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Behind the Writing of Ghosts & Gowns

Tell us about the background for the theme, what inspired it or why you wanted to write in this setting, or with play with these tropes?

This is a spin off from my Bookstore Cozy Mystery Series – the next town over. I love the small town Maine vibe and wanted to expand my cozy world from witches so it was a ghost of a kindly uncle.

Are any of your characters based on real people you know?

No.

Tell us about character traits that were fun or hard for you to include in the book.

Processing information like a ghost might since they’re between here and the afterlife. It was fun brining a city girl to a small town and diving right into meeting her uncle the ghost, who thinks he was murdered.

Create a playlist with 5 to 10 songs with the below in mind:

Claudia Grant, the main characters loves soft classic rock. Fleetwood Mac, Journey. Uncle Herman loves classic jazz and the masters, Mozert, Bach.

Were there any alternate endings you considered?

No – I’m a discovery writer so the ending comes to me at the end and it seems to work.

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book?

Claudia’s new best friend wasn’t going to own a knitting shop. But I had an idea for book three on how to coming knitting and dress designing so Beth had her own successful knitting business

Which of the side characters would you love to explore more, or turn into a main character in another series?

Ethan, Beth’s dad who’s a widow and helps her around the shop and takes Claudia under his wing as a second daughter. He was also Herman’s best friend in town and Ethan is the former chief of police.

What special knowledge or research was required to write this book?

I had to refresh my memory about how to sew and knit- it’s been a while.

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

A fun enjoyable escape for a little while.

Was there something major that happened in your personal life while writing this?

Not that I can think of.

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Synopsis:

When a reluctant ghost whisperer inherits a dress shop, murder and mayhem follow.

Designer—reluctant psychic and amateur sleuth—Claudia Grant just wanted a fresh start.
When she inherits her late Uncle Herman’s charming dress shop in Drakes Bay, she expects sewing machines… not a resident ghost. But Uncle Herman’s spirit is very much alive (well, dead) and desperate for Claudia to uncover the truth behind his untimely demise.

On Claudia’s very first morning on the job, she befriends Beth, the next-door knitting shop owner—and discovers she’s the beneficiary of her late uncle’s estate. Then a mysterious man phones, claiming Herman promised him the shop. Before Claudia can stitch up the loose ends, she finds herself standing over the man’s body—with a gun in her hand, and the local police breathing down her neck.

Now the only person who can prove Claudia’s innocence is… a ghost.

With help from her spectral uncle, an adorably aloof dress shop cat, and a handsome—and highly skeptical—town cop, Claudia must unravel a tangle of clues and small-town scandals before the real murderer claims another victim… or before Claudia ends up in cuffs or as a ghost permanently.

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