I love mysteries with a quirky convention or fan festival as part of the story. In your new book BAKE OFFED, you have the “Maryland Mystery Fan Fest”. What was your inspiration? BAKE OFFED takes place at a fictional mystery fan fest. The book was inspired by the dozens of actual mystery fan conventions I’ve attended. I was at one of them, Left Coast Crime, in March of 2020 when Covid shut down the gathering on its first day. At that time, I was plotting my 8th Five-Ingredient Mystery. Realizing it might be a long time before I would once again meet mystery writers and fans in person, I created a fictional mystery festival. Like most such gatherings, the one in my book includes panels, book signings, and a charity auction for book lovers. But it also has a few features not usually seen at a real mystery convention–a Deadly Desserts bake-off and a murder, which the fest attendees are eager to solve.   As is the case with many mysteries, the murder victim in BAKE OFFED seems to be disliked by many, and so there are multiple plausible suspects. Do you have the murderer determined before you write the book, or does the guilty party change as…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Sarah Fox!   Writes: I write cozy mysteries featuring strong female sleuths with big hearts and lots of curiosity. THROUGH THE LIQUOR GLASS is the fifth book in the Literary Pub Mystery series, which features pub owner and book lover Sadie Coleman. In this book, Sadie is taking part in a local food and drink festival while preparing for her mother’s first visit to Shady Creek, Vermont. When a food writer turns up dead at the craft brewery owned by Sadie’s boyfriend, Grayson, a chill settles over Sadie’s life, one that has nothing to do with the fall weather. When Grayson becomes the prime suspect because of his past ties to the murder victim, Sadie sets out to ensure that Grayson won’t be wearing an orange jumpsuit when her mother meets him for the first time.   About: Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, I now live in a small town. I’ve been devouring mysteries from a young age, starting with Nancy Drew,…

(c) Lauren Elliott, Kensington Publishing Corp., 2022.  STEEPED IN SECRETS excerpt shared with permission from the publisher.   “Then see if this is more to your liking.” Julia yanked on the corner edge of the back curtain and revealed an ornate wrought-iron spiral staircase.   “Now that’s what I was waiting to see,” Liam said. “Access to the second floor.”   “Why?” Shay eyed him warily. “Are you hoping it’s filled with the bodies of her customers?”   “Now that would make a good tale to tell tonight in the pub, wouldn’t it?” With a flash of humor in his eyes, he shuffled past her toward the staircase. “Actually, I have a rooftop patio on my second floor, and at night I could hear her singing. When it was a quiet night in the pub, I would just sit for hours, listening to her Irish songs. She had quite the voice, sad but really good.” He stepped up onto the first metal stair. “Always wanted to see what she was working on up here till the wee hours of the morning.”   “What’s that?” Shay pointed to the wall behind Liam.   “What?” Julia looked to the spot Shay had…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A DOGGONE DEATH 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Samantha Davies and her dachshund, Porkchop can’t seem to help to stumble upon dead bodies. This time it’s a fellow hooker, rug hooker that is. What should be a friendly event, a hook-in, turns deadly. Sam, her cousin Candie, with Porkchop in tow, has to wade through suspects to make sure their good friend Lucy doesn’t wind up behind bars. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I wanted a small-town atmosphere and I’m lucky to live in upstate New York surrounded by some very beautiful small towns. They were the inspiration for my setting. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely. I love her fun personality and loyalty to her friends and family. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Caring, loyalty, and independence 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? To relax and enjoy the process. The writing community is a very giving and encouraging group of people. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I try to wait until the end,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE PLOT THICKETS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Lilly Jayne visits the town cemetery and decides things don’t look quite right. Asking some questions unearths scandals, graft, and murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My series is about gardening, and I was thinking about a new location and decided that having Lilly and the Garden Squad decide to clean up some old graves and plant flowers would be an interesting way to explore what might happen in a historic cemetery. What would happen if someone decided to start making more space to make some money? What else could happen there? 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! She’s got an interesting backstory, great friends, and a wonderful house for entertaining. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Kind, loyal, fierce 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I did some research on small towns and committees that help run the cemeteries. Two friends shared recent experiences with town cemetery plots as well – having to use their “space” for an aunt, so they’d need to make…

