Jill Piscitello

Interview with Courtny Bradley, Author of Death on Deck

Author Courtny Bradley is joining me today for an interview. Her novel, Death on Deck, releases September 30th. Take a few minutes to get to know your next favorite author. Be sure to visit her website to check out a slew of cozy mystery fun.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Death on Deck

Author: Courtny Bradley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

BLURB:

Embark on a thrilling nautical adventure in “Death on Deck,” a captivating cozy mystery by Courtny Bradley. Meet Lisa-May Midé and her Cruising Crew—a spirited group of women in their 60s facing retirement head-on. When a lifeless body is discovered, their leisurely cruise takes a sinister turn. Lisa-May finds herself entangled in a web of mystery and murder. Battling ageist suspicions and navigating the waters of friendship, the group of women unravel the secrets hidden beneath the ship’s glimmering surface. With humor, resilience, and a bond forged through decades, the Cruising Crew proves that the journey to solving a mystery is just as exciting as the destination.

INTERVIEW:

Welcome! It is my pleasure to feature your novel.

What was the inspiration behind your latest release?

I have a slight obsession with wanting to become a grandmother. This has been my dream since I was a child. I want to be the fluffy, cuddly, silver-haired grandma who gives my grandbabies everything. My book Death on Deck is all about the feisty older ladies I have the pleasure of having in my life. My Nonnie, Nannie and they are the inspiration of The Cruising Crew ladies.

Have you ever traveled when researching information for a book?

Funnily enough, the idea for this book came about when I was on my honeymoon cruise. An amazing group of older ladies sat across from my husband and me, and they were a hoot-in-a-half. My husband and I started throwing out ideas for cozies because, of course, I had brought some on our trip, and he was teasing me about them. This book might not have happened had we not been traveling.

How many hours do you dedicate each day towards writing?

I work for my school district full-time during the school year, and I have two boys, ages 3 ½ and 1 ½-year-old. The prime time for writing is the summer. My boys are in school, and I can write all day. I take breaks throughout the day to walk outside and read, but this is the best time for me to write.

Which authors inspire you?

My biggest inspiration and cheerleader is Ellie Alexander. She is a fellow cozy mystery author who is the kindest person I’ve ever met. Without her encouragement and course on mystery writing, I don’t know if Death on Deck would have ever set sail.

What project are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on another cozy mystery series called Literary Stitches. In the charming town of Broken Arrow, former bestselling author Addie Doyle must solve the murder of her ex-best friend, all while managing her family’s quirky book and craft store, Literary Stitches—where every clue could be hidden between the pages.

Upcoming books, events, appearances, giveaways:

My book Death on Deck releases on September 30th! I’m going to the Ashland Mystery Festival in Ashland, Oregon in October.

AUTHOR BIO:

Meet Courtny Bradley, affectionately known as Courtagonist in the cozy mystery realm. An educator with over a decade of experience, Courtny has been unraveling cozy mysteries online since 2017. Married to her best friend, she juggles the delightful chaos of parenting two rambunctious toddlers in the heart of Oklahoma. Courtny’s cozy expertise shines as she guides fellow mystery enthusiasts through the charming world of whodunits, a journey seasoned with warmth, wit, and a touch of Oklahoma flair.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Book in the Spotlight: In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key, by M. S. Spencer

Please join me in welcoming author M.S Spencer. ‘Tis the season for building one’s summer reading list. In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key offers romance and suspense wrapped in a cozy mystery. Check, check, and check. This new release makes for an entertaining beach read.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: In the Crosshairs: the Body on Leffis Key

Author: M. S. Spencer

Genre: Cozy Mystery/Romantic Suspense

BLURB:

Palmer Lind, recovering from the sudden death of her husband, embarks on a bird-watching trek to the Gulf Coast of Florida. One hot day on Leffis Key she comes upon—not the life bird she was hoping for—but a floating corpse. The handsome beach bum who appears on the scene at the same time seems to have even more secrets than the dead man.

His story begins to unravel as the pair search for answers to a growing pile of dead bodies. Spies, radical environmentalists, and wealthy businessmen circle around each other in a complex dance. Which one is lying? What do a seemingly random group of individuals have in common, other than being targeted by a crossbow?

AUTHOR BIO:

Librarian, anthropologist, research assistant, Congressional aide, speechwriter, nonprofit director—M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents and holds degrees in Anthropology, Middle East Studies, and Library Science. She has published seventeen mystery or romantic suspense novels. She has two children, an exuberant granddaughter, and currently divides her time between the Gulf Coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.

