How the Cattywampus Cafe Came to Be
In my upcoming release, Murder on Mulberry Lane, which is part of my new cozy mystery series following Mildred Wiggins in the town of Maple Hollow, Indiana, there is a little cafe she frequents. The cafe is called Cattywampus Cafe. It is a compilation of many different things in my life, but I thought sharing some of them might give you an inside glimpse into my writer brain.
The Small Town Diner
The little cafe is inspired by one that used to reside in our little town along with some adjustments that match one in another small town I lived in just after getting married. It is the type of place you will find in any small town across the United States. Locals gather for breakfast, lunch, dinner and to catch up on local gossip while eating fruit pies.
The scenes at the Cattywampus Cafe likely feel warm and familiar to you because you’ve been in similar places and it hits those same notes.
The Cat Clocks
I have a special love of cat clocks. When I was about 15, my parents opened a store at Indianapolis’ newly refurbished Union Station. The store sold cutlery, collector’s knives and kitchen gadgets. One thing we sold that I thought was so adorable were the Kit Kat Cloks. These are clocks where the cats tail and eyes moved back and forth. Very cartoon looking and inspired by a cartoon.
You may notice these clocks pop up in many of my books. It’s because I love them and it is a memory of a simpler time that was exciting for my family and the city I grew up in.
It’s funny how little things like that stick with you years after they are past. I can still remember the sound of the clocks ticking, the train rumbling past and people’s voices echoing off the marble floors. The smell of peanut butter fudge sometimes wafted our way from the Fudge Factory down the hall. Those moments are so dear to me.
Why a Cat Themed Cafe?
You’re probably wondering how I’d think of a cat-themed cafe for the Mildred series. After all, her sidekick is a rooster (there is actually a life story behind that as well). Why not chickens? For years, my parents had a winter retirement place in Sebring, Florida. Have you ever been there?
Sebring is in the middle of the state. We would often go at Christmas and stay a week or two. It was a little over an hour to Disney, and you all know how obsessed I can be with my Disney trips. It was a little over an hour to the beach. Plenty to do in the town itself. One of the things we would do is go to a diner there called The Cat House. I know, I know, but it isn’t what it sounds like, I promise. Do you really think I’d go somewhere like that? Behave your mind! LOL
The diner had cat everything, everywhere. Cat themed tables. Cat pictures on the walls. Cats, cats and more cats, but no real cats. I have to say it was very much the inspiration for the Cattywampus Cafe, but moved up to Southern Indiana and with cat clocks added.
The Name of the Diner
I kept trying out different names for the local diner. From simple ideas like Maple Hollow Eats to more complex things. The word “Cattywampus” kept coming to mind. I have a friend who would use the word as a code word with her husband to let him know it was time to leave a place. She cracks me up.
As a writer, the word stuck in my brain because just the sound of it is something I fell in love with. I also love the meaning, which is crooked, askew or out of place. What better word for a kitty cat themed diner in the middle of small town America. Plus, it has the word “cat” in it, so there you go.
The Giant Tenderloin
This is another leftover from my childhood. We had an old drive-in theater down the road from where I grew up on the far east side of Indy. The drive-in part closed down ages before I was born, but the concessions remained as a restaurant called Al Green’s. My dad always liked Al. He was quite a character and remembered all the neighbors. At times, he’d go up and get him and my mom a sandwich, a huge tenderloin on a tiny bun. The sandwich at the Cattywampus Cafe is a nod to that memory.
The Creative Side
While some real life experiences were the seeds behind the idea for the local diner in the Mildred Wiggins mysteries, once I begin writing, the creative side of my brain takes over and makes a place uniquely from my imagination. I added people, decor and a certain missing person poster that will appear over the entire first 10 books in this series as my readers learn more about a decades old missing teenager and slowly gain clues to help them figure out what happened to Lucy Mae Heart.
The Cattywampus Cafe appears in my books, mystery letter series and short stories appearing in Clean Fiction Magazine that will follow Mildred’s niece Hannah through a series of short story mysteries. I hope you love these mystery tie ins as much as I do. Each element (individual books, letters, short stories) is unique and can be read alone. When you read them together, you see the big picture of an entire world I’ve build around Maple Hollow, Indiana and the things that go on there that only Mildred would notice and solve.
Murder on Mulberry Lane releases July 6th. You can pre-order it here:
Want in on the mystery letters? You can grab the first one for free here:
https://authorlorisoard.eo.page/3d67k
Read my first short story mystery following Mildred’s niece Hannah in the summer issue of Clean Fiction Magazine here:
Now, you get a glimpse into how various things inspire me throughout my stories. We are all such unique, God-created individuals. We all have a story to tell. I hope you enjoy mine.
Until next time, I love you all.
XOXO
Lori