Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery)
by Cynthia Kuhn. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle, in award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn’s series debut, small-town bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is out to close the book on a killer intent on crashing the party.
How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery)
by Cynthia Kuhn
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How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher : Crooked Lane Books (December 7, 2021)
Hardcover : 336 pages
To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.
In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects. Emma is sure the party’s over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome. Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not yet reached the final chapter of the puzzling case.
Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.
Interview with Cynthia Kuhn
Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!
Tell us a little about yourself.
Hello! I am an English professor and write the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries and Starlit Bookshop Mysteries.
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing as far back as I can remember.
Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?
Yes! My parents read to us every night when we were little, and books seemed so magical. When I was reading on my own, I was drawn to mysteries featuring amateur sleuths like Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Miss Marple; then in graduate school, I fell in love with academic mysteries, which often had professors as sleuths. That was a world I understood, so the Lila series has a professor as sleuth and the Bookshop mysteries have a recent PhD as sleuth.
Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?
I absolutely love the humor and lightness that cozies offer, so they are regular fare. But I do read in many other genres—particularly at work, where I teach literature (along with writing and film). Typically, I’m reading a variety of things simultaneously. Right now, for example, I’m reading Jennifer Chow’s latest Mimi Lee mystery and, in preparation for teaching this spring, a collection of scholarly essays about Romantic Comedies and an anthology of contemporary short stories.
Do you have a favorite place to write?
At home on my couch with a laptop…I write at a desk on a computer too but it’s not as comfortable.
What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?
Various art projects that my sons brought home from school when they were little and a small stuffed lobster from a trip to Massachusetts.
What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?
I can’t remember the first book, but in addition to Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Miss Marple, the Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon series were favorites.
Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?
Physical books…haven’t branched out into ebooks or audiobooks yet.
If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
Anywhere that had a beach, where I could watch the waves and take a stroll along the shore every day.
What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?
Every book that I’ve enjoyed reading—especially the mysteries—they inspire me to put words together too.
Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?
Yes, and I am incredibly grateful for the author (and reader!) friends I have met—often at conferences or through professional organizations like Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. The mystery community is full of such generous and kind people. I also belong to a multi-author blog focused on humorous mysteries, Chicks on the Case (chicksonthecase.com)—and I adore all of the Chicks, of course!
Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?
I’m working on the second book in the Starlit Bookshop Mystery series, in which Emma finds herself working on a Library Gala that proves to be dangerous.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!
Thank you so much for having me!
About Cynthia Kuhn
Cynthia Kuhn is an English professor and author of the Starlit Bookshop Mysteries and the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries. Her work has also appeared in Mystery Most Edible, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Copper Nickel, Prick of the Spindle, Mama PhD, and other publications. Honors include an Agatha Award, a William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant, and Lefty Award nominations. Originally from upstate New York, she lives in Colorado with her family. For more information, please visit cynthiakuhn.net.
Author Links
Website: cynthiakuhn.net
Twitter: @cynthiakuhn
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cynthiakuhnwriter
Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/cynthia-kuhn
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/cynthiakuhn
Blog: chicksonthecase.com
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2MPiEMh
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – IndieBound
Enter the giveaway
How to Book a Murder TOUR PARTICIPANTS
December 6
The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT
The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
December 7
Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST
Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW
December 8
Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 9
Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 10
The Avid Reader – REVIEW
Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
December 11
Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
December 12
Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT
December 13
Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
December 14
Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
December 15
Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT
Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
December 16
Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST
December 17
Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
Diane Reviews Books – GUEST POST
December 18
Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – REVIEW
December 19
BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT
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Lovely to chat with you…thank you for the interesting questions! 🙂
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping today!
How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery) by Cynthia Kuhn seems like a delightful book for readers who love books, reading, and mystery too!
Looks like a fun book.
Thanks for the contest.
I look forward to reading this book. Thank you for the giveaway!