D.E. Carr’s debut novel combines cozy mystery and science fiction

It was the death of her younger brother Rick that inspired Ann Arbor resident D.E. Carr to write her first novel.

“My brother died by suicide in 2017. I was in a deep state of grief from 2017 until COVID-19 hit in 2020. I was just starting to come out of it,” Carr said. “With COVID, we had a lot of leisure time on our hands. I was managing a rec center, which closed down. It was a good time to catch up on my reading since I hadn’t done much since my brother died.

“I found I was still trying to avoid any heavy material,” she continued. “I was having trouble finding a book that wouldn’t destroy me. I wanted something to light to read. When I couldn’t find something, I decided to write the book I wanted to read.”

The result is “When Squirrels Fly” (She Writes Press, $17.99). Carr will celebrate its release Aug. 6 in Ann Arbor.

The book is a blend of cozy mystery and science fiction, according to the author. Neuroscientist Allie Caldwell gets a rambling call from Mel, her eccentric aunt, in the middle of the night. Afterward, Mel disappears, prompting Allie to drop everything and head to Ann Arbor to find her.  

“It’s a cozy mystery where you have an amateur sleuth who doesn’t have a law enforcement background, but she uses her experience and intelligence and problem-solving skills,” Carr said. “It was easy for me to make her a neuroscientist because I have a background in neuropsychology from my previous career work. I wanted her to be smart, but she also has some trust issues with other people in her background. The inspiration was a strong, intelligent female who can figure things out.” 

In the days following her arrival in Ann Arbor, Allie ignores her gut instincts — and some weird dream-based warnings from angry flying squirrels — and accepts help from her aunt’s handsome yet enigmatic neighbor George. In order to discern how virtual reality goggles, innovative migraine research, hidden treasure, attack drones and a neighborhood trellis are all connected to Mel’s disappearance, they’ll need to endure bungled bids of help from Allie’s well-meaning brother, constant interruptions from Mel’s itinerant Chihuahua and his exuberant pit bull pal, and even some attempts on their lives.

“Rick inspired the character Nick,” Carr said. “My brother was one of those people with a really big personality — very sharp witted, kind of like Robin Williams. He had the ability to make me laugh.”

Aunt Mel is based on “a combination of people” Carr has met during her time in Ann Arbor.

“The rest of the characters are as well — they have some combination of personality traits,” she said. “One thing I love about college towns is the diversity of the population that you get to interact with — people from all different backgrounds and ethnicities and experiences. You encounter people who are quirky, which is celebrated in college towns, and I love that about them.”

Carr spoke about the book’s title. 

“Allie has stress dreams. Mine were tornadoes. I wanted it to be something you’d interact with in everyday life, so tornadoes wouldn’t work,” she said. “I have a love-hate relationship with the squirrels in my backyard. I’ve done everything I could to keep these squirrels out of the birdfeeders, but they always seem to find a way into them. I remember looking outside and seeing the damn squirrels sitting in the hanging basket, and I could not figure out how they got in there! It points to the whimsy of the book. In her dreams, the flying squirrels are giving her warnings about things.”

Born in Indianapolis, Carr is the fourth of seven children and the only one of her siblings to move out of Indianapolis. She has lived in Ann Arbor for 30 years with her husband, Brian Jones, director of Ph.D. and research administration at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. They have one daughter, Lydia, 27. 

A two-time alumna of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Carr earned a bachelor of professional arts degree in history, as well as a master’s degree in clinical psychology. She later earned a graduate certificate in public health from U-M. She worked in neuropsychology, community health and recreation management before becoming an author.

“After I got my master’s degree, I moved to Lubbock, Texas, with my husband,” she said. “While I was there, I got a job working at a physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic with stroke patients. From my clinical psychology background, I learned how to do all the psychometrics — all the assessments you do on people with traumatic brain injuries. I administered all the neuropsychological assignments to determine whether they could live on their own or what kind of assistance they’d need after they left rehab. I managed an inpatient department.”

She did that for seven years. When she and her husband moved to Ann Arbor, she had to decide whether she wanted to stay in psychology or change professions. She chose the latter.

“I got interested in wellness education and personal training,” she said. “For 21 years, I worked at the Ann Arbor YMCA. One of the things we were doing was addressing childhood obesity and chronic disease prevention. That’s when I decided to learn a little bit more about public health, so I got my grad certificate in public health.” 

Carr always knew she would write a book.

“Writing’s always been something I enjoyed doing. In high school, I wrote a lot of bad poetry. I thought I would become a journalist. That was my main passion when I went to Ball State. Man, has that field changed!” she said. “When I started all the career paths that I took, I did all kinds of writing. Even in neuropsychology, I did all the test assessment write-ups and recommendations. When I got to the Ann Arbor YMCA, I was doing application grant writing because a lot of our programs depended on grants.”

As she penned “When Squirrels Fly,” she learned a lot about the writing process. She hired a local editor to help her get her manuscript into shape.

“I think the best part about writing this book was making my brother into a character and developing a relationship between him and the protagonist,” she said. “I started writing it at a time when I was still processing my grief, and that helped me in the process.”

Keep up with Carr at carrwrites.com.