Emily Fyne sits down for a Q&A with dru’s book musings responding to ten or more questions so we can learn more about her. Are you ready? Let’s get to know Emily.
What is your full name?
Emily Fyne.
How old are you?
I’m in my thirties, but let’s not get specific. . .
What is your profession?
I’m the co-owner of Deputy Donut, a donut and coffee shop in Fallingbrook, in northern Wisconsin. My business partner is Tom Westhill, a retired police chief.
If you have a significant other, what is their name and profession?
I’m married to Brent Fyne. He’s a detective, a very good one, partly because he is a kind and compassionate man.
Do you have any children?
Not yet, but there’s hope.
Who is your best friend?
Brent is one of them. Also, two women have been my best friends since we met in junior high. Misty is a police officer and is married to Scott, our fire chief. Samantha was an emergency medical technician, but recently she’s been staying home to look after a young daughter. Her husband, Hooligan, is Misty’s usual patrol partner. The six of us are very close, and we all adore Samantha and Hooligan’s daughter.
Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
I have a cat, Deputy Donut. She kindly let Tom and me use her full name for our shop. We call her Dep. She’s a smaller-than-average tortoiseshell tabby with donut-like circles on her sides. She’s smart, affectionate, and good at walking (and dawdling and jumping around) on a leash. I didn’t want to be away from her for long hours, so Tom and I created a home-away-from-home in our office in Deputy Donut, and Dep stays there when I’m at work.
What town do you live in?
Brent and I live out in the country, about a half hour north of Fallingbrook, where we both work.
What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
Our home is a log chalet. Brent bought it before we were engaged. It’s in the woods above a small lake, and we have a tiny beach, a dock and a boathouse just big enough for two kayaks. Our home is a mini-paradise.
Do you have any hobbies?
I love cooking and reading. In the summers, Brent and I go kayaking. Dep likes to ride on my lap and watch for wildlife. In the winters, we like to go cross-country skiing. Dep stays inside where it’s warm. In the spring and fall, we go for walks. We carry Dep if she insists or if we think she shouldn’t walk or is taking too much time pouncing on beetles, acorns, and pinecones.
If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
CIRCLES might be a good title. Or DESPITE MY BEST INTENTIONS. Or maybe DEPUTY DONUT MYSTERIES.
Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Definitely amateur. I never set out to solve mysteries. However, working in a popular donut shop, I sometimes learn things that nobody meant me to know or guess. Brent and my law-enforcement friends remind me not to interfere in their cases. I try not to.
You could say that I work with law enforcement, because I always tell them what I have discovered, often something I’ve stumbled upon. They seldom tell me anything, though.
Sometimes, I team up with other people to figure out who a criminal is, like if we’re suspected of murder, ourselves. For instance, I recently enjoyed a road trip, with my friends Izzy and Monique, along with Dep and Monique’s little dog, Gigi. We travelled along a donut trail around northern Wisconsin and tasted donuts and other goodies at every stop. In one apple orchard, we and the two pets explored a corn maze. Our timing was terrible. The next day, we found out that while we were in the maze, a woman was murdered there. Naturally, we were among the many suspects. What could we do besides try to clear our names? Izzy is in her twenties and keen on sleuthing. Monique and I also tried to learn whatever we could about who the murderer might be. We never planned to put ourselves in danger . . .
KILLER DONUTS
Series: A Deputy Donut Mystery, Book 11
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
It’s fall in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin, and Emily Fyne, owner of the popular local Deput Donut café is on a trail—a Donut Trail, that is—to tour pre-Halloween treats and activities, not to mention check out the competition. It’s all fun and games, until a murder that’s no trick . . .
Emily and her friends Izzy and Monique are traveling the Donut Trail in style in Deputy Donut’s vintage, donut-topped car. With them are Emily’s cat, Dep, and Monique’s tiny dog, Gigi. Amid the spectacular fall foliage they stop at an orchard that includes a bistro and a vast corn maze. But while sampling some apple cider, they find that not everyone shares their friendly, festive mood . . .
A cranky tourist not only scolds them for bringing their pets, but she also says she hates dogs—with cats a close second. No matter, Emily and company, their pets leashed, go off to enter the maze. But soon, boisterous teens barge in, wreaking havoc, tossing pumpkins, uprooting cornstalks—and attempting a dog-snatching . . .
As everyone scrambles to regroup, it turns out the dog-hating woman is missing. And when her dead body is finally discovered—with Gigi’s hair ribbon in her pocket—Emily and her friends are the top suspects. To clear their names, they’ll have to throw a killer off their trail while diving even deeper into a dangerous labyrinth of clues . . .
About the author
Ginger Bolton, who is fond of donuts and coffee, writes the Deputy Donut mystery series—coffee, donuts, cops, danger, and one curious cat. KILLER DONUTS, available August 25, 2026, is the eleventh in the series. When Ginger isn’t plotting, writing, or reading, she’s crocheting, knitting, sewing, interacting with an elderly but dramatic rescue dog, or generally causing trouble. As Janet Bolin, Ginger wrote the Agatha-nominated Threadville Mysteries—murder and mayhem in a village of crafty shops.