For Scarlett Parker, part of the fun of living in London is celebrating the British holidays, and she’s excited to share her first Bonfire Night with her cousin Vivian Tremont. Invited to a posh party by their friend Harrison Wentworth, Scarlett and Viv decide to promote their hat shop, Mim’s Whims, by donning a few of their more outrageous creations. The hats prove to be quite the conversation starters as the girls mix and mingle with the guests—never suspecting that one of them is a killer.
It’s a cold, clear night, perfect for the British tradition of tossing a straw stuffed effigy of Guy Fawkes, traitor to the crown, onto the bonfire. But instead of a straw man, they realize in the heat of the moment that the would-be Guy Fawkes is actually Harrison’s office rival and he’s been murdered. Before the smoke has cleared, Harrison is the Metropolitan police’s prime suspect, and Scarlett and Vivian must find the real homicidal hothead before their dear friend’s life goes up in flames.
Frequently, I am asked if my characters are me. Is Mel Cooper, who runs the bakery in the Cupcake Bakery series and has a severe sweet tooth, me? Is Lindsey Norris, who has my former occupation of librarian, in the Library Lover’s mysteries me? Is Scarlett Parker, the customer contact for the London Hat Shop mysteries and a real people pleaser, me? Or are these characters based on people that I know? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
I’d be lying if I said these character’s lives aren’t based a little bit on my own. It’s only natural, I suppose, that much of my life experience is siphoned off a bit into each character. But I’ve noticed that while a character might start out with some of my idiosyncrasies or personality traits, they usually morph into their own person by the end of the first book and if the series runs even longer, they are fully developed with little to no resemblance to me by book three.
Such is the case with Scarlett in COPY CAP MURDER. When it comes to her business manager Harrison Wentworth, Scarlett has quite the jealous streak. This amused me to no end while writing it because I don’t have one. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I did when I was younger but then I dated this one guy who thought it was great when I was jealous when he hit on other girls because it made him feel valued. Yeah, that did it. I broke up with him and vowed to myself that I would never ever be jealous again. In hindsight, he did me a big favor. Jealousy is a pretty lousy emotion and as far as I can tell a complete waste of time. That being said, it was fun to revisit the old green eyed monster in the guise of my character Scarlett. Because she’s feisty and fiery, she made it work so much better for her than I ever did for me.
Of course, Scarlett has no need to be jealous where Harrison is concerned. He is as smitten with her as she is with him. But still, when a calculating ex-girlfriend of his arrives in the picture, Scarlett can’t help feeling a bit turfy about Harry, especially when Tuesday Blount makes it clear that she is determined to win Harrison back and there is nothing Scarlett can do to stop her.
Having made a vow that she wouldn’t date for at least one year after her last disastrous relationship, Scarlett is thrown into quite a quandary. Should she break her promise to herself and grab Harry before the hideous Tuesday can get her mitts on him? Or should she stay the course, wait out the year and hope that Harry is still available when she is ready to date? Decisions, decisions. Sadly, I guess you’ll just have to read the book to find out what Scarlett does. Sorry, no spoilers here!
With that in mind, I hope you enjoy reading COPY CAP MURDER as much as I enjoyed writing it. Scarlett and Viv sure do keep me guessing and I hope they do the same for you!
Cheers!
Jenn
About Jenn McKinlay
Jenn McKinlay took her first decoupage class when she was twelve years old. Since then, cutting and pasting have become a way of life. With two small children at home, she finds decoupage a fun craft as well as a very handy tool, especially when used to cover up doodles made in permanent marker on otherwise lovely furniture. And yes, they know her by name at her local Michael’s Craft Store. She is the author of three previous novels under the name Jennifer McKinlay and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her musician husband Chris, their two sons, two cats, one dog and one fish.
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About COPY CAP MURDERER
The New York Times bestselling author of At the Drop of a Hat returns to her London hat shop with a fresh tale of milliners and murder.
For Scarlett Parker, part of the fun of living in London is celebrating the British holidays, and she’s excited to share her first Bonfire Night with her cousin Vivian Tremont. Invited to a posh party by their friend Harrison Wentworth, Scarlett and Viv decide to promote their hat shop, Mim’s Whims, by donning a few of their more outrageous creations. The hats prove to be quite the conversation starters as the girls mix and mingle with the guests—never suspecting that one of them is a killer.
It’s a cold, clear night, perfect for the British tradition of tossing a straw stuffed effigy of Guy Fawkes, traitor to the crown, onto the bonfire. But instead of a straw man, they realize in the heat of the moment that the would-be Guy Fawkes is actually Harrison’s office rival and he’s been murdered. Before the smoke has cleared, Harrison is the Metropolitan police’s prime suspect, and Scarlett and Vivian must find the real homicidal hothead before their dear friend’s life goes up in flames.
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