Spotlight on Molly MacRae #SpotlightSunday

 

 

Where, oh where does the mystery writer write?

My original idea for this Spotlight Sunday piece was to post some of my favorite pictures from the places where I’ve set my stories. But how to choose from the scads of pictures of Scotland, Ocracoke Island, the Tennessee mountains, Cape Cod, and the Monterey coast that I’ve taken over the years?

As I sorted through them, I realized I didn't need to choose because I could put together a fun subset. Again, there were too many, but here are a smattering of photos showing me writing in, or not too far from, some of my story settings (or not writing because I stopped to snap a picture of the writing space). These pictures are my love letters to the writing life.

Where, oh where do I write? Pretty much anywhere. 

The view from my window in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1974. For those of you who know Ian Rankin's Rebus novels, John Rebus lives to the left and around the next corner from here.

Paris, 1975. What you can't see in the picture is Norte Dame Cathedral, which is looming directly behind me. 

Faithful editors, Numa (checking due dates) and Sheeta (tuning up the typewriter keys), who saw me through graduate school with fur-flying colors. Champaign, Illinois, 1978. The map on the wall also hung on my wall in Edinburgh.

Johnson City, Tennessee, 2000 (fast forwarding through the graduate school and small children years). Editor Gunnarsson considering the early draft of Wilder Rumors on the computer screen. There's a glass of water in the lower right hand corner of the picture. That same glass (with fresh water) is sitting on my desk as I type this. 

 

Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, 2013. There are beautiful chickens on the other side of the fence. A cat came to visit most afternoons.

On the balcony in Mountain View Books in Mountain View, California, 2014. That's my brother Andy writing behind me. 

Garrapata State Park, Carmel, California, 2014. I still use that pen. 

Champaign, Illinois, 2014. Neko took over as editor when Gunnarsson retired. The sling was his solution to the problem of no lap when the writer prefers to stand. 

Lees McRae College, Linville, North Carolina, 2014. I drove one of my sisters from Illinois to this beautiful spot in the mountains so she could attend the Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song & Language Week. That's a draft of Knot the Usual Suspects on the screen.

Champaign, Illinois, 2016, catching a breeze in the window seat.

Champaign, Illinois, 2016, my writing space up under the roof. 

Looking spooky on Washington Island, Wisconsin, 2019. I haven't set any published stories on Washington Island. Yet.

Hiding from mosquitoes in our backyard screen tent, Champaign, Illinois, 2021. Same water glass on the table.

Champaign, Illinois, 2022. When editor Neko retired, I had to muddle through on my own for a few years. From the mess I'm making, you can see why I needed another cat. Just barely visible, on the three-legged stool at the top of the picture, is the same water glass.

New editor finally installed. Dooley joined the staff in 2024. She is the consummate, and very furry, professional. 

You can visit North Carolina, Scotland, Tennessee, Cape Cod, and California, too, in my mysteries. Happy reading! 

 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.