1--What is the title of your latest release?
SUNFLOWERS, SCARECROWS, AND SCANDAL
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
The Halloween season for florist Gwen Stevens takes a menacing turn when she finds a dead body dressed as a scarecrow on display in front of City Hall! With a muddy mix of suspects and false confessions creating complications for the police, it's up to Gwen to sort out the truth and catch a killer...before this trick-or-treat turns deadly again!
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and knew I wanted to set a series in the Midwest. I decided to create a fictional town and after much brainstorming, decided on the name Star Junction. It captures all the charm I want the readers to experience when reading these books.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely! Gwen is a great friend. She’s kind, loyal, and smart. She’s also funny and gets herself into sticky situations. I think she’d be really fun to hang out with.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Determined, curious, and witty.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I really learned how much I miss fall in the Midwest. I live in Phoenix now. While everyone from my hometown is enjoying wearing sweaters and watching the leaves change colors, I’m still sweating it out in 100-degree heat. I came up with the concept of setting one of the Camelot Flowers books at Halloween mostly because I wanted to live vicariously through Gwen as she enjoys the fall weather.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do a little bit of both. I used to spend a lot of time editing the writing as I went, which meant that when it was time to edit the story, I’d end up having to cut whole scenes that I’d spent hours honing. I’ve become much better at writing all the way through and trusting that I can go back and finish the editing when I’m all done.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Really good cake with sprinkles on the frosting!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I write everywhere! It can be at my kitchen table, which is where I’m writing this, on my couch, in my bed, at a coffee shop, at my day job, and sometimes at my local library. I also have a very cute writing desk that my husband bought for me for Christmas years ago, but I almost never use it for actual writing.
10--Who is an author you admire?
I really admire Jenn McKinlay who not only built a career writing cozy mysteries, but also managed to segue into writing romance, which is not an easy thing to do. I write both cozy mysteries and romantic suspense, and I hope that when I release my first full-length romantic suspense in early 2025 my cozy mystery readers will embrace that facet of my writing as much as Jenn’s have embraced her two genres.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
In 6th grade, my reading teacher recommended I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I liked reading before middle school, but that’s the moment I really fell in love with reading. My love of reading eventually turned into a love of writing, which has definitely changed my life.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I’d admired Gemma Halliday and enjoyed her books for years. My literary agent at the time, Dawn Dowdle, reached out to the authors in her agency letting us know that Gemma’s publishing house was open for submission. It was a dream come true when Gemma agreed to publish the first book in this series, Marigolds, Mischief, and Murder.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Of course, I love to read cozy mysteries and romantic suspense, especially humorous romantic suspense, but there are a few genres I like to read that I don’t write. I love reading fantasy and paranormal. My current favorite read in the paranormal genre is the Magical Midlife series by K.F. Breene. It has action, humor, romance, and is really well written.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
This is a hard one to answer, but I love action movies and rom-coms.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall weather is definitely my favorite season, which means late November through January in Phoenix.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I love to hang out with my family on my birthday. My teenagers are willing to do what I want without complaint on that day, which usually means going to a restaurant I love like Joyride Taco, getting to pick the family movie, and playing games. If my birthday weren’t in the middle of our extremely hot summers, I would love to go hiking.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
TV show would be Elsbeth. It’s a lot like a cozy mystery. I loved the movie Inside Out 2. As a therapist, I appreciate the accuracy of how those movies depict our emotional inner lives. I recently read Double Blast by Gretchen Archer. It’s the most recent book in the Davis Way Crime Caper series. That whole series is just pure, fun chaos and Double Blast was no exception. I listen to a lot of podcasts, but I recently discovered Scamfluencers, which dives into scam artists in a really fascinating and entertaining way.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Mexican. Hands down.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to get together with friends, prioritize healthy habits like sitting in my sauna, and going for walks, although those are few and far between in the summer unless I want to get up at five in the morning, which I rarely do. If I have a lot of free time, I love day trips and hiking.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’ll be releasing the first book in a closed-door romantic suspense series in early 2025, likely the beginning of February. The book is about a relationship advice columnist who finds herself in the crosshairs of a disgruntled reader and the bodyguard who turns her world upside down in the best way possible. It combines some action, sweet romance, and has a lot of humor. It’s a fun read. I describe reading my books as getting a warm hug from a cup of hot cocoa with just a dash of murder.
Camelot Flowers Mysteries #3
From author Erica Wynters comes a hauntingly good Camelot Flowers Mystery...
It’s Halloween in Star Junction, and the town is gearing up for a spooky good time. That is, until florist Gwen Stevens discovers the dead body of her neighbor Trevor—dressed as a scarecrow in the Halloween display in front of City Hall with an ominous note from the killer tucked into the pocket of his costume!
Murder investigations are always complicated, but when the friends of Trevor’s wife all confess to murdering him, the local police detective Finn Butler is stuck sorting through their conflicting confessions, leaving Gwen to dig up the truth.
Ghosts and goblins aren’t the only things that go bump in the night as Gwen searches for the murder weapon, sorts through enough suspects to fill a kid’s trick-or-treat bag, and finally makes a decision between dating Finn or her long-time best friend and crush, Chris. As Halloween approaches, can Gwen unmask a murderer or will this unsolved case haunt the small, peaceful town of Star Junction forever?
Mystery Cozy [Gemma Halliday Publishing, On Sale: October 1, 2024, e-Book, ISBN: 2940167712263 / eISBN: 9798224200320]
Erica Wynters started as most authors do - as an avid reader. Cozy mysteries and romantic suspense offered her just the escape she was looking for! The combination of great love and great danger keeps her turning pages late into the night.
Now they keep her writing pages late into the night. Her goal is always two-fold: help you fall in love with love all over again and take you on an adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Falling in love has never been so fun...or so dangerous!
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