I'm pleased to welcome Ellis Elliott to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Ellis writes the Fire Circle Mystery series. A WITCH AWAKENS is the first book in the series and was released earlier this month.
Kathy: In A WITCH AWAKENS we meet Cece (Tennessee) Brown who is a ballet teacher. As a theatre major I was required to study many years of dance and ballet was my favorite. Did you ever study ballet? Do you enjoy watching ballet?
EE: Yes! Ballet was my favorite, too! I’ve taught ballet for most of my adult life, taking in a local studio as a child from age 6 to 18, and then taking class in a regional ballet company while in college. I’ve been teaching since I was my teacher’s assistant in high school. I believe dance teaches us so much, besides the obvious physical benefits, and love the language of the body as much as words.
Kathy: Cece begins to realize she shares a family proclivity for a bit of second sight. Do you believe that some people have this gift? Do you know people who do?
EE: Absolutely. I believe it comes from deep listening, consistent and deep attention, and the ability to accept and respond to the voice of your intuition. And I have had the privilege of knowing a couple of people who have cultivated this ability.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
EE: I love the puzzle of a mystery, and for cozies in particular, the setting and characters. The world is harsh enough, and cozies offer intrigue mixed with just enough reality. They then couple that with the gift of a delightful new world.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
EE: Yes. I am a poet and poetry lover. My first book, BREAK IN THE FIELD, was based on my grad school thesis and centers around my profoundly disabled son. After finishing that one, I wanted to try a different genre where I could let my imagination steer the ship awhile.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
EE: The series centers around Cece, an almost 30-year-old woman who fails at making a living as a professional dancer and returns to teach dance in her grandmother’s studio in the mountains of East Tennessee. While she has always been aware of her neurodivergence, she comes to understand there is more to it than she previously thought, when her grandmother and great-aunt begin to explain the lineage of “granny women” she is a part of. These mountain women, known for their herbal healing and intuitive wisdom, also each have particular psychic gifts. The series will follow Cece and her elders as she discovers her own gifts, learns the complicated and powerful legacy she is a part of, and works to discover how best to use her gifts in the world.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
EE: I guess it would be our main character, Cece, but it is hard to pick! I choose her probably because I remember my younger self and how I was in such a rush to figure everything out, when with age we realize we never will.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
EE: I spent summers with my mother’s family in the mountains of East Tennessee. The women in the book were inspired by my own grandmother and her sister. I discovered granny women from reading the memoir of my great-great-grandfather about his experiences in East Tennessee in the Civil War.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
EE: I relied on my editor, and the publisher of my poetry book, to help edit and shape my first cozy mystery. When they changed over to hybrid-publishing, I decided to use their services to put this book into the world. They’ve been wonderful.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
EE: Poets Mary Oliver and Ada Limón, along with writers Barbara Kingsolver and Agatha Christie.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
EE: I usually have fiction, non-fiction, and poetry going at once. That simply means I have the attention span of a gnat and have to flit between the three. Right now I’m reading STONEYARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood, THE COMFORT OF CROWS by Margaret Renkl, and SALTING THE OCEAN: 100 POEMS BY YOUNG POETS from Naomi Shihab Nye.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
EE: I build dollhouses and make miniatures, take yoga and dance classes, love the water, reading, writing, and traveling with my husband, especially to go see our kids.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
EE: Yogurt, crunchy peanut butter, diet ginger beer, and jasmine rice.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
EE: Yes, this is the first one in “The Fire Circle Mysteries” series.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
EE: Writing has always been my way to process the world, but with fiction writing I get to discover my own imagination, which is a whole different kind of adventure.
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Review
The First Fire Circle Mystery
Something's brewing in Eureka Grove, Tennessee and it's not just the coffee.
After trying to make it big in the Big Apple without much success Cece Chagall has returned to Eureka Grove. Working at her Nana's dance studio and creating doll houses Cece is relatively happy. However, her "peculiars" are getting worse. Sudden scents assault her and sometimes she'll see an image, but unsure of their meaning they're more troubling than anything else. However, the charity ball has her too busy to do anything about it. After her dancers perform without mishap Cece is ready to relax and enjoy the event, until a panicked Calvin pulls her outside to the loading dock where he shows her the dead body he just found. Stunned at the loss of the woman she considered a second mom Cece is determined to help find the killer.
What a great book! While A WITCH AWAKENS has a murder mystery and an investigation the book is almost more about understanding yourself, where you come from, and finding your place in it. There's more than one puzzle to solve as well. There's a murder mystery, the mystery of Cece's "peculiars", and the mystery of the gold box. Everything comes together in this delightful debut. I love the characters, not only Cece, Nana, and Aunt Granny Hazel, but Aunt Granny's friends, especially Cat. I like the smidge of flirtation we get, wondering if Cece and Joe will rekindle the romance of their youth and smiling when she gets annoyed with his police professionalism. There are some laughs and lots of familial love. And of course. darling May!
My favorite part was the ending. Not when the murder was solved, I had an inkling about that, but the very ending. I was surprised at one thing, though I shouldn't have been, and then had a wide grin at the very last bit! I also really appreciated the author's note and the bibliography. I am proud to say I own one of those books and need to get more!
Steeped in Appalachian lore A WITCH AWAKENS is a delightful debut featuring authentic characters in a neatly plotted mystery.
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A Witch Awakens: A Fire Circle Mystery by Ellis Elliott
About A Witch Awakens
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - In the Tennessee mountains
Publisher: Hawkshaw Press (May 19, 2025)
Number of Pages: 238
A Witch Awakens is about an accidental detective Cece (Tennessee) Brown, who returns home to Tennessee after deciding the Big Apple just didn't suit her. While working as the local ballet teacher she helps her friend Bess to put on the annual Fall Ball. Unfortunately, during a thunderstorm the night of the ball, one of the town's most notable women is found dead. Cece was very close to the victim, and begins to have little dizzy spells where she starts to get pictures of things around her town, and feelings compelling her to visit certain locations. Under the guidance of her grandmother and her Aunt Granny, Cece begins to realize she shares a family proclivity for a bit of second sight. It's a story where Cece solves a mystery, but also begins to accept who she is, and where she's from, and what makes her little town, and herself, special. She solves the mystery of herself.
About Ellis Elliott
ELLIS ELLIOTT is a facilitator of the online writing group Bewilderness Writing. She also teaches writing and ballet in an after-school arts education program. Ellis holds an MFA from Queens University. She is a contributing writer for the Southern Review of Books, and serves as an editor/workshop instructor for The Dewdrop contemplative journal.
She is the author of the 2023 poetry chapbook, Break in the Field (Old Scratch Press), which KIRKUS calls “A deeply felt collection of candid verse.” Her work can also be found in numerous publications, including Signal Mountain Review, Plainsongs Poetry Magazine/Award Poem, Euphony Journal, and the Women of Appalachia Project Anthology. Ellis has a blended family consisting of six grown sons. She resides in West Palm Beach, Florida, with her husband, Tim, and a feisty dog named Mabel.
Author Links:
- Website: https://bewildernesswriting.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bewildernesswriting
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elliselliott2020
- LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/ellis-gatewood-elliott-30ab4059
Purchase Links - AMAZON -
