Finally healing after her heart-breaking divorce, Anne Freemont is ready to put the painful past behind her.
Discovering an old Victorian for sale in the small mountain town of Carolan Springs may be just what she needs. The beauty of Colorado beckons, so Anne heads west to start her new life.
Yet, before Anne'scompletely settled in, her neighbor is found dead in his compost pile. What’s worse is that Anne’s quirky young neighbor, Kandi Jenkins, could be the killer. When Kandi begs for her help, Anne feels she has no choice but to help the young woman.
However, she finds herself quickly at odds with the local sheriff. And while she uncovers more of the community's secrets, she's also exploring her awakening feelings for Sam Powers, the town's deputy coroner.
Once Anne starts looking at who could be the real killer, the suspect list keeps getting longer and longer. It seems that Carolan Springs is a place of many secrets. But who would want to murder Ralph and who’s willing to kill again to keep their secret?
Cast of Characters Stewart Rogers: Ralph’s nephew who’s always turning up unexpectedly. Hope Boswell: Doctor and herbalist who’s come home to care for her ailing mother. Faith Boswell: Dealing with early onset dementia, she still has what some call second sight. Eliza de French: An Ethiopian woman whose beauty hides an ugly secret. Jeff Jenkins: Kandi’s goal-oriented husband who often travels for work. ˃˃˃ First Book in The Backyard Farming Cozy Mystery SeriesChicken Culprit introduces us to Anne Fremont, a divorcee starting over in the fictional town of Carolan Springs, Colorado. With a diverse cast of characters, the locale isn’t short of personalities and suspects.
With a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor that women of a certain age can relate to, Chicken Culprit takes a look at love, loss and the impact of the past in our lives.
˃˃˃ Q&A with the Author1. Why did you decide to write a mystery series around homesteading?
Mysteries have always been my favorite genre since I received my first set of Nancy Drew books. When I finally decided to write my own I knew I wanted to write about something I love and that’s homesteading or backyard farming. I live in the suburbs but our landscaping is a combination of permaculture food guilds, gardens and Xeriscape. We have chickens and are beekeepers. My chicken, Rusty, was a character in her own right. Now she’s one in my first book.
2. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start backyard farming?
Decide what you want the most and do that first. Then add to it. Don’t do too much at once. You can use the simple quiz on my website to help determine the top three things for your havenstead.
3. What’s a havenstead?
I believe that your home should be your haven. Homesteading has been around for hundreds of years. Now you can create your own havenstead.
4. Can you give us a glimpse into the next book?
Sure! Someone and possibly a couple of someone’s are going to die. It will feature another part of homesteading and that’s around the food production side of things. In this case the main star will be the elderberry plant. The book after that will feature bees.
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