As Michael Black noted in his post yesterday, some characters take up cooking as a hobby. I loved Michael Black's comment about his character Ron Shade—"the only time you’ll see him pick up a frying pan is when he’s going to hit someone over the head with it"—because that is exactly my protagonist Inez Stannert did with a frying pan in Silver Lies.
As for what she does in her "free time," Inez plays the piano, although in the upcoming book, A Dying Note (release date April 2018), she has turned her passion for music from a hobby into a occupation, managing a music-store and teaching piano to select students.
She also has a penchant for playing cards... but there again, that activity was more of an occupation, at least in the previous books. In the newest book, the regular poker games she engages in with the musicians who hang around the store are pretty much penny ante, leaving her to remember the high-stakes games in Leadville with some longing.
She eschews the usual feminine hobbies of the past, which, according to this post, included:
- Gardening
- Croquet
- Lawn tennis
- Reading novels and poetry
- Embroidery and scrapbooking
- Music and singing
Of that list, the only ones that match up with Inez would be reading and music. I can't imagine her in a game of croquet, although a croquet mallet might make a handy weapon!
I'm glad Inez made good use of that frying pan, Ann. And you're right about those croquet mallets.
Posted by: Michael A. Black | November 28, 2017 at 07:59 AM