1--What is the title of your latest release?
MURDER IN POSTSCRIPT
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Countess Amelia Amesbury, who secretly writes an agony column for a penny paper, must solve the murder of one of her readers.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’ve been a longtime reader of historical mysteries and romances, but it wasn’t until I took a trip to London with my family in 2019 that the places I’d read about became “new” again. Seeing Regent’s Park, Piccadilly, Harrods, and other locations that appear in my favorite novels, I knew I had to set my next mystery in London. I went to work as soon as I returned home.
4--Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life?
Absolutely! I would love to hang out with Amelia. She’s a countess, yes, but she’s also hardworking and down to earth. She grew up in Somerset, where she worked at her family’s inn, the Feathered Nest. She has a daughter, and I have two daughters. I think we’d be great friends.
5--What are three words that describe your sleuth?
Courageous, smart, and unconventional
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
So many things! One fact that surprised me is that, in their nascency, agony columns (which we call advice columns today) were written by men. At the time, the columns were philosophical in nature and pondered large questions about the universe.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I mostly wait to edit until I’m done with the first draft. However, I can’t help tinkering a little bit here and there. Editing a few previous paragraphs is a nice way to enter the writing process for the day.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Wine, pasta, and chocolate!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I write at a desk off my family room, downstairs, surrounded by bookshelves filled with my favorite books. It’s nice and quiet in the early morning hours, which is when I write. When I’m on a deadline or preparing for an upcoming launch, I also write late in the evening.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I admire F. Scott Fitzgerald for his tenacity. Most people are familiar with his novels, but he also wrote for popular magazines, as well as journals, to make ends meet. He tried his hand at screenwriting, too. He was both wildly popular and a dismal failure in his lifetime. He must have had great courage to stick with his craft.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I don’t know if it changed my life, but To Kill a Mockingbird awoke something inside of me that wasn’t there before. I began caring about literature after reading that book. I was in high school at the time, and literature filled a void in my life like nothing else did. It still does today.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
Actually, I got two calls for Murder in Postscript, and I was happy with the first call. When the second call came in, I was stunned and thrilled. I’ve been pinching myself ever since!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Mystery is my favorite genre overall, but I also enjoy reading letters, diaries, and historical fiction. I read a lot of romances and biographies as well.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Moonstruck
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
My birthday is in December, and my family and I see A Christmas Carol to celebrate. I’ve always loved the author and the book. It’s one of my favorite seasonal reads.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I recommend Only Murders in the Building for fans of cozy mysteries. I think the cast is delightful, and the mysteries are twisty and fun.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I enjoy reading, gardening, and baking. I also love traveling with my husband and our teenage daughters. We recently traveled to Spain and had a wonderful time exploring its history. I brought back several books that I can’t wait to read.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on the second book in the Lady of Letters series. I also have a third short story coming out in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine titled “4th Floor Alice.”
When one of her readers asks for advice following a suspected murder, Victorian countess Amelia Amesbury, who secretly pens the popular Lady Agony column, has no choice but to investigate in this first book in a charming new historical mystery series.
Amelia Amesbury—widow, mother, and countess—has a secret. Amelia writes for a London penny paper, doling out advice on fashion, relationships, and manners under the pen name Lady Agony. But when a lady’s maid writes Amelia to ask for advice when she believes her mistress has been murdered—and then ends up a victim herself—Amelia is determined to solve the case.
With the help of her best friend and a handsome marquis, Amelia begins to piece together the puzzle, but as each new thread of inquiry ends with a different suspect, the investigation grows ever more daunting. From London’s docks and ballrooms to grand country houses, Amelia tracks a killer, putting her reputation—and her life—on the line.
Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Berkley, On Sale: March 28, 2023, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593548769 / eISBN: 9780593548776]
Mary Winters is the author of the Lady Agony mystery series. A longtime reader of historical fiction and an author of two other mystery series, Mary set her latest work in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Since then, she’s been busily planning her next mystery—and another trip!
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