Author Spotlight: Meet Tule Cozy Mystery Writer Melissa Westemeier

Melissa Westemeier grew up around the edge of nerd culture, but marriage and motherhood with three sons immersed her in it. She’s fluent in Marvel, DC, Dr. Who, Star Wars, Godzilla, and more thanks to their influence. Her fiction work includes rom-com and a trilogy loosely based on her experience tending bar on the Wolf River in Wisconsin. She’s thrilled to realize her childhood dream of writing murder mysteries. Her books blend her humor and appreciation for nerd culture while tackling serious themes and unpacking the puzzle of whodunnit (and how and why!). In her spare time, Melissa needs to be outside or near a window. Her passions include hiking, swimming, biking, reading, and fantasizing about her next vacation destination. Visit Melissa at melwestemeier.com or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Real Places Behind The Abbey: Senior Living

The Abbey: Senior Living is the central setting in Old Habits Die Hard, book one in the Nun the Wiser Mysteries. Sister Bernadette Ohlson worked and lived in the former Catholic church and school now converted to senior apartments. Upon retirement, Bernie traveled the world before returning to occupy apartment 207, a former sixth grade classroom (her friend Rin Sato got there first and lives in Bernie’s old classroom, apartment 105). My friend Mariana Damon wanted to write a mystery placed in a retirement community and she placed the action in a setting she was familiar with: The Abbey of Olympus Apartments in Eugene, Oregon, where she lived for two years before moving into memory care in Portland. She’d written to me about the communal meals, yoga classes, and quirky residents during her time at The Abbey, and suggested it was centrally located because she used a bus for errands.

I’ve never been to The Abbey of Olympus, but I placed the fictional senior apartments in a neighborhood within walking distance to a pharmacy, corner store, florist, and craft shop. There’s a public library, small apartment buildings, offices, and even a sandwich shop along Spruce Street and Chestnut Street, one street over, is lined with houses. The Abbey is located in the walkable working-class neighborhood of my dreams.

The fact that The Abbey is a repurposed building made it fun to write because I’ve forever been a fan of old buildings. I enjoy the architectural details and the imprint of history through features like graffiti, downspouts, ceiling heights, and cellars. It’s easy to imagine people in the past populating old spaces and it gives me pleasure to feel connected through time by walking into a place. I’ve stood inside pyramids, tombs, ancient cathedrals, and castles and thought I’m breathing the same air, standing on the same floor, touching the same walls as people did hundreds of years ago!

Because I imagine other people’s lives in these places, The Abbey bloomed in my mind with little effort. Bernie’s familiar with the nooks and crannies from her years teaching. She knows which walls are new, which wooden stairs creak the loudest, the best hiding spots and eavesdropping spots and hidden passageways. Like Bernie, Detective AJ Lewis attended school in the building, so when he answers the call about a body found on the second floor, he immediately recognizes the building’s past still evident beneath the contemporary layers of its current use. The former playground with its swing sets and basketball hoops has been torn up to create a grassy courtyard with raised beds and park benches. The old sanctuary serves as a dining room, the sacristy where AJ prepared to serve as an altar boy for mass is now a cozy reading nook. His initials are still carved in a stairwell.

While I’ve never been inside The Abbey of Olympus Apartments, I tried to remain true to its history by creating a place where the character and woodwork of the original parish remains intact. I also drew upon my knowledge of the old Washington High School in New London, Wisconsin which was beautifully restored as assisted living apartments and a senior center. When I visited Mariana in Portland where she now lives, my cousin Mitch and his partner Liz brought me to The Kennedy School and I was absolutely delighted by how an old elementary school has been transformed into a hotel, movie theater, brewery, bars, shops, and restaurants (whew!). After walking around this extraordinary place, we had a drink in Detention and dinner in the Courtyard Restaurant. Portland’s full of wonderful places, but The Kennedy School blew me away. Inspired by the different ways The Kennedy School retains its history, I made sure to leave stained glass windows, confessional booths, and pews behind in The Abbey: Senior Living.

Restoring an old building for a new purpose allowed me to play at architectural design as I built walls and ran plumbing into the former classrooms to create bedrooms and bathrooms. I tore down the walls in the former offices and teacher lounge to create The Abbey’s common area where the residents watch TV and hang out. Building this space was a blast—and since all the construction took place on the page, I never got my hands dirty! I’ve written plenty of settings, but The Abbey: Senior Living is my favorite.

Giveaway! Melissa is giving away a signed copy of Old Habits Die Hard to one lucky commenter. Just tell her in the comments below about a repurposed building you’ve visited or know about.

Old Habits Die Hard

Meddling and murder can both be deadly sins

When retired nun and teacher Sister Bernadette returns with her fellow residents to The Abbey: Senior Living, she is the first to discover the body sprawled in the hallway of the converted school where she once taught English and now lives.  Instead of freezing with horror, Sister Bernie has questions. Lots of them. Why does Toni Travi, the bedazzled and bejeweled resident from apartment 218, have so much chest hair? Did anyone at The Abbey know Toni was a man? Was Toni’s death related to allegations that she cheated at cards? Where’s the murder weapon? Who had motive? And did someone kill Toni, or the man hiding beneath the Revlon foundation and blonde wig?

Detective AJ Lewis is in charge of the investigation though Sister Bernie acts as if he is still her student. With unholy stubbornness, she dogs his every step, eavesdrops, sneaks beyond the police tape and offers unsolicited conjecture and clues. He wants to keep her safe, but she’s determined to lend a helping hand—it’s her habit, after all!

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