Writing the Cozy Small Town: The Genesis of Silverbrook Falls, Ohio

 Cozy mysteries, like romance novels, offer the reader a promise. We expect that there will be a murder or some other incident, but we are offered the safety of low stakes. We know that the guilty part will be caught, the main characters and animals are safe, and that we won’t be subjected to a lot of “on screen” violence. I tell my friends that I read cozies because I can curl up with one and sleep just fine that night. One of the difficulties of writing a cozy mystery is meeting these genre expectations without falling into cliche. One of the enduring tropes of a cozy mystery is the small town (or small community) setting.

Keeping in mind the adage to “write what you know,” I decided to set my mystery series either in Omaha, where I spent the first three decades of my life or northeast Ohio. Omaha surely isn’t New York or New Orleans, but it’s not a small town either. And in any case, cozies don’t have to be set in a small town. In fact, some of my faves aren’t. Laura Childs' tea shop mysteries transported me to the bustling city of Charleston. The Domestic Diva series found its cozy charm in a historic Alexandria, and Juliet Blackwell's witchcraft mysteries wove their magic through the vibrant streets of Haight-Ashbury. I recently started watching Only Murders in the Building, a series not exactly cozy but artfully crafted to exude that same intimate small-town ambiance, with a New York City apartment building serving as the microcosmic heart of the big city. In these narratives, I found a common thread – the ability to infuse warmth, charm, and a sense of community, whether in a small town or a bustling urban neighborhood.

Still, I settled on northeast Ohio because, like my protagonist Amethyst, I also went on a cross country road trip from Omaha to Salem, and I also stopped in Cleveland. I fell in love with a man and relocated here while she fell in love with the mystical (and fictional) Silverbrook Falls. Part of the whole setup to my series is how charming the place is, so I really have to build that world for my readers.

I yearned to craft an atmosphere that would envelop readers in warmth and comfort, where they could vicariously experience the enchantment that drew Amethyst to northeast Ohio. Ohio may have, at times, been the target of jests and memes, but I've come to adore this place, and my fervent hope is that my readers will fall head over heels for the mystical realm of Silverbrook Falls, just as I have.

I wanted to capture “Stars Hollow energy” from the beloved TV show "Gilmore Girls" and transplant it to a small town in Ohio. "Gilmore Girls" is celebrated for its warm, quirky, and tightly-knit community of characters living in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. This unique atmosphere is a cornerstone of the show's charm and resonates deeply with fans. I didn’t want to replicate the town, but I did want to capture its emotional essence. (I nod to this inspiration by having Amethyst be a big Gilmore Girls fan, and an episode of the show makes a cameo in Slaughter Before Samhain.)

But Gilmore Girls is set in New England, which is definitely shinier and sexier than Ohio in most readers’ minds, so I created a bit of a “Frankencity” in my mind, incorporating the best bits of surrounding towns and added in some descriptions of the lush forests here, too.

My initial inspiration for Silverbrook Falls was driving through Chagrin Falls to a client I have there. The drive is beautifully forested and gently winding. One of the most iconic features of Chagrin Falls is its eponymous waterfall, which tumbles gracefully over shale cliffs in the heart of the village. This picturesque natural wonder serves as the focal point and a symbol of the town's scenic charm. Visitors and residents often gather at the observation decks to admire the cascading waters, especially during the changing seasons when the surrounding foliage offers a spectacular backdrop. It also has a very cute downtown. 

The only drawback to setting my series in a fictionalized Chagrin Falls? It’s not on the lake. I am pretty obsessed with Lake Erie; I’ll have to write a whole separate post for that lovefest. Lucky for me, Fairport Harbor was there to offer that aspect. 

An adorable little town in its own right, Fairport Harbor also features the most affordable standup paddle board rentals in the greater Cleveland area, so I have spent a bit of time there this summer after they finished dredging the marina.  Fairport Harbor's most prominent feature is its stunning lakefront. The village offers breathtaking views of Lake Erie, with pristine beaches, scenic cliffs, and a picturesque lighthouse. 

The Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse, often referred to as the "Fairport Harbor Light," is a historic and iconic landmark that adds to the village's maritime character. The Fairport Harbor Marine Museum and Lighthouse offers visitors a chance to explore the village's seafaring past, with exhibits on shipping, fishing, and the life of a lighthouse keeper. This lighthouse is the inspiration for some of the action in Yule Be Sorry, the second novel in the series. 

I have to confess that the heart of my Frankencity is a touch more cosmopolitan. When I imagine Main Street where Amethyst’s shop is, I see downtown Willoughby. Willoughby has a population of about 24,000 people (twice that of fictional Silverbrook Falls), so it’s a bit bigger, but the vibes on Erie Street are what I want on Main Street. Downtown Willoughby is characterized by beautiful, tree-lined streets, and Victorian-era buildings. Like Main Street Silverbrook Falls, there’s not a chain in sight, just a handful of cute bars, good restaurants, two coffee shops, a metaphysical store, and boutiques.

Beyond the warm and inviting surface, in the paranormal subgenre, the setting often intertwines supernatural elements into this close-knit community. It's a place where the ordinary and the extraordinary coexist seamlessly. Ghosts may roam the historic town square, witches might run the local apothecary, and cats may have an uncanny ability to predict the future. These paranormal elements add a layer of intrigue and wonder to the cozy atmosphere. I decided to opt for a subtler form of magic.

While I wanted to capture the charm of Stars Hollow, I was intentionally avoiding having Silverbrook Falls be a portal to another realm a la the “Hellmouth” of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I adore Buffy, and I am currently rewatching season one, but I wanted to avoid the conceit of the town being a hotbed of demonic, otherworldly activity. There are more magicians and witches in the area than one might expect, and I reveal a bit about the town’s magical history later in the series, but my overarching goal is to fulfill a saying from the occult community: the witch is the magic.