Great Escapes Book Tours

Heather Day Gilbert is an award winning author who writes contemporary mysteries and Viking historicals. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren’t afraid to protect those they love. No Filter is the first in her Barks & Beans Cafe Mystery series.

A new type of cafe

“It was important to me to set No Filter in small-town West Virginia,” Heather said. “It’s actually set in Lewisburg, a well-known town not far from me. West Virginia gets some bad press (ever heard those hillbilly jokes?), so it’s important to me to portray my home state as it truly is. Yes, the drug epidemic is mentioned because it’s literally everywhere in my state, but I tend to focus on the strong family and community bonds you’ll find here, not to mention the beautiful mountainous landscape and unique tourism opportunities, like the Greenbrier Resort.”

Heather loved the idea of a cafe where customers could pet shelter dogs, hopefully leading to pet adoptions. She said, “Lewisburg seemed the ideal quaint town for such a cafe. My husband and I have visited it many times, and we always enjoy researching the locale. I already have quite a few West Virginia readers who enjoy my Christian mystery series (A Murder in the Mountains) that’s set here, and many of them have contacted me to tell me they’ve been to Lewisburg and they’re looking forward to the Barks & Beans Cafe cozy series, too.”

Keeping it clean and unpredictable

Heather said that because she grew up reading Agatha Christie books, she believes it’s important for her to write mysteries with unpredictable twists. She said, “Sometimes, they’re even unpredictable to me! I tend to get reviews saying that readers never saw the killer coming, and those reviews make me feel I’m doing something right. Books that surprise me in some way while portraying realistic family relationships always stick with me, so that’s what I strive to write. I also write clean mysteries, so there’s no swearing or graphic scenes because I want books my kids and teen nieces can read.”

The big dog problem

Heather decided to feature a Great Dane in this series, and that was a challenge. “I definitely had to do my research as far as Great Danes. I’ve talked to Great Dane owners, and I even re-watched The Ugly Dachshund to make sure I was capturing this dog the right way. I’ve had a large dog—she was a 115-pound Shiloh Shepherd—but Great Danes are something else entirely.”

You did what?

Some writers like to do their research online, or talking to people, or other sane things. Heather prefers her research to be more…personal. “I’ve had my daughter close me in the trunk of a car to check how dark it was and if I could see anything. I’ve also had my kids duct tape my hands in front of me to see if I could break the tape (I did, using a method I watched on YouTube). Most enjoyable would be going shooting with my husband for research, as well as staying overnight at the Greenbrier Resort for an anniversary so I could write about it properly.”

Learn more about Heather at heatherdaygilbert.com

Lesley Diehl grew up on a farm, eventually became a college professor and university administrator, then returned to the world of books. She is the author six previous Eve Appel Mysteries. Nearly Departed is the seventh book in the series.

The ties that bind

Lesley said she comes from an odd family. She was an only child, raised on a farm and had few playmates until she entered school. “I had to rely on my imagination to create stories and games for entertainment. Because my mother was ill most of my childhood, I spent much of my time outside in the haylofts, barns and fields creating fantasy worlds in my mind. I also loved being in the dairy barn with my father when he milked the cows morning and night. My two grandmothers, one a strict German woman, the other a sweet Swedish lady were important in my life. The German one encouraged my interest in dancing by sewing costumes for me. She made the best fried chicken every Sunday. She was never affectionate, but somehow, I knew she liked me. My other grandmother was loving and affectionate. My father’s sister was a bartender. When my mother was sick, my aunt would take me with her to work. I would sit at the bar and drink Shirley Temples, feeling very grown up.”

Because her family life felt so disconnected, Lesley wanted to write stories in which family is important, but where the characters struggle with the idea of family. “I grabbed bits and pieces from my own life to insert into the Eve Appel character. For example, her last name is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name. Eve’s interest in owning a consignment shop also arises from this grandmother’s passion for recycling used clothing and household items. Losing her parents at an early age, Eve is raised by her maternal grandmother. Although Eve has not had a conventional family, her grandmother has loved her and taught her self-reliance, qualities Eve embraces in her own attempt to develop family.”

Making the case personal

“I decided to give Eve, who has become a private detective, a more personal reason for working on a case,” Lesley said. “Her business partner and best friend, Madeleine is expecting her uncle to visit from Scotland. Madeline is excited to see him because she, like Eve, has few relatives living. Her uncle is special to her, but his arrival at Madeleine’s house is followed by several attempts on his life. She asks Eve to find out who is behind trying to kill him. This is a particularly difficult case not only because the killer is clever, but Eve understands how important Madeleine’s uncle is to her. If Eve fails to stop the killer, how can she face her friend?”

