Or for me more personally the question is: Why does the story line in WELL READ, THEN DEAD fit so well on Estero Island in Fort Myers Beach? Plot, character and setting are often referred to as the three-legged stool of story. I’ve heard writers fight over, er, discuss the preeminence of character over plot vs. plot over character, but no one seems to want to arm wrestle about the importance of setting. There are folks who think setting is nothing more than background. Not me. Setting may not be the heart and soul of a story but it is the floor, the roof and the walls that hold the characters and the plot enclosed and in touch. And often the setting contributes to the plot. For example, the classic “stranded on an island” story Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe nearly three hundred years ago has been imitated dozens of time in print and on film but the story line is always about isolation and survival so it really couldn’t take place in say, Manhattan during rush hour. When I decided I wanted to write a cozy mystery set in a bookstore/café, known as the Read ’Em and Eat,…

I’ve begun to think that inspiration is a bit like love: it appears unexpectedly and completely consumes one’s thoughts. I wasn’t looking to write a new series when the idea for The Book Retreat Mysteries struck. I was plenty busy with The Books By The Bay series, the Charmed Pie Shoppe series, and writing one half of The Novel Idea Mysteries (under the name Lucy Arlington). However, this muse refused to be ignored. Two summers ago, I’d been binge watching Downton Abbey. I love everything about that show, but what I love most is the incredible writing. The scenes unfold slowly, like a rosebud opening, and every line of dialog is carefully constructed. Anyway, I’d just finished gorging on Downton Abbey when we headed off on our family vacation to The Homestead Resort. Located in the wilds of western Virginia, this historic hotel offered tons of amenities as well as a variety of outdoor activities. It offered us an escape from our busy, noises lives. Staying there would be like turning back the clock. It would be out Downton Abbey retreat. The moment I first saw the sprawling manor house that was The Homestead nestled against a backdrop of blue…