Dead as a Duck

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Colleen J. Shogan is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Dead as a Duck, her latest novel in the Washington Whodunit Mystery series.

Welcome, Colleen. 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.

DEAD AS A DUCK is the seventh mystery in the Washington Whodunit series, featuring congressional staffer turned amateur sleuth Kit Marshall. Kit solves crimes in our nation’s capital along with her merry band of friends and colleagues.

In this book, the scenery changes.

Kit has left Washington, D.C. and hit the road with her boss, Congresswoman Maeve Dixon, who is considering running for the United States Senate in North Carolina. After endless town halls and meet-and-greets, Kit is happy to end the tour in Duck, an upscale beach town in the Outer Banks.

Before Kit can relax on her much-deserved vacation with her husband Doug, brother Sebastian, best friend Meg, and beagle mutt Clarence, the body of Duck’s mayor is found floating in the shallow waters of the Currituck Sound.

Kit’s brother Sebastian, who got in a public kerfuffle with the victim the day before, becomes the prime suspect. Solving the mystery takes her to popular hotspots in the Outer Banks, including a private tour featuring the wild horses of Corolla.

Kit must sacrifice sun-filled days of relaxation to clear her brother. In the end, Kit and Sebastian put their own lives on the line to secure a confession from the killer and make sure justice is served.

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

My husband and I own a small home in the Outer Banks. It is a popular vacation and relaxation spot for us. During the pandemic, we spent a great deal of time in the Outer Banks, which really only intensified our great affection for it. In the previous six books in the series, Kit Marshall has visited many of the highlights of Washington, D.C. I decided it was time to let her explore another location – and, of course, solve a mystery!

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

My books are place-based. This book is a beach mystery. The Outer Banks, including its history, are part of this novel. Furthermore, in this story, Kit’s brother Sebastian is accused of murder. Kit feels a great deal of pressure to solve the crime so that he will be cleared. We learn more about what makes Kit operate emotionally as a character because of the threat she faces.

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

I started the Washington Whodunt series with a small band of “permanent” characters. However, Kit’s eccentric friend Trevor became popular, so I decided to keep him on in future books. He has really evolved over the course of the series, and I am happy about his development. Trevor isn’t a static character. In each book, he changes—often in interesting ways! Also, in the fifth book in the series, Gore in the Garden, I added a new character, Kit’s brother. Sebastian came to me out of nowhere. Kit had a bit of a hard edge to her, and I wanted to figure out a way to soften her. Adding her long-lost brother to the mix seemed like a fun solution. Now, Sebastian and his offbeat ways are one of the most intriguing parts of the series.

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

I spend a lot of time in the places I write about. The Outer Banks is a second home to me. I know the best places to eat, drink, and have fun. I worked on Capitol Hill for over fifteen years, so that neighborhood is almost like my own. When I write about famous buildings (the Smithsonian museums, the Library of Congress, the Capitol, or the Archives), I am confident about my descriptions because I have such a firm knowledge of these amazing places.

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

I engage in a fair amount of research as I am writing my novels. In Dead as a Duck, I learned more about the history of the Outer Banks and the origins of the infamous  “Lost Colony.” I also read extensively about the famous wild horses of Corolla so I could understand their origins. It’s important for an author to engage in a “deep dive” while writing a book. Readers depend upon accuracy. It’s something I take seriously.

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

If you’re looking for a perfect summer beach read, Dead as a Duck is the book for you. Even if you aren’t able to hit the ocean this summer, Dead as a Duck will transport you, coupled with an entertaining amateur sleuth whodunit. Although Dead as a Duck is the seventh book in my series, it can easily be read as a standalone. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for answering my questions, Colleen, and good luck with Dead as a Duck, the latest book in A the Washington Whodunit Mystery series.

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

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo

About Colleen J. Shogan: Colleen has been reading mysteries since the age of six. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at numerous universities. She previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. Currently, she’s a Senior Vice President at the White House Historical Association. A member of Sisters in Crime, Colleen splits her time between Arlington, VA and Duck, NC.

Posted in Archives, July 2021 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sand Trapped

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Cara Mia Delgatto is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Sand Trapped, the latest novel in the Cara Mia Delgatto mystery series.

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

Tell us about the novel that you live inside. Is it part of a series?

–This particular novel is Sand Trapped: Book #6 in the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series. While doing a favor for a neighbor, I agreed to participate in a guest-member golf tournament. My friend and I were ahead until we found a dead body in the sand trap at Hole #6. That brought the contest to a close with a bang, the slamming of a casket lid.