Character and plot equally important

Though she recognizes the importance of a good plot, Lesley also believes it’s important to have characters that are relatable, interesting and work well together. “I wanted a protagonist who is bold, but likeable, and one who can grow and develop in unpredictable but exciting ways. I like to weave into the story the importance of the setting, and rural Florida is exotic in ways few readers have encountered. Social, personal, environmental and family issues are all part of my characters’ lives, so these play a significant role in how I develop the plot and the characters’ roles in the mystery. For example, Eve is struck again and again with how construction and the development of housing as well as recreational and commercial interests have changed the rural landscape especially as these affect water resources and animal habitat.”

From brews to an air boat cruise

“I like to do hands on research,” Lesley said. “For an earlier series featuring murder in a small brewery, I visited several breweries. In one of them, the guide showed us a fermenting room containing an open fermenting tank. He said we were not allowed in the room during fermentation because of the carbon dioxide coming out of the tank. Of course, my question which shocked others on the tour was, ‘Could you kill someone if you locked them in there?’ I quickly explained I wanted to know because I was writing a mystery. I’m not sure that explanation was of any comfort to others.”

And then there’s shopping for clothes. “Because Eve owns a consignment shop and sells used merchandise, I spend most of my weekends in the summer attending community yard sales searching for interesting merchandise. It’s a passion my grandmother passed on to me because she rarely bought anything new. I browse local consignment stores frequently and have been warned by my husband that we do not have room for anything else in our small cottage. The rule now is that I must remove one item for each one I bring into the house from these expeditions.”

There are also some lessons you can only learn from personal experience, such as the one Lesley learned during an air boat ride for her second Eve Apple Mystery, Dead in the Water. In that book, Lesley wrote a scene in which dirt from the canal blows ups into the face of Eve’s friend Madeleine and Eve picks it off. “I wouldn’t have thought of this scene if the same hadn’t happened to me on an airboat ride. I picked junk off my face and was careful to keep my mouth closed so I didn’t swallow what the wind from the ride churned up.”

Learn more about Lesley Diehl at lesleyadiehl.com.

Kelly Brady Channick is a former teacher who has taught first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades. She says she’s always loved making up stories, which is one reason she always managed to talk herself out of trouble. Asbury High and the Thief’s Gamble is the first book in her young adult cozy mystery series.

Keeping it fun

Kelly said she wrote this book when she was eighteen. “At the time, there was an influx of supernatural and dystopian-future types of YA books on the market. Don’t get me wrong, I love those types of books too. But I’ve always loved writing and realized I was missing some good, old-fashioned amateur sleuthing type of books. I’m hoping this book will give people a break from the real world, and provide some laughs and entertainment and they jump into Asbury and try to solve a mystery.”

Many writers find writing to be a way to cope with stress. Perhaps that’s why Kelly started this book when she did. She was eighteen and her parents were divorcing. “I’ve always been a sucker for mysteries,” she said. “I felt bad leaving my dad at home alone, so I would stay in with him and ended up writing out the ideas that were stuck in my head for a while. I liked the idea of having a group of four friends, consisting of two boys and two girls. I was always friends with more boys than girls growing up, so writing from a boy’s perspective wasn’t too hard or too much of a stretch for me.”

People, progression, and pancakes

“I grew up in a shore town (Ocean City, NJ), so I feel my descriptions of life on the coast are pretty accurate. Also, I love talking, a lot. I guess I was my graduating class’ Class Clown, and Most Athletic, for a reason. So, I really love it when I get reader feedback or just general questions directed to me. I’ll converse with anyone—ask my husband!”

During college, Kelly played basketball, which pulled her away from writing. And after college, she became a teacher—another break. Now that she’s writing full time, she’s decided to fulfill her dream of publishing this series. “I can honestly say the book series gets better as it goes on. I’m sure all writers like to think that, but because my characters grow and age, and the mysteries/crimes become more intense, I feel like the readers get drawn deeper into the world of Asbury. I mean, the kids go from being 14 to 18 by the final book—so you know they face many more challenges, other than just solving the cases that come their way.”

In the Asbury High series, the town’s favorite and most famous restaurant serves a popular dish called the Taco Pancake. Taco Pancakes? Are those for real? Actually, yes. Kelly said, “At the time I wrote that, I was a very picky eater and really only loved tacos and pancakes— (and cookies, but who doesn’t love cookies?), thus, I tested out the recipe and found out it’s quite delicious to be honest.”

Learn more about Kelly Brady Channick at kbchannick.com.

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Southern author Maggie Toussaint writes cozy and paranormal mysteries, romantic suspense, and dystopian fiction. She has twenty published novels and is a three-time finalist for Georgia Author of the Year. She’s won three Silver Falchions, the Readers’ Choice, and the EPIC Awards. She lives in coastal Georgia, where secrets, heritage, and ancient oaks cast long shadows. 

