Mystery author’s next book will set in this Fresno neighborhood

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – A Fresno author is getting ready for her next mystery novel’s release and book signing event, and she says this book is set on Halloween in Fresno’s Tower District.

Lorie Lewis Ham says she’s been writing since she was able to put sentences together and her works have been published across creative writing mediums since she was a teenager.

“I actually was first published when I was 13, but that was a poem and also a song,” Ham said. “I did publish a lot of poems and articles and short stories, I worked off and on for our local newspaper through the years, and the first mystery novel came out in 2000.”

Since 2000, Ham has continued to write both for her community through Kings River Life Magazine and for herself with mystery novels right out of her imagination.

“I just really love storytelling in all its forms,” Ham said. “There’s something about writing fiction and just creating that world and those people, it’s just a lot of fun.”

Ham says the Tower District’s rich history, diversity, and tight-knit community inspired her to drop her characters into the neighborhood to solve a murder. Ham even incorporated real businesses from the Tower District.

“In this [book], they’re putting on an Edgar Allan Poe play,” Ham said. “Irene’s is always mentioned. It’s [the protagonist’s] favorite place to go eat. The Revue, which isn’t The Revue anymore, The Alchemist, and Sequoia Brewing.”

Ham also says by writing about the Tower District she has the distinct pleasure of sharing Fresno with readers across the country.

“I have really enjoyed people not from this area, reading [my books] and falling in love with the Tower District and saying, ‘Hey, if I ever get to Fresno, I want to go there.'”

According to Ham, writing about the Central Valley is just one of the ways she chooses to support her home. Ham’s book signing will be held at the Book Barn in Clovis, a deliberate choice to support local literature.

Ham’s novel “One of You,” is the second installment in her mystery series. The book signing for the novel will be held on July 20, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.