JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Edith Maxwell, who writes as Maddie Day, is such a fixture in our community, it's hard to think of anything new to say when I have the pleasure of hosting her. Except that I know you'll all be thrilled to hear she has a new cozy mystery out - MURDER AT CAPE COSTUMERS - and that the story behind the story is very interesting indeed. (BTW, who else absolutely wants that iconic lobster costume for next Hallowe'en?!?)
How Ideas Spark
Thanks so much, Julia, for inviting me to share my new release with one of my favorite blogging communities.
My most recent Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, Murder at Cape Costumers, is out today! It’s the seventh in the series of stories that take place in fictional Westham on upper Cape Cod. Bike shop owner Mac Almeida and her Cozy Capers book group sometimes never get to the cozy mystery of the week because they’re too busy investigating murder.
Here on Jungle Reds, I know you’ve had many posts among yourselves and with guests about what sparks the idea for a work of crime fiction. It’s a question authors are asked frequently.
A story might come to us from an experience we had, an interaction with a difficult person, learning about a great new murder weapon (poison, anyone?), the way someone saunters or quirks a single eyebrow. Or, perhaps, it might come from a short notice in the news.
In fact, a news tidbit is where the inciting incident (in other words, the crazy thing that kicks off the whole murder investigation) in my new book originated.
Yes, that’s a short squib cut out and saved from a real daily newspaper I subscribe to, the Boston Globe. The notice describes a bad thing that happened in Ohio, not in Boston.
Clearly, real-life protagonists Karen Casbohm and Loreen Bea Feralo didn’t quite think through their greed and actions. If you can’t make out the fine print, here’s the gist of it: the two staged a dead eighty year-old man – the boyfriend of one of them - in the front passenger seat of their car, motored up to the drive-through window of his bank, and withdrew money from his account. Only THEN did they deposit (evil snicker) him at the hospital.
Can you even imagine doing that? Who would think they could get away with a corpse propped up in the front seat or with the financial withdrawal, followed by leaving the dude at the ER? It boggles the mind – but also tantalizes the mystery writer’s creative brain.
I was sucked in even further when my editor asked if I’d like to write a Halloween book. I’ve done Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter season holiday stories, plus one involving summer fireworks. I’d never written a mystery set at Halloween. Darkness and costumes and mischief? Readers, I said yes.
Given the timing of the publishing industry, I was still writing Murder at Cape Costumers when my editor sent along the finished cover art. I had given him my ideas for it earlier, but when the cover included a big, slightly scary lobster, you can bet that costume went straight into the story.
The news event in the clipping took place in beautiful downtown Ashtubula*, Ohio, not in Massachusetts. But hey, I make things up for a living. Why shouldn’t a version of the crime take place in my fictional town of Westham on Cape Cod?
Mind you, the IRL story didn’t involve murder. Does the one in my book? You’ll have to read the book to find out. Wait, who am I kidding? Of course it does!
I’ve just finished polishing book eight in the Cozy Capers series, Murder at the Toy Soldier. It’s my fortieth novel, so yay, me! And just because I love you all, here’s a first peek at the cover – isn’t it fun?
I have no idea what’ll happen in book nine, but I’ll figure it out. I always do.
*A note about Ashtabula: it’s a place name I have loved for fifty years, ever since Bob Dylan mentioned it in “You’re Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Blood on the Tracks, 1975): “I’ll look for you in old Honolula, San Francisco, or Ashtabula….” As an impressionistic young-adult Californian, I listened to that song repeatedly in an era when my travels hadn’t yet included Ohio.
Readers: What’s the wildest news tidbit you have read? I’ll happily send three commenters a copy of the new book.
Just in time for Halloween, a new costume shop has opened on Main Street in Westham, Massachusetts. Cape Costumers is a cut above the usual seasonal pop-up stores with their flimsy mass-produced outfits and cheap plastic masks, mostly due to co-owner Shelly, a former Broadway costume designer. But when Shelly discovers her elderly boyfriend Enzo—a Broadway star who retired to Westham—dead of unnatural causes, Halloween suddenly gets a lot scarier.
