Let’s start at the beginning: How I came to choose Marin County as the setting for my Murder in Marin Mysteries. As Willie Nelson is fond of saying, “It’s a long story." But, let me share a little bit about how the remarkable beauty of Marin stole my heart and owns it to this day.
My wife, the author Josie Brown, and I, along with our two children, relocated from Atlanta, Georgia to Marin County. At this time, our son had just turned five, and our daughter was days away from her third birthday. It was a happy and tumultuous time in our lives. The move itself was a leap of faith. At various times life asks that we take that leap. The only thing you can count on when you make a move as significant as this is not everything will go according to plan.
Six weeks after our arrival, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck. Fortunately, it was smaller than the great quake and fire of 1906, but it was the Bay Area’s second most powerful quake of the Twentieth Century. In the process of settling into a new home and establishing our son in Kindergarten and our daughter in pre-school, that afternoon when our home suddenly turned into a shake shack left us wondering about the wisdom of our choice.
Fortunately, in the thirty years that have followed Loma Prieta, the wisdom of relocating to the Bay Area has never again been in doubt. For just a moment, let me jump ahead and mention that in 2012, with our children grown, living independent lives, we took up residence in the City of San Francisco. (More on that in a later blog.) Here I'd like to share with you why I view Marin as such a magical place.
For me, its scenic beauty, which is simply awesome, goes at the top of the list. Approximately two-thirds of Marin County is open space, both federal and state land. Hiking, biking, climbing, trail-riding, and so much more are outside your door or a short drive away.
For a seven to eight-month span, the weather is often magnificent. Generally, not hot, nor cold. In most parts of the county, 90 plus degree-days are as infrequent as 40-degree days.
There are countless blue-sky days, with crisp, dry air. No doubt, the sun can beat down hard in midday, in the center and northern portions of the county. But, tree-lined lanes and paths offer a welcomed respite from a day when it can get a little too hot.
Much of what makes Marin an extraordinary place seeped into our souls. It's why after nearly a decade of living in San Francisco, we often take the bridge north and enjoy Marin’s bounty of wonders. Trails along the expansive base of Mount Tamalpais, (simply called, “Tam,” by the locals) a long-dormant volcano that dominates the southern portion of the county, are shaded by enormous redwoods and have to be walked, biked, or driven through to be believed.
Traveling up the mountain, there are more trails and views of the blue Pacific than I would ever want to catalog. At countless viewpoints, your heart will soar over the beauty you're seeing.
In my first book in the Murder in Marin series I have my two heroes, small-town newspaper publisher, Rob Timmons, and Sherriff's Detective Eddie Austin, walking along a narrow path to a rock outcropping on Mount Tam. There they attempt to unravel the mystery of the man known as The Gossiping Gourmet. All while looking down into a ravine that seems impossibly lush and green under an unimaginably blue sky. Above them a red tail hawk circles in search of prey.
I get carried off on the wings of angels every time I think of the beauty one can find in countless places in Marin. Is there a darker side to this lovely place? Of course! But that’s not nature’s doing, that’s what humans occasionally bring to one of God’s more perfect creations.
In another of my books, The Phantom Photographer, one of those less perfect humans, uses steep hills, dense forest, and bay marshes, to hide his evil plans. And in the Terrifying Teacher, an attempt is made on the life of a critical character while he enjoys biking through the maze of Sausalito's scenic hillside streets.
Marin county’s scenery provides me with endless inspiration. And then there are the equally interesting characters who inhabit the landscapes and seascapes of this unique place. In next week's blog, more about the cast of characters that make life in Marin so interesting...
—MARTIN
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