Ralph, the Shakespeare-quoting parrot, from Sorry, Know Sorry, An Anastasia Pollack Crafting mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us a bit his role in the series.
Welcome, Ralph. I’ll turn the floor over to you –
If you were expecting a guest post from author Lois Winston or one of the two-legged characters who populate her Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, you’ll need to check out some of the other current posts on the Great Escapes Book Tour for Sorry, Knot Sorry, the thirteenth book in the series. Today, you get yours truly, the taloned member of the Pollack household. Anastasia inherited me from her great-aunt Penelope Periwinkle when the Shakespearean scholar “shuffled off this mortal coil” (Hamlet, Act Three, Scene One) to join the Bard of Avon inside the Pearly Gates.
At first Anastasia wasn’t thrilled with her inheritance. She would have preferred Great-aunt Penelope’s cameo collection, but that was bequeathed to Anastasia’s mother. However, I believe I’ve since proven my worth. And FYI, unlike a certain canine member of the household, I’m potty-trained. No one has to walk me several times a day during New Jersey nor’easters or blizzards.
Having spent most of my long life with Professor Penelope, both in and out of her lecture halls, I’m quite the Shakespearean scholar myself. And although African Greys are known to have exceptional intelligence and huge vocabularies, I’m not exaggerating when I state that I completely out-parrot the other members of my species. My talents are varied and many, but I’m especially proud of my ability to quote situation-appropriate Shakespearean passages from Will’s many plays.
Given that Lois Winston has seen fit to dump all sorts of murder and mayhem on poor Anastasia, one of my tasks within the series is to insert a bit of much-needed comic relief, especially when unsuspecting characters first hear me recite a few lines. Not only is my timing impeccable, but I can also quote the play’s title, act, and scene. It’s a shame there are no stage parts written for Shakespeare-quoting parrots. If there are any playwrights reading this, have your people call my people. You won’t be sorry.
I’m also far better at dealing with intruders than the four-legged resident of Casa Pollack, although he has had his moments. However, he pales in comparison to my magnificent wingspan, not to mention my swooping prowess. I’ve employed both on multiple occasions to the detriment of anyone messing with Anastasia and her family, including recently in Sorry, Knot Sorry.
Finally, I like to think that my matchmaking skills are unparalleled. The moment Zachary Barnes entered our lives, I knew the man was the best thing to happen to Anastasia since Lois started messing with her, even if Anastasia isn’t quite sure Zack is who he claims he is. Yes, he’s a photojournalist, but is he more? Does he, as Anastasia suspects, work for one of the alphabet agencies?
This parrot really doesn’t care. I’m taking full credit for Zack sticking around. He and I have developed quite the bromance. At times, I think Anastasia is even a bit jealous, but that’s entirely her fault. After all, she never treats me to as many sunflower seeds as Zack does. The guy even carries them around in his shirt pocket, and I don’t see him sharing any with her. Only me. Now that’s true love!
Thank you for sharing this with us, Ralph, and good luck to you and your author, Lois Winston, with Sorry, Knot Sorry, the latest book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting mystery series.
About Lois Winston: USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.
Katie Bonner is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about A Lethal Lake Effect, the latest novel in the Victoria Square mystery series.
Welcome, Katie. 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.
I’ve only just discovered that someone has been chronicling my life for the past four years. I don’t know how she’s doing it, but I wish it would stop. Apparently, this person is stalking not only me, but the other merchants on Victoria Square. So far there have been nine books and 10 short stories—and a cookbook. She called the books The Victoria Square Mysteries, and the short stories Life On Victoria Square.
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say, too? I call my own shots. That said, all the mistakes are mine, too. (Except the typos. She gets credit for all of them.)
How did you evolve as the main character?
One day, I just showed up on the page. Apparently, the author had a booth in an antiques arcade. She sometimes thinks I’m a thinly disguised (and yes, I’m much thinner than her) version of herself. I’ve got a real life where she just makes up stuff.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
Many. I have such good friends here on Victoria Square, starting with the guys who bought what’s now known as Sassy Sally’s B&B: Nick Ferrell and Don Parsons. If I’d had my way, it would have been my property, but the stars just didn’t align for me. I ended up selling them all the things I’d collected for my inn. They let me help them decorate, and we became good friends. One of Nick’s best friends, Seth Landers, is my lawyer, which is how we met.
