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One of the inspirations for my new Silver Six Crafting Mystery series was paying attention to my mother, my aunts, and their friends as they aged. I listened to them make plans for where and how they wanted to live their later years, and heard the uncertainties they held about their futures. This was particularly true of widows.
Before you stop reading because you think the subject matter is a downer, here’s the thing. The women I was privileged to overhear were strong, vibrant, tough, determined, and funny. Yep, funny! They came up with some outrageous ideas I plan to use one of these days.
Some ladies had local families and/or other resources necessary to stay in their homes. Some downsized into smaller patio homes. Others moved into apartments in senior living complexes. A few also discussed living with a sister or a friend. My mother was one of those who talked about getting a duplex to share with my Aunt Dorothy. She didn’t want to live with me or my brother, and never lived with Dorothy either, which was a blessing for us all. (Grins)
As I developed the characters for Basket Case, all those discussions about where and how to spend the senior years floated in my head. I asked myself not only “What if,” but “Why?” What factors would lead to seniors deciding to live together?
Friendship? Absolutely!
Companionship? Sure, so long as one didn’t need a great deal of private space and alone time.
Finances? It sure couldn’t hurt to pool housing and food funds, and other expenses, too.
Soon my characters became more and more three-dimensional with their own pasts, former careers, quirks, talents, skills, and needs. I realized that living together gave them added safety and security, and that they shared the load of running the household according to their strengths and preferences. Maise, for instance, is the chief cook, but everyone pitches in as needed, and everyone does the cleaning. Dapper Dab runs errands and acts as an occasional chauffer to the group, while Fix-It Fred keeps hinges oiled and appliances running in top shape.
Sherry Mae Stanton Cutler owns the sprawling ancestral farmhouse in which the seniors live, and Earth Mother Aster and Elegant Eleanor round out the Silver Six. All goes well for years as my characters live together, volunteer at the technical school together, and host a folk art festival. After all, Eleanor woodworks, Aster makes herbal potions and lotions, and Sherry Mae weaves baskets.
Then explosions in the basement and smoke curling from the kitchen window brings Sherry Mae’s niece Nixy to investigate, and things really heat up!
I hope you’ll give Basket Case a read and that you’ll enjoy the Silver Six. Meantime, I have a question for you. Would you live with friends in your sunset years, or do you need your space to be exclusively yours? I’m curious, and would love your comments about what you’d consider fun senior living options!
While you consider your comment, here’s an excerpt from the sales copy!
Art Fair and Foul Play
As I climbed the front stairs, I spotted my five-foot-nothing Aunt Sherry standing behind two folding tables that blocked the front door. A coatrack held small baskets of woven hemp and willow, and larger baskets made of those and other materials were scattered on the porch floor. A long swath of blue gingham fabric lay in and around the fallen baskets, the edges fluttering as if agitated by the swirling emotions instead of the mild breeze . . .
Opposite my aunt stood the snarling star of the showdown in progress. She leaned over the folding table, her blood red fingernails scary long and lethal-looking as she pointed at Sherry.
“You’ll come to an agreement with me, Mrs. Cutler, and you’ll do it soon or you’ll be very sorry.”
“But, Ms. Elsman,” my aunt began.
“No buts,” the Elsman woman interrupted. “I want that option on your land, and I will by God have it.”
She tucked her asymmetrically cut black hair behind an ear, lifted a stiletto-shod foot, and deliberately speared one of the medium-sized hemp baskets lying on the porch.
Blame it on being tired and stressed, but the woman stomped on my last nerve, and my temper flared in a sonic boom of fury. “Back up and back off, lady,” I snarled.
The woman casually turned and arched a brow. “My name is Elsman. Ms. Jill Elsman, and I suggest you stay out of this. It does not concern you.”
“Actually, it does.” The black-haired, black-eyed demon woman towered over me, but I stood straight and let her have it. “It so happens that Mrs. Cutler, the woman you just threatened, is my dearest aunt.”
*****
Nancy Haddock is an award-winning and national bestselling author of mystery romance who now writes cozy mystery. Basket Case, the first book in the Silver Six Crafting mysteries, will be released in Sept. 2015 with Berkley Prime Crime. Her earlier books, also with Berkley, are La Vida Vampire, Last Vampire Standing, and Always The Vampire, feature Cesca, aka Gidget with fangs, and are set in Haddock’s current hometown, St. Augustine, FL. Nancy draws on historic wealth, southern culture, and the plain old quirkiness of places for her books. She lives with her husband and rescue dog Baron.
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