An IRL-inspired Halloween town, and a giveaway – Welcome Emmeline Duncan

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By Liz, happy to welcome Emmeline Duncan back to the blog! Emmeline and I are like soul sisters – she writes about coffee, dogs and now a Halloween-themed town that rivals my very own Salem, Mass. What could be more fun? She’s celebrating the first book in that new series, Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop and she’s here to talk about the town. This book is so fun and I can’t wait for you to read it. Take it away, Emmeline!

If you try to find Elyan Hollow, Oregon, the setting of Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop, on a map, you’ll struggle. Because sadly, Elyan Hollow doesn’t exist outside the Halloween Bookshop Mystery Series.

But you can visit its real-life inspiration.

When an author sits down to write a book, location is always a crucial part of the story. My Ground Rules series is based in Portland, Oregon, which, as you hopefully know, is a real place. When I decided to write a Halloween-themed series about a bookshop, I needed to make a decision: set the series in a quirky Portland neighborhood or create a fictional location.

I opted for the fictional route, except I borrowed from reality.

St Helens, Oregon, about thirty minutes west of Portland on the Columbia River, is the inspiration for Elyan Hollow. Each year, St Helens holds a “Spirit of Halloweentown” festival from late September through October. The town was the filming site for the Halloweentown movies, which starred Debbie Reynolds and Kimberly J. Brown, and encouraged a generation of children to wish they, too, had a magical heritage. (You can also find Bella’s house from the Twilight films in town, plus a handful of other filming sites.)

During the festival, you’d find this park full of pumpkins and visitors taking Halloweentown photos.

My fictional town was also the filming site of a beloved Halloween movie, and it has embraced its fame to rebrand as a year-round spooky destination.

Crafting a fictional location allowed me to create the town, festival, and bookshop of my dreams, complete with all the seasonal puns that organically fit in. By going the fictional town route, I rearranged downtown and added the “Goblin Gate Park”, home of the annual hay bale maze, and fun shops I’d love to drop by. It also means I can have my protagonist, Bailey, trip over dead bodies without casting aspersions on the real-life town and festival, which has a very low violent crime rate, and they never need a bookseller to solve murders, unlike Elyan Hollow’s cozy murders.

Creating the bookstore of my dreams was one of my favorite parts. Bailey has taken over the bookshop founded by her grandparents. She’s up for the challenge and decides the one thing the town’s annual festival is missing is a lit festival. So, she recruits the local library and multiple businesses onboard to create the Spooky Season Literary Festivals. She even gets hometown hero Rex Abbot, bestselling horror author, to make his first appearance in town since he left almost 30 years before after graduating high school. Of course, this decision has reverberations, leading Bailey to discover the town’s dark side.

Lazy Bones Bookshop has a shop dog, Jack, who is based on my real-life rescue dog, Waylon, who is mostly Great Pyrenees, with a bit of Anatolian Shepherd and Maremma Sheepdog. Jack is the perfect shop dog, calm, composed, and absolutely willing to help if someone has dog treats they need to get rid of.

Side note, if you keep following the Columbia River until it meets the ocean, you’ll end up in Astoria, Oregon, which hosts an annual “Goonies Day” celebration in honor of, wait for it, their history as the filming site of Goonies. In 2025, they’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of the film. So, if you’ve ever dreamed of doing the truffle shuffle on the gate at Mikey’s house, next summer might be your best chance (just please respect the homeowner’s wishes!)

Readers, which movie or book town do you wish you could visit in real life? One random commenter will receive a copy of Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop!

Like her Ground Rules Mystery series, Emmeline Duncan is based in Portland, Oregon. Her series includes Fresh Brewed Murder, Double Shot Death, Flat White Fatality, and Death Unfiltered, plus Fatal Brouhaha, which comes out in 2025. She’s also the author of the Halloween Bookshop Mystery Series, which launched with Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop, with more to come. When not writing, she spends her time seeking out new coffee shops and hiking trails to explore, frequently accompanied by her Great Pyrenees sidekick. You can track her online at emmelineduncan.com.

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Published by Cate Conte / Liz Mugavero

Cate Conte writes the Cat Cafe Mysteries and the Full Moon Mysteries. As Liz Mugavero, she writes the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries, the first of which was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. She lives in the Boston area with her rescue pals.

45 Thoughts

  1. I would love to visit Mackinac Island, the IRL setting of the Candy Coated mystery series that I’m currently reading! 🙂 It’s Victorian throw-back charm has me dreaming of spending time there. adriennechasteensnow at gmail dot com

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      1. Yes, Mackinac Island is definitely car free. To get around you either walk, ride a bike or a horse or ride in a carriage. The main porch of the Mackinac Island hotel covers the entire front of the hotel and has rocking chairs for people to enjoy. The beauty of the entire island is awesome. My cousin’s daughter is the head grounds keeper and is responsible for all the displays of flowers with are the most beautiful arrangements and groups of flowers that one can imagine. It’s even more beautiful in the winter with there are only the regular residents and a few visitors. Then there’s the food and don’t forget the Mackinac Island Fudge! To die for! Is my recommendation to anyone who loves going back in time. Remember that “Somewhere in Time” – the movie was filmed on Mackinac Island. They did allow some cars during the filming but for the most part – it will show the beauty of the Island.

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  3. Rivendell from Lord of the Rings! But there’s just so many, many beautiful towns – both fictional and real – that books take us to, it’s hard to pick just one. Even Halloweeñtown from the movie looked fun!

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  4. Congratulations on the new book! I have a friend who is a big Halloween fanatic, so CHAOS AT THE LAZY BONES BOOKSHOP seems like a great idea to give to her as a gift.

    If we are talking mystery towns, the two places I would like to visit first would be South Lick, Indiana to have breakfast and lunch at Pans N’ Pancakes. And then visit the village of Kilbane to have a meal at the O’Sullivan Six’s new restaurant. (Plus, it would be in Ireland so I’d love to be able to explore for a while in the country.)

    I’d love to visit Quark’s Bar on Deep Space Nine too.

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  5. Hi Emmaline,
    Oregon is one of the four states I have yet to visit. A visit to St. Helen’s (Elyan Hollow) during their Halloween festival would be fun. Exploring the book store you have created would be my first stop.
    Going to Maine and visiting the Lighthouse Library Eva Gates created would be high on my list of places to visit also.
    Best wishes,
    MJ

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  6. I’d love to see the places used in Harry Potter. We just don’t have those magnificent castles here in the US. And I’ve seen in Salem you can visit the house used for Hocus Pocus.

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  9. I would love to visit Cape May, the site of the Poppy McAllister series. Or Ashland, the site of the Bakeshop Mysteries. I was in Ashland once but it was a long time ago and I’d love to go again. Congratulations on your new release!

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  10. I loved the new Bookstore mystery as much as I love your Ground Rules series! Strongly recommend if you haven’t tried them yet. Great MC and lots of atmosphere with really interesting mysteries!

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  13. I’m thinking Storyton, VA, home of Ellery Adams Book Retreat series or Busman’s Harbor to stay at the Snugg sister’s inn and enjoy the Snowdon Family Clambake. Ashland, OR, Leavenworth, WA, Key West, FL, Alexandria, VA, and of course Briar Creek, Connecticut! So very many great choices! Elyan Hollow sounds like an interesting stop on my literary location tour! Looking forward to reading your new series.

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    1. Fun fact: Ashland, Oregon is hosting the Ashland Mystery Fest again this year (I’ll be there, along with Ellie Alexander, Lee Hollis–I think there are 15 cozy mystery authors attending this year). Leavenworth is about a nine hour drive from Ashland but there are a ton of fun stops between the two to create a fun road trip (Crater Lake, Mt Bachelor, Mt Hood, Bend or Portland, even the Oregon coast if you want a fun detour).

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    1. It’s not quite the same, but check out Hay-on-Wye. It’s a town in Wales with over twenty bookshops and an annual lit festival. I’d love to visit some day!

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  15. Thanks for visiting, Emmeline! For years I wanted to visit Oxford, UK, from the Morse books, amongst many others. A few years ago I had the chance to stay there for several days with one of my sons and was delighted with how many sites I recognized. When I stood in the Bodleian soaking in the atmosphere I teared up. It was all so moving!

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  18. Storyton created by Ellery Adams came to mind immediately. I love the touch of magic. Your new series fascinates me, and I’ll be heading to Aaron’s Bookstore soon!

