Category: Cozy Mystery

The Unexpected Character

by Shelley Freydont

Writers go to great lengths to “know” their characters.  Some make collages, some interview the prospective character, or make lists of hair color, height, favorite food, etc.  An author lives with her characters.  Your protagonist rides shotgun while you drive to the store.  The sidekick climbs into the shower with you, the villain knocks at your subconscious while you’re watching your favorite television show.

You pretty much have a full house twenty four/seven while you’re writing a book, and if you write a series…well talk about your extended family.

Knowing and loving your character will make writing the story that much more organic.

But what if a character crashes your story, like that uninvited guest who shows up at the door when the party is already in full swing?  It happens.  It can be fun or annoying, sometimes both.

This happened to me on my latest series the Celebration Bay Mysteries.  My heroine, Liv, is an Manhattan event planner hired by a small upstate destination town to be its event coordinator.

She has a dog, two retired schoolteacher landladies, an assistant, friends and colleagues, even a nemesis.  But she didn’t have a love interest.  A lot of amateur sleuths take up with policeman because…well they’re cool and they know how to investigate and also can take care of those pesky things like getting DNA samples and ballistic reports that the amateur doesn’t have access to.

I started the first book, Foul Play at the Fair, with no boyfriend for Liv, fingers crossed and hoping for the best.  Around chapter three, she has to visit the local newspaper office to complain about her festival ad being dumped for a Boy Scout article.

The Celebration Bay Clarion is a family paper, owned for generations by the Bristow family, and a one man operation. Liv has heard old man Bristow, the current editor, is more interested in fishing than reporting the news.  And that’s just not acceptable.  She goes to talk to the editor in person.  She knocks on the door and when no one answers, she walks in.  The place is dark and a mess, and someone is snoring in the back room.

Liv stumbles through the dusky rooms to a back room filled with printers and laptops.  The editor is asleep on the couch, snoring away and ruffling the newspaper that’s covering his face. I should have seen it coming, but I wasn’t thinking ahead.  She clears her throat; when he doesn’t wake up, she jostles his shoe.  There’s much grumbling and slapping at papers and he finally sits up.

I knew by then what was going to happen.

Old man Bristow isn’t an old man at all.  But thirty-ish, with a shock of dirty-blond hair.  A surfer dude wearing jeans and a flannel shirt with a hole in the elbow.  Handsome and out of place–And cranky…And the beginning of a ridiculous relationship.

Charles “Chaz” Bristow was an investigative reporter for the L.A. Times until he quit suddenly and came home to fish and run his family’s local paper.  As far as Liv can tell, he’s lazy and uncouth and totally apathetic.  He also has a really dry sense of humor and doesn’t mind throwing sarcasm around a bit.

He’s not what I expected, not consciously anyway.  I didn’t construct him, didn’t think about what color eyes he would have, or if he’d be a hunk or a sensitive Beta guy.  I didn’t know anything about him until he pulled off that newspaper and sat up, scratching.  At that moment, Chaz popped full blown onto the page and trying to finagle his way into Liv’s heart.

Sometimes characters are just lying in ambush waiting for you to discover them.  Maybe they’ve been sitting on the back burner of your imagination waiting for a lapse in concentration.  I feel like that about Chaz.  Really, he’s so annoying.  Sometimes Liv just wants to smack him, and actually so do I.

But we’re stuck with him.  And he’s turning out pretty okay.  Both Liv and I have great hopes for him in the future.

About the Author:

Shelley Freydont is the author of the Liv Montgomery, Celebration Bay Festival Mysteries (Berkeley Prime Crime). She also writes the Katie McDonald Sudoku murder series and Lindy Haggerty Dance Company mystery series. She has written several romance novels under the pseudonym Gemma Bruce. Her books have been translated into seven languages.

Her first women’s fiction novel, Beach Colors, written as Shelley Noble, was published by William Morrow June 2012. Stargazey Point will be available July 2013.
A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. Shelley is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.

For more about Shelley, please visit her website www.shelleyfreydont.com.