Sleuthing, Mac has found, is a lot like riding a bicycle: once you learn how, you never forget. Far from being spooked, Mac and the members of the Cozy Capers Book Group put down their weekly book selection and put their heads together to see past a bag of tricks and find a malice-making murderer who’s hiding in plain sight . . .
Maddie
Day writes the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries,
the Cece Barton Mysteries, and the historical Dot and Amelia Mysteries. As
Edith Maxwell, she writes the Agatha-Award winning historical Quaker Midwife
Mysteries and short crime fiction. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America
and a proud lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. Maxwell/Day lives north of
Boston with her beau and their cat Martin, where she writes, cooks, gardens,
and wastes time on Facebook. Find her at her web site and at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen.
Happy Book Birthday, Maddie . . . I'm looking forward to finding out how Shelly solves this mystery.
ReplyDeleteWildest new tidbit I've ever read? A couple sold one thousand dollar tickets to their wedding . . . and guests actually paid to come to the wedding. Can't imagine that . . . .
Thanks, Joan - and...tickets to a wedding? Wild!
DeleteWho were these people? And why did guests pay?
DeleteMADDIE/EDITH: Happy book birthday for your latest mystery! Looking forward to reading how Mac and the cozy capers book group solve Enzo's death & the Halloween setting.
ReplyDeleteOK, one of the weirdest news stories I remember reading has a link to wacky costumes!!
In 2023, a dusty costume of an adult-sized tinfoil wrapped donair sandwich was sold in Canada for $16,025(CDN) or $11,900(US). FYI, a donair is derived from the Greek gyro and Turkish doner kebab & is really popular in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The donair costume was posted online on an Alberta government surplus auction site.
There was a bidding war for the never-used outfit between rival donair restaurants across the country. The winning bid was by an Edmonton, Alberta donair chain.
P.S. Here is a NYTimes article link
Deletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/world/canada/alberta-donair-costume-auction.html
Thank you, Grace! That's hilarious about the costume.
DeleteGrace I just had to check this out! The link your provided is the NYTimes and I can't view it unless I subscribe so for others this link might work.
Deletehttps://calgary.citynews.ca/2023/08/13/alberta-donair-costume-auction/
The picture is so funny!
DeleteI can see why rival donair restaurants would bid on the donair sandwich! It's certainly one of a kind!
DeleteANON: Sorry, I should have tried to find an Alberta online source. I was just surprised that the NYTimes covered the auction! (And yes, I have a NYTimes subscription).
DeleteGrace, I can see why the NYTimes published it - it's a cute story! Thanks for posting.
DeleteThe mystery for me is WHY would the Alberta government have a donair costume in the first place? And never-used at that.
DeleteFLORA: Agreed. SMH about the AB gov't buying the costume for an ad campaign & never using it!!
DeleteI am so glad that I followed the link. It was the best news story I've read all year:-)
DeleteI wonder how much it would have cost those restaurants to contact the manufacturer in CA and just have a new one made. The publicity was probably part of the auction's appeal.
JUDY: I'm happy that you enjoyed the donair costume auction news story! We all need something to make us smile or laugh.
DeleteHappy Book Birthday Edith! I can't wait to read this.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Dru Ann!
DeleteCongratulations, Edith! Happy Book Birthday. Forty books and going strong. My copy of Murder at Cape Costumers is on the way. I can't think of a bizarre news story right now, and I am feeling pretty hostile towards the media in general so, next time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judy! (I get it about the media...)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI'm typing this at five in the morning and my brain is not functioning yet to come up with a wild news story. I, however, do remember some wild headlines such as "Queen Mary Getting Bottom Scraped." I have a friend who worked at a newspaper in a ship-building town and one headline that escaped a weary proofreader read, "Navy Launches Big Ship," except they did not use the word "Ship, rather, a word for excrement. I once worked for a local newspaper in Massachusetts and the editor of a neighboring paper seldom bothered to proofread stories submitted and printed a report of the town's selectmen's meeting which referred to the chairman thusly: "The old reprobate's breath could peel paint."
