Real or Not Real?

Sorry Peta, I'm not talking about your catch phrase.

I'm talking about LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!

Novels, by definition, are fiction. But what about where that fictitious story takes place? Sometimes it can be fun for an author to create an entirely made up town, but other times a place we visit can inspire us to set our characters and scenes in the heart of reality.

In my Nov. 8 release, Deadly Dog Days, my story takes place in Metamora, Indiana. This is a tiny (did I mention TINY) historic canal town in southeast Indiana. In the summer of 2014, I visited Metamora with my mom, my grandma and my great-aunt. We stayed at a bed and breakfast from Thursday to Sunday. The town has shops and restaurants along the canal in old buildings, a grist mill that's still operating, and the only wooden aqueduct still around in the US. Not to mention the canal boat pulled by two giant horses on the banks and the Whitewater River Vally scenic train that pulls in and out of the station taking tourists for rides along the canal. But those are the least of its charm.

Metamora, Indiana, summer 2014

It's the people that make Metamora the interesting and inspiring place to set a novel. For instance, check out this short video of the making of a documentary featuring one of the prominent people in town:

To me, that was the summer I traveled to Cicely, Alaska and walked onto the set of my favorite T.V. show of all time, Northern Exposure. Sure, Metamora isn't in Alaska, but the feel was the same. The eccentric characters and close-knit community was the same. As we walked through the deserted streets on Thursday afternoon--the shops are only open on the weekend, little did we know when we planned our stay--after meeting our outgoing hostess at the B&B with quite the quirky decorating style, my mom looked at me and said, "You have to write about this place."

So, I did.

All of the characters in Deadly Dog Days are fictional. You might find people in Metamora who you think are in the novel, but I assure you, any similarity is from my research online and in the town. All of the names are made up, and I don't personally know any of the shop owners or residents.

I'm excited for you to come to Metamora with me via my cozy mystery and my main character, Cameron Cripps-Hayman, who stumbles onto a body floating in the canal and has many humorous situations while figuring out who done it.

Until next time! ~ Jamie Blair

Deadly Dog Days
Nov. 8, 2016