I'm pleased to welcome Leah Dobrinska to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Leah writes the Larkspur Library Mystery series. Mayhem in Circulation is the second book in the series.
Kathy: In Mayhem in Circulation Greta Plank prepares for Larkspur’s Fall Festival and regional tourism showcase. I love attending festivals and with fall being my favorite season, I consider autumn festivals the best. Do you enjoy fall festivals? What's your favorite part of them?
LD: Yes! I love festivals, and I agree…the season of fall provides the best backdrop! Nothing beats the scent of crisp leaves, pumpkin spice, and apple cider. I love how these local gatherings bring people together. Seeing the community out and engaged warms my heart. I also appreciate the good food and good music! The Larkspur Fall Festival is actually the second festival I’ve included in one of my books. My debut novel, Love at On Deck Café, which is a sweet, small-town romance, centered around a summer festival. So yeah, a big festival fan over here!
Kathy: A series of pranks wreaks havoc in the town. Personally I hate pranks, even supposedly funny ones. Do you appreciate a good prank? Or are you a prankster yourself?
LD: I’ve never been a fan of pranks myself. I feel like it’s disrespectful to harm someone’s property or person, even if it’s supposedly in good fun. I knew my main characters in Mayhem In Circulation would respond in the same way and be outraged at the destruction of property in Larkspur. It was a good way for me to bring the community together and kick off the events of the books.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
LD: I devoured the Nancy Drew books as a kid, so as an adult, I was looking for something with similar vibes. Amateur sleuths have always been my investigators of choice, I suppose. I love seeing an everyday woman put her smarts to good use and piece together a compelling puzzle. I appreciate that cozies focus less on the murder and more on the mystery. This makes this genre incredibly appealing for readers like me who love a solid, intricate mystery plot but who are maybe a little squeamish when it comes to descriptive death and crime scenes. In case you had any doubts, I’m kind of a big scaredy-cat. I want to read and write books that are gentle and happy, with characters who feel like old friends. Enter the cozy mystery.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
LD: I do! Like I mentioned above, I also write romance novels and romantic comedies. When people ask me to describe them, I say they’re like Hallmark movies but with less cringe, better kissing, and more swoon! I have two romance series, the Mapleton novels, which starts with Love at On Deck Café, and the Fall In Love series, which starts with Friends Don’t.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
LD: The Larkspur Library Mysteries are my cozies. The series kicked off with Death Checked Out, and Mayhem In Circulation is the second installment. I consider these books to be my love letter to libraries, Nancy Drew, and the Wisconsin Northwoods.
The Mapleton novels are sweet, small town romances. Mapleton is filled to the brim with quirky characters, one-of-a-kind places, and a whole lot of heart. In these books you’ll find a close-knit community that’s ready to welcome you, whether it’s your first or forty-first visit.
The Fall In Love series follows three sisters as they find love after moving across the country to the small town of Cashmere Cove, Wisconsin. These are closed door romcoms with plenty of sizzling chemistry and romantic tension, but no spice. Friends Don’t is the first book in the series.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
LD: I absolutely adore Greta Plank, the amateur sleuth in the Larkspur series. She’s cheerful (almost to a fault), endearingly clumsy, both clever and kind, and she goes to bat for the people she cares about (which is pretty much everyone).
Greta loves:
•Her family & friends
•Coffee
•Books
•Water sports
•Nancy Drew
•Children’s story time
•Her lakeside cabin
She doesn’t love:
•Finding a dead body
•Being accused of murder
•A certain grumpy detective
•A certain ex-boyfriend
•Having her reputation tarnished
•Not knowing answers to questions
I hope readers love her as much as I do!
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
LD: The idea for the Larkspur series was inspired by its setting, actually. Larkspur, the small lakeside community where the events of Death Checked Out and Mayhem In Circulation take place, is based loosely on a small, unincorporated town in the Wisconsin Northwoods. When I was a kid, my extended family would gather each summer at a resort of log cabins. Almost all of my favorite childhood memories are tied to this place. We still laugh about our time spent on that lake to this day.
When I set out to write a cozy mystery, it was after I had returned from a visit to Northern Wisconsin as an adult. While ‘up north’, I came across a log cabin set on a hillside near a lake, not far from where my family used to vacation. I knew it would be the setting for my mystery.
I took the vision of that cabin and my love for the resort we used to visit and created my cozy mystery world around it. I had to take some liberties, but the bones of Larkspur were all there! I try to infuse my fictional setting with my real, sensory memories as much as possible, and as a result, I hope Larkspur rings true for cozy mystery readers.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
LD: I write because I feel most like myself when I’m creating, so I think I’ll continue writing even if I stop publishing. My stories will always have happy endings because it’s my greatest hope to spread joy with my words. I believe words are powerful catalysts for hope, healing, and happiness.
Mostly, I wanted to publish for my kids. I’m a mom of five—three girls and two boys who range in age from eleven to six months old. They keep me on my toes, and it’s my goal to make sure they know that their words and their stories matter, and that they can and should pursue their dreams. For me, that’s the dream of publishing.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
LD: This is way too difficult! Great question! The only author I know for sure I’d want to invite is Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is my all-time favorite book. But I’d also want to meet up with some fellow cozy mystery authors and my critique partners who I’ve yet to meet in person. So let’s say Paula Charles/Janna Rollins, Sarah E. Burr, and Christina Romeril.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
LD: I just finished Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley, and I absolutely loved it. The Deep Dish series has been a recent favorite of mine. It makes my mouth water, and the mysteries are so well-plotted. Each book keeps getting better and better. I also enjoy that it’s set in a fictional version of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
LD: I’m a big reader. I belong to two book clubs, so I’ve always got several titles that I’m juggling. I also enjoy running, but usually only when it’s warm enough to jog outside. In my spare time, I mostly hang out with my husband and our five kids. Lately, we’ve been big into playing board games as a family. I’m tickled that the kids have taken to Clue!
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
LD: Apples (With chocolate chips and peanut butter…It’s my go-to writing snack!)
Sparkling Water (My year-round drink of choice.)
Cheese (In Wisconsin, we have a designated cheese drawer in our fridge.)
Popcorn (It’s a favorite munchie around here!)
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
LD: I am hard at work on book three in the Larkspur Library Mystery series. It’s called A Killer Hold, and it’s set to release in December. I think it’s my most fast-paced and twisty story yet! Greta and the gang are hosting the Wisconsin Library Organization’s annual conference in Larkspur, and they’re also preparing for the anniversary of the Little Bohemia Lodge shoot-out. I’ve been able to weave in some real Wisconsin history as it pertains to the Gangster Trail (think John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson), and I’m having a blast with it. I can’t wait to share it with you.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
LD: I love the process of creating for its own sake. But hearing from readers that my words brought them joy or helped them through a difficult time is the icing on the cake.
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Mayhem in Circulation: A Larkspur Library Mystery by Leah Dobrinska
About Mayhem in Circulation
Mayhem in Circulation: A Larkspur Library Mystery
Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series
Setting - Wisconsin
Publisher: Level Best Books (December 5, 2023)
Paperback: 262 pages
Librarian Greta Plank is hard at work planning and preparing for Larkspur’s Fall Festival and regional tourism showcase which, if successful, will be a boon to the local economy. But disaster strikes and chances of a positive review look slimmer than a periodical’s spine when a series of pranks escalates and one of Larkspur’s own is found dead the same day the reporter is set to arrive.
Desperate to defend her town’s character and get to the bottom of the circulating mayhem, Greta begins indexing suspects. Could the crimes be an outside job, undertaken by someone intent on harming the town’s reputation? Or is someone closer to home trying to ruin Larkspur from the inside?
With destruction of property, sabotage, and strange animal mishaps piling up on top of murder, Greta wouldn’t recommend this ‘choose your own (disastrous) adventure’ to anyone. In the end, she must decide who she can trust so she can close the book on these crimes before the shadowy vandal authors another kill.
About Leah Dobrinska
Leah Dobrinska is the author of the Fall In Love romcom series, the Larkspur Library Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and the Mapleton novels, a series of award-winning standalone small town romances. She earned her degree in English Literature from UW-Madison where she was awarded the Dean’s Prize and served as a Writing Fellow. She has since worked as a freelance writer, editor, and content marketer. As a kid, she hoped to grow up to be either Nancy Drew or Elizabeth Bennet. Now, she fulfills that dream by writing mysteries and love stories.
A sucker for a good sentence, a happy ending, and the smell of books—both old and new—Leah lives out her very own happily ever after in a small Wisconsin town with her husband and their gaggle of kids. When she's not writing, handing out snacks, or visiting the local library, Leah enjoys reading and running. Find out more about Leah, join her newsletter community, and connect with her through her website, leahdobrinska.com.
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