ReplyDeleteI love those headlines, Jerry!
DeleteOmigod, Jerry, that last one! Bet that went well.
DeleteIf i remember correctly, Karen, the editor did not last long. Neither did the newspaper.
DeleteJerry, I am howling! "The old reprobate" is such an apt description for so many that I think I'll use it in place for "orange libertine" on occasion.
DeleteGee, I can't imagine why, Jerry.
DeleteCongratulations, Edith! I'm happy for you. That news clipping tells a creepy story. I look forward to reading how you worked it into your novel! As for a news item, I'm afraid the very small part of my brain that is not reeling from the horrifying daily news is somehow fastening on grammatical/word substitution errors for comic relief. Yesterday's was in VARIETY, which said a character had "a pension for cruelty." (Selden)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Selen! That's a good one.
DeleteOops, fingers missed the D in Selden!
DeleteHappy book birthday. This adventure sounds delightful. I love the idea of a book club solving a mystery. I can't think of any headlines that would even come close to the story of the dead man being propped up for a bank withdrawal and then being dropped off at ER. So bizarre. But I'm sure now I will never forget the name "Ashtabula." 😄
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth.
DeleteA new Maddie Day mystery is something I always look forward to. And murder at a Halloween costume shop should be quite the fun adventure. I know my friend Ann's love of all things Halloween and/or horror will make this book a must-read for her as well.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I have my copy because I had lunch with The Mighty Edith Maxwell just yesterday so a signed copy is on the table just waiting for me to start it.
The wildest news tidbit is hard to figure out when every day now seems to bring something wild as hell to the forefront (thanks, world going to hell) but I remember when I would read the USA Today's Across the 50 States page each day. Remember the John Wayne Bobbitt story? The first time I ever saw any mention of it was as a tiny blurb on that page. Next thing you know, it's a national news story.
Congratulations to you Edith, your books are always a must read for me and I'm sure MURDER AT CAPE COSTUMERS will join the parade of books I've read and loved! And I love the cover preview for MURDER AT THE TOY SOLDIER too!
Thanks Jay - it was great to see you and Ann yesterday!
DeleteOh, I love that story in every-state column, too! Sometimes they are really scraping the bottom :-) and it’s wonderful.
DeleteAh, John Bobbitt...We lived for several years in Manassas, Virginia, the scene of the crime. My daughter was a volunteer EMT there and actually worked with the guy who found the member in question in the bushes behind the local 7-11. My wife and I also applied for an apartment in the complex where it happened and were rejected...don't know why, but evidently we were not the caliber residents that John Bobbitt was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWAJcrh-4W0
DeleteI recently shared this article with some friends and family members: https://www.ocala-news.com/2025/08/22/customer-trampled-by-large-drunk-skipping-women-at-ocala-pirate-themed-bar/
ReplyDeleteThe customer is suing the company that owns the bar which is “situated a couple of doors down from the Marion Theatre, next to its sister bar, Tipsy Skipper.” So were the inebriated skippers just in the wrong bar? 😆
Hilarious, Brenda!
DeleteCongratulations Edith! I remember a headline about baseball’s first amphibious pitcher, but no news stories come to mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Gillian. The image of amphibious pitchers makes me giggle.
DeleteCongrats Edith! I love reading about how you grab bits of the story from anywhere! I get that completely and love finding a story like that in the wilds. I think the toy soldier cover is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lucy! Kensington does such a great job with my covers.
DeleteI notice a lot of cozy mysteries are published by Kensington Edith. It would be interesting to know more about the publishing world by writers.
DeleteThis is such a great idea! And instantly hilarious. I love the toy soldier cover, too. You are such a rockstar! I don’t know how you do it… But congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Hank!
DeleteCongratulations on this book birthday, and especially on your 40th novel! If I remember correctly, you started publishing novels later in life than many. I am truly awed by both the quantity and quality of your output!
