1–What is the title of your latest release? PEG AND ROSE STIR UP TROUBLE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Murder She Wrote meets The Odd Couple. After decades of animosity, sisters-in-law Peg Turnbull and Rose Donovan, have finally become tenuous friends. Then Rose signs Peg up for a dating app where Peg is matched with a man who appears to be the man of her dreams. When he’s murdered, the two women need to work together to solve the crime. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My Senior Sleuth series is a spin-off of my long running Melanie Travis mystery series, so I already knew that the setting would be the same: Fairfield County, Connecticut. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! I wish knew both these women. 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Peg: strong, opinionated, fearless Rose: capable, compassionate, agreeable 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? This series is the first time I’ve written a book with two main characters, both of whom needed equal attention. I really enjoyed exploring the dynamic between these two, very different, women because that was…

A new school year is starting, and thoughts typically would be on the fun new school clothes, the location of one’s locker, the squeak of tennis shoes on the gym floor, or if a best friend or favorite teacher is in one’s classroom. Instead, we find ourselves stuck with another wave of Covid and so many uncertainties about what to do and how to stay safe. I work in the school system and the fear and uncertainty are real, especially for someone like me with an underlying health condition that already impacts my breathing. Rather than focusing on the negative, and all of the things that are out of my immediate control, I’ve instead indulged myself in reading and enjoying books centering around the school system. Any time favorite books featuring a school theme are mentioned, Denise Swanson is the first author who comes to my mind! Denise Swanson was a school psychologist before she became an author, and her wealth of knowledge and empathy for students and teachers shows in each one of her books (with the exception of that horrid social worker in MURDER OF A ROYAL PAIN lol). BODY OVER TROUBLED WATERS features school psychologist Skye Denison-Boyd…

Today we are joined by Senior Reviewer Deb Wiley, with an article all about charismatic pets as side characters in cozy mysteries, contemporary romance, and other fiction genres. Enjoy! Stories featuring pets are always a popular draw for me. Whether it involves a man borrowing someone’s dog to capture the interest of a woman, such as in Sarah Morgan’s NEW YORK, ACTUALLY, or a mysterious cat who keeps popping up at the most opportune times, such as in FINAL SHADOWS by Kay Hooper, dog and cat stories are almost guaranteed to be on my TBR shelf. But what about stories featuring some more unusual animals rather than the expected dog or cat? Here are a few of the more intriguing stories I’ve read with pets outside the norm. Kym Roberts is hands-down the winner for having the most unusual and most entertaining pet! Her Book Barn series features a bookstore owner, which already draws my attention. However, Charli Rae Warren’s pet pink armadillo, Princess, steals the show in almost every book. In KILLER CLASSICS, Princess gets a boyfriend.  I’m not going to spoil anything by saying more but if you love pets and other animals getting involved in the storylines,…