Lena Gregory, author of Murder a la Mode, a Coffee & Cream mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about the inspiration for her series.
Welcome, Lena. I’ll turn the floor over to you –
My first job was working early mornings in my grandfather’s deli in a small town on eastern Long Island. I can still remember getting up at four in the morning to go in and stock shelves, the scent of kaiser rolls with butter and bacon frying, and the gossip. Boy was there gossip. I have such fond memories of my grandfather standing behind the counter, leaning forward, enjoying shooting the breeze with customers. My grandmother knew everyone by name, and assumed everyone else did too. She used to start off a conversation with, “Can you believe Jeremy did this, or did you hear Katrina did that?” As if you would automatically know who those people were.
When I decided to write a small café themed cozy, one that took place in a town similar to the one I grew up in, I wanted to capture that feel, to share that sense of community, of knowing your neighbors. But there’s a down side to that too. Not only do you know what all of your neighbors are doing, they are all aware of your deepest, darkest secrets as well.
When Murder a la Mode starts off, Danika Delaney is returning to her home town after fleeing the gossip surrounding her boyfriend cheating on her at prom and seeking the anonymity of New York City to go to college and begin her career. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and she ended up returning home, only to endure a new stint on the gossip mill when her ex-boyfriend’s wife ends up dead in the basement of her new café. Now, she’ll have to solve Heather’s murder if she ever hopes for her business venture to succeed.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Lena, and good luck with Murder a la Mode, a Coffee & Cream mystery.
Readers can learn more about Lena Gregory by visiting the author’s website and. her Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest pages. Readers can also follow her on Twitter.
The book is available online at the following retailers:
About Lena Gregory: 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.
Luke Tremblay is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about The Body in the Back Garden, the first novel in the Crescent Cove mystery series.
Welcome, Luke. 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’m the protagonist of something readers don’t see very often: a queer cozy mystery set in Canada. There’s a gorgeous seaside setting on Vancouver Island, a diverse cast of fellow characters, a hint of romance—and of course, murder! I can’t see the future, but I hope my story will continue across many future books. There’s so much I want to do in Crescent Cove. Like most fictional characters, though, I live and die at the whim of the publishing industry. That’s why I’m counting on readers to buy this book and show the publisher that they want more of me!
Does the writer control what happens in the story, or do you get a say too?
In some ways, the writer and I are one and the same. Generally, though, he wants something to happen and then asks me how I would do it. It’s a collaboration.
How did you evolve as the main character?
I started out as someone returning to a place where he used to be happy, in the wake of an unexpected tragedy. My story is full of bittersweet memories as well as a reluctance to engage with my painful past. Over the course of the book, though, I remember why I loved this town so much, and I start to imagine a new life for myself.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
Crescent Cove is filled with fascinating people like Jules Kestenbaum, the gossipy town doctor, and my archnemesis Barnabus Delacruz, who works at the antiques shop I inherited from my aunt. But the character I’m most partial to is Jack Munro, my old childhood friend who now runs the local RCMP detachment. Sure, we have something of a rocky history, and yes, he suspects me of murdering the man I found in the back garden, but there’s a spark there, too. Plus, he looks amazing in his Mountie uniform.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
I spend the story in a small, picturesque town on Vancouver Island, one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s similar to Tofino, a gorgeous spot on the other side of the island that’s renowned for its incredible beaches, laid-back vibe, and long hikes along the rugged coast.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
I’m proud to be part of an effort to make a beloved genre more inclusive and diverse. We need more stories like mine, and I hope readers agree.
Thank you for answering my questions, Luke, and good luck to you and your author, Mark Waddell, with The Body in the Back Yard, the first book in the Crescent Cove mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Luke and his author, Mark Waddell by visiting the author’s website and his Instagram page. You can also follow him on Twitter.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
About Mark Waddell: Mark is originally from Calgary, Alberta, and grew up on the cold, windswept Prairies of western Canada. Fleeing southward, he earned a Ph.D. in the history of science, medicine, and technology from the Johns Hopkins University and then worked as a professor at Michigan State University for fifteen years. Finally, he persuaded his amazing husband to move to Vancouver Island, where they now live. When he’s not writing stories about murderous Canadians, he plays the viola in the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, walks his dogs along the seashore, and thinks up interesting ways to kill people.
Laura Childs, author of Honey Drop Dead, a Tea Shop mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to give us some tips for writing faster.
Welcome, Laura. I’ll turn the floor over to you –
When it comes to writing a novel, most authors yearn to write quicker, smarter, and more efficiently. And there’s no reason you can’t. After all, it’s no fun to just plod along – you’ll begin to lose interest and your project will atrophy. So here are a few tips and tricks that I use to keep the ideas bubbling and the words flowing.