 If so, please tell us about the series too.

—Sand Trapped is part of a series named after me: The Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series. I’m a huge believer in second chances for people and for things. That’s one reason that I bought The Treasure Chest, a building in Stuart, Florida, slated to be torn down (Tear Down & Die: Book #1). I worked my butt off to turn it into a retail shop featuring upcycled, recycled, and repurposed goods with a beachy theme. Unfortunately, one of my biggest public relations triumphs was spoiled when a pushy reporter disappeared, only to be found dead in a car behind my store (Kicked to the Curb: Book #2). But I got over that, and my clientele continues to grow. Although the store takes up most of my time, I love walking on the beach. One morning I found a nearly drowned undocumented immigrant (All Washed Up: Book #3). Unfortunately a lot of desperate people hop on boats and cross the ocean to get to the Treasure Coast of Florida. They don’t realize that the coral reef right off the shore has caused many shipwrecks, scattering gold and gems up and down the coastline (Cast Away: Book #4). Although the beautiful ocean view is a major reason for living here in Florida, many retirees come here for the lovely weather (Ruff Justice: Book #5). And of course, our state is known as the Golf Capital of the World (Sand Trapped: Book #6).  

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

–I definitely speak up now and again. Joanna can’t do it all. Besides, I have a fiery temper, and she doesn’t. It would never occur to her to get angry with people like I do on occasion. She’s much too nice.

How did you evolve as the main character?

–I was a secondary character in another series, the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series. Back then, I worked in my family’s restaurant. But after my parents died within six months of each other and my son went off to college, I struck out on my own. I was taking a road trip to University of Miami, planning to show up for Parents’ Weekend, when my car started making strange noises. I stopped at my grandfather’s gas station to have him look at the Toyota. Then, on impulse, I bought a building scheduled to be torn down. The rest is my history!

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

–I get by with a lot of help from my friends. First I added Skye Blue, a creative genius, as an employee. She has a checkered past after being married to an abusive man. Skye also has a heart of gold. She offered me a place to stay when I first moved to Florida. Then I hired MJ Austin, an expert in all things Old Florida. MJ’s been married five times. Six if you count twice to the same man. Last to come onboard was Honora McAfee, a miniaturist my grandfather’s age. Honora knows everyone and everything about our area.

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

–I’m falling in love with a man who disappears now and again, and won’t talk about why. My head says, “This is not a good thing, and you’re going to get hurt.” My heart says, “I’ve waited for a long time to find someone like this guy. I’m not going to give him up easily.”

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

My readers say—

“(Sand Trapped is…) A fine page-turner of a Florida cozy story, with plenty of local color and lovely descriptions of some of the state’s flora and fauna.”

“If you haven’t met the employees of Cara Mia’s upcycle store, Treasure Chest, you have a wonderful experience ahead of you.”

“I love the way Ms. Slan winds together several stories into one book.”

“What a fun book!”

“Cara’s thought process is refreshing, and the plots are captivating.”

“Cara is so alive I can see her.”

“The mystery was intriguing, and my love of creativity, beach combing, and cooking was stimulated.”

Thank you for answering my questions, Cara, and good luck to you and your author, Joanna Campbell Slan, with Sand Trapped, the latest book in the Cara Mia Delgatto mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Cara and her author, Joanna Campbell Slan, by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Bookbub and Pinterest pages. You can also follow her on Twitter.

The novel is available online at Amazon 

About Joanna Campbell Slan: Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let’s not even go there.

Otherwise, Joanna’s a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).

Currently, she writes five fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books), and the Zen Cozy Mystery Series (launch 2021).

A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.

In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida.

Posted in Archives, July 2021 | Tagged | 2 Comments

Midnight Spells Murder

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Zo Jones is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Midnight Spells Murder, the latest novel in the Happy Camper cozy mystery series.

Welcome, Zo. 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 Zo Jones (I’ll find out the reason behind the unique spelling in this book), and I live inside Midnight Spells Murder. It’s the second book in the Happy Camper cozy mystery series, which is about my giftshop, Happy Camper. It’s located in the Black Hills National Park in South Dakota.

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

It’s a bit of a compromise. My writer thinks she controls the story, and then I do something that totally surprises her. But that’s okay. She likes surprises.

How did you evolve as the main character?

A fun and snarky shop girl who rides a motorcycle—that was the start of my journey to the page. My journey is full of detours, though. I long to know who my birth parents are and find clues throughout the course of the series.

