A (rudimentary) map of Hickory Hill
How I imagine Main Street
I’ll tell you a secret: I don’t have super extensive notes on the world of Hickory Hill. Instead, I’ve been carrying around this map in my head, where Main Street is the locus, then most of the residential areas branch out from there. The layout is vaguely inspired by the main thoroughfare of the small town my family is from, coupled with buildings from some small towns I’ve been to in my life.
Hickory Hill Salvage & Antiques and the old administrative building are pulled directly from my own life. A couple of good family friends owned the local hardware and antiques store, and I got my driver’s license in an old three-story brick building.
Many Main Streets across America built movie theaters in the 1920s, and luckily quite a few are still around today. Some still operate entirely as movie theaters, but others have been renovated to include bars or other spaces. The Royal Theater and The Royal Pour, the coffee shop inside of it, comes from that concept. (By the way, there’s a parallel between the renovation of the Royal Theater and what was planned for Hickory Manor in The Spectral Scoop: One serves the community, the other does not.)
Collette’s is simple: I love restaurants that are on water, and I wanted that for Hickory Hill! Because it’s next to a river, Collette’s is a little outside of town.
All of this to say I finally drew a map! I apologize for both my handwriting and complete lack of scale. But hopefully you get the idea!
Main Street continues out of town into a state highway on both ends. Collette’s is to the north and a dive bar a few miles to the south. (I forgot to include it, but you’ll read all about it soon!)
The old administrative building where Alex and Kayla work (at the Hickory Hill Historical Society and The Hickory Herald, respectively) is at the south end of Main Street across from the town square. Kayla goes on quite a few walks in that area in The Spectral Scoop, and Hickory Manor, of course, is at the core of that one.
In A Cryptic Proposal, Alex talks a walk down the east side of Main Street after getting a peppermint mocha from the Royal Pour. All of the storefronts are still decorated for the holidays with elaborate window displays and all sorts of lights and greenery. She dips into the Honeycomb Haven, a tiny store that sells candles and skincare from local ingredients.
The west side of Main Street includes Hickory Hill Salvage & Antiques. Outside of the administrative building, that’s the only place we’ve been to so far in the Hickory Hill series.
The next story I’m writing focuses on Sherie, the local realtor, and we’ll visit her bungalow. I don’t want to give away too much (yet), but that’s probably the only central Hickory Hill location we’ll see in that one. The fourth book I’m planning, however, leaves a lot of opportunity to visit these places!
Do you have a favorite local business? Any Main Streets you like to visit?
I’m typing away at the third installment to the Hickory Hill series! This one is probably going to be a little shorter and A LOT of fun ⛈ 🩸 Meanwhile, you can expect a bonus scene from A Cryptic Proposal!
I usually start my year with a cozy mystery or three, so I’m currently reading The Sign of Four Spirits. It’s gotta have an animal and/or food on the cover, or I’m not interested!