Just writers looking for a novel approach to murder

Luci Zahray, a pharmacist in Texas, spoke about poison at the New England Crime Bake. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Plants are the basis of all life, Luci Zahray explains. But in the hands of those with knowledge and skill, they can kill.

Consider what grows around you, she says, reeling off the names of several deadly plants that are common hereabouts.

"Natural and organic does not equal safe and healthy," she says, smiling. "I can use their poison to kill you in three seconds, 3 minutes, 3 hours, 3 years, or 30 years."

As if at a revival meeting, the crowd's murmur of agreement soon crescendoes into applause.

"Some people like herbs, but I like poison plants," Zahray says, holding up a small vial of greenish flakes. "Who would know this isn't sage or thyme? You could put this in soup or salad dressing. And there's no footprint. No fingerprint. No credit card record."

Laptops clatter. You can almost hear the plotlines taking shape.

By day, Zahray is a Texas pharmacist. In her spare time, she travels the country sharing that know-how with authors looking for cool ways to kill off their characters.

Her talk enthralls the 200 writers who crowded the Dedham Hilton on a recent weekend for the New England Crime Bake, an annual conference that brings together writers and published authors for three days of murderous bliss.

This year's headliner was best-selling author Harlan Coben, who shared the spotlight with agents and editors advising the hopeful about steps for success.

Gail Hanlon of Danvers had a different reason for coming.

"I am not a published writer, but I am a mystery reader," an awed Hanlon said. "I came simply because I wanted to be in their presence."

Mystery writer Ruth McCarty, of Leominster, is president of the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime and a founding member of the Crime Bake, which also is sponsored by the New England chapter of Mystery Writers of America.

"It's an excellent opportunity for new writers to learn about the writing process, to pitch an agent and to get an idea of what they're doing right and wrong," McCarty said.

For a newbie like former Suffolk County prosecutor Raffi Yessayan of Avon, it's a chance to get a first book recognized. Yessayan's "Eight in the Box," was published by Ballantine Books in June.

After 11 years in the Boston office, including time as chief prosecutor of the elite Gang Unit, Yessayan retired to try his hand at writing about what he knows best. According to one review, his book, based in Boston, "renders a stark, realistically gripping portrait of law enforcement professionals on the job, and under the gun, in a city at the mercy of a madman."

After reading best-selling author James Patterson, Yessayan had the proverbial "aha" moment where he believed he could write such a book. "So my wife said, 'Do it!' and one day when I was in the shower I came up with the idea," he said.

Channel 7 investigative news reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is well into her side career with a series of smart, funny books about TV reporter Charlotte McNally, who solves crimes while dealing with her own on-air angst. Phillippi Ryan, of West Newton, said she longed to write thrillers since reading her first Nancy Drew.

"But on TV you can't make stuff up," she said. "I'm having a great career, but to find the other part of myself is such a joy."

Being at the Crime Bake, for someone who has a glimmer of an idea, offers the chance to rub shoulders with "the gods and goddesses of the pantheon," she explained. "Here, everyone supports each other. You realize you are not alone."

Marshfield writer Amy McKinnon's debut novel, "Tethered," came out in August. The freelance writer and mother of three children pursued her dream even after a first novel was rejected by 73 agents, and abandoned. "I took Hemingway's advice to write what you know," she said.

"Tethered" sprang from a conversation with her uncle, Richard McKinnon, at his Whitman funeral home, about the role faith plays in his business. From there, McKinnon spent 18 months writing the book about Clara Marsh, a funeral director who does not believe in God and the surprises that befall her. After nine months of revising, it sold to Random House 10 days after being offered at auction.

"We learn more from our mistakes than from our successes," McKinnon said. "The most important reason to come here is to be with people who care about writing mysteries. It's group therapy."

For Zahray, it's also about education.

"I'm here to tell you how to have fun with all these deadly poisons," she said. "Food and dietary supplements don't have to be approved, which makes a health food store the best place to buy poison. The whole trick of killing someone in your books is not to get caught."

Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at mmbolton1@verizon.net