1–What is the title of your latest release? BITTER ROOTS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The brutal murder of a beautiful vineyard expert and a devastating storm force Virginia winemaker Lucie Montgomery to confront painful changes on the eve of her wedding.  3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? It’s the 12th book in my Virginia wine country mysteries, so I knew exactly where it would take place—at a family-owned vineyard in northern Virginia, a beautiful region of rolling hills and winding country lanes, that is also horse and hunt country. As for how I originally chose the setting, I was living in London in the 1990s and came back to the US with my husband and sons on a home leave trip. A friend decided we needed to see the Virginia vineyards since my husband is French and we had lived on the French-Swiss border for five years where we often explored the vineyards of those countries. When I got back to London my British literary agent learned of the trip and said, “That’s the setting for your next novel.” I agreed to write one book—as I said, BITTER ROOTS is…

1–What is the title of your latest release? DEATH PLANS A PERFECT TRIP, Charlotte Adams number 6, will be released on May 17th!   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When her mother, the famous thriller writer, Esme Adams, vanishes, Charlotte Adams, professional organizer and amateur sleuth, races across Europe to save her. As Charlotte keeps one step ahead of the nameless villains, she discovers her mother’s dark history and the source of her own on-going nightmares.  Reader warning: contains travel tips, food, dogs and a touch of romance.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place: I had always wanted to set a cozy mystery in Europe and over a couple of years returned to some of my favorite spots (Paris, Lisbon and northern Italy) with a mystery percolating in my busy brain. This book was so much fun to write!   4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Good question.  I would definitely like Charlotte to drop in and give me a hand organizing and to offer some wardrobe advice. She’d be welcome any time and I would make her favorite cookies.  But I do worry she might…

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…