Moving on

“I’m sure others have had this experience: you’re suddenly surprised by a friend’s words or deeds. I’ve found that you can know someone all your life but never truly know who they are. Further, it has held true that most people have a public persona and a private one.”

In Seas the Day, those dual personas are precisely the challenge for caterer River Holloway. Driven to find a missing friend, a boat captain, River discovers baffling secrets when she digs into her friend’s past.

Maggie said that the Seafood Caper Mystery series originated because she wanted to write a lighter cozy series after having written a cozy paranormal series of seven books. “That series was inspired by my longing to talk to my sister, who had passed away. After nearly seven years of dwelling in that story world, I needed a change. I wanted to write about a wholesome young woman struggling with everyday issues – elder care, a brother who took a long time to grow up, a boyfriend who moved away, and yet she was/is entirely rooted in her community on Shell Island. To add to the nourishing aspect of this new series, I created a catering sleuth so that she could bring sustenance to all who cross paths with her.”

Maggie said she knows the setting for Seas the Day well. “I have lived on an island in a small community. My family has always lived by the sea, been fisher folk, and enjoyed cooking. The same things that sustain my sleuth—the blended scents of the forest and ocean, the certainty of the tides, the tug of family heritage—sustain me. But she’s the cook, not me. All my life I’ve dreamed of being a person like River, and now I have the privilege of living vicariously through her.”

From Trouble came a nudge

A few years ago, Maggie was invited to participate in a short story collection featuring author Carolyn Haines’ character, Trouble, the black cat. Maggie said the story call wanted a romance, a mystery, and Trouble in each short story. “My story, ‘Trouble with Horses’, was accepted into the Trouble with Cupid anthology which benefits animal rescue charities. The couple I wrote about, River Holloway and Pete Merrick, kept nudging me to give them a book, so I began writing Seas the Day. Since then I’ve decided to issue at least two more full length novels in this series.

“River’s name came to me because she’s very grounded like a river or a stream and yet she’s always on the go, always reaching out and expanding her limits. She’s fluid and yet strong. She knows what she wants and she goes for it. She’s guided by her drive to help others in any way she can. She’s the ultimate neighbor you always count on.

“Her childhood sweetheart, Pete, wants to make his mark on the world and be able to keep River in grand style. He’s a brilliant corporate turn-around expert, but in this story he’s in over his head. His journey is to realize there’s no place like home, and for him, home is now and has always been, River.”

Paying things forward

“The good guys always win, you always get a happy ending in a Maggie Toussaint story, and my story characters act in character throughout the book. I hope readers find my books easy to read, page-turning, and entertaining because that’s my goal.
My sleuths are very invested in family and grounded in their communities and values that I share. I have had many helping hands along the way to this point in my life and I’ve done my best to keep paying that forward. Reader and writer alike, we are all on a journey together through this life.”

And keeping a sense of humor

“The contract for Seas the Day came about as an agented three-book deal. This was the first time I’d sold without having everything finished. Despite many personal challenges in 2019, I kept up with the production schedule for all three books. It was exhilarating and maddening and stressful. And yet, somehow it got done in the lighthearted, entertaining style I like to write. For me, the secret was to focus on what I could do each day instead of worrying about how much needed to be done.”

Of course, part of that work was research. Fortunately, there was nothing too crazy in the research for Seas the Day. At least, nothing like what happened when she wrote Murder in the Buff. Maggie was exhibiting books at a festival when she was confronted by the owner of a nearby clothing-optional site. “He thought I shouldn’t have written about this kind of place without visiting one. That was never going to happen, but I was happy to share that I’d interviewed someone who had visited there. My friend went to dinner there with another teacher and said she kept telling herself ‘don’t look down, don’t look down,’ the whole time. Of course, I used that mantra in the book!”

Visit Maggie Toussaint at maggietoussaint.com.

Judith Gonda is a mystery writer and Ph.D. psychologist with a penchant for Pomeranians and puns, so it’s not surprising that psychology, Poms, and puns pop up in her amateur sleuth mysteries featuring California landscape architect Tory Benning. Murder in the Secret Maze is Judith’s first book in the Tory Benning Mystery series.

The beginnings of Murder in the Secret Maze

Judith said she likes to write with three ideas in mind. Her main desire is to entertain readers, but she also wants to show good can triumph over evil and that justice can prevail. “I like to believe that good people outnumber the bad ones. I’m a big advocate of hope, love, and kindness, and my stories reflect this.”

