Book Title: MURDER AND MAMON Character Name: Lila Macapagal   How would you describe your family or your childhood? My family mostly consists of people who are not related to me by blood but are family all the same. My family is my greatest support and also my greatest source of stress. They love me a lot (though they’d never actually say it, of course) but that love is heavy because it comes with a lot of expectations. My adolescence (and early adulthood, let’s be real) was mostly me struggling to figure out what I owe to my family and what I owe to myself.   What is your greatest talent? Singing and baking   Significant other? Dr. Jae Park, a local dentist who is very hot, very geeky, and very sweet.   Biggest challenge in relationships? Trust   Where do you live? Shady Palms, IL, a small town about two hours outside of Chicago   Do you have any enemies? Probably all the murderers I caught while amateur sleuthing. Plus the usual haters   How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this…

1–What is the title of your latest release? HOMICIDE AT HIGH NOON. It’s book two in the Ghost Town Mysteries series. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Ghost town manager, Lily Cranston, is under suspicion when money comes up missing. Lily goes to meet with the bank’s auditor, but discovers he’s been killed before she’s had a chance to plead her case! In danger of facing embezzlement charges, she’s now a prime murder suspect. Putting her skills to the test to find the guilty party, she uncovers shocking truths and unscrupulous practices along the way. Will she be able to find the missing money and the killer before it’s too late? Or will her time run out as the killer sets their sights on her… 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I enjoy visiting ghost towns and the series is set in a very active ghost town. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, she and her family are a great group of people. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Determined, trustworthy, and dedicated. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Most embezzlers are woman…

1–What is the title of your latest release? My latest release is MRS. JEFFRIES AIMS TO WIN….and I had a blast writing it.  I’ve always enjoyed writing my books, but this one was really special. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? What happens when a man who is just this side of evil ends up dead in a place where everyone, and I mean everyone, has a good reason to want him gone from the face of the earth? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My books are already set in a very specific universe so it’s very easy for me.  I simply decide how many days/weeks/months have passed since my last book.  For this one, the time frame isn’t very long….not to give any secrets away, but there’s a reason the time frame is somewhat short. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I have a ‘household’ full of protagonists – and I would hang out with any of them/all of them in a hot second! These are people who realize that a life worth living doesn’t just mean surviving, it means you do what’s right, regardless of…

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…

Book Title: NINE LIVES AND ALIBIS Character Name: Maddie James   How would you describe your family or your childhood? I adore my family, even when they drive me crazy. I was lucky enough to grow up on idyllic Daybreak Island off the coast of Massachusetts with my parents and grandparents. I’m the oldest of three, all girls, and I have the best memories of growing up here. We lived with my grandparents for a while in their beautiful historic house on the ocean, and I have the best memories of sitting with Grandpa Leo in the reading nook and hitting the beach with Grandma. My family is the reason I came back a decade after I left. And they are probably the reason I will stay.   What was your greatest talent? Lately, my greatest talent seems to be solving murders! I’m also really good at business. The Cat Cafe, JJ’s House of Purrs, is my second business. My business partner Ethan and I ran a juice bar in San Francisco before I dragged him to the island to do this with me. We’re already getting the itch to start something new to supplement the cafe!   Significant other?…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MRS. MORRIS AND THE WOLFMAN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The series is about a widow from Chicago who needs a fresh start after losing her soulmate and takes a chance on a rundown mansion in Salem. Charlene Morris thinks it’s vacant, but it has a permanent ghostly guest, Jack Strathmore. She solves the mystery of his murder and the two become best friends. In this seventh book, Charlene is a mentor to a new business owner, whose wife is tragically poisoned on opening night of their movie theater. Of course, she’s got to step in and save her friend before he goes to jail for murder—death by seasoning salts that he’s created. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Salem is a magical city! We wanted a place with a lot of character and history, and Salem fit the bill. If you ever get a chance to visit, the locals are so friendly and helpful. By moving Charlene Morris from Chicago to Salem, she gets a complete do-over in her life at the B and B. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MURDER AT A CAPE BOOKSTORE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? It’s mud season on Cape Cod, and when an ill wind blows in a murder with a twist in the tale, bike shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida and her crime-solving book group are ready to leaf through the clues. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? This is the fifth in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, so my Cape Cod fictional village of Westham is the setting by default. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? I’d love to spend time with Mac. She’s smart, she has lived and traveled internationally as I have, and she loves reading cozy mysteries. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Loyal. Neat-freak. Family-centered. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned how to make spring rolls. Recipe testing is always part of writing this series. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? When I begin a writing session, I give a light edit to what I wrote the day before. That gets me back…

What is the title of your latest release? The books is HONEY DROP DEAD. It’s number 26 in my Tea Shop Mystery series.   What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Theodosia’s elegant Honey Bee Tea is set in Charleston’s Petigru Park amidst native grasses and a bee keeping project. But when a phony bee keeper sprays toxic smoke at guests and shoots local politician Osgood Claxton III, the party erupts in chaos. Holly Burns, the gallery owner who commissioned the tea, is in shock – a man is dead, guests injured, her paintings in tatters. When police don’t have a clue, when old-line politicos don’t want questions asked, Holly begs Theodosia to run a shadow investigation and help restore her gallery’s good name.   How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Lucky me, I’m writing Tea Shop Mysteries and there’s an actual tea plantation just outside Charleston, SC. Besides, how could I not set my series in this romantic city with its surging harbor, old mansions, hidden walkways, and haunted graveyards?   Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I’d hang out with Theodosia in a heartbeat. This is a…

Hi all! My Name is Lena Gregory and I’m excited to share a bit about MURDER A LA MODE, the first novel in my new Coffee & Cream Café Mystery series with you.   M is for Murder. Which Danika Delaney is 100% sure she didn’t commit and 99ish% sure Luca Marinelli, her ex-boyfriend, didn’t commit. U is for Unexpected. The last thing Danika expects to find when she returns home to take over her Uncle Jimmie’s failing ice cream parlor is a body in the basement. R is for Rumors. The Watchogue gossip mill is working overtime to keep up with rumors of infidelity and murder. D is for Detective Steamy. A.K.A. Detective Jake Barlow. E is for Ethel. Or in Danika’s case, her best friend and partner in crime, Gwen Rothberg. (The Ethel to her Lucy, according to Detective Steamy) R is for Revenge. If rumors are to be believed, Danika’s motive for killing Luca’s estranged wife, the same woman he cheated on her with at prom.   A is for Affair. Rumor also has it Danika returned at the same time Luca decided to divorce Heather because the two of them were having an affair.   L…

Excerpt from A TROUBLING TAIL The next day was a library day. The sunshine seemed to be sticking around for the time being, so it was an easy decision to walk to work. In my head, blue skies and sunshine went along with the month of May, and it was nice that reality was, for once, matching my imagination. “Lambs are coming,” I announced to the downtown sidewalk, because maybe it could use a reminder that no one would throw salt on it for at least five months. “And baby cows. Plus tulips and lilacs.” I smiled in anticipation. We had an ancient lilac bush at the house, underneath the bedroom window, which meant I was only two or three weeks away from keeping the window open at night and falling asleep to the scent of lilac blossoms. That is, if Eddie didn’t get too carried away. Last year, back at the boardinghouse, at two in the morning, he’d clawed a cat-size rip in my bedroom screen, squeezed himself through, and trotted out onto the steep roof. I’d lunged after him, but he was out and free, and only the dulcet tones of treats rattling in the can had lured…