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

I adore my neighbor Russell Cunningham, a garrulous English professor, and I love spending time with my friends Jules, Hattie, and Beth. My Maine Coon cat, George, hogs a lot of pages because cats are conceited like that. And I can’t forget Max Harrington, a forest ranger who is growing on me more than I’d like to admit.

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

It’s Halloween, and my small town, Spirit Canyon, is getting ready for Spirit Spooktacular. It’s a fun weekend filled with a pumpkin carving contest and parade. Happy Camper is having a book signing for a real witch. I can’t wait to meet her!

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

I hope you enjoy your time in Spirit Canyon. You’re in for a spooktacular time!

Thank you for answering my questions, Zo, and good luck to you and your author, Mary Angela, with Midnight Spells Murder, the latest book in the Happy Camper cozy mystery series.

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

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – iTunes – Google – Kobo – B&N

© Julie Prairie Photography 2016

About Mary Angela: Mary is the author of the Happy Camper cozy mystery series, the Professor Prather academic mystery series, and several short stories. When Mary isn’t penning heartwarming whodunits, she’s teaching, reading, traveling, or spending time with her family. She lives in South Dakota with her husband, daughters, and spoiled pets.

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Murder at the Lakeside Library

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Holly Danvers, author of Murder at the Lakeside Library is visiting Ascroft, eh? to share an excerpt from her novel.

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

I wanted to share with you an excerpt from this new series. I think if it hooks you on the first page, you’ll want to keep reading. So here are the first few paragraphs of Murder at the Lakeside Library:

Chapter 1

The road ahead spanned like an endless ribbon leading to nowhere. Despite the bone-chilling blast from the air conditioner, Rain Wilmot’s hands, clammy with perspiration, slid down the steering wheel. She glanced in the rearview mirror to reassess the backseat of her Ford Explorer, stuffed to the brim with all her worldly possessions. At thirty-two years old, her belongings didn’t amount to much. It was as if the ten years of full-time work trapped inside a cubical amounted to absolutely nothing.

It doesn’t matter. Things don’t matter, Rain reminded herself.

The high-rise condo in Milwaukee that she’d shared with her late husband Max was now an additional scar on her wounded heart. The rolling wheels of the tires propelled her forward as if she didn’t have a choice. She didn’t really. The finality of death certainly thrust decisions on a person. She hadn’t expected the condo to sell so quickly, but a high-powered insurance broker insisted he couldn’t pass up the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Milwaukee River. She wondered if the new owner would change the pale paint colors in the half-painted nursery.

The warning from her previous boss, Philip, sounded in her head like an alarm bell. “You really ought to wait, Rain. Don’t you think you’re making a hasty decision? Experts say you should wait at least a year before making any life-altering changes.”

Easy for him to say.

Just pulling into the parking lot at Harley Davidson sent her reeling. She didn’t need daily reminders at her place of employment of what she’d lost due to twisted chrome and steel.

Rain rolled down the window, needing real air in her lungs, and quickly realized she’d made a terrible error as the humidity filled the car. The smell of musty bonfire embers blew in from a nearby campground. That was a sign that she was getting close. She was almost back to her family’s summer cabin—a cabin that stood on one hundred and fifty feet of prime frontage on one of the purest lakes in the Midwest—Pine Lake. She’d spent every childhood summer swimming and boating on this lake. But she’d neglected to visit for many years now, for any number of paltry excuses. The general busyness of life, work, and love had all gotten in the way. Besides, Max had never liked coming up north. He was more of an ‘ocean person’ he’d said on more than one occasion. Well, that certainly wasn’t an issue now.

The faded blue sign on the side of the road caught Rain’s eye and caused her to loosen her grip on the steering wheel. The familiar gold letters that read: Welcome to Lofty Pines sent a fresh surge of comfort through her.  Only a mile left to go before Rain would round the corner onto Birch Lane and exhale a sigh of relief. She removed her sunglasses and tossed them onto the passenger seat as the dense pines canopied the winding road, shading her view.

Rain’s shoulders relaxed and her breath slowed when she spotted the familiar hand-hewn logs with thick white chinking that had stood the test of time. She often thought the rear side of the original cabin resembled a tree house perched high above the lake. The logs had been cut from the very forest that had once covered the clearing. After removing the bark from the towering white pines, her great-grandfather Lorenzo had leveled the timber with his own hands using an ancient tool from the stone age called an adze. The minor imperfections in the logs were now a glaringly beautiful reminder of his legacy to the house. Of course, upgrades and additions had come with future generations, and now Rain wondered if her great-grandfather would be proud of how much that had changed over the years. The first sight of the family cabin caused her lips to curl into a genuine smile for the first time in a long, long while. She’d made it.

