Two weeks ago, I was working in Hollywood as a writer on the Kidz Channel TV show, Duh! Today, I’m making beds and cleaning bathrooms at a rustic mid-century motel in California’s Gold Rush Country that I bought with my best friend Jeff, who also happens to be my short-lived first husband. How did this happen?

You’re not the only one asking this question.

Being on a show like Duh! — a cheesy sitcom about superhero tweens attending middle school on Long Island— basically means you’ve got one foot in the grave of your career. Rather than plant both of my feet in the grave, I quit the show, hopped in my car, and just kept driving. I wound up in Foundgold, a teeny tiny village at the foot of Majestic National Park.

I’m a city girl. I’ll be honest, when I’m in the country I’m always afraid a guy with no teeth and an ax will jump out from behind a tree and start chasing me. But I found myself unexpectedly fall in love with Foundgold. It’s so… bucolic. So wonderfully different from Duh! And when I saw the village’s only lodging, the Golden Motel, was for sale, something in me screamed, Buy it! Which in retrospect could have been the result of a delusional state brought on by the realization that I made a big mistake in self-immolating my TV career.

But the Golden Motel is a darling place, a time capsule of a small lodge and ten cabins, all built over eighty years ago out of redwood—“time capsule” being code for “we can’t afford to update anything except the sixty-year-old air conditioning units.” We also can’t afford to hire much help, which is why I’m dictating this into my phone while waiting for a load of rags to dry in the motel’s on-its-last-legs industrial dryer. We do get occasional help from a couple who lives off the grid in the woods behind the motel, Ma’am and Mister Ma’am, and yes, those are their names.

Despite the obstacles, I’m determined to make the motel a travel destination and to worm my way into the hearts of Foundgoldians… as well as Goldsgonedians, the residents of the restored Gold Rush miner’s village that’s the biggest draw in the area. Unfortunately, this pits me against Goldsgone’s boss of all bosses, Verity Donner Gillespie. She’s got so much pull in town that she strong-armed the entire population into dressing like pioneers: bonnets and long calico dresses for the women, miner and old-timey garb for the men. And she loves to brag about being descended from the original Donner family, whose ill-fated mountain crossing and rumored cannibalism make them a cautionary emigrant tale and not something I’d personally brag about.

Verity is “not a fan” of me, as we say in Hollywood. In fact, she’d like nothing better than to see me fail and Foundgold remain a backwater that doesn’t pose a threat to Goldsgone’s dominance as the local tourist trap. But the Golden Motel just booked its very first guest, Michael Adam Baker, who happens to be a former coworker of mine and a hugely successful writer. One rave review from Michael and the road to the Golden could be bumper to bumper with the elite of the entertainment industry. The thing is, when I worked with Michael, he was a ruthless, competitive S.O.B. who’d backstab anyone who got in the way of his climb to the top of the TV writer ladder.

But people change, right?

Right????

A Very Woodsy Murder, A Golden Motel Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: July 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

New motel owner Dee Stern has checked out of the familiar comforts in the Studio City and checked in to the quaint village of Foundgold. Running a rustic getaway in the woods sure beats LA traffic—until murder ruins the peace and quiet . . .

Down-on-her-luck sitcom writer Dee Stern is flipping the script. Twice divorced and wasting her talents on an obnoxious kids’ show, the lifelong Angeleno embraces the urge to jump in her car and keep driving. It’s a road trip with no destination—until she pulls into a mid-century motel filled with cobwebs and retro charm. Nestled in the shadow of a national park, it’s a time capsule of a place that, like her, could use some work. So, in the most impulsive move of her life, Dee teams up with best friend, Jeff Cornetta—who happens to be her first ex-husband—to transform the aging ranch into the Golden Motel-of-the-Mountains, a hiker’s oasis on the edge of the wilderness . . .

But Dee and Jeff soon realize there couldn’t be two people more unprepared for the hospitality business. There’s also the panic-inducing reality of prowling bears and a general store as the only shopping spot for miles. Living and working in the middle of nowhere takes some getting used to—especially when a disrespectful guest ends up murdered! Now, with the motel duo topping the suspect list, Dee must steer clear of a meddling park ranger, face her past in show biz, and determine if the killer is a local or tourist. Because as she quickly finds out, there are many things worse than a one-star review.

About the author
Ellen is a bestselling author, Anthony nominee, and recipient of multiple Agatha and Lefty awards for her Cajun Country Mysteries, Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, and Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico). Her new series, The Golden Motel Mysteries, debuts with A Very Woodsy Murder. She is also an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning writer of TV hits like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents, but considers her most impressive achievement working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. Visit her at ellenbyron.com.