With a daughter who is a landscape architect, it’s no surprise the Judith chose the profession for her protagonist. “I like writing about it because plants and nature are beautiful and calming and the design aspects are fun. I also like the idea of a family business. I’ve co-owned a litigation consulting business in the past and my husband still is involved in his family’s business. The dynamics of family and business are interesting and offer a lot of opportunities from a writing standpoint for conflict and drama.”

Judith has some fond memories of her life in London as a child. “I adored the Hampton Court maze beyond belief. It was the neatest thing and lends itself to twists and turns literally, a nice metaphor for a mystery. I also liked the idea of a missing person because I am drawn to real missing person stories in the news. I become obsessed with the mystery of finding out what happened to them and wanted to create that same interest and curiosity in my story. I feel so much compassion for the families of missing persons.”

For research, Judith read a lot of missing person news stories and tried to model what she saw the real families do in Murder in the Secret Maze. In real life, she said that families often blanket social media with missing person posts. “They need to do this because the authorities sometimes take a while to get on board,” Judith said. “The families have to take on the search themselves. They become obsessed with the quest for truth. Some of them blame themselves for not answering a phone call before the person disappeared or not knowing whether someone voluntarily disappeared to shirk responsibility. They also wonder if they were foolish in spending time worrying and looking for them because some people disappear on purpose. What if they met with foul play because the family member did something? They know time is of the essence and wonder if they should step up their investigation. They suffer so much uncertainty and are weighed down by the psychological toll of not knowing. I tried to capture that uncertainty by showing Tory’s turmoil, and showing that she has to take it day by day.”

The benefits of being a research psychologist

“My training and experience as a research psychologist informs my interest in studying cause and effect. What I’ve learned is there are often many variables working together to bring about a certain outcome. I am fascinated with why people commit crimes and what their motives are for murder, so that fascination is reflected in my books. What drives people to murder? Obviously, there are many different motives for different people in different situations. Because of this, my plots are complicated by a lot of twists and turns. That’s the mystery, finding out the why as well as the who.”

An emotional rollercoaster

“A few years before I started writing this book my older daughter got married and my mother died a week later. Then the same daughter got divorced only a short time after that. All these events colored my story, particularly the collective impact and the roller coaster of emotions when stressful events hit together. That quick succession of loss is in my book. Like me, Tory’s coping method of choice is denial. I feel personally overwhelmed when stressful events hit all at once so, out of the necessity to not lose my mind, I only let the horror seep in a little at a time, as I adjust to the new reality. Not ideal, but real. Tory does the same thing, flipping in and out of depression and anxiety and her desire for normalcy, illustrated by her suddenly becoming addicted to exercise, seeking therapy, suspecting everyone, and even flirting a little with a handsome character. Life is messy and imperfect. I try to reflect that in my stories so the characters seem real. Also, I think humor is a great tension reliever and occasionally Tory and her BFF Ashley find a little humor in the midst of very dark circumstances.”

Cops and robbers make for good research

“One night when my husband had just left on a business trip, I was home alone and in bed reading into the wee hours. What I first thought was the bass of a car radio became an increasingly louder thumping sound that went on for several minutes. When I peeked through the blinds a guy was trying to break into my neighbor’s car. He was bashing the windows with a rock. To see someone so focused on destruction, methodically, violently, swing after swing, pounding the daylights out of a window with what seemed like superhuman strength was frightening.”

Judith later learned the man was drunk and barely able to stand up. She called their security company, but the man got into the car, stole something, and ran before help arrived. The security officers found the attacker and detained him until the police arrived. Eventually, the case went to trial, but before that, Judith was pulled back in as a witness.

“Even though he was caught red-handed with my neighbor’s possessions, the rookie cop let the guy go. Long story short, they eventually arrested him, with my help I’m proud to say, since a police detective brought a photo lineup to my house for me to ID the suspect. This incident really hit home for two reasons. First, like a fender bender, being a victim of even a minor crime shakes you up; and second, I was surprised at my own reaction in wanting to help catch the perpetrator despite my own anxiety. The approach/avoidance struggle was real. Both of these feelings really informed my story regarding the mixed emotions of a crime victim and helped me write some scenes particularly vividly. Also, the incident showed me that crime results for many reasons. Some is calculated but some is unplanned and a result of a lack of impulse control when under the influence. Obvious, perhaps, but the violence coming from even an unplanned criminal act was disturbing.

“After I viewed a photo lineup of six mug shots and I picked out the guy I saw, the detective interviewed me. I told him all the details I was sure of, and some that I qualified by saying I wasn’t as certain about. When the interview was over the detective told me, ‘you’re the best type of witness,’ even better than some of his rookie cops. If I’d ever had any doubts before this incident, his comments made me feel that writing books where amateur sleuths solve mysteries was really my calling.”

Learn more about Judith Gonda at judithgonda.com.