Home.

Thank you for sharing that excerpt with us, Holly, and good luck with Murder at the Lakeside Library, the first book in the Lakeside Library mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Holly Danvers by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Goodreads pages.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound 

About Holly Danvers: Holly grew up devouring every mystery novel on the shelf of her local library. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and 3 chickens, where she’s already plotting her next novel.

Posted in Archives, July 2021, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Are you coming to the Fair?

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

The Cozy Mystery Library is hosting a cozy mystery book fair today and the theme is books that feature a sleuth who bakes.

Come along to hear several authors talk about their books, ask questions and enter the giveaways to win loads of books.

I’m chatting with host, Astoria Wright this evening around 8.15pm BST.

The event starts at 8.00 BST. Hope you’ll drop by.

Click the link to join us: http://cozymysterylibrary.com/deliciouslycozybookfair2021

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The Moonshine Shack Murder

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Diane Kelly, author of The Moonshine Shack Murder, is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about the history of moonshine.

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

While I lived in Texas most of my life, I moved to Tennessee in 2014, and then to North Carolina four years later. Living in the Appalachian region, I learned that moonshining was a big part of the area’s history. After sampling some modern-day moonshine, I became fascinated by it. I figured ‘shine would make a fun focal point for an entertaining mystery series. While doing more detailed research for The Moonshine Shack Murder, the first book in my new Southern Homebrew cozy mystery series, I learned some interesting and unexpected things about moonshine and moonshiners. I’ll share a little shiner primer with you.

In America’s pioneer days, farmers sometimes turned their corn crops, which weren’t worth much, into much higher-value moonshine. Making ‘shine was a real job, not just a hobby. After the American Revolution, the new United States government was struggling financially due to war debts. To make ends meet, it imposed taxes on liquor. The U.S. was among the first governments in the world to tax and regulate the liquor industry, and people were none too happy about it. Government officials or “revenuers” attempting to collect liquor taxes might be attacked and beaten. Boston might have had a tea party, but Pennsylvania rose up in a Whiskey Rebellion just two decades later, during George Washington’s presidency. Angry not only that the tax existed, but also that the tax penalized small producers and favored larger ones, a group of men dressed as women surrounded excise officer Robert Johnson in September of 1791. They stripped him bare before tarring and feathering him, then abandoning him in the woods and stealing his horse. Things escalated over the next few years, with a handful of deaths and property destruction. President Washington eventually sent a militia to Pennsylvania, but those rebelling against the tax had largely indulged in their product and little violence actually ensued. The rebellion was one of the first tests of the new government, which proved it could suppress violent uprisings within the country.

Prior to the Civil War, moonshiners were seen as heroes fighting an oppressive government. But, after the war, moonshiners were viewed as violent criminals. Excise taxes on alcohol had been again imposed to finance this second war, and the ensuing violence swayed public opinion. The changing attitudes toward moonshiners eventually led to the passage of Prohibition in 1920. Ironically, moonshiners were thrilled, because the law made their now-illicit wares far more valuable. Organized crime quickly moved in to take control of the industry, and secret bars known as speakeasies cropped up across America. People learned to hide liquor on their person, as well. The term bootlegger originally referred to those who carried hidden flasks of liquor tucked into the tops of their boots, but eventually the term came to refer to those who smuggled booze. Early auto mechanics found ways to make hiding places for moonshine in vehicles, as well as ways to soup up the car engines so that the vehicles could go faster. The bootleggers learned to drive very fast and very well, and the practice eventually led to the auto races that spawned NASCAR. Prohibition was repealed in 1933, and the moonshine market dwindled until its recent Renaissance.

While the term “moonshine” used to mean illegally manufactured liquor, such is no longer the case. Moonshine is now produced legally and commercially, though many make it at home as a hobby. Some of the confusion surrounding the present-day use of the term is due to a lack of federal regulation in the labeling of moonshine. While liquor labeled as whiskey must be made from grain, distilled at a certain alcohol content, and aged in oak, there are no such stipulations for alcohol labeled as moonshine. Similar to vodka, it can be made from any fermentable source such as fruit, sugar, or grain, and there is no upper limit on its alcohol content.

If you find moonshining as fascinating as I do, you’ll enjoy The Moonshine Shack Murder, which stars modern-day moonshiner Hattie Hayes and her furry sidekick Smoky. It’s a fun mystery set along the riverfront in beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee. It could be just your cup of tea – spiked with a shot of shine, of course.