Moonbeam Carruthers is a new friend. Some people think she’s just an old hippy, but she’s sweet, generous, and has a loving nature. Who wouldn’t want her as their friend?
And then there’s Ray Davenport, a former sheriff’s office detective. We clashed the first year of our accquaintance but have become good friends since. Friends only. There’s nothing between us. There never could be. His daughters have taken a dislike to me because … I guess it doesn’t matter why. Anyway, he’s 20 years older than me.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
Conflicted. So much is going on. I have so much on my plate juggling two businesses, along with interests in real estate on and around Victoria Square. I recently broke up with my significant other. I’ve got a mother-in-law problem (for ten years, I was married to her now-deceased son), and one of the merchants on the Square is trying to take my job as Merchants Association president.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
Some readers seem to think Dead Man’s Hand was the last book in the series. Obviously, A Lethal Lake Effect disproves that theory. And apparently, the “author” has plans to keep chronicling my existence. Legally, I have no recourse, but a part of me is kind of flattered. I’m just me; why people have taken such an interest in what I do and how I live was a surprise but a happy one. More shocking is that the series is a New York Times bestselling one!
Don’t tell the author, but I’m moving on with my life, and I’ll be just as excited to see how the stories unfold.
Thank you for answering my questions, Katie, and good luck to you and your author, Lorraine Bartlett, with A Lethal Lake Effect, the latest book in the Victoria Square mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Katie and her author, Lorraine Bartlett by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub, and Instagram pages.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
About Lorraine Bartlett: The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what first put Lorraine Bartlett’s pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent — whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett—that keeps her in her readers’ hearts. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author also pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square and Lotus Bay Mystery series, and the Tales of Blythe Cove Manor, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s).
Kat Lawson is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Murder on the Med, the latest novel in the Kat Lawson mystery series.
Welcome, Kat. 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.
My name is Kat Lawson, and I never intended to end up writing travel features, much less working undercover for the FBI. Up until 1996, I was a successful investigative reporter, working for the Phoenix Gazette, a daily newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona until I was fired for an inappropriate relationship with my boss. Him, they promoted. Me, they fired. Which was bad enough, but when the two major papers in the market merged, I was out of luck as far as finding another job.
At the time, my father was sick and wanted me to do him a favor. He had been a WW2 Navigator/bombardier aboard a B24 and was shot down toward the end of the war. He wanted me to go back to Hungary to find the people who had rescued him and his crew and thank them.
To make a long story short, I accepted my dad’s offer and found out a whole lot more about him and things that had gone on during the war than I bargained for. The Navigator’s Daughter, book one in the series, changed my life and started me on a trek I never would have imagined. And for reasons I won’t get into now—spoiler alert—got the attention of the FBI who approached me about working for them as a travel writer for a publication they use from time to time as a cover for agents on assignment. They made it sound all so simple. I wasn’t to be an agent. I was merely to be eyes and ears on locations where a travel writer wouldn’t stand out or cause any undo concern. My job was to simply deliver a message. Pick up a message. And along the way write a nice little travel feature for the magazine.
It all sounded easy enough…until it wasn’t.
Does the writer control what happens in the story, or do you get a say too?
That’s a good question because the events I’m asked to cover are related to actual historical events, and I’m frequently uncovering little-known facts and people that could change how we remember things. For that reason, I would have to say my creator Nancy Cole Silverman, has allowed me to think on my feet, and because once I get my teeth into an assignment, there’s no stopping me.
How did you evolve as the main character?
Because I work on my own, I had to develop a sense of autonomy. I’m frequently in a foreign country and on my own, and experience has taught me that as exciting and sometimes romantic as some of the places I’ve visited can be, I need to be careful with whom I trust. Consequently, I have trust issues, particularly when it comes to men.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
As a travel writer, I’m on my own a lot, and very seldom do I end up working with the same people. My FBI handler, Sophie Brill, is an older woman whom I have great respect for, but find a bit brittle, and chilly. I wouldn’t say we are friends, but after some close calls, like those I encountered in Passport to Spy, she’s learning to trust me.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
Currently, I’m on what is supposed to be a pleasure cruise. Not every assignment I get is to snoop around. Sometimes, I’m just asked to write a travel feature about some exotic place the magazine covers. This time, Journey International has asked me to cover a story about the Athena, a luxury cruise ship owned by one of the world’s richest men and designed to be a retirement community at sea. We’re sailing the Amalfi Coast. The weather, the water…it’s picture perfect. But the people? I’m beginning to suspect these senior citizens have decided to trade their pension plans for pirating across the Mediterranean, and things are getting dicey!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
Ever since I lost my job at the newspaper, I’ve been looking for a way to get back to working for a major daily paper. I’ve always looked at this job with Journey International as a temporary gig, but I’m beginning to think I’m hooked on the excitement of the assignment and that I’ll never be able to go back to the newsroom again.
