Amy Simms first appeared in Die, Die Birdie and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Amy.

What is your name?
Amy Hester Simms. No jokes about the Hester, please. It is a family name.

How old are you?
You’re kidding, right? Okay, fine. XXXIV. For those of you unfamiliar with the Roman numeral system, let me translate: Old enough to vote, too young (way, way too young), to collect Social Security.

What is your profession?
I own Birds & Bees, a small store for bird watching enthusiasts.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes!

What is his name and profession?
Derek Harlan. He is a local attorney.

Any children?
No but a woman can dream. I think I would make a great mom.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
I wish.

Do your parents live near you?
Define near. My mother sleeps in the next room over from mine. Hmm, I guess that’s about as near as it gets. My father, sadly, is deceased.

Who is your best friend?
Kim Christy. We’ve been friends since childhood. She now works part-time with me in Birds & Bees. This might kill an ordinary friendship but ours is still going strong.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
Do birds count? I have no current pets. However, two of my tenants have pets. Paul Anderson has a dog. Esther, although she often and vehemently denies it, owns a cat. Don’t even bother to ask her. I’m telling you, she will deny it. Ignore her, listen to me. ESTHER. HAS. A. CAT.

What town do you live in?
I live in the Town of Ruby Lake, a small community nestled alongside, duh, Ruby Lake, in beautiful western North Carolina. I grew up here, went away to get smart (go to college), got smart and came home.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
I, and the bank, own a Queen Anne Victorian house in the center of town. The first floor is occupied by Birds & Bees, Paul Anderson and Esther Pilaster have apartments on the second floor. Mom and I share the apartment on the top floor. I’ve also shared the place with a few rats and a couple of corpses but that wasn’t the question, was it?

What is your favorite spot in your house?
Hmm, it is a toss-up between my bedroom window and the kitchen. Food provides a lot of comfort. A girl needs comfort. Then again, looking out the bedroom window toward the lake and watching all the birds through my binoculars is quite soul-satisfying as well. Except for those times when wiseacres calls the cops on me to report that I’m hanging out the window peeping. Get a life, people, I’m a bird watcher. I don’t care what you look like naked.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
Favorite meal? I’m going to have to say spaghetti smothered in Mom’s homemade tomato sauce and slabs of warm and buttery garlic bread on the side and peas on the side. Favorite dessert? Is that a trick question? Is there any dessert that a sane person could even possibly consider NOT a favorite?

Favorite hobby?
Bird watching! But you knew that, right?

Favorite author?
I couldn’t possibly pick only one. I read so many authors in so many genres. What I like to read depends on what sort of mood I am in. I will say that I grew up on Nancy Drew and thought I would someday marry one of the Hardy Boys. Now, Frank or Joe? That’s the real question.

Favorite vacation spot?
The Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is serene, incredibly beautiful. Plus, it’s got the ocean and those amazing sounds teeming with wildlife.

Favorite sports team?
Ouch. I could get into trouble with this one. I went to UNC/Chapel Hill. Let’s just say there are no wolves in this pack or devils in these hills.

Movies or Broadway?
Broadway or no way, baby!

Are you a morning or a night person?
Here’s the problem, if you want to do your best bird watching, you’ve got to get up early. Like cold, dark and what-was-I-thinking early.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Well, as much as I’d like to think that I am a professional now that I am on my way to having solved nearly a dozen murders to-date, Chief Kennedy would take great umbrage with me (and perhaps take a pot shot at me) if I suggested that I was anything other than an amateur. Wait, make that a gifted amateur.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
I do my best work on my own but couldn’t succeed without the help of my friends and colleagues such as Esther, Kim, Derek and my mother. Chief Jerry Kennedy normally just gets in my way.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I have discovered that keeping a small business afloat takes tons of time and energy. The hours are long and the pay is abysmal but I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone’s. When I am not helping customers in Birds & Bees, I am often out enjoying nature myself. I keep a list of all the birds I have seen and narrower lists of what birds I see throughout the different seasons. I binge watch Broadway musicals and have been known to act them out in front of the TV screen while doing so.

You can read about Amy in Cardinal Sin, the ninth book in the “Bird Lover’s”cozy mystery series, released May 14, 2019.

Birds & Bees owner Amy Simms will need help from her fine-feathered friends when an uncommon bird sighting plunges her into a hornet’s nest of black magic and murder most foul . . .

Amy’s enjoying a rare moment of relaxation when a customer shows up seeking her expertise in ID-ing an unusual bird she’s seen flying around her wooded cabin at the edge of town. Ruby Lake, North Carolina, newcomer Yvonne Rice resembles an exotic bird herself—apparently the kind that doesn’t fly. When she’s found shot to death in her locked cabin, the only witness found is a statue of a voodoo deity staring down from the mantel.

Does the rare yellow cardinal Yvonne spotted hold any clues to her demise? What about the Ouija board spelling out the words I am murdered? As Amy delves deeper into Yvonne’s life and meets her strangely secretive neighbors, she’s determined to stop a fowl-hearted murderer from migrating to a new killing ground . . .

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About the author
Novelist/musician JR Ripley currently writes A Bird Lover’s mystery series, the Maggie Miller mysteries, and the Gourmet Pet Chef mysteries (writing as Marie Celine). Unfit for the real world, JR slaved away at a multitude of jobs including archaeologist, cook, factory worker, copy & technical writer, editor, musician, entrepreneur, and even window washer (all grist for the writer’s mill – or is that grit in the writer’s eye?) and more before surrendering to his writing fate. Connect with JR at jrripley.net, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

All comments are welcomed.