Maddie Sparks is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about A Basket Case, the latest novel in the Maddie Sparks mystery series.

Welcome, Maddie. 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.

You wouldn’t think a woman over seventy could be interesting enough to warrant being the main character in a cozy mystery series, but I, Maddie Sparks, am a somewhat unusual woman. Until I was featured in this series (The Maddie Sparks Mysteries), I led the life of a retired librarian and cozy mystery writer, but I must admit I was a bit bored with both my writing and my life. Then I met the most interesting younger man (he’s around sixty-five) and decided to write romance novels to spice up my life. This younger guy, whose name is Zack Montgomery is a retired county sheriff and he and I have formed a kind of partnership in sleuthing as well as, you know, a romantic partnership which I think has helped spice up my writing. Along with my rescue cat, Spike, Zack and I have solved one murder in the village and in this book, A Basket Case, we are into our second murder.

Here’s what this second murder does to my life: I thought my life was perfect. I had Zack, my writing and I was volunteering at a local museum. Before the museum can return Native American artifacts to the Indigenous people to which they belong, someone murders the museum’s director. Of course, being the snoopy woman I am, I just have to poke my nose into this murder and when I do, my love life implodes, my writing stalls, and the killer makes me the next target.

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

I don’t think the writer controls anything in this story. Well, perhaps she puts the murder in my path, along with a few other obstacles, but from then on it’s all me although the killer does surprise me at the end, but I take on the task with only a few bruises. I am over seventy so it’s not as if I can engage in physical encounters without a few aches and pains.

How did you evolve as the main character?

The writer tried to model me after herself, but she’s not as exciting as I am. She did want an older woman as the protagonist in her story and I showed up for the part. I’m not certain I was exactly what she had in mind. I’m a lot more curious and adventurous than she is. I think she expected me to be more cerebral in my approach to dealing with obstacles identifying a killer, but I like to act more spontaneously and that sometimes means I plunge into situations physically. I’ve wondered if the writer should consider signing me up for a course in karate.

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

As Maddie, I never thought I’d be a cat person, but Spike, my rescue cat, is not dissimilar to me. He likes to be in on the action, and he plays a part in solving the mystery. It sometimes appears that he runs the house as far as food goes. He’s hard to resist because he’s so cute and demanding.

And then there’s Zack. Love in later life with such a perfect man and so supportive of me even when I don’t think through my actions, and I give way to impulsive and sometimes dangerous actions.

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

If you mean a physical place or setting, I own a small house on a trout stream in Upstate New York. It’s located in a village where I’ve lived for most of my adult life. I love it here and know most of the people in town. However, recently I met a woman my age, Jane, who I am certain will become my best friend. Like me, she has a mind of her own, and she’s as nosey as I am. Zack worries that there are no brakes when we get together.

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

This is the second book in the series where you’ll get to know me and my family better, especially my granddaughter, Sara. Her parents worry that she’s too much like me and her curiosity will get her into trouble. While she’s not like me physically—she’s tall and slender while I’m a tiny woman—she exudes the same confidence and joy in life that I do. Besides, with me by her side and with the help of Zack and Spike, I’m certain we can confront trouble and conquer any difficulties we encounter.

Thank you for answering my questions, Maddie, and good luck to you and your author, Lesley A. Diehl, with A Basket Case, the latest book in the Maddie Sparks mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Maddie and her author, Lesley A. Diehl by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Goodreads pages.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo  – Bookshop.org 

About Lesley A. Diehl: Cows, Lesley learned growing up on a farm, have a twisted sense of humor. They chased her when she herded them in for milking, and one ate the lovely red mitten her grandmother knitted for her. Determining that agriculture wasn’t a good career choice, instead, she uses her country roots and her training as a psychologist to concoct stories designed to make people laugh in the face of murder. Unusual protagonists appear in many of Lesley’s works including Desdemona the crime-fighting potbellied pig, a hobo turned county sheriff and Lesley’s zany back-home-on-the-farm relatives (The Killer Wore Cranberry, all six anthologies). She is the author of several cozy mystery series (The Eve Appel Mysteries, Laura Murphy Mysteries, The Big Lake Murder Mysteries, and her newest, Maddie Sparks Mysteries, featuring a senior sleuth and her rescue cat). Her cozy mysteries have won several Readers’ Favorite Awards and a short story Sleuthfest Award.