I have fond memories of playing in fabric stores when I was young. My mom is an
excellent seamstress, and often took my sister and me on trips to Levineโs, our
local fabric store, to pick out patterns for new dresses, curtains, pillows, or
pajamas. Sheโd drop me by the tables of pattern books where Iโd spend hours
flipping through the pages, admiring the fashionable sketches and dreaming of
the possibilities. As I got older, I would wander the aisles and pick out
interesting prints for clothes that I made myself.
Fabric stores are like bookstores to me. I canโt walk into one and not come out
with a package. There are no better places to fritter away time! So when the
idea of a cozy mystery series set in a fabric shop came to mind, I knew it was
the perfect way to combine two passions. I imagined an old fabric store like the
one I used to play in, one that had been around since the fifties. What
treasures might be hidden inside: dusty vintage fabrics in a stockroom, new old
stock of buttons, pattern books from decades past, forgotten packages of bias
tape, or thick bolts of polyester double knit? Or maybe a hint of an unsolved
mystery?
SUEDE TO REST, the first
book in the
Material Witness Mystery Series, opens with Polyester
Monroe (so named because she was born inside of the store, on a bed of
polyester!) standing in front of the fabric store that sheโs inherited. What
should be a simple transaction involving her signature on a couple of documents
gets complicated when Poly decides to go inside and experience the world where
she grew up one last time. She doesnโt expect to feel so connected to the store,
especially since she doesnโt feel nearly that connected to the job she holds in
Los Angeles. She also doesnโt expect to find a dead body in the parking lot the
day after she arrives. It seems Poly has a choice: stay in San Ladrรณn and learn
the truth about the small townโs secrets, or sign away her ownership of the
store and go back to life as she knows it.
I sometimes think there is a part of all of us that wants a chance to get away
from our everyday life. Inheriting the fabric store is a wakeup call for Poly.
It throws her life into disarray and makes her think about whether or not her
life is headed the right directionโand question what exactly is the โrightโ
direction for her. Not that long ago, I had my own wakeup call and asked myself
the same questions. Thatโs when I changed career paths and moved from Texas to
California (where
SUEDE TO
REST is set). The move was scary--especially for someone who likes to plan
everything! I could have stayed where I was, and I could have moved back to
Pennsylvania, where Iโm from. Instead, I chose the unknown door number three.
The move brought new opportunities to my life and, while I havenโt had to
contend with any dead bodies, I did think a lot about that somewhat spontaneous
decision when writing Polyโs story. So far, things have worked out pretty well
for me.
I wonder how theyโll turn out for Poly?
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