Cathy is the author of the Dr. Susannah Shine ChiroCozy Mystery Series. But she is also a chiropractor in “real-life” too! She lives in a small Georgia town with her husband and rescue cats.

The Purloined Poinsettia                                           by Cathy Tully

Christmas is coming, and office manager Larraine Moore is looking forward to her duties on the Decorating Committee at her church when the order of poinsettias is cancelled. Together with her boss, Dr. Susannah Shine, they follow the trail of purloined poinsettias down a candy cane lane of clues that leads to murder.

What was your favorite or most memorable gift you got as a child?

My most memorable gift I got as a child was a scarecrow target game. I found a picture of it online and I remember it a little differently, but who am I to contradict the Google machine.

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

My main character, Dr. Susannah Shine is determined, loyal and single-minded.

 Why did you choose that as the setting for your book?

My story is set in small-town Peach Grove Georgia. I’m originally from New York and the whole series is a kind of ‘fish out of water’ story. Most cozies have a protagonist who comes home to inherit a business, but in my life, I had the opposite experience. I opened a business in a new place far from where I grew up, and a lot of the elements in my first book came from what I did to get the business up and running. I joined a business association and went to the town craft fair, not knowing that those are very common elements in cozies. I also had to build secondary characters that were able to feed the MC information, so my side-kicks were born. One of whom is described as having family members all around the county.

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

“Girl,” Iris said, “I saw you slip some of those Krispy Kreme donuts in your purse when you thought no one was looking. Pony up and share.”

“So long as you take those chocolate covered Oreos out of yours.”

Iris winked and purred. “I didn’t think you noticed.”

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? My Favorite Christmas movie is ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. I love the story because George Baily is such a steadfast character, and if you see how I describe Dr. Susannah, I could have used the word steadfast for her. I love the idea that we all influence each other’s lives but don’t realize it. Also Mr. Potter is a great villain, very easy to dislike him.