The Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries are set in
Westfield, a real town in New Jersey, and various other locations within the
state as well as New York City. I prefer using actual places in my books rather
than making up towns, especially when writing a series. I find it easier to
keep track of where I’ve set scenes and what the area looks like if I’m
describing places I know. I also discovered early on that, like me, many
readers enjoy reading about locations they know because the setting comes alive
more when they’ve actually been to it.
A few miles and a couple of towns from Westfield is
the Mall at Short Hills, known to locals as simply the Short Hills Mall. This
is one of the most upscale malls in the country. Anchor department stores
include Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Saks Fifth Ave., although
there’s also Macy’s for those of us on budgets. In addition, just about every
name designer has a boutique shop at the mall—Chanel, Dior, Dolce &
Gabbana, Fendi, Hermès, and Jimmy Choo, to name just a few.
Several of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries
have scenes set in the mall. In AssaultWith a Deadly Glue Gun Anastasia, who doesn’t have a spare nickel to her
name, is forced into purchasing a four hundred dollar tote at the Burberry store.
In Death by Killer Mop Doll she
drives her mother to the mall to have her engagement ring appraised at Tiffany
& Co. While Mama is in the store, Anastasia treats herself to a latte at
the Nordstrom Café across from the jewelry store.
As a reader, do you prefer to read about real or imaginary settings? Do you like to form images in your mind or read about places you know and may have visited at one time?
Assault
With a Deadly Glue Gun
When Anastasia Pollack's
husband permanently cashes in his chips at a roulette table in Vegas, her
comfortable middle-class life craps out. She's left with two teenage sons, a
mountain of debt, and her hateful, cane-wielding Communist mother-in-law. Not
to mention stunned disbelief over her late husband's secret gambling addiction,
and the loan shark who's demanding fifty thousand dollars.
Anastasia's
job as crafts editor for a magazine proves no respite when she discovers a dead
body glued to her office chair. The victim, fashion editor Marlys Vandenburg,
collected enemies and ex-lovers like Jimmy Choos on her ruthless climb to
editor-in-chief. But when evidence surfaces of an illicit affair between Marlys
and Anastasia's husband, Anastasia becomes the number one suspect.
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Death
by Killer Mop Doll
Overdue
bills and constant mother vs. mother-in-law battles at home are bad enough. But
crafts editor Anastasia Pollack's stress level is maxed out when she and her
fellow American Woman editors get roped into unpaid gigs for a revamped
morning TV show. Before the glue is dry on Anastasia's mop dolls, morning TV
turns crime drama when the studio is trashed and the producer is murdered.
Former co-hosts Vince and Monica—sleazy D-list celebrities—stand out among a
lengthy lineup of suspects, all furious over the show's new format. And
Anastasia has no clue her snooping has landed her directly in the killer's
unforgiving spotlight.
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