Thank you for giving readers an insight into the history of making moonshine, Diane, and good luck with The Moonshine Shack Murder, the first book in the Southern Homebrew mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Diane Kelly by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook page. You can also follow her on Twitter and sign up for her newsletter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

Amazon Paperback    Kindle    Audible    Nook    B&N Paperback     Books-A-Million     Googleplay   Indiebound    iBooks    Kobo    Powells Books    Target    Walmart

About Diane Kelly: Diane writes stories that feature feisty female lead characters and their furry, four-footed friends. Diane is the author of over 30 novels and novellas, including the Death & Taxes, Paw Enforcement, and House Flipper mystery series. In 2021, she’ll launch two new series, the Southern Homebrew moonshine series and the Mountain Lodge Mysteries.

Posted in Archives, July 2021 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Mountain View Murder

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Bill O’Shea is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about The Mountain View Murder, the first novel in the Wintergreen Mystery series.

Welcome, Bill. 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.

Hey, Dianne, thanks for having me over to talk about the Lou Thorpe investigation.

It’s been great meeting so many new people since I’ve moved to Wintergreen, Virginia. After living my entire life in the city of Columbia, South Carolina—not a big city, but a city nonetheless—I relished the thought of retiring in a sparsely populated part of the world, a place where beauty reigned over human conflict.

I never dreamed I’d get involved in a crime investigation. I got more than my fill of that as a police detective in Columbia. I came to Wintergreen for an entirely different reason. I know about concrete and buildings and the motives of bad people, but I know nothing of the natural world. In retirement, I’d have time to learn all about it.

But then Alex Sharp, my real estate agent, who was also serving as the acting chief of the Wintergreen Police Department, asked me to help him investigate a homicide. You see, the old chief left the department suddenly, the deputy chief was out on maternity leave, and the lead investigator was in South Africa on vacation.

Here’s what happened. A guy named Lou Thorpe was out taking a walk early one morning when he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. We had no witnesses and no car. Frankly, I never thought we’d solve the case, but one thing led to another, and we got a bit of luck, and everything worked out.

Of course, Alex thanked me profusely. And he pointed out that crime is low here in Wintergreen, so he wouldn’t need to ask me for any more favors. Then again, you never know.

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

Who? Patrick Kelly? When it comes to control, I wouldn’t give Patrick a high grade. Just between the two of us, he’s a bit of an odd duck—spends a lot of time in a small room with the door closed typing on a keyboard. He thinks he’s in control, with his outlines and character profiles and whatnot, but then a plot twist comes along, and all that stuff gets thrown out like stale coffee at the end of the day.

That story about the black bear? You think that was Patrick? Oh, no, that was my idea. Pretty funny, too, if I say so myself. And I’ll tell you another thing: the bit about me being afraid of heights—that’s over-exaggerated. Why would I move to a mountain resort and live in a third-floor condo if I was afraid of heights? It’s true that if I stand close to the edge of a high cliff, and there’s no railing, I tend to get a little dizzy, but who doesn’t?

How did you evolve as the main character?

A police lieutenant once told me that people can’t change their personalities after the age of thirty. Well, I’m twice that number now so I guess radical change is out of the question. But I have learned a few things in the past month. For one, in a small community like Wintergreen, word travels fast. My new friend Kim Wiley, the proprietor of Café Devine, knows everything about everyone. Yeah, she’s my go-to source from here on out.

I learned something about myself as well—I like not having a boss. It gives me a certain amount of flexibility I’ve never had before. It’s not like I’m trying to overstep my boundaries, but I can keep some things to myself that I would have felt obligated to report to my superiors in the past. That newfound flexibility might or might not have had an impact on the investigation. I can’t quite sort that out. But I do know I never would have expected the case to turn out the way it did.

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

If you visit the beautiful mountain resort of Wintergreen, Virginia for a vacation and need help putting together a nice meal for a special birthday or a family reunion, then you should hire Quintrell Catering. They’ll do an excellent job, and I’m not saying that just because the owner, Cindy Quintrell, is my girlfriend.

Girlfriend? That sounds nice, but truthfully, we haven’t put a formal label on our relationship. We will soon. I’m sure of it.

We have a lot in common. We’re both divorced with grown kids and are in our late fifties. (Okay, so I’m already sixty. We don’t have to split hairs. Do we?) Cindy and I agree on just about everything. Well, not everything. We do have differences of opinion on occasion, but we’ve been able to work them out so far. Of course, Cindy’s an awesome cook, which doesn’t hurt. She knew the victim and most of the suspects as well, which helped me get my footing. And she’s also a great photographer, which came in very handy as we moved toward the climax of the case.

