I’d like to welcome author Sarah Fox to the blog. She’s here to celebrate the publication of Through the Liquor Glass, the fifth book in her popular Literary Pub Mysteries, which comes out today!
Take it away, Sarah!
Thank you to Barbara Ross and all of the Wicked Authors for inviting me here today!
I was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and that’s where my love of mysteries began. Growing up, I never really pictured myself living in a small town, but that’s where I’ve ended up. Living in a small town has turned out to be a good thing for me as a cozy mystery writer because it has provided me with plenty of fodder for the imagination.
Although my first cozy mystery series, the Music Lover’s Mysteries, takes place in Vancouver, all of my subsequent series are set in fictional small towns: the Pancake House Mysteries in Wildwood Cove, Washington; the Literary Pub Mysteries in Shady Creek, Vermont; and my upcoming True Confections Mysteries in Larch Haven, Vermont.
Small-town living has inspired many of the events in my books. The first Literary Pub Mystery, Wine and Punishment, features an autumn festival with a pumpkin catapult competition. The idea for that came from my town’s annual pumpkin harvest festival, which also has a pumpkin catapult competition. Then there’s ladies’ night at the hardware store, which made its way into Yeast of Eden, A Pancake House Mystery #4 (more fun than you might think—I went every year until the pandemic hit). In the latest Literary Pub Mystery, Through the Liquor Glass, the protagonist, Sadie Coleman, takes part in a food and drink festival called A Taste of Shady Creek. Once again, the idea for that event came from one held here in my town.
The local festivals and events aren’t the only sources of inspiration for me, however. I’ve also experienced other aspects of small-town living that I’ve incorporated into my books, like how the local hair salon is a great place to gather gossip and hear the latest news. In fact, the stories I’ve heard at the hair salon inspired plot elements like the flower thefts mentioned in one of my Pancake House Mysteries. Even after publishing sixteen books, I still have plenty of ideas inspired by small-town life that I hope to incorporate into future cozy mysteries. For the moment, however, I hope readers will enjoy the small town atmosphere and autumn vibes of my latest mystery, Through the Liquor Glass.
Readers: Does your town or city hold any fun seasonal events?
About Through the Liquor Glass
In the picturesque New England town of Shady Creek, Vermont, fall is in full swing, and Sadie Coleman, owner of the literary-themed Inkwell pub, is serving up delicious food and drinks—with a side of sleuthing . . .
Autumn brings a wonderland of color and atmosphere to Vermont. As the last leaves fall from the trees, the town is gearing up for a new festival: A Taste of Shady Creek. Pub proprietor Sadie Coleman is looking forward to visitors coming to sample her literary-themed cocktails. She’s a little more wary about her mother’s impending first visit. What if her mom doesn’t like Sadie’s adopted town—or her new boyfriend, Grayson Blake?
Those concerns are overshadowed when a food critic is found dead at Grayson’s craft brewery, pinned under a barrel. Curiouser and curiouser—the victim is linked to Grayson’s past as a private investigator, and all the evidence points to him as the killer. While Grayson lays low, Sadie starts some investigating of her own, diving down a rabbit hole of suspects. Was it a bad review that made the killer mad as a hatter? Or are there other motives at play?
In between serving Kiss of the Cider Woman cocktails and book-minded bites to festival goers, Sadie is striving to clear Grayson’s name. But it’ll take more than a dash of ingenuity to prevent the festival from fizzing out completely—and stop a killer from downing another innocent life . . .
About Sarah Fox
Sarah Fox was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she developed a love for mysteries at a young age. When not writing novels or working as a legal writer she is often reading her way through a stack of books or spending time outdoors with her English springer spaniel. http://www.authorsarahfox.com
Welcome to the Wickeds, Sarah. Yes, I’ve included several actual small-town festivals and events in my books. Congratulations on the new one!
Thanks so much, Edith! Small-town festivals provide such a great backdrop for cozies!
Congratulations on your new release today and your upcoming new series. NYC holds lots of seasonal festivals in all five boroughs.
Thank you, Dru Ann! There must always be something fun to do in NYC!
Between April and November we are very much a tourist town. Being the Folk Music Capital brings in a lot of music lovers, but there is also a festival of some sort every 3 to 4 weeks during that time. These include things like the Iris Festival, Motorcycle Rally and even Bean Fest with the Outhouse Races. There’s as much to do or as little to do in our small town of less than 3,000 full time residents tucked away in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.
Love the cover on “Through the Liquor Glass” and a great sounding story. I can’t wait for the opportunity to read and review it.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Thanks so much, Kay! Outhouse Races sound hilarious! Sounds like you live in a great town. 🙂
Welcome and congratulations on the new book! I’ve lived in a lot of suburban areas outside of big cities and there are always festivals. The funniest–and smelliest–was the Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville, Ohio.
Thank you, Sherry! I never could have come up with the idea of a Sauerkraut Festival. So funny! I’m absolutely loving your Chloe Jackson series!
Congratulations, Sarah! Pittsburgh and the surrounding towns have so many seasonal events I can’t even begin to list them all.
Thank you, Liz! Sounds like you’d never run out of things to do in Pittsburgh!
There is a seafood festival with lots of crafts for sale and live music. A chili festival with blues bands. A Greek festival, yum!!
Sounds fun and delicious! 🙂
We used to live in a very small town that had a festival of it’s own. Nothing very creative, but typical very small town. One just had to adjust one’s brain to small town living to fully enjoy it. Who doesn’t like fried dough drenched in powder sugar? And the talent show and lip-sync contest. I’ve been to a lot of really nice small town festivals celebrating all kinds of things. One just has to back off the big city attitude (we living in Boston for 18 years) to thoroughly enjoy the hokiness.
Through the Liquor Glass sounds like a lot of fun.
Thank you! There’s definitely a cultural difference between cities and small towns. Pros and cons to both!
When I lived in East Haddam, Connecticut, there was an Anniversary Chowder Cook Off that was a huge success. East Haddam is such a small, countrylike town with a great ambiance.
A chowder cook off sounds fun! Thanks for stopping by, Patti!
Interesting cover! This book sounds very interesting
.
Thank you!! 🙂
I’ve always lived in a tiny little town and there’s not much to do, but every summer all the small towns have their own festival- Turkey Days, Oatmeal Days, Bratwurst Days, etc.
I’ve never heard of an oatmeal festival before but I love oatmeal! 🙂
We have a Cowboy Poetry festival in the spring, but I don’t know if I’d call that a true seasonal event.
Cowboy poetry sounds interesting though!
Welcome!! My small town has a pumpkin festival that I look forward to every year. Love the book cover!
Thank you! I love pumpkin festivals!
My small town has the usual festivals based around the Fourth of July and such, but go one small town over and you can participate in a Dickens of a Christmas or the annual Scarecrow Festival. Both are fun and the entire area participates.
Those festivals sound great! I’d love to go to the Christmas one!
We have quite a few. We have lights at the zoo. Downtown Toledo has Christmas trees as well as arches of lights and lighted animals. We have a holiday parade to name a few. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Thank you, Debbie! I love decorative lights so Toledo sounds great!