Thank you for answering my questions, Kat, and good luck to you and your author, Nancy Cole Silverman, with Murder on the Med, the latest book in the Kat Lawson mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Kat and her author, Nancy Cole Silverman by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Goodreads pages. You can also follow her on Threads.
About Nancy Cole Silverman: Nancy spent nearly twenty-five years in news and talk radio before retiring to write fiction. Silverman’s award-winning short stories and crime-focused novels, the Carol Childs and Misty Dawn Mysteries (Henry Press), are based in Los Angeles, while her newest series, the Kat Lawson Mysteries (Level Best Books), takes a more international approach. Kat Lawson, a former investigative reporter has gone undercover for the FBI as a feature writer for a travel publication. Expect lots of international intrigue, vivid descriptions of small European villages, great food, lost archives, and non-stop action. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and thoroughly pampered standard poodle, Paris.
Kathleen Bryant, author of Over the Edge, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.
Welcome, Kathleen.
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.
OVER THE EDGE is an outdoor mystery/thriller set in Sedona, Arizona. I’m already writing a second book, once again featuring Del Cooper, a former crime reporter now working as a guide for a down-on-its luck Jeep touring company.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
I lived in Sedona for twenty years, and its maze of red rock canyons and sculpted landforms are naturally mysterious. I started thinking about the story many years ago, in the midst of an unpopular Forest Service land trade. At the time, however, my focus was on travel writing. Then, during the first months of the pandemic, my musician husband and I had a friendly competition to see who could finish their creative project first. (He won.)
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
Several themes or motifs emerged as I was writing—betrayal, family secrets, mental health, environmental stewardship—but the one that really spoke to me was the idea of personal reinvention. More than once, I’ve had to pick myself up, dust myself off, and choose a new path, and I suspect the same is true for many people.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
Character building is my favourite part of writing but also the hardest technique to quantify or describe. As they act, react, and interact, a book’s characters expand organically from a cast of simple cut-outs to dimensional individuals. I have a soft spot for the villains—maybe because I need to work harder at understanding them.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
Years ago, shortly after my first-ever manuscript was rejected, I went to a writing workshop. The instructor shared the most valuable piece of writing advice I’ve ever learned—how to weave in sensory detail. Seems simple, doesn’t it? Yet most of us are visual people, and cuing the other four senses doesn’t necessarily come naturally. I followed his advice, and the next time I sent out the manuscript, it sold. I’ve relied on his technique ever since, no matter whether I’m writing fiction or a magazine article.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
Though OVER THE EDGE was set in Sedona, a place I lived in and wrote about for two decades, I used the same research tools I’ve used as a travel writer: maps, local histories, weather information, field guides, newspaper stories, and so on. I also dug out notebooks I’d filled up as an archaeology student and volunteer docent. Thanks to the internet, I could brush up on smuggling laws, Forest Service regulations, and the like.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
In Sedona, almost anything can happen, and truth is often stranger than fiction. But I invented specific story locations, particularly archaeological sites, and in a couple instances, turned back time with a wave of my writer’s license. My aim was plausible fiction, and I hope while turning the pages of OVER THE EDGE, readers will feel like they’re on a journey, experiencing aspects of red rock country a day-tripper might miss.
Thank you for answering my questions, Kathleen, and good luck with Over the Edge.
About Kathleen Bryant: Kathleen turned her boots-first exploration of the West’s landscapes and cultures into a career as a travel writer and novelist. Her publishing credits include romance novels, travel guides, magazine articles, an award-winning children’s picture book, and a cookbook highlighting National Parks. An avid hiker and history buff, she’s led tours of ancient rock art sites, participated in field school digs, and guided yoga experiences in the red rocks of Sedona. Today, Kathleen lives with her musician husband in California, where she continues to seek out new adventures. When she’s not writing or researching her next book, you might find her on a hiking trail taking photos of wildflowers or driving down a country lane to visit a dairy farm or vineyard.
Jennie Marts, author of Kill or Bee Killed, the latest novel in the Bee Keeping mysteries series, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.
