Esther Escott

My husband, Charles Escott, and I, with our two young sons, lived in California's Santa Cruz mountains during the early 1970's, when the area became known as The Murder Capital of the World. Three demented killers were at work, committing 27 murders within 30 months. This was well documented then in newspapers and today can be researched online.

We knew about the murders, of course, but weren't terribly afraid. We lived high on a hill, at the end of the paved road, and never walked the valley road below. Ordinary, day-to-day life went on, just as it does in my novel about this time period, La Vida Segunda - The Second Life. My protagonist, retiring there early after a heart attack, finds friends and builds a life for himself even though a murder is committed near his cabin.

Charles and I were both born in Pennsylvania, where we met at the University of Pennsylvania at Indiana, Pa., and both graduated with degrees in Art Education. Married, we both taught Art, Charles going on to a masters degree in Metalsmithing while I eventually found some success as a pastel painter. As one of Charles's projects, he created an elaborate funerary urn, which I incorporated into La Vida Segunda, where it played an important role in the story.