Tara here.
In perusing the reviews of my debut cozy mystery Grounds for Murder, one character stands out as most readers’ favorite: Peter Lewis, the father of the book’s heroine-sleuth. Some comments on Goodreads:
“I love her dad – he has a nice hippie vibe.”
“Lana’s dad is a laid back hippie kind of dude that does seem fazed my much but supports his daughter 100%.”
“A sweet and funny man, a hippie that loves his daughter immensely and always tries to make the best of a bad situation.”
Here’s a secret: that character was based on my own father! My dad is seventy-four, from California, and quite quirky in a very 1960s-kind of way.
He recently came to visit, and for a solid week, we laughed, took walks, and rambled around St. Pete. He’s considering moving here, and my favorite quote of his came on day one:
“If I lived in Florida, I’d never have to wear pants again!”
I’ll be using that quote in one of the sequels to Grounds for Murder…