Do your research before you start writing your novel. For every novel I write I create a concept book. Sometimes it’s a three-ring binder, other times it’s a folder that contains articles, pictures, clippings, and even words that catch my fancy and relate to my newest writing project. If your novel is dependent on locale, collect a few maps. If your novel deals with crime scene investigation, find articles on DNA testing, evidence collection, lab work, etc. – anything to help you be spot on. Many times research will spark ideas and give you new ways to approach your subject matter.
Create an outline. This helps break your book into chapters and sections, and creates a roadmap for your writing. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy outline, sometimes even five to ten pages are enough. But an outline will give you structure and help you focus on what direction your plotline is taking you.
Be sure to have a clear idea of why you’re writing your book. Do you know if there’s a viable market for your subject matter? Who’s your audience? How are you going to make your audience care deeply about your subject matter?
Come up with a killer hook for chapter one. (This is a tricky one). You want to grab your reader by the throat, make them smile, gasp, or laugh, then keep them turning pages into the wee hours of the morning.
Laura Childs
Write your novel as fast as you can. Don’t worry if your words aren’t absolutely perfect. Just keep writing, even when you’re not exactly sure where you’re going. I have days where I think I’ve written absolute blather. Then I go back and look at it and think, “You know, that’s not half bad. If I edit and tighten these pages a bit I might just have something.” Always – always – remember that you can go back and edit at a later date.
Dig deep into your imagination. Your imagination is a wonderful, magical muscle – and the more you stretch it the better it gets.
Read as much as you can. After a while you’ll start picking up tricks that other authors use. This is super important. When I started writing I’d read a book for fun, then go back and rip it apart. How did the first chapter grab me? What was the first turning point that made my (unwilling) protagonist decide to get involved? Where was the “darkest before dawn” section and how did the author sneak that in? How did the author engineer that surprising ending? Don’t be afraid to learn from the masters.
Be daring! Go ahead and tackle new subjects, introduce oddball characters, or do plot loops. There are authors who have created entire new worlds (Ray Bradbury), mind-blowing situations (Stephen King), and amazing plot twists (Gillian Flynn). They made it work and so can you!
Good luck with your writing!
Thank you for sharing this with us, Laura, and good luck with Honey Drop Dead, a Tea Shop mystery.
Readers can learn more about Laura Childs by visiting the author’s website and. her Facebook page
The book is available online at the following retailers:
About Laura Childs: Laura is the author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. All have been on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of “25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In herprevious life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, and has a Chinese Shar-Pei named Lotus.
Emma Justice is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Weeding Out Lies, the first novel in the Texas Flower Farmer cozy mystery series.
Welcome, Emma. 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 Emma Justice. Recently I began my business as the local flower farmer in Lutz, Texas. It’s been my dream for years to be a flower farmer, but I decided to hold down a dependable job until my daughter left for college. Now I get to work with flowers every day. It was pure joy right up until I found the banker’s wife murdered when I took a bundle of flowers to a local merchant. Weeding Out Lies is the first book in A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery series, and in order to prove my friend isn’t a killer I’ll have to weed out lies from the truth.
I know most of the people in Lutz, Texas. Sophie’s Bakery is owned by my best friend, Sophie Becker. She’s originally from Germany, and years ago I helped her study for her citizenship test. She agrees to help me catch the killer.
One of the owners of Anytime Coffee also jumps in to help me solve the mystery. The police chief is often amazed at what information I can learn from the locals, so he allows me to conduct my own investigation as long as I don’t go too far.
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
I get a say too. Sometimes Jackie thinks she knows where the plot is going, but I have to alert her that we’re going in a different direction.
How did you evolve as the main character?
When I worked as a pharmacy technician and raised my daughter as a single mom because my husband died, I had no time to solve a mystery. My daughter began college in January of her senior year of high school, and even though I’ve begun a new business, there’s enough flexibility in my life to look for clues and try to solve a murder.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them? Don’t tell anyone, but I might have a little crush on Jake Hunter. He appeared one day working at the coffee shop, and he was a big flirt. It turns out he’s a silent owner in my friend’s business. Jake is smart and courageous, and he’s helping me solve the crime. I haven’t dated since my husband died, because there’s not been time, and I haven’t met anyone worth the effort. Jake might be worth the effort. Time will tell.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story? Lutz is a small town, but we have antique and vintage fairs and festivals which bring lots of people our way throughout the year. My flower farm is really my big back yard. I researched and discovered I didn’t need lots of land to be a flower farmer. Lutz is small enough that I can walk or ride my bicycle most places, but if I need go some distance, I drive my dependable pickup truck affectionately known as Ms. Daisy.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
You may wonder why a flower farmer would be any good at solving a mystery. Every day I make decisions about my flowers. What flowers should I grow? What flowers aren’t working to the point I need to eliminate them? Just like I have to distinguish flowers from weeds, I’ll need to distinguish red herrings from truth. I keep a garden journal. If one thing doesn’t work, I’ll try something else. I’ll make a list of suspects and ask enough questions until I can rule a person out so I can focus on the next suspect.
