Fresh Brown Eggs for Sale by Judy L Murray

The devil is in the details. Edit, tweak, rewrite, enhance. When you approach the final version of your mystery you might feel a bit like a gerbil on a wheel. Are we ever finished? Wrapping up Villian in the Vineyard, this fourth book in a series, I obsess once again about fresh ways to reintroduce my setting and characters for returning readers. How can we use that age-old advice for writers – show, don’t tell? How do I engage my readers and not bore them with repetition?

Last week I attended a women’s group meeting at a local restaurant in the center of North East, Maryland, where I live. I left the restaurant about eight o’clock. It was dark. Street lights and the occasional headlights led the way as I strolled down the street toward my parked car. The air was that crisp, faint chill of early Fall. I enjoy these short but quiet moments by myself. Like many of you, daily life is all too often filled with hustle bustle and extra noise. These moments give me a chance to drop my shoulders and lengthen my stride. I look around, hesitating in front of shop windows, watching diners coming and going.

Given that my mystery series is set in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay, I often find these infrequent strolls surprisingly valuable. They’re an important part of bringing my setting or characters to life. They help me turn this village into a strong character of its own. And as often as I’ve walked these few short blocks, I find new village details can pop out in front of me with what I call opportunities to ‘refresh’.

My formal education was as a newspaper journalist. You know the mantra – Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Back in the days when we were trained to report not opinionate. So I’d say my attenuator for details comes in handy.

The setting for my fictional Port Anne centers around a very old village that is experiencing ‘times that are a changing’. The century old work of fishermen, crabbers, farmers, and shop keepers mingle with new money discovering, perhaps encroaching, on a lovely spot for big new houses and fancier goods.

Which leads me to my latest observation, a small appliance store right on Main Street that has been in existence since 1955, Logan’s Appliance Store. I’ve walked by many, many times. Do I wonder how it competes with the big box stores a mile down the road? I do. Is it country charm and old-time service that overcomes more competitive pricing and zero financing?

Take a closer look at my photos of their shop window. It's certainly not glitzy.

Now notice a small, printed cardboard sign tucked in the window next to a fancy new front-end washer and a washing machine dating back to the fifties.

The little sign reads “Fresh Brown Eggs for Sale – From Free Range Chickens”. Can sign provide readers a rare sense of place?

You can bet I’ll be injecting this detail into my fourth introduction of Port Anne. It shows, not tells, much about this burgeoning town in a different, non-repetitive way.

Writers, what helps you keep your series fresh? Have my thoughts helped you become even more observant? I’d love to hear your illustrations.

Warm regards and Happy Thanksgiving, Judy