Debut novelist Libby Cudmore's The Big Rewind is the quirky story of a young Brooklynite who receives a mysterious mix tape by mistake and must use the eclectic compilation to uncover the truth behind her neighbor’s untimely death. A starred review from Kirkus calls it the beginning of "a new mystery subgenre—the hipster cozy," and we're very excited to welcome Libby to LLF, who's stopped by today to share her own story about libraries.
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My life in Brooklyn was that movie-perfect mix of bliss and sorrow, working too hard and never quite having enough, set to a soundtrack of Tom Waits albums and vinyl pilfered from stacks set out on garbage day. I was renting a small room in an apartment owned by a semi-creep and working nights at a temp agency, which left me the day to wander.
And that's when I discovered the Brooklyn Heights library.
It became my daily refuge; where I would go to send emails to my friend studying abroad in London, pick up a few DVDs or Alexandre Dumas novels and spend a few hours surrounded by books and life outside my little garret overlooking Montague Street. Could there be anything more romantic?
And one afternoon, while browsing the rows of mystery novels, I was suddenly struck with an idea. A story so different than anything I had ever written, in a voice so raw, that I knew I would lose it no matter how fast I ran home to my journals. I grabbed a slip of paper and a golf pencil from a basket near the occupied computer bank and sat down in a chair, using a hardback copy of Trouble is My Business as a desk.
20 minutes later, I had a micro-draft of a story titled "Hero Cop." Running home, I was giddy, and when I arrived, I typed it up, making very few changes. Six months later, I would sell it to a now-defunct lit mag, my first crime story sale.
Though I soon traded Brooklyn Heights for Binghamton, whenever I needed inspiration I would walk those stacks. Only this time, I brought a notebook.
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Thanks, Libby! The Big Rewind is on sale today, so make sure to check it out!
-Amanda