Hutton Village

The idea for the first book in this series began as a question in my mind: what if a murder victim was found in a place she would NEVER be? What if her routine was so rigid that it would be inconceivable that she would end up where she was murdered? No one would believe it. And yet, here she is…well and truly dead.

I built the setting of Hutton Village based on bits and pieces of places I’ve lived or visited in various states such as North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia. I wanted the village to be remote, but not insular; quiet and rural, but not backwards. I absorbed details from photographs I had taken, and even asked family members to send me photos if they were traveling through rural, mountainous areas. From there, the peaceful little village took shape. I enjoy regional festivals and decided to make each novella highlight a particular festival to showcase the community coming together for the common good.

Naming characters is one of my biggest challenges as a writer. For this series, I researched old census records and lists of popular baby names for the time period when the characters were born. I intentionally looked for unusual or pretty-sounding names that would fit the personalities of the characters. The two main detectives, Arlen Well and Cashel Truly, got their surnames from the phrase “well and truly dead.” The phrase is as matter-of-fact as the two detectives.