1–What is the title of your latest release? DONUT DISTURB 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? This is the 15th book in my Bakeshop Mystery series featuring a lush wedding in Ashland’s charming Lithia Park, delectable donuts, and a side of murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Lithia Park in the Shakespearean hamlet is known as Ashland’s crown jewel. It’s the perfect setting for a late spring wedding. The park is a real place that I walk through nearly every morning. I love watching celebrations of all kinds—from birthday parties to graduations to weddings and everything in between. I’ve been waiting for a chance to have Jules cater a park wedding and this book was the perfect opportunity to bring it to life on the page. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! I love her passion for food and community, her quirky sense of humor, and her romantic tendencies. Plus, I would totally want to sleuth out a killer with her. She’s not particularly great at figuring out whodunit, which is one of the things I adore most about her. Because after all the odds of…

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 Vicki Delany AKA Eva Gates!   Writes: Cozy mysteries that are all about fun and community and good friends. And a murder or two to solve. Vicki is currently writing four cozy mystery series: The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane, the Catskills Summer Resort Series for Penguin Random House, the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, and, as Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series for Crooked Lane books. Her newest book is the nineth in the hugely popular bestselling Lighthouse Library series, DEATH BY BEACH READ. It’s spring in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and Lucy and Connor have moved into their new home at last, a historic cottage on the Nags Head Beach. The house needs a lot of renovations, but they worked hard over the winter to get it ready. Lucy is now happily immersed in her work at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, planning her wedding, and decorating the house. That is, until a dead body disrupts…

1–What is the title of your latest release? GONE BUT NOT FURGOTTEN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? GONE BUT NOT FURGOTTEN, the sixth in Cate Conte‘s beloved cozy mystery series Cat Café, Daybreak Island has a killer on the loose…and this villain isn’t afraid to use their claws. Maddie James has big plans for the summer season at JJ’s House of Purrs. But when her friend, master meditator and Tai Chi teacher Cass Hendricks, brings a potential animal hoarding situation to her attention, Maddie must refocus her attention on the furry felines who may need a helping paw. Cass has brought his Zen teachings to Fisherman’s Cove―a tiny, working-class town on Daybreak Island―and one of his students, Laurel, has been on the receiving end more than one hissy fit from her neighbors, mostly because of her cats. When Maddie and Cass go to Laurel’s to check out the situation, not only do they find a plethora of cats in need, but also a dead body. Laurel appears to have had an unfortunate accident falling down her stairs, but Maddie gets a sneaking suspicion that something more sinister might be behind her death. When she voices her concerns,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MURDER AT THE WEDDING, Modern Midwife Mysteries book #1 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A modern-day nurse-midwife living in coastal New England witnesses the death of the chief obstetrician at his daughter’s lavish wedding and races against time to clear the name of an old family friend. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Where’s a better place for a murder mystery? A coastal New England town with rocky shores, a magnificent oceanfront, and a mix of old and new citizens is ripe for murder. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! Maeve O’Reilly Kensington has the qualities I would want in a friend, and life would never be boring. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Intelligent, compassionate, family-oriented 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Write an outline but be prepared that your characters may decide to veer off course. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I write the first draft entirely without editing, but I note things I want to add. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Ice cream….

Summers in Florida are hot! There are two kinds of Floridians in the summer- the kind who spend the days lathered in coconut smelling suntan lotion lounging on the beach and then the kind like me who seek out only places where the AC is set to frigid. As my husband has pointed out when I’ve stayed outside too long in the sun and heat, I’m a shade tree rather than a sunflower. Staying cool in Florida takes a bit of imagination and I’ve got some tips featuring cozy mysteries to help keep you cool on these hot days! Tip #1: Ice cream is always the answer but even more so when you want to stay cool in the heat. We have two yummy places to choose from, starting first with Crewse Creamery in A GAME OF CONES by Abby Collette. Bronwyn Crewse is in a bit of a battle with her aunt who has just arrived in town over some of the flavors, so make sure you check out her cherry amaretto chocolate chip ice cream or her delicious tea and shortbread ice cream. Meri Allen’s Udderly Delicious shop featured in MINT CHOCOLATE MURDER is managed by Riley Rhodes,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BAYOU BOOK THIEF: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Young widow Ricki James-Diaz starts a new life in New Orleans, where she opens a shop selling vintage cookbooks and kitchenware in a Garden District mansion-turned-house museum and is thrust into sleuthing when a sticky-fingered coworker is found murdered with a vintage kitchen item from Ricki’s own shop. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’ve been madly in love with New Orleans ever since I transferred to Tulane University in the middle of my sophomore year. I love all south Louisiana. That’s why I set my Cajun Country Mystery series in… three guesses where. I even transferred my NOLA love to our daughter. She just graduated from Loyola University, Tulane’s next-door neighbor. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. We share a love of New Orleans and of vintage cookbooks. In fact, her passion for them was inspired by my own. I have at least a hundred, some dating back to the 1800s. Plus, I now live in Los Angeles, and she grew up here, so we…

