When Murder Makes the Headlines

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Irene Ingram is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Front Page Murder, the first novel in the Homefront News mystery series.

Welcome, Irene. 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.

First off, my name is Irene Ingram and I’m the editor in chief of my pop’s newspaper, the Progress Herald. Pop knew we’d be going to war when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He pulled some strings with his buddy in the war department and got assigned to be a war correspondent. Things get complicated when I assign one of my reporters to cover a robbery at the hardware store. It turns out it wasn’t a robbery. To make a long story short, my reporter ends up dead and I have to figure out what happens. Front Page Murder is the first book in the Homefront News Mysteries. In book two, Death on a Deadline, I have to figure out who killed a B-movie actor in town for our war bond drive.

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

Oh, I get a say, believe me. She starts with a loose outline, but things don’t always go like she planned.

How did you evolve as the main character?

I’m not really sure, but I’m glad I’m in charge.

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

Well, my best friend, Peggy works with me. She was Pop’s secretary and now she’s mine, although I think of her as more of a co-worker. She keeps me out of trouble most of the time. Then there’s my younger sister, Lily. She’s a big fan of Frank Sinatra and a pretty good artist. Her drawings are the cat’s meow.

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

You mean the town where I live? Progress, Pennsylvania is a small town, pretty close to Pittsburgh and Butler. It’s a nice place to live. Everyone knows everyone else, although with the expansion of Tabor Ironworks—they’re making nuts, bolts, and rivets for the war effort—there are a lot of new people around. We have the same things most towns have—a movie theater, drug store, an A&P grocery, a hardware store, and a beauty salon. Oh, there’s also a Woolworth’s. I often eat at their lunch counter. I recommend the egg salad. Whatever you do, don’t get the meatloaf. We also have a nice park in the town square and everyone pitched in to put in a victory garden. We have a great police department. As a matter of fact, the police chief is my future father in law. My fiancé, Bill, was on the force, but he’s now in the army training with the Third Armored Division.

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

Only that I’d like it if everyone would buy it! My author needs the beer money, ha ha. Seriously, I’d appreciate it if you’d read my story. I’d hate to think I’d almost got killed for nothing. Just don’t let on you know the true story. I was sworn to secrecy. Thanks a bunch!

Thank you for answering my questions, Irene, and good luck to you and your author, Joyce St Anthony, with Front Page Murder, the first book in the Homefront News mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Irene and her author, Joyce St Anthony by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook page. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound 

About Joyce St Anthony: Joyce was a police secretary for ten years and more than once envisioned the demise of certain co-workers, but settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. As Joyce St. Anthony, she is the author of the Homefront News Mysteries. The first in the series, Front Page Murder, was released on March 8, 2022. Under her own name–Joyce Tremel–she wrote the award winning Brewing Trouble cozy mystery series. She is a native Pittsburgher and lives in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats–Hops and Lager.

Posted in Archives, March 2022 | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Body and Soul Food

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

I’m pleased that Keaton is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Body and Soul Food, the first novel in the Books & Biscuits mystery series.

Welcome, Keaton. 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. Although this is the first book, Body and Soul Food is part of a series. It takes place in the Pacific Northwest, right by beautiful mountains, crystal blue waters and lots of rain. I live in Timber Lake (near Seattle) with my twin brother

Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too? I do control what happens. To be fair, though, my author comes up with the story. But once she winds me up and sets me inside of it, it’s all me.

How did you evolve as the main character? I am learning to be a better sleuth, because my brother is intent on solving crimes. I don’t know why cooking (which he is fabulous at) isn’t enough for him. And I become more independent. We started our own business and it is a lot different than being a librarian.

Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them? Of course, the story is all about me and my twin brother, Koby. We share the spotlight I like to think.

What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story? Most of our time is spent in Books & Biscuits, our soul food and bookstore. It’s newly decorated and my favorite part is the book archway between the bookstore and restaurant which is run by my brother. There are always wonderful smells wafting around, like biscuits baking and chicken frying. I’ve decorated the bookstore with chandeliers and little nooks to sit and read.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book? It’s a fun whodunit with a little drama, a little humor and a great story about twins!

