I’ve lived in big cities and small towns, plus places in between. But small towns, in particular the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts, has resonated with me as a setting for most of my novels. I’m talking about really small towns, around a thousand people or fewer.
I got to know this part of the U.S. intimately as a reporter for a local daily newspaper and, of course, from living there. I so enjoyed covering what the local people did for work and fun. Yes, there was crime, house fires, politics, and accidents to report. Of course, in my books I up the drama significantly to murder, attempted murder, robbery, feuds (nastier than the ones I observed), child abductions etc. But, hey, this is fiction.
I draw from those experiences to create what I believe are authentic characters and the towns where they live. I have had people try to guess whether a character is based on a real person, but I smile and say that ain’t true. They are made up with one exception. Isabel Long’s mother is inspired by own. I did use a real person’s name for a character, Tim Todd, to be exact. One day when my friend was being a wise guy, I told him I would bump him off in one of my mysteries. And while the character’s personality is different than the real Tim, he loved it when I did.
Small towns are the settings for the eight books in my Isabel Long Mysteries Series as well as standalones like Northern Comfort, The Sweet Spot, and The Sacred Dog. The second in my Twin Jinn Series for middle grade readers is even set in a rural area. My next book is also on that list. Read below.
The towns in my books include Conwell, Penfield, Titus, Caulfield, Dillard, Jefferson, Mercy, oh, the list goes on. Don’t bother looking for them on a map. They’re all inside my head.
These towns don’t have a lot of commerce, not even a downtown. They are lucky if they have a general store, even luckier if it has gas pumps. Maybe there’s a bar or a restaurant, a church, typically Protestant, and a school, if the town has enough kids. Hilltown people do a lot of driving to get anywhere. Worthington, where I lived for 25 years used to have one stoplight, but the state removed it for a rotary a few years ago.
For the most part, folks are nosy as all heck. We can’t help it. We know who drives what vehicle, who’s getting divorced or hooking up, and what trouble our neighbors are getting themselves into, plus feuds. But then when people are undergoing difficulties, people in small towns typically are willing to offer help.
Then, there’s the potential conflict between natives and newcomers, who might have different ideas of what rural life is like.
When I wrote Northern Comfort, I was able to use my knowledge of maple sugaring. I had written enough stories about those hardy people who tap maple trees for their sap and then boil down for syrup at the end of winter. Actually, the name Northern Comfort originates from the Civil War when Northerners couldn’t access sugar made in the South, so they turned to maple sugaring, hence the name.
I’ve been in enough country bars, including my favorite Liston’s in Worthington, where Hank and I used to go dancing Friday nights when it was owned by the Magargals. Isabel Long works part-time at the Rooster. The Sacred Dog is the name of a bar. There are bars in Northern Comfort and The Sweet Spot.
Next up for a novel set in the fictional hilltowns of Western Mass. is The Unforgiving Town, which is a sequel to The Sacred Dog. It will be published this year.
What’s The Unforgiving Town about? A week after his release from prison, Al Kitchen is found dead beside a bicycle on a back country road. Al served 18 years in prison for beating a well-liked man to death during a botched robbery, but most everyone in this small town is unwilling to forgive him. Nobody feels Al could have changed from the reckless guy they knew although he believes he has. They prefer he died in prison, and they make sure he knows that upon his return to Holden.
Stay tuned for news about The Unforgiving Town.
ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: Those are my books so far that are set in the fictional hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. Interested? Here’s the link on Amazon.