Welcome to my stop on
author Marilyn Levinson’s Virtual
Book Tour for Murder A La Christie, presented
by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Please leave a comment or question for
Marilyn to let her know you stopped by.
To enter the giveaway on my blog, please fill out the Rafflecopter form
below. My review is running late but will
be posted ASAP. You can follow the rest
of Marilyn’s tour here.
The
Importance of the Setting by Marilyn Levinson
I
consider the setting of my mystery series very carefully before I start to
write the first chapter of the first book. While all my series take place on
Long Island, the setting of each series is unique and vastly different from the
others. Setting evokes mood, and is often a character on its own. Which is why
I carefully choose the terrain, the architecture of the buildings, the layout
of the town, and the economic level of the town’s residents. I generally create
a town or village and place it in close proximity to real places and landmarks.
This allows me a good deal of freedom while grounding the setting in reality,
which my readers like.
Old
Cadfield, the setting of my latest mystery, Murder a la Christie, the first
book in my Golden Age of Mystery series, is an upscale picturesque village
surrounded by multi-million dollar homes on acre and two-acre plots. I had an
actual wealthy community in mind when I began writing the novel, but like all
my settings, Old Cadfield soon took on a life of its own. The village’s
affluent lifestyle impacts its residents, many of whom aren’t as wealthy as
their neighbors imagine. As my sleuth Lexie Driscoll discovers, they often hide
their peccadillos behind a wall of respectability. House-sitting in an award-winning
designer home, Lexie feels a bit out of her element living in the lap of luxury
as she goes about trying to find out who is murdering the members of the book
club. She’s hurt and disappointed when her best friend closes rank with the
other Old Cadfield villagers and tries to stop her from uncovering too many of
their secrets.
The
setting of my Twin Lakes series is an upscale retirement community. My sleuth Lydia
Krause moves to Twin Lakes in A Murderer Among Us, the first book in the series.
Newly widowed and having just sold a successful business, Lydia is about to
begin a new chapter in her life. Ahead of her are murders to solve, friendships
to forge, her daughters’ problems to resolve, and a budding romance.
In
Giving Up the Ghost, Gabbie Meyerson comes to Chrissom Harbor in the dead of
winter to teach English as the local high school. She rents a cottage situated
on a bluff above the Long Island Sound, and discovers she has a housemate—the
ghost of Cameron Leeds, who used to live in the cottage. Cam’s body was
discovered on the beach below the buff, supposedly of an accidental fall. But
Cam knows someone murdered him, only he doesn’t know who. He nags Gabbie until
she agrees to investigate. The lonely cottage, the surrounding woods, the blue
collar town that doubles in size in the summer months when the summer people
come all impact on the mood and ambience of my novel.
As
you can see, I usually base my settings on places I’m familiar with, and change
them to suit my story. When writing a novel, your setting should be working for
you, creating atmosphere and mood. Have your victim be discovered in a unique
location. And don’t forget to include real towns and festivals. Your setting
adds color to your novel and another dimension to your readers.
Murder a la ChristieBy Marilyn LevinsonPublisher: Dark Oak MysteriesRelease Date: February 4, 2014Genre: MysteryLength: 234 PagesISBN: 978-1610091350Buy Link: AmazonAbout the book:Professor Lexie Driscoll is leading a discussion of Agatha Christie’s novels at the first meeting of the Golden Age of Mystery book club, when an old friend is murdered. A free spirit, Lexie finds herself outside her element housesitting in the upscale village of Old Cadfield. As she unravels secret after secret, more members are murdered. Lexie employs Miss Marple’s knowledge of human nature and Hercule Poirot’s cunning to find the killer.
About
The Author
Marilyn Levinson, a
former Spanish teacher, writes mysteries, romance, and books for children and
young adults.
Her romantic
suspense, DANGEROUS RELATIONS, is a love story entwined with an intriguing
mystery. GIVING UP THE GHOST is an entertaining ghost mystery. A new edition of
A MURDERER AMONG US, which won a Best Indie award from Suspense Magazine in
2011, and its sequel, MURDER IN THE AIR, are out with Untreed Reads this
winter. A ghost, a mansion, and a feral Maine Coon cat feature in Marilyn’s
most recent YA, GETTING BACK TO NORMAL. Three of her popular out-of-print
children’s books, AND DON’T BRING JEREMY, NO BOYS ALLOWED, and RUFUS AND MAGIC
RUN AMOK are now available as ebooks.
Marilyn is co-founder
and past-president of the Long Island chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives on
Long Island.
Author
Links:
web page: http://www.marilynlevinson.com
Untreed Reads books: http://goo.gl/ktYzs
Amazon page: http://amzn.to/K6Md1O
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.levinson.10?ref=ts&fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynLevinson
I'd love to read this.
ReplyDeleteHi Lilbby,
DeleteIf you don't tweet do you Facebook? If you want to share the post on Facebook you can do that and use the Facebook link instead of the tweet link...that would be okay:)
Unfortunately, I don't tweet.
ReplyDeleteLove the connection to Christie!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ronna.
DeleteA fellow Long Island author and a great one at that! A wonderful post to remind me of the books I still want to read. Wishing you continued success with your writing and your stories, Marilyn!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Terri. Much appreciated.
DeleteApparently you entry form is not working . Just keeps saying " loading". Ronnalord ( at) msn ( dot) com
ReplyDeletei'd love to read this!
ReplyDeleteHello Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to be here today. Thanks for all your lovely comments.
Your book sounds fascinating and I'd love to read it. I would also love to win it and get an autographed copy.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed it a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that you did, Jenny. Music to an author's ears.
DeleteAs a Lng Island gal, I'll sure have fun figuring out what town is the inspiration for your setting! Love the premise, Marilyn~
ReplyDeleteDo let me know which town you think it is.
DeleteInteresting twist, murdering members of a book club. I look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank you.
DeleteAll you books sound wonderful, but anything Agatha will always draw my attention. Patg :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pat. This book was fun to write.
DeleteAs a lifelong Christie fan, I'm interested to see how the author manages to evoke her style.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say I evoke her style. but my characters have discussions about various Christie novels. And there are other parallels to be found.
DeleteHi, Marilyn,
ReplyDeleteI'm also a Christie fan. You can learn so much about mystery writing by reading her work. Your novel sounds very interesting. I agree that setting is a very important part of a novel in creating the right atmosphere. Wishing you much success.
Your books promise readers entertainment. Just my kind of book, and I'm looking forward to the new one.
ReplyDeleteMarja McGraw
I'm looking forward to your book launch in Huntington on Friday, Marilyn. I'll have my own copy of the book, autographed by my newest writer colleague. Looking forward to reading it!
ReplyDelete