Readers, my guest today is award-winning C.C. Harrison who addresses a problem we authors face continually in our women in jeopardy stories. (And don’t get us started on why the female protagonist goes down in the basement!) Please welcome C.C. Harrison. ~ Donnell
By C. C. Harrison
Author C.C. Harrison
I gave up writing romance novels because I couldn’t come up with enough conflict in a love relationship to make an interesting story. I switched to crime fiction where there is plenty of conflict, but found I faced another dilemma. Whenever I wrote my heroine into jeopardy, I had to stop and figure out why she didn’t just call the police.
The answer to that question is easy when I’m writing a story set in the Old West. Law enforcement, if any, wasn’t so readily available then. Many citizens lived in the mountains or in the wilderness. Farmers and ranchers lived a good distance from the sheriff’s office. Citizens often had to fend for themselves.
In my book of the West, Sage Cane’s House of Grace and Favor, I wrote a scene where a parlor house was being besieged by a band of spiritual zealots while a pregnant school teacher was having a baby in the barn. The marshal and the deputies in that rough and rugged mining town were miles away engaged in other activities.
In the manuscript I’m currently working on, another story of the Old West titled The Women of Cheater Mountain, two homesteading sisters are being threatened, harassed, and vandalized by bad guys who want their land. Their homestead is five miles from town where the marshal and his lone deputy are busy keeping the gunslingers in check.
But these days when just about everyone has a cell phone, 
why can’t a woman just call the police when she’s being stalked, threatened or otherwise imperiled?
I gave this a lot of thought and realized that even now there are many reasons someone may not be able to call the police:
Phone lines are down/cell phone towers damaged. This recently happened to an author I know who lives in the mountains. Someone deliberately shot out the cell tower. On another occasion, a construction crew accidentally dug up the cable supplying internet and cell service to the community. No computers, phones, cell service, or 911 for nearly 24 hours.
Police are a threat to her—Think of a reason.
Evidence in this or another crime points to her involvement.
No cell phone service in her location.
Cell phone battery is dead.
Cell phone has fallen into the canyon, the creek, the ocean, etc.
Cell phone was run over by a car, a train, a bus, etc.
She doesn’t trust the police—Find a logical reason for this.
Police or other authority figures are the bad guys—Rogue cops, crooked mayor, etc. Just read the news. You’re bound to find someone.
It’s a small town and there are no police or maybe only one police officer and he’s busy—Often the case in small towns or isolated communities.
She’s afraid the police won’t believe her—Maybe this has happened to you, or someone you know.
Someone is physically stopping her from using a phone.
If she calls the police, harm will come to someone else.
If she uses the phone, she’ll set off an explosion.—You might know of some other techie reasons.
She’s unable to reach the phone—Her hands are tied, arms broken, it’s too far out of reach, etc.
She’s unable to speak for some reason.
There’s no answer to her emergency phone call—I’ve even had a busy signal once when I called 911.
She’s hiding and if she uses the phone she’ll reveal her whereabouts to the bad guys.
She’s committed a crime herself so must run or hide.
She thinks she’s committed a crime so must run or hide.
The police think she’s committed a crime so she must run or hide.
If she called the police it would cause more or worse problems.
It would implicate someone unjustly.
The police would ask questions about something else she doesn’t want them to know.
Police might think she’s crazy.
The police are working on a catastrophic matter—Riot, terrorist attack, urban bombing, or some other major calamity.
Can you come up with some other reasons? If so, please share them in the comment section.
About the Author C. C. Harrison is an award winning author who knew she was going to write novels when she checked out her first beginning reader from the library. “Now, I write books about ordinary women having extraordinary experiences, courageous women with strength and resilience who find a way to overcome fear and obstacles to do what needs to be done.”
DEATH BY G-STRING – 2019 Colorado Humanities Book Award WINNER!
THE CHARMSTONE – “A valuable book!” – Tony Hillerman
PICTURE OF LIES – “Nice combination of action, romance and Navajo lore.” – Kirkus
Visit my website at www.ccharrison-author.com and www.christyhubbard.com
www.amazon.com/author/ccharrison-author.com
Good blog. Thank you!
Ha! I love this post. Every author who’s ever written a female protagonist has addressed this problem. I can think of one I used in my debut novel. The bad guy has smashed her phone. Thanks for joining me today, C.C.
Thanks for an interesting blog, great reasons for why a woman wouldn’t call the police—who knew there were so many!
Wow, I think you covered all the reasons why. I like your book premises and shall check! VB
What a great list of reasons! Also, what’s a parlor house?
I looked up parlor house. I assume in this case it’s a kind of brothel, which explains the spiritual zealots attacking it…? Anyway, I enjoyed this blog very much. 🙂
Barbara, I think you are right. Hopefully, C.C. will enlighten us further. Thanks for stopping by!
Good morning, Everyone,
I apologize for my delay in commenting and answering. We had a three day snowstorm and I’m dealing with 3 feet of snow, closed roads, and a dead car battery.
I’m glad you enjoyed my blog. I thought it might be a question other writers had pondered.
A parlor house is a lavishly furnished bordello as opposed to a crib in the Old West which is basically a shanty or shack unconnected to an actual bordello usually located in an undesirable part of town. The women in the cribs are independent contractors, if you will. They work for themselves.
If anyone thinks of any other reason, please let me know. I’ll add it to my list.
And yes, Donnell, the bad guy smashed the phone. I’ll add that to my list.
I always get miffed when people ask that question. They obviously have not been a woman in trouble. I once called the police about my violent ex. They laughed because he was such a charmer. It could also depend on where you live and your race.
One time I dialed 911 …and was told I’d called the wrong 911. They’d miss routed our entire neighborhood. Hard to get such a thing straightened out as you watch the thing you called about happening.
Valerie, no reason to get miffed, you have just enlightened us. Well done.
Karen Lin, and I’d thought I’d heard everything! Wow.
C.C. I thought it was a great blog, and thought-provoking as well. Looking forward to your next award-winning release.
Yes, Valerie, I totally get that!! I had the exact same thing happen! He was good looking, well spoken, and a real charmer! Without going into detail, the cop totally dismissed my complaint even though it was MY apartment, MY name on the lease, My money that paid the bills. This ex stalked me for more than 15 years. Honestly! This is why I don’t write under my own name. At my last move, I called the police AGAIN, the deputy came to my house, listened to my story, then told me to my face he didn’t believe me. Amazing, isn’t it? I worked my way up to the detective in charge of domestic issues, and he took care of it in a hurry. Okay, there’s a plot point for you all. (smile) Thank you everyone for stopping by, and thank you for the kind words. Happy reading! Happy writing!!