Eleanor Wilde first appeared in Séances Are for Suckers and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Ellie.

What is your name?
Madame Eleanor Wilde (though my friends call me Ellie). The madame part refers to my job as a medium, not as a brothel owner, fyi.

How old are you?
Either twenty-eight or two hundred and eight, depending on your constructs of time.

What is your profession?
Medium, witch, general dabbler in the dark arts. I also solve a murder every now and then.

Do you have a significant other?
Strangely enough, I’m currently dating a wealthy landowning aristocrat. (I know. I can barely believe it, either.)

What is his name and profession?
Nicholas Hartford III. He makes his millions in the manufacture of educational materials.

Any children?
Definitely not. I can barely take care of myself!

Do you have any sibling(s)?
I’m one of three triplets. Liam, my brother, is an elementary school gym teacher back in the States. Winnie, my sister, is no longer living, but that’s okay. She occasionally pops in for a post-mortem chat.

Do your parents live near you?
My parents are long gone, but I do live near my boyfriend’s mother, Vivian. She’s not very maternal, but I adore her.

Who is your best friend?
This one cracks me up every time—I, Eleanor Wilde, a witch with questionable morals, am best friends with the local vicar.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I’m currently owned by a black cat named Beast. She may or may not be my dead sister in animal form. I haven’t worked out all this witch stuff just yet.

What town do you live in?
Tricky, tricky. . .anyone who’s read my story knows that I live in a deliberately unnamed village in rural Sussex. You’re not getting the name of it out of me!

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
I recently purchased a thatch-roofed cottage not far from my boyfriend’s bona-fide castle. It’s adorable but not very waterproof.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
The garden, for sure. Where else am I supposed to grow all the ingredients for my potions?

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
This one is easy. There’s a towering, decadent chocolate cake that one of the villagers always makes whenever someone in our little community dies. I’m not saying people will murder for it, but. . .

Favorite hobby?
Hexes, spells, general mayhem.

Favorite color?
Blood red to match my lipstick. Hey—a witch has to look the part if she wants to make a living.

Favorite author?
Ann Radcliffe. My early years were spent devouring any and all classic Gothics I could get my hands on. It’s what makes me so good at my job now.

Favorite vacation spot?
Anywhere warm and tropical. A witch needs a little sunshine to counterbalance all the gloom and doom in her life.

Favorite sports team?
Unless you count Quidditch, I don’t really follow sports.

Movies or Broadway?
Anything with a good, dark twist. If I had to pick, I’d probably say Broadway. The language of live theater is an unforgettable experience.

Are you a morning or a night person?
The night is when my powers are the strongest. (Okay, I mostly don’t like getting up early, but it sounds better this way.)

Amateur sleuth or professional?
I mean, I’m technically an amateur, but I often help the local police inspector solve crimes. I could definitely go pro if I put my mind to it.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
My sister Winnie—my dead sister Winnie, I should say—is pretty helpful when it comes to working out all the clues. Otherwise, it’s just me, my wits, and the occasional help from my villager friends.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
One of the nicest things about being a self-employed witch is that no two days are the same. Some days, I’m busy brewing up my latest attraction elixir (which, to be fair, is mostly vodka, but what can you do?). Other days, I’m seeing clients and helping them lay their personal ghosts to rest. People might think that living in a quaint English village is a bore, but I find plenty to keep me busy—especially when the moon is full.

Giveaway: Tamara is giving away one (1) signed copy of Séances Are for Suckers, limited to U.S. residents. Leave a comment below for your chance to win. Contest ends December 1, 2019. Good luck everyone!

You can read more about Ellie in Potions Are for Pushovers, the second book in the “Eleanor Wilde” cozy mystery series, released November 26, 2019.

It may have been a ghost that led Eleanor Wilde to set up shop in a quaint English village. But now that she’s established herself as the town witch, Ellie’s contentedly casting spells on anyone desperate enough—or gullible enough—to request her mysterious potions. . .

Selling mystical elixirs and tantalizing tonics is a pretty good way for a fake medium to earn a living. Or at least it’s Ellie’s main source of income—until a villager turns up dead. The cause? Murder by poisoning. And though Ellie’s concoctions don’t include anything worthy of a skull and crossbones, suddenly she’s the prime suspect. Her only recourse is to find the culprit who did do away with Sarah Blackthorne. No one liked the mean old battle-axe. But did anyone hate her enough to kill her?

It’s enough of a mystery to make Ellie hang up her witch’s hat and take millionaire beau Nicholas Hartford up on his offer to keep her afloat. Except Ellie is not the kind of woman to lean on a man—least of all a man she adores but whose place in her life is uncertain. Besides, Ellie’s taken on two young witches-in-training—apprentices if you will—and both of them are convinced a werewolf is the murderer.

Just as Ellie’s wondering if there really is something otherworldly going on, animals suddenly begin to disappear—including her beloved cat, Beast. Now Ellie’s on the warpath to uncover the wicked truth about the people and the place she’s only just begun to call home. . .

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About the author
Tamara Berry is a part-time author and part-time freelance copywriter/editor. She has a B.A. degree in English Literature from Eastern Washington University. In addition to books, she has mad love for all things TV, movies, and pop culture. Tamara also writes romance novels as Tamara Morgan.

To learn more about Tamara, visit her website at tamaraberry.com.

All comments are welcomed.