1–What is the title of your latest release? MURDER IN THE ALPS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? 1920s lady sleuth to the high society set, Olive, travels to St. Moritz for a holiday, but when a death occurs, she suspects murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I wanted to write about one of the posh travel destinations of the 1920. I love the mountains, and there aren’t a lot of books set in the Alps in the winter in my genre, so I decided St. Moritz would be a perfect fit. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes! I’d love to join Olive for tea at the Savoy. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Plucky, independent, and determined. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned a lot about the history of winter sports, including downhill skiing, which was a new thing in the 1920s. Tobogganing and cross-country skiing were well-known winter sports. Skiing down the slopes was just gaining in popularity. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit pretty heavily as I write,…

Book Title: HARLEM AFTER MIDNIGHT Character Name: Lena Aldridge   How would you describe your family or your childhood? The best person I’ve ever known was my father, Alfie. Of course, it turns out he kept quite a few secrets from me but I know he had his reasons. Growing up, it was just the two of us and I hope he’s proud of the woman I’ve become.   What was your greatest talent? Singing! And I act as well but it’s the music I love.   Significant other? It’s complicated…   Biggest challenge in relationships? I often forget to look before I leap.   Where do you live? London has always been home, but I don’t actually have a permanent address at the moment. That’s top of my list to sort out, once I decide where my future lies.   Do you have any enemies? Until recently I didn’t think I had any. Turns out I was wrong…   Do you have children, pets, both, or neither? Neither, and I think it’s probably for the best!   What do you do for a living? Singer, actress, jack of all trades   Greatest disappointment? Finding out that my best friend…

Book Title: MURDER AT THE ELMS Character Name: Emma Cross, sleuth in The Gilded Newport Mysteries   How would you describe your family or your childhood? It’s complicated! My father is an artist, so years before people like the Vanderbilts and the Astors made Newport their summer enclave, my parents were very much a part of city’s intelligentsia set. They frequently entertained artists, writers and poets at our modest home on the Point, ensuring that I was surrounded by ideas and creativity as I grew up. For that, I’m grateful. But . . . I always felt, even at a young age, that I didn’t have my parents’ full attention, that I was competing with an exciting part of their lives that I witnessed, but never quite shared in. But to balance that, I had Nanny, my nurse/governess, who became a surrogate grandmother to me. It was usually Nanny who bandaged my scraped knees, dried my tears, listened to my childish secrets, and did her best to assure me I was very much at the center of someone’s world. I don’t blame my parents. They are who they are and we’ve since come to terms. I also had my half-brother,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE PARIS MYSTERY   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A sexy Agatha Christie-style mystery set in the glamour of pre-war Paris. Read with Champagne.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I wanted it to be in that naïve, heady time between the wars in Paris when the food, the fashion and the parties were all about giddy decadence. It was my escape from the reality of two years lockdown.   4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? She’s based on one of my best friends—a foreign correspondent—so absolutely!   5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Smart and intuitive   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That it’s tricky writing a tight mystery in one timeline.   7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Bit of both. I’m not entirely sure whodunnit until I get to the end, which requires rewriting sometimes!   8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Dinner with friends at a great wine bar with an innovative menu.   9–Describe your writing space/office! Currently it’s at our dining…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A NEWLYWED’S GUIDE TO FORTUNE AND MURDER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Frances is thrown into a dastardly intrigue surrounding the elderly and wealthy Lady Wingate. Since her husband’s death, Lady Wingate hasn’t left the house for months. Her friend, Lady Esther, is convinced one of the woman’s stepchildren is drugging her and tapping into her fortune. Her niece, Kate, is about to enter high society and stands to gain an inheritance upon her aunt’s death. Is she trying to hasten that death? Frances teams up with Aunt Hetty, Lady Esther, and Lady Wingate to prove it’s never wise to underestimate the power and cunning of a woman, whatever her age. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? George was injured in the preceding book, so I knew he and Frances would have to remain in London while he healed. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Yes, but I’d rather hang out with Frances in her fictitious life! Maybe she can introduce me to Victorian London Society. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Compassionate, proper, wickedly clever. 6–What’s…