Welcome, Jennie.
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.
Kill or Bee Killed is the second book in the Bee Keeping mystery series. The series follows Bailey Briggs, a single mom and mystery writer, as she and her daughter return to her hometown of Humble Hills, Colorado and to Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch where she was raised by her bee-keeping grandmother, Granny Bee, her great aunts, Marigold and Aster, and her grandmother’s book club and posse, lovingly referred to as The Hive. In Take the Honey and Run, the first book, the mayor of the town is murdered, and the murder weapon turns out to be Granny Bee’s infamous ‘Honey, I’m Home Hot Spiced Honey’, making Bailey’s grandmother the prime suspect. So, of course, Bailey, her best-friend, and the members of The Hive set out to find the true culprit. Except the town sheriff turns out to be Bailey’s first love, and even though they haven’t seen each other since high school, their romance is still buzzing. And the sheriff isn’t too excited about Bailey snooping around his case. Bailey has no choice but to use her fictional detective skills to help solve the murder and “smoke out” the real culprit before her beloved grandmother ends up bee-hind bars.
In Kill or Bee Killed, Humble Hills is abuzz with excitement over the upcoming annual Bee Festival, sponsored by Granny Bee and the Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch. The long weekend of festivities includes a beauty pageant, beekeeping demonstrations, a local restaurant bake-off, and a 3K Bear Run where all the participants are dressed as bears. The bake-off brings in a television crew from California to film, so it’s the most drama-filled part of the weekend, especially when the famous celebrity host winds up dead.
Because the celebrity was holding her bracelet and had been witnessed having an altercation with Bailey’s best friend Evie shortly before his death, everyone suspects Evie of the murder—and Bailey is quickly on the hunt for clues to clear Evie’s name, alongside Granny Bee and her bunch of geriatric misfit friends. Bailey’s potential new honey, Sheriff Sawyer Dunn, is none too pleased to have Bailey buzzing around the investigation, but Bailey’s determined to uncover the truth, rescue her grannie’s beloved Bee Festival, and save her bestie.
They say you get more flies with honey, but in this case, more honey may mean you end up dead. And a little competition never hurt anyone—unless it ends up killing you.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
I really wanted to set this mystery during a local bee festival and bring in more of the community of Humble Hills. I thought it would be so fun to incorporate in a beauty competition and thought it would be a hoot to have the great aunts (who are in their seventies) be forced to enter. My husband started an annual 3K Bear Run in our town where all the runners wear these funny bear suits, and I knew I had to put that in the book too. I’m a huge fan of the Great British Bake-off, and Bailey’s best friend, Evie and her grandmother, Rosa, run a bakery/coffeehouse called Spill the Beans, so I came up with the idea to add a cooking competition into the festival and have the celebrity host be the one who gets ‘offed’.
Even though the celebrity host gets murdered, it’s still a really fun story, and Bailey and Evie get up to even more crazy shenanigans than they did in the first book.
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
I treasure the relationships with my family and my female friends and really try to convey the importance of having those women in my life and how important family and friends are. I love the relationships between Bailey and her daughter, her grandmother, her great aunts, and her best friends. Not all the relationships are good, because both Bailey’s mother and father abandoned her when she was young, so she was raised by her grandmother, but I love showing that ‘family’ can be relatives and also ‘found’ through good friends and a supportive community.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
My characters come to life in many different ways. Sometimes they just come to me, other times, they might be based on someone I know or who I’ve met. Or they might be a mash-up of several different people. I was very close to both of my grandmothers, and I love writing spunky old ladies as characters in my books who often portray some of the personality traits of both of my grandmothers. It’s a fun way for me to pay tribute to these two amazing women in my life. I have written over thirty-five books but will admit that several of my main female protagonists have a few of my characteristics—most of them are tall and curvy and several of them adore Cheetos, peanut butter cups, and macaroni and cheese. All my books have dogs in them, and most of the dog characters come from my own fur-babies, like the golden retriever in this series who is named Cooper just like mine, and the dog on the front cover looks just like my Cooper. And it’s kind of a fun thing that Bailey’s best friend, Evie, is inspired by a real friend of mine named Evie, who is exactly like the character in the book, and I can absolutely see the two of us getting into trouble like Bailey and Evie do.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
