Laura Childs | On Creating a Sense of Place

The first time I visited New Orleans, I fell head over heels in love with the
city. And because this fanciful city was introduced to me by friends who lived
there, friends who actually belonged to the famed Rex and Comus krewes, I had
the rare privilege of being invited into the giant float dens, meeting the float
builders, marching in one of the Fat Tuesday parades, and attending the white
tie (not just black tie) Rex Ball.

New Orleans truly is The Big Easy and The City That Care Forgot. It’s also a
city that been mythologized and derided, and is filled with contradictions. It’s
eccentric, overindulgent, and just naturally possesses a dark side. And I just
knew that New Orleans would provide the perfect setting and backdrop for my
Scrapbooking Mysteries.

The tricky thing, of course, is how to capture the essence of New Orleans. How
to bottle the magic and then spill it out onto the pages of my mysteries.

Well, I’ve tried very hard to do just that. Because at its heart, New Orleans is
a spooky, highly atmospheric place that lends itself to a mystery novel setting.
Think about it – you have the crumbling French Quarter with grande dame
architecture, above-ground cemeteries, elegant Garden District homes, live oaks
dripping with Spanish moss, massive Mississippi River, and fog-shrouded bayous.

A setting like New Orleans makes it exciting to create a total “sense of place”
for readers. To depict the smell of chicory coffee at the Café du Monde, the
aroma of fried oysters, and the sweet scent of magnolias at midnight. As a feast
for the eyes, I focus on taut descriptions of narrow cobblestone streets with
gaslights flickering overhead and dark blue-black bayous that stretch to the Gulf.

As a counterpoint to my spooky aura, my main character, Carmela Bertrand, is a savvy, focused, amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on “coincidences” or inept police work to solve crimes. She dives headfirst into New Orleans society and digs for information. In Parchment and Old Lace, Carmela gets pulled from a dinner at Commanders Palace to the murder of a bride-to-be in St. Louis Cemetery. As Carmela digs deep, she realizes the killer could be the conflicted groom, stalker attorney, jealous bridesmaid, or crazy mother-in-law to be. And as Carmela sorts through this dysfunctional group of suspects, snippets of antique lace and parchment become critical clues. It all comes to a head at a raucous casino party and ends with a frantic chase through an abandoned theme park. PARCHMENT AND OLD LACE delivers a gripping story in a realistic, yes-you-will-feel-it setting. There are also scrapbook tips and recipes for Pecan Pie Muffins, Sweet Potato Casserole, and Big Easy Butter Chicken.

But just when you’ve settled back and assumed everything is safe in Carmela’s
world, footsteps sound behind you and the lonely toot of a tugboat whistle
floats in from the Mississippi.

Gosh, I picked a fun career!

All my best,

Laura Childs