Originally Pressed Mysteries
DOUBLETRBLDADDY 
People often assume Tony DeLucca is the hardest character for me to write. After all, he’s the narrator of the Originally Pressed series. He’s the one carrying the story, asking the questions, and trying to make sense of the mysteries unfolding around him. But the truth is, Tony is a piece of cake. That’s probably … Read more
There’s a particular kind of patience that comes with living in a small town. Not the restless kind of patience of someone waiting for something to happen, but rather the quiet acceptance that things will happen when they’re meant to, and rushing won’t change the timeline. You see this most clearly on Jefferson Street on … Read more
If you’ve spent any time in Minnesota, you’ve noticed something about how we name our lakes. We’re not particularly creative about it. Someone looked at the water and said, “Well, that’s a big lake,” and Big Lake got its name. A few counties over, a similar conversation was had. One person threw out a suggestion. … Read more
Sometime in May, they come back. You won’t see them at first, they’ll be out on the lake, too far away to make out clearly. But you’ll hear them. That call, the one that sounds like someone laughing in the dark, like joy and loneliness mixed together in a way only a loon can manage. … Read more
One of a Midwesterner’s favorite topics is the weather. If you’ve spent more than a few minutes in Minnesota, you’ve probably realized the weather can change on a dime. There’s an old saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait fifteen minutes.” Whether the saying is true is open for debate, but it certainly gives … Read more
There’s a bait vending machine outside the gas station on State Highway 23, on the corner where you turn off to come into Flat Rock. It’s been there longer than anyone can remember, which in a town like ours means at least fifteen years, maybe more. No one’s entirely sure when it arrived or who … Read more
Tony came home to Flat Rock after ten years as a Military Police investigator, thinking he’d left danger behind when he opened B-Sharp Vintage Records. He was wrong. Now he spends his days sorting jazz LPs, dodging noise complaints from the antique shop next door, and drinking coffee at the Bear Claw Bakery with his … Read more
I wrote about Tony’s mother on Mother’s Day. I told you about the piano, and her marigolds. The garden she kept that was as practical as it was beautiful. I told you about a woman whose presence fills the books even though she never speaks a word. Today I want to tell you about the … Read more