ReplyDeleteI am not immediately recalling a fun news tidbit. In today's paper there was a sad story about an Amish woman who tried to kill herself and her teenage children by driving them into a lake in a golfcart. The lake was shallow enough the teenagers easily got themselves out, and onlookers rescued her. But listening to her deranged rantings about acting on God's orders, authorities realized her husband and 4-year-old child were unaccounted for. Their bodies were later discovered in another part of the lake.
My first book came out two months before I turned sixty! The new book is the 37th published - in 13 years.
DeleteWhat a sad story.
Congratulations, Edith!
ReplyDeleteMy entry comes from Pittsburgh just the other day and the title of a police report. "Woman gets into fistfight with raccoon; fears she may have killed it."
Thanks so much, Liz. That's some fistfight!
DeleteI read about this Liz, she was quite scratched up and shaken by the raccoon attack. Who wouldn't be!!
ReplyDeleteShe thinks the raccoon was attracted to her deck by her compost pile. But what I found curious was she mentioned she was spreading coyote urine around the yard to deter future raccoons. How does one get coyote urine?? LOL!
Maybe I need more coffee, but “very carefully” Anon. Elisabeth
DeleteFrom a zoo, I would guess.
DeleteI’m pretty sure it’s available online from some company. My husband’s friend talked about buying some predator’s urine to keep deer (rabbits?) out of his yard. — Pat S
DeleteThere is a whole industry around coyote urine collection, largely for deerhunting. Not a career path I would choose, but to each their own.
DeleteOMG, I had to collect my enormous dog's urine for a test once about 40 years ago. All I can say is, I agree with Karen, you really don't want to have that as a job.
DeleteIn this part of the country, I would imagine it's not difficult to come by. There are stores will all sorts of hunting/fishing/outdoors supplies.
DeleteAnd yes. Not the career path I'd choose.
Definitely a "truth is stranger than fiction" article! I love it! Congrats on the new book, Edith!
ReplyDeleteThank you, my friend!
DeleteWell, Edith, now my preordered copy cannot get here fast enough…shipping website says “out for delivery today”. So glad that schedules led to cover inspiration of the story! Love the inspiration for this … those sorts of articles are what I miss most about paper newspapers. Thank you for writing. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI am hanging onto (and paying for) my paper subscriptions for dear life! My day isn't complete without sitting down with an actual newspaper. Thank you for preordering - that makes a big difference to authors.
DeleteCongratulations, Edith, on your book birthday! I am always amazed at how many books you’ve written and had published in a year. Keep up the good work! — Pat S
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am cutting back slightly (two books a year instead of three...), but I'm definitely continuing the work.
DeleteThrough the years I have seen some hilarious news items, including lots of "Florida man" types. Wouldn't you know it, I can't think of a single one.
ReplyDeleteSo happy for book #40, Edith! You are amazing. As you know I am the Halloween queen, and I love the idea of a mystery around a costume store. So far, no one has dressed as a lobster at any of our parties, but it could happen. Last year the group costume was a herd of five rainbow unicorns, after all.
The cover for Toy Soldier is charming! But it needs a bit of sinister-izing, maybe.
Thank you! Yes, I thought you would love the premise, Karen. The only murdery thing on the Toy Soldier cover is the soldier lying across the train tracks in front of the approaching engine.
DeleteEDITH/MADDIE : Before I opened the email from Jungle Reds, I saw that I received your newsletter email about your book launch and I guessed that today's JRW blog would be about your new novel. Guessed right!
ReplyDeleteHappy book birthday! I look forward to reading your new book. May I ask where the name Almeida came from? Portuguese or Spanish?
Just woke up. Trying to recall unusual news headlines. I remember that picture of President Harry Truman holding the newspaper saying that Dewey won the election when in fact it was Truman who won the election.
As Annette said, the truth can be stranger than fiction. I wonder how the real life people were able to use a dead corpse to withdraw money. Did they deal with an ATM machine or a bona fide person at the bank who was not observant?
Thanks, Diana. Mac's father's family is Cape Verdean, which was a former Portuguese colony.
