One of Our Darcies is Dead: A Hawthorne Cove Mystery by Grace Caldwell

Christy Maurer

4 hours ago

Categories: BooksCozy MysteryCurrent Giveaways

One of Our Darcies is Dead: A Hawthorne Cove Mystery by Grace Caldwell | Author Guest Post with Signed Book & Swag Giveaway US 10/1

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Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for One of Our Darcies is Dead: A Hawthorne Cove Mystery by Grace Caldwell. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

One of Our Darcies is Dead: A Hawthorne Cove Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Hawthorne Cove, a seaside town in New England
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Paper Lantern Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2026
Print length ‏ : ‎ 193 pages
Paperback

The residents of Hawthorne Cove are determined to prove their seaside town deserves a place on every literary lover’s travel list. With a brand-new Jane Austen Festival, charming boutiques, and enough Regency flair to satisfy even the most devoted Austen fan, they’re ready for their grand debut. But when opening night ends with a dead Mr. Darcy, literature professor Chloe Sinclair, in town to escape a life that hasn’t gone to plan, learns that the most captivating stories aren’t always the ones written in books.

An author’s love of fall: by Grace Caldwell

Thank you, Grace, for this lovely guest post! Here in Ohio I’m super jealous of Floridians in the winter!

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been obsessed with fall. This is a bit ironic because I grew up in central Florida, where no such season exists. We have, instead, only two seasons: scalding and surface of the sun. But for one glorious weekend every October when I was growing up, my parents would take me to North Carolina, where we would make a fire and watch the leaves change and wear scarves and do all of the things we couldn’t do back home. It was heaven.

Much as I’ve tried to hold on to the tradition, it’s not always feasible from a time or money standpoint for me to travel every October, but I still find myself craving the comforts and coziness of fall. As such, I’ve decided that, if I can’t bring myself to the season, I’ll just have to bring the season to Florida myself.

There are a lot of things I do to try and celebrate the arrival of fall each year, and while they’re especially important here, where the weather won’t do the work for me, I think it could be beneficial for anyone looking to bring a little more autumnal joy into their lives. My first, and probably favorite, fall tradition is the fall feast. Each year, right around the equinox, we pick a destination grocery store— somewhere we don’t go often and that is a bit of a drive so that it feels like an experience— and we buy every fall-flavored treat we can find. Apple cider donuts, pumpkin brioche, butternut squash ravioli, maple ice cream, you name it. If it tastes like fall, we buy it. Last year, my daughter even talked me into a fall-spiced lip treatment. Then, we go home and make an elaborate meal with an absurd number of courses, all of which taste so warm and cozy and seasonal that I can almost forget that it’s a million degrees outside.

I’m also a big fan of bringing the feel of fall into the house using flowers. While you could certainly just buy a fall-themed arrangement, personally I think there’s something really magical about going to a flower market and picking your own stems. As such, each year, usually around October, I make a trip to my favorite flower market. There’s nothing that says fall to me quite as much as sunflowers, so I usually grab a few of those even though they’re a little harder to incorporate into an arrangement than, say, an everyday rose is. Dahlias are also a must, and I usually grab some chrysanthemums or aster. Celosia or amaranths can both be great ways to bring in some texture, and if you want to add in a little greenery, I always recommend eucalyptus, though berried branches can be a fun option too.

In order to make the arrangement feel even more like fall, in addition to using classic fall flowers, I usually try to lean into fall colors, selecting stems in vibrant reds and oranges and yellows. When everything else around me is still lush and green and looks exactly as it did in June, I can’t tell you what it does for my autumn-loving heart to see these beauties all arranged happily on my dining room table.

Media is a great way to help yourself get in the seasonal spirit too. I suspect I will probably watch at least one fall-themed episode of Gilmore Girls every November until I die. It is the ultimate comfort show for me, and there are few things on earth that make me feel as cozy as watching Lorelai and Rory stroll through autumn leaves as they try to squeeze in four Thanksgivings. I especially love watching it while huddled under a thick, chunky knitted blanket (with the fan on, of course, so I don’t die of heatstroke). There’s music that always feels like fall to me too— Norah Jones and Alexi Murdoch especially— and I try to sneak them into my fall music repertoire as much as possible. And then, of course, there’s books. One of the things I love most about cozy mysteries is how tightly grounded they are in their sense of place. So often, these stories are set in places that truly have seasons, and reading them helps me feel like I am there, experiencing those seasons too. I set my cozy mystery series in coastal New England specifically because I wanted to get to experience the seasons vicariously through my characters. Books have always been my escape, and that escape is especially valuable when you’re staring down a 90-degree November.

Even if you live somewhere that allows you to enjoy falling leaves and crisp October mornings, I have to imagine you might still enjoy adding some little traditions that help you fully embrace and appreciate the coming season. If you were going to do so, which one would you pick? Do you have any fall traditions already? And are there any more that I should add to my list?

About Grace Caldwell

Grace Caldwell writes cozy mysteries for people who’d bring a book to a murder. An award-winning screenwriter and a professor of creative writing and literature, she’s published across more genres than she can reasonably list at a dinner party, but cozy mysteries are where she feels most at home. She lives in Central Florida with two fluffy feline assistants, Elsa and Anna, who supervise every page and approve of none of her deadlines.

Author Links

Website https://www.gracecaldwell.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590292063669

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gracecaldwellbooks/

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@gracecaldwellbooks

Purchase Links: https://www.gracecaldwell.com/shop

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