Interview: Anna Gerard (Peaches and Schemes: A Georgia B&B Mystery) ~ #BookTour #Excerpt

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Hello and Welcome All!

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Anna Gerard author of Peaches and Schemes.

Hi Anna, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Thanks for having me! I’m pleased to be here chatting with you.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I manage to keep myself busy, that’s for sure. I work a day job and also assist my home-inspector husband with report editing. I have four dogs and two cats to wrangle, along with a couple of hives full of busy bees. And I’m an avid thrifter with shops on Etsy and eBay selling vintage and cool “finds”.

What are some books you have enjoyed recently?

I just finished the fun culinary cozy Shrimply Dead by my friend Maggie Toussaint. I’m in the middle of reading The Indie Writer’s Handbook by my friend David Wind for tips on publishing some of my backlist. And I just reread (for the 10th or 12th time!) the classic Ammie Come Home by the fabulous Barbara Michaels.

Tell us all about your main character(s) — Who are they? What makes them tick?

Nina Fleet is my innkeeper protagonist turned amateur sleuth. She’s new to the town of Cymbeline, having impulsively spent a chunk of her recent divorce settlement on a fabulous Queen Anne home which she turns into a B&B. While things should have been peachy for Nina in starting this new chapter of her life, she promptly clashes with one Harry Westcott. He’s a charming if somewhat shady out-of-work actor returning home to Cymbeline to claim the very same house Nina just bought, and that happens to have belonged to his late great-aunt. By the end of the second book in the series, the pair have declared a tentative truce, and Harry actually takes up residence in the B&B while helping Nina investigate murders. But in Peaches and Schemes their budding friendship takes some uncomfortable twists.

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

Writing about the wedding expo where Nina has a vendor booth was fun, but I truly enjoyed the chapter where Nina takes a “Floral Arranging for Amateurs” workshop. I have a friend who was an award-winning florist before he retired—in fact, he let me borrow his name for the story—and it was fun translating what I’ve learned from him onto the page. Not that I have any true talent for flower arranging, myself!

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I enjoyed revealing more about Nina’s friends in Cymbeline and strengthening her connections with them against the backdrop of murder. But, mostly, it was fun exploring the expanding relationship between Nina and Harry. As a former romance author, I find this all within my wheelhouse…but as a mystery reader, I don’t like it when a possible love interests trumps what should be the focus: murder. And so, we are still in the “will they/won’t they?” stage of their friendship and likely will remain there for a while.

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

DIANE A.S. STUCKART is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series (writing as Ali Brandon). She’s also the author of the award-winning Leonardo da Vinci historical mysteries, as well as several historical romances and numerous mystery, fantasy, and romance short stories. The first book in her Tarot Cats Mystery series is FOOL’S MOON, available in trade, large print, and Kindle versions. Her Georgia B&B Mystery series from Crooked Lane Books launched July 2019 with PEACH CLOBBERED, written as Anna Gerard and available in hardcover, e-book, or audio CD. Book 2, PEACHYSCREAM will be on the shelves July 2020.

Diane is a member of Mystery Writers of America and served as the 2018 and 2019 Chapter President of the MWA Florida chapter, receiving the “Flamingo” Chapter Service award in 2019. She’s also a member of Sister in Crime. In addition to her mystery writing affiliations, she’s a member of the Cat Writers’ Association and belongs to the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association. Diane is a native Texan with a degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, but has been living in the West Palm Beach FL area since 2006. She shares her “almost in the Everglades” home with her husband, dogs, cats, and a few beehives. Learn more about her books at www.dianestuckart.com

Author Links: WebsiteGeorgia BB Mysteries – Facebook

 

 

Peaches and Schemes: A Georgia B&B Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (May 11, 2021)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1643855840
ISBN-13: 978-1643855844
Digital ASIN: B08FZLH8HS

In Anna Gerard’s third delightful Georgia B&B mystery, Nina Fleet learns that despite the satin, lace, and buttercream trappings, weddings often prove to be anything but sweet…

Nina Fleet might be new to the innkeeping business, but she’s savvy enough to know that Cymbeline’s tourists aren’t enough to keep her fledgling bed and breakfast going. And so, Nina decides to tap into the destination wedding market by taking a booth at the Veils and Vanities Bridal Expo. The twice-yearly event is sponsored by the town’s two wedding pros: Virgie Hamilton, the sixtysomething owner of Virgie’s Formals, and Roxanna Quarry, a Gen X event planner and Nina’s new friend. But everything goes wrong during the expo’s fashion show, when Roxanna comes tumbling out of an oversized prop wedding cake, strangled to death by her own scarf.

