people in my neighborhood

My fictional neighborhood, to be clear. I had loads of fun creating this little world in the Nun the Wiser Mysteries, and I'm excited to build it out more with each new book.

Sister Bernedette Ohlson, AKA Bernie, our intrepid retired nun and middle school teacher, teams up with Detective AJ Lewis to solve a murder in Old Habits Die Hard. The action takes place in a fictional neighborhood located in the Jefferson Westside area of Eugene, Oregon. Book one centers around The Abbey: Senior Living, a former Catholic parish and school now repurposed as senior apartments where Bernie lives. The landscape beyond The Abbey, specifically the businesses one block down on Chestnut Street, get top billing in Dropped Like a Bad Habit.

Let's check out the spread of this new landscape!

we start with food, obviously

Kitty-corner across from The Abbey, Scilla Fletcher runs Scilla’s Subs, home of fantastic sandwiches and giant cookies. Scilla’s an avid runner with spiky platinum blonde hair and a sharp sense of humor. Her shop has a lean, modern aesthetic, resembling her as pets resemble their owners. We pass two apartment buildings and reach Raymond Wright’s insurance office. He’s on vacation all week, but his receptionist’s a sweetie, willing to share from the jar of candy bars she keeps on her desk. Maddie Edwards owns the flower shop one door down. Braided, beaded, and generous with baby’s breath and greens, Maddie’s been in business for ages and you can get nice bouquets from her for all occasions. Just flowers, though, if you’re looking for balloons or whatnot, keep walking!

The next storefront’s vacant, and the block ends at the Corner Bar. Gus Will owns it and lives in the apartment upstairs his wife, Margo, and their two dogs. Gus is a heavyset guy in his late sixties with ruddy cheeks and a raspy voice. He took over the business from his uncle who owned it for thirty years. You can get a tap beer, play the Shake of the Day, and eat a bag of peanuts for less than five bucks—watching the game on one of the two TVs hanging behind the bar costs you nothing.

Crossing Chestnut Street’s easy—there’s never much traffic, but keep an eye out for runners. They’re everywhere in Eugene on account of it being “TrackTown USA.” Across the street from the Corner Bar, Hugo Sanchez runs the Corner Market. Hugo’s a short, stocky man who sports a neatly groomed black beard flecked with silver. He’s the fifth owner of the little convenience store in the last twenty-five years. Hugo tries to keep his customers’ favorite products on the shelves, but it’s tricky because wholesale distributors don’t play nice with the little guys. You’ll pay more for groceries here, but you’re also in and out in less than ten minutes, and that includes a chat with Hugo and whoever else happens to be hanging around. No better place for neighborhood gossip than the Corner Market.

Another apartment building and we reach The Pharmer’s Market, run by Ethan and Jodi Brecht. You can buy everything health-related here, from bandages to birth control to beetroot extract because this couple’s down for both traditional pharmaceuticals and natural remedies. They’re an outdoorsy couple in their early fifties known for supporting their community. If you’re looking for a business to sponsor your kid’s Little League team or donated prizes for the library’s summer reading program, ask them. They’ll help you out.

An actual logo for a pretend business created by my dear friend Kara

In Stitches, Carly Hermsen’s craft store, is located next to The Pharmer’s Market. Carly’s a retried actuary who sells yarn, buttons, thread, beads—you name it! It’s a homey little store, with a space for craft clubs to meet. Almost every day you’ll find a group of women stitching or knitting, and Carly offers classes, too! Like Hugo, she tries to stock what her local clientele wants. Her customers are loyal, In Stitches offers the same social gathering space as the Corner Bar does, except it smells a hundred times better inside.

Now we’ve reached P’unked, a tattoo parlor run by Otis McNally, better known as Crazy O. P’unked is rough and rowdy, you can get inked there, and rumor has it, you can pick up a wide variety of supplements not sold by the Brechts and not legal, and possibly an STD if you’re not careful…let’s keep moving…

you know you want this sticker, but you'll have to buy your paperback from me to get it!

We’ve reached the corner where a three-story apartment building faces The Abbey: Senior Living which has nice, big windows and gorgeous crown molding. This place almost never has a vacancy...except recently, but you need to read Old Habits Die Hard to know that whole story.

As neighborhoods go, you have to agree Chestnut Street’s cozy and inviting, right? A lot of people would kill to live here…which is precisely the problem Bernie faces in Dropped Like a Bad Habit!

Spill it, reader, have you picked up a copy yet? Which of these businesses is your personal fave?