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

Oh, gosh, Wintergreen is gorgeous. Let me tell you about it. After walking for exercise this morning, I strung binoculars around my neck, grabbed a mug of freshly made coffee, and ambled onto my condo balcony to enjoy the stunning view.

The crest of the hill across the wooded valley rolled softly down from the right. The curved line of the hill resembled a woman lying on her side, wider at the shoulders and the hips, narrower at the waist, beautiful and mysterious at the same time. The Mountain Inn lay at the top of the valley on the right. Idle chairlift towers and cables ran up the cleared ski slopes. Hidden ski runs cut sweeping lines through the forests. Silence hung heavy and comfortable, broken only by the intermittent chirping of small birds.

Stepping up to the balcony rail, I leaned out and scanned the line of condo buildings along my side of the valley. To the right, more buildings climbed the ridge of the hill. The sides of the small gorge met farther down the mountain and leveled out into the Rockfish Valley. Off in the distance, a soft blue haze hovered over the rounded peaks of the Blue Ridge.

There are three thousand residences up here on the mountain, but less than a thousand of us live here year-round, which makes for a small community. It’s the kind of place where you can get to know people really well. I’m still learning a lot about nature and meeting new people, but I can already tell that I’ve found a new home.

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

Two of the Wintergreen police officers helped me a lot on this investigation. They’re really top-notch. Mitch Gentry is a huge man and a relatively young policeman, but he’s a super-quick study. Mitch knows the mountains in this area well and helped me think through how people could get from one place to another on the hiking trails around here. Krista Jackson is a single mom in her late thirties who works in the office. She tells funny stories about her kids and their dogs. Whenever I leave her cubicle, I have a smile on my face. And she’s really good at working the internet. Seems like there’s nothing she can’t find.

Yeah, there are a bunch of great people up here in Wintergreen. But they’re not all perfect. Might even be a murderer or two lurking somewhere.

Dianne, thanks for inviting me to visit and tell you a little about the Wintergreen Mystery world. Next time you’re in Virginia, be sure to drive up and see us, and if you need some help putting together a special meal, be sure to call Quintrell Catering.

Thanks, Bill, and good luck to you and your author, Patrick Kelly, with The Mountain View Murder, the first book in the Wintergreen mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Bill and his author, Patrick Kelly by visiting the author’s website and his Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram pages. You can also follow him on Twitter.

The novel is available at the following online retailers:

 Amazon Paperback  – Amazon Kindle – Books2Read   –  Barnes & Noble –   Kobo 

About Pat Kelly: Pat was raised in the idyllic suburb of Yorktown, Virginia, where children ran barefoot through the grass and fished in the York River. After graduating from UVA, he left the state to pursue a career in finance. He settled in Texas, married a wonderful woman (Susie), and together they raised two daughters in Austin. With the girls now grown and gone, Pat has pursued a lifelong love of writing stories. Countless hours at the keyboard have produced the Joe Robbins Thriller Series, two book awards, and four standalone novels. A few years ago, Pat and Susie bought a summer home in the bucolic mountaintop resort of Wintergreen, Virginia. The beautiful vistas there inspired Pat to write a cozy mystery series featuring the reluctant detective Bill O’Shea. Join Pat’s newsletter to follow Bill’s adventures as he dodges irrepressible bears, pursues romance, and solves mysteries.

Posted in Archives, July 2021 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Draw and Order

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Miranda Trent is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Draw and Order, the latest novel in the Paint & Shine mystery series.

Welcome, Miranda. 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, my name is Miranda Trent, and I am a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design. I went to New York City to make my fortune, but unfortunately, Appalachian Mountain landscapes painted in the French Impressionist style aren’t in vogue Then came the sad news that my dear Uncle Gene passed away. That was immediately followed by a call from his lawyer notifying me that I had inherited the family farmhouse.  

I decided to start a cultural adventure business that touched on all my strong points. I lead a group of tourists on a woodland trail, and as a group, we create a painting of sandstone formations. Then I take them to my farmhouse for a traditional southern meal paired with home-brewed moonshine. The name of the business is Paint & Shine. I am so excited.

Does the writer control what happens in the story, or do you get a say too? That’s tricky because my writer plots the entire mystery before she starts writing. Then, I begin guiding the story while she’s writing. I have so many good ideas. She sometimes has to reevaluate and take time to update the outline. LOL!

How did you evolve as the main character? My writer finds my point of view has the most interesting perspective of the cast of characters. She thinks that a strong, independent young woman approaches life challenges so that readers will find them compelling. That’s about it, I guess. I think he’ll be an essential part of the series.