Thank you for answering my questions, Keaton, and good luck to you and your author, Abby Collette, with Body and Soul Food, the latest book in the Books & Biscuits mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Keaton and her author, Abby Collette by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Instagram pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers: Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – IndieBound –  Alibris – Penguin Random House

About Abby Collette: Wall Street Journal bestselling author Abby Collette loves a good mystery. She was born and raised in Cleveland, and it’s a mystery even to her why she hasn’t yet moved to a warmer place. As Abby Collette, she is the author of the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series, about a millennial MBA-holding granddaughter running a family-owned ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and the  Books & Biscuits mystery series, starring a set of fraternal twins who reunite and open a bookstore and soul food café. Writing as Abby L. Vandiver, she is the author of the Logan Dickerson Mysteries, featuring a second-generation archaeologist and a nonagenarian, as well as the Romaine Wilder Mysteries, pairing an East Texas medical examiner and her feisty, funeral-home-owning auntie as sleuths. Abby spends her time writing, facilitating writing workshops at local libraries and hanging out with her grandchildren, each of whom are her favorite.

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

Weed Lake Lingo

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Julia Seedorf, author of Weed Lake, a Fuchsia/Brilliant, MN crossover, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about using appropriate language in her mysteries.

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

Weed Lake was ready to go. It was almost at the print point. My beta readers read the book, my editor scanned over it, and I thought I finally was going to leave it in the hands of the publishing gurus and then…. whoops. It was my daughter that caught my mistake. I had used an inappropriate phrase.

It wasn’t an intentional slight. It was a mistake of age. Let’s face it, I’m old and things weren’t always so politically correct. In fact, when I grew up things that now mean one thing in our world were innocent words meant exactly what they were named for. It wasn’t a slight to a person at that time, but it was a name for an object, an animal, a natural wonder in the sky.

When I wrote the inappropriate phrase it had no social content except a phrase to describe a period of time in Granny’s world. In my old mind I would never attribute it to what is now offensive to people. I removed the phrase. I did understand after having a conversation with my daughter why it would be offensive to certain people.  Probably in the back of mind I knew it might be a contentious phrase but there was no mistaking the way it was used in my sentence, that it could be taken out of context. As my fingers flew over the keyboard it never entered my mind. I would guess since my beta readers didn’t see it either, that their minds didn’t register the oops. Back in the day we weren’t so aware because we didn’t have the media we have today, so we just didn’t know. When I grew up it might have had the meaning it is now associated with, but again, if it happened elsewhere in the country, as a young child I wouldn’t have learned about it. Now we have no excuse but to learn and do better.

As a writer, I am aware that our world is changing, becoming more compassionate for others and more correct. It’s a learning experience for us oldsters. I feel we have an obligation to get it right because our reader’s matter. We can push it aside and say it’s crazy stupid that we need to be so aware, or that people are too sensitive, and in some cases that might be true, but we owe it to those who have been marginalized to pay attention.

I’m blonde or was before gray set in, but I loved blonde jokes, they didn’t bother me, but to one of my friends they did. I made sure blonde jokes were not said in her presence so as to not offend her. To her they were hurtful. To me they made me laugh because I knew I wasn’t that person, so they didn’t hurt me. They were just a fun joke. Sometimes we don’t see the hurt in what we say or do because it doesn’t touch us.

Cozy mysteries are fun, mild, and try to bring a little quiet to our loud world. They take people away from the noise and give them, hopefully, a feel-good moment. That’s why as a cozy author I need to get it right. The phrase is gone, I will try and be more aware because I want all of my readers to have that feeling the book is for them, no exclusions.

Thank you for visiting today, Julie, and good luck with Weed Lake, a Fuchsia/Brilliant, MN crossover.

Readers can learn more about Julie Seedorf by visiting the author’s website, and her Facebook, Goodreads and Instagram pages. Readers can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available online at the following retailers:

 Amazon – Apple – Kobo – Angus & Robertson  

About Julie Seedorf: Julie grew up in Southern Minnesota, attending grade school and high school in a small community. She learned the value of small-town life and small-town relationships. Still living in rural Minnesota, she cherishes the beauty of the changing seasons and the various landscapes the state offers. Through the years, she has worn many hats. Her favorite was activity director in a nursing home and finally computer repair and sales, eventually earning her own business before retiring to write and enjoy life.

She is a wife and proud mother of two boys and one daughter, along with four grandchildren. Being a mom and grandmother is her favorite career. Julie feels no other job can hold a candle to raising up a child in the way they should go. Remember the poem? Watching the world through a child’s eyes and seeing them light up with wonder takes us to the beauty of simple things we sometimes lose as an adult.

Julie has four-book series. Granny’s In Trouble, Fuchsia, MN, Brilliant, MN, and the Whistle Stop Series. She likes to write light mysteries occasionally bordering on silly and fantasy because she believes we need to take ourselves out of the real world for a space of time to laugh and relax.

