The Town

There will be no guest blogger today. Instead, I would like to tell you a little about the town that has served as the setting for my novels. It isn’t a huge town, having about 60,000 residents or so. It rests peacefully along the Mississippi river. It is a tourist town attracting many people to the revitalized downtown, where Ellen’s café sits among a number of old store buildings. Most have been restored to their former glory. There is a University in this town, though it, like the town, shall remain nameless.

Next to Ellen’s café is a hotel. It is the newest building on Main Street. The original building burned and the hotel was built in its place. At six stories, it towers over the other buildings on the street and guests on the upper floors can watch the barges float past on the river.

Down at the river, there is a paddlewheel boat that tourists can ride during the day. On weekends there is a mystery cruise during the evening. Someone dies on every cruise and the passenger who figures out whodunit first will win a prize.

Politicians visit this town often, knowing that the residents are eager to support their party. It has seen its share of politician go on to great things. There is money in this town, though most of the residents are ordinary middleclass workers. Just outside the city limits, the farmland begins. They raise crops or cattle where they can, but the rest is covered with trees.