Bethany Blake lives in a small, quaint town in Pennsylvania with her husband and three daughters. When she’s not writing or riding horses, she’s wrangling a menagerie of furry family members that includes a nervous pit bull, a fearsome feline, a blind goldfish, and an attack cardinal named Robert. Like Daphne Templeton, the heroine of her Lucky Paws Mysteries, Bethany holds a Ph.D. and operates a pet sitting business called Barkley’s Premium Pet Care. This is her fourth Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery.
Beginnings of A Midwinter’s Tail
Bethany said she was writing YA novels under the name Beth Fantaskey when she went out for a glass of wine with another author friend. “We started talking about how much we loved cozies, and dared each other to write one. I finished first, and my agent loved the story so much she sold it to Kensington. The rest is history!”
Like many cozy mystery authors, Bethany’s main goal is to make readers smile and give them an escape. “But my Lucky Paws Petsitting Mysteries are also woven through with positive messages. For example, the amateur sleuth, Daphne Templeton, has a soft heart for every stray who crosses her doorstep. Although she lives in a tiny house, Plum Cottage, there’s always room for one more lost soul. She also tends to see the good in people. In Dial Meow for Murder, Daphne is confronted by a young woman who tries to steal an expensive painting Daphne has inherited. But she doesn’t get upset. She sees a troubled soul who needs a job – so she offers to hire the thief, even though Daphne is low on resources, herself. There’s a strain of compassion that runs through the whole series. Even the quiet, war-veteran detective, who seems stern and unyielding, at first, quietly mentors ex-cons and vets with PTSD.”
Fall, good friends, and in-laws
“My favorite part of writing books is breathing life into characters I’d want to spend time with, then just letting them grow and evolve. If you dive into my books, you’ll soon find yourself in a self-contained world full of people and pets who laugh a lot, care deeply about each other, get into scrapes – and solve murders.”
Bethany describes A Midwinter’s Tail is her personal ode to her favorite time of year. “I jam-packed this novel with everything I love about the holidays, from twinkle lights to hot chocolate to ice skating to fancy parties and giving gifts. You wouldn’t believe how much time and care I put into choosing Detective Jonathan Black’s Christmas gift to Daphne Templeton, to show the continued evolution of their relationship!”
Bethany also said that, as a mystery writer, every day can be strange. “My internet searches are all about poisons and blunt force trauma and stab wounds. Luckily, my brother-in-law is a former police officer, now homicide investigator with NCIS – the agency that sparked the TV show. The poor guy is tops on my speed dial!”
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This author, Bethany Blake, sounds like a really constructive author desiring not only to entertain, but also to influence her readers with positive messages. I’d love to read A Midwinter’s Tail.