Posted in March 2022 | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Murder Faux Paws

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

T. C. LoTempio is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Murder Faux Paws, her latest novel in the Nick and Nora Mystery series.

Welcome, T. C.. 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 Faux Paws is number Five in the Nick and Nora mystery series.  Nora Charles is an ex-true crime reporter who returned to her hometown of Cruz, California to take over her mother’s sandwich shop.  She ‘inherits’ a tubby tuxedo cat named Nick who seems to have a flair for detective work.

In Murder Faux Paws, When a local PI’s untimely death is ruled a suicide by the police, budding sleuth Nora Charles has no intention of letting sleeping dogs lie—or sleeping cats, for that matter. Certain it was a case of foul play, Nora rouses her trusty sidekick Nick and launches an investigation of her own. Then a second PI is murdered, and Nora knows the two men were on to something—and that she’s on to something too.
Following the enigmatic clues left by her late predecessors, Nora soon uncovers a plot that involves a local politician, missing campaign funds, and what could be a bogus real estate deal. But when hints of treason surface, what started as small-time thievery soon balloons into a matter of national security. With the uncanny Nick sniffing out—and spelling out—leads, Nora follows a trail that will take her to the heart of a shadowy conspiracy, and into a trap set by a conniving culprit that will have her wishing she had Nick’s nine lives . . .

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

Out of my imagination.  It just came to me one day.

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?  The underlying theme would be, “things are  not always what they seem”.  It just seems to me that people are very quick to jump to conclusions.

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

Once again, they just come out of my imagination. There’ really  no rhyme or reason.  Do I have favorite ones?  That’s like asking a  mother to pick her favorite child, but I confess out of the three series I’ve written so far, I am partial to Nick and Nora…particularly Nick.

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

Well, I’ve been to California, the Monterey area, so I patterned the fictional town of Cruz, California after that.

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

By any means possible….Google usually gets a good workout when I’m doing research.

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

There’s more to come for Nick and Nora!  I’m currently contracted through Book 7, and I just finished Book 8 and am trying to start Book 9.  Readers can, hopefully, look forward to many more adventures to come!  And we are grateful for our reader’s support – without them there would be no Nick and Nora.

Thanks for answering my questions, T. C., and good luck with Murder Faux Paws, the latest book in Nick and Nora series.

Readers can learn more about T. C. LoTempio and her writing by visiting her website and her blog, and Facebook page. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon –  B&N  – GooglePlay  –  AppleiBooks  –  Kobo  –  Smashwords 

About T.C. Lotempio: T. C. is the national bestselling author of the Nick and Nora mystery series, as well as the Pet Shop Mystery Series and the Cat Rescue mysteries.  She lives in sunny Phoenix Arizona along with her two cats, Maxx and ROCCO, who is a talented blogger himself. 

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

Welcome to Piney Falls

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Joann Keder is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about Welcome to Piney Falls, her first novel in the Piney Falls Mystery series.

Welcome, Joann. 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.

“Welcome to Piney Falls is the first book in the Piney Falls Mysteries series. So far, there are five books in that series. We get to know the main characters and see where they’re starting. The beautiful part about writing a series is that you get to watch characters grow and change. These people are all odd-man (woman) out in their own way. When they work together, they’re able to solve mysteries and make their little town a better place.

My story recipe is always one part mystery, one part quirky characters and one part relationship. Add a pinch of salt, mix and stir.

Each book has at least two mysteries and is told from dual perspectives. There is also a common thread throughout the series that I won’t ruin for readers, but if you discover it, please write to me and let me know!

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

I harken from a small town in Nebraska. My first series, “Pepperville Stories” takes place in the Midwest. (US) Now that I’ve spent over a decade in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted to bring my stories local so I could use the sights and sounds around me in my stories.

So many little towns have a story of origin that includes a heroic character. I’ve often wondered if those stories are embellished as time goes on. What would happen if we were able to peak through the window of time and discover what really took place?

That’s one perspective, the other involves a connection to modern day Piney Falls. I don’t want to give away that mystery by saying too much. I will add that the women in both centuries are fighting to make a name for themselves the only way they know how.

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

To continue the thought from the previous answer, women in the early 1900s had very little leeway when it came to finding themselves. They had a defined role and wavering from the role was not acceptable. Business women of today can also find themselves trapped in a role they may not appreciate.

The theme of women breaking the mold is seen throughout this series and I’m very proud of that.