Thank you for answering my questions, Emma, and good luck to you and your author, Jackie Layton, with Weeding out Lies, the first book in the Texas Flower Farmer cozy mystery series.
AboutJackie Layton: Jackie is the author of cozy mysteries with Spunky Southern Sleuths. Her stories are set in Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina. She lives on the coast of South Carolina where she enjoys walks on the beach and golf cart rides around the marsh. Reading, gardening, and traveling are some of her favorite hobbies. She always keeps a notebook handy to write down ideas for future stories. Be careful what you say around her, because it might end up in a book.
Jennie Marts is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Take the Honey and Run, her first novel in the Bee Keeping Mystery series.
Welcome, Jennie. Let’s get started, shall we?
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.
My new book, TAKE THE HONEY AND RUN, is the first in a fun new Bee Keeping Cozy Mystery series. And after having over thirty books published, I’m so excited that this will be my first hardback. Yay!
TAKE THE HONEY AND RUN is the story of Bailey Briggs, a single mom mystery author, who returns home to her small mountain town of Humble Hills, Colorado. She and her twelve-year-old daughter, Daisy, arrive to hear her grandmother, Granny Bee, threatening to kill the town mayor. The next morning, Bailey discovers the mayor’s dead body, and Granny Bee’s Honey I’m Home Hot Spiced Honey turns out to bee the murder weapon. Now Granny’s got herself into a sticky situation, and Bailey has to use her fictional detective skills to solve a real murder and keep her grandmother from ending up bee-hind bars.
Oh, and did I mention that upon arriving in town, she runs into Sawyer Dunn, the love of her life, whom she hasn’t seen in thirteen years, not since he got shipped off to his uncle’s farm in Montana the night they stole a tractor and accidentally drove it into a pond? And did I also mention that Sawyer now happens to be the town sheriff?
The next book in the series, KILL OR BEE KILLED, comes out next Spring. It’s about the annual Bee Festival in Humble Hills, and when the celebrity host of the Honey Bake-off is murdered, Bailey’s bestie is the prime suspect. So, Bailey and her granny’s book club, The Hive, are back on the case.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
My husband’s career has been with County Parks, and he became a certified beekeeper so he could add a living beehive exhibit to one of his nature centers. It’s a glassed-in hive so visitors can see the bees at work. He has shared so many fascinating stories with me about the life and habits of bees that I knew that I wanted to have a beekeeper in one of my books. The main character’s grandmother is the beekeeper in Take the Honey and Run, and all the Brigg’s women are named after flowers. I thought that if I was going to have a beekeeper as the murder suspect, then honey had to be the murder weapon.
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
I think the theme of this book might be Dating Can Be Deadly, since the town’s mayor seemed to be dating and occasionally extorting half the women in town. Passion is often a good motivation for murder, so I thought it would be fun to have a villain who was a bit of a geriatric gigolo, and who was wooing several women in town. But this story also has greed, envy, blackmail, and a few other sticky situations.
