Pocket Life
By Corky Mau
January 2025
Who Done It?
Pocket author keeps her readers guessing
I love a good mystery, especially when the main characters are small town newspaper reporters. Set the story in the Sacramento Delta and I’m hooked.
Award-winning author Michele Drier writes to my tastes. A longtime Pocket resident, she’s produced 18 books that include mysteries and paranormal romance.
I met Drier at the State Fair. She was part of a program where authors introduce their books to the public. When Drier mentioned living in Pocket, I had to learn more.
A fifth-generation Californian, her family settled in San Francisco in 1849. Born in Santa Cruz, she was named Michael, after actress and writer Blanche Oelrichs, who wrote under the name Michael Strange.
“Eventually my mother changed my name to Michele so people would know I was a girl,” Drier says.
Drier spent several years as an investigative reporter at the San Jose Mercury News. She also edited newspapers in Modesto and Lodi.
She loves talking about writing and helping authors. In 2020, she co-chaired Bouchercon, the oldest and largest convention for authors and fans of mystery and detective fiction. Drier is past president of Capitol Crimes, a local group for mystery lovers.
A history buff, Drier spends hours researching historical locations and events for her books. Characters include bits and pieces of herself and acquaintances.
In “Labeled for Death,” she mentions the Grands, Sacramento women savvy in local politics. The group is based on real women Drier met through a neighbor, Illa Collin, the late former county supervisor.
“I used them in the book because it seemed sensible that Amy Hobbes, the editor of a local newspaper, would relish a chance to get behind-the-scenes information about local politics,” Drier says.
The book is part of the “Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mysteries,” published in 2011. Characters in the three-book series are based on Drier’s newspaper coworkers.
“The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles” are 11 books in the paranormal romance genre. “My heroines are modern-day women who travel to Budapest, where they fall in love with men who just happen to be vampires. My vampires don’t kill anyone. There’s more sex on the page than violence,” she says.
In 2019, Drier published “The Stained Glass Mysteries.” She says, “I wanted to write a cozy mystery with an edge.”
These days, she’s busy with critique circles and speaking engagements. Of her work habits, she says, “I wish I were a more disciplined writer. I’ll set aside two or three days a week to write. In my head, I usually know the beginning and ending of a story. The middle evolves as I write. I often lull myself to sleep creating the next chapter.”
Drier always finishes one book before she starts another. She’s writing the 12th book in the vampire series, with plans for another mystery. The plot involves tracking down stolen art around Europe. Her memoirs are also planned.
The books are available on Amazon and in local libraries. For information, visit micheledrier.me.
GIRLS SOFTBALL
Registration for Pocket Girls Softball spring season ends Friday, Jan. 10. Player selections take place Jan. 16–31. For information, visit pocketgirlssoftball.org.
Corky Mau can be reached at corky.sue50@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
