JENN MCKINLAY: One of our favorite writers Leslie Budewitz is with us today and she has a delightful post about the joys of traveling through the written word and how it inspired her latest. LAVENDER LIES BLEEDING.
LESLIE BUDEWITZ: One of the joys of reading is
armchair travel, right? You get to visit a place you’ve never been, or return
to a place you’ve loved, with the author. Maine, with Julia. Key West, with
Lucy. England – and France, Italy, and even Australia, oh and New York City –
with Rhys.
With me, it’s Montana, where
I was born and raised and still live. And Seattle, where I went to college and
lived and worked as a young lawyer. I fell in love with Pike Place Market at
eighteen, not long after the voters saved it from “urban removal.” Fun and
funky, it was, and thanks to those voters and the historic preservation
district they created, it retains its charms.
If, like me, you think of
cobblestones, flying fish, and tales of the long-dead, top-hatted market master
dancing in the upper windows of the Economy Building charming.
With the 9th book,
Lavender Lies Bleeding, coming out next week, I’ve been remembering a
few of my favorite discoveries about the city, from living there and from
researching and writing about the place. (I always say that by research, I mean
eat, but as my research assistants, my BFF and Mr. Right, can attest, it also means
walking. A LOT.)
One of the first things you
see when you walk into the Market at First and Pike is Rachel, the
four-foot-high bronze pig and Market mascot. She’s a piggy bank, of course, as
well as a photo opp, and all the money deposited in her goes to the Market
foundation for community services—emergency loans to vendors, the senior
center, and more.
On one visit, Mr. Right and I
were snooping around – with my sketchbook as my excuse, I’ll go down any ramp,
hallway, or staircase in the Market. We came around a corner and saw a store
room, its door open. And inside?
Spare pigs.
Big ones and little ones. On
all fours like Rachel, or seated. Bronze or silver toned.
Turns out the spare pigs are
often displayed in the Market itself. But they also travel, to pop-up Farmers’
Markets around downtown and to other regional markets and events.
I love public art, and it’s
everywhere in the Market. These tile figures outside the restrooms at the foot
of the stairs just behind the main entrance evoke the Market’s early years—it
was founded in 1907 and is the oldest continuously-operating farmers’ market in
the country. So when I needed a spot for a confrontation in Lavender Lies
Bleeding, that staircase and these figures popped to mind.
Along with the cattle ramp—and
Market staff confirmed to me that it was once used to bring cattle and pigs,
Rachel’s flesh-and-bacon ancestors, into the Market. I first discovered it
while location scouting with my BFF, and finally had a chance to use it in Lavender.
In my student days, I loved
exploring the city’s neighborhoods. I still do, and try to take Pepper to a
different one in each book. She often returns to her childhood home, where her
BFF, Kristen, now lives, on Capitol Hill. In The Solace of Bay Leaves,
she visits the adjacent neighborhood called Montlake. One rainy summer day, my
BFF and her teenage daughter spent an afternoon sipping coffee and wandering
Montlake’s streets and parks, looking for exactly the right spot for Pepper’s
old frenemy, Maddie, to get into trouble. We found it—and I just managed to
avoid backing into a car while taking a picture.
The Fremont neighborhood,
probably the city’s funkiest, proudly declares itself the Center of the
Universe, and since no one can prove otherwise, the King County Council
officially agreed. I explored it on the pages of To Err is Cumin—a
bakery I remember fondly, an underground vintage mall where Pepper finds clues
in old treasures, and the Sunday Market where vendors and growers hawk their
wares and bicyclists ride wearing only body paint, helmets, and shoes. Which
catches Pepper quite by surprise when she finds herself taking an unexpected
swim in the Ship Canal that runs through Fremont and is rescued by a pair of
men in green and blue and nothing else.
The Market’s Flower Ladies
have always made me smile. Mostly Hmong, they grow incredible blooms that
always draw attention, even from visitors who can’t take a bouquet home. The
action in Lavender Lies Bleeding goes between the Market and Salmon
Falls, a farm town outside the city that is home to several Flower Ladies and
to Pepper’s vendor pal, Lavender Liz. I got to weave together what I’d seen in
the Market over the years with my experience living in a rural community, to
create a new place that lives only on the page. We can call it Story Land.
After all, as I’ve learned
after all these years with Pepper and the Spice Shop crew, stories are the
spice of life.
Readers, where have you
been on the page lately, and what did you discover about the setting that
surprised or delighted you? Tell us the book and author, too, if you can, so we
can enjoy a little armchair travel with you.