1–What is the title of your latest release? WELCOME HOME TO MURDER, first in the Hometown Mysteries series 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Tessa Treslow has retired from the U.S. Army and gone home for a visit. She’d like to just hang out and work on old cars with her Aunt Edna, but she soon finds out that a visit home can be murder… 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Having lived in multiple areas of the US, I had been struggling with the location for the small town for my book, literally for years. That is, until a visit to my parents, who had recently moved back to my birthplace. Being in my original hometown, it struck me like a lightning bolt that this is where the story was supposed to be. It just felt right. So, a small rural town in the Palouse region of Idaho became Tessa’s hometown too. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely. She is my kind of people. I won’t say she’s me—she’s much tougher—but sometimes I feel like she is who I could have been had I stayed in…

Thank you so much for your time and interest in the Jamie Winters Mysteries. I’m excited to have the opportunity to speak with you.   Describe your sleuth Jamie Winters for readers who may be new to the series. While she works as a secretary at an offbeat personal injury mill law firm, Jamie is a chronically insecure underachiever, a woman with a snarky inner voice who longs to be fierce and unafraid, but never quite manages to achieve that as she’s pulled inexorably along in her sidekick (and polar opposite) Maizy’s wake.   What’s the dynamic between Jamie and her “sassy teenaged sidekick” Maizy? Maizy is the niece of Jamie’s landlord/love-lust interest, Curt Emerson. Maizy is brilliant, completely without a filter, an unabashed free spirit with blue hair, body piercings, and sometimes legal-adjacent skills, who has (rare) moments where she’s vulnerable. Jamie helped mend her fractured relationship with Curt, and the two developed and maintain a friendship and partnership as they solve murders.   I usually stick with cozy mysteries, but how would you describe the Jamie Winters? Is it all suspense, murder, and mayhem all the time? Or are there some lighter moments with supporting characters? The series…

“F” is for flowers and Flower House, of course, The shop, which Sierra must run. She got it from Felix, her odd former boss, Who quit and took off in Book One.   “A” is for Augustus, better known as Gus, A corgi, so friendly and true. Once Felix’s pet, now Sierra’s fur-friend, He’s awesome at digging up clues.   “T” is for treasure, a shadowy throughline That sent Felix off and brought Calvin ‘round. Sierra’s not sure what to make of it; In time will she too be spellbound?   “A” is for Appalachia and Aerieville too, The setting for every mystery. With loads of charm and small-town appeal, Plus mountain folklore and history.   “L” is for look, listen, and learn, Habits of every good sleuth. For Sierra, it’s second nature by now; But risky as she nears the truth.   “F” (again) is for friendship and fun, Which Sierra is lucky to find. From Deena and Calvin to Richard and Rocky, Her cohorts won’t leave her behind.   “L,” this time, is for none other than love, For Sierra a long-held dream. It might lead to marriage for the bride in this tale, Unless things aren’t quite what they seem?   “O” is for optimism, Possibly Sierra’s best trait. Her open…

1–What is the title of your latest release? HOW TO BOOK A MURDER (Starlit Bookshop Mysteries #1) 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A recent Ph.D. becomes a literary event planner to save the family bookstore, but when a murder mystery party turns murderous, she takes on the role of amateur sleuth to protect her beloved aunt, a famous author accused of the crime. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I imagined my dream bookstore, which turned out to be in the middle of an artistic community on a riverwalk. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes, especially if she would give me a discount in the bookstore. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Bookish, curious, determined. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Although I worked for a short time in a bookstore, it was decades ago, so I was very lucky to have some booksellers who were willing to talk to me. All of them said that working with customers was their favorite part of the job. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? For the first…