Stitch, Bake, Die! by Lois Winston Author Interview Christy's Cozy Corners

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Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Stitch, Bake, Die! (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

Stitch, Bake, Die! (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)

by Lois Winston

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Stitch, Bake, Die! (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
10th in Series
Setting – New Jersey
Independently Published (October 4, 2021)
Print length: ‎218 pages

With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the NJ chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.

Marlene Beckwith, wife of the multi-millionaire pharmaceutical magnate and country club owner, is both the chapter president and conference chairperson. The only thing greater than her ego is her sense of entitlement. She hates to lose at anything and fully expects to win both the needlework and baking competitions.

When Anastasia and Cloris arrive at the conference, they discover cash bribes in their registration packets. The Society members, few of whom are fans of Marlene, stick up for the accused and instead suggest that Marlene orchestrated the bribes to eliminate her stiffest competition.

The next morning when Marlene is found dead, Anastasia questions whether she really died peacefully in her sleep. After Marlene’s husband immediately has her cremated, Anastasia once again finds herself back in reluctant amateur sleuth mode.

With the help of Cloris, Marlene’s personal assistant Rhetta, and a laptop someone will stop at nothing to find, Anastasia soon unravels evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and too many possible suspects. And that’s before she not only stumbles over the body of yet another member of the Stitch and Bake Society but also finds Rhetta unconscious.

Can Anastasia piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?

Crafting tips included.

Interview with Lois Winston, author of Stitch, Bake, Die!

Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a crafts designer turned author. My first book, Talk Gertie To Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother who had other ideas, was published in 2006. Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception, a romantic suspense, followed the next year. Then my writing landed in the world of cozy mysteries, thanks to a conversation my agent had with an editor. That was the start of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. I’ve been writing cozy mysteries ever since.

How long have you been writing?

I wrote my first novel in the mid-1990s. It will remain cavorting with the dust bunnies under my bed for eternity.

Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?

The idea never crossed my mind until one day in the mid-90’s. It all began with a dream that wouldn’t let go, and I finally decided to write it down. Cozies came later (see above.)

Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?

I’m a very eclectic reader. Right now, I’ve been reading quite few historical mysteries, some of which are cozies, some not.

Do you have a favorite place to write?

I have a dedicated office where I can close off the world and escape into the world of my characters.

What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?

My Varidesk with my laptop, assorted notes, and currently a banker’s box with the contents of my file cabinet because we recently moved, and the movers broke the metal file drawer insert. I’m currently awaiting a replacement.

What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?

First book: Dick and Jane. (Am I dating myself?)

Favorite book: Not just one. When I was eight I nine, I discovered the Cherry Ames series and read every single one of them.

Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?

I always preferred physical books, but as I’ve gotten older, I find they strain my eyes. It seems publishers are printing books with smaller and smaller fonts and less space between lines, cramming as many words as possible onto a page. With an e-reader I can adjust the size of the font and read longer before my eyes tire.

As for audiobooks, my mind wanders when I listen to them.

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?

I would live in Manhattan. I always planned to move into the city once my kids were out of college. Talk about pipe dreams! I’d have to first win Powerball or MegaMillions for that to happen.

What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?

I’ve learned so much from so many people that it’s hard to narrow it down to just one person. My Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series is humorous, and I’ve learned a lot about writing humor from reading Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. Various reviewers have compared my series favorably with hers, including Kirkus Reviews, which called Anastasia, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.”

Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?

Yes, I belong to several writing groups and organizations and count several of the people I’ve met through them as some of my best friends.

Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?

I’m in the process of noodling around the plot for the next Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. I’ve dropped a few breadcrumbs within the pages of Stitch, Bake Die! to give readers a hit of the overall theme of the next book. However, beyond that, I can’t say more because I haven’t figure it out yet.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!

Thank you for inviting me!

About Lois Winston

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Author Links

Website: loiswinston.com

Newsletter sign-up: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z1z1u5

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog: anastasiapollack.blogspot.com

Pinterest: pinterest.com/anasleuth

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Anasleuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston

Purchase Links

Kindle – Nook – Kobo – Apple Books

Paperback