For this week’s Wicked Wednesday, let’s talk community. That can mean the physical place as well as the people who live there. All the Wickeds have set our series in small towns. So, dish. Share one bad thing that’s happened to your protagonist because of your series’ community . . . or one good thing.
Edith/Maddie: In my Cozy Capers Book Group series, nearly all the shop owners and some of the town officials belong to the cozy mystery book group Mac Almeida is also part of. That’s her community, and when the group starts to think a real murder is their own cozy mystery to solve, she tells them, “No! This is real life.” The book group pulls Mac into trouble – but they also rally around to help her get out of it.
Jessie: What a great question, Edith. I love the set-up for your Cozy Capers series. The same community of Walmsley Parva works for and against my sleuths. At the beginning of Murder in an English Village, Edwina is the subject of village gossip which is not not something she enjoys. Beryl, on the other hand, is delighted to feel like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her adult life.
Sherry: The contrast between Edwina and Beryl is one of the reasons I love your series, Jessie! One of the hard things for Sarah in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mysteries is that the community is very tight knit and if you aren’t from there you may never be fully trusted. On the other hand, the DiNapolis who own DiNapoli’s Roast Beef and Pizza have taken Sarah under their wing and stand up for her.
Barb: Sarah’s decision to stay in Ellington following her divorce is one of the most interesting things about her. Julia Snowden in the Maine Clambake Mysteries is the product of a marriage between a summer person and a local. This puts her nowhere in the social hierarchy of Busman’s Harbor and makes her feel like an outsider. Her sister, Livvie, has no such qualms and has fully embraced the community as they have fully embraced her. Which all goes to show, I suppose, that feeling like an outsider can be driven as much from your insides as from your circumstances.
Julie: Goosebush is the kind of place where everyone knows each other’s business. The premise of the Garden Squad is that they notice or hear of problems and set out to solve them. The wonderful thing about Lilly is that she doesn’t care what folks say or think about her. But she’ll defend her loved ones at all costs. She loves the community and aspires to make it the best it can be.
Readers: When have you had support from your community, however you define it?