Do you have any other characters you like sharing the story with? If so, why are you partial to them? My favorite character is Ranger Austin Morgan. I’ve known him since I was a kid because he lives on the next farm down the road. He’s become vital to me during our crime-solving adventures.

What’s the place like where you find yourself in this story? My favorite place is on the front porch swing with my puppy Sandy in my lap. In the mornings, I have a cup of rich coffee and with fresh cream. In the evenings, I’ll be enjoying a moonshine cocktail.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about you and the book? This series is very special to my writer. Her parents were born, raised, married, and now buried in this beautiful part of the Appalachians. Her grandfather built the farmhouse featured in the books, and she lived there until she was two. Here’s hoping that this series has a long successful run.

Thank you for answering my questions, Miranda, and good luck to you and your author, Cheryl Hollon, with Draw and Order, the latest book in the Paint & Shine mystery series.

Readers can learn more about Miranda and her author, Cheryl Hollon 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     Google Play  IndieBound 

About Cheryl Hollon: Cheryl now writes full-time after she left an engineering career of designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind her house in St. Petersburg, Florida, Cheryl and her husband design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass, and painted glass artworks. 

Posted in Archives, July 2021 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Murder Most Pemberley

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Jessica Berg is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Murder Most Pemberley, her first novel in the Eliza Darcy Mystery series.

Welcome, Jessica. 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 Most Pemberley is the first book in the Eliza Darcy Mystery series. My protagonist, Eliza Darcy, is the great to the sixth-degree granddaughter of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy. When we first meet her, she is readying for a trip across the pond to England for a family reunion at Pemberley to investigate the estrangement between her father and her uncle, Lord Fitzwilliam Darcy. Well, things escalate quickly, and she soon finds her embroiled in murder and mayhem! Add in the mix a sexy English love interest and a batty great aunt, and Eliza has her hands full.

Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from? My two favorite authors are Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, and I thought, what the heck, why not combine the two in one universe! So, I did and ended up with an Austen sleuth in a Christie world. The mystery itself revolves around the great estate of Pemberley. I can’t say too much, or I might give away the secret!

Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it? My writing, whether cozies or contemporary romances, centers around family. So, while my settings, characters, and plots may change, family remains the staple of all my novels. By combining Austen’s family-centered novels with Christie’s cozies, where dysfunctional families often bring about murder and mayhem, my writing deals with the impact families have on characters, whether for good or bad.

How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them? My characters are a mix of many people, often ones I know personally. I often use my family as inspiration and steal one aspect from this person, combine with a few other traits from someone else, and ta-da, I have a brand-new person! It’s quite fun and the most enjoyable part of writing. My favorite character, so far, is Great Aunt Iris from Murder Most Pemberley. She’s spicy, spunky, wears velvet track suits and white tennis shoes that squeak, carries a purse bigger than she is, and makes inappropriate innuendos that only an octogenarian can get away with. She is my goal for my eighty-plus-year-old self!

How do you bring to life the place you are writing about? I browse pictures on Google or Unsplash or Pixabay to get a solid idea of what the location looks like in reality, and then I play with those ideas when I incorporate those descriptions into my narrative. To do that, I imagine myself there and pay attention to all my senses: What would I see? Would the ground beneath my feet feel firm or spongy? Am I standing in the shade on a hot summer’s day or am I in summer gear and the day is only 60 degrees and cloudy? Am I in a flower garden surrounded by marigolds (which don’t smell good) or roses (which are delicious)? These are the details I think about and then incorporate through the eyes of the characters.

What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel? For Murder Most Pemberley, I did a lot of research. Like, a ton! I read several books on British slang, speech patterns, and the like. My husband and I also love British television shows and are currently watching Midsomer Murders. While we watch I have my little notebook, and I jot down certain phrases or interjections or speech patterns. As for the English communities and settings in my book, Lambton and Pemberley are Austen’s fictionalizations, so I simply played on her descriptions from Pride and Prejudice. I also went a step further and had three separate English beta readers read my book for feedback. I want this book to be as authentic as possible, but I also want to play off the differences between American English and British English; these lost in translation moments had hilarious moments in my fictional world.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book? If you love Jane Austen and/or Agatha Christie and love a good mystery with authentic characters, I know you will love tagging along with American sleuth Eliza Darcy as she traverses the upper crust of English society and attempts to solve a murder!

Thank you for answering my questions, Jessica, and good luck with Murder Most Pemberley, your first novel in the Eliza Darcy Mystery series.

