I'm pleased to welcome Peggy Ehrhart to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Peggy writes the Knit and Nibble Mystery series. Knitmare on Beech Street is the tenth book in the series and was released last month.
Kathy: In
Knitmare on Beech Street a reclusive widow's death sets gossip and ghostly speculation flowing. Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a ghostly encounter?
PE: I don’t believe in ghosts, though I wouldn’t swear to that if I had to spend the night alone in a spooky house. I’ve never had a ghostly encounter, but I have friends whose good sense I respect and who are convinced that non-corporeal beings dwell among us. Conversations with these people led to the ideas that turned into
Knitmare on Beech Street.
Kathy: Tassie Hunt who inherited the widow's old Victorian had a career debunking paranormal phenomena. Have you ever been on a ghost hunt or watched shows about ghostly investigations?
PE: No to both questions.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
PE: I was drawn first to mysteries in general. The cozy mystery wasn’t yet a “thing,” but the form I enjoyed was the traditional mystery—the Agatha Christie style from which the cozy developed. When I was in grad school, one of my friends was an avid mystery fan and she introduced me to the genre. After a day spent reading Beowulf or Paradise Lost, it was really a treat to relax in the evening with an engaging story that could sometimes even keep me up beyond bedtime because I just had to find out who did it!
When I decided to try my hand at writing fiction, I thought it would be easier to find a publisher for a mystery than for more serious fiction because mysteries are so extremely popular. My first few attempts at writing mysteries—never published—were in the traditional mystery style, as were the two mysteries I published with Five Star Press, a small press that was willing to consider unagented manuscripts—in other words, submitted directly by the author. They were set in the world of a struggling blues band, so not exactly cozy.
I realized that if I wanted to attract an agent and sell my work to a larger publisher, I should cultivate a style more in line with what was popular—and cozies had obviously become very popular. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and crafts, which make up a large part of the cozy universe, and I’ve lived in a pleasant small town for half my life—so I was well acquainted with the typical cozy setting.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
PE: I haven’t written anything but mysteries for many years, but I devoted much of my earlier writing life to nonfiction writing on topics relating to medieval literature, which was my specialty in grad school. I enjoyed those projects too, and that experience certainly gave me good writing habits—basically, just sit down and do it!
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
PE: In my Knit & Nibble mysteries Pamela Paterson, an attractive widow in her forties and founder of a knitting club in charming Arborville, NJ, uses her knowledge of yarns and fiber arts to solve murders that baffle the police.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
PE: My favorite character is Bettina Fraser, Pamela’s friend and co-sleuth. Bettina is a composite of friends I’ve loved over the years—warm, outgoing, and loaded with personality. She’s quite the contrast to the more reserved and cerebral Pamela.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
PE: I love the British mystery series like Midsomer Murders and, though it’s not exactly cozy, watching it gave me a lot of ideas for the Knit & Nibble series—the beautiful houses and gardens, the frequent scenes involving tea and goodies, the villages inhabited by eccentric people unaware of their eccentricities. Cozies are fun when they include humor, and I try for a very subtle sort of humor that pokes fun at the foibles of characters who are set in their ways.
The knitting club, nicknamed Knit and Nibble, is composed of six people—the same six people since almost the start of the series. At this point, we know them quite well and can predict who will be chatty, who will be grumpy, who will complain that people eat too much sugar, who will argue with whom and what they will argue about . . .
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
PE: I was actually recruited to write the Knit & Nibble series, by an agent who sells a lot to Kensington and had been told by an editor there that Kensington would like to acquire a series set in the world of a knitting club. A writer friend of mine gave him my name, for which I will be forever grateful. I learned to knit as a teenager, so I definitely had the background to take on such a project.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
PE: Jane Austen, George Eliot, Raymond Chandler, and Dorothy Sayers
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
PE: I usually read non-fiction when I’m actively writing because I don’t want to get another fiction writer’s voice in my brain. My sister gives me books related to fashion and fiber arts and crafts, with the idea that they can inspire topics for the articles my protagonist edits in her day job as associate editor of a craft magazine. I just finished The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives, by Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux. Next on the list is The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, by Virginia Postrel.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
PE: I’ve always loved to cook—all kinds of things. I have a big collection of cookbooks and I’m always trying new recipes. I knit and crochet and do needlework. Instead of going to the mall these days, I go to estate sales and rummage around through the often very nice things that people no longer need. I often find lovely yarn-relayed craft items that someone made by hand and I often buy them and repair them if they need tender loving care.
Each of my Knit & Nibble mysteries includes a recipe and a knitting project at the end. I have a lot of fun creating recipes and knitting projects for these “bonus features.” Each of the books has its own page on my website and pictures of the bonus feature food and knitted creations appear there. A separate tab, “Yarn Mania,” opens a blog where I record photos and descriptions of my estate-sale finds: https://peggyehrhart.com/category/yarn-mania/
I also play the guitar.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
PE: Olive oil, good cheese, pasta of all sorts, tomatoes.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
PE: I’m just now writing a Knit & Nibble novella to be included in Kensington’s 2025 St. Patrick’s Day-themed novella collection, Irish Soda Bread Murder. My novella will be called An Irish Recipe for Murder. When I finish that, I’ll start Knit & Nibble #12.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
PE: I like the fact that I can reach people beyond my immediate circle of family and friends with my ideas. Many—even, maybe, most—writers grow up as bookworms, quite shy and self-contained. They may be surrounded by people who aren’t interested in the things they’re interested in and don’t even understand why a person would be interested in those things.
Writing is like enclosing a message in bottle and tossing it on the waves hoping it reaches a receptive reader.
****************************************************************
Knitmare on Beech Street (A Knit & Nibble Mystery)
by Peggy Ehrhart
About Knitmare on Beech Street
Knit and Nibble member Pamela Paterson, and her best friend, Bettina, stumble on a body in a once grand Victorian house when they join a group welcoming new residents to Arborville—and must figure out if old secrets killed the new neighbor . . .
When Pamela, Bettina, and their friends show up at the Voorhees House to greet its new owner, they’re met with a most unwelcome sight: a dead body on the kitchen floor. Tassie Hunt just inherited the old Victorian, which had been occupied by a reclusive widow for many years and had a reputation for being haunted. But Tassie would have been unlikely to be spooked since her career involved debunking such paranormal phenomena.
Her demise sets off a new flurry of gossip and ghostly speculation in the New Jersey town, of course—and it’s tempting to think spirits were indeed involved considering there’s zero evidence so far of foul play. A nosy neighbor reports strange lights and sounds, and a man obsessed with the Victorian era starts photographing the place from the street. But it won’t take long before Pamela and Bettina are moving in on a killer . . .
Excerpt
Pamela led the way down the steps, down the narrow concrete path, and along the sidewalk, until they reached another concrete path. From this path, steps led up to another porch, smaller and with a plainer railing, onto which the back door opened.
Saying “I’ll try again,” Marlene hefted the gift basket and headed up the steps. As she pressed the doorbell, the rest of the group joined her on the porch one by one.
Marlene turned away after a few minutes and much enthusiastic pressing of the doorbell. “No answer,” she murmured. “And I was sure ANGWY was clear about the date and time.”
She shrugged, edged past the others, and started down the steps. Bettina, however, stepped closer to the door and tipped her head to peer at the doorframe. “I’m not sure it’s closed all the way,” she said and gave the
door a tentative push.
The door swung open easily. After a shrug and a glance at the other women, Bettina raised a stylishly shod foot and stepped over the threshold.
“Tassie?” Her voice rang out with a cheerful lilt. “Hello? It’s the ANGWY committee.”
She disappeared inside, but a moment later she was back in the doorway. Her cheer had vanished, leaving her face a wan canvas that made her careful makeup appear garish.
Ignoring her heart’s sudden lurch, Pamela took a few quick steps and joined her friend in the doorway. Bettina backed up against the door, anchoring it in a fully open position, and Pamela slipped past her into the kitchen.
A woman lay sprawled on the ancient linoleum, a slender blonde woman wearing a light cotton robe printed with small flowers in shades of blue and lilac . . .
About Peggy Ehrhart
Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor with a doctorate in Medieval Literature. Her Maxx Maxwell mysteries, Sweet Man Is Gone (2008) and Got No Friend Anyhow (2011), were published by Five Star/Gale/Cengage and feature a blues-singer sleuth.
Peggy is currently writing the Knit & Nibble mysteries for Kensington Books. Her amateur sleuth, Pamela Paterson, is the founder and mainstay of the Arborville, New Jersey, knitting club, nicknamed Knit and Nibble. Knitmare on Beech Street is book #10 in the series. Peggy herself is an avid crafter, dating from her childhood as a member of the 4-H Club in rural Southern California.
Peggy is a longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She regularly attends mystery-writing conferences and participates in conference panels. She also gives talks on mystery fiction at libraries and other venues in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
Author Links:
Website: www.PeggyEhrhart.com
Yarn Mania Blog on my website: https://peggyehrhart.com/category/yarn-mania/
Goodreads Blog: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/534678.Peggy_Ehrhart/blog
Purchase Links - Amazon - Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org Kobo
a Rafflecopter giveaway
