PLACES THAT INSPIRE, PART 1
It was 2014. My second book of contemporary crime fiction (now out of print) was released. I was trying to decide WHAT to write next. Every time I started thinking about something modern, I kept getting pulled back to the countless stories my wife’s late uncle told me about Arkansas City, Kansas, more colloquially known as Ark City.
There were references to underground tunnels, a nickname of “Little Chicago”, and a mysterious character of the “Grandfather on the Hill”, the supposed head of all things criminal within the small burg. Since I had always been fascinated by the gangster era (Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie & Clyde), it seemed these tales were enough to weave into a book.
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I realized there would be references to the police station, to the rooming house where the main character lived, and to various businesses. But there had to be that one central locale where (with apologies to borrowing from a classic t.v. show) everyone knows your name. Well, my wife’s aunt was the owner of one of the best small town restaurants I’ve ever eaten at, Daisy Mae’s Café .
The place has been around for a long time, not necessarily in the early 1930’s when the story takes place. And, at the time, it was known as The Shamrock. Now, I had lived in Boston and such a name definitely implies a more Irish setting, certainly even something out of Chicago. Daisy Mae’s Café is the perfect name for a place where the locals gather and the police are welcome patrons.
There was never any intention of writing more than one book. However, after a publisher advised me that series books are preferable, I thought long and hard about continuing the adventures of Baron Witherspoon, the facially scarred World War I veteran and beat cop. Additionally, I used the names of my wife’s aunt and uncle throughout the series, which takes place over twenty years. It was my way of thanking them for the stories and the abiding support during this adventure
