Maggie Sefton's Washington DC

Today Maggie Sefton talks about her hometown as a setting.

Whenever I watch movies that use my hometown, Washington, DC, as part of the setting, I get a kick out of seeing all the “set shots” the moviemakers use.  You know what I mean---a shot of the U.S. Capitol, shot of the Pentagon, shot of the White House, a panoramic view of tourists roaming around the Washington monument, black limos cruising nameless streets, black limos pulling into White House gates, talking heads inside limos, and so on.

For a lot of Americans, those are the only images they have of Washington, DC.  That’s why I always encourage people I meet in other states to visit their Nation’s Capital.  Explore it and enjoy.  The city is literally made to order for tourists.  Most of the important monuments and museums are located around The Mall so it’s easy to get around---and they’re free.  J  There’s even a Metro stop there (Smithsonian) , so people can leave their cars parked in the suburbs at a Metro parking garage and not bother with the awful---and it truly is awful---traffic. 

Like Paris, Washington, DC is a walk-able city.  Not surprising, since the City’s designer was Frenchman and supporter of our Revolution, Pierre L’Enfant.  People can safely wander a few blocks away from The Mall and explore Washington’s many cafes and shops. 

You can tell I’m a big booster of “my town,” and I love showing it off.  Since I grew up in Arlington, Virginia, a stone’s throw across the Potomac River, I have spent a lifetime wandering around Washington’s many streets and avenues, hidden corners and treasures.  Naturally, when I started writing the first in the Molly Malone Suspense trilogy, DEADLY POLITICS, which takes place in Washington, I included several of my favorite locales---picturesque Georgetown streets with their brick-paved sidewalks and Historic Registry homes; the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and towpath, which mules once trod 300 years ago; cafes along the Potomac and feasts of fresh seafood.  The characters roam all over these areas.

Molly Malone, the heroine-sleuth, has Washington, DC in her blood, having grown up the daughter of a U.S. Senator.  Mid-50s, Molly has seen it all in Washington politics--the cynics, the sincere, and the schemers.  But the brutal murder of her Congressional staffer niece brings Molly up close with Washington’s darker side.  “The beautiful monuments and parks are deceiving.  Washington can be ugly.”

Politics is a blood sport in Washington, DC, and only the strongest survive.  Like the politicians she’s rubbed shoulders with for a lifetime, Molly is smart and tough and savvy enough to stay out of trouble---most of the time.  However, trouble has a way of finding Molly.   You can read more about DEADLY POLITICS and see the great reviews at my website:  www.maggiesefton.com

Maggie Sefton is the author of the New York Times and Barnes & Noble Bestselling Kelly Flynn Knitting Mysteries.  The second in her Washington, DC-based suspense trilogy, POISONED POLITICS, will be out this August 2013.