not the only one whose stereotypical image of bigamists as ruthless con artists was shattered. Although I must confess, when I learned that in general bigamists are just careless or lazy, I lost interest in most of them.
I had a lot of fun writing this post, and it’s great to know you all had fun reading it.
This was an interesting guest post…I always thought that myth one was true!
I fascinated by this subject matter too. Probably why I never miss an epidsode of Sister Wives!!!
really interesting piece
Wow, that is certainly an insightful post. I know there are countries where polygamy is practiced and even not discouraged, and it’s also something that happens a lot in the US, but it’s always been a not-really-in-the-news stuff. Mostly I find references to them via other unrelated articles or books.
Wow, a loving Christian husband and a happily married Muslim… sometimes the truth can be stranger than fiction. Interesting guest post. I’m looking forward to the book.
I am not intrigued by polygamy, but found her post very interesting. I never really thought about a person becoming a bigomist because he was too lazy to get a divorce, LOL.
Sounds like it was fascinating to research such a subject. I’ve always wondered about the con artists who marry multiple women without bothering to go through the process of divorce. It seems like many times they seem to take money from their brides before moving on to another one or just adding another one to the “stable”.