Artbreakers: 12 Crafty Stories

Twelve fictional suspense and fantasy stories - tales based on factual happenings in the world of art. This world is a trove to be mined for stories. In the history of all the arts, drama fills the pages: theft, love affairs, murders, plagiarism - name it, it's happened. Did Leonardo sleep with his models? Who was the real culprit that sliced off Van Gogh's ear? Was absinthe a "muse" for the artists who imbibed? Did Antonio Salieri poison Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? Writers pretending to be the real Shakespeare created hoaxes in their wake. Was Gauguin, a bastard for running off alone to paint in Tahiti? Who recently stole five paintings from the Paris Museum of Modern Art? I'm a voracious reader. I often read a non-fiction article, not art-related, that makes me think of a fictional plot. My own art-based career helps me visualize characters, with all of their personal warts and disorders. I then concoct these tales with some kind of an art object, history or profession. New Mexico, my home, rife with creative people from painters to scientists connects these fables. This is how it happened with A Soldier's Secret. I read a non-fiction article about the WWII Monuments Men finding and restoring to rightful owners art that was stolen by the Nazis. A NM Veteran's Home and a conversation with a friend led to the main character, whose long-held secret is important to the global art world. Research of facts led to a true surprise to me. It helped my plot. Two other stories that deal with theft of art or antiquities are: Thailand Tour and Deception at Four Corners. The first came about with a trip to Thailand and tour of a jade shop that coincided with a huge newsworthy International art heist. One particularly irritating co-traveler helped me to develop two characters. The skeletal plot developed on the plane home. In the story Deception at Four Corners, true episodes of illegal ancient Native American pot hunting and arrests hit the news. Re-visiting the area kick-started this story. Often I use my own travel experiences, to flesh out a story, as with Living Well is the Best Revenge and Chasing Cassoulets, both about the culinary arts. I've traveled to the areas in both stories. The latter is based on a magazine article about beans used in this famous regional dish, cassoulet. Often I saw a strange man walking and walking - between two villages, and he birthed questions for all those who saw him, hence The Walker. That story, Two Artists and Beguiled, all deal with finances in the visual arts. A non-fiction article about seashell collecting was intriguing - I didn't realize it was a lucrative profession. That information began the story of The Collectors, and an illicit love affair complicates the plot. A literary description reveals Fantasy to be "something that can't be." Chasing Cassoulets is my fantasy as I used Simon Baker, the TV actor as a model for one main character.