Danika Delaney is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Rocky Road to Murder, the latest novel in the Coffee & Cream Cafe mystery series.

Welcome, Dani. 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.

Rocky Road to Murder is the sixth book in the Coffee & Cream Café Mystery series, which take place in the small town of Watchogue on Eastern Long Island’s south shore. At this point, things are looking up for my Coffee & Cream Café. At least, they were until recently. I was invited to cater and attend the biggest event of the summer season, the Rutherford Manor Fourth of July gala. Unfortunately, I arrived to find the hostess, Cressida Rutherford, dead with the dessert I provided for the party melted in a puddle around her. Now, I’ll have to spend the rest of the summer trying to prove I’m not the one who killed her.

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

If Lena starts to stray from my ideas, I harass her until she gets herself together and goes back to fix whatever she got wrong, even if it keeps her up all night long.

How did you evolve as the main character?

Not only have I become more independent since moving back home from New York, but I’ve finally found happiness. I’m even starting to discover the ability to trust again. And who knows? One of these days, I might even work up the courage to admit to Detective Dreamy that I love him back. But that could take a while.

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

I love sharing my stories with Uncle Jimmie, who trusted me enough to ask me to run his business so he could retire, even though he spends as much time in the café now as he did when he was running it. My best friend Gwen is amazing and always has my back, no matter how much trouble I drag her into. And Eli, my new barista, is not only adorable but one of my best friends and a ton of fun. And then there’s Detective Dreamy…

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

I find myself in a very content place in this story. The café is doing well, Detective Jake Barlow and I are in a good place, and I’m sort of caught up on all the gossip I missed while attending college in New York City. At least, until my reputation is on the line when it looks like I might have accidentally added peanuts to Cressida Rutherford’s parfait, despite the fact that she is deathly allergic. Now, I’m in a bit of a mess. Even when it turns out I didn’t make a mistake, and her death was no accident.

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

I would just like to say, if you decide to give Rocky Road to Murder a chance, I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you so much for having me!

You’re welcome, Dani, and good luck to you and your author, Lena Gregory, with Rocky Road to Murder, the latest book in the Coffee & Cream Cafe mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Dani and her author, Lena Gregory by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Goodreads and Pinterest pages. You can also follow her on Twitter/X.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Kobo

About Lena Gregory: Lena  is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, which take place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, which are set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest, the Mini-Meadows Mysteries, set in a community of tiny homes in Central Florida, and the Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries, which take place in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, New York.

Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.