Regular readers will recognize D. S. Nelson, who’s been here many times before. She’s the author of the Blake Hetherington mysteries, which is a series of cozy mysteries. I’ve read a couple of these, and thoroughly enjoyed them. I think you will too. DS is having coffee with Delilah, one of her characters in this scene.
‘Geocaching is treasure-hunting for the cool.’ Delilah said, scraping the last of her breakfast onto her fork.
We were sitting in the Food Shangri La Cafe. I was nursing a cup of chicory coffee, not sure if I was enjoying it our not. Without caffeine, Delilah’s rapid conversation can be hard to keep up with.
‘And if I’m not a geocacher I’m a muggle, is that right?’ I replied.
‘Right,’ Delilah said eating the last of her Eggs Shangri La and reaching down beside her chair to rummage in her bag.
The eggs did look good. I was about to order some myself but before I could catch Carla Osman’s eye, Delilah pushed a leaflet across the table towards me.
‘Here. This’ll tell you the basics,’ she tapped at it and I looked down at the leaflet: ‘A Guide To Geocaching In Tuesbury’.
She tutted at me. ‘You’d think as Blake’s amanuensis you’d know more about this stuff DS!’
‘Blake keeps me pretty busy,’ I was irritated. ‘I’m on my way to the library to get some books out, but you called and wanted to meet for coffee.’
‘No need to get huffy,’ Delilah smirked at me, she knows how to wind me up. ‘This’ll save you some time, then. I better get back over the allotment. I want to check on my strawberries.’
Relinquishing a smile, I replied, ‘See ya later. Thanks for leaflet.’
‘You’re welcome. Thanks for breakfast.’
I rolled my eyes. I was picking up the bill again then.
The wind chimes jangled as Delilah left the cafe, unhooked her Jack Russell, Bertie’s lead from the peg outside and crossed the road to the allotments.
Delilah was great at keeping an investigation going when Blake got cold feet but boy could she be smug.
I took another sip of the bitter coffee, wincing at the taste.
‘Urgg’.
It was an involuntary noise that did not go unnoticed by the cafe proprietor. I busied myself reading the leaflet. There was a lot I still had to learn about geocaching. Delilah’s right, as Blake’s author it was high time I tried geocaching and Tuesbury would be the perfect place for treasure hunting.
To find out more about geocaching in Tuesbury and help the next Blake Hetherington mystery become a reality go to: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/a-deadly-orientation/
***
Bio: D S Nelson is a writer of murder, mystery and intrigue. She lives in a quixotic village in the South Downs, UK, surrounded by plenty of inspiration for her novels. Her introduction to murder came from Agatha Christie. Her inquisitive Miss Marple of St Mary Mead and very Belgian Poirot with his ‘little grey cells’, captured her imagination from a young age. With a passion for the crime genre, in particular detective fiction, D S Nelson’s writing includes cosy crime novels, novelettes and short stories. She is often inspired by the world around her, nature, history and of course people. She is currently working on the Blake Hetherington mystery series, the first six of which are now available on Kindle with novels in the series also available in paperback.
Twitter: @WriterDSNelson
Facebook: WriterDSNelson
Instagram: WriterDSNelson
Note from Craig: Delilah Delibes appeared on the very first ever episode of Lisa Burton Radio. Maybe you want to learn even more about her, and the books of D. S. Nelson.
Make sure you follow her links. We are doing a blog swap today I’m talking about the inspiration behind one of my short stories on her blog.
Thanks for having me over on the blog Craig. I’m not touching that chicory coffee again, thats’s for sure!
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Ha, they say it’s an acquired taste. Thanks for visiting and sharing your awesome flyer.
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You’re welcome, I had fun making it 🙂
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Interesting excerpt and I love the pamphlet. It does make me wonder one thing. Is geocaching a real activity?
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It’s a real thing. They have them all over the world, and it’s a great background for a story. Lonely places, possibly clues inside the caches, etc.
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In that case, I need to look up what a geocache is. Keep thinking of those rocks that have jewels in the middle. Geodes I think they’re called.
