Murder at Sea Captain's Inn Guest Post

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Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder at Sea Captain’s Inn (A Book Magic Mystery) by Melissa Bourbon. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

Murder at Sea Captain’s Inn (A Book Magic Mystery)

by Melissa Bourbon

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Murder at Sea Captain’s Inn (A Book Magic Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Lake House Press (July 20, 2021)
Approx 300 pages

Generation after generation of Lane women die in childbirth, while the sea claims the men.

Pippin Lane Hawthorne’s grand opening of Sea Captain’s Inn is tainted when a scholar studying the Lost Colony of Roanoke is brutally murdered. Like the black crow that hangs around the old house, could the untimely death be a harbinger of dark things to come?

When her twin brother, Grey, begins bucking the curse by risking his life in the waters of the Outer Banks, Pippin lives in terror that he’ll be the next Lane male to be swallowed by the sea. Now she must use her gift of bibliomancy to save her brother, solve the murder, and end a two thousand year old pact.

Guest post

For me, the heart of a book series like the Book Magic mysteries is the characters, especially the main character. If she is not relatable and likable, I don’t want to continue. I thought long and hard as I created Pippin. She’s evolved so much already (from Murder in Devil’s Cove to Murder at Sea Captain’s Inn).

Here she is, in a nutshell:

Pippin Lane Hawthorne is 29 years old and has a twin brother named Grey.

If you’ve read Murder in Devil’s Cove, you know that Leo Hawthorne, Pippin and Grey’s father, was a huge Tolkien fan. Pippin was named for Peregrin, and Grey for Gandalf.

All of my books feature strong female relationships. Often those relationships are familial–mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters, and even bonding with a stepdaughter. Other times the relationships are between friends. In the Book Magic series, Pippin, Ruby, and Daisy form a bond. Pippin also connects with Hattie Juniper Pickle. These friendships are so important for Pippin because she never formed strong relationships in the past.

Pippin is also a survivor. She’s learning to read (it’s always been a struggle for her) and she’s turned the house she and Grey inherited into an Inn. She has always had her brother, but they are starting to go their separate ways. This is very important part of Murder at Sea Captain’s Inn.

Here is a snapshot of Pippin:

Height: Somewhere between 5′ 6″ and 5′ 7″. Her mother, Cassie, was 5′ 5″. Although Leo was tall (6′ 2″), Cassie’s height at 5′ 5″ keeps Pippin a little shorter.

Hair: Strawberry red with coppery strands. Pippin favors her mother, while Grey has dark hair like their father.

Pippin has a dusting of freckles across her nose.

During the lovely spring and summer days on the Outer Banks, Pippin loves her sundresses and her white sneakers. She’s casual, preferring jeans, t-shirts, and sandals to a fancy dress and heels.

Pippin has always struggled with reading. Her parents kept her away from books because of the family gift/curse. Grandmother Faye did the same after Cassie and Leo were gone. Pippin is determined to learn. She has mild dyslexia, though it’s never been diagnosed. She simply fell between the cracks, never a great student in school, but managing to get through.

After high school, Pippin wandered. She worked in garden centers here and there. Neither she or Grey went to college.

The loss of her parents made Pippin withdraw into herself. This, along with her insecurities–especially with reading–affected her ability to make friends.

Like her mother, she gardens.

Pippin’s connection to the rescue pup become incredibly important to her.

She is a bibliomancer!

Pippin is a fun and interesting character to write. I hope you love her as much as I do!

PS, Hilarie Burton IS Pippin!

About Melissa Bourbon

Melissa Bourbon is the national bestselling author of more than twenty-five mystery books, including the Book Magic mysteries, the Lola Cruz Mysteries, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series, and the Bread Shop Mysteries, written as Winnie Archer. She is a former middle school English teacher who gave up the classroom in order to live in her imagination full time. Melissa lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos. She is beyond fortunate to be living the life of her dreams. Learn more about Melissa at her website, www.melissabourbon.com, on Facebook @MelissaBourbon/Winnie ArcherBooks, and on Instagram @bookishly_cozy.

Author Links

Website: http://melissabourbon.com
Book Warriors Online Book Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BookWarriors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookishly_cozy/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5423119.Melissa_Bourbon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmyAuh_IzHHYkzWzuZg9OVA

Purchase Link – Amazon