Lavender Lies Bleeding (Seventh St. Books, July 15, in pb, ebook, and audio)
Pepper Reece, owner of the
Spice Shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market, is shocked when vandals destroy the
greenhouse at her friend Liz Giacometti’s lavender farm. But then Liz is
killed, and Pepper digs in to solve the crimes. As her questions threaten to
unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to
her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips
her in the bud?
Leslie Budewitz writes the
Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers'
Village mysteries, set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana, based on the small town
where she lives. As Alicia Beckman, she writes standalone suspense set in
Montana and the NW. Her latest books are Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice
Shop mystery, and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary
Fields Collection. A national best-seller and three-time Agatha Award winner,
Leslie believes that stories are the spice of life.
Read excerpts and more, and
find buy links, at www.LeslieBudewitz.com
LESLIE: Welcome back to JRW! I wish I knew about the spare pigs you found at Pike Place Market. Of course I visited the market when I was in the city for a few days before heading out to Bellevue LCC in 2024.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I read one story set in a place I would NEVER want to go to IRL:
THE CHAMBER by Will Dean. Six divers descend to the ocean depths in a tight packed hyperbaric chamber.
But I did like reading about 1965 rural Vermont in
HUNTER'S HEART RIDGE by Sarah Stewart Taylor
I wouldn't go into the chamber either Grace, but really looking forward to HUNTER'S HEART RIDGE!
DeleteI'm with you both on the chamber! I just saw a description of Sarah's newest and was soo tempted to put it on my library request list. If I see it one more time . . .
DeleteCongratulations, Leslie, on your newest book . . . it sounds quite mysterious and I’m looking forward to seeing how Pepper unmasks the killer.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I've been off to ancient Rome, reading James Lacey's compelling "The Year God Died" . . . .
Ancient Rome, Joan! Where the air was filled with the scents of cinnamon and lavender and other spices and oils -- to cover up other smells, while the Romans worked on discovering the secrets of plumbing!
DeleteHi, Leslie! Great news about your latest book. My sister lives in Olympia, WA, so I have a good chance of visiting Pike Place Market and the neighborhoods you describe sometime in the next few years. You make me want to shop in the market tomorrow! As for my armchair travels, I'm in the middle of listening to the latest book in the Bruno, Chief of Police series, AN ENEMY IN THE VILLAGE, by Martin Walker. These all take place in a lovely village in the Dordogne, a region of France famous for prehistoric caves, huge medieval castles, and excellent food. The hero, Bruno, is a wonderfully likeable character. Is anyone else familiar with the series?
ReplyDeleteI need to read that series Kim!
DeleteI am familiar with the Bruno’s series Kim. As my ancestor comes from Dordogne, I visited the region and appreciated all of what you mentioned, including prehistoric caves as I’ve also read and loved Jean M Auel’s prehistoric series.
DeleteYes - love Bruno, Chief of Police and Martin Walker is a great writer. You really feel you are in the Dordogne region. It's wonderful. (Enemy in the Village is his newest book).
DeleteHey, Kim! And Danielle and Lucy and Anon. Years ago, when the Seattle Mystery Bookshop was still open, I was paired with Martin Walker for a signing, since food is a focus in both our books. He was charming, and described a dish to my BFF that we spotted at the restaurant in Burien, where she lives, where we went that evening -- so of course we had it. Something with artichokes . . .
DeleteI love this series and am delighted that a new book is coming along! I'm way overdue for an in-person visit to Seattle, so I love when I get another chance to be there in one of your Spice Shop mysteries.
ReplyDeleteI've been book-living on Cape Cod recently, writing my eighth Cozy Capers Book Group mystery. It might be a steamy July in my northeast corner of the state, but I have to keep remembering it's early March in fictional Westham in the southeast corner of MA.
Thanks, Edith! Keeping the seasons -- and days of the week -- straight between the page and IRL can be tricky. More than once, I've been sure it was Saturday because that's what it is in the WIP!
DeleteLeslie, I do hope this blog counts as being on a page and being transported. Thank you for this trip to The Market. I could hear and smell and see all that made being there a delight and refreshment to my soul. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Elisabeth! "A delight and refreshment to my soul" -- what a lovely description!
DeleteWelcome Leslie and congrats on the book! We saw a big like that in Japan some years ago--everyone rubbed a finger on its foot for good luck. I'm visiting the Maine woods (Appalachian trail) in Amity Gaige's Heartwood. I will skip that trip IRL too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy! A few years ago, we backpacked through the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I'd just read an article about attacks on the Appalachian Trail, and when a camo-wearing young man with a pistol on his hip came to our camp site, every terrifying word came flooding back. But he was simply resting while catching up with his friends and siblings, and they were all very nice. Still, for a few moments there . . .
