Hippie Wagon Homicide - An Interview & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Mildred Abbot back to Cozy Up With Kathy. Mildred starts a new series with Hippie Wagon Homicide. This first Twister Sisters Mystery was released last month.

Kathy: In Hippie Wagon Homicide we meet Cordelia Davis who lives life with no regrets. Do you try to live that way as well?

MA: I do, for the most part. There are many mistakes I’ve made throughout my life, I’m far from perfect; however, there are only two or three things that I actually regret. Each one of those involved hurting someone’s feelings, someone who is no longer with us and I cannot apologize or tell them I love them. Beyond that, I firmly believe that all the hard and scary things that have happened have brought me to who I am now, and I’m grateful for that. I also do my very best, intentionally, to live a kind life and to leap. Part of why I am a writer. Part of why I’m willing to struggle to pay bills in order to write, because I don’t want to to live in regret. We get one life-- Live your dream or at least fight to live your dream! I think if you’re doing that, and if you are kind and seek to help people, or the very minimum not harm others, there won’t be much else to regret.


Kathy: A tornado altered the destiny of the little Ozark town of Willow Lane. Has your town or life been impacted by Mother Nature in some way?

MA: I grew up in a little town in the Ozarks the first 18 years of my life. Tornado drills, tornado sirens, going to the basement… those were frequent and they terrified me! None ever hit our town when I lived there, though a town close by was practically destroyed and a few others in recent years have been hit as well. And what’s funny, despite living in tornado territory growing up it wasn’t until I moved to Denver that I actually saw my first tornado, though it was a small little thing, far away. Currently, I live in New Orleans and have been through a few hurricanes already. One of which was this last year where we were out of her home for a week and stayed with my in-laws with no electricity, no air conditioning, not knowing how our home was. We were very fortunate as our home was fine. It seems mother nature has at least one way to show her temper no matter where you live. I have to say, though I’ve never lived through a tornado and I have now lived through a couple hurricanes, I am still much more afraid of tornadoes than hurricanes. However, apparently, I’ve learned that sometimes in hurricanes tornadoes hop along for the ride. I can’t imagine anything more rude.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

MA: I devoured Nancy Drew and Hardy boys as kid. Was completely obsessed. And read several Agatha Christie books in high school which I loved. Then I took a break from reading them for almost a couple decades, though a lot of the TV shows I watched were cozy mysteries, not that I even knew the term cozy mystery. I rediscovered my love of the genre with Agatha Frost’s Paridale Cafe series, then discovered witch cozies, and I’ve been trapped ever since.

Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

MA: Not currently, but I have. I wrote under the names Brandon Witt and Rosalind Able. Both are about as far away from cozy mysteries as you can get. I don’t have very many crossover readers, which is fine.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

MA: *The Twister Sisters: Three senior citizen ladies--Cordelia, Wanda, and Pamela--deliver casseroles from their hippie wagons (think Meals-on-Wheels) to residents of their charming Ozark town, Willow Lane. In what is a great surprise to them, but probably no surprise to cozy mystery readers, they discover murder victims during their deliveries and are further surprised to find they have a knack for finding the killer and uncovering long buried secrets around the town.

Note: This limited series of ten books is full of feel-good storylines and characters that will have you laughing, crying, and turning every which way trying to solve the mystery. It blurs the line of cozy mystery, traditional mystery, and contemporary fiction in its style, but keeps true to the cozy rules of no sex, foul language, or gore.

*The Cozy Corgi: Winifred Page and her corgi, Watson, moved to the tiny mountain town of Estes Park, Colorado. She opened up her bookshop, the Cozy Corgi, and began to simultaneously solve murders and reveal the townspeople’s sinister secrets. Fred falls into it naturally, as she’s the detective’s daughter and at times helped her father talk over cases when she was younger. Watson, goes along for the treats, and provides her with companionship, lovable grumpiness, and, naturally, much corgi disapproval.

Note: This long-running, continuing series is in every way a traditional cozy mystery. Full of laughs, charm, and sweetness. It stands on its own two feet with constant character development and mysteries that grow more and more complicated with each installment.

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

In Twister Sisters, it’s a tie. I love all the women of this little casserole delivery business equally. Cordelia, Wanda, and Pamela have known each other for six decades. Their friendship, their loyalty, and their care and devotion to one another is a joy witness and an honor to document throughout the Twister Sister stories.


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

MA: The Twister Sister series was inspired by my other series, the Cozy Corgi. In the Cozy Corgi, Winifred owns a bookshop and in each of the installments talks about one of the books she’s reading. Typically, these are books that I, the author, enjoy and get to brag about through Winifred. However in one early installment she talks about a mystery series involving three older women delivering Meals on Wheels and solving murders. One of my readers wrote in and asked what series that was because she’d like to read it. I realized that I would like to read it as well, and since it didn’t exist, decided to write it.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

MA: Since my sophomore year in high school when I fell in love with writing, I have wanted to be an author. It was a long, long road, full of years of rejection. Now, across three pen names, I’ve written nearly 50 books. It never ceases to amaze me that I am currently getting to live my dream. As with any indie author, it’s by the skin of my teeth, but I am so unbelievably grateful.


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

MA: I was asked this in another interview recently, but only allowed three authors. I chose Hans Christian Andersen, Peter S. Beagle, and Kelley Armstrong. Now that I get to invite four, I’m sending JD Robb an invitation as well. However, if one of them has to cancel, hopefully Stephen King can slide into the empty seat.


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

MA: The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong and A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison. After which, I’m diving into The Great Witches Baking Show by Nancy Warren and then Blood and Rain by Glenn Rolfe. As all of you readers know, the list is never ending!


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

MA: Absolutely! I am dog crazy, so while I wouldn’t consider my pups a hobby, they do get the majority of my time. One of the reasons being an author is the best job ever--such cute coworkers! I love cooking, drawing, coloring, and videogames on the iPad while I’m in the bathtub. I also work out every day and have recently started yoga (2 classes and I’m already understanding what the hype was all about.)


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

MA: Lettuce, chicken stock, eggs, and mayonnaise (I haven’t lived in the Midwest in twenty-five years, but good luck clawing mayonnaise out of my cold dead hands)


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

MA: Always!

Book 2 of twister sisters, Casserole Casualty is in edits right now and should be out in March.

Book 24 of the Cozy Corgi, Pesky Puppies, was finished today and should be out in April.

I hope in the next year or two after the Twister Sisters is closer to its ten book finale, to start another cozy mystery series, hopefully with mermaids and all sorts of fantastical twists and turns.


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

MA: Creating books-- things that I have enriched my life, at times offered comfort, at times escape, at times perspective. I get the honor of writing those magical things now. Equal to that, I love my characters. It’s a joy to spend time with them. With my puppies asleep while I type, these beloved friends tell me their stories. 

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 Hippie Wagon Homicide (Twister Sisters Mysteries) by Mildred Abbott

About Hippie Wagon Homicide

Hippie Wagon Homicide (Twister Sisters Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - Small farming/tourist town in the Missouri Ozarks
Wings of Ink Publications, LLC (February 1, 2022)
Hardcover: ‎ 474 pages Paperback: ‎ 626 pages Digital Print length: ‎ 476 pages

Cordelia Davis lives with no regrets, despite her life changing drastically a half century ago when a tornado altered the destiny of the little Ozark town of Willow Lane. The town grew back stronger and more beautiful, and Cordelia, her sister, Pamela, and her best friend, Wanda, built a life to treasure.

As Willow Lane honors the memory of those lost and celebrates all that has been achieved, tragedy refuses to remain in the past. News of murder rocks the pastoral countryside when Cordelia discovers a body on her farm, beneath her beloved willow tree. And while the police make an immediate arrest, Cordelia finds herself untangling a web of lies and long-ago secrets.

With suspects in every nook of her cozy town—and an old flame knocking on her door—it will take all Cordelia’s tenacity to face the past and to weather the mysteries of Willow Lane.

About Mildred Abbott

Preoccupied with everything found in cozy mysteries: Puppies, Books, Cozy Mountain Towns, and Baked Goods. Although not obsessed with murder, however. At least not in real life (No contract killing here). But since childhood, starting with Nancy Drew, trying to figure out who-dun-it has played a formative role in everyday life. Author of the Cozy Corgi series and the Twister Sister series.

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