Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, where you can learn more about what makes them tick.

Let’s see what Baxley has to say.

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What is your name?
– – My full name is Baxley Nesbitt Powell. I added my maiden name because everyone in Sinclair County knows my family as “those crazy Nesbitts”—until they need our help. We’ve had the high and mighty and the lowest of the low pass through my parents’ cottage. They are treated the same with free room and board. They are also healed with love, light, dreams, and energy.

How old are you?
– – Hmm. Seems like the busier I get, the more my age surprises me. I’m 28 years old, and high school seems more than a lifetime ago.

What is your profession?
– – I own a small business called Pets and Plants where I tend to these things for my clients. I recently acquired another job in which I am a crime consultant for our sheriff. The reason I got the job with the sheriff is I inherited the Dreamwalker job from my father. The job was literally killing him. Now I’m the connection between the living and the dead. I visit spirits in the afterlife, and they visit me in my dreams.

Do you have a significant other?
– – I do, I mean, I did, I mean, I don’t know. The Army declared my Special Forces husband dead. I don’t believe them because I’ve searched among the dead and he isn’t there.

What is his name?
– – My husband’s name is Roland Powell.

What is his profession?
– – He loved being a soldier. His missions were top secret, and he spent a lot of time overseas.

Any children?
– – Yes! My ten-year-old daughter is the love of my life. She shares my affinity for pets. I admire her self-confidence and poise. She’s always known who and what she is, a Dreamwalker, like me.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
– – I’m an only child. I always wanted a big brother, but it’s hard to come-by an older sibling. Luckily in grade school I made friends with Charlotte Ambrose and we’ve been friends ever since. She and I are as close as sisters.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
– – Yes to cats and dogs, no to other pets. We currently have two cats, Sulay and Ziggy, and three dogs, Muffin, Elvis, and Maddy. Sulay the Maine Coon cat rules the roost, and our tabby follows her lead. Elvis the Chihuahua is a therapy dog, and Maddy the black lab belongs to Larissa. I also have an unusual pet. A ghost dog (Great Dane) named Oliver chooses to stay with me and help solve crimes.

What town do you live in?
– – I live in the boonies, with the nearest town (population 1900) being Marion, GA. We’re situated on the Georgia coast about an hour south of Savannah.

House or building complex?
– – I live in a two-story house, and I have a greenhouse out back to nurture plants year-round.

Do you rent or own?
– – I inherited my home from my maternal grandmother. She didn’t think much of Dreamwalkers, but I was her only grandchild so the house came to me when she passed. It looks like an old timey beach cottage. Lots of wood everything and bead board everywhere else.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
– – I love the house, especially my bedroom and the kitchen, but my fav spot is sitting on the back steps and listening to all of creation sing the sun down.

Who is your best friend?
– – Charlotte Ambrose is my BFF. On the surface, we are nothing alike, but deep below where it counts, we are of the same mindset. We can finish each other’s sentences, order for each other in restaurants, and count on each other for challenges life throws our way. Lately we’ve been navigating the treacherous waters of her being a reporter and me being in the sheriff’s office. She always wants a scoop, and I’m not allowed to tell her anything. That’s no fun at all.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
– – I’m not a traditional or professional anything. Even though I’m getting paid as a crime consultant, I offer details from my dreams to the cops to put them on the evidence collection trail. Judges don’t think my sleuthing amounts to anything, so we must have a clear physical evidence trail.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
– – Sheriff Wayne Thompson. He’s a bit rough around the edges, but he’s got a soft heart and an unflagging interest in females.

Favorite meal?
– – Butter pecan ice cream. It’s what’s for breakfast when no one is looking.

Favorite dessert?
– – See above.

Favorite hobby?
– – Fishing. My dad taught me how to fish, and I love it.

Favorite vacation spot?
– – I never thought about vacations until a few months ago. Why would I ever leave the coast? But I recently took a trip to the mountains and that was fun.

Favorite color?
– – Blue. I’m partial to denim blue.

Favorite author?
– – Sue Grafton has been a mainstay my entire life. I’m sorry the Grafton alphabet will end with “Y”.

Favorite sports team?
– – I’m not into competitive sports, either as a participant or as a viewer.

Movies or Broadway?
– – One of my all time favorite movies was “The Sixth Sense.” That’s the one where the little boy tells Bruce Willis that he sees dead people.

Are you a morning or a night person?
– – I’m an all-day person. I awaken fresh, rested, and ready to go. Most evenings, being around pets and plants energizes me, so I don’t have a lot of down time. Occasionally, work and dreamwalking drain my energy pretty low. Then I need a nap to reset, and I’m good to go.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
– – My day begins with love and laughter. Hard not to smile when there’s a ten-year-old in the house, along with three dogs and two cats. These days work means haring off to the sheriff’s office and being a crime consultant. Nothing a dreamwalker can’t handle!

Giveaway: Tell us, do you like light paranormal mysteries? Leave a comment below for your chance to win a digital copy (Kindle or Nook) of Confound It. The giveaway will end June 5, 2018. Good luck everyone!

You can read about Baxley in Confound It, the fifth book in the Dreamwalker” mystery series. The first book in the series is Gone and Done It.

While hosting out-of-town guests at her Georgia home, Dreamwalker Baxley Powell is called upon to help investigate a suspicious fire. One of her guests, close friend and fellow dreamwalker Deputy Sam Mayes, accompanies her to the scene.

A meth cook is dead, and when Baxley visits her beyond the Veil of Life, she determines that the woman was murdered. Baxley pities Mandy Patterson, a single mother with aspirations for her teenage son Doodle. Unconcerned about the death of a criminal, the authorities pursue the drug-supply chain angle. Baxley worries about Doodle and vows to find out who killed his mother.

As the case grows more baffling, Baxley struggles against her attraction to Sam. Although her husband is missing and declared dead, she does not feel free to love again until she is sure of his fate.

Two suspects have the strongest motive, but Baxley has reason to believe they are pawns in a deeper game. And unless she can stop them, the world will never be the same.

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About the author
Southern author Maggie Toussaint writes mystery, suspense, and futuristic fiction. Her work won the Silver Falchion Award for best mystery, the Readers’ Choice Award, and the EPIC Award. Under her name and her pen name of Rigel Carson, she’s published eighteen novels as well as several short stories and novellas. The latest book in her paranormal mystery series, Confound It was released June 1, 2018. Maggie serves as Chapter President for Southeast Mystery Writers of America and as Vice-President for Low Country Sisters In Crime. Visit her at www.maggietoussaint.com.

All comments are welcomed.