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

What is your full name?
Athena Demetra Spencer.

How old are you?
Thirty-one

What is your profession?
I was an investigative reporter for a newspaper in Chicago, but since I moved back home, I’ve returned to work at my family’s garden center as a landscape designer.

Do you have a significant other?
No, I’m divorced.

Do you have any children?
I have a son, Nicholas, who’s ten years old.

Do you have any siblings?
Oh, boy, do I have siblings. I have three sisters, all of whom take after my Greek mother in looks. I’m the only one who takes after my English father’s side of the family, which makes me the oddball.

Are your parents nearby?
Too close for comfort, often. After my divorce, my son and I moved back to the big, rambling family home while I get my feet on the ground. And let me tell you, living with my big, crazy, Greek family can be trying and, at the same time, hilarious.

Who is your best friend?
My youngest sister, Delphi.

Do you have any pets?
My son has a pet baby raccoon named Oscar who lives at the garden center.

What town do you live in?
Sequoia, Michigan, right on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
Small tourist town.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
I live in my family’s big house until I save enough to have a place of my own.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
My bedroom is my sanctuary. It’s the only place in our crowded house where I can be alone.

Favorite meal and dessert?
Oh, wow, that’s a tough question. My mother makes such delicious Greek meals. I guess I’d have to say my favorite is moussaka, with a dessert of baklava.

Do you have any hobbies?
I wish I had time. I guess I’d have to say the only outside activity I have time for is working with my partner Case Donnelly as a private detective.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I haven’t been on vacation in years. I’ve heard from my friend Abby Knight that Key West is fun, so I’d love to go there one day.

What music do you listen to?
I love the bands One Direction and Maroon 5. I also love listening to anything by Niall Horan.

Do you have a favorite book?
The Nero Wolf mystery series.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Going camping with my son.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
“Ten Years Later”

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Amateur sleuth. I work with Case Donnelly, a private detective. We run a private detective agency together. And can I say just how hot Case is? After a loveless marriage, I can’t believe my good luck in meeting a man like him.

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
First thing in the morning, my son and I walk to my grandparents’ diner, The Parthenon, for a hot breakfast. Then Nicholas hops on the school bus and I walk down to Spencer’s Garden Center for a few hours. I meet up with Case later at the detective agency, where we go over the information we’ve gathered on our latest investigation. We work on the investigation during the afternoon, then I’m back at the garden center until dinner time, when Nicholas and I join my big family for supper. After dinner, I might join Case on his houseboat for a glass of wine at sunset. Then it’s time to tuck Nicholas into bed and write my daily blog, which has a big following on the internet. I write it anonymously, so my family doesn’t find out it’s mostly about their zany antics. They all read the blog and have no idea it’s me – so far. And then I crash.

Big Trouble in Little Greektown, A Goddess of Greene St. Mystery #3
Genre: Cozy
Release: November 2021
Purchase Link

In a tourist town on Lake Michigan, Athena Spencer keeps busy raising a son (and a pet raccoon named Oscar) while working at her family’s garden center. But sometimes, she also has to get the dirt on a murderer, in the new series by the New York Times bestselling author of the Flower Shop Mysteries . . .

Athena has invited Case Donnelly, recently relocated from Pittsburgh and awaiting his PI license, to accompany her to a Save Our Dunes fundraiser and art festival. And her date proves helpful when the body of a disgraced photographer turns up during a nature walk.

The crime—and the photos taken by the dead man—raise a lot of questions about local politics, environmental battles, and the victim’s womanizing ways. As Athena’s endearing Greek-American family strives to solve a mystery of their own (uncovering the identity of Athena’s anonymous blog), she and Case try to find the tangled roots of this murder and make sure there’s no sanctuary for a killer . . .

About the author
Kate Collins is the New York Times bestselling mystery author of The Flower Shop Mystery series, now on the Hallmark Mystery Movie channel. Although English and Irish herself, Kate had the good fortune of marrying into a big, zany Greek-American family where she learned all about Greek life, most of which revolves around food and laughter. She uses those experiences to enrich her new Goddess of Greene St. Mysteries, so be prepared for anything, from laughter to nail-biting suspense. Opa!

All comments are welcomed.