DeleteCongrats on the book. I love armchair travel. My most recent adventures have been in Amsterdam with the characters in The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle, Paris in The Stolen Life of Collette Marceau by Kristin Harmel, and California in Jill is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brenda! Just look at all the places you can go, without putting on shoes! And as Jenn would say, Paris is always a good idea!
DeleteNot much time this morning, just wanted to wave to Leslie, and say that lavender is one of my favorite herbs, for so many reasons. Lavender farms are wonderful places to visit, and what a great mystery location!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for solving a personal mystery for me! When I visited Pike Place Market with a friend I took photos of the facade, which included a silvery pig up near the sign. At the time I thought that pig was a permanent feature, but when I've mentioned it to people more familiar with the market they just gave me blank looks. Knowing that there are bronze and silver pigs that get moved around is a huge comfort, Leslie.
Hi, Karen! I couldn't remember who had shared a photo of that silver pig on the upper awning a few years ago -- it was you! Yep, spare pigs pop up now and then. I think the sitting pig in my picture is called Reuben, though I don't know if they all have names.
DeleteHi Leslie: Welcome back to JRW's. I love books about my home town. Some day I hope Pepper gets to my stomping grounds the Ravenna Park, or Ballard where Dad worked in the office of a locally owned steel mill. Me? I wonder if Pepper ever watches the Clipper ships leave pier 69 for Victoria BC?
ReplyDeletePier 69 is about a mile and a half north of Pier 62. That's where I sold excursion tickets over the phone. Job helped pay my way through the UofW. So lately given the reality of today's world, I have been hanging out in Tammy Painter's Rosaria, which you can visit if you are lucky or fae. Especially if you are a magic worker because magic is fueled by a high sugar pastry consumption. Pardon time to pretend I need another breakfast so I can enter Rosaria again. ps. Pepper and I go way back can't wait to see what she will do next.
Ooh, Coralee! All excellent ideas -- thanks. Pepper does spend a lot of time in Fremont in To Err is Cumin, as you remember, but that's as close to Ballard as she's gotten. And I haven't taken her down to Pier 69 -- even though I've taken that Clipper -- although she does have a few customers from the cruise ships in Lavender.
DeleteRosaria sounds magical -- and delicious!
Hi Leslie, welcome back! Pike Place Market is amazing. When I was just out of college, one of my best friends lived in Seattle, so I drove up there frequently (from Portland) and wandered around. I'm just back from Tynside, having finished Ann Cleeves's Hidden Depths. I'm also spending time in 13th century France as my son is reading out loud Schiller's The Maid of Orleans (Joan of Arc). I love to travel through time and space by reading.
ReplyDeleteHi, Gillian! What fun to be two places at once, thanks to the magic of books!
DeleteCongrats on your latest release! I haven't made it to Seattle yet, but Pike Place Market and the Chihuly Garden are on my list.
ReplyDeleteKim, yes, I'm a huge Bruno, Chief of Police fan. I've visited Dordogne and published a story set in the area, "Voices in the Caves" in Gone Fishin': Crime Takes a Holiday.
Thanks, Margaret! The Chihuly Garden at Seattle Center is astonishing. I just set a scene in the WIP there, in part so I could enjoy another visit, even if it's mostly through photographs and memories.
DeleteChuhuly Garden is amazing, I visited the exhibit in April 2024. It was just a 20 minute walk from Pike Place Market.
DeleteWelcome welcome welcome, and thank you for the fun adventure at the market! Right now I am at Lake Geneva at a gorgeous hotel with Ruth Ware’s main character in the woman in Suite 11.
ReplyDeleteIt’s beautiful, but I certain it will not be for long… !
Thanks thank thanks! If things get too hairy at Lake Geneva, pop over to Bern for a visit with Kim -- oh, wait. Scary things happen there, too!
DeleteCongrats Leslie - looking forward to reading your new book!!
ReplyDeleteI love the Bruno, Chief of Police series, in the Dordogne area by Martin Walker.
I also want to recommend a wonderful writer - TARQUIN HALL. He is an established journalist but also writes the Vish Puri, the "Most Private Investigator" series set in modern day India (mostly Delhi). You follow Vish Puri's gourmet diet of India cuisine, the India's cultural nuances, and a cast of wonderful and engaging characters. His newest book is The CASE OF THE ELUSIVE BOMBAY DUCK. Hall lived in India for many years and now lives in Bath, England with his wife (Anu Anand the BBC reporter).
