1–What is the title of your latest release? MAGIC, LIES, AND DEADLY PIES 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? ML&DP is about a vigilante baker who kills bad men with good pies. In TV terms, it’s Pushing Daisies meets Dexter. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The book is set in a fictional Massachusetts college town because I wanted a cozy and politically progressive place to for my murder girl to set down roots. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! Why would I not when murder and pie is on the menu?? 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Whimsical, fashionable, and murdery 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That titles are incredibly hard to come up with!! ML&DP started life as PIES BEFORE GUYS but I had to come up with a bunch of alternative options when the publisher wanted to change it. (And I still mostly just call it ‘the murder pie book’!) 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Draft first, then edit. I’m an outliner, so the actual drafting can go pretty quick if…

1–What is the title of your latest release? My next release will be on April 26th, A MARGIN FOR MURDER book eight in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Bookshop owner Addie Greyborne must put the brakes on a killer after a death occurs behind the wheel of a bookmobile . . . 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Before I wrote my first cozy book, I conducted extensive research into the history of various locations that would work well with what I had in mind writing and found Massachusetts to be perfect. It’s an area steeped in history that goes back well before the 1600s and is easily accessible to hundreds of other cultural and historical sites. It made the perfect setting for a cozy murder mystery series. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Most definitely!  To me, when developing a character, it’s about keeping an element of reality in a fictional world. My development of Addie Greyborne is no exception. I write her to have good days and bad. She can be serious, and then silly—some say she acts…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE BURNING PAGES 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When bookseller Delaney Nichols is invited to a Burns Night dinner, little does she know that her and her coworker Hamlet’s lives are about to be turned upside down. The dinner leads to a real fire and a murder for which Hamlet becomes a suspect. Delaney will have to work hard to douse the flames of suspicion and help find the real killer. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Back when I started the series, I knew I wanted to write something that took place in Scotland. I wanted to go to Scotland (and I was lucky enough to go back then), and I wanted to “create” a bookshop. I didn’t know a thing about Edinburgh, but somehow, we booked our room right in Grassmarket. Once there, I knew I’d found the perfect spot for The Cracked Spine. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! I kind of do. She’s in my head all the time. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Curious, grateful, bookish. 6–What’s something you learned…

I started reading your Happy Camper series with the second book. I loved the book and I like your amateur sleuth, Zo Jones. I think for a cozy mystery author, it must be difficult creating protagonists who finds themselves involved in murder investigations and inquisitive, without making them obnoxiously so. And I say that as somebody who adores cozy mysteries and the variety of amateur sleuths. Is it difficult to keep finding reasons for Zo to be involved in murder investigations? Thank you for reading! I’m so glad you enjoyed MIDNIGHT SPELLS MURDER. I, too, often read out of order, and honestly, I don’t mind because I think a series usually gets better with time. It is hard to find viable reasons for Zo to be involved in murder. It’s the burden of an amateur sleuth, I suppose. But Zo has many interests, including her Happy Camper shop, her stargazing club, and her newspaper column. Plus she’s incredibly curious. I don’t have to look too far to find a reason for her to get involved in a crime.   Another thing I like about this series are the friends and supporting characters. Do you have that support system for the…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THREE SHOTS TO THE WIND 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Chloe Jackson has a secret admirer. She’s pouring drinks at the Sea Glass Saloon when an airplane flies over the beach with a banner reading I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON. Then a bouquet of lilacs – her favorite flower – is delivered to the bar, followed by an expensive bottle of her favorite sparkling wine. Chloe’s ex-fiancé from Chicago has flown down to Florida for an accountants’ convention. Unfortunately, he’s not in a hotel conference room, he’s floating in the lake next to Chloe’s house, clutching a photo of her. Who murders an accountant on a business trip? When her boyfriend becomes the prime suspect, Chloe is determined to find the murderer. But if she isn’t careful, it may be closing time and lights out for her . . .   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My editor originally suggested setting the series in Key West. I’d only been there once but used to live in the Florida panhandle which is called Lower Alabama, the Emerald Coast, and the Redneck Riviera –…