The other theme throughout this series is family. Our families of choice, our biological connections and the families we take into old age. Each story in this series includes a mystery (or two!) and an evolution of the main characters’ families.

As a woman from a part of the US where old traditions die hard, I struggled to make my own path. Women’s roles throughout history are often underplayed, so it was important to give them a voice then and now.

The theme of family comes from my own journey. I was adopted and spent the first four decades of my adult life in search of my connections. Each character throughout the series finds their own pieces to their respective puzzles.

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

I sit down and write everything I know about a character. That begins with hair and eye color, height, weight, etc. I used to keep going until I knew their favorite foods, and television programs, but I don’t have that kind of time anymore.

As I write, I listen for their voice. Sometimes that takes an entire novel, which makes it more difficult to create a well-rounded character.

My favorite characters so far are November Bean because she has no filter and doesn’t apologize for her uniqueness. She is strong and funny and extremely resourceful.

Another favorite is Keilah, from “The Story of Keilah.” She’s just learning about the world and how people let you down, but she doesn’t accept those things as obstacles.

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

I transport myself there. What does it smell like? What kinds of trees are surrounding me? Where will I find the library? Bakery? Public school? Is the street full of cars or do people walk everywhere? There are festivals and funny rules that are exclusive to each town. I want my readers to say, “I can picture that!”

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

It really depends on the novel. For “Welcome to Piney Falls,” I went to two museums in Astoria, Oregon to research the canning industry and the immigrants of the early1900s. I would have continued my research, but the pandemic began and everything shut down. That’s when I had to become my own resource and added details to my fictional town from my imagination.

Also, every person is a walking reference book on at least one topic. I’m never disappointed when I ask someone to share their experiences on any given topic.

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

Lanie is an imperfect person (as we all are) and can be a bit difficult in the beginning. She’s a fish out of water and we’ll see how she handles it. I hope you’ll see her growth as the book goes on. That goes for Fiona Scheddy too. My greatest wish is that you enjoy this book and will continue on to read the entire series! More books coming in this series next year.

This has been a delight. Thank you so much!

You’re welcome and thanks for answering my questions, Joann. Good luck with Welcome to Piney Falls, the first book in Piney Falls mystery series.

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

The novel is available online at Amazon 

About Joann Keder: Joann spent most of her years in the Midwest, growing up and raising a family on the Great Plains of Nebraska. She worked for sixteen years as a piano teacher before returning to school to receive a master’s degree in creative writing. A mid-life move to the Pacific Northwest lead her to re-examine her priorities. She now creates stories about life and relationships in small towns while her ever-patient husband encourages her on.

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A Dash of Death

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Samantha Warren is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about A Dash of Death, the first novel in the Cocktails & Catering mystery series.

Welcome, Samantha. 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 Samantha Warren, and I live inside A Dash of Death, the first in the Cocktails & Catering Mystery Series. I’m a laid-off journalist who was jilted a few weeks before my wedding. My fiancé ran off to New York City, leaving me with a broken heart and hundreds of bottles of homemade cocktail bitters I made as favors for our wedding guests. My best friend, Marisa, finagled an invitation for me to sell those bitters at the Highlands Historic Association’s Home Tour. Everything was going great until one of the Historic Association’s board members died after drinking one of my cocktails. Now, my reputation is at risk, and I’ve been swept up in a murder investigation. I’m hoping for my happy ending though, and maybe even a new business venture—one where murder isn’t on the menu.

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

In the beginning, I definitely felt like someone was controlling my story. My life wasn’t exactly ending up as I’d planned. I lost my job, my fiancé, and then got tangled up in a murder investigation. A crisis of confidence in my past had me doubting my instincts and my ability to make decisions without input from my friends and family, so it was much easier for the writer to take control. But I’m working on trusting myself more and taking the lead in some of my decisions. Every once in a while, I assert myself in ways the writer isn’t expecting. It feels good to have more of a say in my future.

How did you evolve as the main character?

I popped into Michelle’s head one day as she was dreaming up a new character for a mystery series she wanted to write. She’s always loved cozy mysteries and was trying to find a unique idea that would fit the genre. If you want to know the truth, I think she drew a little inspiration from her own life. She was once a newspaper reporter, she grew up in Corpus Christi but now lives in Houston, and she enjoys making cocktails and dabbling with bitters and other cocktail syrups. Of course, I’m much better at it than her. I don’t think she has the patience to learn to make bitters, so she imagines what she’d like to make and lets me experiment until I find something interesting. I love Houston just as much as she does. And while my home base is the fictional Highlands community, I love to explore all the places that make the city interesting. As for how I got into investigating, I think it goes back to both of our reporting backgrounds. Michelle and I are a lot alike in that once we dig into something, we want to keep digging until we come up with a conclusion.

