:
With the murder of last year’s fête judge now but a hazy memory, the village of Elmesbury has retired to its
former tranquil existence. That is, until a mysterious newcomer sets in motion a series of events that will see
members of the W.I. crossing wooden spoons at dawn.
In the midst of preparing for her long-awaited engagement party, redoubtable village busybody Beattie
Bramshaw not only finds herself embroiled in a one-woman campaign to save the elm tree from which the village gets its name, but having to contend with an outbreak of unrest within her beloved W.I. group. Rivalry to win favour with the judge of this year’s fête has fuelled dissent within the ranks and, when two members are found dead in mysterious circumstances, suspicions run rife.
Confident the devil is not only in the cake but in the detail, Beattie determines to uncover the clues that will
ultimately lead to the killer’s conviction. Can she solve the mystery before another W.I. member is picked off?
:
:
Q&A
Did or do you like to read comic books/graphic novels? Which ones?
As a child / teenager, I loved reading comic books, namely Jinty, Jackie and Smash Hits.
Whom did you inherit your love for books/reading from?
That would be my mum. She organised weekly visits to the local library, having signed my brothers and I up at an early age, where we would enjoy picking out our next read. She also had quite the collection of Catherine Cookson novels, I recall, and as soon as she finished one she would pass it on to me.
When you need a murder victim or someone you can diagnose with a serious disease or someone who is involved in a fatal accident do you sometimes picture someone nasty you have met in real life and think ‘got you’ LOL?
I daresay some of the ‘baddies’ in my books do share some of the traits of people I haven’t taken a liking to, but I’ve not based them entirely on that person. That’s not to say it won’t happen in future books!
How do you come up with the names for your characters?
I wanted the main character of the series to have a name that is memorable whilst remaining historically correct in terms of the era she was born. I literally said names aloud and, having eventually plumped for Beattie, I repeated the process until I came up with a surname I felt fitted her character well. I used the same method for all the characters in the series, although I did cheat on occasion and plump for the surname of someone I know.
Do you write other things beside books (and shopping lists 😉 )?
Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of writing books full time, but my day job does involve writing reports on a regular basis. I can assure you, they’re not half as much fun.
If a movie or series would be made from your books, would you be happy with the ‘based on’ version or would you rather like they showed it exactly the way you created it?
Either would be awesome full stop. I suppose my preference would be for them to show it exactly as it is in the book, but to have a ‘based on’ would be pretty amazing too!
Who would you like/have liked to interview?
Until time travel is invented there is little hope of it happening, but I would love to have a one to one with Anne Boleyn and discover the true story of her time as Queen.
Do you have certain people you contact while doing research to pick their brains? What are they specialized in?
No, I don’t. The majority of the content in my books comes from first-hand knowledge or that lovely little search engine beginning in ‘G’.
Is there someone you sometimes discuss a dilemma with?
Not really, I tend to mull it over before eventually coming to a conclusion.
What is more important to you: a rating in stars with no comments or a reviewer who explains what the comments they give are based on (without spoilers of course)
I think it depends on what the star rating is. If it’s a 5 star then I can happily assume they enjoyed it. If they have given it 3 stars or below, then curiosity sets in and I’d really like to know the reasoning behind it.
Thank you for your questions
Thank you, Susan A King and Rachel’s Random Resources
:
About the author
SUSAN A. KING lives with her husband in a quiet suburb in Hampshire. Between them they have four grown-up sons. The inspiration for her Beattie Bramshaw novels c from her long experience and observation of competitors at the local Romsey Show, where she regularly aspires to win Best in Show with her floral arrangements.
:
Author LInks
Twitter @SusanKing63
Insta @susan.king63
:
:
Book Links
B for Bookreview 