Hello, welcome to my blog! I will be primarily posting book-related news and posts, but also plan to talk about my experience growing up in a rural area very similar to the fictional town from my debut cozy mystery, CATALOG OF DEATH.
The town of Taylorsford in CATALOG OF DEATH is nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia. How small is it? Well, although its history stretches back to before the American Revolution, the town has yet to acquire a flashing red warning light, much less a stoplight.
But it does have a library, and a historic Carnegie library at that. In CATALOG you’ll meet the library’s new director, Amy Webber. Amy is almost a Taylorsford native, as it’s her mother’s hometown, but she’s still labeled an “outsider” because she was born and raised elsewhere. Amy lives with her aunt, Lydia Talbot, a descendent of one of Taylorsford’s most prominent families. Sadly, historical wealth can’t maintain Lydia’s beautiful Queen Anne Revival home, so she and Amy must keep up the house with limited funds and a lot of elbow grease.
Of course, neighbors are essential to any small town story, and Amy and Lydia’s new neighbor—dancer turned choreographer and teacher, Richard Muir—proves to be just the change that “sworn-off-of-love” Amy needs, although she doesn’t quite realize it at first.
Despite its charms, Taylorsford is not immune to tragedy. An inexplicable murder sets off chain of events that embroils Amy, Lydia, and their friends in an investigation that also unearths long-buried facts about two historical events—a scandalous nineteen-twenties murder trial, and tragic deaths at a nineteen-fifties orphanage.
As a librarian and long-time resident of small towns, I invite you to enter the world of Taylorsford—a world I know quite well, and love dearly. Whether you enjoy the coziness of a small town setting, the thrill of suspense, the humor of everyday life, the charm of history, or the warmth of romance, I hope you’ll find a reason to stop by and visit for a while. Taylorsford and I welcome you!