EMILY SELBY

Website: https://www.emilyselbyauthor.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/emilyselbyauthor/

Emily Selby loves to read, and can’t decide who her favorite mystery character is; Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot! She also likes knitting and crocheting. She LOVES paper crafts (can you tell from her series title?).

She writes the Paper Crafts Club Mystery series, Seaside Bookshop Mystery series and the Career Crisis Cafe Mystery series.

Book 1 in the Career Crisis Cafe Mystery series

Heather Hampton, a burnt-out journalist from New York, moves to a small town in New Zealand to start a new life as a café owner, not to find her chef poisoned and herself–accused of murder. With the help of a semi-retired police officer and a rescue kitten, Heather must discover what really happened before it’s too late.

Who is your protagonist?
Heather Hampton, a 40-something, freshly divorced, burnt-out fashion journalist from Long Island, New York, but with New Zealand roots,

Tell us what time frame your stories are in and what setting or world?
These stories take place sometime in 2018-2019, in a (fictitious) small town Dolphin Cove, in Northland – a region in the north of North Island, New Zealand. Dolphin Cove is a costal/beach town, with plenty of local charm, and quite popular with tourists.

Is your book part of a series, if so, tell us about the series.
Yes, the book is 1st in the series: Career Crisis Café.
Career Crisis Café is a series featuring Heather – a former fashion journalist from Long Island, New York, starting her life afresh in Dolphin Cove, a small town in the north of New Zealand as an owner of a beach café and a mixologist. Heather is supported by Josephine, a chef-cum-baker and one of the original owners of the café. The two women clash a lot initially, but their friendship develops and goes from strength to strength as they tackle the challenges of getting their café back on its feet again, and solve various crimes at the same time.
Of course, their successes would have never been so effective and swift without James, a semi-retired police officer, and a group of local friends, including a rescue kitten–Kea.
The series is a perfect read for those who love a good mystery, set in a small town, full of quirky characters and a bit of exotic, local flavour. It is a clean, cozy read without foul language, gore or violence on the page, but with a sprinkling of sweet romance, and a recipe in every book.

What has happened to propel your character into a “new beginning”?
A combination of factors, so typical of so-called middle-life crisis: stagnating career, burn-out, divorce and a burning need to change her life around.

Is your protagonist happy about this new beginning or resistant to it? 
Heather is initially very happy and excited about her new beginning, but the reality quickly catches up with her. The café she bought turns out to be in a bad financial condition, her chef-cum-baker seems to be difficult to like, the local town is full of quirky characters, and she keeps being distracted by finding dead bodies and skeletons in cupboards. but with the help of her sunny personality and ever-expanding group of friends, everything is possible.

Give the readers a hint of what’s to come for your character in future books.
In the newest book, The Girl in the Spider’s Web Pumpkin Cake, heather discovers that there is much more to her family history that she knew. She will set out to explore her own heritage and family history more. Heather and Josephine will continue working together and developing their business–the café. And Heather’s relationship with James, the semi-retired police officer, will also develop.

I just know you are going to enjoy Emily’s books!

Victoria LK Williams