Once Upon a Trailer Park

 We winter in an RV park in Florida, and when residents there found out I was an author, I heard time and time again, "You should write about this place." So I did.

An RV park is a strange microcosm of the nation (though our population is mostly from east of the Mississippi) in that people come from many different locales to escape winter weather. We're a mix of Canadian and U.S. We aren't Floridians. Most of us stay 3 to 5 months and then go back home.

In the park people meet and mingle daily, but for most of us, that doesn't continue for the rest of the year. That means that you see people every day for say, four months, and then have no contact with them until your return next fall. I tried to recreate that feeling in Trailer Park Tales, my three-book mystery series. The events are seen through the eyes of four couples. That means eight narrators, which is a lot, so I give readers lots of hints as to who's who. 

Using multiple narrators was purposeful, since it creates the vibe of an RV park. We tend to know people by where we see them, what they're noted for, and maybe a first name. We often refer to them by nicknames, like Bicycle Tom, Pistol Pete, and F-bomb Eddie. One of them might tell you there was a murder, another might insist the killer is the weirdo on Crane Street, and a third might have seen a strange car parked near the scene of the crime.

Living in this type of community was a new experience for me. I grew up on a farm, and we live today on that same farm, so I wasn't used to having neighbors who watch, comment, and report to others what I do on a daily basis. (It's mostly pretty mundane. I had a woman ask if I knew my husband sometimes goes outside with his socks on and no shoes.) But what if there were a murder in the park? Now there's a story!

Once Upon a Trailer Park concerns events after a murdered man is found at the Beautiful Bird Trailer Park. Four couples who are "winter friends" get together to discuss the crime and eventually do some investigating. That, of course, results in danger for them. This book is available here for $.99.