I love small towns and am from a small town myself, so it’s easy for me to picture the small mountain town of Humble Hills. I really try to add in the details of the town, not just what the buildings look like, but the view of the mountains in the background, the smell of pies and coffee wafting from the local bakery, and the dishes of water that the business owners leave outside their doors for the dogs of the town. I know so many people like the ones in the communities I write about and really try to bring in the feel of small-town life where most people know each other or have a connection through school, church, or friends or relatives. Folks in small towns truly do reach out to help each other, and I like showing that sense of community in my stories.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
I typically do research as a scene or section of the book demands it. For instance, I did a deeper dive into facts about killer bees when I wrote about Granny Bee presenting a program on them. Speaking of bees, I have done a ton of research on bees and honey, and I’m fortunate to live with a certified beekeeper. For years, my husband ran two nature centers, and one had an observation beehive exhibit in it showing live bees in their habitat, so I get a lot of my bee information from him and from learning about the workings and habitats of bees. He also started an actual Bear Run, like the one in the book, where participants do a 3K run wearing bear costumes. It’s a hoot, and everyone has so much fun. I also love putting honey-inspired recipes in my book, so I research and experiment with making the recipes as well.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
Just that I had a blast writing this one, and I hope they love meeting the characters and the community of Humble Hills. I want readers to feel like visiting Bailey and Granny Bee and the Hive is like visiting old friends and want them to feel part of the love and friendship these women have for each other. I hope readers fall in love with the handsome sheriff, Sawyer Dunn, who was Bailey’s first love, but I also want them to love Leon, the kooky coroner, and swoon over Mateo, Evie’s hunky brother, and Spike, the burly biker bar owner who has a heart of gold and makes cupcakes with his grandma.
I hope this book makes them laugh a lot, cry a little, and salivate over the delicious honey-inspired recipes in Kill or Bee Killed.
Thanks for hosting me and my book.
You’re welcome,Jennie, and good luck with Kill or Bee Killed, the latest book in the Bee Keeping mystery series.
About Jennie Marts: Jennie is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet who loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, has never missed an episode of Survivor, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Jann Franklin, author of Muffalettas and Murder, a Small Town Girl mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us a bit about how small town living can provide you with an alibi if you ever need one.
Welcome, Jann. I’ll turn the floor over to you –
As a writer, I try to stick close to what I know. Honestly, it’s just less research and I know for sure it’s accurate. My characters have great adventures in a Louisiana village of less than 300 people, just like me. The only difference is I haven’t found any dead bodies. Not yet, anyway.
One of the big complaints about small towns is, “I don’t like people being all up in my business. Nobody needs to know where I am or who I’m with.” Yeah, I get that. You don’t want your neighbors knowing you eat vanilla ice cream in your underwear.
Your secrets will remain hidden if you live in the big city. Let’s face it—neighbors there aren’t very, well, neighborly. People rush around, consumed by their own lives. Big cities celebrate a neighbor who’s quiet and keeps to himself.
“Oh yes, I have the best neighbor! I don’t even know his name, that’s how perfect he is. Not a peep out of him—I wish all my neighbors could be more like him.” What do they tell the police after SWAT arrives, guns blazing, to arrest their neighbor for a triple homicide? They repeat their good neighbor story, but amend it. “Well, except for the murders. But other than that, the perfect neighbor.” But what if the poor neighbor’s innocent? That’s where small town nosiness comes in handy.
Sometimes we need people to know what we’re doing and when we’re doing it. I’m not saying you’re on the verge of a crime spree. But we’ve all watched a crime show or two. What trips up the criminal time after time, putting them in jail faster than a hot knife through butter? When they don’t have an alibi.
Let’s just say you’re home by yourself. The police knock on your door, asking questions about someone who’s turned up dead. Who can vouch for you? If you live in the big city, you’re just out of luck. In fact, you probably should have played the stereo just a little louder, or bought that annoying dog, so the neighbors noticed you.
But if you live in a small town, you’re in luck. We don’t live our lives in private, thank goodness! Even if you’re sitting at home don’t worry. The neighbors can tell the police exactly when your car left the garage and when it returned. They can probably vouch for where you’ve been.
“Oh yeah, Officer, I know where Merle was last Wednesday around 5:15 p.m. Ya’ see, I was home taking care of my granddaughter after school. I do that every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while her mama’s working at that fancy ladies’ store downtown. Yes sir, I promised Ella Mae, that’s my granddaughter, some hard candies if she finished her homework. She’s real smart in history, but she struggles with math, so I gotta give her a little bribe to finish up her homework. Anyway, Ella Mae and me, we hopped in my Chevy. That’s it out there, in the driveway. When we drove past the gas station…which gas station? You ain’t from around here, are ya’, Officer? It’s the only gas station in town.”