On the Fourth of July, Old Glory is flying high in Celebration Bay—until someone raises a red flag…

With Independence Day fast approaching, Liv Montgomery is swamped coordinating one of the town’s biggest festivals. In addition to the traditional July fourth events, the town stages a spooky Revolutionary War reenactment that can’t be missed. Every year, the ghost of local war hero Henry Gallantine—played by his eccentric descendant of the same name—appears at the top of the family mansion, kicking off the night’s revelries.

But Henry’s annual cameo goes awry after the ghost signals SOS instead of his traditional cue. When Liv rushes to the rescue, she finds Henry missing and a real dead body instead of a fake haunt. Now she will have to hunt down both a murderer and a missing person quickly before unwanted political fireworks ignite and someone else winds up as local history…

Amazon/B&N

Jennifer’s Review of Independence Slay

Review (4.5 Stars):  This is the third book in the Celebration Bay mystery series and I’m really enjoying this series.  Everyone is preparing for the Fourth of July events where the town stages a Revolutionary War reenactment and tempers are running high. Things start to go haywire when a dead body is found among the activities and Liz has to help investigate another murder before the killer takes another victim.

I think that Liv is a great character and I love the little town of Celebration Bay. The characters are entertaining and this is definitely a series that you will want to visit over and over again.  The mystery was well-written with quite a few twists and I’m happy to say I didn’t figure it out until the very end.  Independence Slay was a fun, entertaining mystery that will have you wanting to visit the town of Celebration Bay for many years to come.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of  Independence Slay. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by June 10th, answer me this question in the comments:

What is your favorite holiday?

Why Teapots?

By Amanda Cooper (aka Victoria Hamilton)

How many people will wonder why I am writing a series centered around teapot collecting? I thought I would have a go at answering the question before I am asked.

First…about tea and me.  I can only speak for myself, but drinking tea is about much more than just enjoying hot beverage.  There are emotions and feelings tangled up with the ritual that have never, for me, been a part of my enjoyment of coffee.  Coffee is for rushed mornings, a get-down-to-work straightforward brew.  Tea is for afternoon; work is almost done and I need something to usher me gently from work to enjoyment.

How did I start drinking tea, you ask? At the modest home of my very English paternal grandmother there was always a Brown Betty of very strong tea on the hob, which in modern parlance is the stovetop.  The tea stayed on all day long and became as dark as pitch.  Conversations took place at the kitchen table over endless cups of that incredibly strong brew; as a small child I suppose that seemed a very ‘adult’ thing to do.

My first cups of tea were mostly milk and sugar warmed with a few tablespoons of hot tea from the pot, but it was tea, and I felt so grown up! My maternal grandparents gave me a milk glass teacup just fitted to small hands, and some English neighbors down the road brought back a very special tea mug from England for me; I was never actually allowed to use it, but it was mine!  It has the Pied Piper on it, is English china, and I still have it in my china cabinet, a treasured piece.

But the beginning of the ritual was the teapot and ever since, I’ve loved them.  For a collector there is a world of fascination in the teapot realm.  You can go from rare antiques to kitschy figurals in the blink of an eye.  There are teapots for animal lovers in the shapes of elephants, cats, birds, and more.  Consider the delicate beauties adorned with different chintz patterns, or admire silver teapots with Bakelite handles for the china or silver connoisseur.  In fact there are so many types of teapots that collectors build museums to display them and folks travel for miles to marvel.  Usually the museum aspect starts with a personal collection and ends with overabundance and the need for more space.

But why so many kinds of teapots? You don’t see figural coffee pots.  For me the answer lies in the drink itself.  Coffee is a ‘hurry up and consume’ potion; get some energy quick, drink it down!  Tea is a ‘sit down and visit’ tonic. Tea encourages long gossip sessions with intimate friends, or dreamy afternoons with a book.  Coffee is a fuel; tea is pleasure.

