Hello and Welcome!
Today we have Josie Way from Bait and Witch here today to talk with us.
Please introduce yourself to our audience.
I’m Josephine Way—friends call me Josie. I’m the middle daughter of three, and my father, a history teacher at the local community college, named each of us after French queens. I’ve always loved books. I was lucky enough to achieve my dream and become a librarian at the Library of Congress until—well, let’s just say that dream ended with a bang.
I picked up my career again in a tiny town in Oregon called Wilfred. That’s where I am now, living in the top floor of the Victorian mansion that houses the town library.
What’s it like being a librarian?
Oh, it’s wonderful! It’s like being a matchmaker or a travel agent. People come to me with a need, and I hand them something that guarantees hours of satisfaction, whether it’s a meaty philosophical treatise or a romantic romp. Plus, I have a special gift for finding exactly the right book. You might come to the Wilfred library thinking you want a thriller to read, but if I hand you a furnace repair manual, you’d better take it.
My favorite part of the day is preparing the library to open. First I start the coffee in the old mansion’s large kitchen—Wilfredians expect it. Then I walk through the library, pulling back the velvet or brocade curtains in the bedrooms and drawing rooms that now house books, and I turn on the lights. Lyndon, the caretaker, has usually left a gorgeous bouquet on the table in the atrium. I check the temperature in the conservatory, and I salute the 1920s oil portrait of Marilyn Wilfred, the library’s founder. All the while, my cat Rodney scampers at my feet, undoubtedly looking for trouble.
What’s it like finding out you’re a witch? How do you feel about learning you have powers?
I’m not going to lie—finding out I was a witch was terrifying. I had no idea what my powers were or how to control them, and I’m still learning. I’ve picked up some insight from Lalena, the town psychic who’s set up shop in the trailer park, but, between you and me, she’s not really psychic. She’s book-learned on magic, though.
All in all, I want to make good of my power. Besides loving books, I’ve always had a strong drive for justice and bringing truth to light. If being a witch can help me there, I’m all in.
Tell us a bit about the alley cat that’s popped up in your life? How do you feel about this spoiled cat?
Rodney is a cross between Marlon Brando and Little Lord Fauntleroy. If I were to choose my own cat, it wouldn’t be him. But now I can’t imagine life without Rodney, the little stinker. He sleeps on the pillow next to mine and purrs like a motorboat when I feel magic. I even discovered I can slip into his body.
What are some of the challenges you are going through?
Oh, jeez. Besides discovering my bewildering magic, I learned the library is on the verge of being demolished and replaced with some New Age retreat center. Then there’s the hit man on my trail…
Since you’re a librarian you have to have some favorite books and authors? What and Who are they?
I’m hooked on vintage crime novels, especially those written by women. Their street scenes spring to life in my brain, complete with gloves, Packards, and fringed lampshades. Mabel Seeley, Delores Hitchens, and Lenore Glen Offord are among my favorites. I’m on a Helen McCloy binge right now and can’t recommend her enough. That said, I read just about everything!
Last, how do you feel about your author and the events that she has happening to you in your book Bait and Witch?
We have an uneasy relationship, Angela and I. She has messy curly red hair like I do, so at least she helps me pin it under control. I also give her props former sense of humor. Plus, she’s a huge animal lover, so Rodney will always be safe and pampered. She could be a little speedier with my love life, though. And I wouldn’t mind a stretch of time without a body popping up.
Josie thank you for visiting Angel’s Guilty Pleasures and speaking with me today.
Librarian Josie Way moved to small-town Oregon to lay low. Instead, thanks to newfound magic abilities—and a killer on the loose—she’s leapt out of the frying pan and into a cauldron of trouble . . .
Josie Way loved working among the Library of Congress’s leather-scented stacks—until she uncovered corruption and made herself a target. As Wilfred, Oregon’s new librarian, Josie can stay undercover until the case goes to court. But life in this little town isn’t as subdued as she expected. The library, housed in a a Victorian mansion, is slated to be bulldozed. Still digesting the news that her safe haven is about to become scrap lumber, Josie discovers a body in the woods . . .
Almost as shocking, Josie learns that she’s descended from a long line of witches—and her powers have suddenly sprung to life. With help from a spoiled alley cat who just may be her familiar, Josie’s thumbing through a catalog of suspects, hoping she can conjure a way to save her library—and her life. . .
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Angela M. Sanders writes the Amazon bestselling Joanna Hayworth Vintage Clothing Mysteries and The Booster Club Capers. Under the pen name Clover Tate, she’s the author of the Kite Shop Mysteries (Berkley), which Romantic Times praised for their “well written wit and intrigue.” Angela’s articles on food, personalities, and perfume have appeared in a variety of magazines, and her monthly newsletters have nearly 2,000 subscribers. She interacts with readers on Facebook and Instagram and is a prominent blogger for Now Smell This, which garners 1.5 million monthly page views. Angela has two cats—one of whom is black of course—a witch’s freckle in her left eye and learned to read tarot cards from a pagan priestess.
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Sunnymay
January 17, 2021 at 6:19 pm
The story sounds cute and sneaky with a librarian working uder an assumed name and the special powers of being a witch. I wonder how she’ll solve the mystery of the body and where the cat fits into the equation.
Kim
January 17, 2021 at 3:39 pm
This is such a cute cover. I enjoyed the interview.
Bonnie
January 14, 2021 at 5:17 pm
Congrats on the new release! It sounds fascinating. Love the combination of librarian and witch. Great cover too.
Sophia Rose
January 14, 2021 at 3:17 pm
I love the sound of this one with her being a librarian and a witch. Fun interview.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Review: Running Away With the Bride by Sophia Singh Sasson