1–What is the title of your latest release? DEATH BY SPICED CHAI 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Krissy Hancock has a history getting involved in every bad thing that takes place in Pine Hills. She often tries to avoid it, but always seems to find herself dragged into it (though it doesn’t take much to get her involved!) This time, there’s no avoiding the case because everything is being blamed on her—including a murder. And not only that, but it appears that every crime, every insult attributed to Krissy, ties back to previously solved murders that’s she’s been involved in. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Because (almost) all of the Bookstore Café novels take place in Pine Hills! The individual locations in town (the library, the church, and so on) varies depending on what characters appear. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Probably not, but that’s because I don’t hang out with anyone, really. So, that’s on me more than Krissy, who’d likely only come knocking if someone I knew was found murdered. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Nosy. Inquisitive. Socially anxious. (Yes,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? My latest release is SEAMS LIKE MURDER.  It’s the launch book of my Sewing Studio Mystery – my 48th published novel.   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Abbey Chandler returns to quaint, touristy Hideaway Grove where she spent summers with her aunt, and finds herself involved in the town’s sewing project and a murder. The charity sewing project Abbey heads up is making pillowcase dresses for girls in Africa.  I’ve been sewing and donating these dresses to a non-profit for several years.  I’ve donated over 1,000 dresses so far.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I decided a fictional town would work best for SEAMS LIKE MURDER, so I created Hideaway Grove.  It’s known for its specialty shops, antique stores, and art galleries.  The town’s founder was a birdwatcher so most of the businesses and streets are named after birds.  I had a delightful time developing this small town—I even drew a map!   4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? I’d love to hang out with Abbey!  I’d also love to live in Hideaway Grove—if only that were…

Chocolate-Orange Cheesecake Pie Yummy recipes are a big part of the world inhabited by the Knit & Nibble knitting club of Arborville, New Jersey, featured in my Knit & Nibble cozy mystery series. The club meets once a week and the member hosting the meeting serves coffee and dessert, usually homemade. Holidays also present an opportunity for baking and feasting. In DEATH BY CHRISTMAS SCARF, my amateur sleuth Pamela Paterson, founder and mainstay of the knitting club, bakes a special cake as her contribution to the festive Christmas dinner hosted by her best friends, Wilfred and Bettina Fraser. It’s an orange-flavored yellow cake with vanilla cream filling and chocolate buttercream frosting. I think of Christmas and oranges as going together, perhaps because in earlier times oranges were one of the few fresh fruits available in the winter, though even they would be imported from sunnier climes unless one lived in California or Florida. My husband, who grew up in Illinois, recalls that Christmas always brought a box of oranges from Florida, a gift from his grandfather who lived there in his retirement. Since the recipe for Pamela’s special cake is included at the end of DEATH BY CHRISTMAS SCARF, I…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MURDER IN A CAPE COTTAGE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? ʼTis the day after Christmas, only five days before their wedding, when Mac and her fiancé, Tim, begin a cottage renovation project and open a wall to find a skeleton—sitting on a stool, dressed in an old-fashioned bridal gown, her hands chained to the wall. As Mac delves into the decades-old mystery with the help of her book group, she discovers a story of star-crossed lovers and feuding families worthy of the bard himself. Yet this tale has a modern-day villain still lurking in Mac’s quaint seaside town, ready to make it a murderous New Year’s Eve wedding. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? This is the fourth Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, so the town of Westham on Cape Cod is the setting. Mac and Tim are about to marry, and I wanted some of the action in this book to happen in the Cape Cod-style cottage they share. When I had the idea of discovering a skeleton in the wall, I decided they would discover the decades-old bride during a bit…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Liz Lipperman!   Writes: Cozy mysteries as Liz Lipperman and paranormal mysteries, romantic thrillers and International romantic thrillers as Lizbeth Lipperman. Enchi-Lotta Bodies is number 6 of the Jordan McAllister Mysteries, originally titled The Clueless Cook Series. It follows the life of Jordan, who moved to a small town in Texas after getting dumped by a long-time boyfriend and ends up at a rundown apartment building where she becomes fast friends with the first floor residents, affectionately known as her partners in crime. Living on fast food and bologna sandwiches, she almost turns down an offer to write the culinary column temporarily at the local newspaper before she and her friends come up with a plan to publish comfort recipes, slap on a fancy name, and call them gourmet recipes.   About: Bestselling author, Liz Lipperman was raised in a small town in Ohio and started writing many years ago, even before she retired from the medical field. Although she thought she was writing…