Meet the Characters of Murder at Christmas: No.16 – Alder Bishop

Alder Bishop is the published (and successful) author of numerous mystery novels, novellas and short stories.  As such, much is known about him- and you may have read much of what follows in the pages of the popular press.

He is Harvard-educated (Master of Science, Engineering). As an underclassman and grad student,he  read mystery novels to blow off steam. After witnessing one too many occurrences of a book taking flight across the room and impacting into the nearest the wall, his best friend John J. McCaffrey happened upon a writing contest in a magazine and bet Alder $10 he couldn’t finish plotting and writing a novel in time to submit it. That bet led to the creation of Blockade, the first novel to feature college professor Julian Laufer. The magazine folded, but not until Alder had won the $10. John offered double or nothing that Alder wouldn’t submit the novel to an actual publisher. He did.

(The rest, as they say…)

The artwork on the dust cover of Blockade represented a scene from the book, sort of, but for the most part left Alder scratching his head. On the other hand, it sold well enough that he decided he had better things to worry about…like kicking out the next two or three before the public sobered up. Since then he’s published at least one, sometimes two books a year. Alder’s publisher is after him to create a pseudonym and start a new series. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.

He spent several months in Hollywood earlier in the year, writing screenplays; it was good money, but he wasn’t kept busy enough and grew to hate it (he did, however, use the experience in the plots for forthcoming novels, including the one he is currently writing, Prepared to Die).

He enjoys both travel and research. Currently he is on vacation in Europe to recharge his creative batteries. So far he has written three short stories and plotted the tricky bits of a locked-room mystery novel (fourth or fifth in line to actually be written). When Possessed by Story very little exists to Alder; he might not eat, sleep (much, if at all), bathe or shave for days.

Related to this: unstoppable when sets his mind in pursuit of…well, whatever. Also related: among his practical skills is a knowledge of guns / gunplay; he can shoot reasonably accurately, a skill pounded into him by his father and Sergeant Vincente when he was growing up. He’s kept up his skill in order to write about it accurately. Like his main character/detective Julian Laufer, he currently doesn’t own a gun (though there is one in his apartment; it belongs to his father), though he does belong to a local gun club.

As an adult, he emulates many of the qualities of the boy scout he might have been: friendly and approachable, energetic and adventurous, generous, honorable, honest and trustworthy. Basically optimistic, positive and selfless; disappointments run off him like water off a duck’s back. Instilled with a sincere passion for justice, probably acquired from his father. A fun conversationalist (though when nervous is prone to awkward babble).

Not generally moved to anger (and even more rarely on his own behalf). It takes a lot to push Alder into a rare black mood; it takes even more provoking to flare his temper, and even then it is more likely to be on someone else’s behalf rather than his own. When angry he becomes hot-headed and outspoken. He does not usually express his anger physically; like many large men he is well aware of his size and his capability to injure others or break / smash things if not careful.

He speaks affectionately of his father Edward (living, retired from the NYPD) and his mother Imelda (deceased). His older brother, Edward Jr., died in infancy. For many years he maintained an affectionate correspondence with his godmother Lisa, his mother’s dearest friend. His godfather, his father’s immediate subordinate and working partner, died two years ago; Alder still misses Sergeant Vincente and faithfully visits his grave when his father is snowbirding (every winter, in Florida; Alder bought him a house with his first royalty check).

Alder lives in a brownstone apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. It is spacious enough to contain a (small, cramped) foyer, a living room/study lined on three sides with bookshelves and oddities (the fourth side has yellow silk wall hangings and a fireplace), a kitchen with dining nook (Alder is not known for dinner-parties), two bedrooms (one, with an oversized bed, is Alder’s; the other is mostly reserved for the use of his father when he comes to stay, which both of them expect he will when he is in town) and a full bathroom. He has a live-out housekeeper, Mrs. Harriet Tabalonsky, who keeps him in groceries and leaves reheatable meals in the refrigerator (that he has a refrigerator at all is a point of pride to “Tabby,” who worries incessantly about Alder’s imminent death-by-starvation). Alder enjoys cooking when not Possessed by Story. Tabby lives in fear of those spells – it takes her days to get the kitchen back the way she had it (ever the engineer, Alder rearranges things for better efficiency), and she never did find the pepper grinder.

Heterosexual and open to love but not consumed by the pursuit; truth is, he is somewhat awkward about dealing with the fairer sex. He has had a couple of serious relationships, but they ended up going nowhere (probably appearing in the gossip columns did not help). The last one failed, spectacularly, because he got stuck inside his head writing Beyond the Pale, an Opponent (which had a spectacular multiple-solutions ending), leading to his rarely showing up on time as prearranged, despite fervent and regular promises to Do Better. It was amazing how the bits and pieces of a dozen red roses, when used as a weapon rather than a peace offering as intended, went everywhere. When he got home, his father thought he’d been mugged, and kept after him to report the matter properly to the police. Alder finally broke down and told him the truth. It was several hours before Edward Bishop stopped sniggering.

A political moderate; most recently he voted for Roosevelt.

Physically, Alder has rugged masculine good looks. He wears black-framed glasses for reading. He has a long, lanky body whose athleticism (he runs, and skis) is usually belied by the clothes he wears. Usually dresses more for comfort than fashion, though looks good in a tuxedo (i.e., when he bothers). Usually he is to be found draped over an easy chair, reading a book, in a posture that (from an outside viewpoint) can’t possibly look comfortable. Coat pockets often distended by at least one paperback mystery novel, napkins, candy bar wrappers, and other assorted scraps of paper. It is not unusual for his clothing to have ink splotches or cuffs to have notes jotted upon them. Casual speech patterns. Drinks Old Fashioneds or (less often) beer, but really prefers coffee. Was a cigarette smoker; broke that habit (too dangerous while distracted) and now only smokes the occasional pipe.

Favorite sports: baseball, boxing and hockey (not necessarily in that order). For team sports, favors New York teams. Is interested in the possibilities of the National Basketball League, but hasn’t started following it with any real interest.

Books by Alder Bishop:
Blockade	Basic Endings by Alder Bishop	Cauldron, Bubble!
Regardless of Lightning		The Nine of Spades
Poison for Two		Opposite Colors (short stories)
Even Unto Death		Cougar in the Mist
The Veil of Testimony		Beyond the Pale, an Opponent
Basic Endings (short stories)		The Seven Salamanders
Lancehead		Prepared to Die (forthcoming)
A Good Time Dying		Dark Bishop (novellas and short stories; forthcoming)
Dead by Reflection

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Alder Bishop is a Player Character in Murder at Christmas, created and written by Ree Moorhead Pruehs

You can learn more about other characters here.

Murder at Christmas is an online email game that will run over (approximately) the Twelve Days of Christmas – from December 21st 2016 until January 6th 2017. There are eight writers, working collaboratively (see the Rules of the Game). Regular updates will be posted on the website, with links that you can follow on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ so that people can follow the story, root for their favourite characters, and keep up with the twists and turns of the plot.

Followers can also apply to join the Gossip mailing list,where they can discuss the game with the writers!