Lily Bennett is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Ghosts, Lore & a House by the Shore, the first novel in the Lily & Cassie by the Sea mystery series.

Welcome, Lily 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 Lily Bennett.  I’m a graphic designer and, more recently, a business owner in Hideaway Bay.  I live in the Lily & Cassie by the Sea series.  It’s a cozy mystery series following the (mis)adventures of me and my daughter, Cassie, after we both lost our husbands in a plane crash.  It’s a fun series set in the seaside town of Hideaway Bay.  One of the reasons Cassie and I chose the town is because of its picturesque business district.  And, of course, the beautiful house of Whispering Manor.  We didn’t know about the house’s reputation before we bought it, but we got an earful the first week we lived here.  And it’s quite a doozy of a story.  You can find out more in our first book.  Book 1 is Ghosts, Lore & a House by the Shore. 

Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too? Cassie and I definitely have a say in what happens to us!  That’s how Cassie ended up with the cat, though I would have preferred a dog.  I’m pretty confident Nellie will let us control our own destiny!

How did you evolve as the main character?

Well, I’ve gone through quite the transformation.  I never expected to not only lose my husband in a plane crash but then my son-in-law, too!  It was life-changing for both me and Cassie, to say the least.  But it led to a new chapter in both our lives, and we’re determined to make it a good one.  We left our pasts behind and moved to Hideaway Bay to start fresh.  I’ve gone from puttering around with my own graphic design to being a full-fledged business owner in town with the recent opening of our boutique, Buy the Sea. 

On top of that, I never expected to have the adventure we’ve had since moving into Whispering Manor. 

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

My daughter, Cassie.  I’m partial to her for obvious reasons, but also because she’s smart, funny, caring and adventurous.  Cassie is the one who keeps us moving forward whether she knows it or not.  Her curiosity is what found us the property for Buy the Sea and landed us in the adventure we got wrapped up in during our first book.

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

It’s beautiful here in Hideaway Bay.  And you can’t beat this old house.  It’s filled with custom woodwork and carvings.  Cassie and I both fell in love with it when we first saw it.  It’s like something out of a movie.  You can’t beat living right on the ocean, either.  And the town is picturesque.  It really is the perfect little seaside getaway. 

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

I don’t want to say too much and give something away but I never expected to have an adventure like this at my age!  It really is quite something.  I’d encourage readers to hop into the series right from the start.  It promises to be very entertaining!

Thank you for answering my questions, Lily, and good luck to you and your author, Nellie H. Steele, with Ghosts, Lore & a House by the Shore, the first book in the Lily & Cassie by the Sea mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Lily and her author, Nellie H. Steele by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub, Instagram and TikTok pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available online at Amazon

About Nellie H. Steele: An Indies Today finalist for Best Book of the Year 2020 with Cleopatra’s Tomb, Nellie H. Steele made the leap from science to art with her first book, The Secret of Dunhaven Castle.

An animal enthusiast, Nellie often features a version of one of her fourteen rescue animals in her stories, though the fictional pets are usually better behaved than her own fur-babies!  A literary split personality, Nellie’s work ranges from cozy mystery to supernatural suspense to riveting adventure.

She lives in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.  When she isn’t writing or engaging in animal care, she enjoys teaching Statistics and Data Science at a local university.