The Location

The characters of Bad Penny are fictional. The businesses and organizations and other settings are fictional–unless otherwise noted. But the general location where Bad Penny takes place is real.

Why Fort Worth?

Lots of mysteries take place in fictional small towns or large, “popular” urban areas. I used to watch the CSI franchise. You had the original CSI taking place in Las Vegas, and then CSI – Miami, CSI – NY, and CSI – Cyber in Washington D.C.

I always wondered…why not CSI – Lubbock? Why not CSI – Boise? CSI – Tacoma? Crimes happen in these cities, too, but obviously these places are not as sexy as Las Vegas, Miami, or New York City.

I could have picked Dallas as the setting for Bad Penny, but there are lots of books, movies, and TV shows set in Big D, with the most famous one being the eponymous Dallas.

Even though a murder is at the center of Bad Penny, it is not meant as a smear on Fort Worth as a hotbed of crime. In short, I wanted to show Fort Worth some love. Having Bad Penny set in Fort Worth allows me to explore and share the city with others–just like the CSI franchise does with its locales.

It’s amazing how people can live in or know about an area all their lives and never know the history behind their neighborhood. I learned a lot and I’m still learning.

The following areas get mentioned throughout Bad Penny as places the characters live, have lived, work, and/or went to school.

The Stop Six Neighborhood

This is the part of town where Penny Ambrose lives (although on a fictional street!). Located in East Fort Worth, the Stop Six neighborhood has a long history and deep roots and it’s one that I’ve seen boom and bust over the years.

Stop Six: A Brief History of a Fort Worth Community

Fort Worth Spending Millions to Turn Around Stop Six Neighborhood

Stop Six: Choice Neighborhood Initiative

The Meadowbrook Area

This is an established residential area made up of Central Meadowbrook and West Meadowbrook. What makes this neighborhood so exciting is that it’s not full of houses built in the same style from the same era.

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Fort Worth – past and present!