“Yes sir, when we drove past the station on our way to the Dollar General, I saw Merle’s truck parked in front of the number two pump. I waved at ol’ Merle, and he waved at me. What time was that? Well, Officer, we left the house after Judge Judy, and after I helped Ella Mae get on her shoes. I’d guess about 4:45 p.m. or so. We passed ol’ Merle about three minutes after that. Then we went inside the Dollar General, got Ella Mae’s hard candies and a Coke for me, said how ya do to Missy working the register. Then we headed back towards home.”
“Now when I saw ol’ Merle at the pump, before we got to the Dollar General, it reminded me I couldn’t come to dominos the next day. Yeah, I had a doctor’s appointment in the city, so I had to miss the game. Well, sir, I turned my truck toward Merle’s house, so I could stop by and let him know. But then I saw his car at the post office. Well, sir, I just pulled into the parking lot, right beside ol’ Merle’s Honda, and waited for him. When he came out we talked for a good ten minutes, until Ella Mae finished her candies and asked if we could go home. I told Merle I wouldn’t be at dominos the next day and headed to the house.”
“What was that, Officer? What time did I chat it up with Merle at the post office? Now let me think. Wheel of Fortune had just started when I got home, so it had to be 5:30. Merle and I talked a good bit, probably twenty minutes—that’s about how long it takes Ella Mae to eat a bag of those hard candies.”
“You say the guy went missing around 5:15? No sir, it couldn’t have been Merle. He’s as honest as the day is long, and he was talking to me. Not to mention, if he’d killed somebody, he’d ask to borrow my backhoe. You know, to bury the body. You’re welcome, Officer, anytime.”
Hopefully, the officer taking the statement brings plenty of paper. But really, that’s not your problem. Your alibi is solid.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Jann, and good luck with Muffalettas and Murder, the latest book in the Small Town Girl mystery series.
About Jann Franklin: Jannis a faith-based cozy mystery writer living in Grand Cane, Louisiana with slightly less than three hundred other people. Many of her stories are based on the tales she hears from residents.
She and her husband John enjoy Sundays at Grand Cane Baptist Church, dinner with family and friends, and watching the lightning bugs in their backyard. Their kids come to visit, when they aren’t too busy living their big-city lives.
Molly Stewart is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Purrfectly Framed, the latest novel in the Mobile Cat Groomer mystery series.
Welcome, Molly. 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.
Hello! I’m Molly Stewart. I’m a Mobile Cat Groomer. I helped my friend, Evan, when he was accused of murdering his old teacher. Her body was found in his photography studio, but of course, he was innocent! The book, Purrfectly Framed, is Book 2 in the Mobile Cat Groomer Series.
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
Oh, I get a say! She does lay the groundwork by creating a synopsis, but once she starts actually writing the book, I’m right there giving advice!
How did you evolve as the main character?
I discovered that I have a knack for solving crimes. I’d already found a murderer before, when there’d been a previous murder in town. Who knew there would be more than one killer to deal with! With the help of my cats, Percival and Jasper, we make a pretty good sleuthing team!
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
My boyfriend’s name is Hank. He’s the town’s veterinarian, and is so sweet! We’ve only just started dating, so everything is still new. And my BFF is Jillian. She’s amazing. She runs our local library. And, she also has a thing for Evan, but he doesn’t know it yet.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
I live in a small, rural town where everyone knows everybody else’s business. It’s a friendly place, except for the murderer, of course!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
We have so much fun in Purrfectly Framed! Aside from helping Evan out of this current jam, I have my job as a Mobile Cat Groomer. I adore my furry clients, and they make my job so enjoyable. Come over and check us out. You’ll love it here!
Thank you for answering my questions, Molly, and good luck to you and your author, Ruth J Hartman, with Purrfectly Framed, the latest book in the Mobile Cat Groomer mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Molly and her author, Ruth J Hartman by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook page. You can also follow her on Twitter.
About Ruth J Hartman: Ruth spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.
Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying. Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them.
The Breakfast Foursome (a quartet of senior citizens who gather at the local diner first thing every morning to gossip) are visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about The Seafarer’s Secret.
Welcome, folks. 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.