Virgie is arrested for the crime, thanks to Nina’s statement to the police about having overheard the woman accusing her partner of embezzlement. Meanwhile, the situation grows tense with her sometimes nemesis and current tenant, the dashing out-of-work actor Harry Westcott. Harry is concentrating on plugging his most recent side hustle …but he’s not too busy to break the news to Nina that her ex-husband is engaged to be married again.

Certain that Virgie’s only offense is a bad temper, Nina decides to do her own investigating. First, however, she and Harry retrieve Roxanna’s now ownerless dog, planning to foster him until a new home can be found. But local gossip soon convinces Nina that others beside Virgie might have had reason to murder Roxanna. As Nina gets close to the truth, she’s putting her own life at danger. And when Virgie vanishes after being bailed out of jail by an unknown benefactor, Nina fears that if she can’t find the dress shop owner in time, tying the knot will take on a whole new meaning for them both.

Purchase Links – AmazonB&N

 

My name is Nina Fleet and, unlike most women I know, I’ve never much cared for weddings. Heck, I barely managed to get through my own nuptials almost twenty years ago. It’s not that I wasn’t excited about marrying my husband-to-be, a good-looking golf pro working at a small country club in Atlanta. At the time, I was in love and thought it would last forever. You know, the whole better or worse, richer or poorer, ‘til death do us part thing. (We actually made it to “richer,” which eventually led to the “parting” part of our union.)

Nope, marriage wasn’t the problem…at least, not at the beginning. What was too much for me was all the wedding planning. Pre–internet and social media, I didn’t have wed-ding blogs and websites and Facebook pages for guidance. I was more than a little overwhelmed deciding on venues and menus and showers and cakes and a proper dress. It didn’t help that my mother was consumed with the impending birth of my sister’s first child. My niece ended up arriving a week before my wedding, and so both Sis and Mom were mostly absent from their respective matron-of-honor and mother-of-the-bride roles. As for my groom, he shrugged and said he was good with whatever I chose.

In the end, however, the license was signed, birdseed in lieu of rice was thrown, and a honeymoon commenced. And I vowed that it would be my last wedding, except as a guest. I even turned down a couple of bridesmaid stints, just because the entire prospect gave me the willies, as my grandmother used to say.

But weddings and their related festivities can be lucrative business if you happen to own a bed-and-breakfast, which I do. Which is why I agreed to take part in the third annual fall Veils and Vanities Bridal Expo here at Cymbeline High School.

And which is also how I came to be hiding in the down-stairs girls’ restroom of CHS overhearing a heated argument that I later would realize was a motive for murder.

 

 

Follow the tour HERE

(1) Prize Package – Including signed copy of PEACHES AND SCHEMES, 1-2 other “surprise” books, some fun Peach and Wedding swag. U.S. ONLY

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I'm an outdoor sun loving reader living near San Fransisco. I’m a mother, wife, animal & book lover. I'm the owner, reviewer & mind behind Angel’s Guilty Pleasures. My favorite animals are horses & dogs. As for reading I love all things paranormal & urban fantasy & my favorite shifters are dragons.

3 comments on “Interview: Anna Gerard (Peaches and Schemes: A Georgia B&B Mystery) ~ #BookTour #Excerpt

  1. What an intriguing book! Great cover and excerpt. I’d love to read more.

  2. Thank you so much for a fun interview and for hosting me along my blog tour. Appreciate you muchly! ~Anna/Diane

    • It was my pleasure to have you visit and share your book Peaches and Schemes. Thank you for the interview.