Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours–Coastal Corpse

I’m so excited to be a stop on the blog tour for author Rena Leith and her new book Coastal Corpse. This is the second book in her A Cass Peake Cozy Mystery Series.

Coastal Corpse (A Cass Peake Cozy Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
The Wild Rose Press, Inc (September 30, 2019)
Print Length: 183 pages
ASIN: B07W3YR7VH

Purchase Link – Amazon

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Happily settled in her cozy cottage with its resident ghost, Cass Peake looks forward to Halloween. Then another corpse is found on her beachfront. With the support of family and her ghostly roommate, Cass investigates. To her dismay, she finds the murder victim handled her goofy neighbor’s trust fund and he was in dire need of money. The suspect list grows with a former husband, another needy relative, and a maybe shady accountant who suddenly disappears. To top it all off, rumors circulate about treasure hidden in Cass’s cottage.

Detective George Ho doesn’t like his ex-girlfriend snooping around. Despite that, sparks still fly between him and Cass. But superstitious George has no idea Cass’s home is haunted. Can Cass solve the mystery and renew the romance with her ghost-adverse ex?

The characters are well rounded and well developed. I enjoyed getting to know Cass and her family and friends. Cass is a smart no-nonsense woman. When there is a body discovered on the beach near her house, and she finds out it is someone she knows, she decides that she has to find out the culprit, much to the dismay of Detective George Ho, Cass’s ex. This situation leads to many heated discussions and some funny exchanges. I really liked Doris, the ghost, she added a lot to the story.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writings and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The mystery was well plotted and moved along at an even pace. There were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider and the mystery was not easily solved.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. And if you like ghostly cozies, that is a well plus.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book and provided my honest review.

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I currently live in Cape May County in New Jersey after spending years in the San Francisco Bay Area with my Maine Coon cats Sierra and Ginger. I attended Clarion Writers Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy at Michigan State University and sold a story I wrote there to Damon Knight for The Clarion Awards anthology. I wrote technical manuals in Silicon Valley and also published several poems and science articles as well as a couple of chapters in Research & Professional Resources in Children’s Literature: “Piecing a Patchwork Quilt.” I’ve also taught English in high school and community colleges.

Author Links

Website – https://www.renaleith.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/renaleith

Instgram – https://www.instagram.com/renaleith/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorrenaleith/

Good Reads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16666182.Rena_Leith

Linked In – https://www.linkedin.com/in/renaleith/

When did you know that you wanted to be an author? What things, if any, influenced that decision?

I’ve written since I was a kid and even put out a small neighborhood newspaper, but I think getting divorced put me on the trail of writing murder mysteries. Becoming an author took the encouragement of others. For me, writing groups have been like extended families of cousins. Oh, before I forget, yes, my ex-husband is dead, and, no, I didn’t kill him…physically…

With so many cozies being written today, what makes your books stand out from the crowd?

No recipes? My brother-in-law says none of the women in my family cook. When you read the second book, you’ll see that info used. Yes, my own life is grist for the mill. Hmm. Stand out from the crowd. Cass doesn’t have any hobbies, so no knitting, crocheting, quilting, and so on. Although I knit, so maybe she should give it a try. Let’s see. There’s a ghost, but that isn’t particularly unique in today’s market. My books are humorous, but there are also a lot of those. I’d like to think they’re well written, but then again there are some spectacularly well-written mysteries out there. Geez, I can’t even claim that my characters are particularly well adjusted. Perhaps what I hope makes my books stand out from the crowd is that you all will want to spend oodles of time with my characters because they’re fun to hang with.

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Do you work from an outline or plot or do you just see where the characters take you?

I work from an outline that often changes over the course of writing the book. I usually get an idea or “see” a scene. I write the first three chapters and the last chapter. Then I write the outline and flesh it in. I call the process “fish boning.” The first three chapters constitute the head, the last chapter is the tail, and the outline is the skeleton of the fish. Then I flesh out the skeleton. Occasionally, I have to change a scene I need for plot purposes but that my characters wouldn’t handle the way I laid it out. They do have virtual lives, so sometimes the solution is to give an action to another character if I need it to happen badly enough.

Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you do anything special to get those reviews?

I do read reviews and would respond if I had anything to say. This blog tour is the first time I’ve done something to get reviews. I enter contests myself, so I may try that. I do book signings at book clubs and other events that provide signing space, such as outdoor art gatherings. I live in a resort area, so we don’t have a lot of bookstores. When someone buys a book from me or gets one signed, I suggest that they might leave a review.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t take criticism to heart. As Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss.” Don’t be deterred by critics. Writing will bring you joy and many good friends, so go for it.

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Do you think that the cover plays an important part in someone buying your book(s)? Who designs your book covers?

Yes, I do. There was a design change between my first and second books that demonstrates that. My covers are done by Debbie Taylor, a very talented artist. She changed the look and feel of the covers while retaining design elements that show continuity between the two books. Very clever of her, in my opinion.

Please give us an insight into your main characters. What do you think makes them special?

Some of Cass’ experiences are based on my own, particularly the search for a home; however, she’s younger, thinner, and prettier than I am, so the similarities end there. In my mind’s eye, George looks a lot like Daniel Dae Kim but has the inscrutability of George Takei, which is to say none. I scooped up the best characteristics of many men I’ve known and stuffed them into George. A fellow writer, who’s Hawaiian, provided me with a lot of information. Doris is based on my mother when young. I only heard about many of my mother’s exploits later in life. Why don’t our parents share the good stuff with us?

What have you learned about yourself since becoming an author?

Writing involves a lot of self-reflection. In a way, you’re cannibalizing your own life, both the mistakes and the great choices. I’ve learned a lot about my negative characteristics as I’ve developed my characters. For example, I’ve learned that I’m a major procrastinator. The lesson in that is to figure out where I want to be in my own life in a year and then do the things today that will get me there. Now I just have to stick to it.

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Do you write full-time or part-time?

Writing is always full time. I’m constantly assessing what’s happening, squirreling away bits of conversation, and people watching. I take notes on the note function on my phone. But although writing is now my main focus, producing words on the page always takes more time than you think. My output varies wildly, and as I mentioned above, I’m a major procrastinator.

What do your plans for future projects include?

I’m already working on the third book in the Murder Beach series set at Christmas, and I’m outlining a second series set in Cape May County where I moved a few years ago. It’s a beautiful resort area “down the shore.” I also have a standalone science fiction romance that’s giving me a very hard time.

What do you think the hardest part of writing is? What is the easiest?

The hardest part is narrowing ideas down to the ones you’ll use in the current book. My imagination runs wild. I have files of notes on possible books, scenes, characters, locales, and incidents. I take pictures of clothes, places, and weird stuff. The hard part is condensing that down into a viable book.

The easiest is coming up with ideas, researching, and speculating. I love the process of imagining the book. I’m constantly creating characters and thrusting them into scenarios. I used to have scraps of paper everywhere. Now I have computer directories full of tidbits.

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What type of books do you like to read? Who are some of your favorite authors?

I love reading cozy mysteries, paranormals, and humor. Some of my favorites are Edith Maxwell, Juliet Blackwell, Victoria Houston, Janet Finsilver, and Margaret Dumas. Carole Price’s books are harder edged. Ann Parker writes historicals set in the West with an amazing amount of skill and elegance; her books are award winning.

What is the one thing you would like your readers to know about you?

That I understand the world and others through story. I tell stories because that’s how I make sense of the world. I always found history boring when I had to memorize dates and battles, but tell me what people ate for dinner and what need inventions fulfilled, and I’m all ears.

Do you have anything specific you would like to say to your readers?

Just that I hope you enjoy my books and that, if you have a story to tell, that you will do it whether it’s to yourself, me, or the entire world. Enjoy!

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