Elbert: It’s a murder mystery set along the Outer Banks of North Carolina with a bit of history and pirates thrown in.
Maxine: That’s the best you can come up with? I thought you were a writer.
Francis: He writes a weekly column for the Eden newspaper. He is a writer.
Maxine: Only because he bullied them until they agreed to let him.
Elbert (ignoring the women): The novel’s a mix of genres, but mostly a cozy mystery. Our author once said it was like a Nicholas Sparks book but without anyone dying.
Herb: It’s a murder mystery. Of course someone dies.
Elbert: I think she meant a main character. And, yes, it could be expanded into a series.
Francis: Doesn’t Carol Ann already have an outline for the second book?
Maxine: She does and it’s very detailed. Nothing at all like that nonsense she used to call an outline.
Elbert: I’m not sure we were supposed to say anything about that. Maybe we should go on to the next question.
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
Maxine: We let Carol Ann think she’s in control, but we all know the real truth. If we’d let her control it, she’d have gone with one of those earlier drafts, and that would have been horrible.
Herb: Which one of the early drafts are you talking about? The one where Eva’s a graduate student or the one where Chief Templeton’s house caught fire?
Francis: I thought it was a motel that burned down?
Elbert: No, that draft had a fire alarm go off at a motel, but it was done intentionally. There wasn’t a fire.
Maxine: Any of the earlier drafts would have been a mistake.
Herb: I’m not sure we answered the question.
Elbert: Trust me. We did.
How did you evolve as the main character?
Francis: Can we consider ourselves main characters?
Herb: Maybe the four of us together? After all, Eva would have had no idea what was happening if it weren’t for us. Not to mention, Elbert’s the only one of us who has page time separate from the three of us.
Francis: I’m not sure we evolved. I feel the exact same.
Elbert: Maxine evolved. I knew it when she said the three most wonderful words in the world.
Maxine: Put a sock in it, Elbert.
Herb: What three words?
Elbert: “I was wrong.”
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
Elbert: I’ve always liked William Templeton. I knew his grandmother and she raised him right. Especially after his parents died. There’s no one I’d rather have serving as Eden’s chief of police.
I don’t know Eva as well, but my granddaughter, Amelia, is good friends with her. Eva earned my respect with the way she kept her friendship up with both Catherine and William after they separated. That’s a tough place to find yourself.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
Herb: Except for Elbert, we’re only found in the diner.
Francis: That’s because the diner’s the heart of Eden.
Maxine: Don’t get all sentimental, Francis. It’s just a building.
Elbert: The diner is also the one place in the novel that never, not in all two hundred fifty-nine drafts, ever changed.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
Carol Ann: These guys were so much fun to write and if you look, you’ll find them or someone like them in every city. I hope you decide to visit these particular four in their Eden diner. They’ll save you a seat at the table.
Thank you for answering my questions, folks, and good luck to you and your author, Carol Ann Collins, with The Seafarer’s Secret. Readers can learn more about the Breakfast Foursome and their author, Carol Ann Collins by visiting the author’s website and her Goodreads and Instagram pages.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
About Carol Ann Collins: Writing allows Carol Ann Collins to combine two of her favorite things, history and romance. Her work is a combination of historical fact, pure fiction, and a vivid imagination. Though she is an introvert who had no problem staying inside during quarantine, she enjoys traveling with her husband and two adult children. In her spare time, she is an avid book collector and bargain shopper who loves to combine the two. To date, her favorite find is an 1869 edition of Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain purchased for $10.
Natasha Smith is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about The Diva Goes Overboard, the latest novel in the Domestic Diva mystery series.
Welcome, Natasha. 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.
My latest adventure is in THE DIVA GOES OVERBOARD, which is part of the Domestic Diva Mysteries. It’s fun to read them in order, but everyone tells me they work fine on their own, too. In this new book, something very unusual happens to me. It all starts with an engagement. But when the groom dies, everything goes haywire, and then, even though he’s dead, he drops a few bombshells at the reading of his will. He said “Sophie will know what to do” but I don’t have a clue. Even worse, people begin to suspect unsavory things about me!
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
The writer is fairly good about letting me do my thing. We’re usually on the same wavelength. But she tricks me this time by putting me in an uncomfortable situation. What’s a character to do?
How did you evolve as the main character?
