‘Destination Santa Barbara’ Mystery Novel Debuts

Santa Barbara is often touted as an ideal destination for weddings, honeymoons, bachelorette parties, quiet getaways, and family adventures, but Ann Shepphird’s new book — Destination Santa Barbara — has murder in mind. She’ll do an author talk and sign books at Tecolote Book Shop in Montecito on November 21 at 3 p.m. We asked her a few questions about her new novel. 

Can you tell me a little of the origin story for Destination Santa Barbara? I understand it’s part of a series of destination murder mysteries. 

Destination Santa Barbara is the fifth book in the Destination Murder Mystery series. In the first book, Destination Maui, we meet Samantha “Sam” Powers, a former investigative reporter returning to her hometown of Carmel, California, to take care of her ailing father. A friend of the family, who is the editor-in-chief of Carmel Today magazine, recruits Sam to be their travel columnist, which launches her into the world of travel writing and the hospitality industry.

On Sam’s first press trip to a luxury resort on the island of Maui, one of her fellow travel writers — someone seemingly everyone loathed — drops dead in a suspicious manner. When it appears that Sam was the last person to see him alive, she is thrown together with local detective Roger Kai. After the murderer is revealed, a relationship blossoms between them that continues throughout the series, which includes Destination Monterey, Destination Lake Tahoe, Destination New York City, and now Destination Santa Barbara.

Your main character Samantha Powers is a travel writer, and you’re a bit of a different kind of travel writer. How much of the main character is based on yourself? 

Before writing the books, I served as the editor of a travel industry trade magazine. Sam’s adventures are based in part on the many hosted trips I took over the years and the unique dynamics of press trips. My goal is to offer an inside look at the travel industry, while highlighting some of my favorite destinations (like Santa Barbara!) and providing the elements of a good mystery.

What were some of the sights and things in Santa Barbara that show up in the book or that inspired you? 

So much of Santa Barbara is inspiring! It’s been one of my favorite places since childhood, when my parents had a condo at the Santa Barbara Polo Grounds and we spent many of our weekends and vacations here. Although I am based in Santa Monica, I now rent a condo at the Santa Barbara Polo Grounds as my writing retreat. (Yes, there is a polo match featured in the book.)

Sam’s trip in Destination Santa Barbara was inspired, in part, by a press trip I took when I was still at the travel magazine. That trip covered the hotels in the downtown area and beach and also included a tour through some of the organic wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley. When I decided to set this book in Santa Barbara, I started with that trip as a template and then spent a lot of time going back to locations in all of those areas. I loved my research jaunts, from walking through the Funk Zone to touring Lotusland to staying in downtown Santa Ynez to driving Highway 154 to figure out the best place for a suspicious car accident.

In all of the Destination Murder Mysteries, I want to provide as full and accurate a description of each destination while also telling a good story that includes a little murder and mayhem. For this reason, in Destination Santa Barbara, I’ve attempted to create a fictional world within the larger destination. While many of the sites Sam visits are real, the hotels and wineries where the main action takes place are a product of my imagination.

I understand Sue Grafton is a bit of an inspiration; can you tell me about that? Have you always liked mysteries? 

I have loved mysteries since I was young and moved from Nancy Drew to Agatha Christie to Sue Grafton — whose books I enjoyed so much I took a part-time job with a private investigator after graduate school. I particularly loved the character of Kinsey Millhone and admired Sue Grafton’s use of first person in creating Kinsey’s unique voice. Creating Sam’s unique voice in the Destination Murder Mysteries has been a similar process. I have always loved good dialogue, so writing the book in a chatty, first-person style opens up the ability to add a lot of fun commentary on the destinations (and unique characters) featured in the books.

What’s your next destination for murder? 

The next book will be Destination Telluride, which will take place at the Telluride Film Festival. Similar to how Destination Santa Barbara highlights Santa Barbara’s beautiful beaches and wineries, Destination Telluride focuses on the scenic small town in the Colorado Rockies and the film lovers that descend on the town every Labor Day.

Anything else we should know?

As a former travel writer and editor, it’s important to me that the travel aspects of each book are as accurate as the mystery elements. I spend a lot of time researching each destination — including Santa Barbara — and also have people with expertise in the areas I’m covering fact-check early drafts. Some of my favorite comments I get on the books are how they make people feel like they are back in destinations that they love.

Because this book takes a deep dive into the wine industry, I consulted a colleague who is an editor at a wine industry magazine to make sure I got all those details correct. When she said, “I’m very impressed with how well you researched Santa Barbara wine and captured the wine lingo while still keeping it understandable,” it made my day.