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| Archer City |
Kathleen Kaska
is the author two awarding-winning mystery series: the Sydney Lockhart Mystery
Series set in the 1950s and the Classic Triviography Mystery Series. The Kate
Caraway Animal-Rights series is her latest. Kathleen is also a writer and
marketing director for Cave Art Press. Learn more about Kathleen and her books
at her website.
Importance of Setting: Melding Fact with Fiction
A Two Horse
Town
is the first mystery I wrote with a fictional town as its setting.
A
spinoff of the idiom “one-horse town,” which means a small, backward, lonely
place, I substituted “two” in the title to signify that things aren’t always
what they seem; there are two ways of
looking at them.
The
story is set in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in Southwest Montana, since
mustangs residing there are the focus; but there was no small town in the area
to use as a model. So I envisioned what I wanted such a town to look like:
dusty and old, a few diehard businesses around a town square, and gravel
parking lots with pickup trucks. I wanted a grocery/hardware store, a greasy
spoon café, an antique shop with a faded “out-of-business” sign in the window,
a pawn shop, a law office, a town hall, and a jail. And a doublewide portable for
the sheriff’s office to foreshadow things to come.
Though
I didn’t go into great detail describing each place—that would’ve taken pages
and bored the pants off readers—I needed visual-aid references for subtleties. Alas,
Archer City, Texas, a tiny, dusty county-seat about fifty miles south of
Oklahoma, provided most of what I was looking for. I visited Archer City many
years ago before cell phones had cameras. When I started writing Two Horse, I dug out some photos taken
with my digital camera back then and used the Internet to see how the town now
looked after all those years. It hadn’t changed much.
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| Archer City Jail |
Another
reason for Archer City is that I feel for it. It’s home to one of my favorite writers,
Larry McMurtry. He used his hometown as the setting for his book (later a movie),
The Last Picture Show, another title that
reflects the theme of a story. The Royal Theatre, featured in the film, is now
a center for the performing arts. The Archer City jail, built in 1910, is a
three-story structure made of sandstone. The top floor has a gallows, and the
first prisoner held there was arrested for stealing a horse. Murn’s Café serves
home-style, southern cooking, and the Spur Hotel (1928) is still in operation.
If
you’ve read A Two Horse Town, cruise to
Archer City. Let me know if you see a resemblance between it and Two Horse,
Montana.
By
the way, the Spur Hotel is on the list for one of my
future Sydney Lockhart, murder-in-a-hotel mysteries.
A Two Horse Town
Animal-rights activists, Kate Caraway, travels to Montana to help
82-year-old Ida Springfield save her herd of wild mustangs. After tumbling down
a mountain, finding a body, and getting warned off by the mayor, Kate understands
why her husband fears for her safety and begs her to come home. But Kate can't
leave without saving the mustangs and helping Ida stand up to the town bigwigs.
To do that, she has to find out who killed Ida's estranged son and why town
officials believe her great-grandson committed the crime.
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9 comments:
Hi Lois,
Thanks for having me as a guest today on Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. It's always a pleasure to be here. I'm happy I had the opportunity to reflect back on Archer City, Texas, the town I used as an inspiration for Two Horse, Montana, the setting of A Two Horse Town. I am eager to read what others have to say about settings, horses, dusty little towns, and of course, mysteries.
We're always delighted to have you as a guest, Kathleen.
I've read A Two Horse Town and it's one of my favorites. I loved the characters and especially the opera dogs! Its interesting to see where other writers get their inspiration. You don't always have to go to the actual destination, but it's probably good if you have. I'll have to put it on my place to see now. I look forward to the next in this series. -Minette Lauren
"The Last Picture Show" town reminded me of Corsicana, Texas, where I have some family roots. When I read "A Two Horse Town," I thought of Corsicana, as well, so Kathleen and I were channeling hot, dusty, Texas towns on the same wave length. I enjoyed everything about this Kate Carraway novel--the title, the setting, the characterizations, and the mystery. I'm looking forward to more from this polished author!
Kathleen,
I, too, consider setting an important component of a novel. It's like another character that helps to propel the story. Your book and characters sound terrific.
When Kathleen describes those characteristics she 'envisioned' for what a small, dusty Montana town would entail, it's easy to see what makes her such a talented writer. There's a lot of prep work that goes into a good book - a qualitative story isn't just a one dimensional offering of characters and plot. By providing the full array of descriptions she places those characters in the types of settings to create a synergistic enjoyment. No wonder she's an award winning author.
Thanks, everyone, for your encouraging comments.
Zari, The opera dogs have become very popular.
Saralyn, There are a lot of dusty towns in Texas; they're tough, especially the women.
Daniella, settings are important, and often they are subtle, which adds to the mystery.
Keith, I'm blushing!
The setting resonated with me. I'm a small town girl, and you nailed it. Your descriptions were so vivid that I felt I was there with Kate. And I am an animal advocate. Your book hit me emotionally on multiple fronts. Well done!
Thanks, Zoe. What a nice comment to read first thing in the morning!
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