Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Home Fires - a guest blog by Priscilla Paton

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I don't know about you, dear readers, but despite the fact I've lived in the same house for almost thirty years, the real estate conditions over the past three years consumes a HUGE portion of my brain. My sister is a Realtor in Northern Virginia whose business exploded during the lockdown, and who had the unhappy duty to tell her clients they were only getting the house of their dreams if they waived inspection and bid $50,000+ over the asking price.

My daughter, meanwhile, struggled for over six months to find a starter home here in Maine, despite having an excellent credit score and a sizable down payment. Meanwhile, empty-nesting friends are faced with the conundrum that "downsizing" may mean paying more and moving further away from the city.

So you can imagine how my eyes lit up when I saw Priscilla Paton's third Twin Cities Mystery was all about the - can we say? - murderously crazy real estate situation in the US. Upscale gentrification, displaced renters, ordinary folks priced out of the market and investors desperate to make a buck: WHEN THE HOUSE BURNS hits them all. (And you have a chance to win a free copy!)

 

Wise relatives of mine winter in Florida and summer in Minnesota. Their summer condo near a Minneapolis lake has the interior of Rapunzel’s Tower with rounded concrete walls and tapestry-style hangings. The design, however, was not based on any castle; the building had been that very Midwest piece of architecture, a grain silo. Photos in the building foyer depict three cylindrical sileage containers rising to the clouds, but when people began outnumbering cows in the neighborhood, the giant cranes arrived.

Silos transmogrified into luxury condos—I had to include that in When the House Burns, my latest mystery with sex, death, and real estate seasoned by a soupรงon of arson. The opening scenes feature my recurring detectives, Deb Metzger (un-homed and hunting for a place to live) and Erik Jansson, at a house-for-sale examining the corpse of a murdered realtor. Throughout the story, the characters, including the resident of the silo-condo, must confront what makes a place a home because what they’ve called home is threatened or already lost.

Homeless encampments have been making the news for years, and I had driven by several. One along Minneapolis’ Hiawatha Avenue had over seventy tents, and the occupants were mostly Native Americans. If you’ve been involved with housing issues, you know the solution is complex, involving availability of affordable units, local covenants, unemployment, and mental health and addiction.  As I’m writing this, the Minneapolis StarTribune’s lead story reports that the “unsheltered die at three times the rate of other residents.” 

 

Shelter is necessary—a home is more. At one point in When The House Burns, divorced Erik Jansson, moping in what was supposed to be a temporary residence, remembers an embroidered sampler that hung in his childhood home, In this house, Love is the Host, Love is the Child, Love is the Guest

 

 

Love goes wrong, and homes come with dirty laundry, maintenance snafus, family friction, and a cable/streaming bill. In 2019, I’d started writing my third mystery on a different topic. Then in 2020 the Covid Pandemic shutdown forced everyone to stay home, that is, everyone who had one, and the pandemic exacerbated the chronic problem of homelessness. The epigraph for When The House Burns comes from Robert Frost’s “The Death of the Hired Man.” The farm husband states one definition of home: “when you have to go there, / They have to take you in.” The wife counters, “I should have called it / Something you somehow haven’t to deserve.” Two months into the stay-at-home order, the basement of our houses—I’d complained of a stench—was declared toxic. We had to leave pronto and fortunately had a place to go. Meanwhile, young relations in the Twin Cities eager for a first home bid on several houses to be always outbid. I couldn’t help but write about housing and home.

Also, fiction often takes its dark inspirations from broken homes and families. Violence is “domestic” when it begins at home.

Not that my thinking stayed profound. I asked friends to complete the bromide, “Home is where. . . .” The results:

Home is where there’s cat hair.

Home is where the books are piled. 

Home is where the freezer’s stocked with ice cream.

Home is where I control the thermostat (my contribution since I’m cold if it’s below 72 degrees).

Home is where the kitchen gadgets live. (At a holiday rental, my husband lamented not having his Therma pen.)

As for my mystery, after the writing, the editing, and the printing, after I received author copies, I figured out what it was about (should have known in writing the synopsis), beyond greed, lust, betrayal, and other yummy stuff. It was about what, or who, gives a home its heart.

 

Hint: if not immediately found elsewhere, check the kitchen. The first time my husband-to-be met my mother, we walked in on her making doughnuts, the old-fashioned cake kind. The first batch was draining on paper grocery bags. He took one and sat by the woodstove to make himself right at home.