The theme could also be honey-inspired recipes, because there are several of those too. 😊
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
I think as a storyteller, the characters just come to us. I knew that I wanted the main character to be a single mom mystery writer and I knew I wanted her grandmother to consider herself the queen bee and to have her book club and besties called The Hive. I was very close to both of my grandmothers growing up, so I really love to add spunky, spitfire older ladies into my books and I love giving them some of the funniest lines. Because a lot of the older ladies I know have experienced life and usually have quite hilarious opinions about it. I also love writing about the relationships of women and how they support each other. I have four sisters plus a great friend group, and I love showing women caring about each other and lifting each other up. Or in the case of this book, providing alibi’s for and possibly breaking and entering to help keep each other out of trouble.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
I love writing about small towns and the quirky characters that live there. I’m from a small town in Kansas and lived in a small town in Montana for a while as an adult, so I know first-hand the sense of community and the way people care for and about each other in a small town. I try to show that in my books. Yes, it’s true, in super small towns, people do mostly all know each other, but that means that they also know when someone is in trouble or needs a helping hand or a cheerleader or a prayer. And I’ve met a lot of those quirky characters who live in those towns. Not that every character is based on a real person, but several of my characters are based on a composite of a few people. And I also try to bring in the feel and the flavor of the actual town, what it looks like, what kind of shops are there, what kind of restaurants. In Humble Hills, the small town in Take the Honey and Run, Bailey’s best friend and her grandmother have a local coffee shop and bakery right down the road from the one hotel in town. Readers get to visit the courthouse and meet the security guard and the mayor’s secretary. I think when readers visit the places, it brings the small town more to life in their minds.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
I love to use people I know to help with research, like my next-door neighbor who is a police officer, my dad and sister who are veterinarians, my friend’s husbands who are lawyers, doctors, firefighters. For years, I worked at a bank inside of a grocery store, and if I needed help, I would have the tellers tell me when the local firefighters came in (they shopped for groceries every few days), then I would hijack them in the produce department to ask them questions about my latest manuscript. I had a guy I opened an account for who was a retired FBI Agent who was a great resource, and once I stopped two mounted police officers who were on horseback in the parking lot to ask them a few questions about DNA and being a sheriff of a small town. My internet history is nuts with crazy searches like ‘how big is a pygmy goat’s poop’ for a goat yoga scene I did, ‘which is the best gun for a single woman to carry’, ‘which poison can use to kill someone and not leave a trace’, ‘why do goats faint’, ‘how much does a Kitchenaid mixer weigh’ (murder weapon), and ‘how long does it take a dead body in a hot tub to start to bloat’. If I don’t know the answer, I always do the research to make sure I’m getting the details right, but I try not to go too far down the research rabbit holes, or I’d never get the books written.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
I hope that readers find and fall in love with the characters in Take the Honey and Run! I had the best time writing this book, and I think it’s so much fun. It’s twisty and funny and has a little romance and has honey-inspired recipes at the end of some of the delicious treats the characters eat in the book. And also, a big thank you to you for having me!
Thanks for answering my questions, Jennie, and good luck with Take the Honey and Run, the first book in Bee Keeping Mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Jennie and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook and Instagram pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
AboutJennie 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, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books range from Western romance to cozy mysteries, but they all have the charm and appeal of quirky small-town life. She loves genre-mashups like adding romance to her Page Turners cozy mysteries and creating the hockey-playing cowboys in the Cowboys of Creedence. The same small-town community comes to life with more animal antics in her latest Creedence Horse Rescue series. And her sassy heroines and hunky heroes carry over in her heartwarming, feel good romances from Hallmark Publishing. Her newest cozy mystery, Take the Honey and Run: A Bee Keeping Mystery, debuts this July.
Peggy Rector is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Murder in the Genes, the latest novel in the Peggy Rector mystery series.
Welcome, Peggy. 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.
Thank you for asking, before I start, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Peggy Rector and I’m a writer. I moved back to my hometown after the death of my husband. My plan was to write books, romance books, and I had the great idea of writing special books on commission, until an angry husband blamed me for the breakup of his marriage. I had no intention of becoming an amateur detective but here I am, three books in. In the first book, A MURDEROUS GRUDGE, I found a body on a pickleball court of all places. The poor thing’s face was covered in cream pie! Who does that! When my old high school flame, Jess Carson, was accused of the murder, I knew I had to help him. I enlisted my friends in the Stinky Springs Ladies Social Club to help.
In A TROPHY FOR MURDER a nasty local man, who wants to open a trophy hunting business, goes missing, despite not liking him, the whole town turns out to search for him, that’s how we roll in the country. Guess who found him. Yep, me and my westie, Mr. Winkie stumbled on him while out for a walk. Once again, the police are after the wrong guy, my BFF Wanda’s son. This was a complicated case but once again, the ladies and I nailed the bad guy.
MURDER IN THE GENES is my latest adventure which begins in England. I went to visit my fiance, Jess, who was landscaping a garden for a famous rock star. I met the sweetest lady, Eleanor, a genealogist with a nose for trouble. Back home, my friend Dorothy’s cousin died under suspicious circumstances. The local cops wanted to chalk it up to old age, but we disagreed. There was more to that story and you know the drill, we just had to find out who did it with the help of Eleanor, of course!
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
Good question. I believe that I control what happens in the story. My author just sits at her laptop and lets me channel my story through her fingers, kinda like a seance. She often comments on how surprised she is by what we get up to here in Stinky Springs. I sure wish she typed faster as I have so much to say!
How did you evolve as the main character?