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

There are so many fun characters. Of course, I’m partial to Marisa Lopez, my best friend. We became buddies when we worked together at the Houston Gazette, myself as a reporter and her as a photographer. She’s always really supportive, and knows when to call me out on being indecisive. Marisa’s girlfriend, Beth Myerson, is also turning into a pretty good friend. She’s a landscape architect and an amazing chef. We share a passion for cooking and using fresh ingredients to create unusual flavors. I’m blushing a little here, but I might be developing some feelings for my lawyer, David Dwyer. With dark black hair and green eyes, he’s very handsome. Plus, he has such a warm presence and a comforting smile. When I’m around him, my circumstances never seem as bleak as when I’m imagining the possibilities in my head. He’s also got an artistic side, which I find really attractive.

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

Houston is an amazing city. People who have never been here have so many preconceived notions about it. They think of it as one big highway filled with traffic and oil refineries. Don’t get me wrong—you can find both in Houston, but there is so much more here. We’ve got wonderful parks, and amazing art and theatre organizations, not to mention food from all over the world.

I live in the Highlands neighborhood, which is one of the few in the city that still has beautiful historic homes. I live in a garage apartment, but I can still enjoy all the amenities of the community, which is almost like a small town within the larger city. There’s a quaint little Main Street area filled with cute little shops and boutiques. But anywhere in the Highlands, you are still practically within shouting distance of downtown’s skyscrapers.

During this story, I end up travelling frequently to Galveston Island as well. Galveston is the closest beach town to Houston. It’s filled with beautiful historic homes and buildings, and even has the largest concentration of historic Victorian homes in this part of the country.

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

If you enjoy historic homes, custom cocktails and a little side of murder, A Dash of Death is the perfect book for you. Don’t miss the delicious recipes that are included in the back of the book. And stay tuned—my author is hard at work on the next book in the series.

Thank you for answering my questions, Samantha, and good luck to you and your author, Michelle Hillen Klump, with A Dash of Death, the first book in the Cocktails & Catering mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Samantha and her author, Michelle Hillen Klump by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Goodreads pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon – PenguinRandomHouse – Barnes & Noble – IndieBound – Kobo

About Michelle Hillen Klump: Michelle is a former newspaper reporter who covered government, courts and crime throughout Arkansas and Central Texas. Still a working journalist, she is also a member of Sisters in Crime. Her short fiction has appeared in Crimson Streets and Tales of Texas, volume 2, a Houston short story anthology.

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

The Secret in the Wall

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Ann Parker, author of The Secret in the Wall, a Silver Rush Mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us how she came to include cats in her Silver Rush mysteries.

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

I’ll start right off by noting that I have a long personal history with pets of various sorts, starting when I was a child with dogs and cats, a multitude of pocket pets, chickens and even (once!) a peacock that must have gotten loose from a nearby zoo and spent some months perched on a tree above the creek behind our family house (the zoo, when contacted, didn’t bother to come claim him, so he lingered with us for quite a while). More recently, I have become “servant” to a rescue cat; the #DivaMissMia is featured now and again on my Facebook pages.

However, it was never my intention to include “pets” as such in my Silver Rush historical mysteries. For one, when the series opens, it is 1879 in the silver-rush boomtown of Leadville, Colorado. Leadville is a real place, located deep in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, up at the ten-thousand-foot mark. Winter lasts eight months of the year, and it can snow at any time. Helen Hunt Jackson (author of Ramona) once remarked that Leadville was too unnatural for felines to flourish: “Grass would not grow there and cats could not live.”

But on my visits to the town to do research, I saw cats galore—soaking up the sun on porches in summer and posing in front windows in winter. Clearly, there were plenty of them in present-day Leadville, alive and doing well.

Still, when I began writing SILVER LIES, the first of my Silver Rush historical mysteries, in 1879 Leadville, cats were not part of my plan. I provided my protagonist, Inez Stannert, with a horse, which made sense for the timeframe. I also gave Inez an occupation—saloon-owner. This was an unusual job for a woman, but not unheard of. As I set about creating the saloon through words, something unexpected happened. A calico cat jumped into a scene and curled up on a horsehair couch in the saloon’s office. Inez’s reaction? She waves one hand at the cat and says, “Shoo. Go chase those rats I heard in the storeroom last night. Earn your keep, you lazy thing.”

