Hi! My name is Abby Odell. I ghostwrite witchy cozy mysteries for a well-known cozy mystery author. Initially, the job required extensive research, but since discovering I’m a witch myself, I’ve saved a lot of time using my own experiences.

Sometimes being a witch puts a damper on my routine, and I realize how much I appreciate my daily routines. Still, I’ve also learned to enjoy the spontaneity of my little paranormal town, Holiday Hills, Georgia.

Unless I’m in the throes of drama—which happens—my days are a lot like yours might be, if your cat speaks English and is a throwback to an 80s skater boy with a severe addiction to Chicken of the Sea. My cat Cooper is also my familiar, and he shares my personal space with my deceased mother’s familiar, Mr. Charming, a talking parrot.

We spend our days at Bessie’s bookstore, The Enchanted, where I pound away at the next Esmerelda mystery while Cooper snoozes in the front window, and Mr. Charming greets the customers.

Holiday Hills is a magical town in North Georgia filled with shapeshifters, witches, warlocks, and a few werewolves. We all play nice together—for the most part—because if we don’t, the powers that be will toss us out on our behinds and forever ban us. No pressure, though, right?

Most of the witches have simple means to access their powers. Bessie can wave her hand. I’d love to flick my hand and make something happen, but that’s not how my abilities work. Nope. My magic comes from my face, mostly my nose. I can twitch it, rub it, or touch it and make magic happen. The fun part about that is I have intense seasonal allergies, so every fall and spring, Bessie’s unfortunate books take a beating. I’ll sneeze, and one goes flying off a shelf. I’ll scratch my nose and a whole bookcase full of books tips over. I’m slowly getting a handle on it, but it’s been a challenge.

I treat my job as if I’m punching a clock. I write from nine o’clock until five o’clock, but it can be chatty in The Enchanted, so I take a lot of breaks. Bessie serves coffees and teas and has started making light lunches, so there’s always a consistent flow of residents into the store. When the clock strikes five, though, I’m out the door and living large as a single, late 20’s gal. Which means I usually make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and watch the Hallmark Channel. Sometimes my best friend, Stella, watches with me. I’ve yet to get my police chief sort-of boyfriend to watch a Hallmark movie, but it’ll eventually happen!

That’s a typical week for me, but there’s nothing ordinary about this week. Our local witch doctor’s office just caught fire, and Esmerelda’s story seems to be writing itself, and what it’s writing is now happening to me. Now I’ve got to stop an arsonist and figure out how to get Esmerelda’s and my life back on track before it’s too late.

Witch This Way is the second book in the “Holiday Hills Witch” paranormal cozy mystery series, released July 7, 2020.

Welcome to Holiday Hills, where there is magic & mystery in the air. . .

I wear many hats:

I’m a friend.
A sort-of girlfriend.
A ghostwriter, and. . .

. . .oh yeah, a witch.

My editor always tells me to “write what you know.” Unfortunately, that’s what’s happening. . .literally.

When the main character in my latest novel—a witch herself—takes a new job with the Magical Bureau of Investigators, she stumbles upon a threat so big, it could destroy everything she holds dear.

Fiction, right?

Nope.

For reasons beyond my witchy sixth sense, everything I write is now happening to me in real life!

Did I mention my character gets into REALLY bad situations? Now I’ve got to figure out who’s cast this awkward spell and find a way to reverse it.

And if I don’t do it soon, I might just wind up the “dead” in my deadline.

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About the author
Bestselling author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson writes cozy mysteries and thrillers. Her stories shine through her dialogue, which readers have praised for being realistic and compelling. Her first novel, Unfinished Business, An Angela Panther Mystery was a Reader’s Favorite finalist and reached the top 100 Kindle books sold on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Prior to writing fiction, Carolyn was a freelance journalist covering local and national affairs from social events to drug busts in the metro Atlanta area.

Now an empty-nester, Carolyn lives in the Atlanta suburbs with her husband, two Pit Bull-Boxer mix dogs and two cantankerous cats, but you’ll often find her at a local coffee shop people watching and listening, plotting her next novel. Find Carolyn at carolynridderaspenson.com. Also on Facebook, BookBub, or on Amazon Author Page. Join Carolyn’s newsletter at carolynridderaspenson.com

All comments are welcomed.