Valerie Taylor, author of A Jewel of a Crime, the latest novel in the Venus Bixby mysteries series, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.

Welcome, Valerie.

Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

A Jewel of a Crime is part of the Venus Bixby Mystery trilogy, set in Chatham Crossing, a fictional whaling town between Providence and Cape Cod. The series features Venus Bixby, who early on owned an oldies music store and bakery. She inherits her late husband’s dance studio and eventually replaces the bakery with a bookstore, and then opens a kitty day care center. Clearly, an ambitious woman of influence in Chatham Crossing, Venus has an itch to do something else with her life other than stumbling over murder victims.

Ultimately, she gets that chance in A Jewel of a Crime. Venus sells the dance studio hoping to spend time traveling through Europe and recovering stolen art. But when she finds the studio’s new owner dead behind a curtain, Venus becomes the prime suspect. While trying to clear her name, she uncovers a secret from her late husband’s past involving an emerald ring—that’s missing. As burglaries ripple through the town and rumors swirl, Venus will need sharp instincts—and a dash of Irish luck—to catch the real killer before her dream of a new adventure turns into a nightmare.

Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?

Once I decided Venus would sell the dance studio, logically the mystery just had to focus on the new owners. And then, in order for Venus to truly move on with her life, she had to close the book on her marriage. But how could she do that if her husband took a secret to his grave? These two ideas intertwined to form the idea for this mystery.

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?

Oddly enough, perhaps, I’ve never started writing with a theme in mind. It’s only after I’ve read a solid draft does a theme emerge. For example, in A Jewel of a Crime the underlying theme could be a drive to have a fresh start. Venus Bixby isn’t the only one, though, who wants to hit the reset button.

How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?

Actually, Venus Bixby was born as a secondary character in my romantic comedy What’s Not Lost. I loved her so much I decided she needed her own series. So I made her my sleuth.From there, she needed a supporting cast that included a detective, a victim, and an ensemble of suspects. As I began telling the story, I considered how the characters interrelated, and whether they’d play a primary or secondary role. At times, that was easy. Take Venus’s sister, Sherrie Moore. While Sherrie has the more vivacious personality, their symbiotic relationship and their shared attention to details helped drive the plots forward. As it turned out, becauseA Jewel of a Crime has the largest cast of characters of the three novels, I included a list at the beginning of the book.

How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?

Spending a day several years ago in charming and historic New Bedford, Massachusetts, inspired me to create Chatham Crossing, a fictional whaling town situated between Providence and Cape Cod. Since I live in Connecticut, I took advantage of a number of webinars and videos offered by the New Bedford Whaling Museum. I learned about the whaling industry, ship building, and of course, pirates. One of the ways I hoped to bring Chatham Crossing to life was to reference locations and establishments in the New England region that readers would recognize.

What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?

In A Jewel of a Crime I finally took advantage of its proximity to Salem, Massachusetts. The new shopping center in the story is managed by a handful of women who call themselves the Moonstone Guild. In addition, a new aromatherapy shop holds tarot readings. Though I believe there’s a little witch in all of us, I still read about the history of witchcraft and meditation, and kept one of my tarot card decks near me at all times. To put me in the mood, I watched Practical Magic, one of my favourite witchy movies.

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

Just as in the first two cozies in the series, A Jewel of a Crime has cookie recipes and an oldies playlist in the back. Here’s a link to the playlist:

Thank you so much for your interest in me and the Venus Bixby Mysteries!

Thank you for answering my questions, Valerie, and good luck with A Jewel of a Crime, the latest book in the Venus Bixby mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Valerie Taylor by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Instagram and Substack pages.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon Print Book     Amazon eBook

About Valerie Taylor: Valerie Taylor considers herself an “average Jane.” She might remind you of a reclusive neighbor who’s secretly writing her next novel. Unlike many of the writers she admires, she doesn’t hold a degree in literature. Instead, she credits her love of storytelling to a steady diet of classic comedy and suspense.

She’s the award-winning author of the romantic comedy trilogy What’s Not Said, What’s Not True, and What’s Not Lost, as well as of the first two  books in the Venus Bixby cozy mystery series, A Whale of a Murder and Switched at Death. Her affinity for humor and whodunits was shaped early on by watching Carol Burnett, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and The Twilight Zone.

When she’s not writing, Valerie enjoys oldies music, a passion sparked by hours growing up spent listening and dancing to Elvis Presley and The Beatles—and by proudly belonging to the Bobby Darin fan club.

Valerie lives close to her family in Connecticut.