Ana sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better.

What is your full name?
Anastasia Callahan Campbell–Ana to friends and family.

How old are you?
I turned forty this year. Glad to have those thirtysomethings behind me.

What is your profession?
I am an elementary school principal. More specifically, I am a school turnaround specialist. If a school is failing, I’m hired to turn the academic tide. That’s why I returned to Moccasin Cove after fifteen years on the road. Going home meant facing my demons, but I couldn’t turn my back on my childhood school. I spent last year in triage mode, and we made some solid academic gains. This year, I have my eye on winning a quarter-million-dollar school improvement grant, but according to my author, secrets from my past and those of one of my teachers may threaten more than just the grant win. It’s tough living in a mystery series.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes, I am a newlywed! Mac and I met last year in January, we witnessed a murder on our first date and survived a tornado on our second date. Don’t ask about the third date-except for our dance, it was a total disaster! We wrapped up our courtship by solving a murder and then we got married last June.

If so, what is his name and profession?
My husband’s name is Colonel MacIntosh August Campbell, USAF Retired, but he prefers to be called Mac.

Do you have any children?
No bio kiddos, but if you count all the students in the schools where I was a teacher or the school principal for over fifteen years, I’d put the number in the thousands.

Do you have any siblings?
I’m a middle child, blessed by an older sister, an ER nurse, who is married to a sheriff’s detective. My younger brother is a gifted mechanic and owner of the island’s only gas station and garage. He’s also dating my BFF Mallory.

Are your parents nearby?
Yes, Mom and Dad retired to a condo in Uptown, the mainland suburbs of Summer County, about five years ago. Now Dad plays golf and Mom plays mahjong. I have a sneaking suspicion though, that they may move back to the island in the near future. The Cove has a way of holding your heart hostage until you come home again.

Who is your best friend?
Mallory Deaver has been my bestie since our freshman year at the University of Tampa. She’s a brilliant, nationally syndicated columnist and former investigative journalist who publishes the local weekly newspaper, Sandpiper News. She’s a hoot to hang out with and keeps my snarky comments and drama in check.

Do you have any pets?
Mac brought his rescue spaniel, Muffin, to our marriage. She’s a therapy dog and serves the childhood PTSD group at my school. Gibson rounds out the family. He’s an orange tabby who was rescued from the beach during a tornado last winter.

What town do you live in?
I live in Moccasin Cove, a barrier island on Florida’s central Gulf coast nestled between Tampa and Bradenton. It was dredged up from the Gulf of Mexico by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1800s to house an Army camp.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
The Cove is a very small island town comprised of untamed beaches, a bayside marina, a preserve, pastureland, and industrial and shipping areas at the small port. There’s the formerly quaint downtown, retiree trailer parks, single-family neighborhoods, and of course the beaches. Once I flip the school, helping to flip the town is next on my to-do list.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
Mac and I live in a two-story beach cottage that’s over a hundred years old and situated on two acres of beachfront property. It has a three-sided wraparound porch and Mac is renovating it to a more modern interior. Split Creek, a freshwater stream, runs along the backyard forming an estuary where it merges with the Gulf. We have a front row seat off our dock to the plentiful and gorgeous wildlife.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
Mac and I both traveled for so long we never set down any roots, so, all of it inside and out.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
Any meal Mac makes is my favorite because he is a great cook and I prefer doing the dishes. For dessert though, my favorite is kumquat pie made by our friend Paige at the Orange Blossom Café in town. Imagine a tangerine and key lime cheesecake mashup. Yeah, I know, right!

Do you have any hobbies?
Work has been my life pretty much 24/7 since grad school. I’ve been a quilter since my teens, but that’s easy to pack and move. When I came back home, I vowed to get a life outside of work. I did some therapeutic scrapbooking with friends Bella, Mallory, and Helen last year when I hit a rough patch. I love to garden, especially, pulling weeds. I may get back into watercolor painting now that I have the space and the vistas for inspiration. That is, if I can hang up the amateur sleuth hat long enough to set up my easel.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Vacation? When you live and breathe fixing troubled schools, there’s no such thing. Besides, I live in paradise, so vacation is in my backyard.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
I like the sport of shooting—you know, targets and such, like in the Olympics. My dad taught me as a teen. I found out I was a natural and made the college team. Mac and I make monthly trips to the shooting range at the Air Force Base up in Tampa to keep up our skills; that came in handy during a pretty scary incident last winter.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Never really thought about that, but if I did, I’d title it, Data Driven, because TBH, I love educational research and data analysis. Geek girl here. Sorry, not sorry. I could also fill chapters with stories about topics not covered in grad school. In my career I’ve hunted alligators, toured chemical factories requiring training in the use of an emergency breathing apparatus, off-roaded four stories high on a gypsum stack, rehabbed drought-devastated wetlands, and after discovering a misdirected package on one campus, I handed evidence over to the Secret Service. Yes, they do drive black SUVs. But for the life of me, I would never have imagined I would include a chapter on solving murder.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’d say I’m an “Are you kidding, me, solve a murder?” kind of amateur sleuth. The only reason I get involved is because I know how to get things done. Bossy much? That too.

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
That’s an easy question to answer, but complicated. You see, everyone has been to school. So, most folks have a preconceived notion that a school principal’s day looks like a teacher’s day, but with more student discipline and time to put your feet up on the desk. But the truth is, what happens in the front office is nothing like the workings of a classroom, especially when there’s been a suspicious death and I’m compelled to get involved. But as long as I have hot coffee and my trusted to-do list, all I have to do is juggle my usual routine and the whirlwind that blew in with the murder. Easy-peasy, right?

AppleJacked, A Moccasin Cove Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: November 2022
Format: Print and Digital
Purchase Link

Elementary principal Ana Callahan knows a thing or two about flipping failing schools, but she’s discovered the learning curve on solving murders is steep.

Now in the second year of her school rescue, in Moccasin Cove on Florida’s Gulf coast, Ana is on the verge of winning a pivotal grant award. But her grand plan hits a snag after a teacher is murdered and the crime is pinned on a runaway teenager Ana mentors. The story goes viral. Ana’s campus is besieged by the media, angry parents, and complex questions about the dead teacher’s past. Worse, the myopic rookie detective assigned to the case has her sights set on all the wrong suspects.

While grieving the teacher’s death, Ana starts her own investigation, but her discovery of a body on the beach pins a bullseye on Ana’s back. In her quest to solve two murders, locate the missing teen, and salvage the grant win, Ana unwittingly unleashes a riptide of childhood secrets that force her to learn a hard lesson. . . It takes a village to raise a child, but it may also take your life.

If you like your traditional mysteries with a cozy edge, a hint of Southern snark, a beachy vibe, and always a happy ending, this series is for you.

About the author
Tampa native, Liz Boeger, writes the award-winning Moccasin Cove Mystery Series about an elementary school principal who has a lot to learn about murder. If you like your traditional mysteries with a cozy edge, a hint of Southern snark, a beachy vibe, and always a happy ending, this series is for you. Don’t worry, she promises the suspicious search history on her laptop, the crime scene tape on her bookshelf, and her real-life run-in with the US Secret Service all have perfectly reasonable explanations.

Connect with Liz at her website at lizboeger.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter at @LizBoegerAuthor.

All comments are welcomed.