Daisy Swanson first appeared in Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Daisy.

What is your full name?
Daisy Buttercup Gallagher Swanson. I have never told anyone my middle name!

How old are you?
39

What is your profession?
I was once a dietician but now I am the proprietress of Daisy’s Tea Garden with my Aunt Iris.

Do you have a significant other?
I am a widow. I’m now seriously dating.

What is their name and profession?
His name is Jonas Groft. He was once a homicide detective in Philadelphia. Now he owns a furniture store, Woods, in Willow Creek, Pennsylvania. The store sells handcrafted furniture he creates along with other crafters.

Do you have any children?
I do. Jasmine (Jazzi) who is adopted is seventeen and in high school. Violet is twenty, newly married with a baby named Sammy.

Do you have any siblings?
I do. I have a sister Camellia who is in public relations.

Are your parents nearby?
They are. Rose and Sean Gallagher own Gallagher’s Garden Corner in Willow Creek.

Who is your best friend?
My best friend is Tessa Miller. We went to school together. She’s my kitchen manager and an artist.

Do you have any pets?
I have two cats, a tortoiseshell named Marjoram and a tuxedo named Pepper. I found them in my garden.

What town do you live in?
I live in Willow Creek, Pennsylvania, deep in Lancaster County Amish country.

Would you say you live in a small town or a big city?
I live in a small town that has Amish buggies clattering up and down the streets as well as newer businesses moving in.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
I live in a barn home! When I moved back to Willow Creek with my two girls after my husband died, I helped an architect renovate an old barn for my home. I turned an outbuilding into a detached garage and recently added a small apartment in the upstairs where my daughter Vi, her husband Foster (who works at the tea garden) and their son Sammy live. Daisy’s Tea Garden in downtown Willow Creek is housed in an old Victorian. My aunt Iris and I bought the property together. My best friend Tessa, who is my kitchen manager, lives upstairs.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
My favorite spot is my kitchen. We took some of the reclaimed wood from the old barn and used it in there. I love to cook and bake while staring out the sliding glass doors into my flower gardens and vegetable garden.

Favorite meal and dessert?
My favorite meal is Pennsylvania Dutch pot pie. My favorite dessert is chocolate whoopie pies with peanut butter filling.

Do you have any hobbies?
I love to bake, cook and spend peaceful time in my garden. I’m also learning to quilt from my Amish childhood friend, Rachel.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I haven’t discovered one yet.

What music do they listen to?
I like all kinds of music from country to pop.

Do you have a favorite book?
Anne of Green Gables

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Riding a roller coaster, navigating through a corn maze, going on a picnic with Jonas, watching my baby grandson enjoy anything new to him. Just spending time with friends and family and my cats!

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
I’d call it Plain and Fancy.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m an amateur sleuth. Sometimes I work with Jonas, or my best friend Tessa, the reporter in town Trevor Lundquist and even the two detectives I’ve gotten to know—Detective Morris Rappaport and Zeke Willet.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Much of my time is spent at the tea garden, waiting on and getting to know my customers, baking snickerdoodles and other goodies, brewing and blending tea.

Jonas might stop by for dinner with me and Jazzi. He and I brew tea and take it to the glider he made on my patio. Some Sundays are spent with my mom, dad, and aunt at family dinner. And of course when I’m involved in a murder investigation, I go where the clues take me.

Murder with Clotted Cream is the fifth book in the “Daisy’s Tea Garden” cozy mystery series, coming May 26, 2020.

A catering job has come in for Daisy’s Tea Garden in Pennsylvania’s Amish country—but death will be served before dessert . . .

Margaret Vaughn has hired Daisy to provide afternoon tea for her theater group. A local girl who left long ago for an acting career in New York, Margaret has returned home—with a multimillionaire husband in tow. But while Daisy bustles around Margaret’s historic farmhouse, she senses that there’s tension behind the scenes. Then she discovers the hostess on the floor of the pantry—dead and covered with clotted cream.

Barely recovered from her previous sleuthing adventure, Daisy joins forces with the former detective she’s been dating to help solve the case. Should she cast suspicion on the stars of the upcoming play? Can Margaret’s sister shine a spotlight on potential culprits? Or are there clues to be found in the victim’s past? With plenty of family stress of her own to deal with, all Daisy knows is she better act fast . . .

Includes delicious recipes!

Purchase Link
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About the author
USA Today Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith’s 104th novel will be released in 2020! Her passion is caring for her seven rescued cats. Her hobbies are gardening, cooking, watercolor painting and photography. An only child, Karen delved into books at an early age. Even though she escaped into story worlds, she had many cousins around her on weekends. Families are a strong theme in her novels in both her mysteries and romances. One of her romances about a country singer hero was developed into a TV movie aired on the UP network the past two Christmases. Watching A Very Country Christmas with friends is one of her dreams come true. Find out more about Karen at karenrosesmith.com and at karenrosesmithmysteries.com. She’s recently working on her Daisy Tea Garden mystery series set in Lancaster County published by Kensington Books. Besides romances and mysteries with Kensington, she has published with Meteor/Kismet, Harlequin/Silhouette and Harper Collins/Harlequin. She has also indie published over 20 titles. If you’d like to chat with her, you can find her on Facebook at KarenRoseSmithBooks and on Twitter @karenrosesmith.

All comments are welcomed.