Mystery Follows Her Book Spotlight character interview Great Escapes Tour

Interview

My Journey Back Interview Hello thank you for joining me today for a quick chat.  Before we get into the book let's chill with some easy questions.  

Summer is winding down but it is still super hot in Texas. Is it sweltering where you are? 

Sometimes I wish it was. Some of the other authors in our collection have blazing hot summers, but where I live in Northern Ireland, we don’t get that kind of summer. There have been a few hot days – that’s when the temperature was over seventy degrees - but temperatures in the low to mid-sixties are the norm and we’re frequently blanketed by rain.  

  What is your favorite cool drink for the summer heat? Pink lemonade. 

I love Chocolate just plain 'ole Chocolate don't mess it up with nuts or anything else. How about you?

Plain dark chocolate is my favorite.  

What is your favorite snack when reading a good Cozy Mystery? Arrowroot cookies washed down with a cup of tea.

Where is your favorite place to read? Curled up on the sofa with our cat in front of the fireplace. In winter, a roaring log fire in the hearth completes the coziness.

Let's get into the book! How difficult or easy was it to collaborate with so many authors? The process of producing the book went quite smoothly. We each wrote our own story, and all of us worked as a team to pull them together into a book. While it was time-consuming to discuss as a group each detail, defining our goals and making decisions based on what we agreed, the process wasn’t difficult. Each author contributed her skills, and we outsourced when necessary, in order to do all the tasks necessary to produce and market Mystery Follows Her. With our teamwork, we corralled our diverse ideas and got the job done, and we’re delighted with the collection. We hope readers will be too.

 Who's idea was it to collaborate? Last year I spent several months searching without success for a cozy mystery anthology to join. Eventually a fellow author suggested that I put one together. I found the idea daunting but decided to give it a try. After putting a call out on a couple of Facebook cozy mystery groups, sixteen authors who were interested contacted me. This group of authors discussed our ideas and goals for the book, and after this discussion period, each author knew whether or not the project was for her or not. We started work on Mystery Follows Her in January and we launched the book in July. 

 How did you choose the story you included? I was keen to introduce readers to the modest, widowed librarian, Lois Stone, the main character in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series. I’ve already released the prequel, Out of Options, and the first novel, A Timeless Celebration. The Heritage Heist, the second novel in the series, will be released this autumn. So, a novella-length story, set a couple weeks before book two, was perfect for the collection. Thanksgiving and Theft is a standalone story that also gives readers glimpses into Lois’s life before and after she began her new life in a small Canadian town where mysteries keep falling into her lap. 

 Have you toured with Great Escapes to promote other books? Which ones? Yes, I love the Great Escapes tours. They introduced the first two books in my Century Cottage Cozy mysteries series to readers. And I’m not the only one of our authors who is a fan of these blog tours. Vikki Walton has toured her Backyard Farming mysteries, and Adriana Licio will tour the first book in her new Homeswappers series this autumn. 

 What is your favorite part of tours? I love reading the reviews posted by the bloggers at each tour stop. Authors always want to know how readers respond to our books.  

Why do you think blog tours are successful? They give readers a chance to discover new books and connect authors with new readers. Everyone benefits from them.  

Can your books be found in public libraries? Do you promote utilizing a library? Do you think libraries hinder book sales? Some of my books are in public libraries in Northern Ireland. As an indie author, I’ve found that books by indie authors are most likely to be stocked in libraries in the area where the author lives. It’s harder to place indie books further afield. Libraries have limited budgets and they tend to buy most of their stock from the catalogues of traditional publishers. 

I don’t think that library borrowing hinders book sales. With the advent of ebooks, there are lots of affordable books so readers don’t hesitate to buy as well as borrow books. Mystery Follows Her is one of these easy to afford books. It’s currently on sale for .99 cents.

 Wow this has been a fun time. Thanks for chatting today.  Best wishes for the tour!

About the book

MISCHIEF, MAYHEM, OR MURDER?

MYSTERY FOLLOWS HER through dangerous city streets, quaint villages, and locales across the globe. Uncover the clues with feisty female sleuths of various ages in this multi-author cozy mystery collection of short stories.

Catch a mugger in THANKSGIVING AND THEFT by Dianne Ascroft
Dig up hidden treasure in BURIED BY THE BEACH by Ellen Jacobson
Open up a case in CLOSED OUT by Tamara Woods
Pray for justice in TREASURES IN HEAVEN by Sarah Biglow
Escape the blame in RING GONE ‘ROUND THE ROSES by Aubrey Elle
Try on some clues in THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN RING by Beate Boeker
Search for the suspect in WHEN THE CLOCK CHIMES TWO by Adriana Licio
Catch the culprit in HIJINKS IN AJIJIC by Vikki Walton
Locate the missing loot in VENDORS AND VILLAINS by Angela K. Ryan

You’ll love this collection of intriguing and light-hearted stories from award-winning and best-selling authors from across the globe.

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