Get a look at my inspiration for the newest Bobbi Sue Baxter Mystery, The Edge of Knife!
The Bobbi Sue Baxter Mystery Series transports readers to the fictional town of Wildcat Springs, Indiana, in the late 1980s. Aspiring journalist Bobbi Sue Baxter can’t wait to finish college and escape her hometown. But her last summer there is serving up more adventures than she could’ve ever imagined, including a budding romance with Hemingway “Hemi” Miller.
Revisiting the 1980s is fun, but how do I write a series set in a time I only vaguely remember?
This takes a little research to jog my memory. My favorite discovery was a website that sells magazine back issues. When I was writing the first book in the series, Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind, I purchased two issues of People and copies of Time and Good Housekeeping from June 1988 to help me remember.
While I was perusing People, I found the sweepstakes entry form that inspired Bobbi Sue’s escapade in The Edge of Knife. The cigarette brand Eve Lights sponsored the sweepstakes with NBC’s daytime drama Santa Barbara. The prize? A guest role on Santa Barbara with a scene to be filmed in the winner’s hometown.
I knew this would be a fun possibility for Bobbi Sue, but I couldn’t see her as the type to watch soap operas or enter a sweepstake for a daytime drama guest role. However, that sounded like something Bobbi Sue’s friend Misty Ambrose might do—without telling her.
I also loved the idea of the crew filming a scene in the winner’s hometown because that meant the actors would have to come to Wildcat Springs. I imagined at least one star wouldn’t want to visit a small Indiana town. Once I had this idea, I couldn’t wait to write the story and find out what happened.
So where did the story take me?
Bobbi Sue wins the sweepstakes, and Misty convinces her to take part. T
he stars of The Cute and the Cunning arrive in Wildcat Springs with the crew. After they film Bobbi Sue’s scene in the local bar, she finds the show’s diva Angelina Starbrooke stabbed with a hunting knife.
Bobbi Sue sets out to find justice with the help of her friends, her grandma, and Angelina’s handsome co-star Reid Delmonico. Of course, Bobbi Sue’s pursuit of truth puts her in danger as she encounters twists and turns.