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They are any kind of container. Lots of metal cylinders, some old footlockers, it seems like someone makes a special plastic one that’s impervious to the weather.
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I was just reading about that. Come to think of it, I remember something like this being in a few fantasy books. One had something exactly like it and the other was more about finding lost treasure bags then locating the owners.
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Sounds like the idea could work into any number of genres.
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It’s definitely a real thing Charles and it’s quite fun. Great for young and old, my nephews and nieces love it.
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Thanks. Leaves me wondering if there are any in my area.
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If you go to http://www.geocaching.com you can sign up for a free account, tap in your ZIP code and wish bash bosh (as we say over here) there are the caches near you 🙂
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Thanks. 🙂
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Almost certainly so. I’ll bet it would be great father/son time. They seem to be everywhere. Sometimes you swap things, sometimes you add to a diary, that kind of thing. Like Pokemon Go, only you use a compass and map, or your GPS app.
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One could even saw a more modern version of metal detecting. Does sound a lot like Pokemon. Even the original had a swapping thing, which a few Pokemon required for their evolution.
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There was a click bait type article I fell for where a metal detector guy found one while searching old Nazi ruins. It looked like a treasure chest, but wound up being a geocache.
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Gotta love the click bait. Though that one sounds like it was kind of worth it.
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There are many different types of caches from mystery caches to event caches and my next novel talks about them all 😉
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It’s definitely a real thing Charles and it’s quite fun. Great for young and old, my nephews and nieces love it.
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This is interesting. I’ve never geocached (is that a word?) but I play pokemon go. There are hot spots for all pokemon, and nests are scattered around the countryside and frequently move or transform. People frequently leave things at pokestops for others to find and post to groups on social media. It’s a fun way to pass time.
I would do geochaching if I could travel more. I’de love to read a story that includes more info.
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It sounds like DS has one coming soon. I’ve read several of her Blake Hetherington mysteries and they’re great.
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Thanks Craig 😉
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Thanks SK. Geocaching is a lot like Pokemon Go but they are usually physical caches. All the books in this series have a theme and at the beginning of each chapter there’s a little fact relating to the theme. In the case of Geocaching it’s geocaching, foraging and El Doradon gold.
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I think geocaching is neat. Maybe not for me, not right now at least, but it’s neat.
Friend of mine’s son (5) keeps burying things and then inviting his friends to help dig them up. I told his mother, “He needs to start geocaching!” 🙂
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I think there is a really creepy story in there somewhere. Otto is going through a similar phase though.
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LOL I’ll think about it. In fact, I could sure use an Idea Mill post for 13 Stories Til Halloween is nearing…
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I have enough stockpiled to make one. My tour should wrap up at the end of next week and maybe I’ll post one then.
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He does! It’s great for kids and gets them out and about.
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The idea of geocaching has always fascinated me. I think it’s an ideal activity to work into a mystery. It’s something I’ve always wanted to try (both writing it in and geocaching myself). I remember burying a “time capsule” with three co-workers in the 80s. It was in the building where we worked. Some interior construction had opened one of the walls. Before it was sealed up, we put a bunch of stuff inside. I can’t remember what everything was, but I often imagine someone finding it decades from now.
Good luck and best wishes to DS! I need to start reading Blake Hetherington
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I think she’s discovered something pretty cool for an author to weave into a story.
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Thanks Mae. I’ve really enjoyed writing this one, although it’s presented me with a few plot headaches. The time capsule would work well in a mystery too! Blake looks forward to meeting you 🙂
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Reblogged this on and commented:
Hop on over to Craig’s blog where I’m talking about geocaching in Tuesbury …
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What a creative way to post about geo-coaching! And lovely to see a bit more of Deliliah, too. 🙂 – Such a great post, for which thanks, both.
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Thanks for hopping over to read this one Margot. This one was fun to write and a big thank you to Craig for hosting me 🙂
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Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog.
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Thanks for the help, Don.
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My pleasure.
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