Murder at the Magic Cakes Cafe - An Interview & Review

I'm pleased to welcome Rosie Reed to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Rosie writes the English Village Witch Cozy Mystery series. MURDER AT MAGIC CAKES CAFE is the first book in the series and was released earlier this year.

Kathy: MURDER AT MAGIC CAKES CAFE features a café and all manner of supernatural beings in the English countryside. Which aspect most appealed to you when creating this series, the paranormal aspect, the foodie aspect, or the English countryside setting?

RR: All of them really! I’m very sensitive to my surroundings, so I get overwhelmed by how beautiful the English countryside is, and I love writing about all the greenery, flowers, aromas, and wildlife as a setting for the series. One of my favourite things to do in real life is share tea and cake with a friend, so the food and café aspect really resonates with me. As for the paranormal, I’ve been a life-long fan of humorous fantasy writer, Sir Terry Pratchett, and I’m very inspired by all the magical settings and creatures he came up with in his Discworld series.

Kathy: When Evelyn Eldritch is struck by lightning, her magical abilities are ignited. Have you ever wanted to have supernatural powers?

RR: Oh absolutely! Throughout the series, Evelyn often uses her magical powers to help DI Taylor solve murders by, for example, using the Lock-picking spell, Strength spell, and Shielding spell. But one thing I will say about Evelyn is that she also uses her humanity, empathy, and logic too. One of my main themes in the series is ‘coming home’ – accepting yourself for who you are. This is something magic can’t help with; it’s a very human experience.

Kathy: Maiden-Upon-Avon is a quaint English village that is also home to werewolves, witches, and vampires. If you could be any of these types, which one would you choose to be?

RR: It would be so much fun to be a witch, ohhh the power! The reason I love writing this series so much is that it’s only limited by my imagination – which is very vivid indeed!

Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

RR: I’ve always loved puzzles and mysteries. I’ve been a fan of Agatha Christie for a very long time. I was previously writing romance, but after I suffered creative burnout, I took some time to just read – and I read all of Agatha Christie’s novels! Then I thought, hey I could write my own murder mysteries. I started reading cozy mysteries, especially paranormal, and I realised that I’d finally discovered the genre I was meant to write!

Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

RR: As I said, I was previously a romance writer. I jumped on the ‘steamy billionaire’ romance genre several years ago, and I was doing okay. But really, my heart wasn’t in it, and it eventually led to creative burnout. I am glad I wrote all those romance novels though, because I learnt a lot about the craft of writing and also about self-publishing – all of which is helping me now. But saying that, I never want to burnout again, so I’m taking things at my own pace, and I will only ever publish a book in this series when I feel it’s ready.

Kathy: Tell us about your series.

RR: The English Village Witch Cozy Series follows the adventures of novice witch Evelyn Eldritch, as she comes to terms with her magical powers, solves murders, and slowly melts the steely wall around the heart of Detective Inspector Alex Taylor! I’m currently writing Book Six – MUCH ADO ABOUT MURDER, and Book Seven keeps trying to push itself into my brain! I love writing these books – I actually started the series to protect my mental health during the 2020 lockdown, and the series is still keeping me sane now!

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

RR: I have huge affection for Evelyn. She’s a bit clumsy and bumbling, but she’s kind-hearted – and she solves murders! I also have a crush on DI Taylor! ;)
 

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

RR: I’m a compulsive daydreamer, and I often turn real situations into stories in my mind. These characters have been with me in one way or another since I was a teenager, and this is how they’re currently expressing themselves. My aim is to give myself and readers a little holiday from reality in the lovely English countryside. I love the ‘controlled danger’ of murder mysteries, where justice is always done. I want to feel safe and secure in Maiden-Upon-Avon, enjoying the journey and adding humour and fun. It’s this ‘escapism’ that keeps me inspired.
 

Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

RR: I was enjoying writing the series so much that I wanted to share the enjoyment and escapism with other people. If readers enjoy my books, then that’s fab. But if it’s not your cup of tea, that’s okay too. I’m inspired by a quote by Bob Dylan, who says ‘It’s for myself and my friends that my stories are sung.’ This is exactly how I feel. My ‘friends’ in this context being the readers who enjoy my books. If I keep writing for myself and for those people, then I will enjoy the process.
 

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

RR: Agatha Christie and Terry Pratchett would definitely be there! Also, I would love to chat to MC Beaton, the author of the Agatha Raisin books, as I love those. And Stephen Fry would have to come too. I started reading his novels in my late-teens, and I’ve recently been enjoying his Greek Myths trilogy.

Kathy: What are you currently reading?

RR: I’m re-reading all of Agatha Christie’s Poirot books at the moment, and I’m up to Black Coffee. I’m also re-reading all Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I’m up to Wyrd Sisters. My favourite books in that series are the ones that feature the city watch because they tend to be murder mysteries. I’m also reading a lovely non-fiction book called THE GENTLE MARKETING REVOLUTION, which is totally in line with how I currently feel about self-publishing and marketing. Be gentle and kind.


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

RR: Obviously I love reading and writing! But I’m also a massive music fan, and I enjoy swimming and yoga.
 

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

RR: Lots of different types of tea, plenty of fresh fruit and veg, a few tins of butterbeans, and some chocolate for a treat.
 

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

RR: The thought of not writing the English Village Witch Cozy Series fills me with dread, so I know there are plenty more books in that series to come! Also, I’m currently working on a fun spinoff series for Evelyn’s senior witch, sex-mad granny, Joanie. As well as that, I’m planning a series featuring Evelyn’s cousin, Ruby, who is the assistant to a cranky witch private investigator in Marvelton – the magical land beyond the Standing Stones Portal. I will keep writing these books as long as I enjoy them!

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

RR: Definitely writing. I’m a compulsive daydreamer, and I would be writing my stories whether I was publishing or not. In the Gentle Marketing Revolution, I was asked to come up with my definition of success, and I realised that success for me is getting an email from readers who I’ve never met before, saying they’ve enjoyed my books. That feeling of proud excitement is worth more than money to me. I know myself how it feels to enjoy a book or film, and if I can give that enjoyment to other people, then that’s truly magical! 

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Review

MURDER AT MAGIC CAKES CAFE by Rosie Reed
The First English Village Witch Cozy Mystery

 

Life changes after you get struck by lightening. At least it does for Evelyn Eldritch. After that electrifying event Evelyn receives a phone call informing her the birth mother she never knew has just died and Evelyn has inherited a cafe in the English countryside. Happy to get away from London and her annoying older sister for a bit, she takes her nephew and heads to the quaint village of Maiden-Upon-Avon. But something is off about the town and its residents. When she learns it's possible her mother was murdered, Evelyn decides to suss out the truth, even if it means taking on a hunky detective and some scary villagers.

 

There's a lot going on in MURDER AT MAGIC CAKES CAFE. Almost too much. It's as if the author thought of almost every wonderful thing she wanted to put into her book and did it...and then added the kitchen sink. It's a bucolic English village, she owns a bakery/cafe, she discovers she's a witch, there are vampires, werewolves, and possibly ghosts! There's also romance. Evelyn is gobsmacked by the detective inspector and it's practically love at first sight between her nephew and her birth mother's assistant. Yet for all of these details, there's not much follow up. We don't get much baking, we don't get much backstory about the other supernatural beings, although the journalist and his wife are a cute couple, and we only get a smidge of Evelyn's training as a witch. I also was a bit dismayed at the prologue. Every Tarot reader worth their salt knows that the death card doesn't mean a literal death. While true in this case, other options should have been presented and Marilyn shouldn't have assumed someone was to die that very night!

 

If you don't think too hard, the first English Village Witch Cozy Mystery is an enjoyable read. The characters are interesting and if you get past Evelyn's snarkiness, she makes a fine protagonist. I love how Evelyn and the birth mother she never knew use the same euphemism. There are some heavier aspects that are more in tune with a traditional mystery, the detective's drinking problem and the reason behind it, for example, but everything else screams cozy...almost too much.

Fluffy, but fun MURDER AT MAGIC CAKES CAFE is a good escapist read.

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 Murder At Magic Cakes Cafe (English Village Witch Cozy) by Rosie Reed

About Murder At Magic Cakes Cafe 

Murder At Magic Cakes Cafe (English Village Witch Cozy)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Publisher: ‎ Independently published (March 1, 2021)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 307 pages

In a flash, she had magic. Can she use it to solve a mysterious death in her family?

Climbing a tree in a thunderstorm was always going to be a stupid idea, but when Evelyn Eldritch is struck by lightning, her magical powers are switched on. And she didn’t even know she was a witch!

When Evelyn learns that her biological mother has died under suspicious circumstances, she makes a journey to the quaint village of Maiden-Upon-Avon, where the residents consist of werewolves, witches, vampires and one annoyingly handsome-yet-gruff policeman. But who should she suspect? Who can she trust?

And if juggling her magical training, her mother’s café, and the town’s eccentric residents wasn’t enough, another body turning up at the local cricket match shows she’s definitely in well over her pointed hat…

Murder at Magic Cakes Café is the first book in the adorable English Village Witch Cozy series, set in the beautiful English countryside. If you love plucky heroines, small-town whodunits, and a touch of retro nostalgia, then you’ll love Rosie Reed’s fun and flirty tale.

Buy Murder at Magic Cakes Café today. It’s simply electrifying!

Note from the author: Writing this series kept me sane during the very strange year of 2020. I do hope you’ll enjoy escaping into the beautiful surroundings of Maiden-Upon-Avon and having some fun with Evelyn and all the other magical beings who live there! Each book is set in a different season of the magical year - beginning with spring in Book One. You can enjoy a gentle journey around the village, whilst Evelyn tries to solve the murder. So, treat yourself now by taking the phone off the hook of life, and soaking awhile in the bathtub of the English countryside!

If you sign up for my newsletter today, you can download bonus FREE novella Merrie May Mayhem straight away! Just type this code into your web address bar: bit.ly/Rosiereed

About Rosie Reed

 

A Little About Me I love writing, daydreaming, and creating stories. I often write for fun, even when I'm not planning on publishing. But it's also wonderful to share my stories with you! I'm a massive Agatha Christie and Terry Pratchett fan, so writing paranormal mystery comes instinctively! I love the understated gentle charm of cozies, and it's always such a pleasure to spend time in the company of the wonderful sleuths and magical characters that my fellow authors create. Writing the English Village Witch Cozy series helped to keep me sane during the very strange year of 2020. Evelyn and Alex have done a tremendous job of protecting my mental health, and it's my pleasure to share this comfort with you. I do hope you’ll enjoy escaping into the beautiful surroundings of Maiden-Upon-Avon, and having some fun with Evelyn and all the other magical beings who live there! So treat yourself now by taking the phone off the hook of life, and soaking in the bathtub of the English countryside for a while!  

Purchase Links - Amazon US - Amazon UK

The Chairman's Toys - Review & Giveaway

Review

THE CHAIRMAN'S TOYS  By Graham Reed

Jake Constable has given up his drug dealing ways and is trying to keep on the straight and narrow. Well, perhaps somewhat curvy and wide. He's been house sitting for the wealthy in Vancouver and gets talked into throwing a party at one of the fantastic mansions. The party gets out of hand, drugs are freely flowing, and the homeowner returns unexpectedly. Oh, and there's a dead body in the bathroom. Although the homeowner pretty much lets him off the hook, Jake still has to answer to his ex-wife, who got him the job. His former business partner, with whom he did not part on the best of terms, seems to be back in the picture, as well as the Chinese government. The curvy and wide has just gotten wider!

THE CHAIRMAN'S TOYS is simply a lot of fun. Jake Constable is a lovable loser. Sorry, Jake, but it's true. A former drug dealer, dependent on his ex-wife to find him jobs house-sitting mansions is not quite hero material. Yet, he's likable. He's a good friend, he's trying to be a better person, and he's funny. There's a smorgasbord of secondary characters including Chinese secret agents, a Norwegian drug dealer, and the Underwear King of Beijing! All of the characters are engaging and all have their idiosyncrasies adding to the fun. I particularly like Agent Wang.

THE CHAIRMAN'S TOYS is a fast paced romp through British Columbia. The writing is taut, the comedy is pithy, and the antics engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed this fun caperesque tale!

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The Chairman's Toys

by Graham Reed

on Tour August 1-31, 2018

Synopsis:

Vancouver, British Columbia – land of psychotically expensive real estate, high-grade cannabis, and Jake Constable. A man adrift.
After Jake quits the drug business, his realtor/ex-wife, Nina, gets him a job as a house sitter for her wealthy clients. Jake celebrates by throwing a party in the mansion he was hired to look after. Unfortunately, the guest list gets out of hand, leaving Jake to contend with a hallucinogenic-vitamin-dispensing yogi, a dead guy in the bathroom, and The Norwegian – a criminal force of nature with a grudge against Jake.
When the owner of the multimillion-dollar crime scene returns home prematurely, only Jake's inadvertent discovery of the man's politically incorrect business history saves him from having to clean up after the party. But he still has to come clean with his ex-wife. The situation threatens to turn into an international incident when Nina’s power broker uncle and a pair of secret agents from China show up to turn the screws on Jake. Soon after that his friends start disappearing. With the Chinese government leaning on him and The Norwegian out to settle an old score, Jake comes up with a desperate plan to dupe the secret agents, save his friends, and (why not?) solve the murder.
 

Editorial Reviews:

“...takes the reader on a fast, furious, and often hilarious tour. Watching him zigzag through the twisting plot is pure pleasure." - Publisher's Weekly
“Reed's lively mystery debut may be overloaded with colorful characters and tricky subplots, but too much of a good thing is still a good thing.” - Kirkus Reviews
“...definitely belongs on your short list of amiable stoner sleuths, along with Bart Schneider’s Augie Boyer and Hal Ackerman’s Harry Stein. The dark-comedy aspect of this debut will also appeal to fans of Chris Knopf, David Freed, and Tim Cockey.” - Booklist
 

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Fiction, Mystery, Humor
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: July 3, 2018
Number of Pages: 238
ISBN: 1464210055 (ISBN13: 9781464210051)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | IndieBound

 

Read an excerpt:

I was just starting to enjoy the party when The Norwegian came out of the bathroom and ruined everything.
At the time, I was dancing with a hyperkinetic yoga enthusiast named Windy. Or possibly Mindy. All attempts at verbal communication were being swallowed up by the blizzard of techno coming out of the forty thousand dollar stereo system. Which was fine by me since I didn’t imagine Windy-Mindy and I had all that much to talk about anyway.
She looked about a decade younger than me — clocking in somewhere south of thirty — and it was manifestly evident that her lifestyle choices were largely antagonistic to my own. Shrink-wrapped in Lululemon, Windy-Mindy radiated health and vigor as she bounced around in fuchsia Nikes performing an ode to the benefits of healthy living expressed through the medium of interpretive dance.
Exhausted by the spectacle, I took a breather and another belt of Woodford Reserve. In an attempt to bridge the cultural divide I waggled the bottle at Windy-Mindy, inquiring with my eyebrows. Her brow furrowed but the corners of her mouth did curl up slightly — one patronizing, the other amused. Or so the bourbon whispered to me.
It may have been correct because she countered by proffering her own bottle — the blue-tinted plastic kind that hikers and college students liked to clip to their backpacks. In her other hand were two small white tablets, which I lip-read to be Vitamin C.
I shrugged and swallowed.
The contents of the bottle turned out to be wheatgrass and champagne, a combination that tasted even worse than it sounded. I forgave Windy-Mindy when the vitamins started coming on about twenty minutes later. Every cell in my body began sending my brain a jubilant message of thanks and goodwill, as well as suggesting, by the way, that they wouldn’t mind getting to know every cell in Windy-Mindy’s body if the opportunity should arise.
This wasn’t my usual kind of trip and it made me suspect two things: (1) The tablets probably weren’t Vitamin C and (2) if Windy-Mindy was on the same ride, it might explain her unlikely but undeniable interest in me.
Another possibility was that she had heard I was Jake Constable, a.k.a. the host of the party. From there she might have leapt to the not-unreasonable conclusion that the twenty million dollar mansion in which the festivities were taking place was also mine. Which was true, in a very temporary but excruciatingly legal sense.
The actual owner of the house, Mickey Wu, had hired me to look after it while he was out of town. For most of the evening, my flagrant abuse of this responsibility had precluded me from enjoying the party. Which was too bad since it was turning into a real killer.
The place was mobbed with people, an undeniable relief in those early evening “will it happen?” moments, but now a source of concern. I took it as a matter of faith that the front door was still on its hinges as I hadn’t seen it close in hours. On the mezzanine, a velour-clad DJ was hunched over a laptop and two turntables, conjuring up humongous bass beats and mixing them with everything from sirens to symphonies. The crowd was loving it, up and moving on every available horizontal surface including the dining room table, much to the annoyance of the people clustered around it hoovering up lines of white powder.
When an albino wearing a lime green speedo and an impish grin threaded his way through the crowd on a Vespa I found myself on the verge of questioning whether the party had been such a brilliant idea after all. He was travelling at a reasonable speed and using his horn judiciously but I still couldn’t shake that harbinger-of-ill-fate feeling.
At least until I discovered Windy-Mindy and her narcotic vitamins. After that, I was blissfully surfing the moment, my worries gone and my eyes inexorably drawn to her endless curves as they took on a cotton candy glow. I frowned and shook my head, but the effect persisted.
I spent long, increasingly paranoid moments pondering whether an admixture of wheatgrass and champagne could give bourbon hallucinogenic properties until I noticed the sun winking at me from behind the skyscrapers of downtown Vancouver through the window behind her. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to banish this unwelcome party crasher. When I opened them, the sun was eclipsed by another — The Norwegian.
My first impulse was to go over and hug him, but I knew that was only Windy-Mindy’s vitamins messing with my amygdala. My second impulse was to run.
It had been almost three years since I had seen my former business partner, and he hadn’t changed a bit. The ornate black leather trench coat and vaguely Druidic hairstyle would have been comical on a smaller man less prone to violence. As he loomed over the crowd I tried to disappear within it. We hadn’t parted on the best of terms.
I had brought him in on a deal that had started as a hobby for me, a way to use the inheritance I received from my grandfather — a couple acres of land on Hornby Island and a green thumb. Granddad grew prize-winning heirloom tomatoes there. People loved his tomatoes. I preferred marijuana. As did my friends, and their friends, and so on.
When I terminated our partnership, The Norwegian kept three hundred thousand dollars of my money and I kept my kneecaps, which seemed like a fair distribution of assets at the time. Deprived of “Granddad’s Ganja”, The Norwegian moved into harder drugs and I moved into a converted loft in a post-industrial neighbourhood in East Vancouver. I spent money, threw parties, started dating my real estate agent, wrote a screenplay, shredded a screenplay, married my real estate agent, spent the last of my money, got divorced by my real estate agent, became mildly depressed, and began perusing community college course catalogs. I was a phone call away from signing up for a denturist training program when my ex-wife/realtor lined me up with house sitting gigs for her wealthy clients.
Clients like Mickey Wu, in whose house The Norwegian was now standing. He was nonplussed when he spotted me. Then his face lit up with the expression of affected innocence that always accompanied his most heinous acts.
My pocket vibrated. I dug out my phone to find a text from Richard.
there’s a dead guy in the bathroom :(
I stared at the phone. Then I stared across the room at the bathroom door. The Norwegian was no longer standing in front of it. He had been replaced by Richard, who was staring back at me with an expression of genuine innocence and barely controlled panic.
***
Excerpt from The Chairman's Toys by Graham Reed. Copyright © 2018 by Graham Reed. Reproduced with permission from Graham Reed. All rights reserved.

 

Author Bio:

Graham Reed is an award-winning author of crime fiction who lives on a small island in the Salish Sea with is wife and two children.

Catch Up With Graham Reed On:
grahamreed.info & Goodreads

 

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Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading The Chairman's Toys by Graham Reed. This book is a standalone mystery which was released last month.

Jake Constable has given up his drug dealing ways and is trying to keep on the straight and narrow. Well, perhaps somewhat curvy and wide. He's been house sitting for the wealthy in Vancouver and gets talked into throwing a party at one of the fantastic mansions. The party gets out of hand, drugs are freely flowing, and the homeowner returns unexpectedly. Oh, and there's a dead body in the bathroom. Although the homeowner pretty much lets him off the hook, Jake still has to answer to his ex-wife, who got him the job. His former business partner, with whom he did not part on the best of terms, seems to be back in the picture, as well as the Chinese government. The curvy and wide has just gotten wider!

Spotlight - Off Kilter

Today I'd like to shine a spotlight on on Off Kilter by Hannah Reed, the first in the Scottish Highlands Mystery series. This book on my actual TBR pile. (Meaning I actually own the book and am waiting to read it as opposed to just wanting to read it; that's my even larger virtual TBR pile!)

From the back cover:

A brand new series from a national bestselling author Hannah Reed, in which a young American writer finds herself swept up in a murder amid the glens and lochs of the Scottish Highlands...

After the recent death of her mother and the dissolution of her marriage, thirty-something Eden Elliott is seriously in need of a fresh start. She decides to embark on an open-ended trip to the picturesque village of Glenkillen in the  Scottish Highlands to do some hands-on research for a novel she's writing. But almost as soon as Eden arrives in the quaint town, she gets caught up in a very real drama...

The town''s sheep shearer is found murdered-clipped with his own shears-and the locals suspect Vicki MacBride, an outsider whose father's recent death left her the surprise heir to his lucrative sheep farm. Eden refuses to believe the affable heiress is a murderer. but can she prove that someone is out to frame her new friend before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror?

Although I haven't yet read Off Kilter, I lent it to my mom who said she really enjoyed it!