Here’s a link to a recipe like my mother’s, down to draining the doughnuts on brown paper.

 

 

 JULIA: What's your definition of "Home," dear readers? And do you have any house-hunting horror stories to share? One lucky commentor will win a FREE copy of WHEN THE HOUSE BURNS!

When death comes home, is nowhere safe? The quest for love and home becomes deadly when Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger search for the killer of an adulterous real estate agent.

A volatile real estate market, unrest in a homeless encampment, jealousies among would-be lovers, a case of arson—these circumstances thwart G-Met detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger as they investigate the murder of an adulterous woman. The victim’s estranged husband has holes in his alibi. A property developer grieves too much over the death of the woman while his wife shuts him out. The developer’s assistant resents his boss and suspects that the developer was not only involved with the victim but is being scammed by the arsonist. A sexy young widow, friend of the victim, has past traumas triggered by the case and turns to the developer for protection. A homeless man stalked the dead woman and now stalks the young widow. All may hold secrets about the past burning of an apartment complex and the man who died there.

Before the clues come together, Erik Jansson is trapped in an abandoned house as Deb Metzger hunts for a sharpshooter at a remote construction site. The case will burn down around them unless they can scheme their way out of lethal surroundings.

 
You can find out more about Priscilla, and read excerpts from her books, at her website. You can also friend her on Facebook, share recommendations on Goodreads, and follow her on Twitter as @priscilla_paton

59 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new book, Priscilla; now I’m anxious to find out how Erik gets out of that trap!

    I am so glad that we are not house-hunting . . . I fear we’d have to settle for a tent somewhere.

    What makes a house a home? I love “where the books are piled” [yes, that would be true here]. Your doughnut story is priceless [and thanks for the recipe . . . yum!].
    I think I’ll say that, truly, Home is where you are with the ones you love . . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations on your new book, Priscilla.

    I was lucky to not have to look for my place.

    What makes a house a home? Heart makes a house a home.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have to tell the story that comes to us, don't we, Priscilla? I'm grateful not to have a housing horror story, and my son and his wife were lucky to find a reasonably priced condo (one of two in an older house) in Massachusetts in the summer of 2020.

    Home is a refuge and a comfort, wherever it is, whoever or whatever is in it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm extremely grateful that I have a comfortable home and that the right story idea came to me.

      Delete
  4. Congratulations on the new book. How I would love to win a copy, but my husband and I live in Braga, Portugal, so I will have to go to a European Amazon site to avoid the wrangle of customs. Before we moved, we lived in Sacramento CA for 38 years and watched the growing misery of the homeless getting more and more prevalent. We contributed to several organizations, but nothing seemed to stop and spread. Our move to Portugal was at the tail end of Covid (February, 2021), and while we love it here, we started getting homesick after 15 months. So we decided to move back. Our old neighborhood was a sample of the crazy prices you talked about, with bidding wars, etc. So we found a house in an outlying suburb for an affordable price (for California). But we were shocked at how high ALL prices for everything had sky-rocketed. After moving back, it only took us four weeks to realize we made a mistake. We actually missed Braga and the European lifestyle more than we had missed Sacramento. By then, the housing market dropped dramatically, and we took a serious loss on the sale of our house. Luckily we could absorb it, because the cost of living in Portugal is so much lower, and we live within walking distance to nearly everywhere we need to go. Bus transportation is good, too. But the whole thing left me so sad about what has happened to Sacramento, and in the US in general. For the homeless, there just aren't enough shelters. Anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is heartbreaking to hear of--and see--the conditions for the unhoused. As for California, my son and his family are there now and hoping to find a home. Meanwhile, Portugal sounds wonderful!

      Delete
    2. Unless you live in California, you don’t understand the homeless problem here. I refuse to use the other politically correct term, in the Bay Area, fifty percent of the homeless are from outside California. People come for the good weather and the free housing they receive. This is a complex problem! Many would not be homeless in other places.
      Unless your son has a combined income of $500k, they won’t find a house in any major populated area of California. The housing market did drop in Sacramento but in most places in California it has not.

      Delete
  5. That was "stop the spread." (not "stop and spread."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Many congratulations on your new book! You are a new author to me and I’m excited to find you. I’m from Iowa and love finding Midwest authors, especially ones that set their books in the Midwest. I’m going to check out your books and would love to win a copy of your newest book!

    What makes a home is family. I love coming home knowing my cats will greet me at the door after work or anytime I leave really. If my daughter is home, she will greet me also and I know I am home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sheri. FYI, my husband and I lived in Decorah for a time, and his brother lives in Waverly. My fictional detective Erik Jansson was raised in Iowa City; and Deb Metzger comes from a place similar to Mason City.

      Delete
  7. Home is where we can feel safe -- and where I can make a cup of tea anytime I want.

    No housing horror stories to tell, fortunately, but they are certainly out there these days. If I ruled the world, I would wave my wand to introduce a universal basic income and housing for all. Sadly, I don't (ha ha), so I'm off to find Priscilla's new book. Congrats to you on its publication, Priscilla!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Amanda, and, yes, homes are for everyone.

      Delete
  8. Priscilla, congratulations on your new book. We are familiar with the Twin Cities. After college, our daughter lived in Minneapolis for a while then moved to St Paul and bought a tiny house in a great neighborhood, walking distance to lots of terrific places. She stayed in that house when she married and started a family.

    We visited often in the summer and in the winter. MLK weekend was perfect for a teacher to see her folks. We have lots of jokes about the weather there! The winter when the Minnesota temperatures were below zero for weeks on end, she and her husband decided to move to the Delaware shore to be near her mom. The sale of that little house was difficult because the market had dropped. The problem with real estate is that it's hard to time it to fit your life.

    I was a realtor for several years and what a crazy business it is! There were always rumors floating around and hinky stuff happened, for sure! On the other hand, female agents had to be hyper-aware of who they were meeting in empty houses because bad actors were definitely out there.

    Homelessness is a constant problem and not new to modern times. We expect that our society should be able to address it more effectively than we do. But that isn't the only issue with housing. A shortage of apartments and rising rents are causing lots of hand wringing around here these days. The pandemic exacerbated problems in dozens of ways.

    My homily would have to be: Home is a nice thing to have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, Judy, that it's a complex issue and that Minneapolis weather is screwy. I used a real October blizzard in the ending of the book. I also have realtors in my family who provided me with some of the insights.

      Delete
  9. PRISCILLA: Yes, the crazy real estate market & homeless crisis is a big problem here in Canada, too. I have been a renter all my life, and that is becoming dicey these days, too. Thanks to the pandemic, the average rental price for a 2-bedroom apartment in Ottawa is triple what I pay now for my current home. I shudder to think what housing choices I could choose from if I had to move.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Renting takes away the maintenance anxiety! Thanks for your comments, Grace.

      Delete
  10. Congratulations on your latest release! Home is where the pantry and fridge are stocked with everyone's favorites.

    The real estate scene is such a horror show. I live in a "hot" school district and the realtors never stop calling. Desperate millennials prowl the streets, stopping to chat with dog walkers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's worrisome to get calls wanting to displace you--there's a mystery plot in there somewhere. Enjoy your fine neighborhood, Margaret!

      Delete
  11. Welcome Priscilla. Another series to discover for me.
    No house-hunting horror for me but market madness of the last years has raised my valuation by $50000 this year.
    Home is where I crave to return.
    Home is where I can be totally myself.
    Danielle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, home is where you can be yourself. Yourself that has to pay taxes!

      Delete
  12. Priscilla, congratulations on your newest book! I was gripping my seat just reading the summary! Will definitely be searching your series out. Home for me is where you feel safe--in many senses of that word. I live in an area of relatively small towns and cities and the housing market is still outrageous here. Wages have certainly not kept up with rental prices--a decent 2-bedroom apartment can start at $1500/month, not including utilities--if you can find one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comments! I agree on the safety, which is not always easy to achieve, given the domestic violence rates. But I raise my cup of coffee to the comforts of home!

      Delete
  13. Your book sounds great, Priscilla! I can't wait to read about an area I used to visit a lot when we lived south of there in Faribault. I think home is where family parks all their stuff!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it is, and my husband and I have the "stuff" belonging to adult children who need to come and get it!

      Delete
  14. From Celia: what a great subject Priscilla, your book sounds intriguing. For me home equals security. I am an expat, I’ve been one most of my life first leaving England at 4 years old for a life in job provided accommodation. Security From then on was my maternal grandfathers house where I lived as a teen while in boarding school. Jumping over shared flats when I first started working to marriage. But this time moving to NYC and a rental. A twist of fate anchored us in the USA needing a permanent home and to our first home. 25 years later it was time to leave the ‘burbs as empty nesters. But where to go? No plans to return to mother country our child and life was here. But with no roots beyond the suburbs we were anchorless. We did some exploring south and a little in the west but it was New England, Maine in particular that took our heart. Now started three years of searching for a home on a lake. We would buy land and build - no winter access to get in. We toured 800 sq foot A frames - how to squeeze our lifetime into that space. Places with dirt crawl basements housing the furnace when everyone knows that will only break down in winter. Homes with a monitor heater installed to be year round heating. Places down dirt roads sure to be skating rinks and mud baths in season. My favorite was a lakeside home, we entered from the water side, nice view, good water access, to find ourselves in a basement party room where the walls had been covered with beer cans still in original shape and somehow fastened as wall paper - floor to ceiling. Yes, we did find a real lakeside home and best of all it was built for retirement living on one floor. Twenty three years later this is my security, my happy place, my bolt hole from the pandemic. I can only wish this for all though I know so many have not had my good fortune.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I grew up in Maine, Celia, and would rush back there except Maine winters are as bad as Minnesota's! Instead, I visit relatives who have lake places there and listen to the loons.

      Delete
  15. The beer-can party room should be in a book, Celia! I grew up in Maine and have relatives there. I'd rush back, but Maine's winters match Minnesota's. Enjoy your home.

    ReplyDelete
  16. As soon as I saw the title I knew I would definitely have to read it! I love living where I live in the woods, in a rather inconvenient place. When house prices shot up I played with the idea of selling my house and getting a lot of money. But then what would I do? I'd either have to rent an apartment which would not be ideal with 3 4-legged roommates and very high rents. Or buy another house and pay a lot of money for that. So I'm staying put. At least for now.

    But for someone who has had more than 2 fires, I do know a little about finding a place to live and finding it quickly. Fortunately I was very lucky that way each time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad to hear you had places to go because fires are scary! And thanks for your comments, Judi.

      Delete
  17. Priscilla, your essay brings up so many aspects of "home". You could explore that sole topic for years and never plumb it fully.

    Home is where I long to be when I'm not there, for so many reasons. I'm about to stay in someone else's home for nearly two weeks with my daughter while she convalesces from knee surgery, and I'm ridiculously nervous about it.

    My daughter experienced nearly all the issues you brought up. She bought a house in Portland, OR the week of the pandemic lockdown, and ended up stuck there, despite having a place in Boulder. After a couple months she gave up her rental and just stayed in Oregon, but they also found mold in the basement (apparently there had been a mushroom growing operation there), and her housemate had to move out while remediation took place. We visited once it was all over, and travel returned, to be shocked by all the homeless tents everywhere. Thousands of them. Later, when the girls decided to sell the house, she had a terrible time finding a rental. She'd call and make an appointment to see it and by the time she got there someone had already signed a contract and made a whopping big deposit. It took her months to find the place she lives in now.

    ReplyDelete
  18. A most interesting and timely post which I enjoyed greatly. Home is a haven filled with comfort, books, warmth and lovely surroundings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To travel and then come home to warmth, that's the best.

      Delete
  19. Very thought provoking, Priscilla - and the new book sounds terrific. I've been in the same house for decades and it is HOME. A young friend has been trying to find an apartment she can afford so I've been watching her try and try and try again to land one. Fortunately her alternative is not to live in a tent on the streets but to move in with her dad. Not a great solution for a grownup.

    HOME for me is my neighbors. I have THE BEST neighbors anyone could want... just close enough but not living in each other's pockets. Young families on all sides who watch out for me and me, them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a wonderful community, Hallie! And yes, a home develops over time.

      Delete
  20. We thought the worst thing was going in to closing and learning that the house we were buying had someone else's property running through 2 sides of it, plus the easement running through the garage....ALL of the plot lines for those houses were completely wrong, but no one else had ever asked for that inspection! BUT it worked out because we ended up with a house that better fitted our needs, and wasn't in the line of all the tornadoes that have come through in the last 20 years! Thank you for this opportunity!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, crazy "plot" lines, just like a mystery. I'm glad it worked out for you!

      Delete
  21. Oooooooh, like Julia, I am consumed with the real estate market. Having a home and paying rent for my sons' apartment in a neighboring city has me in a constant state of sticker shock. I'm in Phoenix where we're bracing for the bottom to fall out and our homelessness situation is the worst it's ever been. I will absolutely be devouring your mystery, Priscilla!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Jenn. The Phoenix area has so much to offer, but it's not easy to keep up a home anywhere now!

