I'm pleased to welcome Holly Yew to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Holly writes the Rose Shore Mystery series. Paint Me a Crime is the first book in the series and was released last week.
Kathy: In Paint Me a Crime we meet Jessamine Rhodes, an art curator who has left a prominent gallery to open a small town community art center. Do you enjoy going to art galleries?
Yes, but it is something I have only done a handful of times. I live out in the middle of nowhere, and there’s not much of anything around, much less an art gallery.
Kathy: Have you ever been part of a community art center? Do you create art?
No, I haven’t been part of a community art center, just lots of arts and crafts programs at summer camps when I was a kid.
Kathy: Jessamine's first class is a watercolor class. Do you enjoy watercolors? What's your favorite artistic medium?
I haven’t created any art in many years, but I used to enjoy using pastels. A sneak peek for book two of the Rose Shore Mysteries is that it opens with a pastels class.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
The first cozy mystery I ever read was a Tea Shop Mystery by Laura Childs. It was Scones & Bones, which is right in the middle of the series. I randomly saw it on a library shelf and thought a mystery about both tea and pirates sounded like a lot of fun! After I read a few cozy mysteries, I wanted to try writing fiction, and I liked the idea of creating a puzzle for readers to solve like the cozy mystery genre is known for.
Do you write in any other genres?
Not currently, though I’d love to write something historical one day.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
My series takes place in the fictional town of Rose Shore in the not-so-fictional Okanagan, BC, Canada. Jessamine, the owner of the local art center, gets caught up in solving murder mysteries in her beloved town. Her friends and adorable pet beagle join in the adventures.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
Andrew Marsh is my favorite character. He is the admin assistant at the Rose Shore Community Art Center and has a great sense of humor. I like having a comic relief side character who is also a very caring friend for Jessamine to count on.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
I was inspired by a writing prompt that said, “A painting goes missing in broad daylight. There were numerous people in the room, but no one saw anything.”
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
I don’t really have a clear answer for that. There was no moment where I decided I wanted to be a published author because everything happened one step at a time. After I finished writing Paint Me A Crime and had edited and revised it numerous times, I pitched it to agents and was offered representation. After editing it and revising it numerous times again, we sent it off to publishers.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
- Deanna Raybourn because I love the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries, and I want to learn about her research process for historical mysteries set in Victorian England.
- Julie Anne Lindsey because I think she has a great sense of humor and would be a lot of fun to hang out with.
- Jane Austen, which is a big cliché, I know, but I want one dead author at this dinner part just to keep things interesting. Plus, I’d love for her to learn that her novels stood the test of time and became some of the most well-known books in the world.
- Christina Lauren, which I know is cheating a bit, but then I would get a bonus author!
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading the Library Lover’s Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay. I just finished book five, On Borrowed Time, and am waiting for my hold on book six, A Likely Story, to come in at my local library. I’m also currently reading Cold Brew Corpse by Tara Lush and Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
I like to bake and often bake with my son, which is always a messy adventure as he is only two years old, but he loves helping in the kitchen.
I also love to travel and have been to over twenty countries.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
- Fruit of all kinds
- Bagels
- Taco seasoning
- Ice cream (though that is in the freezer)
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
I have written two more books in the Rose Shore Mysteries, both of which are waiting for copy edits, and I actually have another series debuting later this year. Murder by the Seashore, book one of the California Bookshop Mysteries will be releasing on October 17. This new book is about a bookshop owner who finds the dead body of a mysterious customer underneath the pier near her shop.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
I love creating settings that I would love to visit or live in myself, both in terms of idyllic locales and the close-knit communities that are so common in cozy mysteries.
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Paint Me a Crime (A Rose Shore Mystery) by Holly Yew
About Paint Me A Crime
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting – Okanagan Valley in BC, Canada
Touchpoint Press (June 13, 2023)
Paperback: 252 pages
Art curator Jessamine Rhodes has left behind her gig at a prominent gallery in the city to open her own community art center in the small town of Rose Shore. She’s all set to host an extravagant opening watercolors class and has even booked a famous artist to teach it. Gabriella Everhart brings along her priceless painting Tranquil to showcase as the centerpiece of the event. The opening class is just wrapping up when suddenly Tranquil disappears before Jessamine’s eyes. Next, the lights of the art center flicker out and leave the crowd in complete darkness as a scream pierces the air. To her horror, Jessamine’s flashlight reveals that prestigious art collector Victor Carlisle has been murdered, and now her dreams are as shattered as the champagne glass found near the scene. Determined to save her now teetering reputation, Jessamine sets out to search for answers and the missing painting on her own. She has invested everything into her art center and is too anxious to step back and do nothing. Along the way, she teams up with a handsome paramedic who seems to have his own reasons for wanting justice for Victor’s tragedy.
About Holly Yew
After having called many places around the world home, Holly Yew has settled in the Okanagan, BC with her husband, son, and two rescue dogs. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s playing the piano, watching Star Wars, or enjoying a Dole Whip in Disneyland.
Holly is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers. She loves connecting with other writers and bookworms on social media, and you can find her at hollyyew.com.
Author Links:
Website https://hollyyew.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/samara.yew.books
Twitter https://twitter.com/HollyYew
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/holly.yew.author/
Purchase Links - Amazon - Amazon Canada - Barnes and Noble
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Loved the interview and learning that the author although not a full time artist herself loves all the many facets involved and arts and crafts! The book sounds really good with the way the painting is stolen and a murder to go along with it! On my TBR list!
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