Small town. Big secrets. One woman who refuses to mind her own business.Mildred Wiggins isn’t nosy․
She just… pays attention․
It’s been fifty years since Mildred moved to the small Indiana town of Maple Hollow․ She knows her neighbors by name‚ their habits‚ and when something isn’t right․ The man living near her on Mulberry Lane has been setting off every alarm she has․
He’s rude․ Secretive․ Always in trouble with someone. When he’s found dead at the bottom of his porch steps‚ most of the neighbors are not surprised․
The police deem it an accident․
Mildred calls it suspicious․
Armed with her surprising powers of observation‚ her keen sense of justice‚ and her exceedingly opinionated rooster‚ Sir Alphonse Beauregard Clucksworth III‚ Mildred sets out to solve the case․ Because in a town like Maple Hollow, everyone knows everyone… which means anyone could be hiding something.
The deeper Mildred digs‚ the more she believes his death was not an accident․
It was murder․
But it will take more than curiosity to prove it. Will Mildred be the only one brave enough to ask the questions no one else dares?
After all, in Maple Hollow‚ secrets don’t disappear․
They wait․
Why I Chose a Woman in Her 50s to Solve the Mystery
I wrote sweet romances and cozy mysteries. A lot of my romance heroines are in their 20s or 30s. When I decided to write a new mystery series (Mildred insisted I write her stories), I knew I wanted a different type of main character. Mildred is older, wiser and more determined than some of my other characters.
I’m a woman in her 50s, so I am well aware of the ways in which women my age have decades of friendships, grudges, wedded bliss and experience to draw upon. In fact, Mildred being 52 seems like the only way for her to know how to get to the bottom of a mystery.
Mildred is savvy. She’s seen it all, heard even more and has a no-nonsense approach that I envy. Mildred is who I’d be if I wasn’t scared to be rude.
Is There Any Romance for a Middle-Aged Heroine?
I’m a romance writer first, with over 20 books in the genre. However, Murder on Mulberry Lane is a mystery. Mildred is already married. She and Harry are one of those couples who know how much cream and sugar each takes in their coffee.
Even though there’s a handsome sheriff in the story, Mildred isn’t interested in a kid she used to babysit. She has her person and is quite content, even when she drives Harry a little crazy.
I’ve been married for 36 years. There’s a familiarity that comes with knowing each other for that many years that I wanted Mildred to have. By giving her a supportive husband, I am able to focus her attention on the mystery at hand.
Harry also serves as a bit of comic relief at times. He’s exasperated with her tactics, but he also knows she gets things done.
After all, 50 isn’t where a woman’s story ends. For many of us, it’s just beginning. Focusing too much on romance for an older heroine seemed counterintuitive to me.
A Fresh Take on Beginnings
There's something else I love about writing Mildred at this age. She's entering a new season of her life. I truly believe we’re never too old to embrace a new adventure and Mildred does just that by inserting herself into any investigation that comes along in her small town.
I want this series to highlight how 52 is just the beginning. The adventure doesn’t stop because we have a few more gray hairs, extra wrinkles, and typical aches and pains. It’s only when you stop having adventures that you grow old. 50-something women still make new friends, travel to new places, take classes, reconnect with old hobbies and embrace the unexpected. They even stick their nose where it doesn’t belong and solve mysteries sometimes.
And if we're Mildred Wiggins, we might just solve a murder while we're at it. Fifty-two isn’t the end of a woman’s story. It’s the beginning of something. Who knows, you might just find a mystery to solve like Mildred. For Mildred, it's where the mystery begins.
Lori Soard has a PhD in Journalism and Creative Writing, but she’s hardly the stuffy professor type. She loves nothing better than a good romantic comedy and thinks the good guy should always win, and the ending should always be happy.From an early age, Lori started honing her storytelling skills. As a kid, she was rarely seen without a book in her hand, even walking and reading at the same time. Her first stories were about the world around her. At twenty she wrote her first novel, which she admits was horrible. At twenty-one, she sold her first article to a local newspaper. Once she got that taste of having others read her work and realizing that she could reach others and touch their hearts, there was no turning back for this natural-born writer.
“If I can make someone’s day just a tiny bit better,” Lori says, “if I can make them smile even though they are sad, make them think things could be better, make them understand how much God loves them, then I have accomplished something. I write my stories, articles, and books with that one person in mind who really needs the message. If I can change one person’s perspective, then I’ve succeeded.”
Lori is a lifelong Hoosier and lives in southern Indiana with her high school sweetheart turned husband. They have two grown daughters and two granddaughters. She always has her critters surrounding her, including a couple of miniature dachshunds and several rescue cats. “During the extreme low points in life, it has been my animals that have seen me through. There is nothing like the deep devotion of a dog or the unconditional love of a cat.” Lori adores animals, and while some of her dear friends have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, she will always stand by her belief that animals make the world a better place.
She loves to hear from her readers and blogs regularly.
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