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

The novel is available online at the following retailers:

Amazon – Kobo – B&N – Books2Read

About Jessica Berg: She is a child of the Dakotas and the prairie, grew up amongst hard-working men and women and learned at an early early age to “put some effort into it.” Following that wise adage, she has put effort into teaching high school English for over a decade, being a mother to four children (she finds herself surprised at this number, too), basking in the love of her husband of more than fifteen years and losing herself in the imaginary worlds she creates.

Posted in Archives, June 2021 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Who, me?

Posted on June 29, 2021 by Dianne Ascroft

Today Charlotte Stuart is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about Who Me? Fog Bows, Fraud and Aphrodite, her latest novel in the Macavity & Me Mystery series.

Welcome, Charlotte. 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.

Who Me? Fog Bows, Fraud and Aphrodite is the 2nd in the Macavity & Me Mysteries. The first was Why Me? Chimeras, Conundrums and Dead Goldfish.

Bryn Baczek lives on a sailboat in an urban marina in Seattle with her cat, Macavity, and a series of short-lived goldfish. (She keeps replacing them to avoid telling her young niece that they died.) In Why Me? she discovers a body that disappears. In Who Me? she finds a murder weapon that is stolen before she can turn it over to the police. In both books there are serious themes: trafficking illegal human organs in Why Me? and fraud in non-profit organizations in Who Me?. In both books Bryn has liveaboard friends who assist in the investigations and a cat who complicates her life. Her relationships with friends and family are central to the light-hearted storylines. My goal is to make people smile while presenting a twisty puzzle to solve.

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

I once overheard a fight between two people on a boat several slips away and have always wondered if I should have intervened. My imagination took over from there—

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

I’ve worked for non-profits, both as an employee an as a consultant, and have been impressed with their dedication to mission. At the same time, I’ve seen how frequent turnover of staff and board members can have a negative impact on safeguards within an organization. I’m also aware that there are many financial issues that audits don’t uncover. Hence, the focus on fraud.

And . . .  once you start writing mysteries, you see motives for murder everywhere!

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

In each of my mysteries I’ve started by identifying a main character and a context for their life. The next step for me is to populate their story with friends, family, colleagues, and, frequently, pets. Since I have to “live” with the cast of characters while writing the book, I prefer likeable if flawed characters.

In this series, I’m particularly fond of Macavity. He’s so real to me that I had a hard time reconciling the cat on the cover with my vision of him, even though the cover was based on a description I gave to the graphics designer.

Another favourite is Logan, my protagonist’s good friend who lives at the same marina. He’s a composite of several friends in my life, someone you can count on no matter what. I enjoy writing about their camaraderie and their comfortable back-and-forth exchanges.

In addition, I liked the Scottish “bad boy” from Why Me? and am working on ways to bring him back to life.

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

In this series it was easy—the location is based on a marina where my husband and I lived aboard our sailboat for ten years. Because I loved that boat and miss it still, I gave the boat in Who Me? the same name: Aspara. It’s from a utopian novel, Islandia, in which sea birds by that name accompanied the main character while sailing. Austin Tappan Wright, the author of Islandia, also had a boat called Aspara.

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

I love doing research, so although I like to write about topics with which I have some familiarity, I do a lot of online and book research. Unfortunately, I can’t resist wanting to have some of the best resources at my fingertips. I’m running out of bookshelves, and I have so many files on my computer, just organizing them is becoming a challenge.

In Who Me? for instance, I thought I knew a lot about audits and non-profit boards. But when I started looking into potential for fraud, I was amazed at how much information there was. Of course you can’t use everything you learn—it would overload the story with details. But I would like to think that readers know I make an effort to support and motivate plot with facts.

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

Just that I really enjoy writing mysteries about good people who find themselves in difficult and sometimes dangerous situations that can only be overcome with ingenuity and a little luck. I would like to think that my mysteries are a pleasant distraction from the strife and challenges of the times we live in.

Thank you for answering my questions, Charlotte, and good luck with Who Me? Fog Bows, Fraud and Aphrodite, your latest novel in the Macavity & Me Mystery series.

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

The novel is available online at  Amazon 

About Charlotte Stuart: In a world filled with uncertainty and too little chocolate, Charlotte Stuart, PhD, has taught college courses in speech communication, was a management consultant and a VP of HR, and has enjoyed time spent sailing and commercial salmon fishing in Alaska. Her current passion is for writing mysteries with a dollop of adventure and a smattering of humor. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys watching herons, eagles, seals and other sea life from her Vashon Island home office.

Posted in Archives, June 2021 | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments