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 Jesse Q. Sutanto!   Writes: Comedic murder books with a lot of heart, humor, and hijinks.   About this book: Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to. Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A WEDDING GONE TO THE DOGS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Samantha’s best friend/cousin, Candie, is getting married but there is a major hitch. A former fiancé of Candie is found murdered in her home. Sam and her dachshund, Porkchop, jump to make sure Candie walks down the aisle and doesn’t spend her honeymoon in the poky. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Like a lot of cozy authors, I wanted it to be set in a small town so that my main character would have a connection to a lot of the people in the town. Fortunately, where I live in upstate New York I am surrounded by lovely small towns that are perfect for my story’s setting. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely. She’s independent, feisty, and like me, owns an adorable dachshund. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? She’s fun loving, loyal and willing to be a bit of a daredevil. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? It certainly is no walk in the park, but writing gives me a natural…

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 Ellen Byron!   Writes: I write humorous cozy mysteries set in great locations like Cajun Country, New York, and New Orleans. They’re a vacation with murder, wink wink. I love creating fun, quirky characters and plots that keep you guessing. My books also contain around five recipes each, so they’re almost like a combination mystery and cookbook. My Vintage Cookbook Mysteries include special recipes from my own collection of over 100 vintage cookbooks.   WINED AND DIED IN NEW ORLEANS combines my love of New Orleans, especially the majestic historic homes of the Garden District, with my love of wine – lol! – and my personal experience of struggling with whether to evacuate or stick it out when a hurricane approaches.   In this second Vintage Cookbook Mystery, the staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum is under threat of an impending hurricane when they find a stash of priceless, centuries-old wine under the mansion. When my protagonist Ricki, who runs Miss Vee’s Vintage…

1–What is the title of your latest release? VINYL RESTING PLACE   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Vinyl Resting Place blends murder, music, and macchiatos in a delightful cozy mystery. When Juni Jessup returns to her small Texas hometown, she and her sisters put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, the ideal place to enjoy musically-themed coffees like Espresso Yourself while listening to great music and town gossip, until – record scratch! – a body deader than disco falls out of the supply closet during the grand opening. Family is everything to the Jessup sisters, so when their off-beat uncle is arrested, they’ll do anything to help, including putting Sip & Spin Records up for collateral. Unable to face the music, Uncle Calvin takes off, leaving the future of the shop in peril. Can Juni and her sisters catch the real killer before the trail – and the coffee – goes cold?   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Like Juni, some of my fondest memories involved my grandparent’s family-owned shop in a small Texas town. When I was thinking about a series that revolved…

1–What is the title of your latest release? WHO SLAYED THE SANTAS? 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Quirky, funny, holiday cozy mystery with a surprise twist at the end. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? It’s in a series of holiday themed cozies which all take place at the mansion of Crescent Cove’s richest citizen, Juniper Holiday. So deciding where it would take place was easy. And, since it’s a Christmas book, of course it takes place right before Christmas. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Honestly, I’m not sure. She has a lot more energy than I do and she’s always finding dead bodies which can get a bit tedious. I do like her taste in music though – 80’s rock. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Stubborn, fun, smart. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Toy train engines are very heavy and can be dangerous. You’ll see why if you read the book. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I guess I do a little of both.  I edit each chapter as I am…

Bernie Sanders and I stood at the end of the dock. Although the air was cool, the sky was cloudless and the sun was out. A perfect autumn day in Vermont. Most of the boats usually docked here were out on the water. A steady stream of out-of-state cars were rolling through town now. Some were driving slower than the speed limit so they could take in the leaves, while others were driving slower looking for parking for the fall festival, Champ Days. Most, presumably, hadn’t heard about the dead man who’d floated to the surface less than sixteen hours ago. “Drowning pancakes in syrup is one thing,” Bernie said. “But a person drowning in syrup? How does that happen?” I was just a congressional intern. Was the senator—my boss—really asking me to chime in on this? Sure, we were in my hometown, but Bernie and I had both read the same autopsy report on Mr. Fletcher, the victim. The medical examiner had laid out the facts, but the facts didn’t give us all the answers. Mr. Fletcher didn’t have anything else in his digestive tract besides maple syrup. No pancakes. No waffles. Not even a spoonful of granola. “You…

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 Winnie Archer (aka Melissa Bourbon)!   Writes: Winnie/Melissa is a national bestselling author of many, many mysteries. Whether you like capers, cozies, traditional, magic, or suspense, she has something for you! Her newest release, BREAD OVER TROUBLED WATER, is book 8 in the Bread Shop Cozy Mystery series. She writes the Book Magic mystery series, the Magical Dressmaking mysteries, the Trouble in Tumbleweed, and the Foxy Ladies mysteries, all as Melissa Bourbon. Winnie Archer plays solo with the Bread Shop mysteries. You’ll enjoy them all!   About: If you’re a fur-loving friend, we have a future ahead of us. Agatha and Sailor are pups and some of my favorite characters in my two current series (the Bread Shop mysteries and the Book Magic mysteries). Plus, there’s Thelma Louise, the cantankerous goat in my Magical Dressmaking series, and Miss Havisham, the bookshop cat in Devil’s Cove. Basically, I’m an animal lover in real life and at least some of my characters are also animal lovers….

1–What is the title of your latest release? WINTER’S END 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Winter is over in Benedict, Alaska. It’s time to find the bodies. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? WINTER’S END is the fourth book in the Alaska Wild Series. I’d wanted to set a series in Alaska since my husband and I visited it twenty years ago and was lucky to begin this series with Thin Ice. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, she’s kind of a mess, but she has a good heart. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Introverted, healing, conflicted. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I thought that by now my protagonist would fight being out in the middle of nowhere, but she’s relishing it instead. As I wrote this book, I sensed that I might also be able to adapt to a sort of primitiveness that I hadn’t thought I could before. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Since I’m not good at outlining, I push hard through a first draft and then edit after…

1–What is the title of your latest release? ISABEL PUDDLES ABROAD 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Isabel travels to the UK to visit her friend (and potential love interest) Teddy Mansfield, a famous mystery writer. When Teddy’s unpopular neighbor, Hyacinth Amesbury, is found planted in her own garden, Isabel is drawn into the investigation helping a neophyte detective sort through which of her enemies had the strongest motive for murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I love the UK and travel there fairly frequently, so I wanted to take Isabel there. I chose to set the story in Cornwall for its beauty, and because it shares a similar country charm with Gull Harbor, Isabel’s hometown, and surrounds in Michigan. I chose the village of Mousehole because it’s a harbor village – also similar to Gull Harbor – and because I fell in love with it when I visited. And because I love the name! 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Tenacious. Kind. Fair. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned a great deal about…

It’s such a joy to find an author and follow them through multiple series, especially an author whose writing grabs you and sucks you into the story. For me, Melissa Bourbon’s novels latched onto my hand as I held the book (I may have latched onto Melissa’s at a book signing) and drug me straight into the mystery. Lola was the first of many series to snag my love of a great caper. To this day, I still pull out my Lola Cruz Mysteries to reread! But Lola was just the beginning of my girl crushes. Melissa has written so many great series, and they just keep coming from this talented, bestselling author. I had the pleasure of hearing about the Magical Dressmaking Mysteries before they went into print! Her Bread Shop Mysteries are killer whodunit recipes—the list goes on and I had the pleasure of asking Melissa about her latest release from her fabulous Book Magic Mysteries, Murder and an Irish Curse. Hold on tight, you’re about to get pulled into a great story!   Kym: Welcome back the Cozy Corner, Melissa! Melissa: Thank you! It is always fun to visit Fresh Fiction and the Cozy Corner!   Kym:…