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  19. Welcome! How wonderful to meet you and Waylon here at the Wickeds, Emmeline! Welcome back! You had me at the cover…Somehow Halloween-themed cozies draw me in to a book, and Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop is now a MUST-read for me. I thank you for telling us the “behind-the-scenes” details on what (where) inspired you to write this series. As to a movie location?: I will definitely check out St. Helens and Astoria, Oregon! I have seen all the movies you mention, and being a Hollywood enthusiast, I love to visit filming locations. Thank you for your efforts to provide us readers with hours of reading fun!!! JOY! Luis at ole dot travel

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    1. If you come to Oregon to visit filming sites, make sure to check out the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest exhibit at the Oregon State Hospital. The real hospital and at least one of their resident psychiatrists was used in the film. The actors even spent time (including at least one overnight) with patients. The hospital now has a mini-museum about both the movie and the history of mental health treatments.

      Astoria was also the filming site for Short Circuit, Free Willy, Kindergarten Cop, and more. Portland has also been used in multiple films and TV Shows (including Grimm, Portlandia, Leverage, and the Librarians). So there’s a lot of explore!

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      1. Awesome, Emmeline! I now have multiple reasons to come to Oregon! Thank you so much again!!! Luis at ole dot travel

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  20. The movie area I would like to visit is Little Shop of Horrors. I want to see where it was shot and maybe even talk to some of the people who starred in it. A definite Halloween 🦇 movie

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  22. Since I don’t travel anymore, I’ll just visit through books. I’m glad I was able to see many wonderful places when I did travel, especially those mentioned in books. Thanks for the chance.

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  23. Congratulations on your book! I love the book cover!! So many great books come to mind since I enjoy traveling through books. Since fall is coming and I’m excited to read fall & Halloween books soon, I’m thinking visiting the town Hocus Pocus is set. LOL. Love the book and movie!

    Thanks for the chance!!

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  24. I would love to visit Salem MA. I just read “Acceptable Risk” by Robin Cook and lots of weird and spooky stuff happened there in the book. Would love to read “Chaos At the Lazy Bones Bookshop”. It’s my kind of book.

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  25. Congratulations on your book! So many settings both real and fictional that I would love to visit. One place I can think of off the top of my head is Charleston from Laura Child’s Tea Shop Mysteries. I love the Halloween Town setting. That festival you mentioned sounds like fun.

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  26. Thank you so much for sharing. I would love to visit Lake Eden. I would love to spend time in Hannah Swensen’s bakery. God bless you.

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  27. If I could visit a movie town it would be Peyton Place. Ok, I cheated – I went to Camden, Maine last summer. Parts of the movie were filmed there – such a charming little town! It was really neat to see the places from the film. We even met with a man from the town library who spoke to us about the history of the filming and showed us old pictures and scrapbooks made by town residents at the time the film was made. If I could visit a book town it would be Busman’s Harbor from the Maine Clambake series by Barbara Ross. It’s loosely based on Boothbay Harbor (ok, guilty again – also went there last summer). However, I’d love to go hang out with Julia Snowden and have breakfast at Gus’s restaurant – if he would let me!

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  28. There are so many fictional and real book towns that I would love to visit, Magic Springs from the Kitchen Witch Mysteries, Storyton Hall from the Book Retreat Mysteries, Busman’s Harbor, and Salem Mass as well. So many fun and interesting places that books can take you. Thank you for sharing and providing a giveaway.

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  29. If I could visit a movie town it would be Peyton Place. Ok, I cheated – I went to Camden, Maine last summer. Parts of the movie were filmed there – such a charming little town! It was really neat to see the places from the film. We even met with a man from the town library who spoke to us about the history of the filming and showed us old pictures and scrapbooks made by town residents at the time the film was made. If I could visit a book town it would be Busman’s Harbor from the Maine Clambake series by Barbara Ross. It’s loosely based on Boothbay Harbor (ok, guilty again – also went there last summer). However, I’d love to go hang out with Julia Snowden and have breakfast at Gus’s restaurant – if he would let me!

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    1. Not sure how I ended up copying and pasting someone else’s reply. ARGGG trying again so I am not anonymous.

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