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Wednesday, December 13, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
‘Cozy mystery’ novel set in Sisters
By Jodi Schneider Mcbamee
Correspondent
PHOTO PROVIDED
The abstract paintings of Pam Jersey Bird will be featured at Sisters Art
Works.
Art exhibit features
Pam Jersey Bird
“Moving Through Light,”
Sisters Art Works Exhibit,
open weekdays, features art-
ist Pam Jersey Bird’s large
abstract paintings.
The community is invited
to a reception December 22
from 4 to 7 p.m. during the
4th Friday Art Stroll. Gather
in the gallery to experience
the vibrant acrylic paintings
of celebrated artist Pam Bird.
Refreshments will be served
and a beautiful fire pit will
light the scene.
The
Roundhouse
Foundation is sponsoring
this exhibit in support of arts
and artists in Central Oregon.
All proceeds from the sale of
the artwork will go to a non-
profit cancer research fund.
Pam Bird’s work pro-
vides a moving emotional
experience. Not unlike a
musical composer, she cre-
ates a harmonious arrange-
ment of visual elements
with rhythmic variations and
contrasting notes. The paint-
ings create a shimmering
interpretation of the natural
world.
Pam Jersey Bird had a
diverse career in the arts. She
worked as an art museum
education director, art
instructor and was an award-
winning artist. The com-
munity is encouraged to cel-
ebrate Pam Jersey Bird.
Sisters Art Works is
located at 204 W. Adams Ave.
in Sisters.
Always up for a puzzle to
solve, local author Lanagan
Vitaceae is particularly
engrossed in writing “cozy
mysteries.” And inspired by
the real town of Sisters, one
of her series, “Murder at the
Tumbleweed Tea B&B,”
is a murder mystery that
entertains.
Most cozy mysteries are
set in small towns, like Sisters,
and involve a sleuth who is
not in a profession related to
crime-solving.
“A cozy mystery needs to
have that small-town feel,”
Vitaceae told The Nugget.
“That kind of setting makes it
believable that all the suspects
know each other.”
Vitaceae has been writing
stories since she can remem-
ber, and wrote her first novel
at 16, but tossed it aside.
She grew up reading
cozy mysteries, and her cre-
ative inspiration was Agatha
Christie. However, the key
element that really pulled
Vitaceae into writing myster-
ies was a series of unfortunate
events that happened earlier in
her life.
“When I was in middle
school I found out that my
friend’s mother had been mur-
dered years before,” Vitaceae
said. “With a mystery still
surrounding the murder, my
friend and I would go to the
library and research, trying to
investigate on our own.”
Vitaceae attended college
in Portland and received a
paralegal degree, then con-
tinued with her passion for
writing, but never published
anything. Turning 40 last year
inspired her to self-publish.
“After writing four cozy
mysteries, and the shock of
getting older, I figured it was
time to find a publisher,”
Vitaceae said.
Cozy mysteries put an
emphasis on plots and char-
acter development. The main
character is usually an ama-
teur sleuth with a likeable per-
sonality who can get the com-
munity members to talk freely
— that is, gossip — about
each other.
“When I was a kid I used to
play the Old Maid card game,
and that’s where I picked up
my main characters name in
‘Murder at The Tumbleweed
Tea B&B.’ It just stuck with
me. Tess (the main charac-
ter) tries so hard to be a suc-
cessful professional but she’s
young and klutsy. She’s got
this incredible drive and will
work herself to a frazzle to be
successful.”
The narrative revolves
around last summer’s solar
eclipse in Sisters: As Sisters is
preparing for a ton of people
coming through town for the
event, no one was prepared
for a fire on the mountain or a
murdered tour guide.
Each of Vitaceae’s mystery
series all have a running theme
of social economic injustice;
it’s what sets her apart from
other cozy mystery writers.
“There is usually some
financial struggle going on
with the main character and
PHOTO PROVIDED
Vitaceae set “Murder at the
Tumbleweed Tea B&B” in Sisters.
some of characters may also
have health issues, such as
ADHD,” said Vitaceae said. “I
think a lot of health issues and
people going through hard-
ships are underrepresented and
its my point to bring aware-
ness to those issues, with-
out being preachy about it.
“And since each of my
main characters has a little
bit of me in them, it actually
helps me to work through dif-
ferent issues,” she added.
Vitaceae has also written
“A Friendly Murder,” a cozy
mystery series that takes place
on the Oregon Coast, “Murder
in the Palm of Your Hand,”
and “Murder Between the
Lines,” from her Palmistry
Mystery Series.
Since Vitaceae has an idea
of how each series is going to
progress, you can look for-
ward to a second book in the
Tumbleweed Tea B&B series.
You can find copies of
“Murder at the Tumbleweed
Tea B&B” at Paulina Springs
Books or on Amazon.
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