The cat, instead of doing her bidding, scoots under the couch, tail flicking. (How like a cat!)

This unnamed calico weaves her way through the first five books, and as many at that time and in such places, “earns her keep” by decimating the vermin population. The relationship between Inez and the cat is strictly a business one. (However, cat-lovers, do not despair that the cat was unloved; Inez’s business partner, Abe Jackson, has a soft spot in his heart for the resident feline. The hard-working calico knows she can count on Abe for a tidbit from the kitchen table or a friendly lap to sit on.)

All that changed in the series when Inez departed Leadville for San Francisco, with her ward, twelve-year-old Antonia in tow. Toward the end of the seventh book, MORTAL MUSIC, my very own Mia makes her appearance as a kitten, with tiny claws and long, gray fur. Needless to say, Inez is not happy with this addition to the household. Arrangements are made such that a nearby family friend will “board” the fluffball until she is older and can assume her duties as a household cat.

In THE SECRET IN THE WALL, the number of felines in the series increases yet again…. just like in real life! Early in the book’s development, I offered up a raffle to “name a character ” (as authors sometimes do). The winner, Laurie Pinnell asked if she could name a fictional feline after her own rescued tortoiseshell cat, Eclipse. As the conversation evolved, Laurie noted that she had a second cat, Lucky, who was rescued from under the hood of their car (yep, that’s a lucky cat!). Well, I couldn’t invite one into my fictional universe and not the other, so Eclipse and Lucky did a little time-travelling to 1882 San Francisco, and grew younger in the process. They became the beloved indoor/outdoor pets of Antonia’s young friend, Charlotte. Charlotte’s mother Moira runs a boardinghouse, and the two cats are allowed inside at night to prowl the halls and chase down any bugs or mice that might have slipped inside.

That much of their roles I had decided ahead of time, but as often happens when spinning tales the characters evolved into so much more. They unlock certain clues to the mystery, not through “talking” or being supernaturally intelligent, but just by being, well, cats: curious, sneaky, disobedient, but totally loveable little critters (loveable to those who appreciate felines, that is). In fact, the totally normal, cat-like behavior of one of them (I’ll not say which one) helps “save the day” at the end.

Thank you for telling readers about the cats in the Silver Rush series, Ann, and good luck with The Secret in the Wall, a Silver Rush mystery.

Readers can learn more about Ann Parker by visiting the author’s website and blog, and her Facebook, Goodreads and Pinterest pages.

The novel is available online at the following retailers:

 Amazon – IndieBound – Barnes & Noble – Books-A-Million – Nook – Kobo 

About Ann Parker: Ann is a science writer by day and fiction writer by night. Her award-winning Silver Rush Mysteries series, published by Poisoned Pen Press, a Sourcebooks imprint, is set primarily in 1880s Leadville, Colorado, and more recently in San Francisco, California, the “Paris of the West.” The series was named a Booksellers Favorite by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association, and Ann is listed in the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame. The Secret in the Wall is the eighth and newest entry in the series.

Posted in Archives, February 2022 | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

A Killer Sundae

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Bronwyn Crewse, or Win as her friends call her, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about A Killer Sundae, the latest novel in the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series.

Welcome, Win. 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. Yes! This is part of a series. A KILLER SUNDAE is the third book. The series starts off with A DEADLY INSIDE SCOOP and introduces me, Bronwyn “Win” Crewse, the new manager of her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. There’s lots of snow, and not so much business, but I try to get the ice cream parlor off to a good start after the remodel. Book 2 in the series is titled, A GAME OF CONES. The series is filled with fun, family and of course, murder!

Does the writer control what happens in the story or do you get a say too? I do control what happens. To be fair, though, my author comes up with the story. But once she winds me up and sets me inside of it, it’s all me.

How did you evolve as the main character? I don’t know that I am. I have been reluctant since the first murder to get involved. My friend Maisie (an ACORN TV nut) is all raring to go. But even after the third murder happened and I solved it (and I was almost killed again) I am no more interested in getting involved since the first murder took place.

Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them? Of course. I couldn’t do what I do without family and friends. But my two best friends, Maisie Solomon and Riya Amacarelli are the one who help me sleuth. My mom, Ailbhe, and my grandfather, PopPop help me out at the shop.

