Beth McElla “writes under the towering evergreens of the Pacific Northwest”. Now if that doesn’t sound like the perfect location to craft a Christmas Mystery, then we’d all best move to the North Pole. Beth writes the Amelia Feelgood mytery series and her story in the anthology is part of the series.

The Four Chickens of Christmas                                  by Beth McElla

Amelia is looking forward to her first traditional village Christmas on Findlater Island. But there’s someone new in town with grander ideas who has called in all the TV crews from Seattle to witness her avant-garde festival. Suddenly the star performers are missing and everything’s going horribly wrong. It’s up to Amelia, Sadie, and the other villagers to save the small island’s reputation as a holiday destination.

What would be a great gift for your character?

Amelia has spent her life not quite fitting in – so the perfect gift for her would be anything that gives a sense of belonging: the key to the city, a ‘special’ party invitation, an honorary title…

If you had to describe your character in three words, what would those three words be?

Bossy, generous, persistent

Your story is set in xxx. Why did you choose that as the setting for your book?

Findlater Island is a fictional island off the coast of Washington State with a village made up of relocated historic buildings from Great Britain and mainland Europe. It allows me to write a series set in an English village while still sticking with what I know and can represent accurately. My earliest career was working in museums with transplanted architecture so I’m very familiar with that backstory.

Can you share an enticing (50 words or less) snippet that isn’t in the blurb?

“So now we’re going to have something more multi-culturally approachable that’s locally sourced with pre-Christian origins.”

“What does that mean?” Once upon a time Amelia could keep up with this sort of marketing speak but she’d let it slip after moving to the island full-time and she found she didn’t miss it. At all.

“Chickens.”

What’s your favourite Christmas movie?

I’m not sure that RED counts as a true holiday movie although it does have Christmas scenes. Frank Moses is a primary inspiration for Amelia’s enigmatic love interest.

Have you preordered your copy? Release date is November 1st. Start your holiday reading with a mystery!