I’m an event planner. A few years back, the local newspaper asked me to write a column giving sensible lifestyle advice. It took off about the same time that I solved a couple of mysteries. People started coming to me with their problems, like being accused for murder! They think I can get to the root of the murders. I always tell them to go to the police or hire a private investigator, but it’s hard to turn people down when they are so distressed.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
Lots of them! I have a group of dear friends who help me. I couldn’t possibly do it without them. My best friend and across-the-street-neighbor is Nina Reid Norwood. She has an ear for gossip and a lot of connections around town. Plus, she watches my back. Then there’s my ex-husband, Mars, and Bernie, his best friend. Mars is methodical. He likes to write everything down and see where it leads. Bernie owns a local restaurant and knows everyone! And my sweet older neighbor, Francie, has lived here a long time. She knows the scoop and gets away with being nosy because she’s a sweet little old lady. We’re a team! I guess I should mention Wolf. He’s a local police detective whom I dated for a few years. It’s a little awkward, but it can be handy to have his personal phone number.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
We live in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. It’s across the Potomac River from Washington DC and is absolutely charming. The homes are Federal style and some still have gas lanterns at their front doors. The brick sidewalks are extremely walkable, so my hound mix, Daisy, and I often go for interesting walks around town. I have to walk my dog, right? I can’t help it if I happen to see interesting things on our walks.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
I’d better mention Natasha. She writes a competing lifestyle column and has her eyes on my ex-husband. In fact, it’s her mother who planned to marry! Natasha means well, but she can be trying.
Thank you for answering my questions, Natasha, and good luck to you and your author, Krista Davis, with The Diva Goes Overboard, the latest book in the Domestic Diva mystery series.
About Krista Davis: New York Times Bestselling author Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mysteries, the Paws & Claws Mysteries, and The Pen & Ink Mysteries. Krista lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with two dogs, two cats, and a hidden stash of chocolate. When she’s not writing, she loves to entertain her family and friends who complain when she tests her recipes on them. But she notices that they keep coming back for more.
Joyce Proell, co-author of Cornbread, Ribs and Murder, the latest novel in the Chocolate Martini Sisters mysteries series, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.
Welcome, Joyce.
Thank you. I’m happy to be visiting with you today.
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.
Cornbread, Ribs and Murder is the third book in the Chocolate Martini Sisters series. The stories feature sisters Nic and Emma. Each woman has a distinctive style and personality, yet their interests overlap in one key way—their love of mysteries. When a woman screams for help, they find her next to a dead body, a bloody knife gripped in her hand. Murder has found them again. At the woman’s request, they agree to help her find the killer. Officially contracted as sleuths, they get down to work, sorting through a vast array of quirky suspects. Time and experience have made their unique detective skills sharper. They catch the killer and manage to have fun while doing so.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
My industrious and creative writing partner, Brenda Whiteside, suggested the series idea. A resident of Arizona, she celebrates her birthday with her sister every year with a chocolate martini served up at her beloved local hotel.
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
In a mystery, the subject is always murder. It is the who, what, when, and why of the story. Why do people do what they do? In this case, the sisters set out to answer the questions.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
The process of developing a character is like working with clay. At first, it’s a blob, sitting before me on a table. I touch it, and its firm beneath my fingers. Then I begin to dig and squeeze the firm substance. An idea takes hold. An image begins to emerge from the shadows of my mind. Kneading and pulling, a form takes shape. I test an idea this way and that. Little by little, the substance/plot reveals itself. Pretty soon, I have a good idea of who did what and why. The rest is all down to details.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
I use both pictures and imagination to bring life to my stories.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
Brenda has the advantage as she lives close to where the story takes place. Also, she modelled the vintage charm of the Dulce Inn after one of her favorite boutique hotels. I rely on the internet for my research.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
All of the books in the series were fun to write, but Cornbread, Ribs and Murder is my top pick. Nic and Em are such wonderful characters. They enjoy sleuthing, and when justice is served, so much the better. Enjoy!
Thank you for answering my questions, Joyce, and good luck to you and your co-author, Brenda Whiteside, with Cornbread, Ribs and Murder, the latest book in the Chocolate Martini Sisters mystery series.
About Joyce Proell: After hearing countless stories as a mental health professional, Joyce Proell retired to create her own tales. As an award-winning author, she writes historical romance and cozy mystery where all endings are guaranteed happy. She shares her home on the prairie with a husband and a little dog with a big personality. When she isn’t reading or writing, she likes to swim and finds baking almost as relaxing as a day at the spa.
dianneascroft.com 