Behind the story of A Glimmer of a Clue by Daryl Wood Gerber

Daryl Wood Gerber is the award-winning and bestselling author of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries, and the French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she pens the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams novels of suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read, and she has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line! A Glimmer of a Clue is her second Fairy Garden Mystery.

Beginings of A Glimmer of a Clue

“I came to the idea of the Fairy Garden Mysteries idea sideways. I was at a Renaissance Faire and fell in love with the art of making fairy gardens. They seemed so magical. Wanting to learn more, I went to a fairy garden store about ninety minutes from my house and fell in love with everything there. The figurines. The houses and environmental pieces, like swings, arches, and more. I am a gardener. I particularly like planter gardening. Being creative using all three of these aspects captured my heart.”

So Daryl set out to create her first fairy garden. Her agent was skeptical at first, but Daryl persevered and said she won over her agent with the whimsy of the story. “The series is set in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a real town often simply called Carmel. The area is brimming with charm and magic and energy. The town became a haven for authors and artists after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. It boasts dozens of art galleries, fabulous restaurants, and the gorgeous coastline of Central California. Courtney, my protagonist, was once a landscaper working for her father’s company, but when she spread her wings and launched her own fairy garden store business, she soared.” 

Daryl also wants readers to understand that the Fairie Garden Mysteries are not a typical paranormal. “There are no ghosts or goblins, but there are fairies—to be specific, Fiona, a fairy-in-training who was booted out of the fairy kingdom for being a bit of an imp. In order to earn her way back into the queen fairy’s good graces, she must help embattled humans solve problems. As a child, my protagonist Courtney had the ability to see fairies, but she lost that ability at the age of ten, when her mother died. The day she opened the shop, however, she saw Fiona, and life changed.”

Bullies go home

Daryl is a firm believer that bullying is not acceptable. In A Glimmer of a Clue, the victim is a bully who also feels a sense of entitlement. “That’s a word that has been used a lot in the past decade. Courtney Kelly, the protagonist in the Fairy Garden Mysteries has never felt that way. Everything she came by, she earned. And she protects those she loves. When this bully lashes into the mother of Courtney’s best friend, she’s had it and stands up for her. I loved landing on the idea of how Courtney breaks up the first fight. I don’t want to share that here, for fear of giving away the surprise, but writing that scene brought a huge smile to my face.”

Part of Daryl’s inspiration for this story likely came from a woman she knows who is like the victim. “She makes my teeth ache at times. I’ve done my best to keep calm and in control of my emotions and I go out of my way to be kind whenever I’m around her, but she just pushes all the wrong buttons.  I’m not sure if she does it on purpose or if she simply can’t help herself.”

Daryl paired that character with the game of pickleball. “My friend says it’s like ping-pong on steroids. It’s played with a wiffleball-type ball and the sounds pop and crackle as the ball hits the court’s surface. In my mind, the game was a perfect metaphor for the tension burbling up between not only Courtney and the victim but also between the victim and all the other suspects. Back and forth, pop, pop, pop, until someone can no longer hold back the anger. Bam.”

Perseverance pays

Daryl has been writing for a long time and says she was not immediately successful. She took classes, joined critique groups, and suffered a lot of rejection. And yet, she persevered. “In high school I won Most Persevering. I’ve always been someone who doesn’t take no as the first answer. Okay, that’s not necessarily true. I had a teacher tell me in 7th grade to give up on writing, and I listened. Oops!  However, when I became an actress, (my former career), I wanted to write a screenplay, so I studied and practiced. I didn’t allow myself to give up.

“I love learning new things. I love inspiring others, too, to continue to try and find their successes, if only in small ways. Believe you can is a mantra for me. I still have some goals that I’m sure will face a lot of rejection, but I’ll soldier on.”

Researching fairy gardens and cheese

“All of my research regarding fairy gardens has been totally enjoyable and inspiring, but I have to admit that when I first started writing the Cheese Shop Mysteries, which I wrote under the pseudonym Avery Aames, my husband and I went on a cheese-tasting spree. We ate slivers of this and that and sipped wine and talked to cheesemongers and had a blast. It was like a romantic interlude for writing. And we did it in America. We didn’t have to go to Europe to enjoy a full-on vacation. During the course of that series, we must have tasted over a thousand cheeses. Kid you not. Research!  Oh, what we do for the art! Gotta love it.”

Learn more about the Daryl Wood Gerber and A Glimmer of a Clue at darylwoodgerber.com. Did you like this interview? If so, click here to read more Behind the Story interviews from your favorite authors.