1--What is the title of your latest release?
GRAVE WORDS—I’m so excited to bring back Winter Snow in another adventure set in my hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut.
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Problems for obituary writer Winter Snow are mounting higher than the cliffs she can see from her house on Lake Mamanasco. Her business is in a death draught; her best friend Scoop is a person of interest in a string of arsons and her name is listed as deceased in her client’s obituary. Add to that she has been asking too many questions about the murder of a local man experiencing homelessness. If she doesn’t get some answers soon, the next obituary could be her own.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
That was easy. My hometown is a picture-perfect Hallmark worthy small town and an ideal place to find murder and mayhem for a cozy mystery.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Of course, I would. In fact, I hang out with her almost every day as I write her into mysteries. That said, I’d like to teach her a thing or two because she always seems to land in trouble.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Compassionate, Impulsive, Imaginative
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
As a person who has made a career as a freelance writer and has a passion for mysteries (I read about five books a month), I thought—how hard could it be to write a mystery of my own? Well guess what? It’s harder than you might think.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I always read what I’ve last written before I begin writing the next day. That way I can get into the same rhythm. Sometimes I can’t help myself, though. I sneak in a few edits even though I know I should be spending the time moving my plot forward. Asking me not to edit would be like putting a bowl of chocolates in front of me and saying, “you can’t have any.”
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
M&M’s. Sometimes plain, sometimes peanut. I don’t see how writers can think without them!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have a dedicated office with pale blue walls and carpet. There’s a wall of bookshelves lining one side of the room. On the other side is a built-in desk with a bulletin board and more shelves above. It’s crammed with books, photographs and mementos. It will never be magazine cover quality, but it makes me happy.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Any author who has figured a way to write a good story and get it published because it is hard. I do love the well-known mystery writers like Louise Penny, Preston & Child, Kathy Reichs…too many to list. When I read them, I know exactly what I’m getting. I especially admire James Patterson because he combined his love for storytelling with his genius for marketing.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Robin Hood. I read a rendition as a little girl and thought, someday I want to write a book that has an engaging character and lots of adventure.
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.
My agent has this habit of leaving me a message to call him without ever giving away whether it is good news or bad news…or no news. I had just come out of an Emergency Management Meeting for our town when I saw his message. I braced myself because I knew he had pitched my book to Crooked Lane Books. His first words were, “Congratulations, Tara Gavin loved your book.” I said, “wait, what? Are you sure?”
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Mystery, thrillers, but I belong to two book clubs and enjoy all kinds of books.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I don’t have one although I am guilty of watching movies over and over again. I can recite some of the dialogue from Sleepless in Seattle, Die Hard, and Top Gun. Last night my sister and I watched Bridget Jones’ Baby…we both had seen it at least once before.
15--What is your favorite season?
Autumn—it conjures memories of back to school, football games, and gets me in the mood for the holidays.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I celebrate all month long. I treat myself to all sorts of things. Then when the month is over, I’m so tired of it being” all about me” that I don’t care if I’m a year older. I do extend the timeline if I feel cheated—like in 2020 when I couldn’t even get a hug from my three adult children. When we finally decided to isolate together and they weren’t so worried about giving me COVID, I gave them the biggest hugs. Oddly, of the 14 in our immediate family, I’m the only one who has never had COVID!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I like Only Murders in the Building because of the characters’ unlikely friendships. For books I like Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan series because it has just the right number of preposterous scenarios to keep the book light—something that can keep you entertained without worrying about what the rest of the world is doing. Right now, I’m loving: The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict—it’s a great read.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian. Homemade sauce and pasta—my mom’s recipe—nothing beats it.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
HA! That’s funny. I don’t have a lot of free time, but family time is important. Right now, I’m helping my grandchildren edit the book they wrote when they learned that I was going to be published. It’s an adorable little mystery called “Mystery of Grandma Camp,” A Cousins Crime Solvers mystery written by 9–12-year-olds. Walking on the golf course, travel with my husband, reading, writing, being with friends, I’m always busy.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Readers keep asking me if Winter and her love interest Kip will end up together. They want to know how anyone can make a living by writing obituaries. And they want to hear more about some of my secondary characters. Book Three—working title Empty Words—answers some of those questions as Winter Snow, amateur sleuth finds yet another mystery to solve. I’m also working on two other projects—another mystery and something called: Thirteen Camels—it has all the stories I want my family to know about my world travels, including when I was Kidnapped on a Camel!
Deadly Deadlines Mystery #2
In the second installment of the Deadly Deadlines mysteries, obituary writer Winter Snow faces her biggest challenge yet when the body of a homeless man is found in a burning building and her best friend is the main suspect, perfect for fans of Eva Gates and Kate Carlisle.
Winter Snow has had it! With her business in a death drought, her best friend Scoop implicated in a string of arsons, and an obituary listing Winter herself as deceased, her life is heating up. But just as she’s trying to cool things down, she receives her newest assignment: an obituary for Chester, a homeless man found in a burning building.
Promising the local funeral home manager that she will have the obituary by the deadline, Winter is stonewalled at every turn, failing to discover Chester’s last name, or where he came from. When it is discovered that Chester was murdered and that the fire was set to cover it up, all fingers immediately point to Scoop. Not only is Scoop a person of interest in the arsons, he was also the last person to see Chester alive.
As more nails are pounded into Scoop’s coffin, Winter’s uncle Richard hopes to help by inviting the notorious town gossips, The Nosy Parkers, to a neighborhood food fest. Unfortunately, the breadcrumbs they toss set murder in motion.
More determined than ever, Winter must figure out the twists and turns of the case to clear Scoop’s name, putting her on a deadly deadline to solve the murder and avoid meeting the same grave consequences.
Mystery Woman Sleuth | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Crooked Lane Books, On Sale: June 10, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9798892422482 / eISBN: 9798892421140]
An obituary writer is stumped for words
Can Winter Uncover the Clues Before Someone Writes Her Obituary Next?
Gerri Lewis started her career as a freelance writer and has published over 1,600 features, news stories, obituaries, and columns. Along with her novels, she continues to write features for 068 Magazine. Her cover stories appear regularly and her HOW WE MET column was a popular staple of the magazine for many years. Her accolades include feature-writing awards from the New England Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists, among others. Gerri lives with her husband in her hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut, the setting for her obituary writer mystery, The Last Word.
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