Murder Up To Bat

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Elizabeth McKenna is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Murder Up To Bat, her latest novel in the Front Page Mystery series.

Welcome, Elizabeth. 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.

Murder up to Bat is Book 2 in my Front Page Mystery series. The Great Jewel Robbery (Book 1) introduced readers to Emma and Grace, news reporters who have been friends since college. Emma is a bit wacky and impulsive, while Grace does her best to keep her friend in line. When confronted with a mystery or murder, they rely on their investigative skills to solve it.

In Murder up to Bat, their friend Luke, who owns a gym catering to athletes, is accused of killing the head coach of his travel softball team. Hoping to prove reasonable doubt and free Luke, Emma and Grace zero in on several suspects, including a drug-pushing carnival worker and the assistant softball coaches.

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

My daughters played several sports, including softball. Over the years, I witnessed profanity-laced tantrums from coaches and parents and even police intervention due to threatening behavior. All because an adult took winning a game or a tournament too seriously. It was often embarrassing and sometimes frightening. My story takes the need to win a step further – into murder.

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

One of the themes is the unnecessary pressure we put on our children to win, no matter the cost. My daughters enjoyed sports because they liked to hang out with their friends. Winning a game was a bonus, and losing hurt, but at the end of the day, they remember being with their friends. My youngest played college softball for two years. She said the day she stopped was the best day of college to that point. The pressure was creating so much anxiety that she was miserable. Her coach didn’t understand and called her weak. I thought it was terrible that an authority figure didn’t support my daughter’s decision to put her mental health first.

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

Throughout my books, my main characters have a bit of me in them. Luckily, as a Gemini, I have several personalities to pull from! Other characters come from friends and family. A high school friend recently scolded me because he hasn’t been included in a book yet. Of all my books, Cera and Jake from Cera’s Place are still my favorite characters. I guess I love my “firstborns” the best.

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

The setting for the Front Page Mystery series is the area I have lived in for the past twenty years. I did change a few things to make it easier on the reader, but I used real businesses and town names etc. It’s easier to write what you know.

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

I try to make my stories as accurate as possible, so I’m constantly doing internet searches. For example, having never been arrested, I didn’t know Wisconsin’s procedures or even what a reasonable bail would be for the crime Luke is accused of. So, I read numerous state statutes and law firm web pages to educate myself.

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

Murder up to Bat is a quick read – as is The Great Jewel Robbery (Book 1). If you are new to the series, I encourage you to start with Book 1, though both are standalone stories. For September and October, the ebook version of The Great Jewel Robbery is discounted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Writing Murder up to Bat was a struggle, and it took me longer than usual to complete it. I started it days before the 2020 pandemic took over our lives. I didn’t write for almost two years with all of the chaos and tragedies. But eventually, I got my groove back, and the story became fun to write as I remembered when my children were young and living with me. Thank you for spending some of your precious time with me, and I hope you enjoy my story.

Thanks for answering my questions, Elizabeth, and good luck with Murder Up To Batl, the latest book in Front Page Mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Elizabeth and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook, Goodreads and Instagram pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Smashwords

About Elizabeth McKenna: Elizabeth’s love of books reaches back to her childhood, where her tastes ranged from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to Stephen King’s horror stories. She had never read a romance novel until her sister gave her the latest bestseller by Nora Roberts. She was hooked from page one (actually, she admits it was the first love scene).

Her novels reflect her mercurial temperament and include historical romances, contemporary romances, cozy mysteries, and dark mysteries. With some being “clean” and some being “naughty,” she has a book for your every mood. Elizabeth lives in Wisconsin with her understanding husband and Sidney, the rescue dog from Tennessee. When she isn’t writing, reading, editing, or walking the dog that never tires, she’s sleeping.

Posted in October 2022 | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Ghost Cat on the Midway

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Mollie Hunt is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Ghost Cat on the Midway, her latest novel in the Tenth Life Mystery series.

Welcome, Mollie. 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.

Ghost Cat on the Midway is the second book in the Tenth Life Cosy Mystery Series featuring septuagenarian Camelia Collins who recently moved from her city home to the small coastal town of Ocean Cove. What she pictured as a quiet retirement is soon disrupted by an unexpected presence. Her property comes with a ghost cat! Thankfully Soji is a gentle if spritely spirit who helps Camelia out of a few fixes, some of which involve murder.

