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Barry Souder is a man stumbling towards middle age. Parents might recognize the name--if not the face, as Mr. Souder's a terribly unassuming-looking man who rarely gets out much--as being a writer of a series of popular childrens' mystery books.
The Polktown Mysteries are generally innocuous, funny, and usually genuinely clever in their unraveling, although he does occasionally get dismissed as just another imitator of Encyclopedia Brown. But Donald Sobol died recently--Barry even expressed condolences in the foreword to his last book, Sherry and the Seven Silver Swans--and someone has to take up the torch.
Appearance:
Some people age gracefully. Barry certainly hasn't, and that a bit prematurely. He's pushing 40, but looks like he passed it some time ago, his hair noticeably graying and thinning.
On the other hand, he's not in terrible shape, all things considered; he goes for a morning jog a few times a week, and that's probably the majority of the sun his skin sees all day when he's not on tour. He's a little dumpy-looking regardless. His bachelor lifestyle certainly doesn't help here: while he cannot rightly be called a slob, he saves things like "ironing" and "properly folded clothes" and "haircuts" for the times where he goes around signing books.
His blue eyes remain young though, and sharp behind his thick-rimmed glasses.
Barry Souder is a man stumbling towards middle age. Parents might recognize the name--if not the face, as Mr. Souder's a terribly unassuming-looking man who rarely gets out much--as being a writer of a series of popular childrens' mystery books.
The Polktown Mysteries are generally innocuous, funny, and usually genuinely clever in their unraveling, although he does occasionally get dismissed as just another imitator of Encyclopedia Brown. But Donald Sobol died recently--Barry even expressed condolences in the foreword to his last book, Sherry and the Seven Silver Swans--and someone has to take up the torch.
Appearance:
Some people age gracefully. Barry certainly hasn't, and that a bit prematurely. He's pushing 40, but looks like he passed it some time ago, his hair noticeably graying and thinning.
On the other hand, he's not in terrible shape, all things considered; he goes for a morning jog a few times a week, and that's probably the majority of the sun his skin sees all day when he's not on tour. He's a little dumpy-looking regardless. His bachelor lifestyle certainly doesn't help here: while he cannot rightly be called a slob, he saves things like "ironing" and "properly folded clothes" and "haircuts" for the times where he goes around signing books.
His blue eyes remain young though, and sharp behind his thick-rimmed glasses.