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Guest Post with Lori Pollard-Johnson, Author of Corpse in the Craftsman Cottage

Please join me in welcoming author Lori Pollard-Johnson. Today, Lori is sharing a guest post about the popularity of endearing pets in cozy mysteries. Doting pet parents will relate to how these pets become such important characters. Fans of cozies will delight in this new release featuring a feisty sleuth.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Corpse in the Craftsman Cottage

Author: Lori Pollard-Johnson

Genre: Cozy Mystery

BLURB:

Thirty-four, newly divorced and parenting two little girls, Jan Weatherly is determined to make it on her own doing what she knows best: do-it-yourself home flipping. With her BFF Pam Bacchus by her side, she purchases their first fixer-upper—a cute Craftsman cottage with quick profit potential in rainy Rainier, Washington. With the first swing of her claw hammer, however, Jan pries back faux cedar paneling and reveals a nude, snow-haired corpse floating in a makeshift aquarium. If that didn’t fully sour their dreams in a plume of formaldehyde-tinged air, Sergeant Daniels arrives and bans the women from the crime scene. Will they continue sleuthing, despite Daniels’s warnings, or simply wait for their dreams of financial independence to fall apart?

GUEST POST:

Cozy mysteries are well-known for their amateur sleuths and their endearing furry companions. They become as much a part of the series as any recurring character—often, they’re the ones we are most eager to read about again.

Take Janet Evanovich. Her car-exploding heroine, Stephanie Plum, cares for a skittish little hamster named Rex. Cozy mystery writer V. M. Burns based her entire Dog Club Mysteries around a poodle named Aggie. And then there’s one of the grand dames of cozies: Lillian Jackson Brown. Her “The Cat Who…” series features thoughtful and flawed Qwilleran and his curious Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum.

This isn’t by chance. Cozy readers tend to be female, over forty years old, and looking for escape. Their “intelligent and intuitive” nature, as one agent describes them, makes them especially drawn to our lovable animal companions.

So as a cozy reader myself, it’s no wonder that my books often contain a loveable four-legged companion. My newest title, “Corpse in the Craftsman Cottage,” features Moxie, an elderly Chinese Crested, who serves as a mascot for my newly divorced BFFs new home-flipping business. She’s sweet and affectionate and reveals the true strengths of Jan and Pam as they navigate the ups and downs of divorce and single parenthood, potential financial ruin, and of course, discovering a dead body.

To see how Moxie changes everyone’s lives for the better, read “Corpse in the Craftsman Cottage,” available in eBook and Print.

AUTHOR BIO:

Lori Pollard-Johnson is a retired educator and current wife, mama and grandma. She writes from her homes in Washington and Arizona, and has been published in fiction, nonfiction and poetry, in publications as diverse as Vegetarian Journal, Seattle, Black Belt, Bridal Connections and The Binnacle, in addition to five novels. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her grandbabies, braiding rugs, perfecting her shavasana, swimming, hiking, practicing her releves, renovating fixer-uppers, reading, or watching javelinas dance through her backyard.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Instagram

Twitter

PURCHASE LINKS:

The Wild Rose Press

Book in the Spotlight: The Duchess Egg Hunt, by Amy Hahn

Please join me in welcoming author Amy Hahn. Her new release, The Duchess Egg Hunt, is a perfect pick to add to your cozy mystery TBR pile. This is especially true if you are like me and enjoy a mystery set within the art world.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: The Duchess Egg Hunt

Author: Amy Hahn

Genre: Cozy mystery

BLURB:

Havilland Smythe doesn’t know what’s shocked her more: The instant attraction she feels for handsome Detective Roman Fairfax or his admission she’s the top suspect in the theft of a historic artifact. She’s immediately intrigued, possessing a legitimate interest in the stolen work of art. The Grand Duchess Anastasia Egg is part of a collection of four jewel-encrusted eggs gifted to the daughters of the last Tsar of Russia. Finding and reuniting them in an exhibit for public enjoyment and preserving them for future generations is a professional passion. Despite Roman’s ardent objections, she joins him in his search for the perpetrator and the missing egg. And in the process, she lands smackdab into an adventure of a lifetime, solving a mystery that’s baffled the art community for decades and falling hopelessly in love with Roman Fairfax.