Oh wow. I’ve learned so much about life and myself since I moved back here to Stinky Springs. I left home after college and lived in the big city of Houston. Married, raised two great kids, had a fantastic career as an emergency room nurse. But I was tired of the traffic, and the frantic pace of life. I left the hustle and bustle for a slower life in the country. Here, I’ve reconnected with old friends, learned a lot about myself, loyalty, and courage. I’ve learned to appreciate what I have, and how fragile life is, when to hold on and when to let go. I’m not perfect, as Jess and Wanda will tell you, I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I’ve come a long way, baby. (Sorry had to add that last bit)
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
Wanda, who I mentioned earlier, is my best friend. BFFs since we were toddlers. We kept in touch while I lived in Houston. I’d catch up with her when I visited Stinky Springs to see my folks. I live next door to her now. She’s a fantastic cook! Makes the best cakes and pies and her kolaches are to die for. Wanda’s been through a lot since I returned and I’m glad I was here to support her. The only time we didn’t get along was when our kids were dating. But I think that’s smoothed out.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
The tiny town of Stinky Springs, Texas is halfway between Dallas and Houston. It’s set off the highway and you’d never know it was there unless you broke down! And yes, there is a ‘stinky spring’ nearby. We are surrounded by cattle ranches, small holdings and deer leases and a lovely little creek runs nearby. My house is at the end of the street and backs onto heavily wooded land. In the morning when I get up, I can often see deer crossing my yard. It’s peaceful and quiet.
The residents are a close knit community. We have some businesses: Betty’s Burger Bar, Georgia’s Crafts and Ammo, Risa’s combo laundromat, juice bar and yoga studio and the community center where the Stinky Springs Ladies Social Club has met for over one hundred and fifty years.
Recently, they started building a new over-55 community, and we’ve had an influx of newcomers. They are good for the economy and give us old-timers something to gossip about.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
Well, If I had to describe my books, I’d say that they are funny, sometimes silly, with touching moments of female friendship, in fact, friendship is the main theme running through the stories. The ladies of Stinky Springs love to laugh, get together, console each other, and support each other. I hope you’ll come along for the ride and get to know us. My Peggy Rector Mysteries are on Kindle Unlimited and available on Audible in audiobook format!
Thank you for answering my questions, Peggy, and good luck to you and your author, J M Roberts, with Murder in the Genes, the latest book in the Peggy Rector mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Peggy and her author, J M Roberts by visiting the author’s blog and her Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub, and Instagram pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.
About J M Roberts: J. M. Roberts is a nurse turned writer, much like her main character in the Peggy Rector Mystery series. She lives in an over-55 development outside of Houston, Texas that provides endless ideas for her murder mysteries. When not taking notes on her friends and neighbors, she can be found in her garden, cooking, or reading.
Leslie Karst, author of A Sense for Murder, a Sally Solari mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to talk about her evolving writing style.
Welcome, Leslie. I’ll turn the floor over to you –
Authors are often asked whether we’re plotters or pantsers—do we plan out our story lines in advance and outline them in detail, or merely start writing and just see what happens?
I’ve been a devout plotter for most my fiction-writing career. And for my legal writing career as well, when I worked as a research and appellate attorney. Though truly, I can’t fathom how anyone could draft a legal brief without doing at least a little outlining. (Oh wait, come to think of it, I do believe some of those sloppy motions I received from opposing counsel over the years might well have been written without a whole lot of advance planning….)
When I set out to draft my first Sally Solari mystery, even the thought of sitting down with only a vague idea and then simply writing a mystery novel scared the heck out of me. You have to plant clues, after all, and red herrings, and suspects. How could you do that just willy-nilly? (Asks this list-making, check-everything-three-times, Virgo.)
But what’s interesting is that when it comes to cooking, I’ve always been the exact opposite. Sure, I love to read cookbooks. And my favorite day of the week for the newspaper is when the food section comes out, so I can peruse the recipes, maybe learn a new technique for rolling out pasta, and drool over all the seasonal ingredients highlighted that time of year.
But I don’t tend to use recipes when I prepare food. In this area of my life I am a full-on pantser, tasting my sauce, adding a dash of this or that, then tasting it again. I don’t worry about messing it up, because I have a solid understanding of the chemistry of cooking, so I know instinctively what will work and what won’t. (This is the reason I’m not a keen baker—for it’s pretty darn hard to use a seat-of-the-pants method when you’re making a cake or a baguette. Bakers don’t even call them “recipes”; they refer to their preparation methods as “formulae.”)
But here’s the thing: over the years, I’ve gradually become more and more of a pantser with each of the books in my series. I had the opportunity to sit on a panel several years ago which included the talented Laurie R. King, and when we were asked about this plotter/pantser thing, Laurie talked about how she’d been a complete plotter for her first four books, but then switched to the seat-of-your-pants method. “By then I’d figured out how to do it, how to write a mystery novel,” she explained, “so I figured, why not try it the other way? And it worked.” She’s been a devout seat-of-the-pantser ever since.
I thought a lot about what Laurie said that night, and when I embarked on this sixth novel in my series, A Sense for Murder, I decided to throw caution to the wind and went at it without a fully fleshed-out plot. (Mind you, I did have an idea of how the book would start and finish and whodunit, but that long middle was merely the germ of an idea.)
And you know what? It was fun! But a little scary, too—especially when I’d finish a scene and then have no idea where I was going next. I found myself going on long bike rides and talking aloud to myself, asking, “What would Sally so in this situation? What if X happened to her, and then she reacted by doing Y?” The walkers along West Cliff Drive where I like to ride likely wondered why the heck this strange gal was pedaling along talking to herself about murder and mayhem.
But hey—as with Laurie, it worked, and I’m exceedingly pleased with how this new book turned out. So perhaps I’ve made a permanent switch—maybe all those years pantsing it in the kitchen without a recipe has paid off in my writing career!
Thank you for sharing this with us, Leslie, and good luck with A Sense for Murder, a Sally Solari mystery.
About Leslie Karst: Leslie is the author of the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari mystery series and Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops, the Law, and Cooking for RBG. After years waiting tables and singing in a new wave rock band, she decided she was ready for a “real” job and ended up at Stanford Law School. It was during her career as an attorney that Leslie rediscovered her youthful passion for food and cooking and once more returned to school—this time to earn a degree in culinary arts. Now retired from the law, Leslie spends her time cooking, cycling, gardening, observing cocktail hour promptly at five o’clock, and of course writing. She and her wife split their time between Santa Cruz, California, and Hilo, Hawai‘i.
Madeline Mona Moon is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Murder Under a Western Moon, the latest novel in the Mona Moon mystery series.
Welcome, Mona. 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 Cozy Mystery Readers. My name is Madeline Mona Moon. I was born in New York City and am 29 years old. My profession is cartography—at least it was until my estranged uncle died and made me his beneficiary. I was bequeathed the man’s wealth, business empire, and a horse farm in the Kentucky Bluegrass. It was fortuitous as I was out of a job and looking for work during the Great Depression.
My uncle had several stipulations in order for me to inherit. One was that I had to live in Moon Mansion in Kentucky and take over Moon Enterprises which is a conglomerate of businesses. I was wary of the terms, but accepted as I was tired of being hungry and jobless. So I took the first train to Lexington, Ky. and soon discovered the Moon family was not happy with the terms of my uncle’s will—or with me for that matter. Too bad. I overcame my relatives’ distain and discovered I had a knack for business. I discovered I also have a knack for solving murders.
Two years after I stepped off the train, I married an Englishman, Lawrence Robert Emerton Dagobert Farley, Duke of Brynelleth. He had purchased the horse farm next to mine and—well—we just hit it off and got married. We were supposed to be on our honeymoon when I received an urgent telegram stating a murder had been committed at a Moon Enterprises copper mine in Montana, and I needed to come quick.
Forgoing our honeymoon plans reluctantly, Robert and I caught the first train to Montana and investigated the murder while inadvertently placing ourselves in harm’s way. We were followed, threatened, and plunged into mortal danger. Those rugged Westerners play for keeps. I don’t have time right now to tell you all of my adventures in Montana. You simply must read Murder Under A Western Moon for yourself. Trust me—you won’t be bored.
Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too?
Abigail Keam does a wonderful job weaving real people and events into the story to make the mystery more exciting for me. I like the fact she adds an addendum at the end to further explain the history. It would take too long to explain everything what was going in the 1930s myself, but she does a great job of it. However, I don’t let her push her adjectives on me. I am my own person, and I don’t let Miss Abigail shove me around.
How did you evolve as the main character?
I am from New York City, but I have grown to embrace Southern culture, which is more leisurely and quiet. I had lived in dirty tents due to my profession most of my life because I traveled so much for work. I enjoy living in Moon Manor where I can look out a window and see horses rambling in green pastures, hear dogs barking in the distance, and smell the catfish frying up in the kitchen.
Because of my wealth, I am more aware of noblesse oblige—a duty to help those less privileged. I do my best.
Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them?
I enjoy my husband, Robert Farley, who is the Duke of Brynelleth. Of course, he kept his identity a secret when I first met him. He lived next door and was involved with the Thoroughbred industry. I must admit I didn’t like him at first as I didn’t care for his sarcastic humor. We seemed always to be snapping at one another. Maybe it was sexual tension—I don’t know, but when he grabbed and kissed me once—I was enthralled. I couldn’t get Robert out of my mind, so I married him.
What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story?