Coffee mugs have witty sayings or company logos and coffee pots are strictly utilitarian, for the most part.  You can get coffee pots in china patterns to fit your set, but the coffee pot is a skinny long necked afterthought addition to the elegant set consisting of teapot, sugar bowl and creamer.

All in all, teapots blend a piquant measure of tradition, custom, memory and joy into a fragrant and bracing brew.  I don’t have room to collect as I would wish, but the teapots I do have are displayed with pride.

I hope readers enjoy the Teapot Collector Mystery series just as much as I am enjoying writing them, and that they will read with a hot cup of tea at the ready, to sip and savor.

About the Author:

Amanda Cooper is the pseudonym for bestselling mystery author Victoria Hamilton.  She writes the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and the Merry Muffin Mysteries as Hamilton, in addition to the Teapot Collector Mysteries as Amanda Cooper.  Cooper’s long time love of mystery novels started at age twelve when her mom handed her an Agatha Christie book and said ‘Read!’. Thousands of novels later Cooper is still reading. And writing.

But besides those two favorite pastimes, Cooper also enjoys collecting vintage kitchenalia, old books, teacups, teapots and other ephemera.  Perfume is her secret addiction.  She likes to cook, hates to clean, and enjoys time spent with friends chatting over wine or tea.  She loves crafts, loathes boredom, and her guilty pleasure is ‘reality’ TV, which she knows is largely fake but enjoys anyway.

Cooper thinks that people are the most interesting study of all, and more than anything, she loves to hear from readers, not just about her books but about anything and everything.

Website/Twitter/Facebook

Tucked away in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York is the charming town of Gracious Grove, where time moves slowly, gossip spreads quickly, and the scones are to die for…

When her fashionable Manhattan restaurant goes under, Sophie Taylor retreats to her grandmother’s cozy shop, Auntie Rose’s Victorian Teahouse, where serenity is steeped to perfection in one of her many antique teapots. The last thing Sophie expects is a bustling calendar of teahouse events, like her old friend Cissy Peterson’s upcoming bridal shower.

Not everyone is pleased with the bride-to-be’s choice of venue—like Cissy’s grandmother, who owns a competing establishment, La Belle Epoque, and has held a long-simmering grudge against Rose for stealing her beau sixty years ago. Tensions reach a boiling point when Cissy’s fiancé’s mother dies while sampling scones at La Belle Epoque. Now, to help her friend, Sophie will have to bag a killer before more of the guest list becomes a hit list…

Amazon/B&N

Jennifer’s Review of Tempest in a Teapot

Review (4 Stars): Tempest in a Teapot is a great start to this new mystery series. Sophie Taylor has come home to Gracious Grove to spend time with her loving grandmother and decide what to do next with her life after her restaurant failed.  Being back in Gracious Grove has brought back a lot of great memories for Sophie and she made it back in time to help celebrate her old friend’s upcoming nuptials. But when the bride’s future mother-in-law ends up dead at a family gathering, Sophie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.  She must find the killer soon before her friend’s wedding is derailed permanently.

I liked Sophie and I thought that she was a very interesting character that was trying to pick up the pieces after her restaurant failed. I loved her interactions with her grandmother and learning all about her grandmother’s teahouse.  The mystery was interesting yet slow in parts but still very enjoyable.  This is the first book in the series and I’m sure everything will pick up in the second installment.  Can’t wait to read what is next for Sophie and her grandmother in Gracious Grove.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Tempest in a Teapot. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by June 10th, answer me this question in the comments:

What is your favorite tea or coffee drink?

Today I have Isabella Alan here to talk about her new mystery, Murder Simply Stitched, which is about an Amish Quilt Shop.  I enjoyed this mystery with its great cast of characters and I hope you will too.  Take it away, Isabella.

Publisher’s Punch List

by Isabella Alan

Way back in 2011, I received a call from my literary agent. “Penguin is looking for an established cozy mystery author to write a series about an Amish Quilt Shop.  There are some requirements. They want the author to know Amish people and be from Ohio.  You are the only option.”

It turns out, she was right.  If the publisher wanted to fill its punch list for the perfect author of the series, it was me.  I had already published cozies under my real name “Amanda Flower.” I’m an Ohioana, and I know Amish people.  In 2011, I was the only author who hit all the criteria.  I drafted a writing sample, it passed the muster, and I got the series.

I appreciated the publisher was specific as to what it wanted.  Not just because it gave me another opportunity to write but because it showed me they cared about their books being authentic.  They wanted the author to know Ohio.  I know Ohio.  I’ve lived in the state my entire life and have no intention of moving.  One constant that can be found in all my series–beside someone dying, they are mysteries after all–is they are set in the Buckeye State.  I probably know Ohio better than many of my fellow Ohioans.  I find its history fascinating and even worked at a living history museum one summer.  Part of the job was being well versed in Ohio history.  I had to study it, so I could “convincingly” spout off facts to visitors.  No, I did not wear period dress…all the time.

The publisher wanted the Amish elements in the story to be true, not just to the general Amish culture, but to Ohio’s Amish culture, which is different than the Amish found in different parts of the country.  I could do that.  In addition to being an author, I am a college librarian.  Right after graduate school, I searched and searched for a librarian job.  It wasn’t easy.  Finally, I got one offer.  It was to be a cataloger for a small university library in the middle of Ohio’s Amish country about two hours from where I grew up. I took it. While I lived in the small town, I saw and interacted with Amish on a regular basis, but it never occurred to me that I could write a mystery someday based around Amish characters.

Thankfully, Penguin didn’t include the ability to hand quilt as one of the criteria for the perfect author because I would have failed the test.  I have made a few quilts on a sewing machine but never by hand. However, since I’m a librarian and want to research everything to death, I took hand quilting lessons before I wrote the first book in the series, Murder, Plain and Simple. My teacher said I wasn’t “naturally gifted” in quilting, and a few of my sad attempts at hand quilting are best tucked away in my closet.  Shhh, don’t tell my publisher.

Isabella Alan is celebrating the release of Murder, Simply Stitched with a special giveaway!

Enter to Win an Amish Charm Bracelet from author Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower)! Click here to Enter!

About the Author:

Isabella Alan is the pseudonym for Amanda Flower.  Amanda Flower, an Agatha-nominated mystery author, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel.  She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words.  Her debut mystery, Maid of Murder, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel, and her children’s mystery, Andi Unexpected, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best Children’s/YA.  Amanda is an academic librarian for a small college near Cleveland.

Follow Isabella on Facebook /Twitter/Pinterest

When Angela Braddock enters her quilts in an Amish auction, she never expects one of her neighbors to end up going, going, gone….

Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late aunt’s Amish quilt shop, Running Stitch. But as the summer is winding down, so is business. To bolster support for the shop, Angie decides to sell her quilts in the Rolling Brook Amish Auction, including some of her aunt’s most prized works.

The quilts promise to be a hit—but the gavel comes down on the lively event when Angie stumbles upon the body of township trustee Wanda Hunt behind a canning shed. The cause of death: a poisoned blueberry fry pie from Rachel Miller’s bakery table. Now Angie’s closest friend is a murder suspect. With Angie taking the lead, she and the other women of her aunt’s quilting circle set out to patch together the clues and stop a killer set on shredding the simple peace of Rolling Brook.

Amazon/B&N

Jennifer’s Review of Murder, Simply Stitched

Review (4.5 Stars):  I have been a big fan of this author’s India Hayes mystery series for quite some time and I was very excited to read her new Amish Quilt Shop series.  I instantly connected with the main character, Angie, and enjoyed her experiences living in an Amish community while trying to run her quilt shop, Running Stitch.  It was very interesting learning about the Amish community and I loved how the mystery took off right from the very beginning.  Ms. Alan has created an absolute gem with Murder, Simply Stitched and I know that other readers will enjoy this series just as much as I have.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Murder, Simply Stitched. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by June 6th, please leave a comment or question for Ms. Alan:

Guest blogger: Christine DeSmet, author of Hot Fudge Frame-Up, the second book in the new Fudge Shop Mystery series.