AUTHOR BIO:

Amy Hahn has been a writer since childhood. Notebooks filled with her creative stories were a constant companion. She’s worked as an editor and writer for various magazines and online news web sites. She has also worked as a television news producer, college instructor, and managing editor for one of the world’s top medical organizations. She enjoys writing in a variety of genres, including romance and nonfiction historical.

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Interview with Joyce Proell and Brenda Whiteside, Authors of Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder (A Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery)

Authors Joyce Proell and Brenda Whiteside are joining us today for an interview. Their latest in the Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery Series, Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder, will delight cozy mystery fans.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder (A Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery)

Author: Joyce Proell and Brenda Whiteside

Genre: Cozy Mystery

BLURB:

It’s a rib cookoff…with a recipe for murder.

Nicole Earp and Emma Banefield are celebrating another birthday at the Dulce Inn with the added fun of a rib cookoff in the park. Not only are chocolate martinis in their plans, Nic has her heart set on winning the cornbread contest. But as the excitement bakes, someone is stirring up trouble for the inn and its employees.

Strange occurrences at the Dulce are on the rise. Slashed tires, menacing phone calls, and unsavory characters add a vibe that threatens the sisters’ anticipated fun-filled stay. When the hot-headed hotel owner is caught wielding a bloody letter opener over a dead coworker, the sisters are embroiled in a caper to help the one person who finds their sleuthing as welcomed as a rattlesnake in her bed. But is she innocent?

The Chocolate Martini Sisters are primed to find out. First, they’ll have to eliminate a host of suspects that includes a dishonest restaurant owner, a jilted girlfriend, an ex-wife, the barkeeper, and a masseuse with a crush. If they can stay off the radar of the surly chief homicide detective long enough, they can put out the fire…unless the killer burns them first.

INTERVIEW:

Welcome! It is my pleasure to feature your novel.

What was the inspiration behind your latest release?

Brenda: We came up with the plot for Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder working off our prior two books in the series. The owner of the Dulce Inn blames the sisters for murder in her establishment while they enjoyed their birthday celebrations there…as if they’re bad luck. We thought it would be fun to have her a suspect in murder and need their help to clear her.

Joyce: Murders are puzzles. As the author, you struggle to fit all the pieces together in a cohesive shape—one that surprises but ultimately makes sense to the reader.

Where do you get your ideas?

Brenda: The inspiration for the series started in an historic hotel in Prescott, Arizona. My sister and I celebrate our birthdays in spring and late summer with a chocolate martini in the Peacock Room (bar) at the hotel. We eventually called ourselves the Chocolate Martini Sisters. I thought that would be a great title for a cozy mystery series so I approached Joyce with the idea.

Joyce: Plotting a murder mystery is about focusing on the characters and choosing the one who believes they have the most to gain from murder.

When did you begin writing?

Brenda: I always loved writing as far back as I can remember. For some reason, I didn’t think about it as a career. I didn’t pursue writing until later in life when I took a creative writing class for fun and got hooked.

Joyce: In college I kept a journal in which I’d pen short scenes and character sketches. It wasn’t until I left my job, and with the support of my wonderful husband, had the opportunity to focus full-time on writing.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Brenda: It’s the same challenge I hear most authors complain about—promoting myself. With me, it’s not a case of shyness or fear of public speaking. The hardest thing is finding the right path that leads to the most exposure. Just publishing isn’t enough. Choosing the platform that gets your name and works in front of people is difficult.

Joyce: I second what Brenda said. Self-promotion is often so uncomfortable when one is an introvert like I am. However, we do so because we believe in the book and hope others will hear about it, read it, and love it.

What project are you currently working on?

Brenda: Joyce and I are in the early stages of book four of the Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery books. We have a great deal of personal commitments this year, so it most likely won’t go to press until early 2025. I am also working on a book of short Christmas stories that I can hopefully publish in November. And then there’s promotion. I’m trying to learn more about the dreaded task so we can share our cozy mysteries with more readers.

Joyce: I am eagerly awaiting my first grandchild and focusing on plotting Book 4.

AUTHOR BIOs:

After hearing countless stories as a mental health professional, Joyce Proell retired to create her own tales. As an award-winning author, she writes historical romance and cozy mystery where all endings are guaranteed happy. She shares her home on the prairie with a husband and a little dog with a big personality. When she isn’t reading or writing, she likes to swim and finds baking almost as relaxing as a day at the spa.

Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery. She writes children’s books under the pen name, Brenda Sue. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart and won’t discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.

Visit Joyce at her website: https://joyceproell.com/ or at https://www.facebook.com/JoyceProellAuthor