I travel to Mooncrest Village, the gritty mining camp outside Moon Mine in Montana. I am troubled by the problems I find there—no electricity in the miners’ homes, village store overcharging the miners, lack of food on the miners’ tables. I like to fix things—so I roll up my sleeves, putting things to right. It gives me great satisfaction to right a wrong. Oh, yes, I solve a murder along the way.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book?
I met interesting people in Montana like Maggie Daly, who was an owner of the Anaconda Mine, one of the most famous mines in the world. Montana is a wild, rugged place—not like Kentucky at all with its emerald pastures and white fences. I grew to love its fierce beauty, and the people who migrated there to work in the copper mines, hoping for a fresh start during the Great Depression. Like me, they were determined to move forward regardless of bank failures, the dust bowl, and economic collapse. You can learn more about me from my creator – Abigail Keam. My latest adventure just came out—Murder Under A Western Moon. You can go to https://www.abigailkeam.com/books/murder-under-a-western-moon/ and find your favorite site to download it.
Feel free to sign up for my HoneyBee newsletter – http://www.abigailkeam.com/
I also have giveaways on my author’s Facebook page and TikTok page monthly.
Thank you for answering my questions, Mona, and good luck to you and your author, Abigail Keam, with Murder Under a Western Moon, the latest book in the Mona Moon mystery series.
About Abigail Keam: Award-winning author Abigail Keam writes the Mona Moon Mystery Series—a rags-to-riches 1930s mystery series which includes real people and events into the story. “I am a student of history and love to insert historical information into my mysteries. My goal is to entertain my readers, but if they learn a little something along the way—well, then we are both happy.” She has won many awards for her mysteries, and Murder Under A Western Moon is her 40th novel. Miss Abigail lives on the cliffs above the Kentucky River with her husband and various critters. In her spare time, Miss Abigail is a beekeeper.
Maria Mankin and Maren C Tirabassi are visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Death in the Woods, their latest novel in the Rev & Rye Mystery series.
Welcome to both of you. Let’s get started, shall we?
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too. Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
When we first started thinking about writing our first cozy mystery, Death at Fair Havens, together, we discussed the fact that we needed to write about our friends, or if not them specifically, then fragile, complicated, joyful people like them. We wanted to open a book and feel as though the people on those pages reflected the lives we lead, the fantastic friendships we’ve enjoyed, and the challenges that arise when you’re open to the vulnerability of meaningful relationships.
In this case, we weren’t thinking about romantic relationships, although of course it’s wonderful to write those as well, but we were focused on what it means to involve oneself in a murder investigation when it isn’t your job…and when no one else believes it’s murder. How does that affect a person during the investigation and after the fact? How might it destroy relationships, jobs, and a sense of security? What would it feel like, as women without any magical “gifts” or unusual physical prowess, to choose to repeatedly stand up in dangerous situations to protect those who couldn’t?
In Death in the Woods, the second Rev and Rye mystery, we wanted to focus on the school community that Rye is a part of, the way we had done with Wanda’s parishioners in the first novel. The challenge was that we didn’t want to kill off a student – it felt too dark, so we had to think back to our own adolescence to consider people who would be related to the school in a more tangential way, whose death would affect students and teachers without necessarily devastating them.
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
This story has a number of connections to addiction and drug and alcohol abuse. We didn’t set out to write a story where so many characters are facing these issues, but it’s one of those things where, when you start to pull on one thread, you see the connections light up.
Wanda has to face her own dependence on alcohol when her nephew moves in with her. She notices almost immediately how it affects him, as well as how what she’s considered to be an innocent habit could shatter the fragile new bond between them.
We have a family history of alcohol addiction and have seen how this plays out in myriad ways. We understand how and what the recovery process can look like, as well as what it can be like not to achieve sobriety. In telling these stories, we connect our own experiences to the humanity in these characters that exists beneath the label of addict or substance abuser.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
We started Death at Fair Havens back in August of 2014. We were driving through the White Mountains in New Hampshire and decided it was time to stop talking about the move from writing solely non-fiction and actually write a novel together. Thankfully, we had a legal pad and a pen handy, and as we drove, we brain dumped. All the ideas we had been tossing around for years started to coalesce in those hours – Wanda and Rye, their lives and professions, the people who defined them and the pain they carried – it all started flowing.
In Death in the Woods, several important new characters popped up. Our favorite, Wanda’s nephew Lance, was not a part of our original backstory for her, but once he made an appearance, we knew he would be an integral part of this little family for the rest of the series. It can be difficult to write teenagers, and we never try to capture of the moment slang because it doesn’t feel natural to us, but Lance is a child who has cared for and helped to raise his own mother, so he has a depth of maturity that’s appealing. He’s funny and kind, and also completely clueless in that way that we all are at 16. He has been a joy to write, and we couldn’t imagine the series without him at this point!