Is Ella Shane based on any historical figure? Having the story set in 1900, did you do any research on the time period? Are you a history buff? I like to describe Ella as part Beverly Sills, part Anne of Green Gables and part Errol Flynn. She’s brilliantly talented yet approachable like Sills, an orphan made good like Anne, and a swashbuckler like Flynn. Probably the closest real-life figure to Ella is Lillian Russell, a singer and actress who owned her own theatre company in the late 19th century. BUT — she didn’t play trouser roles, and Miss Russell’s personal life (four marriages and a very public affair with Diamond Jim Brady!) was the exact opposite of respectable Ella’s. I’ve been a history buff since I learned to read, and the Victorian Era is one of my favorite periods. When I started working on the series, it was tremendously fun to research the details – and the outfits! In A FATAL OVERTURE, Ella Shane’s love interest is described as “long-distance love, Gil Saint Aubyn”. Does Ella have support from friends, family, or friendly investigators to be part of her “Scooby gang” as she plays the role of amateur sleuth? Absolutely!…

1–What is the title of your latest release? LONG OVERDUE AT THE LAKESIDE LIBRARY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? LONG OVERDUE returns us to Lofty Pines, Wisconsin where Rain decides to keep the generational log-cabin library up and running year-round. A library patron who has recently loaned a few cookbooks is murdered at the “Ice Fishing Jamboree” on Pine Lake and Julia’s husband Nick takes the hit. Rain is on the case to clear Nick’s name. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? LONG OVERDUE is the second book in the series, so I knew we’d return to Lofty Pines, Wisconsin. The setting decision was pure magic for me. I previously lived in a log-cabin for 6 years and it was so cozy and charming. I also wanted the Northwoods of WI feel. If you haven’t been to a lake in upper Wisconsin, I implore you to add it to your bucket list! The clear lakes and tall pines…well…it’s breathtaking! 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely, although Rain is a bit of an in introvert like me, but once she trusts you, she opens like a flower….

  1–What is the title of your latest release? Murder at the Mansions   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A block of flats in 1920s London has all the modern conveniences . . . including murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The main character, Olive, has just moved into a service flat in London—think Whitehaven Mansions in the Poirot television show, and you’ll have a good idea of what I pictured as her new home. I read up on service flats and decided it would be a great setting for Olive’s next adventure. I’d written several country house mysteries in the series. Why not a mystery set in her new flat? The setting brought together a mix of characters with secrets and interesting backstories. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes! I can see us going to tea at Harrods then Olive could give me a tour of London. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Determined, optimistic, energetic 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I discovered all sorts of interesting things about service flats and well as trains. Olive has to chase…

I love the chance to get to explore fun settings in my fiction.  That’s one of the reasons OUT OF TEMPER: Bean to Bar Mysteries Book 3 is set Aboard a cruise ship.  The ship in my fictional cruise line is sailing out of Galveston, from the terminal just down the street from where I placed Felicity’s shop.  In the book, she’s still active in her role as chocolate maker: this time she’s been asked to do demos of her work aboard the ship. I’ve been on a number of cruises, even done enrichment lectures aboard ships myself.  And there are so many things that make me want to go back.  Here’s my top 10. 10–Eggs Benedict.  Because I’m not going to get up early enough to make Hollandaise for myself at home. I’ve found Eggs Benedict on the breakfast menu of every ship I’ve been on. (Though I’ve by no means been on all cruise lines, so your mileage may vary.)  The fictional cruise line in my book offers a Texas-themed menu, so Felicity gets Chicken Fried Steak Benedict. 9–Shore excursions!  You never know where you will be able to go. (Bonus: It is always warm in the Caribbean.)…

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 CLEO COYLE! Writes: Cleo Coyle writes the New York Times bestselling Coffeehouse Mysteries, a fun series of endearing and suspenseful murder mysteries set in a landmark coffeehouse in New York’s picturesque Greenwich Village. Don’t miss HONEY ROASTED, the latest release in Cleo’s long-running, richly layered series. About: Cleo has sold more than one million page-turning cozy adventures to her longtime fans and would be honored to welcome you to her Coffeehouse world. Cleo writes books in collaboration with her husband, which is why the complicated love life of her amateur sleuth (coffeehouse manager and master roaster Clare Cosi) and the two men in her life (globetrotting coffee hunter Matt Allegro and NYPD detective lieutenant Mike Quinn) is so entertaining. As devoted partners, Cleo and her husband are able to portray the ups and downs of romantic relationships with real-world insight and a unique blend of wit, wisdom, and (above all) honesty. Cleo’s ideal reader match will enjoy. . .  -The roller-coaster fun of a twisty…