Could you tell our readers what a typical day in the life of Addie Greyborne is like?

Before moving to Greyborne Harbor that would have been an easy question for me to answer, I did what most regular working people do. I got up every morning and went to work. I had a job at the Boston Library, where I was as a research assistant for the acquisitions department, and I loved it. As a classic book nerd and long-time fan of the Golden Age detective writers like Agatha Christie, I got to do a bit of sleuthing of my own in tracking down and authenticating rare books and documents. Then my life went sideways, and I suffered a string of losses. My fiancé David was murdered, and six months following that, my father died in a car accident. Grief overwhelmed me and one day just blurred into the next.

Then I discovered that I was the sole beneficiary in the estate of a woman named Anita Greyborne. A great-aunt I didn’t even know I had. There had been a family rift when I was a small child, and her name was never one that my grandmother —who helped raise me after my mother passed away—or my father ever spoke of. I was now the last in the line of the Greyborne’s. More amazing to me was that the town and I shared that same name. Since I needed desperately to get out of Boston and leave my dark past behind, I accepted the seeming answer to my prayers. Besides, living in 19th century Victorian mansion filled with rare and vintage books and collectibles fulfilled a life-long dream. Little did I know at the time that this quaint New England costal-village had shadowy corners of its own.

Don’t get me wrong, the town itself or the people haven’t disappointed me. Every street is dotted with houses and shops dating as far back as the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. The whole town, nestled in a scenic cove, is breathtaking, to say the least. I really do hope you will have the opportunity to visit one day. You won’t be disappointed either.

Despite the beauty of the area and town, it did take a few months for me to meet many of the colorful locals—some of which have since become my most cherished friends—simply because I was so busy and overwhelmed by what I discovered in my aunt’s house. Every room was filled with antiques, rare books, and collectibles. To top it off, the third-floor attic was also filled with shelves and boxes of books, journals, and even more priceless collectibles. I was at a complete loss as to what to do with everything. Some of the books I came across were just well-loved and had little monetary value. Others were of library or museum quality. I sorted and stacked in the following categories: keep, appraise and sell, and donate. The sell pile towered above the rest and the thought of hauling them back to Boston to one of the used bookstores didn’t appeal to me. So book lover that I am, and after I’d done some research on the town, I discovered there weren’t any bookshops in Greyborne Harbor. Early thirties was far too young to think about retiring—although, once or twice lately given my most-recent adventures here, the thought has crossed my mind—and I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea. I’d open my own bookshop. Beyond the Page Books & Curios was born.

When I think about your question, I honestly can’t say there are any typical days in my life now. Every day is different. My best friend Serena, the owner of SerenaTEA next door to my bookshop definitely keeps me on my toes. Keeping up with her is like trying to catch a hummingbird. Then there’s her brother Police Chief, Marc Chandler, who presents one or two challenges for me personally, to say the least, especially when a lanky blond reporter from Los Angeles shows up and tries to drive a wedge between us. Did I tell you this reporter is also Marc’s ex? Then there’s the gossip columnist who specializes in bald-faced lies and points a finger of suspicion at me when our local librarian disappears. The whole event gets even more complicated when her body is found at the bottom of a steep flight of stairs. I had to get involved. I didn’t know anything about June’s disappearance or murder, but I do know one thing: I plan to find out what really happened. Oh, did I happen to mention the key to everything might lie in a book about pirate legends?

You can read more about Addie in Prologue to Murder, the second book in the “Beyond Page Bookstore” cozy mystery series, coming April 30, 2019.

After a career working with rare books at the Boston Public Library, Addie Greyborne is back in her seaside New England hometown—where unfortunately, murder is not so rare . . .

Gossip columnists love a bold-faced name—but “Miss Newsy” at Greyborne Harbor’s local paper seems to specialize in bald-faced lies. She’s pointed a finger of suspicion at Addie after librarian June Winslow never makes it home from a book club meeting. And when June’s found at the bottom of a steep flight of stairs, Addie’s not only dealing with a busybody, but a dead body.

It’s a good thing the guy she’s dating is the police chief. But both the case and her love life get more complicated when a lanky blonde reporter from Los Angeles shows up. She’s trying her hardest to drive a wedge between the couple . . . as if Addie doesn’t have enough problems dealing with angry townspeople. Despite all the rumors, Addie doesn’t know a thing about the murder—but she plans to find out. And the key may lie in a book about pirate legends that June published. Now she just has to hunt down the clues before she becomes a buried treasure herself . . .

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About the author
Lauren grew up devouring the entire Nancy Drew series and then graduated to Victoria Holt, Agatha Christie, Barbara Erskine, Lynn Kurland, and Michael Crichton to name a few of her favorite authors. When it came time for post-secondary education, journalism seemed like the logical choice as she had written for as long as she could remember. Soon after graduation, while working for a small publication, she discovered that reporting wasn’t what fueled her writing passions. As someone with an additionally strong background in professional theatre who had the love of storytelling and captivating and holding an audience, her fiction-writing career began to take center stage.

Lauren’s imagination is boundless. All of her books, whether they explore different aspects of the paranormal with a dab of romance, fantasy or is a suspense filled cozy murder mystery. Her writing never fails to take her readers on a gripping page-turning adventure.

To learn more about Lauren, visit her website at laurenelliottauthor.com.

All comments are welcomed.