Why do you write the genre that you write?
I love writing twisty contemporary mysteries that explore the secretive and adrenaline-charged underbelly of the Vermont antique and art world because it allows me to take my experiences as an antique dealer and weave them into dangerous adventures that I’d actually enjoy going on.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
I’m going to let my main character, Edie Brown, tell you about her instinctive skill when it comes to antiques and art. This quote is from ‘The Art of the Decoy’, Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery #1.

“I had a knack for finding such things, even when they were hidden amid piles of fakes and other junk. Perhaps it came from growing up in the antiques and art trades, now a fine-tuned instinct after years of tagging along with my grandparents. Maybe it was heightened by my education and internships. Whatever, the neurons at the back of my brain jumped to life every time I crossed paths with a genuine, quality piece.”

How did you come up with your pseudonym?
I write contemporary fantasy that’s a little bit dark and a touch sexy under the name of Pat Esden. My Trish Esden mysteries straddle the line between cozy and traditional. Both Trish and Pat come directly from my given name—Patricia.

Tell us how you got into writing?
It’s more of a story about how I came back to writing. I come from a very creative family of writers and artists. I was encouraged from a young age to do both. As a child, I longed to become an author, but I also had other passions—namely antiques and plants (science in general). When I reached college-age I began to think of being an author as an unrealistic dream. In a way I was right. It’s not an easy way to make a living. Time went by, I married, and my husband and I bought an 1820s country store in northern Vermont where we established a combination antique and florist business. Believe it or not, some years I did as many as thirty weddings! I came back to writing in my mid-forties, taking classes online at night while running the business during the day. My goal was to become a published author and retire from the florist business. I started by writing monthly nonfiction articles for a wedding magazine, moved on to short stories in the fantasy genre, then novels, then I started querying agents. . .

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
Though I don’t have a physical shop anymore, my husband and I still deal antiques full time. It gives me the perfect fodder for stories and gets me out of my writing cave.

Where do you write?
In my bedroom office. It’s upstairs, away from the noisier parts of the house and one of the few rooms that has a door. Our home dates to the 19th century and has an open floor plan—aka almost no doors.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Sometimes my husband makes chocolate chip cookies and brings them up to me fresh from the oven. Okay, it’s his way of getting past that closed door. But it works every time. They are yummy!

What are you reading now?
I’m reading Deadly Nightshade: Best New England Crime Stories 2022. It’s an anthology of short fiction. I have a creepy little tale about a serial killer in it and I wanted to read all the other stories. I’m about halfway through and totally impressed. It’s a wide variety of tones and styles, and subgenres. Just simply a great, fun read.

What is next for you?
My novel, A Wealth of Deception, the second novel in the Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series, comes out in April. I’m super excited about that. Currently I’m writing the next book in the series in which Edie agrees to work for a man she detests in order to discover who set her mom up for the forgery charge that sent her to prison. It’s a twisty novel that involves a modern day auction, a tragic Victorian-era hydropathic resort, a Bible box, and a mineral springs bottle known as the Glass Widow.

Where can we find you?
Website: trishesden.com
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3NiKaOd
Facebook: Trish Esden author
Instagram: @trishesden
Twitter: @patesden
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3SMAmgo
Bookbub: @trishesden

Now to have some fun . . .

Vanilla or chocolate:
Vanilla!

Ice cream or cake:
Ice-cream cake. Seriously, it’s pretty much at the top of my list.

Broccoli or squash:
Broccoli (I’m pretty fond of squash soup, though)

Pizza, burgers, or pasta:
Hawaiian pizza

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner:
Lunch. It’s my main meal of the day

Mountain or beach:
Don’t make me choose! I love the mountains, but I live close to tons of beautiful country lakes with isolated beaches that I adore as well.

City or Country:
I’m a country girl all the way.

Introvert or extrovert:
I’m an introvert. However, I can turn on my inner extrovert when need be.

And even more fun . . .

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
1. My husband. He’s my partner in crime. Together we could deal with whatever came up.
2. If covid taught me anything, it’s that I prefer to live life with toilet paper on hand. Enough said. 🙂
3. A shade canopy. You can MacGyver it for about a million uses.

My bio:
Trish Esden loves museums, gardens, wilderness, dogs and birds, in various orders depending on the day. She lives in northern Vermont where she deals antiques with her husband, a profession she’s been involved with since her teens. Don’t ask what her favorite type of antique is. She loves hunting for old bottles and rusty barn junk as much as she enjoys fine art and furnishings. Trish is the author of the Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series from Crooked Lane Books.