Mystery series writer's settings may remind some of home

Better watch what you say and do if you happen to meet writer Stephen Wilcox in the village of Churchville next week.

Come off as one of those quirky small-town characters you are always reading about and it's possible you could end up just that -- a little local color in his next novel.

Wilcox is hard at work on the latest in his series of "Hackshaw" mysteries, set in the western Monroe County village of "Kirkville" but will take time off to speak and answer questions at the Newman-Riga Library next Thursday night. However, literary inspiration can strike at any time.

Some of the major players in his fictional dramas, (such as angry neighbors in the feud over a new landfill being built near Kirkville in "The Nimby Factor,") may seem familiar to local readers.

And, amongst the bunch of minor small-town characters populating his books (the bartender at the "Nook" on Buffalo Road, for instance,) and the incidental settings (such as dinner at the "Jameson House") many ring true.

"I always deny they're based on real people," he said in a phone interview last week, laughing.

Although he is a former reporter for the Rochester daily newspaper, Wilcox would not claim his reporter-cum-super sleuth protagonist Elias Hackshaw, as his alter ego. "I just think he is fun to write," he said.

However, he added, "People who know me say they see me in him."

Wilcox did say Kirkville was based on memories of his hometown of Churchville, and, geographically, the town "Chilton" is basically Chili, and "Port Erie" a cross between Spencerport and Brockport.

Now a Fairport resident, Wilcox was raised here and attended Churchville-Chili schools. He said setting the Hackshaw novels here was an easy choice. "One area is as good as any other," he said. "And it's an area I grew up in, knew pretty well .... nobody else was writing about the area."

Wilcox has written more than ten novels, including four Hackshaw mysteries. He is working on the fifth now, and said he expects to have it out next year. He said inspiration for the current novel struck while visiting Churchville not too long ago - with a muse in the form of the village's water tower.

According to his website, "The Wilcox Gazette," the book involves Hack with a Peeping Tom and a woman who claims to see a weeping Virgin Mary in a big rust spot on Kirkville's water tower. The working title is Hell or High Water.

At the library, Wilcox will be speaking about his Hackshaw series, especially the latest, Jericho Flower, which was out this March. His talk will also include another new book, with a plot that should sound familiar even though it is not part of the series set in Kirkville.

"Niagara Fall," out last month, features a suburban housewife who hires an amateur hit man to take out her husband. "A novel of crime and comedy, inspired by a news event," Wilcox said.

Wilcox said he spoke at the Newman-Riga library once before, more than eight years ago. "I don't get out to see people much, I am usually holed up in my little office writing .... I prefer that," he said. "But once I get into it I enjoy speaking."

He said he prefers a question and answer format. "I don't want to presume to know what people want to hear," he said.

The event is free, and according to librarian Donna Haire, a perfect fit for the library's 50th anniversary celebration. "What better person to celebrate a library anniversary date with, than a local resident with ties to the library as a child?" she said.

Haire said she would recommend Wilcox's books to local residents who enjoy reading about their hometowns, as well as those individuals who like light-hearted mysteries. Readers and aspiring writers alike are welcome to meet the writer at the library, October 10 at 7 p.m.