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

As a cat person, I’ve often contemplated the possibility of ghost cats. As I asked around my cat-people friends, I found I wasn’t the only one. A great number had experienced what they considered to be visitations from their felines who had crossed Beyond. I knew I wasn’t the only fiction writer to create a ghost cat character, but once Soji came to me and showed me her potential, I had no choice but to build a story around her.

The mystery for this particular book came to me as ideas always do—bit by bit as I got to know the new characters and their situations. In other words, they tell me what’s going to happen, not the other way around.

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

Unlike my Crazy Cat Lady Series which, with the central character being a cat shelter volunteer, follows the theme of cat rescue and advocacy, the Tenth Life series is blissfully benign. But that in itself is the underlying premise, one of easy reading as a respite in a difficult world.

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

As I mentioned, my characters tend to come to me. They walk, run, jump, leap, or swager into the story and demand my attention. Sometimes they look and act like someone I know or have seen on TV; other times they spring from my imagination, and who am I to say no? The cats tend to be my favourites.

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

As I am the same age as Camelia, I’ve been around a bit. I’ve done some traveling and tend to remember those places with an artist’s eye. Most of Ghost Cat takes place in a small town on the Oregon Coast, an area I’ve toured all my life. Ocean Cove is fictitious, but it could be one of many on that route. I use colour, scent, sound, and touch along with visual descriptions to create a complete picture.

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

Even for the lightest fiction, some research is required. If I don’t know about something, I’ll find out before committing it to the page. Sometimes that entails online work and others I need to go farther afield.

In Ghost Cat on the Midway, one character, 17-year-old Yui Smith, is involved in 4-H and horses. Though I have experience with county fairs, I had to get an expert to help with that subject. Big thanks to Reagen Richey and her mom Kari for the fun and helpful information about 4-H, horse competitions, and horses in general.

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

Thanks for reading, or even thinking about reading my book! It means so much to me to share my stories. Though I would still write them if I were the only person on Earth, there is a special bond between an author and their readers that is as satisfying as petting a purring cat. (Well, almost.)

Thanks to Ascroft eh? for asking thought-provoking questions, as well as for spotlighting me and Ghost Cat on the Midway

Thanks for answering my questions, Mollie, and good luck with Ghost Cat on the Midway, the latest book in the Tenth Life Mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Mollie and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram pages. Readers can also sign up for her extremely informal newsletter.

The novel is available online at  Amazon

About Mollie Hunt: Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the award-winning author of two cozy series, the Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and the Tenth Life Mysteries. Her Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy features extraordinary cats saving the world. Mollie also pens a bit of cat poetry.

Posted in Archives, September 2022 | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Guilty as Framed

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Lois Winston, author of Guilty as Framed, an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about weaving the plot of her latest book around the theft of several Rembrandt paintings.

Welcome, Lois. I’ll turn the floor over to you –

I fell in love with the paintings of Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn the first time I walked through the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. From that day on, I spent many hours seated in front of my favorite of his paintings, Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer. I even wrote a paper on the painting my senior year of high school.

Because of my love of Rembrandt’s works, I was devastated when the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was burglarized in 1990. Three of the thirteen works of art stolen were by Rembrandt, two paintings and an etching. These included his only seascape, “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee”, a painting that was nearly five-and-a-half-feet tall, and the postage stamp sized “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” an etching, also known as “Rembrandt ‘Aux Trois Moustaches.”

For years, I followed the investigation, reading articles and newspaper accounts and watching documentaries on the crime, always hoping the stolen works would be found intact and the perpetrators caught. Thirty-two years later, neither has occurred. Most of the people questioned by Boston P.D. and the FBI through the years, including persons of interest, witnesses, and relatives, have since died. To this day, the crime is considered the greatest art theft in history.

For the eleventh book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, I decided to create a story that would incorporate the actual museum burglary and the missing artworks. This gave me quite a challenge. I had to figure out how I could connect a decades-old museum heist in Boston to my humorous New Jersey-set cozy mystery. I did so by digging into the weeds of the crime and taking some authorial liberties. Many of the facts from the actual case make their way into Guilty as Framed, with names changed to protect the innocent and the not-so-innocent. Although Anastasia doesn’t solve the mystery of what happened to the stolen artworks or who stole them, she does find herself inadvertently drawn into the unsolved crime and as usual, racing to unmask a killer.

Guilty as Framed

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 11

When an elderly man shows up at the home of reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack, she’s drawn into the unsolved mystery of the greatest art heist in history.

Boston mob boss Cormac Murphy has recently been released from prison. He doesn’t believe Anastasia’s assertion that the man he’s looking for doesn’t live at her address and attempts to muscle his way into her home. His efforts are thwarted by Anastasia’s fiancé Zack Barnes.

A week later, a stolen SUV containing a dead body appears in Anastasia’s driveway. Anastasia believes Murphy is sending her a message. It’s only the first in a series of alarming incidents, including a mugging, a break-in, another murder, and the discovery of a cache of jewelry and an etching from the largest museum burglary in history.

But will Anastasia solve the mystery behind these shocking events before she falls victim to a couple of desperate thugs who will stop at nothing to get what they want?

Thank you for sharing this with us, Lois, and good luck with Guilty as Framed, an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery.

Readers can learn more about Lois Winston by visiting the author’s website and blog, and her Goodreads, Pinterest and Bookbub pages. Readers can also follow her on Twitter.

The book is available online at the following retailers: 

 Amazon – Nook – Kobo – iBookstore 

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 under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. 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.

Posted in Archives, September 2022 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A Night to Remember

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Riley Gordan is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about A Night to Remember, the latest novel in the Adairsville Heritage Mystery series.

Welcome, Riley. 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 am Riley Gordan. I live inside A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, which is book #2 in the Adairsville Heritage Mystery Series. My brother Kirby and I arrived in Adairsville in book #1 to settle our Uncle James’ estate. We soon discovered that Uncle James had not died in an accident but had been murdered. It almost cost Kirby his life, but we were able to expose our uncle’s killer. Now, in book two, after a year of law school, I am back in Adairsville for the summer looking forward to a leisurely vacation with my friend, Trish. Then one of my Sunday School girls is kidnapped. Stumbling upon the abduction, Trish, Connie, and I are pulled headfirst into a search for the girl. We battle a Neanderthal called Houston, confront an old man with a big gun, and find ourselves in lots of dangerous places. Eventually it becomes a matter of murder. That’s when my big brother steps in.    

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

I think the writer intended to exercise complete control over the story, but he soon found himself being led by me and other characters in a different direction than he had planned. He remembered that sometimes the best story is the result of allowing the characters to have their way. This is a book in which the author listened to the characters. The result is a smooth, exciting, and unstrained story in which several characters are allowed to shine.   

How did you evolve as the main character?

In book one, my brother, Kirby, took the lead, causing one reviewer to remark, “I feel like I got to know Kirby, but I want to know Riley.” To a certain degree, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is my story. It’s not until the second half of the book that Kirby makes his appearance. His presence is strongly felt when he does arrive, but, early on, the reader has opportunity to learn more about me. Some of my weaknesses are apparent, but so are certain strengths of character. I’ve not gotten it all together by the end of the story, but progress is evident. It is my hope that the better you get to know me, the more you will like me.                  

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

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is overflowing with interesting characters. A good mystery requires an ample number of people. My college friend, Trish, is at my side throughout this adventure with her loyalty, her sense of humor, her paranoia, and her sweetness. She is to me what Bess and George were to Nancy Drew. The story revolves around the beautiful friendship of an old baseball player turned politician and a spunky adolescent who are known around town as “Nate and the Kid.” Getting to know them is a special treat. Then there are Amos and Carol. I can’t forget the two people who are parental stand-ins for both Kirby and me. Carol makes the best soup in town and Amos is one of the wisest people I’ve ever known.      

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

Adairsville, Georgia is a small town of five thousand people nestled in the foothills of North Georgia where the pines, and especially, the oaks stand tall. It is where some super resilient men and women reside as well as where some rather eccentric individuals hang their hats. The movers and shakers gather for breakfast at the Little Rock Café most mornings. It is a place where the best place to go for local news is the barbershop. You will find a better than average number of people in the pews of its several churches on Sunday mornings. History is everywhere and tradition is important to the citizens of the little town. When in Adairsville, my home is a beautiful little apartment in what was once a church building. My brother, Kirby, also has an apartment in the building as Amos and Carol. That building is just one of the treasures left to us by a loving uncle. When I run the streets in the mornings, I’m seeing fewer and fewer people I don’t know.         

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

Kirby and I love being in Adairsville. It’s where our father and his brother James spent their childhood, but Dad became a pastor and lived most of his adult life in the Boston, Massachusetts area. That’s where we called home in our earlier years. It’s been five years now since Dad and Mom went down in that plane crash while returning from a mission trip. Those years have been hard for Kirby and me, but in Adairsville we have discovered a new home and a supportive group of people that has put some stability back into our lives.  

Thank you for answering my questions, Riley, and good luck to you and your authors, Danny and Wanda Pelfrey, with A Night to Remember, the latest book in the Adairsville Heritage Mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Riley and her authors Danny and Wanda Pelfrey by visiting the authors’ website and their Facebook and Goodreads pages. Readers can also follow them on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon    Barnes & Noble     CrossLink

About Danny and Wanda Pelfrey: The Pelfreys are graduates of Atlanta Christian College (now Point University). Danny earned a masters from Kentucky Christian University. He spent 45 years in the pastorate. Wanda served as a primary Montessori teacher for twenty-four years. They have two daughters and are blessed with five amazing grandchildren.

Wanda’s career as a writer took off shortly after college, when she started writing curriculum and educational aids for a variety of publishers. Her book, MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR CHILD’S TEACHABLE MOMENTS, published by Moody Press went through several printings and brought her a lot of attention and respect as a writer. However, she put her writing career on hold shortly thereafter to become a teacher.

Danny’s interest in writing was fostered by his wife’s love of the craft. He wrote articles for various publications, a newspaper column, and eventually three non-fiction books. Traditional publisher CrossLink released three of the four Davis Morgan Mysteries co-authored by the couple, as well as the first two books in the Adairsville Heritage Mystery series. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is #2 in the Adairsville Heritage series.

The Pelfreys live in their little Cape Cod cottage in their small north Georgia hometown of Adairsville, Georgia which serves as the setting for their mysteries with a message. They enjoy a life that is often centered around their five grandchildren and their love for putting words on paper.

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Deadly Traditions: a Christmas Traditions themed mystery anthology

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Maxine “Max” Englebright is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas, her story in Deadly Traditions, a Christmas Traditions themed multi-author anthology, and the Ghostly Fashionista series where she usually lives.

Welcome, Max. 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, darling! I’m Maxine “Max” Englebright, and I live inside the Ghostly Fashionista series. In fact, I’m the titular character! Isn’t that the elephant’s eyebrows? I died in 1930 and am tethered to my house, which is now a consortium of small businesses. Imagine my delight when Amanda Tucker, a retro fashion designer, moved into the building and was able to see and talk with me! I hadn’t had a friend in decades! And guess what else? She introduced me to books that can be read on a tablet. I can’t touch physical objects, but I can maneuver electrical things and am able to read books and watch videos. I’m having the time of my—well, my afterlife!

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

Amanda usually tells our stories from her point of view, which is fine by me. I have absolute trust that she won’t misrepresent me. But I’m really excited about Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas, which is my story in the DEADLY TRADITIONS anthology. In that story, it’s all about me and a Christmas mystery my family and I solved together when I was younger. It made me nostalgic to look back, but the holidays are good for that, aren’t they?

How did you evolve as the main character?

I’m really not the main character, darling. I know I should be, but our stories could get boring if they were all from my POV. Okay, probably not, but I realize readers want to visit more than one location in a book. For instance, in DESIGNS ON MURDER, the first book in the series, Amanda went all over Abingdon, Virginia, the place where we live. In PERILS AND LACE, she visited (and allowed me to peep in through something called a livestream) a high school where she made costumes for a presentation of Beauty and the Beast. In CHRISTMAS CLOCHES AND CORPSES, we investigated a nursing home; and in BUTTONS AND BLOWS, she made costumes for a Renaissance Faire. We have the best time, even if there is a murder here and there.

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

Oh, I dearly love Amanda’s grandfather, Dave. I call him a silver fox. That phrase wasn’t in my vocabulary until I heard one of the other merchants say it, but it suits Dave. He can also see and hear me. The Tuckers and I have a special connection. I also adore Zoe and Dwight.

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

It’s ever so charming! I’ll ask Gayle (the writer) to send you a photograph of the house on which she based our building. In the first book’s author’s notes, she gives you a bit of history on the house. Plus, Abingdon is filled with historic sites. If you ever go, you should be sure to visit the Barter Theatre, which boasts such illustrious alumni as Gregory Peck and Patricia Neal.

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

Only that I hope they’ll enjoy it! We have so much fun at Designs on You—that’s Amanda’s shop—and we’d love to have them join us.

Thank you for answering my questions, Max, and good luck to you and your author, Gayle Leeson, and all the other authors in Deadly Traditions, the Christmas Traditions themed mystery collection.

Readers can learn more about Max and her author, Gayle Leeson by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Pinterest pages. You can also watch her Youtube channel and follow her on Twitter.

The Deadly Traditions anthology is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon

About Gayle Leeson: Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. Gayle has also written as Amanda Lee. She is currently writing the Kinsey Falls chick-lit/women’s fiction series, the Down South Cafe cozy mystery series, and the Ghostly Fashionista cozy mystery series. Her book KILLER WEDDING CAKE won the Bronze Medal in the 20th Anniversary IPPY Awards. Gayle lives in Southwest Virginia with her family and enjoys hearing from readers.

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Photo Finished

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Lori Roberts Herbst is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Photo Finished, her latest novel in the Callie Cassidy Mystery series.

Welcome, Lori. 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.

Set in Rock Creek Village, Colorado, the Callie Cassidy Mystery series follows a middle-aged former investigative photojournalist. Following a glitch in her career, Callie has moved back to the mountainside town of her youth, along with her golden retriever, Woody. Soon, she realizes she’s done with big-city life, and she begins to settle in, reconnecting with old friends and discovering new ones, like a stray tabby cat she and Woody call Carl. Callie eventually opens a photo gallery—and solves a few murders, of course.

Photo Finished, the fourth book in the series, finds Callie on a girls’ trip to a dude ranch in Mustang, Colorado, to celebrate her best friend Tonya’s upcoming wedding. All she wants is a fun-filled week with her girlfriends. But a town conflict over the ranch property keeps interfering, and when an obnoxious local woman turns up dead, it’ll be up to Callie and her posse to solve the crime.

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

After three books set in Rock Creek Village, I knew I wanted to take Callie someplace new for one installment. Since she and Tonya just emerged from a rough patch in their friendship, it made sense Callie would want to do something special for the bride-to-be. The girls’ week idea enabled me to bring much of the cast to Mustang, too. Though I’m not sure how a dude ranch popped into my head, I knew right away it was perfect. Horses, snakes, trees, and lakes—what a perfect setting for a murder mystery!

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

In each book, I try to weave in a subplot that involves personal growth and relationship growth. Callie is forty-four years old, but she’s devoted the past twenty-five years, almost her entire adult life, to the pursuit of a fast-paced career. It’s left her little time to “find herself.” As skilled as she was professionally, she is a rookie when it comes to gaining insight and maintaining friendships. In this particular book, Callie grapples with the green-eyed monster. The exploration of jealousy seeps into other areas of the plot as well.

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

The creation of characters is a bit magical to me. The people in my books are truly fictional, but sometimes it feels as if there is a real-life cast running around in my subconscious, waiting to be born. Not sure what it says about me, but villains, especially, come to me with a vivid three-dimensionality.

As far as favorites, I love Callie, of course. If I could pluck her off the pages of my books, I’d enjoy having her as a friend, flaws and all. I also have a soft spot for Callie’s parents, Maggie and Butch. Having lost my own parents, their presence evoke a tenderness that makes me feel safe and cared for. And then there’s…oh, for goodness sake, I could add all the regulars. I love them all!

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

The mountains are my happy place. They’re not easily accessible when you live in Texas, so my husband and I travel to Colorado as often as time and budget allow. Our favorite places are Estes Park and Manitou Springs. When we’re there, I try to soak in every detail for later life on the pages of the books.

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

Google has become a writer’s best friend. I’m sometimes slightly concerned that if the police ever suspect me of some dastardly deed, my Google history will provide a treasure trove of evidence! From snake venom to electrocution to how much Ambien it would take to knock a person out, I look guilty of almost any crime.

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

Writing Photo Finished gave me such pleasure—it may have been the most fun I’ve had with a book. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did creating it!

Thanks for answering my questions, Lori, and good luck with Photo Finished, the latest book in the Cassie Cassidy Mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Lori and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and Bookbub pages.

The novel is available online at  Amazon

About Lori Roberts Herbst: Lori writes the Callie Cassidy Mystery series, and has spent much of her life writing, editing, and psychoanalyzing. Through thirty years of teaching journalism, advising newspaper and yearbook staff, instructing budding photographers, and counselling teenagers, she still managed to hang on to a modicum of sanity. Her books have earned first-place CIBA awards in the Murder and Mayhem division. She currently serves as secretary of the Sisters in Crime North Dallas chapter and is a member of the Sisters in Crime Guppies and the Mystery Writers of America.

Posted in September 2022 | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Dewey Decimated

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Carrie Singleton is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Dewey Decimated, the latest novel in the Haunted Library mystery series.

Welcome, Carrie. 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 Carrie Singleton and I live inside DEWEY DECIMATED, which is the sixth book in the Haunted Library series. I am the head of programs and events at the Clover Ridge Library and my life is filled with adventures and murders. I am the only adult who can see the ghost of Evelyn Havers, a former library aide who helps me solve murders. In DEWEY DECIMATED, the building next to the library in undergoing renovations to become an addition to the library. When the workers break through the connecting wall, the confused ghost of the dead man found in the building’s basement wanders into the library. Evelyn and I have to keep him hidden away so he doesn’t frighten the patrons while we discover who murdered him.

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

I have a say regarding the events of the story. After all, it’s my story and I know what should be happening, right?

How did you evolve as the main character?

I suppose it’s because I was able to see Evelyn, who is kind of the library’s guardian angel. Also, it turns out I’m very good at investigating homicides and finding murderers.

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

Many characters are very dear to me starting with my fiancé, Dylan, who loves me and doesn’t try to stop me from investigating. My best friend Angela who understands me; my great-aunt Harriet and great-uncle Bosco who gave me a home when I felt lost and helped me find my place in Clover Ridge. And Evelyn, who has taught me a lot. And my dad, Jim Singleton, who gave up his crooked life and became an upstanding citizen and the best dad I could ever want.

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

I’m very excited about the new library addition, especially the new stadium-seated auditorium where I plan to present many wonderful programs and performances. I also want to learn more about the ghost, who turns out to be Dylan’s uncle, someone Dylan hasn’t seen in ages.

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

I have to deal with this brash, in-your-face TV investigative reporter who is also investigating the dead man found in the building. Of course she has no idea his ghost is hidden away in the library. But she’s a thorn in my side because she keeps on making digs about our police chief, who happens to be my friend. Even worse, she wants me to join forces with her to solve the murder. Since she has amazing resources and I’m investigating the murder anyway, I just might give in and form the duo she’s after.

Thank you for answering my questions, Carrie, and good luck to you and your author, Allison Brook, with Dewey Decimated, the latest book in the Haunted Library mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Carrie and her author, Allison Brook by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Goodreads, and Bookbub pages. Readers can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon      Penguin Random House    B&N    Kobo    Google Play 

About Allison Brook: A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook, she writes the Haunted Library series. DEATH OVERDUE, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel in 2018. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series and the Twin Lakes series.

Her juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children’s Book Council Children’s Choice. And Don’t Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards.

Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, and chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids.

Posted in Archives, September 2022 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Mystery of the Tea Cup Quilt

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Dove Agnew is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about The Mystery of the Tea Cup Quilt, the first novel in the Harland Creek Mystery Quilters series.

Welcome, Dove. Let’s get started, shall we?

Tell us about the novel you live in? Is this part of a series?
Hi! I’m Dove Agnew and I’m the main character in The Mystery of the Tea Cup Quilt. It is the first book in the Harland Creek Mystery Quilters series. It is set in my small town of Harland Creek. I had to move back to Harland Creek after my career in New York went belly up. I’m trying to keep the reasons for that on the downlow but it’s a small town and people like to be all up your business.

Anyway, back to the novel. I moved back in with my mom, Mildred Agnew, and I’m helping her at her quilt shop. I am really good at sewing, especially on the longarm machine. Well, imagine my surprise when we show up at the quilt shop and find Gertrude Brown, dead! Now everyone is pointing fingers at me since I was the last person to see her alive. And it doesn’t help that my ex is now the chief of police and he doesn’t believe me when I tell him I didn’t do it.

So now I have to enlist the Harland Creek quilting ladies who want to help me solve the case before they put me in the slammer. Oh, and they insist on bringing that goat Petunia along while we are checking out leads.

