Why I Chose Madeline Island for Emily Swift’s First Case

When I talk to writing groups and other readers, they usually ask why I decided to set my first Emily Swift Travel Mystery on Madeline Island.  It was an easy choice.  For years, I had been going up to the beautiful, remote island on Lake Superior with my writing group so we could write and critique each other’s work. 

We also found time to sail, hike, visit Tom’s Burnt Down Café and enjoy barbecues and adult beverages. There’s something magical about a place you have to reach by ferry.  With so many happy memories and its associations with writing, the island seemed like the logical place to launch Emily’s career as a travel writer/amateur sleuth. Murder on Madeline Island: An Emily Swift Travel Mystery and my second book in the series, Homicide in Hawaii, can be read as stand-alone books but if you enjoy following a character’s emotional journey as well as reading about a mystery, you might want to start with Murder on Madeline Island. A Killing in the Cotswolds is coming soon!