What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story? Most of our time is spent in the ice cream shop, Crewse Creamery. It was newly decorated after I took over. My favorite part is the large picture window at the back of the store that overlooks the falls. Oh. Did I mention? Our ice cream shop sits right at the top of the falls that runs through the center of my little hometown. Rain, shine or snow, we always have the best ice cream. I hope I’ll find you stopping by soon.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book? It’s a fun whodunit with a little drama, a little humor and a great story about ice cream and murder!

Thank you for answering my questions, Win, and good luck to you and your author, Abby Collette, with A Killer Sundae, the latest book in the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Win and her author, Abby Collette by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Instagram pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – IndieBound –  Alibris – Penguin Random House

About Abby Collette: Wall Street Journal bestselling author Abby Collette loves a good mystery. She was born and raised in Cleveland, and it’s a mystery even to her why she hasn’t yet moved to a warmer place. As Abby Collette, she is the author of the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series, about a millennial MBA-holding granddaughter running a family-owned ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and the Books & Biscuits mystery series, starring a set of fraternal twins who reunite and open a bookstore and soul food café. Writing as Abby L. Vandiver, she is the author of the Logan Dickerson Mysteries, featuring a second-generation archaeologist and a nonagenarian, as well as the Romaine Wilder Mysteries, pairing an East Texas medical examiner and her feisty, funeral-home-owning auntie as sleuths. Abby spends her time writing, facilitating writing workshops at local libraries and hanging out with her grandchildren, each of whom are her favorite.

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

What happens when a parent’s nightmare becomes reality?

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Lis Angus is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Not Your Child, her debut suspense novel.

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

Tell us about your upcoming novel, Not Your Child—what’s the story about?

It starts out with Susan, a single mother in Ottawa, who learns that a strange man has been following her twelve-year old daughter Maddy. It turns out he’s a danger to Maddy, but not quite the way Susan thinks: he claims that Maddy is actually his granddaughter, who was abducted as a baby. And he wants her back.

Wouldn’t a DNA test quickly settle the question?

That’s what Susan hopes and expects. But they do a DNA test, and it makes the problem worse. It says Susan is not Maddy’s mother. Susan is horrified; she knows that’s wrong, but she can’t explain it.

And then what?

The next thing is that Maddy disappears. Susan is sure the guy has taken her, but he has an alibi and searches of his house turn up nothing. The police launch a search for Maddy and the public is asked to report any sign of her.

That’s every parent’s worst fear—that their child would go missing.

Yes, it is, and the suspense builds from there. Early readers have said the book put them on the edge of their seats, navigating the twists and turns as the story unfolds.

Where did you get the idea for your story?

It’s actually an idea that came to me some years ago, in the form of a “what if” question. What if someone showed up and claimed that your child was in fact not your child?

To make that idea into a story, I had to figure out how such a development might happen: how would the characters react and what could develop from there? I ended up writing from three different points of view, showing events through the eyes of the three key characters.

This is your first published novel, I believe. You’ve already had two careers, first working with children and families in crisis, and then a career in business. How did you come to write a novel?

I’ve been writing all my life, and I always dreamed of writing a novel, but I hadn’t written any fiction since I was a teenager. My writing as an adult was primarily non-fiction, business-related. Later I took some fiction writing courses, but I hadn’t really worked at it. Then in 2017 I heard about NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. I said to myself, “if not now, when?” I decided to grab that impulse, not let the moment pass me by. So I buckled down and finished a first draft that November.

And the book is being published in April 2022. That’s four and a half years between first draft and publication—did that seem like a long time to you?

It did, and at the same time it didn’t. It turned out I had a lot to learn about writing a novel. I did a total of six rewrites before finally receiving an offer from The Wild Rose Press last summer.  The actual process of working with the publisher has moved quite quickly since then: less than a year from contract to publication, which is quick for the traditional publishing world.

Are you working on another novel now?

I am, and it started with another “what if” question. What if you learned that your deceased father had another family—and that your family is the second one, secret from the first?

Oh my. When do you expect to finish it?

I’ve written a first draft already, but it’s still sketchy. I want to take the time I need to round out the characters and do justice to the story.

I’ll be reporting on my progress in my free monthly newsletter, and I have a bonus download for subscribers—including “outtakes” from Not Your Child: scenes that didn’t make it into the final version but give a flavour of the characters and story. To register, go to https://lisangus.com/sign-up.

When and where can readers buy Not Your Child?

It’ll be released on April 18, but it’s available worldwide for presale now. Amazon has a special presale price for the Kindle version, but it’ll be available as a paperback as well. There are other vendors carrying it too; I have a “universal book link” that shows several: https://books2read.com/notyourchild. And I encourage readers to ask their local library or bookstore to stock the book.

Thanks for answering my questions, Lis, and good luck with your debut novel, Not Your Child.

Readers can learn more about Lis and her writing by visiting her website.

The novel is available at many online retailers.

About Lis Angus: Lis is a Canadian suspense writer. She has always loved reading and writing; by the time she was six, she often sat at the kitchen table writing stories while her mom cooked supper. At age nine, she spent a summer writing a novel in her cousin’s hayloft. In her early career she worked with children and families in crisis. In her later career she was a respected telecommunications consultant and policy advisor, conference organizer, business writer and editor. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers of Canada, and Capital Crime Writers, and is an active participant in the North Grenville Writers Circle. She lives south of Ottawa with her husband.

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

The Twist and Shout Murder

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Dianne Ascroft

Dot Morgan is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us about The Twist and Shout Murder, in the Swinging Sixties mystery series.

Welcome, Dot. 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 Dot Morgan, and I would love to tell you about Camden, Texas in the year 1962. Even though we’re a small town, we’re pretty modern. It’s not the 50s anymore. I ‘m studying at Hudson Secretarial School hoping to enter the world of business someday. Secretarial school can be challenging mostly because shorthand is a real bear. Wouldn’t it be great if somebody invented something to take down people’s words more efficiently than having to learn hieroglyphics?

It’s summertime in Texas and one storm on the horizon is a hotly debated political contest between my father and the brother of our local D.A., Morton Manning. A seat on our city council has opened after Phil Boggs choked on a chicken bone. As a court clerk, my father has spent years helping others. Morton Manning’s brother, Anson, is well known around town as a rich boy who is having problems settling into a career, so naturally politics is the most obvious answer for him.

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

Sometimes I’m not sure if there is any control at all when I end up in dangerous situations.

How did you evolve as the main character?

Reviewers have told me I grow quite a bit. I look like Sandra Dee with a blond ponytail. My author says a modern version of me would be similar to Amanda Seyfried. In the beginning of my story, I don’t argue with my elders. In secretarial school, Miss Robinson is a heartless dictator, but I wouldn’t even think of telling her off. If I want to get my degree, I need to put up with her bossiness. You see, in 1962, as a woman your choices are to be a secretary, a nurse, a teacher or a wife and mother. Just between you and me, I feel like I want a little more. I’m proud of my actions during the book although sometimes I was scared to death. John F. Kennedy, our president, says, ” There is, in addition to a courage with which men die; a courage by which men must live.” Isn’t that great? I’m sure he meant to say “women” must have courage to live, too.

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

A small town is really a big family of people. I share much of my adventure with my landlady, Arlene Clark. I live upstairs in her house with my cousin Ellie. Speaking of Cousin Ellie, she owns the Bluebonnet Dress Shop and has been dating her boyfriend for over five years. I thought they’d be married by now.

Mom works at the library and as you already know, dad works at the courthouse. He is a clerk there. Finally, and I don’t know if I should mention him, but I started becoming friends with Ben Dalton from the Camden Courier. He’s awfully handsome and seems to want to know all about the election. Not only does he cover the election, but we discover a body together.

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

I enjoy being close to Dallas, but not too close. Sometimes we get visits from people like Lady Bird Johnson and her daughter Lucy. Camden is the perfect place to be. I know my readers are living in an entirely different time, so let me tell you a little about our society where I live. Men wear ties to work and some still wear fedoras, a leftover fashion from the 50s. Women mostly wear dresses, although, I have to tell you some hemlines have been going up a bit lately. I wonder where that will go. We have a new restaurant named McDonald’s where you can get a hamburger for $0.35 in an instant.

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

This is my first adventure in The Swinging Sixties Mystery Series. In your bustling world, sometimes it’s better to turn back the page and visit a quieter time. Kennedy is in the White House, which comforts me that nothing bad will happen. Come join me in The Twist and Shout Murder.

Thank you for answering my questions, Dot, and good luck to you and your author, Teresa Trent, with The Twist and Shout Murder, in the Swinging Sixties mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Dot and her author, Teresa Trent by visiting the author’s 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 – B&N – Kobo 

About Teresa Trent: Teresa writes historical mysteries, cozy mysteries, romance, and short stories. She lives in South Texas with her husband and son with Down syndrome and splits her time between writing and caretaking.

Posted in Archives, February 2022 | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments