One of my favorite things about cozy mysteries are the possibilities of bonus content, like how to knit a one-of-a-kind scarf or arrange the flowers from my garden into beautiful summer centerpiece, or maybe carve that Christmas ornament for your first grandchild. (I could teach you;) If those skills are more than you want to tackle and you just want to keep those experiences on your bookshelf, I know the perfect craft for you to indulge in—Scottish scones! Who better to teach us then the Scottish Scone sisters creator, Lucy Burdette. After traveling to Scotland five years ago with a fellow writer, I decided to go back with my family in tow, but this time, we visited other parts of the UK as well. I’ve tried scones at that addictive American coffee house and just shrugged. (It’s their Frappuccino that keeps me going back, not their baked goods.) It was a different story, however, when we went to the U.K. And having tried Lucy’s recipe, I can guarantee it will bring you much closer to the real thing than any coffee shop’s pastries in the states! So of course, when the Scottish Scone sisters came stateside to visit food critic…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, THE GIRL FROM THE PAPERS? Jennifer L. Wright: When writing my first novel, If It Rains, I did a lot of research on the Great Depression era – so much so, in fact, that I couldn’t possibly fit all the information I had into the book. Unwilling to let the fascinating details I was collecting fall to the wayside, I started sharing various tidbits on my blog, including a short article about Bonnie and Clyde, which unknowingly caught the attention of my editor at Tyndale. She mentioned how their story would make a fascinating book but admitted she wasn’t sure if I could put a redemptive arc on such a tragic tale. Never one to back away from a challenge, I decided to try it anyway. What struck me the most as I dove deeper in the lives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow was their strong faith background: both were raised in Christian homes, and Clyde was even baptized in late childhood. Member of their gang reported seeing the pair praying together nightly during their life on the run. These little nuggets of information started my mind spinning with “what if” questions….and…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, SUN DAMAGE? Sabine: Durrant: I came up with the idea during the pandemic and I guess it was sub-conscious wish-fulfilment. I was due to go on family holiday in the South of France, but I had to cancel it and, as I sat in south London, the villa we’d booked took up residence in my head. Sun Damage is about a grifter who takes on someone else’s life, and I guess my main character was in many ways taking mine.   Jen: Who are Ali and Sean, and why are they in the South of France? Sabine: Ali and Sean are con artists. Ali, a damaged woman in her early twenties, had been living the life of a petty criminal until she met Sean, an older man, with more sophisticated tastes and skills. He taught her everything he knows and, having cut a swathe through India and Morocco, they moved on to Europe in search of new marks to work on, fresh scams to pull. The South of France, playground of the wealthy and the bored, has so far provided rich pickings.   Jen: How does Lulu fit in? Sabine: Lulu looks like…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your latest release, THE KEEPER OF HIDDEN BOOKS? Madeline Martin: I found some incredible journals by Warsaw’s public librarians about their efforts through the Nazi occupation during WWII. While the looting and pulping of Polish books was rampant, the librarians were secreting books away – hiding them in boxes and under debris and even storing them in a secret warehouse. When Nazis closed the libraries, the librarians opened a secret one under their noses, ensuring there were still ways for their patrons to read books when they needed them most. But subterfuge around secreting books to readers was also happening within the Warsaw ghetto walls. People hauled their own personal collection of books in suitcases to share with one another. And a librarian of the Warsaw Public Library opened something called CENTOS, which was a secret library for children disguised under the auspices of being a care facility for orphans. CENTOS was truly ingenious with secret shelves that flipped around to hide the books within. Those amazing effort were so inspiring!   Jen: How does Zofia’s love of reading bring her comfort in war-torn Poland? Madeline: When I create my characters, I delve into the country’s…

We Need More Olivia Blacke Books!  Cozy mystery author Olivia Blacke sits down and discusses writing, books, music, fairs, sisters, coffee, tea, hockey, and cows at the Cozy Corner.  I love coming across a podcast featuring an author I haven’t read. I love it even more when that author is funny, interesting and a genuinely nice person. That’s what I discovered one afternoon, and when I read her book, I loved today’s author even more. But the true test came when I reached out to Olivia Blacke and found out she is the exactly the kind of author you want to meet at a book signing. She’s down to earth, relatable, and thoroughly entertaining. Just read on and find out!   Kym: Hi Olivia! Congrats on July 25th release of your second Record Shop Mystery, A FATAL GROOVE. Can you tell our readers a bit about your three sisters, Juni, Tansy and Maggie who run this fantastic record shop with a coffee shop in its midst called Sip &Spin Records which is located in the outskirts of Austin, Texas. What makes these three work so great together and do you have siblings you’ve worked with before?  Olivia: Juni, the main…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, HER, TOO? Bonnie Kistler: I usually can’t reconstruct where my ideas come from, but in the case of Her, Too, it was literally “ripped from the headlines.” Like much of the world, I was riveted by the trials of those prominent entertainment figures (you know who they are) who were accused and ultimately convicted of sex crimes. What struck me in each of those cases was that the defendant was represented by a woman attorney. There was an obvious strategy in his choice. A woman could very aggressively cross-examine the female victim without offending the jurors to the same extent that a male lawyer would have. A female attorney could also soften her client’s image in subtle ways, like leaning close to speak to him, touching his shoulder, etc. Non-verbal cues that send a subliminal message to the jury that he can’t be the monster the prosecutor is claiming. But what fascinated me wasn’t the defendant’s choice of counsel. Rather, it was the lawyer’s choice to take his case. It made me wonder if she felt any inner conflict and how she might have rationalized her decision. I wondered if she was the…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS? Kristy Woodson Harvey: For starters, I started writing this book during the pandemic, and I just wanted to go somewhere fun! And outside! So I knew I was going to write a book about summer camp. But my family actually ended up going to a family camp during that time, and, while we were there reminiscing with friends about our own camp experiences, this story really started to take shape.   Jen: Who is June Moore, and what’s her connection to Camp Holly Springs? Kristy: June Moore is the owner and director of Camp Holly Springs—and protagonist Daphne’s aunt. Daphne and June have been through a lot together, namely losing Daphne’s mom and June’s sister. Throughout the course of this book, Daphne really begins to realize how Camp Holly Springs brought her back to life after that loss. And June begins to realize that maybe she’s used camp as an excuse to hide from the real world. But this place is incredibly special to both women, and they have a hugely vested interest in saving it.   Jen: Who are Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart, and how are they…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, HOTEL LAGUNA? Nicola Harrison: The first time I started thinking about this novel was in the height of the pandemic. We were still living on the East Coast, staying home, and everything felt so uncertain. I couldn’t travel to do physical research so I thought to myself, where do I want to travel in my mind and live in my imagination for the next year and a half or two years or however long it takes me to write this novel. I kept coming back to the idea of Laguna Beach, a place that I know very well and have a lot of fond memories. I lived there after college and both my parents are artists and have exhibited in art galleries and the festivals in Laguna. I wanted to dream up scenes and adventures and quirky characters all living their lives in this beautiful, bohemian town that is a haven for artists. Once I settled on the time period of the 1940s and learned about the women who worked on the Homefront during the war, taking on jobs previously reserved for men, building airplanes and ammunition and tanks, I started to merge…

Sometimes finding the right book to read while lounging under an umbrella on miles of white sand can be a chore, or at least the hardest decision to make while taking a break with a little bit of sun and waves. Search no more! I have the perfect list to choose from, or select them all—it’s your choice—I mean it is your vacation from everyone and their brother telling you what to do. Especially those pesky rug-rats throwing sand at each other and trying to tell you their sibling should be the one in trouble. It’s dad’s turn to be a child (it’s not like that’s is a strange concept for him) and entertain the kiddos while you just breathe in the salty air and read. If they get bored, he can pull out all those goodies you packed while you relax and escape into a fabulous mystery world. Take a look at the treats I have for you, you’ll wish you could devour them as fast as the kids!   Legally Burned Paranormal Justice for All (Book 2) By Jane Biteme 5/7/23 AFTER NAILING THE BIGGEST CASE OF HER CAREER, SLOAN REYNOLDS. SHOULD RE SIPPING SOME WELL-DESERVED SMOKED BOURBON…

Jennifer Vido: For readers unfamiliar with the Cape Sanctuary series, please give us a brief overview. What makes it such a special place? RaeAnne Thayne: Cape Sanctuary is a fictitious town in northern California, roughly based around Trinidad. It’s a community made up of sometimes quirky, always caring people who consider themselves fortunate to live in a place of beauty and peace, where neighbors help each other. I call Utah my home, eight hundred miles from the nearest beach, but I absolutely adore beach towns. I took two of my favorites, Cannon Beach, OR and Pacific Grove/Carmel, CA, and combined them to come up with Cape Sanctuary, a place beloved equally by artists, writers and those who love the outdoors. Each of the five books in the series (THE CLIFF HOUSE, THE SEA GLASS COTTAGE, THE PATH TO SUNSHINE COVE, SUMMER AT THE CAPE and now THE CAFÉ AT BEACH END) is a standalone title, connected to the other books in the title only by geography. It doesn’t matter which book readers start with!   Jen: What inspired THE CAFE AT BEACH END? RaeAnne: I love reading about characters who have reached rock bottom, with nowhere else to go, so…