Thanks, Anon! I've heard of Tarquin Hall -- sounds like the name of an English manor house, doesn't it? -- but haven't read the books yet. Mr. Right lived in Delhi for a year and we're thinking of a trip -- thanks for reminding me what to read!
DeleteLast night I finished GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS from Debs. Loved visualizing all the shared garden areas for the houses.
ReplyDeleteDebs, I'm finally caught up on the whole series!
One of the many things I love about Debs' series is visiting so many regions in the UK and so many parts of London with a writer we all know does her research!
DeleteAn interesting questions as well as the responses. At present I am visiting Catalina Island via Michael Connelly's new character in NIGHTSHADE. Annette
ReplyDeleteYou can never go wrong with Connelly -- or Catalina!
DeleteLESLIE: Welcome back to JRW. I visited Seattle several times when a friend from Uni and her husband were living there. They just had a baby. I remember going to the aquarium ? museum of natural history ? That was in 1998 or 1999! I remember the Madison neighborhood where there was a Starbucks cafe offering things like Oreo cafe latte? We visited Pike Place Market and I recently found a photo of myself with the baby at the Market. I remember Capitol Hill, Green Lake ? Park and driving through the Fremont neighborhood. Since then, they moved to one of the Islands across the water from Seattle.
ReplyDeleteCurrently reading a novel set in Scotland by Alexander McCall Smith. Armchair travel is the next excellent thing to do after traveling in real life.
Hi, Diana -- Yes, the Aquarium, recently remodeled and expanded. The entire waterfront looks very different now, with the Viaduct gone and the new Waterfront Park connecting it to the Market. Pepper only visits the islands once, in a short story, but maybe she should pop in on your friends!
DeleteFrom Celia: I'm not sure what called to me Leslie, but I just ordered your first book. Probably the smell of lavender, of cumin and the market description which I would love to visit.
ReplyDeleteBut right now I'm reading a book with a tale of Boston Brahmins and old Cape Cod - The Big House by George Howe Colt. I am fascinated by his tale of the summer home visited by his large family and guests stretching back into the mid / late Victorian era. This is a story of how a house grows within the family and how it shapes each generation as the follow in their elders steps highlighting daily activities, rainy days playing cards with old mismatched packs which come from boxes opened with silk tabs. The joy of reading in a house where every room has a bookcase of mismatched books. Where any topic or author might be found from leather bound copies of Dickens to a memoir of horseback across the desert.
I am not at the end yet but I fear it may be unhappy as the story has a continuing thread of money both gained and lost. This is no trust fund home and I am sad as I consider the inevitable end.
My daughter gave me the book and I find the story continuously fascinating as I compare my life with that of Mr. Colt.
Thank you, Celia! I hope you enjoy the trip to Seattle with me, on the page.
DeleteAnd oh, you make Colt's book -- and the house it portrays -- sound so intriguing! I'm stuck on that detail about playing card boxes that open with silk tabs.
Ooo thrilled to hear a new Pepper mystery is coming down the Pike! This series always conjures fond memories of wandering the market and quirky neighborhoods of Seattle with my beloved college roomie (and still BFF, after all these years!) I’ll beaver out and cue it up right after I finish rereading Kim Hays’ polizei Bern series, set in that marvelous Swiss city that I haven’t yet visited (but feel like I know through the eyes of detectives Linder and Donatelli)!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun, Jonelle, to travel so easily from Switzerland to Seattle -- and maybe with a stop in your beloved Japan -- with no shoes, no TSA, and no jet lag? Our ticket is our imagination -- and a good book!
DeleteThanks, Jonelle. I'm glad you're enjoying getting to know my beloved Bern through my books.
DeleteI have never been to Seattle except with Pepper and cannot wait for the new book! I have preordered it and have just finished rereading the earlier ones.
ReplyDeleteRight now I am in ancient Egypt with Cleopatra in Dana Stabenow's Eye of Isis series. I have actually been there.
You all take me so many wonderful places. Thank you. Atlanta
There is nothing I love more than a good market, Leslie, and I can't wait to read the latest installment in Pepper's adventures! You also reminded me that I once visited a lavendar farm in England and it was amazing.
ReplyDeleteEvery lavender farm I've visited -- in France, Wash, and Montana -- has been magical. Something about the scent, and of course, the settings are usually sublime. English lavender is top notch, and I'd love to visit a farm there!
Delete