Greasing the Gears

The author of the Cotswold Crimes Mystery series discusses how travel and new experiences fuel her ideas for characters and stories.

Jul 03, 2025

Travel, whether in person or by book, greases the gears in my brain. For as long as I can remember, whenever my family went anywhere, I always created stories.

I gave an outline of my first mystery story in an article for Valerie Biel’s Strange But True blog. I was about nine or ten years old, and I envisioned secret tunnels in and around my home. Missing persons and clever young heroines discovering whodunit. Read it here

That idea of hidden treasures went with me wherever I traveled. When I was twelve, my dad and newly acquired stepmom decided it would be a good idea to drive through ten states with a preteen girl and her sixteen-year-old stepbrother stuffed in a sporty hatchback. A 1976 Toyota Celica to be exact. If you’re curious, look here and you’ll wonder at the wisdom of my parents.

Based on the background, who can guess the name of book 4? Death takes a ?

As we traveled from Arizona up to Washington, across to Montana, stopping at Yellowstone in Wyoming, and over to the Four Corners, we peeked out our minuscule windows as my dad chatted with truckers on his CB radio, good buddy.

At every stop, with every new person I met, I imagined their secrets. What lay beneath the swing set? Why is that one door locked when none of the rest are? Which stranger has buried someone in the bubbling mudflats in Yellowstone? What is hiding behind that tower of rocks, and how long will it take before the vultures destroy the evidence?

My most recent adventure took my husband to Alaska and the Denali National Park. What better place to hide than the remote wilderness? Despite the universally friendly and charming people whom I met, I couldn’t help but wonder about their untold stories and what lay just beyond the tree line. These folks are rugged, and many are there to start over. What happened in their past, and who might be attempting to find them? How would their lives change if someone did?

Taking the train from Denali to Anchorage, we passed several homes not accessible by road. When the residents need supplies, they flag down the train. Literally. With a flag. Despite the bears who also occupy the area. (We saw a mama bear and two cubs right outside the train window!) What if you found yourself wandering through this area and a resident mistook you for the wrong person?

Dark deeds circled my brain, and while I don’t have a series that takes place in Alaska, those experiences will make their way into A Cotswold Crimes Mystery Series. When I travel to England, these questions continue to inspire me, coloring every page.

Book 4 was sent to the publisher last week, and I’ve started working on Book 5. In every book, Chapter One is entitled The First Discovery, fueled by Maddie McGuire’s insatiable desire to uncover what lay hidden. And mine.

How I Got to Where I am

I was raised in Arizona but was lucky enough to spend my teenage years wandering the cobblestone streets of Bath, England. My dad took over as minister at Manvers Street Baptist Church, and for those of you who have read any of A Cotswold Crimes Mystery Series, you’ll note that Manvers Church makes several appearances! You may also notice that my main character, Maddie McGuire, rents her room from a kindly reverend and his wife, Roger and Meryl, who were named for the couple whose house we stayed in.

During our stay, a delightful college student rented the top room of the cottage, which she referred to as her princess tower. Maddie occupies this room in the series. These details, woven in from my own experiences in Bath, are what make Maddie’s international internship at the Roman Baths Museum feel so special.

Contrasting England, my main character spent her childhood in Tempe, Arizona, where I lived and raised a family. I met my husband at a university in Tempe, and our daughter was born there. Like me, when Maddie gets homesick, the things she misses most are massive skies with spectacular sunsets, views that stretch for miles, and galloping on horseback through the Western deserts.

My publisher has offered to extend A Cotswold Crimes Mystery Series to nine books, with Book 4 scheduled for release January 13, 2026.

Death Plays with Fire, Book 3, has won the Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence, Mystery for Winter 2025, and has sold out at conferences and book signings.

My next big event is Bouchercon 2025 in New Orleans this August, and I’m excited to see everyone there!

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