Holly, Baubles and Murder: A British Cozy Murder Mystery with a Female Amateur Sleuth (A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery) by Victoria Tait | Book Review and Author Interview

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

Tell us a little about yourself.

How long have you been writing? Did you always want to be an author?

Unlike many authors, I didn’t start penning short stories as a child. I fell into writing when my family and I returned to the UK from living abroad and I was considering what to do. My husband is in the military, and after a short period in England, we were being posted abroad again.

So I tried my hand at writing a story about Kenya, a wonderful yet trouble country where we’d lived for nearly eight years. This was in 2019, and I published Fowl Murder in 2020. I completed 6 books in the Kenya Kanga Mystery series before moving on to my Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, based in the Cotswolds, close to where we’d been living in the UK.

What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?

I’ve always loved detective stories, starting with Agatha Christie, and moving on to Dick Francis because I also love horses and my family is involved in the horse racing industry. And I like books which have a strong sense of place, like Ian Rankin’s John Rebus books set in Edinburgh, where I once lived and worked, and Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, set in Botswana.

Also, I was not confident enough to write lots of police procedure, and I didn’t want to write anything too dark. So cozy mysteries seemed natural to me.

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

I mainly read cozy, and some police detective books, although I recently helped a friend and read her paranormal shifter romance book, which was quite an eye-opener!

At the moment, I’m reading Vaseem Khan’s Midnight in Malabar House, set in India just after Independence with the country’s first female police inspector.

I’m also listening to Sharon Blackie’s If Women Rose Rooted, recommended by my therapist. It’s all about women and reconnecting with earth and nature, which I feel the need to do now I’ve reached 50.

Do you have a favorite place to write?

I start writing as soon as a wake up and settle myself in bed with a large supporting cushion and a cup of coffee. I find this cozy and I tap away on my keyboard for several hours until I need a break and go for a walk or run. After that, I write, edit, and undertake my admin and marketing in my office. I’m not sure what this will look like in the future as we’re moving house in a week’s time. Such is life in the military, that we’re constantly on the move.

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

In my office, I have an oak drop-leaf table which I bought at a local auction. It faces into the room as I don’t like either facing a wall or having my back to the door.

On my table, everything has its place. My laptop is in front of me and my iPad to the left, as I love watching mystery shows in the afternoon when my brain is tired and I’m doing marketing and admin. I’m delighted the BBC has a new series of Father Brown mysteries. They are so cozy!

On my right is my CrimeWriter’s Association 70th Anniversary coaster, with a cup of coffee or tea on it and beyond that, my to-do list and post-it’s for when I need to remember something. I always have a small pile of scrap paper for jotting notes on and a transparent folder of work to do, information I’ve written down, course notes, etc.

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

I remember discovering boxes of books in my grandparent’s attic, and I worked my way through them, devouring the Pullein-Thompson sisters’ stories about pony-mad girls, and Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven books.

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

My preference is audio, as I listen to books when I’m out walking or running or doing the housework. I try to read either print or eBooks at night, but I’m often too tired.

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’m so lucky. I lived in Kenya for nearly 8 years and wrote six books set there. At the moment, I’m enjoying reconnecting with Great Britain. I’ve visited Edinburgh, where I set Deadly Performance, Northumberland where Dotty’s next book will be, and during my return to Yorkshire I’ve written Holly, Baubles and Murder.

Our forthcoming move takes us back to the edge of the Cotswolds where my Waterwheel Café series is set, and perhaps it’s time Dotty returned there.

What or who has influenced you the most as a writer? Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?

Many people have influenced and supported me throughout my writing journey. Most have been other authors, although I must thank my readers, especially those who’ve been with me from the beginning of my writing career. They continue to read advance copies of my books and point out typos and mistakes.

Most of my early writing journey was during Covid and I was really appreciative of writers in Facebook groups who help, advised, and supported me. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to attend some conferences and meet fellow cozy authors in person. One of them organised an anthology of cozy mysteries which I was a part of last year.

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

Currently, I’m sorting out moving house, so I’ve delayed starting Dotty’s next book, Daffodils and Deadly Deeds, based in Northumberland at Easter.

But I have been planning a new series with a 50-year-old female protagonist having a midlife crisis. I’ve had fun working her out as she’s a successful businesswoman, who was forced to sell her company, and now she’s bored and has become dependent on alcohol.

Her journey out of this will be supported by some characters, hindered by others, and frustrated by various colourful inhabitants of the Yorkshire village she escapes to. And, of course, she just happens to get pulled into solving murders!

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

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