Hi, I’m Ann H. Gabhart. I love talking about my showboat story, IN THE SHADOW OF THE RIVER and had a great time sharing about my characters and more in this fun Title Challenge Post.   I – Illusion – Illusion is an obvious theme on the showboat as dramas and other acts are presented to the patrons who stream down to the showboat to be entertained. But illusion is also an underlying theme when Jacci Reed realizes that much of what she has believed about her life may be nothing but shifting shadows. N – Night – Each night after the showboat ties up at a landing it is show time for the actors and actresses aboard, but sometimes the night can hold dangers or reveal secrets from the past.   T – Talents – A showboat cast had an array of talents. My characters showcased their acrobatic, singing, dancing, ventriloquism talents, and more. Jacci started doing song and dance numbers with her grandfather when she was five. H – Heart – Gabe has been in love with Jacci forever, but she thinks of him as a brother. He needs to find a way to reveal the true feelings…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MURDER ON BEDFORD STREET, a Gaslight Mystery 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When midwife Sarah Malloy and her private investigator husband, Frank, try to help a woman whose husband has wrongly locked her away in an asylum, they discover nothing is what it seems in the Longly family, and they must stop a killer before more lives are lost. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Finding a location for the Gaslight Mysteries is so important because that is the title as well. I was looking for what was a nice residential neighborhood in 1901 and Bedford Street was and still is. Recently, a producer expressed interest in turning the Gaslight Mysteries into a TV series and she has been shopping it around.  She dearly loves the series, and she happens to live on Bedford Street, so I gave her a little nod for all her hard work. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? I would love to hang out with Frank and Sarah in real life. I created them to be people I would like and gave them characteristics…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A SINISTER REVENGE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? What happens when one guest at a Victorian house party decides to exact vengeance for a murder that happened twenty years before? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew I wanted to set a book at the country estate of one of my recurring characters, and because there were fossils involved, it was a natural choice to place it in Devon. They don’t call it the Jurassic Coast for nothing. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! This is my eighth book with Veronica Speedwell, and it’s a delight to hang out with her every time. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Intrepid, audacious, irrepressible. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That there were clergymen who claimed to know the exact date and time the earth was created. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I plow on through until the book is finished. It’s much easier to revise when I can see the book as a whole. 8–What’s your…

1–What is the title of your latest release? OF MANNERS AND MURDER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When Violet’s aunt absconds with her newest paramour, she leaves her role as “Miss Hermione,” in Violet’s hands and Violet quickly discovers that when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in the Empire, manners—and murder—are all in a day’s work. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Agony Aunts (we call them advice columnists in the US) have a long history, but since I’m especially interested in Victorian England, I knew that’s where and when I wanted my story to take place. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes.  When Violet’s not sleuthing, she’s writing.  And when she’s not writing, she’s reading or visiting museums.  We have a lot in common and would have a whole lot to talk about. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? She says it herself in the opening lines of the book: “I Violet Manville, am level-headed.  Commonsensical.  Well-ordered of both habit and mind.” 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? There’s always so much I learn from each book I write!  With…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE LINDBERGH NANNY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The most famous kidnapping in American history as told by one of its key protagonists. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The crime took place in New Jersey, so the setting was decided for me. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely, although she strikes me as someone who would be a bit guarded at first. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Sharp witted. Loving. Emotionally bruised. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I knew the bare facts of the Lindbergh kidnapping, but I had no idea the staff of both the Lindbergh and Morrow houses came under intense suspicion. One committed suicide, another was institutionalized, another died young, and a fourth just disappeared. The Lindberghs, of course, were primarily affected, but this crime ruined a lot of lives. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I try to get to 100 pages and then I start writing one new page a day and revising two. With certain projects, I run…