Ava is gearing up for the First Annual Fudge Festival –a huge celebration that could draw national attention to her old-fashioned fudge shop in Door County, Wisconsin–known at the “Cape Cod of the Midwest.” She’s invited two celebrity chefs to go head-t0-head with her in a fudge contest.  Everyone is having a tasty time…until a judge for the festival is found dead.

Ava Oosterling and her grandfather, Gil, run Oosterlings’ Live Bait, Bobbers & Belgian Fudge & Beer on the docks of Lake Michigan in fictional Fisher’s Harbor, Wisconsin.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Ava and “Gilpa,” as she calls her grandpa Gil.

Kisses definitely get Ava in trouble in her life.

Ava has returned to this tourist area and her home territory after a stint working for a TV show in Los Angeles for eight years.  Her self-imposed exile in LA followed her embarrassing mistake of eloping with a man who was married to two other women at the same time.  Oops! She’s determined to become a new person by creating her quaint Fairy Tale line of fudge.  But men keep coming out of the woodwork, as the saying goes, wanting to take this Cinderella to the fudge festival ball.

In Hot Fudge Frame-Up, Ava and her grandmother discover the secret to attracting men and kisses.  It starts with cherry-vanilla fudge, of course, but then proceeds with a few other tricks my readers may have found worked with men, too.  I can’t give it all away, of course, but I believe you’ll find a tickle or two as you read about the connections among love, fudge, hugs, and kisses.

Door County is a unique and intriguing setting for a cozy mystery series.  Like Cape Cod, the county is a peninsula jutting out into a large body of water.  There are picturesque beaches and beautiful vistas overlooking the water and much to do, including hiking, swimming, golf, outdoor theater, music venues, art shops and retreats, dining vineyards to visit and more.  The county is also known as the playground for Chicago’s rich, since it’s only about a three-hour drive away along the Lake Michigan coastline.

Door County has 11 lighthouses and shipping lights, and the real Eagle Bluff Lighthouse plays prominently in this new book.  Coinciding with the publication of Hot Fudge Frame-Up, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival Association chose the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse as “Lighthouse of the Year.”  The structure is open to the public and retains many of the furnishings from one of the lighthouse keepers, and is definitely worth the small fee to take the tour.

One more unique thing about Door County is that it and the nearby counties have the largest rural population of Belgians in the country.  Ava and her family are Belgians; her parents run the farm where Ava gets her organic cream and butter to make her luscious fudge.

Belgians  settled into the county in the 1850s, back when the United States advertised in Europe for farmers, fisherman, and forestry workers.  Land sold for $1.25 an acre.  Belgians are known for their yummy pies and love of pets, gardens with loads of flowers, neat lawns, and community gatherings.  And of course they also deal in the world’s finest lace, diamonds, beer, and chocolate.

You’ll get to taste Ava’s scrumptious Cinderella Pink Fairy Tale Fudge and many other flavors developed in her copper kettles as you read the pages of my series.  Each book contains a new fairy tale recipe plus other recipes, and tips about fudge making.

In addition, Hot Fudge Frame-Up contains a Belgian booyah recipe I got on my Door County travels.  I stopped at a kermis–a Belgian harvest festival–and the delectable chicken stew was being stirred over an outdoor fire in a pot that fed 100 people.  My book also gives you a version for 12.

Another thing to know about Belgians–they can be stubborn as well as good problem solvers, which makes Ava a perfect new “Hercule Poirot” (another Belgian!) for our contemporary times.

And what about those kisses? Who among the many men vying for her attention will end up getting the first dance with Ava at the upcoming First Fishers’ Harbor Fudge Festival?

Thank you for visiting this blog.  I hope you enjoy my latest mystery book.