DeleteThe only story that has permeated my pea brain this morning has to do with last night's monsoon storm here in the Phoenix valley. I think a wall of dust might just make a great cover for a murder, Between that wall of dust followed by epic rains setting off fire alarms all over the area, toppling trees, pulling down electric wires, oh the chaos it can create! Imagine the possibilities! You do need a good dry desert for the most effective dust wall though!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the book birthday! I'm looking forward to Mac and the book club's newest adventure. Love the covers for both the Cape Costumers and the Toy Soldiers!
Love it Marcia! And that would be a great and very dramatic story. I remember Agatha Christie (?) had a mystery where a couple in a car drove up in front of a London row house. The driver got out to run into the house to do something while the passenger waited in the car. It being London it was a dark and very foggy night. Of course the driver was able to go somewhere else and murder someone without being seen by the passenger. But the passenger was his alibi that he wasn't anywhere near the murdered victim - as she presumed he was at the house. (My details as to the exact plot are a bit "foggy"!)
DeleteThank you, Marcia! A wall of dust - I've seen similar in West Africa, but not following by a monsoon.
DeleteMarcia, my cousin posted photos of that epic storm on Facebook last night. What a dramatic sight it must have been in person! Glad you survived.
DeleteCongratulations Edith! An interesting and unique tidbit about a library book returned after 82 years. Wouldn't ever want my library privileges affected.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Petite. That's a heck of a long time to keep a book checked out!
DeleteOne thing we haven't talked about is how, while loads of stories or bits of information spark an idea, not all of them are ideas big enough to carry a whole novel! Edith shows us how it often takes a few pieces to come together - in this case the weird body at the bank, a Hallowe'en setting, and maybe even Ashtabula - which together are a strong enough foundation for the writer's imagination to build a whole book upon. (Yes, I see that dangling participle.)
ReplyDeleteYes, Julia. More often for me a news bit might spark a short story.
DeleteThe cover alone has me swooning! I can't wait to pick this one up. You're amazing, Maddie/Edith!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenn! I'm not responsible for the art, of course, but I'm grateful Kensington has great cover people.
DeleteLove the background, and the new holiday cover is one of my favorites. Two literally wild news tidbits I’ve read recently were about orca and manatee sightings up near Cape Cod…separate stories. Would love to see the manatee…I prefer my orcas in the PNW, where recently, also a news story, a pod of orcas were on the swim course of a triathlon about 49 minutes after the swimmers finished…yikes!
ReplyDeleteYes, a manatee in Cape Cod is just nuts!
DeleteHilary, what a sight that must have been to see a pod of orcas! How thrilling. In our local beach area (on the Pacific Ocean) my grandkids were swimming in the waves with a group of other kids and a couple of dolphins came up to them
DeleteThey said they could hear them making vocal noises under water.
We also have an ocean reserve area where the sea lions have literally taken over. People swim and dive but the pop and smell have become a bit too much !
Congratulations! When I read about people winning the lottery several times. Either random luck, choosing the mathematical numbers that will win and wondering if it brings happiness.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, I stay away from the lottery.
DeleteBack in the 1970s I read a newspaper account of a police chase in the city where I was living then. It ended when the car being chased rear ended another car. The driver of the car that was hit pulled over to the side of the road and got out of his car to exchange information with the person who hit him. . Well, the driver who hit him backed up and then forcefully slammed into his car again and again. The person whose car was hit walked away just in case the driver wanted to hit him, too! The police arrived almost immediately. I thought this whole thing was kind of amusing, and then I saw the name of the person whose car was hit. It was of my beloved uncles! He had a terrific sense of humor, and he did think that this was amusing. (He was not injured at all, just perplexed at first.) He told the family that after he got out of his car to exchange information, and his car kept getting hit over and over again, it occurred to him that “this man has problems and bad driving is not one of them!”
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember what precipitated the police chase.
DebRo
Your uncle had good sense to walk away!
