Many of the stories that I wrote for my book were started and often finished in my hotel room in Quincy, Illinois. The first story, The Rats of Plainville, was started early one morning after spending two minutes driving through the town of Plainville (that’s all it took to drive from one end to the other).

Quincy is a river town. This is the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River into Missouri. I didn’t cross it much (there is another bridge farther south that crosses into Hannibal, where I worked), but I often dined in a restaurant called The Pier, which lies on the Illinois side, near the east end of the bridge.

Unfortunately, The Pier is closed (due to CoVID-19). I hope something eventually opens there, as it is in a great location.

Update – 2021. I learned recently that the Pier Restaurant is closed for good. I’ll miss it.