Today Sasha Silverman is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Wedding Bear Blues, the latest novel in the Teddy Bear mystery series.

Welcome, Sasha. Let’s get started, shall we?

Tell us about the novel that you live inside. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

Hi, I’m Sasha Silverman – I manage my family’s Silver Bear Shop in Silver Hollow, located in southeast Michigan. My uncle supervises the factory where we produce teddy bears and accessories. I’m always busy with sales in the shop, giving tours, and planning special events, like our annual Teddy Bear Picnic (Bearly Departed) after the Labor Day village parade, a teddy bear tea during the Oktobear Fest (Bear Witness to Murder), the annual tree lighting ceremony, plus a Bearzaar and Holiday Open House (Have Yourself A Beary Little Murder). This time my sister Maddie and I are bridesmaids for a friend (Wedding Bear Blues), but we’re also planning a charity fundraiser to set a Guinness World Record for collecting the most teddy bears.

Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?

From what I understand, Meg Macy begins with an outline for each book. Not that we stick to that, of course, since sometimes things happen which tweak the outline and surprise us all. I’m not all that thrilled about stumbling over dead bodies, since the local cop keeps calling me a “body magnet” and others call me Nancy Drew. I’m also really tired of being put in dangerous situations confronting killers, either. Augh. Meg nearly got me killed in each case. But while the county homicide detective keeps telling me to “stick to selling teddy bears”, I think he appreciates my help in solving the murders and seeing justice served.

How did you evolve as the main character?

After my divorce (from a total narcissist who cheated on our wedding day and through the nine months we were hitched), I returned home to Silver Hollow to recover from heartbreak. Family is important to me, and they helped me regain my footing – plus my dad wanted to retire – and begged me to take over for him. I love seeing kids coming in to buy bears and costumes to dress them up, like tutus and ballet slippers, baseball uniforms, or poodle skirts. I also give tours to explain the process of making teddies and watching our staff sew, stuff, and finish the details. And after seven years of being single, I’m now involved with a great guy who supports me and shares the same goals.

Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?

My sister Maddie is a big help, along with my best friends – we get together for frequent Guilty Pleasures Gossip Club meetings and discuss the murders and possible suspects. My significant other, Jay Kirby, is pretty busy with his own career as a wood carver, but he tries to help out as well in solving these terrible crimes.

What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?

Since I’m a (reluctant) bridesmaid – my sister volunteered me after a closer friend of the bride had to cancel – Maddie and I end up at the local hotel for the rehearsal dinner. The Regency Hotel is fairly pricey. It’s also the only place to stay in Silver Hollow, so visitors don’t have much choice. I also caught sight of my ex-husband having dinner with his new fiancée and her parents. Oy. Plus there’s the animosity between the best man and his former fiancée, the bride’s sister, who threatened him at the church. Not a peaceful time, to say the least. I did get to admire Jay’s ice sculpture, however, since he’s taken up carving for special occasions and at ice festivals during the winter.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?

While readers don’t have to start with book 1, it might help to understand how I came to get involved in all this murder and mayhem. Enjoy!

Thank you for answering my questions, Sasha, and good luck to you and your author, Meg Macy, with Wedding Bear Blues, the latest book in the Teddy Bear mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Sasha and her author, Meg Macy by visiting the author’s Website and her Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

AMAZON     B&N    KOBO      Google Play

About Meg Macy: Award-winning mystery author Meg Macy lives in Southeast Michigan, close enough to Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and Dexter — the setting of her “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mysteries for Kensington. She is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins mysteries; two books, Wouldn’t It Be Deadly and Get Me to the Grave On Time were Agatha Award finalists for Best Historical. Meg’s first published book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from Western Writers of America. Meg loves reading historical and cozy mysteries, gardening, crafts, and watercolor painting.