Hello my friends,
I love centering my novels around real places. In The Perfect Hand, the characters spend a lot of time in Washington, DC. People who have read it thought I had lived in DC, which I never did, although I have visited many times in my youth. Actually, at the time I wrote the book, I had two friends living there and I’d ask them, “What roads and buildings do you see when driving from here to there?” They gave me the route and even sent pictures of an area so I could better describe the geography to my readers.
Sister Innocent takes place in downtown Toronto at a law firm, in the same building where I had worked. My main character, Rebecca, goes for a walk along Queen Street West, and the restaurants and stores she passes are genuine locations. I often took that walk on my lunch break. I also describe other Toronto spots in the book as she moves around the city.
In Murder at the Canadian National Exhibition, the CNE is real. I relate the various attractions like the air show, the dog show, and the rides. One definite draw is the food because it’s all deep-fried and delicious. You have to try as much as possible. The descriptions of the place are authentic because I have been there, although I should have taken pictures. It didn’t occur to me at the time.
It’s the biggest community event in Canada, founded in 1879 as an agricultural fair, and for the last 145 years, it has been located at the Exhibition Place grounds just south of Toronto. It’s held the last eighteen days in August ending on Labour Day in September. People vow to go every year, and there’s something for everyone.
The CNE is vibrant, chaotic, and nostalgic, but it’s the worst place for a murder. Many families attend, and it would be horrible for children to witness someone dying. Also, people are there to have fun. A death would be too real for people to deal with.
So, why did I write about a murder at the CNE? It wasn’t planned. A friend and I went to there and I came home and had an epiphany: murder at the CNE. It just seemed like a diverse, distinctive, and unique location for a murder mystery.
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Have a great day,
Patty
www.pattylesser.com