About the Author:

Christine DeSmet is the author of the Fudge Shop Mystery Series.  Book 1, First-Degree Fudge, spent 10 weeks on the Barnes & Noble mystery bestseller list when it debuted in September 2013.  Christine is a past winner of the Golden Heart Award from Romance Writers of America, and a past winner of the Slamdance Film Festival writing contest with a screenplay that optioned to New Line Cinema.  Her other publications include short stories, and the novel Spirit Lake, a romantic suspense from Hard Shell Word Factory.  Christine is a writing teacher at University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies where she directs the “Write-by-the-Lake Writer’s Retreat” every June in Madison.  She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America, Writers Guild of America, and Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum.  Find out more at www.christinedesmet.com

 

Candy shop owner Ava Oosterling mixes it up with a fudge judge with a grudge—who loses his life before he can pick a winner….

Ava is gearing up for the First Annual Arts Festival—a huge celebration that could draw national attention to her old-fashioned fudge shop in Door County, Wisconsin. She’s invited two celebrity chefs to go head-to-head with her in a fudge contest. Everyone is having a tasty time…until a judge for the festival is found dead.

To her shock, he’d been complaining around town that her Fairy Tale fudge flavors were…well, fudged. Now the sheriff is wondering if Ava fits the mold for a murder suspect. As Ava tries to square her reputation and find the real killer, she’s in for a whole batch of trouble….

Amazon/B&N

Jennifer’s Review of Hot Fudge Frame-Up

Review (4.25 Stars): Ava is getting ready for the First Annual Arts Festival in Door County which will feature her and two other contestants in a not so friendly fudge contest.  Ava soon finds that her other competitors are at each others’ throats and someone is threatening the judges to throw the contest.  When one of the judges is found dead, everyone becomes a suspect and Ava finds herself in the middle of another mystery where she may be the killer’s next target.

I love culinary mysteries and this book seems to have everything.  A deliciously light-hearted mystery, a love triangle with hot guys and of course, yummy fudge.  Ava was a great character because she admits that she has made mistakes in her life in regards to love and isn’t actively “pursuing” a relationship with anyone.  She just wants to focus on making her fudge business a success and get her life back on track.  I also love the small town atmosphere in these books with Ava and the other characters in her life.

I definitely liked this book better than the first one, First Degree Fudge, because I felt that I could actually connect with Ava compared to the first one. The mystery had quite a few plot twists and I had a difficult time trying to figure out who was the killer among this crazy group.   Hot Fudge Frame-Up is a delightfully decadent addition to the series and I’m looking forward to reading more about Ava and her adventures in Door County, Wisconsin in the near future.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Hot Fudge Frame-Up. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by June 5th, answer me this question in the comments:

What is your favorite candy?

 

 

 

I have Hannah Dennison here today to talk about her first book in a new series, Murder at Honeychurch Hall.  This is a fun and exciting mystery and a great start to the series.  Take it away, Hannah. 🙂

A special thank you to Books-n-Kisses for hosting me on Day One of the Great Escapes Blog Tour for the first book in my brand new series, “Murder at Honeychurch Hall.”

I’m having so much fun writing this new series because it gives me the chance to incorporate everything I love and miss about England—Agatha Christie’s beloved Devon (and where my family still lives), the beautiful English countryside, and grand country houses stuffed with antiques and steeped in history—including an odd ghost or two. Of course, I’m also a great fan of Downton Abbey, and although “Murder at Honeychurch Hall” is set on a country estate in the modern day and times have definitely changed, the class system still exists—particularly in small rural communities.

My novel is a murder mystery at heart, but as the pages materialized what also came to the surface was the emotional undercurrent of a mother-daughter relationship that also clearly had a story to tell. My protagonist is former TV celebrity and antique dealer, Kat Stanford who is all set to launch a new business with her newly widowed mother, Iris. But to Kat’s horror, she discovers that Iris has secretly purchased a dilapidated carriage house on a crumbling country estate several hundred miles away from London. Of course, Kat sets off to ‘save’ her mother only to discover that she harbors an even bigger secret. For years, Iris has been secretly writing best-selling, steamy romance novels under the pseudonym of Krystalle Storm.

