I wonder if the rearrangement of quarters in the Big Pink House and having the man who lived in the basement (along with his Dr. Scuttles) move out parallels The Man’s exit IRL.
For “rainy afternoon” literary confections, Josephine Tey’s Daughter of Time, Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey series, “sword and sandal detective” tales by Lindsey Davis and Ruth Downie, Jane Austin takeoffs by Stephanie Barron. And Martha Grimes can be fun in moderation, or if you’re already mind-numbed by being dosed up with painkillers after dental surgery. Note: I would hide all of these books under a copy of Gibbons’ “Rise and Fall…” should some serious soul come walking by…
I remember reading some advice for creating a believable villain. They should believe they were deeply wronged, motivating them to attempt to right the “injustice,” or simply get revenge.
Hero/villain depends on your value system, and the winners are generally the ones who write the story.. In wars and ideological conflicts, each side believes “God is on our side.” I remember when a professor gave our class a taxonomy of animals that divided them into the gentle and benign ones (e.g., lions and tigers) and dangerous, vicious ones (e.g., hamsters and bunny rabbits.) it was written from the viewpoint of a carrot.
“Land of Fire” would have igneous people…