      Delete
  22. Congratulations on the book which sounds captivating and enthralling. Timing is everything as far as being fortunate enough to move and find a suitable dwelling. The pandemic was such a huge influence. Our lives were thrown in disarray and we weren't even aware of it until it was too late. We live in a charming and mature area and will not be leaving anytime soon. Home is where I feel safe and I can walk and enjoy the beauty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The physical surroundings are very important to me, too, and a room with a view. I'm glad yours are beautiful.

      Delete
  23. Swooning at the doughnuts! ANd congratulations, this sounds amazing. I' in Boston, where, yikes, home prices. We are so lucky with ours, we love it..and after two solid weeks on the road in hotels, I can add that home is where you know how the shower works.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly, and where you know how long the hot water lasts! Thanks, Hank.

      Delete
  24. Priscilla, I'm happy to see you on Jungle Red, and looking forward to your newest book. I'm not even going to go into the horror of looking for a house for eight months in Los Angeles in 2022. We finally were sick of looking settled for a condo...on the beach! Not ideal, but not the worst thing in the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Terry. What a housing market in CA! A condo on the beach sounds like a pleasing end to a challenging situation--I'm glad you found it.

      Delete
  25. Congratulations, Priscilla! We looked for our second home for years before we found something. The Girl has begged us not to sell our current home, "just in case." We have no plans of doing so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why do you need two homes in the same area?

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Liz! The timing of when to sell and when to buy is particularly scary now. Glad to hear you've settled on a plan.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous, for now it's a vacation home, but eventually we want it to be our retirement home.

      Delete
  26. Home is where the books are.
    Home is where the snacks are.
    Home is where I can take off my shoes and curl up on the couch, reading.
    I’ve lived in the same tiny condo for thirty-three and a half years, and I have no desire to go anywhere else. It’s a great neighborhood for walking, and just a ten minute drive to supermarkets, the pharmacy, and the beach. I often wish I had a bigger unit, but packrat that I am, it would probably fill up with clutter within a short time!

    DebRo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love your "home" list, Deb. I'm a packrat who has to downsize soon, and I'm convincing myself that's a good thing.

      Delete
  27. Congratulations, Priscilla! I was a real estate lawyer for many years and I still keep a close eye on the market. Now we’d love to downsize but the mind-boggling dollars involved have us frozen in place, and the sons and daughters of our generation are despairing of ever getting a toehold on ownership. What a great topic to explore in your novel!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sandra, and good luck to your family with their housing quest.

      Delete
  28. No house hunting horror stories here. I've lived in the same house for 30 years. Next move will be to move back to Michigan and I already have a townhouse up there.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Home is where the heart is - that's my story. I'm sticking to it.

    My heart breaks for househunters today. Especially those looking for their first home. Prices are out of sight - although there is talk that they are coming down as mortgage rates go up.

    I have had the rare good fortune to have bought two perfect houses sight unseen on the internet. It worked out for us, but it's not for the faint of heart! Disaster stories? Not really, but the first house I ever bought had some great possibilities. It passed inspection with flying colors. Then during the first Florida rain, the closet flooded. Turned out the former homeowners had tried to fix the leak with tar and newspaper. Oh, and then there was the second bathroom. Couldn't stop the john from running. When I lifted the lid, I discovered the interior plumbing was "wired" together with fishing line and washcloths. Both were easy fixes and the house had some charming secrets. It had been built by a man who had lost a home to a hurricane and vowed never to do so again. Cell phone signals did not penetrate the steel reinforced walls. I also discovered when I removed the in wall a/c units that he had included capsules containing full newspapers from the day each unit was set in the wall. They were still flexible and able to be read. A treasure trove to me. The owner had also penciled notes in odd places for future owners reminding them that the house was well loved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sounds like you've had good luck, Kait, despite adventures with plumbing. My niece recently bought and old farmhouse and discovered similar notes in built-in drawers--the kind of thing that makes you fall in love with a fixer-upper.

      Delete
  30. I know I'm hours later than anyone else, but I couldn't resist sharing. My much older sister's health problems have necessitated downsizing her to a senior facility near me and selling her home of more than 40 years in a small town a little more than an hour away. We worked like crazy for the past month getting it ready to list. We got a call this morning with a full price offer, cash buyer, no inspection, close in 10 days. We are THRILLED!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry to hear about your sister, Susan, but glad that the market worked for you!

      Delete