Please join me in welcoming author Marla A. White. Today, Marla is sharing a guest post about small town settings in cozy mysteries and how the town of Idyllwild, California inspired the setting for her latest release. Framed for Murder will delight cozy mystery readers with a B & B owner sleuth, a frenemy, and a handsome deputy.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Title: Framed for Murder
Author: Marla A. White
Genre: Cozy Mystery
BLURB:
Old enemies become allies to unravel a deadly mystery.
Mel O’Rourke used to be a cop before a life-changing injury forced her to turn in her badge. Now she leads a relatively peaceful life running a B & B in the quirky mountain town of Pine Cove. That is, until her old frenemy, the charismatic cat burglar Poppy Phillips, shows up, claiming she’s been framed for murder. While she’s no saint, Mel knows she’d never kill anyone and sets out to prove Poppy’s innocence.
The situation gets complicated, however, when the ruggedly handsome Deputy Sheriff Gregg Marks flirts with Mel, bringing him dangerously close to the criminal she’s hiding. And just when her friendship with café owner Jackson Thibodeaux blossoms into something more, he’s offered the opportunity of a lifetime in New Orleans. Should she encourage him to go, or ask him to stay? Who knew romance could be just as hard to solve as murder?
GUEST POST:
Welcome to Pine Cove- A Cozy Destination
If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries, you know they’re typically set in a small town. Somewhere quaint where, like Cheers, everybody knows your name. The Thursday Murder Club is set in the confined space of a British old folks’ home. Miss Marple lived the small village of St. Mary Mead. Jeffrey Allen’s Stay at Home Dad series is set in a small Texas town, and on and on. I’ve often wondered why that is. Can amateur detectives only investigate in small towns without worrying about destroying evidence or getting caught by the police, unlike in real life?
Pine Cove, the setting for “Frame for Murder”, is no exception. Inspired by the actual town of Idyllwild, California, Pine Cove has one major street that is actually a large circle. You can walk the entire town but trust me, as someone who meant to take a two-minute walk down North Circle Drive and wound up spending forty-five minutes on South Circle drive, it’s not easy.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be invited to be a mentor at a writing retreat in Idyllwild for the past eight years, and it was love at first sight. The rooms at the first inn I stayed at had themes. One was something like “The Nest” and it had a ton of bird themed prints and light fixtures. One was “Camp” which included a canoe shaped bookshelf. Later I stayed in a room at the inn that became the inspiration for The Babbling Brook Bed-And-Breakfast. That room had a tiny balcony where I could hear the rushing waters from the brook behind the place. The inn is very bear themed, with more cabins than attached rooms with names like Papa Bear or The Owl’s Nest.
More than the accommodations, the town is almost at the top of a mountain surrounded by breathtaking peaks and pine forest. There’s one movie theatre in town, a gift shop that has a giant cowboy hat—and I mean giant—over its door and a totem pole-like carving in the center of town. There’s even a house that looks like a 1960s era flying saucer in bright yellow, but that’s for another book.
Inspired by Idyllwild’s artsy, independent, small town vibe, you won’t find a Starbucks, McDonalds, or even a CVS in my fictional Pine Cove. There are just Mom-and-Pop shops with delightfully quirky selections. That’s a tough adjustment for my main character, Mel O’Rourke. A recent transplant from Los Angeles, she doesn’t know how to navigate the small town without a “how to” guide. In L.A., you just know Pink’s is the place to get a hot dog because everyone knows that. You know to go to Porto’s for potato balls because it’s like we’re a hive mind, you just do. Disconnected from her network and naturally a little reserved, she’s at a loss about how to know things. Then in walks Poppy.
Poppy Phillips doesn’t even know the meaning of the word “reserved” and there’s nothing she likes better than talking to people. She chats with the ironically named Tom Horton, a guest at the inn, and finds out the Pastry Village has amazing crullers. Need a manicure? She heard from the florist the best place to go. Poppy will talk to anyone and everyone, which is an odd trait for a wanted cat burglar known as “The Ghost”, but that’s Poppy, always making up her own rules. She tells Mel, “I appreciate Officer O’Rourke kept a keen eye out, but civilian Mel needs to quit seeing suspects and start finding neighbors and friends.”
After she finds out who really killed Kyle Lane and framed Poppy for his murder. And it better be soon. Deputy Sheriff Gregg Marks keeps dropping by to compete with Jackson Thibodeaux for Mel’s affection, but it’s only a matter of time before he figures out the identity of her new assistant.
AUTHOR BIO:
Marla White is an award-winning novelist who prefers killing people who annoy her on paper rather than in real life. Her first full-length mystery novel, “Cause for Elimination,” placed in several contests including Killer Nashville, The RONE Awards, The Reader’s Favorite, and finishing second in the Orange County Romance Writers for Romantic Suspense. Originally from Oklahoma, she lived in a lot of other states before settling down in Los Angeles to work in the television industry. She currently teaches at UCLA Extension and gives seminars about the art of script coverage. When she’s not working on the next book, she’s hiking, cheering on the LA Kings, or discovering new craft cocktails (to, you know, drown her sorrows over the Kings).
Fun Facts:
The quirky Babbling Brook Bed-and-Breakfast is loosely inspired by the Silver Pines Lodge in Idyllwild. Highly recommend staying there if you’re even in that neck of the woods.
I share Mel’s nearly debilitating fear of heights. Well, not to the same extent, I can climb a set of stairs, but looking down more than a few flights? No way 😀
There’s a scene where Mel does a singing bowl session. I’ve done that and honestly, it’s pretty cool!
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
PURCHASE LINKS:
Jill Piscitello 
Best wishes on your new release! I’ve enjoyed several of Marla’s other books and have added Framed for Murder to my Goodreads and BookBub wishlists!
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That’s wonderful! Thank you for stopping by.
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