Elizabette Guéçamburu has been writing for many years. She has been writing a column, Hometown Girl, for her local newspaper, the Patterson Irrigator, since 2005. She has written on disability rights issues. She has also written freelance for marketing companies. She has a couple drafts of novels tucked away that she hasn’t tried to publish yet.

This year, she published her first novel, “Murder in the Boardinghouse.” And she is thrilled.

Guéçamburu doesn’t want to spoil the plot, so she simply says “It’s about a boardinghouse and a murder and the characters are all Basque.” She described it as “Agatha Christie meets a murder mystery in a Basque boardinghouse in the 40s.”

Guéçamburu’s aunt, Jeanette Bidart, was the one who suggested that she enter the annual Basque Writing Contest of the Center for Basque Studies. Guéçamburu liked the idea of writing on a Basque topic, but was at a loss as to what to write about. The outlines of the contest are very broad.

But after thinking about it for a bit, she had a lightbulb moment and an idea for the novel was born. In fact, the storyline came to her so quickly that she wrote the novel in a mere eight weeks. She won first place in the 2022 contest and the Center for Basque Studies (University of Nevada Reno) offered to publish it for her, which they do for the winners.

Guéçamburu’s family background made her a prime candidate to write about life in a Basque boardinghouse. Her great grandmother was a cook at the Overland Hotel in Gardnerville, Nev. Guéçamburu grew up in Patterson, in a closeknit Basque family that owns a longtime farm. As she wrote, “it reminded me of all the stories that I heard about.”

Guéçamburu said her father was very perplexed by the idea of a murder in a Basque boarding house, because as a rule, Basque people are very religious and very trustworthy. But she points out that there is more drama in the immigrant community than meets the eye.

“Bascos keep stuff quiet, but things happen,” she said, with a smile. “It’s scandalous and that is the best part,” she said about her book. At the time Euskal Kazeta interviewed Guéçamburu, her father was reading the book and enjoying it. “It’s been fun to watch him read it. He keeps changing his mind about who the suspect is,” she said.

“I want it to be a fun read,” said Guéçamburu. And “for those who have grown up in a Basque community, this is going to resonate a lot.” To buy her book from Amazon, click here.

Guecamburu has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disease that led her to use a wheelchair since age four. The first-time novelist writes about disability rights on a regular basis. She has been undergoing a revolutionary treatment, Spinraza, for her disability that has had very positive effects. She would love to travel to the Basque Country, but is waiting for the day that airlines will be more friendly to electric wheelchair users.

Guecamburu has taken charge of the sales of her book, promoting it on her own website, Elizabette Unplugged, her Facebook page and her Instagram account. She also designed the cover of the book. If you want to get a signed copy of her book, go to her website. She hopes to hold a booksigning at the Los Banos Picnic next May.

Guecamburu received her B.A. from Santa Clara University and then attended law school there as well. “But I found myself wanting to write more than I wanted to be in law school.” Besides her writing, she also runs the bookkeeping for her family’s agricultural business.

The deadline for the annual Basque Writing Contest from the Center for Basque Studies is Sept. 30.