DeleteEdith, I forgot to congratulate you for your latest book! I’m so far behind in reading them, but at least I always know that there’s another good book from Edith/Maggie waiting for me in my TBR pile/tower!
ReplyDeleteDebRo
Thanks - you bet there will be!
DeleteMaddie! Not Maggie! Crazy autocorrect!
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I swear, one of these days I'm going to write a short story where autocorrect errors are the villain in a murder!
DeleteCongratulations on this latest book! I haven't read anything that was unusual, but I had a personal encounter that touched me deeply. It was years ago at a local pharmacy where I was waiting for a Rx to be filled. The customer at the counter finished her transaction and turned around and I found myself gasping aloud. She literally looked like every witch you've ever seen. Long narrow face, large nose with a very prominent hump in it, wiry gray hair looking slightly unkempt, and a rather pallid complexion. She was also rather tall and slim for a woman. After the initial shock, I reflected on how her appearance must influence her life, personality, even job opportunities. I suspect that would be a rather fascinating start to an introspective piece on how we let physical appearances keep us from seeing the beauty and promise within. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteGreat description and great insight, Victoria.
DeleteI think mine was the first review on Amazon, certainly one of the first two. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful book! <3 *****
A bit of an oddity from my own life. I'd put a deposit on a unit in a renovated building near Loring Park in Minneapolis, charmed by the exposed brick walls. Then I had a dream that I was in that apartment and someone was breaking in. I requested my deposit back, saying I couldn't get out of my lease (embarrassed to admit a dream). A few month later a friend told me of a burglary in the building. -- Storyteller Mary
Ooh, foreseeing the future in a dream, Mary! Thank you for the lovely review.
DeleteLast year we had a human skull wash up in Long Beach. Happily the ME was able to identify it as a prop.
ReplyDeleteWhew!
DeleteLove the behind the scenes story! I have a file folder filled with oddities and unbelievables, but this one takes the cake. As a side note, I rode a baby elephant in Ashtabula. My brother was a marketing manager for BF Goodrich and they introduced their all-terrain tires for ATVs - which were new then and three wheelers. Their slogan was "The only thing that handles all terrains better than our tires is an elephant." I was a slim young thing at the time and I got to ride the elephant.
ReplyDeleteWow, what fun! I rode a camel in Niger once - a startling experience.
DeleteCongratulations on your new release, Maddie. I'm looking forward to reading it. Years ago there was a snake hiding out in a neighborhood near where I used to live My parents were always talking about it because it was all over the news. Around that time, a Siamese cat was hiding under our deck and I was feeding her and eventually brought her in the house and we decided to keep her because we couldn't find her home. Of course, I named her Cyd. She was a great cat.
ReplyDeleteThe elusive snake and the adopted cat!
DeleteSounds like those women were Weekend at Bernie's fans. Got to give them credit for trying! My favorite headline is from the Cleveland Plain Dealer from the 1990s. The Cleveland Browns quarterback, Bernie Kosar (a class act) was benched and Vinny Testaverde was sent in. The Browns won and the headline read: VINNY, VIDI, VICI!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's very clever!!
DeleteCongratulations on your new book! I remember hearing years ago that someone was selling a ghost ( I think their grandfather's ghost) on ebay or a similar site. If I recall correctly someone bought it..
ReplyDeleteEdith/Maddie, your 40th book! Wooohoo! You have been one busy bee with so many great ideas. But, I can't believe that this book is your first Halloween book. How did you manage to get through writing all those books without dipping into this fabulous holiday? And, that cover of Murder at Cape Costumers is going have it flying off the shelves. I can even imagine this book as a part of my Halloween decorations if I get them up this year. Although it comes out today, I will fit it in closer to Halloween itself. I'm only two years behind in my reading, so when I say fit in, that's exactly what I'll be doing, but who can resist it. And, then I have the inability to resist your Christmas book cover, too, so Murder at the Toy Soldier. Of course, I'm already aware that the stories will live up to their covers, as your writing always does. Oh, and it's so cool about the Bob Dylan connection to the news story.
ReplyDelete