Needless to say, as new arrivals on the estate, Kat and Iris are treated with great disdain by those upstairs and down. So, it’s no surprise when the family nanny goes missing that suspicion falls on the outsiders. And that’s all I can tell you without giving too much away!

The old adage “write what you know” should really be “write what you pretend you know” since the inspiration for my new book came from my own mother’s rash decision to purchase a highly impractical wing of a country house in Devon after my Dad passed away in 2002. As you can imagine, my sister and I were really worried. It wasn’t so much the isolated location with a mile-long drive, no local shop and no public transport. The house was a money drain, with a roof in need of mending, heating and plumbing breaking down constantly and generally, the whole estate was falling apart. Then we realized that it was what Mum really wanted. Although my parents had shared 54 years of marriage together, it had been in a different time when the man ruled the house.

Now, my mother has had the chance to reinvent herself and today, at age 84, she is more vibrant than ever. She works as a docent at Greenway and still lives in her dream home, and in many ways, she also lives as inspiration for the character Iris on the pages of my novel. Of course, I’m no former TV celebrity—although I have had some experience in the antique world—and my mother is definitely no romance writer, but her tales of “goings-on” at “the main house” will keep my creative juices flowing for years. I am so grateful for all the inspiration that my family and my English heritage have provided my imagination as I worked to craft this new story. It was quite a ride, often bumpy I must say as most novels can be in the process of writing them. But along the way what the story revealed to me is the truth that sometimes in life it’s those who are nearest and dearest to us who are often the most duplicitous of all.

About the Author:

Born in England, Hannah relocated to Los Angeles with her daughter and two cats to pursue a career in screenwriting. Along the road to publication she has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant and Hollywood story analyst. Hannah is the author of the Vicky Hill Mysteries (Constable UK) and the first, in her new series, “Murder at Honeychurch Hall” (Minotaur). Now living in Portland, Oregon Hannah continues to teach mystery writing at UCLA, has served on numerous judging committees for the Mystery Writers of America and still works part-time for a west coast advertising agency. She is married to an advertising executive and enjoys hiking, horseback riding, skiing and seriously good chocolate.

Website/Twitter/Facebook

Set against the backdrop of Agatha Christie’s beloved Devon, TV celebrity Kat Stanford discovers that her newly widowed mother Iris has recklessly bought a dilapidated carriage house on a country estate known as Honeychurch Hall. Although times have changed at the manor house, a line still exists between those upstairs, and those down. Iris’s arrival is greeted with suspicion—but that’s not all. Iris harbors an even bigger secret that not even her daughter knows: Iris writes under the pseudonym, Krystalle Storm, and is a best-selling author of racy bodice-rippers.

Throw in a feisty, octogenarian countess, a precocious seven year old who is obsessed with the famous fighter pilot called Biggles, a treasure trove of antiques; as well as the paparazzi, always hungry for celebrity news. Add the occasional haunting from the resident family of ghosts, and there is more than one motive for murder. Yet at its core, the story explores the relationship between a mother and daughter facing new and uncertain beginnings and makes a good case for the notion that those nearest and dearest to us are often the most duplicitous of all.

Amazon/B&N

Jennifer’s Review of Murder at Honeychurch Hall

Review (4 Stars):  Kat Stanford is on hiatus from her popular TV show, Fakes & Treasures, when she discovers that her mother has purchased a run-down home way out in the country.  Concerned about the well-being of her mother after an accident, Kat travels to Honeychurch Hall and finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery.  With too many suspects and not enough clues, Kat and Iris try to find answers before more bodies start to pile up and they get evicted from Iris’ new home.  Kat never had any idea that spending time with her mother would be so interesting.

This is the first book in a new series and I think that Murder at Honeychurch Hall is a great start to the series.  It took me a little while to warm up to Kat but I absolutely adored her mother, Iris.  I loved that Iris wrote romances most of her adult life and her daughter had no idea about any of it.  She made the book fun and I enjoyed the other zany cast of characters that Kat came into contact with at Honeychurch Hall.  Delightful mystery and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Murder at Honeychurch Hall. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by May 19th, leave me a comment below.