I'm pleased to welcome Joyce St. Anthony to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Joyce writes the Homefront News Mystery series. FRONT PAGE MURDER is the first book in the series and was released last week.
Kathy: FRONT PAGE MURDER is a World War II era historical mystery. Why did you choose this time frame for your series?
JSA: The 40s is my favorite era! I love the music, the clothes, the hairstyles… Frankly, everything about it. I’ve wanted to set a book in this era for a long time and finally found a way to do it.
Kathy: Historical mysteries require a special kind of research. What is your favorite method?
JSA: I’m not sure I have a favorite method. Hit and miss maybe, lol. I’m really thankful there’s such a thing as the internet. I can’t imagine doing the research without it.
Kathy: In this first Homefront News Mystery we meet Irene Ingram, editor of a small town newspaper. While women were taking over male dominated jobs during this time, Irene's position doesn't sit well with some of the men. Have you ever been in a similar situation?
JSA: I’ve never been in that situation. The closest thing would be the ten years I spent as a police secretary. All but one officer was male. Fortunately, like Irene, I was good at keeping them in line. I inherited “The Look” from my mother. They knew with one glance to stay out of my office!
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
JSA: Probably because I couldn’t write a sex scene if my life depended on it. Plus, I like the fact that the reader sort of “plays along” with the author, trying to figure out who the killer is. When I’m reading a thriller type book and know the bad guy from the get-go, I often wonder what’s the point? I’d much rather try and figure it out for myself. I think cozies are not only harder to write to keep the reader guessing, but they’re more interesting.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
JSA: I only write mysteries!
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
JSA: My previous three book series, The Brewing Trouble Mysteries was written under my real name, Joyce Tremel. My protagonist brews beer and solves murders in Pittsburgh. The Homefront News series features a small town reporter/editor in a small town in Pennsylvania during World War II.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
JSA: My main character, Irene, of course. I like how she does what she thinks is right no matter the consequences.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
JSA: I can’t say that I did, other than I wanted to write something set in the 1940s.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
JSA: I can’t imagine writing and NOT wanting to be published. I want as many people as possible to read my books. Hopefully, they’ll like them. If not, I don’t think I want to know about it, lol!
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
JSA: That’s a tough one. I can’t narrow living authors down to 4. I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out. Dead? Hmm. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Agatha Christie.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
JSA: I’m reading a non-fiction at the moment. BAND OF BROTHERS for about the hundredth time.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
JSA: My latest hobby is making hard cider. I started over two years ago and I think I finally have it perfected. I just made a batch with pineapples and it’s incredible.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
JSA: There is always milk, beer, cider, and cheese in the fridge.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
JSA: The second book in the Homefront News Mysteries is titled DEATH ON A DEADLINE and will be released on November 8th. I’m hoping to write more in the series but I have to wait to see how FRONT PAGE MURDER sells first. Fingers crossed! My agent has two proposals for other series that hopefully someone will pick up.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
JSA: I like getting all these voices out of my head. Seriously. And I like it when I hear that someone loved what I’d written.
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Front Page Murder (A Homefront News Mystery) by Joyce St. Anthony
About Front Page Murder
Historical Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Crooked Lane Books (March 8, 2022)
Hardcover : 304 pages
In this World War II-era historical mystery series debut by Joyce St. Anthony, small-town editor Irene Ingram has a nose for news and an eye for clues.
Irene Ingram has written for her father’s newspaper, the Progress Herald, ever since she could grasp a pencil. Now she’s editor in chief, which doesn’t sit well with the men in the newsroom. But proving her journalistic bona fides is the least of Irene’s worries when crime reporter Moe Bauer, on the heels of a hot tip, turns up dead at the foot of his cellar stairs.
An accident? That’s what Police Chief Walt Turner thinks, and Irene is inclined to agree until she finds the note Moe discreetly left on her desk. He was on to a big story, he wrote. The robbery she’d assigned him to cover at Markowicz Hardware turned out to be something far more devious. A Jewish store owner in a small, provincial town, Sam Markowicz received a terrifying message from a stranger. Moe suspected that Sam is being threatened not only for who he is…but for what he knows.
Tenacious Irene senses there’s more to the Markowicz story, which she is all but certain led to Moe’s murder. When she’s not filling up column inches with the usual small-town fare—locals in uniform, victory gardens, and scrap drives—she and her best friend, scrappy secretary Peggy Reardon, search for clues. If they can find the killer, it’ll be a scoop to stop the presses. But if they can’t, Irene and Peggy may face an all-too-literal deadline.
About Joyce St. Anthony
Joyce was a police secretary for ten years and more than once envisioned the demise of certain co-workers, but settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. As Joyce St. Anthony, she is the author of the Homefront News Mysteries. The first in the series, Front Page Murder, will be (or was, depending on the blog date) released on March 8, 2022. Under her own name--Joyce Tremel--she wrote the award winning Brewing Trouble cozy mystery series. She is a native Pittsburgher and lives in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats--Hops and Lager.
Author Links:
Website http://www.joycetremel.com
Website http://www.joycestanthony.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JoyceTremel
Twitter https://twitter.com/JoyceTremel
Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - IndieBound
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Sounds like a great mystery.
ReplyDeleteMarilynDKC[at]aol[dot]com
I am surprised there isn't a book out there with this title so glad you took it for your cozy mystery. Wishing you a lot of new readers and reviews love the cover peggy clayton
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