SPOILER ALERT! If you have not read Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Taker, please do NOT read this post! If you’ve read Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Taker, and have begun or finished Cupboards All Bared, you’ll know why I felt the need to share more information on the topic of mental illness in the Gilded Age. (You might also …
One of the questions I often get about the Spokane Clock Tower Mysteries is: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Taker This first book in the Spokane Clock Tower Mysteries originally was titled The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker. Per the title, I’d written my first draft attempting to adhere very strictly to representing each of these …
One of my main sources for researching locations in 1901 Spokane has become Sanborn Maps. Sanborn maps are fire insurance maps, created to show where buildings existed in a city for safety reasons, including where the water mains ran and where the nearest station is. Like most maps of Spokane around my time period, I …
Hangman Creek, the Campbell House, and the Montvale Hotel aren’t the only local historical locations featured in Cupboards All Bared. (Each of those links will take you to the in-depth article on those locations.) You’ll find many more little cameos from local Spokane locations throughout the book, like the Spokesman-Review building and Dodson’s jewelry. Check …
The third major location featured in Cupboards All Bared is the Montvale Hotel. The Montvale was built in 1899 by Probate Judge John Binkley as one of the first Single Room Occupancy hotels in Spokane. This means it was built for the laborers that were constantly in flux in Spokane, coming through to work on …
We’re going to jump now to another important location in the book: where they find the body. Once I knew the events of the second book had to include McKinley’s visit and the Campbells, I needed a way to tie in a murder. Just down the road from the Campbell House is Overlook Park, which …
Exciting news! I was interviewed by The Spokesman-Review! The very same paper that I’m always searching for research for my books! I am now part of that history! Read the full article here. Special thanks to Cindy Hval for interviewing me! We had an incredible conversation about books—mine and others. Be sure to join me …
Cupboards All Bared, Book 2 in the Spokane Clock Tower Mysteries, is direct proof that reading old newspaper articles can be incredibly inspiring to historical mystery writing! While researching for the first book, originally set in early May 1901, I stumbled across this article: There’s nothing quite like reading articles from the time period to …
I’ve shared a final reading from Cupboards All Bared over on YouTube! This one’s a long one, and very special, because it includes photographs of the Campbell House to go with the reading! You can learn more about the Campbell House here on my website, and I’ll be sharing more next week! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! …
Did you miss my presentation with the Spokane Public Library about the President Coming to Spokane (in 1901)? Never fear! It was recorded, and you can now view at your leisure! If you liked that, subscribe to my YouTube channel where you’ll find presentations, readings, and more! Be sure to check around my website for more information …