How do you evolve as a character?

Oh I’m constantly evolving. A lot of things I’ve shunned about small town life, I’m now enjoying. I’m actually enjoying being around the quilting ladies. They may be bossy, but they are funny and fiercely loyal. Both things I admire.

Do you have other characters you like sharing the novel with?

I adore all my quilting ladies, well except maybe not Bernice. She’s kind of a hard egg to crack. But the other ladies are great. It’s hard to pic a favorite.  My favorite animal, hands down, is Petunia. She’s a goat and she thinks she’s an investigator. I think she’s just lucky.

Is there anything else you want the readers to know about this book?

Yes. People tend to have an idea about small towns. But I think they are a lot more complex than people give them credit for. Yes, people know your business and want to tell you how to live. But the people in a small town are the first ones to show up when things go wrong and help you through the bad times.

Small town living isn’t for everyone. But it’s certainly open to everyone.

Thank you for answering my questions, Dove, and good luck to you and your author, Jodi Allen Brice, with The Mystery of the Tea Cup Quilt, the first book in the Harland Creek Mystery Quilters series.

Readers can learn more about Dove and her author, Jodi Allen Brice by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook page.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – Kobo –  Google –  nook 

About Jodi Allen Brice: Jodi has written numerous books under different pen names. Under Jodi Allen Brice she writes women’s fiction, small town clean sweet romance, and cozy mysteries.

She transitioned away from paranormal romance in the year 2020 when the virus hit. She still writes about lovable characters who overcome the impossible to get what they want. You’ll find yourself laughing and crying when you are reading her books. She is also an avid quilter and camping. Sometimes she does both at the same time!

Posted in Archives, September 2022 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder

Posted on August 30, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Valerie Burns is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Two Parts Sugar, One Par Murder, her first novel in the Baker Street Mysteries series.

Welcome, Valerie. 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.

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder is the first book in my new Baker Street Mystery series. This is a culinary cozy mystery series about a young woman, Madison Montgomery, who is a social media influencer

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

I was born and raised in a town that was 90 miles from Chicago. After graduating from a college, I lived in Southwestern Michigan on the shores of Lake Michigan. At the time, I marvelled at the price difference between lake front property in Chicago compared to that along the same lake in Michigan. Eventually, word spread and Chicago residents began buying up all of the lakefront property. There was even a rumor that Chicago’s mayor and several individuals connected to organized crime had vacation homes in Southwestern Michigan. The cut throat world of real estate development is the theme at the heart of the story.

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

My protagonist, Maddy Montgomery, is a social media influencer who inherits a house, a bakery, and a 250 lb English mastiff named Baby. Maddy has never owned a home, cooked, run a business, or taken care of anyone else other than herself. When it comes to fashion or posting on social media, she’s confident and sure. In other areas of her life, not so much. She’s relied on others to support her and to tell her what to do, including her father, a navy admiral. Over the course of the book Maddy learns to bake, run a business, care for Baby, and catch a killer.

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

I love to do what I call “Frankensteining” characters. This involves taking elements of different people and putting them together to make a fictional character. I may take one person’s laugh, another person’s eclectic style of clothes, and a third person’s nervous habit. I combine all of those into one unique new person.

My favorite characters are Nana Jo and “the girls” from my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. These are a group of senior citizens that are energetic, vibrant, fearless, and brave. These feisty seniors don’t care what people think about them and I wish that I had their spunk.

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

Usually, the settings in my books are fictionalized versions of real places. New Bison, Michigan won’t appear on any maps. However, New Buffalo, Michigan will. I used to live in Southwestern Michigan, so I’m very familiar with the area and can draw on various places which I know, while writing.

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

Research is one of my favorite parts of writing. However, I have to limit myself. I love learning new things and if I’m not careful, I can spend hours reading, and surfing the Internet. I love looking for specific details that make a fictional person or place feel real.

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

The Baker Street Mystery series is a culinary cozy mystery and includes delicious recipes that readers can try at home.

Thanks for answering my questions, Valerie, and good luck with Two Parts Sugar One Part Murder, the first book in the Baker Street Mysteries series.

Readers can learn more about Valerie and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub, and Instagram pages. Readers can also follow her on Twitter.  

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon – Apple – Books-A-Million – Barnes and Noble – Bookshop.org – Google Play – Hudson Booksellers – IndieBound – Target – KOBO

About Valerie (V. M.) Burns: Valerie is the author of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. Her first book, The Plot is Murder, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Debut Novel. She is the author of the Dog Club Mystery Series, the RJ Franklin Mysteries, a three-time finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and an Edgar Award-nominated short story. Her newest series, Baker Street Mysteries, will release later this year, and her Pet Detective Mystery series will release in 2023. Valerie is on the board of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a member of Dog Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, and International Thriller Writers. She is a manager for a Fortune 100 company and a mentor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie currently lives in the southeastern United States with her two poodles. 

Posted in Archives, August 2022 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Concession Stand Crimes

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Nicole Asselin is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Concession Stand Crimes, her latest novel in the Ballpark Mystery series.

Welcome, Nicole. 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.

It is a series! The Ballpark Mystery series starts with MURDER AT FIRST PITCH. That book introduces Madeline and the Abington Armadillos to people. CONCESSION STAND CRIMES continues to follow her adventures. They can be read as standalone books, but the series makes a lot of sense in order.

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

I’m not 100% familiar with the world of concession stand management, but I wondered if it was as cutthroat as the restaurant industry. Would people kill for a prime concession stand in a ballpark? People have killed for less! I thought the drama of that whole situation might make an intriguing storyline in a small ballpark. Plus, I got to add in a partying socialite beer heiress, which was fun to write. And I got to name her after one of my favourite drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race, Alaska (NSFW last name).

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

Family is the most important theme of the book. It’s a family run ballpark, and Madeline comes to realize just how much support and love she has from her family during the trying times. After going away to college and having a separate career, she comes back and finds a comfortable spot at home which makes her wonder what she was looking for in previous jobs. Her brother has the opposite journey. He’s worked for the family for years and is now yearning to spread his wings. My family is very important to me, even if we sometimes get on each other’s nerves.

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

Most of the characters are loosely based on people in my real life. Not perfect recreations of them, but they have some personality traits they share with real people. Madeline is loosely based on me. I’ll get that out of the way now. Everyone who knows me and reads the book tells me they picture me. Which is nice! Madeline’s a good character! I also love writing Eliza. She’s the spunky side character and just encapsulates all my friends from here on the South Shore of Massachusetts. She’s just the type of friend a person would need. Not afraid to tell someone when they were being stupid, but also there for whenever their friends need them.

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

I decided to set my series in the actual town I live in. While part of it was practicality (I know where everything is!), another part of it was because the vibe of Abington, MA was the vibe I wanted for my ballpark. While there is no actual ballpark here, most of the other landmarks are as described. Luckily the town has been accepting of me since I moved here 10 years ago, and I wanted to spread that love!

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

A lot of my research involved going to baseball games. Or watching baseball games. And reading tons of mysteries. Which to me is the best kind of research. I also read a book call “The Only Rule is it Has to Work” which is about two twentysomething dudes who bought an independent league baseball team in California to see what it would be like. I mean, that’s the dream. Just being able to by a team and park. Baseball everyday? I’m into it!

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

You don’t have to be a baseball fan to like this book! Like other cosy mysteries, the location is a supporting character, not the main focus. If you think baseball is boring, which I disagree with, you’ll still like the family elements of the story. If you like baseball, you’ll find easter eggs for baseball fans everywhere. If you’re a mystery fan in general, you should enjoy this series!

Thanks for answering my questions, Nicole, and good luck with Concession Stand Crimes, the latest book in the Ballpark Mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Nicole and her writing by visiting her website and her Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and TikTok pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon –  Nicole Asselin Writer 

About Nicole Asselin: Nicole spent her formative high school years in the middle of Pennsylvania but always identified with her New England roots. Nicole’s family is originally from Connecticut, and her Grandpa Asselin introduced her to the Red Sox nation where she has been a member for her whole life and her Grandma Asselin introduced her to the world of mystery novels. Now those two loves are combined into her new Ballpark Mystery series.

Nicole graduated from Curry College in Milton Mass with a degree in English/Creative Writing, minoring in Dance in 2004. She also attended George Mason University and received a Master’s in Arts Management. She worked in the Government sector for over ten years before transitioning to Healthcare. Now working just outside of Boston as a Technical Writer, she lives on the South Shore of Massachusetts with her three cats Julia, Jacques, and Madeline (no relation to the main character of her book).

Posted in Archives, August 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments