Meet Elizabeth Bailey -- historical Crime Author

Elizabeth Bailey spent her childhood in colonial Africa where her imagination was fueled by her parents. She fell in love with romance the same way most girls do - fairy tales. Before she became a writer she was an actress and it is no wonder she ended up there with intricate story lines like the ones found in THE DEATHLY PORTENT. It was in her 30's that Elizabeth Bailey took to writing historical romances and she has been writing ever since. Elizabeth Bailey stays very busy writing but she still finds time to stay involved in her local theatre in Sussex.

You will want to keep reading to find out even more interesting facts about the talented Elizabeth. One answer will win you a copy of THE DEATHLY PORTENT of your very own.

Ottilia has a great love of coffee, what is your drink of choice while you are writing?

EB: I'm a tea addict. I keep going down for another cup and forget how many I've drunk. I like what we call over here builders' tea – strong! – but with a little extra milk. And the water has to be boiling. It's an art, making a proper cup of tea!

It seems gossip abounds in Witherley, the small village where the story takes place, what inspired this story setting?

EB: I love the village setting, where everyone pretty well knows everyone else and is minutely interested in his neighbour's doings. I grew up in small towns in Africa, so I know that scene very well. The original inspiration was the vicar and the girl with second sight, and as Cassie is hiding a secret, she had to be living in obscurity, so a village was perfect.

Which character is most like you? Are you always looking for a good mystery like Ottilia or are you more like the reverend - a level head in the midst of a storm of drama?

EB: Wow, what a question! I think I'd have to plump for the reverend. Though I'm pretty sure Ottilia has imbibed some of my moral values.

Cassie has second sight. Is there a person in your life that inspired this?

EB: My mother is a medium, and is known to be astonishingly accurate. She has several times been able to pick up the precise circumstances of someone's death, for instance, but after the fact. She's not a prophetess.

When you started writing the character, Ottilia, did you always intend for her to be a strong female lead or did she evolve into the woman she is in THE DEATHLY PORTENT?

EB: Initially I had envisioned her as the power behind the throne, with Francis the public face of the sleuth. But Ottilia wasn't having any of it. She took centre stage the moment she hit the page and that was that. But her character has evolved through the first book The Gilded Shroud as well as this new one.

Thank you so much for joining us at Fresh Fiction. We'd like to tell your readers easy ways to contact you, are you on Twitter, Facebook or a web site?

EB: I'm on Twitter as @lizbwrites and my website is elizabethbailey.co.uk/. I also have a blog.

The contest question:

For a chance to win your very own copy of THE DEATHLY PORTENT by Elizabeth Bailey all you have to do is answer this question: What is Elizabeth Bailey's favorite thing to drink while writing?