What is the title of your latest release?
A RATHER PECULIAR POISONING
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
It’s Bridgerton meets Knives Out.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I set it in a sprawling English manor that was big enough to hide plenty of secrets. The estate also rests between a forest (for hunting parties) and a lake (for boat parties).
Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Yes, I’d love to explore a city with Della, cook alongside Sadie, or fall in love with the lake with Eloise.
What are three words that describe your protagonist?
I have four main characters: Della, Sadie, Eloise, and Violet. Can I pick one word for each instead? Della is smart. Sadie is sweet. Eloise is clever. Violet is ambitious.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
When the word “cologne” was first used and if I could use it in 1910.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I know everyone says you shouldn’t, but I 100% edit as I draft. I’m trying not to for my current work in progress to see if it helps me draft faster though. Editing while drafting definitely slows the process for me.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Ice cream. I love a good ice cream.
Describe your writing space/office!
I actually have a study with bookshelves and a desk, but I almost never find myself writing in there. These days, my writing space looks like a chair in my room at night beside my sleeping five-month-old.
Who is an author you admire?
There are so many! Roshani Chokshi’s writing taught me that I can lean into a more literary prose without falling into the dreaded purple prose, and Stephanie Perkin’s novels showed me exactly what people meant when they said writing has a voice.
Is there a book that changed your life?
I will recommend Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri to anyone. What a novel! I adore how it shows hope in such heartbreaking moments.
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 think overall, I was very hesitant, waiting for someone to say, “Just kidding!” It took me twelve years of writing/querying to leave the trenches, and then to sell five weeks into submission… it was a whirlwind that I wasn’t quite ready to believe was actually happening. I think some days, I’m still waiting for it to not be real, so I tend to hold in my excitement.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love a good mystery or thriller, but am also happy with a light romcom, and YA in general will always have a soft spot in my heart.
What’s your favorite movie?
This is a hard one for me. I’m always late to the party with what’s out there. I recently saw Adam Sandler’s Murder Mystery, though, and thought it was so funny.
What is your favorite season?
Autumn! By far. I live in the south, and it’s so hot here. I’m learning to love the long days of summer, but nothing beats the cool air that fall brings.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I usually just like to celebrate it with my people. My number one request is for my husband to take the day off work and we spend it hanging out with each other and our kids.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I had the amazing privilege to early read Ande Pliego’s next thriller, and it is every book lover/thriller reader’s dream! Be on the lookout for it!
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I don’t think it’s considered a type of cuisine, but I do love any kind of breakfast food.
What do you do when you have free time?
I love to stay home. We have a small (wannabe) farm, so there’s always some type of animal around to play or cuddle with—ducks, chickens, bunnies, kittens, dogs—and I just love living in the middle of nowhere. If I’m not at home, I do enjoy running to town and exploring our local thrift stores!
What can readers expect from you next?
Hopefully another closed circle mystery that keeps you guessing!
A celebration at a turn-of-the-century manor takes a deadly twist, and everyone becomes a suspect.
Twin brothers Easton and Weston are both in love with their childhood best friend Eloise. But headstrong Eloise prefers the younger brother, Wes, which is why she is heartbroken when, unexpectedly, Wes proposes to an heiress, and Eloise finds herself engaged to Easton—the twin she cannot stand. Then, during a week of celebration, Wes is poisoned. Murmurs of nightshade slip through the manor, and everyone seems to have a motive.
Was it Della Drewitt—the heiress reluctant to marry Wes? Or did Easton decide killing his brother was the only way to secure Eloise’s affections? Or was it the housemaid Violet, Wes’s previous lover?
As guests turn into suspects, attempts to kill Wes become more relentless than the storms churning the estate—who wants him dead, and why?
Mystery Historical [Park Row, On Sale: September 2, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780778387954 / eISBN: 9780369766915]
Chrystal Schleyer lives in South Carolina with her husband and children. Tucked away in a little black house on an old hay field, she happily lives in the middle of nowhere.
When not writing or reading, she can be found outside with her ever growing number of animals or scouring the shelves of the nearest thrift store.
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