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Mary Cash leaned over a hospital bed to hear what she thought were her mother's last words.



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Books written by Mary Ellen Cooper

• "Unlikely Assassins" (1992).


• "Blood and Pity" (1994).


• "Murder at the Locksmith Convention" (1997).


• "The Wright Special" (1998).


• "Fatal Trust" (2000).


• "Key Deceptions" (2000).


• "Uncivil Death" (2001).


• "Key Confrontations" (2003).


• "Slow Death ... and Other Oklahoma Murders" (June 2003).


• "Uncivil Death in Norfolk" (2004).


• "Deadly Patterns" (2004).


• "Deadly Redlands" (2004).


• "Murder in Mexico" (2005).


• "Bold and Brassy" (2007).

Cooper wrote short stories included in these anthologies:


• "Almostly Murder ... With Pets" in 2002.


• "Remindful Murder With Colorful Kin" in 2008.

She also compiled a cookbook titled "In the Kitchen with Oklahoma First Ladies 1907-1957," published in 2008.

"'Black Pearl,'" her mother whispered through a respirator.

"What's 'Black Pearl'?" Cash asked.

"Send the manuscript to New York," her mother requested.

That was 1992. Doctor's were telling Cash's mother, Mary Ellen Cooper, now 77, who had been in an auto accident, that she wouldn't walk again, but instead, the Stillwater-based writer had her books on her mind.

Today, both Marys laugh about this story.

"Black Pearl" is a romance novel set in India about a young woman who was orphaned and walked across much of India in 1859. An editor expressed interest in publishing the book a couple of days before Cooper's accident. Cash delivered "Black Pearl" immediately, but it never was published.

But that wouldn't set Cooper back.

She would have 14 of her books either published or self-published after "Black Pearl" and would soon start work on a true-crime book, "Blood and Pity." The back flap of the book reads, "In the tradition of 'Sleeping With the Enemy,' here's the terrifying true story of a conman-turned-killer who murdered his two wives — and possibly others."

But Cooper's car accident would bring news almost as chilling as anything on the pages of "Blood and Pity."

Cooper said doctors told her she broke 19 bones.

"One doctor said, 'We're not working with broken bones, we're working with shattered bones,'" Cooper said. "It's kind of odd. I never doubted I would recover."

Cooper seems as if she's used to defying expectations. Cooper is the kind of person who's quick to pour a glass of cranberry juice, which matches the color of her sweater and pants, and won't hesitate talking about her grandchildren and extended family.

Many of Cooper's books present a harsh contrast to the warm, endearing home she lives in and resembles.

The same woman who wrote "Fatal Trust" and "Deadly Patterns" has numerous pictures of smiling family members hanging on her walls.

She owns a rosary so large, it could fit around the necks of all 12 apostles.

The board game "Is the Pope Catholic? And Other Catholic Trivia" sits atop one of the several bookshelves overflowing with literature.

Nothing about the place points to a person interested in mystery or intrigue.

But people turn to Cooper to tell their sometimes horrifying personal stories. She has interviewed hundreds of people, from ex-convicts to the mothers of murderers, to complete her stories.

Cooper's car accident and the unpublished book "Black Pearl" are footnotes to the pages of her life.

Before Cooper retired at 59 to become a full-time writer, she worked with her husband, Charlie Cooper, to maintain a motorcycle shop, bicycle shop and locksmith business in Stillwater. The two shared a passion for motorcycles.

She recalled her days working at a beauty shop in Stillwater before marrying Charlie in 1952. He would jump on his motorcycle and leave his family bike shop. When he passed the beauty shop, he would lean around the corner of W Sixth Avenue and S Main Street while his foot pegs sparked against the asphalt.

This is the part of the story where Cooper puts her hands over her heart.

"I thought he was the most dashing, handsome man in Payne County," Cooper said.

After getting married, Cooper managed the local motorcycle shop while her husband ran the bicycle and lock shop. Her eight children also kept her busy.

Between staying on top of business matters and rearing the couple's eight children, Cooper didn't get much time to work on writing, but she read heavily.

"She has always been a multitasker," said Linda Bartram, Cooper's daughter and owner of Cooper's Locksmith. "When we were growing up, I remember her having a baby on her hip, a book in the hand (while) stirring a pot. That's just Mom, always reading."

Cooper said starting her full-time writing career was rough.

"I'd say (to my husband), 'You want to hear what I've written?'" she asked.

He replied with a no.

"He was not at all encouraging," Cooper laughed.

Bartram remembered an article her mother wrote in the '80s that combined several family road trips into one tale. The Coopers traveled in a large motor home nicknamed the Titanic. Bartram said during one trip the Titanic smashed into a black cow, and the animal embedded the motorcycle mounted to the front of the Titanic into the motor home's grill.

"From there, the trip went downhill," Bartram said.

Running on a tight schedule, the family couldn't stop for repairs. The Coopers continued with the motorcycle stuck to the hood. It acted like a scary, expensive hood ornament all the way to Los Angeles.

"My dad didn't appreciate (her writing) that one," Bartram said.

Cooper said her husband's attitude changed after her book "Unlikely Assassins" came out.

In an Ohio hotel lobby, a woman hollered at Cooper and asked for an autograph.

"After that happened, he would start telling people, 'My wife writes books,'" Cooper said. "Before that, he thought I was being silly."

"Unlikely Assassins" wasn't a silly story. Cooper detailed the story of Francine Stepp and Cindy Lynn, two teens who murdered a Stillwater couple. On June 8, 1988, Mark and Delores Stepp were found naked in their bedroom. Mark Stepp had been shot, and the couple had been stabbed a combined 27 times.

Cooper said she tried to get her son-in-law Billy Bartram, one of the investigating officers at the time, to write a book about the case. She said he was sick of the case and never wanted to hear about it again.

Cooper did.

She said she began her work on the story the following fall. She interviewed teachers, sat through the court hearings and talked to several of the suspects' friends. She even visited the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma City where the girls were held.

Cooper also assists others in writing stories. Once a month, the Stillwater Writers' Group meets to edit and discuss stories. Local science-fiction writer Dennis Gronquist has visited Cooper's home for writers' group sessions for about eight years.

"It takes someone that cares and has patience (to help with writing)," he said. "She is such a moral support. She is the most important mentor I've ever met."

Not only has Cooper and her writing helped others, the books have helped Cooper, her daughter said.

"The books have been good for her," Bartram said. "A lot of people shut themselves off from the world. She has kept her mind functioning by being a part of things."

Although Cooper said she doesn't recall how many books she has sold, she does know why she writes.

"Many of the writers I know make a little bit (of money)," Cooper said. "I think (the important thing is) the satisfaction of seeing your work in print, knowing you researched it and wrote it. If somebody likes it, then it warms your heart."


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