Peach Clobbered - An Interview, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Anna Gerard to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Anna writes the Georgia B&B Mystery series. PEACH CLOBBERED is the first book in the series and was released last week.

Kathy: In PEACH CLOBBERED Nina Fleet turns a historic home into a B&B. Have you ever wanted to be an innkeeper?

AG: I think everyone has fantasies of either running a bar or restaurant, or else buying a little motel or bed and breakfast. I fall into the “B&B” category…if I were in Nina’s situation, I might well consider doing just that.


Kathy: I love architecture and old houses and once lived in a fantastic Queen Anne. What drew you to that style for Nina's B&B?

AG: I love architecture, too…I subscribe to several blogs and Facebook pages that discuss various styles. Sadly, I’ve never lived in a Queen Anne of my own, so I’m very jelly of you! But for story purposes there’s something about the myriad of rooms and staircases and gingerbread trim inside and out that seems perfect for a cozy mystery. Though I have to admit my own current architectural passion is for Mid-Century Modern.


Kathy: I had to chuckle when I realized your first Georgia B&B Mystery features both a man in a penguin suit and a bunch of nuns. Which came first when you created this mystery?

AG: The penguin suit was definitely first…in fact, the book’s working title was Death in a Penguin Suit.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

AG: While I read the occasional traditional mystery and suspense/thriller, I like cozies because, like fairytales, good triumphs over evil. And with real life being pretty brutal these days, it’s nice to read—and write—a kinder, gentler book.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

AG: I started my writing career publishing historical romances as Alexa Smart and Anna Gerard. I’ve also written short fiction (fantasy, western, contemporary romance, etc.) and historical mystery (the Leonardo da Vinci Mystery series) as Diane A.S. Stuckart.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

AG: The Georgia B&B Mystery series, not surprisingly, takes place in a bed and breakfast in a small fictional town in Georgia. It’s the first of my cozy mystery series that isn’t cat-centric. Writing as Ali Brandon, I previously published the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series featuring Hamlet the cat and his human, Darla Pettistone. This series is set in Brooklyn in the independent bookstore that Darla inherited along with the sleuthing cat, Hamlet. More recently, I wrote the Tarot Cat Mystery series featuring two sibling black cats, Brandon Bobtail and his sister Ophelia, who live in a botanica in South Florida. The Georgia B&B Mystery series is currently feline-free but does have a feisty Australian shepherd, Matilda, who helps her human solve crimes.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

AG: That’s like asking a mom if she has a favorite child! I love all my characters, human and feline (and canine). But I do have to admit that there’s a special place in my heart for Ophelia, the sassy Tarot card-reading kitty from the Tarot Cat Mysteries.


Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

AG: I find my inspiration anywhere and everywhere.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

AG: My plan ever since college had been to be a traditionally published author. I’m grateful I was able to achieve that goal.


Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

AG: That’s a toughie. I’d probably want to have dinner with Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters, and Sir Author Conan Doyle. That should make for an interesting meal!


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

AG: I have a huge TBR pile that needs to be tackled. But since I’m on deadline, I’m limiting myself to reading DIY/home improvement magazines (we’re planning a home remodel).


Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

AG: In addition to writing, I have an Etsy store, Really Smart Finds, where I sell vintage collectibles. I’m also (with my husband) a beekeeper. Plus, I’m one of the founding members of Paranormal Researchers of South Florida (PROS Florida), a ghost hunting team.


Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

AG: Diet Coke, string cheese, pickled jalapenos, crackers.


Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

AG:  I’m currently finishing book 2 in the Georgia B&B Mystery series, with at least one more after that. And my agent is trying to “rehome” my Tarot Cat Mystery series following the demise of my publishing house for those books.


Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

AG: Hearing from the readers who enjoy my books. That’s what makes the hard work worthwhile.


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Review

PEACH CLOBBERED by Anna Gerard

The First Georgia B&B Mystery

Nina Fleet lives in Georgia, not the Antarctic, yet penguins start to play a major part of her life. First a penguin appears at her front door trying to sue her. OK, it's actually a man dressed in a penguin suit, but he's the one trying to take the gorgeous old house she bought away from her, claiming his aunt actually left it to him. Then she's surrounded by a group of penguins. OK, they're actually nuns in traditional habits, but they're moving in with her. The town bad guy has kicked the sisters out of their home so the mayor sped through Nina's bed and breakfast paperwork and made her an offer she couldn't refuse. As Nina accompanies the nuns on their protest of the developer she's led by a screaming woman to a penguin who has been stabbed. OK, not a real penguin, it's the same costume as Harry wore, but it's not Harry inside...it's the dastardly developer. Almost everyone in the small town of Cymbeline wanted to kill him, but who actually did? Or was Harry the real target?

I really like this new series! Nina (pronounced like the number, not Nee-nah) is a smart capable woman thrust into a most unusual situation. In fact, the book is filled with smart capable women, from the sheriff to the mayor to the Sisters of Perpetual Poverty. I'm impressed with the manner in which the nuns are represented along with the hard truths they are forced to face from their own archbishop. I'm especially fond of Sr. Mary Thomas as her love of animals shines through the pages. Mattie is a sweet dog and the town of Cymbeline is utterly charming with its nod to all things Shakespeare. The relationship between Nina and Harry is quite unique. Harry vacillates from being a villain out to take away Nina's dream, a victim of pathos, and a possible romantic interest. Lots of interesting character inhabit the pages making for a compelling read.

PEACH CLOBBERED is a charming, witty, and engaging mystery that pulled me in from the start. I'll miss some of the characters I met here, but am looking forward to meeting Nina's next guests!

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Peach Clobbered: A Georgia B&B Mystery by Anna Gerard

 

About the Book

 

Peach Clobbered: A Georgia B&B Mystery  

Cozy Mystery 1st in Series  

Crooked Lane Books (July 9, 2019)  

Hardcover 

What’s black and white and dead all over? Georgia bed and breakfast proprietor Nina Fleet finds out when she comes across a corpse in a penguin costume.

Nina Fleet’s life ought to be as sweet as a Georgia peach. Awarded a tidy sum in her divorce, Nina retired at 41 to a historic Queen Anne house in quaint Cymbeline, GA. But Nina’s barely settled into her new B&B-to-be when a penguin shows up on her porch. Or, at least, a man wearing a penguin suit.

Harry Westcott is making ends meet as an ice cream shop’s mascot and has a letter from his great-aunt, pledging to leave him the house. Too bad that’s not what her will says. Meanwhile, the Sisters of Perpetual Poverty have lost their lease. Real estate developer Gregory Bainbridge intends to turn the convent into a golfing community, so Cymbeline’s mayor persuades Nina to take in the elderly nuns. And then Nina finds the “penguin” again, this time lying in an alley with a kitchen knife in his chest.

A peek under the beak tells Nina it’s not Harry inside the costume, but Bainbridge. What was he doing in Harry’s penguin suit? Was the developer really the intended victim, or did the culprit mean to kill Harry? Whoever is out to stop Harry from contesting the sale of his great-aunt’s house may also be after Nina, so she teams up with him to cage the killer before someone clips her wings in Peach Clobbered, Anna Gerard’s charming first Georgia B&B mystery.

About the Author

 

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. Diane is a member of Mystery Writers of America and has served as the 2018 and 2019 Chapter President of the MWA Florida chapter. 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. She’s 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: Website - www.dianestuckart.com / www.georgiabbmysteries.com  
Facebook - www.facebook.com/blackcatmysteries  

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