Good Trouble with Martha

Local author Mershon Niesner is at it again, but instead of regaling readers about life on the Nebraska prairie, she’s turned her attention to life in an assisted living facility, specifically the fictional Martyn Manor and its number one sassy sleuth, Martha Anderson.

So far, Niesner has two books in her Martyn Manor Cozy Mystery series. It’s (mostly) Good to be Martha was released early 2025 and introduces us to Martha, a spry 89-year-old who just can’t help but find herself solving crimes, from kidnapping to purse snatching. Along the way, she becomes a celebrity at the local college bar and finds herself the recipient of not one but two Martyn Manor residents' affections. Murder (maybe) at Martyn Manor, released late fall of 2025, continues Martha’s adventures, only this time, she finds herself getting involved with some shady characters that may, or may not, have something to do with the demise of Joey Russo.

What makes each book memorable is the realistic depiction of life in an assisted living facility; friendships won and lost, trips planned, and in Martha’s case, crimes to solve.

We sat down with Niesner to find out more about Martha, her writing inspirations, and what she has coming up next.

Q: You went from writing about prairie life to senior citizen life. Where did you get that idea?

I was at a book club on Marco and they were discussing The Bootmaker's Wife. Towards the end, they asked me what was next. I told them about “Angie, The Bee Lady”, which was just about to be published. Then they asked, “Well, what after that?” I looked out at the audience and there were about 20 vibrant women between 60 and 85 years old, and said, “I'm going to write a book about an older lady who lives in assisted living that is all vibrant and fun like you guys.” And they cheered! Literally! I was so inspired by their response that I went home and started writing “It's( mostly) Good to be Martha.” I hadn’t ever thought about it before but it hit me as soon as I saw these ladies all smiling at me.

Q: Is Martha herself modeled after anyone in particular?

Martha doesn’t come from anyone in particular, more a conglomeration of people. But after I published “Mostly Martha” I met Martha Raak, who lives in The Watermark. She was just so delightful and is the epitome of Martha - she is more Martha than Martha. She will be 91, she walks a mile every morning, she reads, she’s all technology, she texts, she emails…that has inspired me going forward. When people say, “Oh, you know, your Martha isn’t very realistic because who is 89, 90 years old and does all these things and is this vibrant?” And I’m like, “Oh no, let me tell you about this lady I know.” She’s my new inspiration.

Q: Your earlier books were historical fiction and entailed a lot of research. Was it freeing to do strictly fiction?

It was freeing. I live in this world. My dad, who died at 92, was in assisted living for about four years, so I was very familiar with what it was like in an assisted living facility. The dadisms in the book are from my dad and some of the other scenarios, too. For example, Martha only gives the staff a half can of soda when they come to visit because if it is larger, they will stay longer. Well, that is exactly like my dad. He had a little refrigerator and stacked it with half cans of soda. Another example is that from the time my dad retired until he was 92, he always wore jumpsuits just like Harold Lancaster (a fellow resident of Martyn Manor). In some respects, Harold is just like my dad – very low-key.

Q: Kids and grandkids are mentioned in the book, but instead of going off and exploring their worlds, the book still centers on Martha.

Yes, because, in my experience as an 80-year-old lady, when you are in that world with grands, great grands, and your 50-something-year-old kids, even though they love you, respect you, and honor you, by and large, they are not interested in what’s happening in your life or what happened previously. They’re busy, they have careers, children…with Martha, her kids and grands love her, but she also holds back things from them. They’re not too excited about her exciting life. But that’s how it is. That is real life, in my experience. That's not true of all grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Some are absolutely immersed in their children's lives, but my experience is not like that.

Q: How many more adventures do you see Martha getting into?

Martha is aging out, so after the upcoming third book, “Winter is in the Wind”, there won’t be any more. If I had thought more about it, I could have taken a page from Janet Evanovich’s books, where the main character doesn’t age, but that wouldn’t have worked out so well since the aging process is part of the storyline. It is a story about aging, not a story about adventure at any age. It’s a story that says just because you are aging doesn’t mean you can’t have any adventure and get into “good” trouble.