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
We draw from places we live or have lived, towns we’ve visited, and in the case of Death in the Woods, we used locations very close to home to capture the details of our setting (a few blocks away close!). We find it easier to keep track of and write about places we both know well, and it makes the writing process much smoother when we don’t have to constantly be asking each other for clarification about the locales!
In this book, most of the places we wrote about were from an area in New Hampshire where we lived for a long time. There is one beautiful house though that comes from a spot in Colorado – it sits in the middle of farmland all on its own, and when we saw it for the first time, the home we had been struggling to write just seemed to fall into place! Now every time we pass it, we wonder what’s really happening inside…
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
Our novels don’t really dive deeply into topics we aren’t already familiar with, but when it comes to procedures or details we want to be sure to capture correctly, we have a number of sources we can turn to for more information. We have friends in law, law enforcement, and medicine, so when we need to double check facts, we can call in the experts!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
It may not be the most important fact about either of us as individuals, but certainly as a team, the fact that we’re mother and daughter has shaped our entire experience writing. We started working together in 2000, and it has proven, over two plus decades, to be a partnership that works.
It seemed natural for us to start a series with two narrators (one in her fifties and one in her thirties), because we’ve spent so much of our lives navigating challenges together. Our values are deeply aligned, but the way that we approach problems – well, all situations, really – is profoundly different because of our upbringings, our generational perspectives, and our personalities. Fortunately for us, it works! It’s a compatibly that we’ve never really questioned but are so lucky to have discovered early on.
Thanks for answering my questions, and good luck with Death in the Woods, the latest book in the Rev & Rye Mystery series.
Readers can learn more about the authors and their writing by visiting the book’s website.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
Maren C. Tirabassi’s forty years’ experience in mainline ministry shape Wanda Duff’s professional life (but not her personality). Tirabassi is a former Poet Laureate of the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and has published poetry and short stories in fifteen anthologies, as well as twenty nonfiction titles.
Maria Mankin, Maren’s daughter, has written five nonfiction books and a thriller, Circ (Pigeon Park Press). Rye’s dilemmas are influenced by Mankin’s ten years in education as a teacher and administrator. She holds a degree in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College.
Jill Piscitello is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about A Sour Note, her first novel in the Music Box Mystery series.
Welcome, Jill. Let’s get started, shall we?
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.
A Sour Note follows an unemployed amateur sleuth’s journey as she navigates a new career path and the end of an engagement. The discovery of a corpse outside a music school in Hampton, NH leads to public scrutiny of Maeve and her friends. This book is the first in the Music Box Mystery series. I look forward to following the sleuth and her quirky cast of family members and friends.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
I’m an avid reader of cozy mysteries and wanted to add a bit of glitz and glamour to the life of my amateur sleuth. After a failed engagement to a famous news correspondent, she’s already dodging the press when she discovers the body of a social media darling. I love a great paranormal cozy and wove in a few of those elements in the form of Maeve’s aversion to her cousin’s unsolicited clairvoyant advice.
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
New beginnings and pushing past regrets are the themes underlying this series. After impulsive actions, Maeve is often plagued by bouts of anxiety. Like so many of us, she’s guilty of playing the “I should’ve ___ instead” game. Who else replays conversations in their heads and edits for all of the things they wish they’d said in the moment? I hoped to portray a woman who learns to forgive herself for taking a risk that didn’t pan out as the glittering success she’d planned.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
I start with an initial idea of what challenges characters are facing and their personality traits, but they have a funny way of taking the reins from there. I tend to favor the older women in my books. Both of my grandmothers hugely impacted my life. I think that’s why, in all of my books, an older woman (mom, stepmom, neighbor) plays a prominent role.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
My family has spent years vacationing in Hampton Beach, NH. This provided me with an insider’s perspective on the location. I hope readers catch a glimmer of the sights, sounds, and entertainment of the beautiful setting.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
Most of my research revolved around police procedures. The next book will take place during the fall season and will require more research into what life is like at the beach once the tourists leave.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
I hope readers end the book feeling as if they’ve taken an exciting trip to the beach and met a charming cast of characters they’ll look forward to visiting again.
Thanks for answering my questions, Jill, and good luck with A Sour Note, the first book in Music Box Mystery series.
About Jill Piscitello: Jill is a teacher, author, and an avid fan of multiple literary genres. Although she divides her reading hours among several books at a time, a lighthearted story offering an escape from the real world can always be found on her nightstand.
A native of New England, Jill lives with her family and three well-loved cats. When not planning lessons or reading and writing, she can be found spending time with her family, trying out new restaurants, traveling, and going on light hikes.
dianneascroft.com 