Why Small Towns Make the Best Settings with Quiz

Why Small Towns Make the Best Settings

by Teresa Trent

Before I could concentrate on my characters and plot of my Pecan Bayou mystery series, it took me quite a bit of time to create my fictional little town that is my setting. This town became a compilation of many of the small towns in the Texas Hill Country, and a little piece of the towns I lived in as a child.

My father was in the Army and so my family was pretty used to pulling up roots every three years. Honestly, I really kind of enjoyed it most of the time. There were always new people and new schools for me to discover.  It was an exercise in observation  for a future writer. When my father retired from the service we moved to his tiny hometown in Illinois. This town had less than 4000 people in it and for the first time in my life I was living near relatives. I had never lived in a place where people knew me before our moving truck pulled into the driveway. All of a sudden our life was full of family gatherings and town happenings.

I had cousins, aunts and uncles and felt a new sense of belonging. Unfortunately, after three years we couldn't seem to break the moving habit and our family decided to relocate to Colorado. Once again I was in a new town where nobody knew me, but this time we stayed for much longer.

I think it was that experience that made me cherish books that contained settings in small towns. .

As an adult, I tend to stay in the same place for more than three years. I have enjoyed living in Texas for the last eighteen years, even with the hurricanes. I now know what it means to be surrounded by friends and family for many years and I treasure that. It's probably because I do value the comfort of familiarity I get such joy in writing about Pecan Bayou.

If you are a lover of characters and settings in cozy stories try my cozy settings quiz below to see how many you can figure out. Leave your number of correct answers in the comment section, and don't forget to enter for my $25 gift card from Amazon. Burnout will be free on Kindle four times during Great Escapes Book Tour. Follow me on twitter @ttrent_cozymys to find out what days the book is free.

How many small town settings do you know?

1. Barney Fife lived in the fictional town of

a. Mt. Airy, North Carolina

b. Greenville South Carolina

c. Mayberry, North Carolina

2. Jessica Fletcher was from a state that is

a. Also the home of Stephen King

b. Famous for the Empire State building

c. Famous for Maple syrup

3.  Miss Marple's cottage was in the quaint village of

a.  Glastonbury

b.  St. Mary Mead

c.  Cranbrook

4.  Susan Wittig Albert's cozy mystery series takes place in

a.  Pecan Bayou, TX

b.  Amarillo, TX

c.  Pecan Springs, TX

5.  Leslie Meier's holiday themed cozy mysteries take place in

a.  Tinker's Cove, ME

b.  Sawyer's Mill, CN

b.  Mistletoe, NY

6.  Diane Mott Davidson's Goldie Bear lives in

a.  Fort Robbins, CO

b.  Aspen Meadow, CO

c.  Riley's Ridge, CO

7.  Miss Read's village school is in

a.  Shropshire

b.  Midsomer

c.  Fairacre

8.  Joanne Fluke's character Hannah Swenson resides  in

a.  Lake Eden, MN

b.  Moonlight Grove, VT

c.  Dark  Acres, NM

9.  The setting of the Aunt Dimity mysteries is in

a.  Cladymore of Northern Ireland

b.  Plockton of the Scottish Highlands

c.  Finch of the Cotswalds, England

10.  Betsy Livingston Fitzpatrick from my new mystery Burnout lives in a tiny town in the state of

a.  Maine

b.  Texas

c.  Alabama

Scroll Down for the answers.

Answers:

1.C  2.A  3.B  4.C  5.A  6.B  7.C  8.A  9.C  10.B