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 Jane has to say.
What is your name?
– – Jane Steward
How old are you?
– – Mid thirties
What is your profession?
– – Manager of Storyton Hall and Guardian of its Secret Library.
Do you have a significant other?
– – Yes. Well, at least, I thought so. But he’s disappeared!
What is his name?
– – Edwin Alcott.
What is his profession?
– – To most, he owns the café in town. It’s called Daily Bread. But I know his secret profession. He’s a book thief.
Any children?
– – Yes. I’m a single mom to twin boys named Fitzgerald and Hemingway.
Do you have any sibling(s)?
– – No.
Cats, dogs or other pets?
– – Muffet Cat, the portly tuxedo, lives at Storyton Hall, but he loves one person only, my great-aunt Octavia.
What town do you live in?
– – Storyton, a quaint village in the western part of Virginia.
Do you rent or own?
– – I live in what was the hunting lodge of my ancestor’s English country estate. I can’t say that I really own it, because Storyton Hall belongs to my great-aunt and -uncle.
House or building complex?
– – House. Actually, half a house. The garages make up the other half.
What is your favorite spot in your house?
– – I love the kitchen because I share meals with my boys and my book club, the Cover Girls, there. But I also love the living room because my books are there.
Who is your best friend?
– – Eloise Alcott, proprietor of Run for Cover bookshop.
Amateur sleuth or professional?
– – Amateur, but I’ll be a professional soon if the bodies keep piling up.
Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
– – My book club, the Cover Girls. My Fins, the men sworn to protect my family and the secret library.
Favorite meal?
– – Beef Wellington and mashed potatoes.
Favorite dessert?
– – Mrs. Hubbard’s Victoria sponge cake. Or her scones with homemade jam and clotted cream. Or her brown sugar apple tart. Oh, there are too many!
Favorite hobby?
– – Reading.
Favorite vacation spot?
– – Right here where I am. I love at a resort for book lovers and it’s the most beautiful place in all the world!
Favorite color?
– – Light blue
Favorite author?
– – I can’t narrow it down to one, but I’ll give you three: J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Favorite sports team?
– – I’m too busy to follow sports. Wrestling my twins is as close as I get!
Movies or Broadway?
– – Movies out on the lawn at Storyton Hall with the fireflies lighting the night sky.
Are you a morning or a night person?
– – Both. I work all day, but sometimes, work also requires attending parties, balls, and fancy dinners.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
– – I’m in charge of a very large staff at our resort for bilbiophiles, so there’s always tons to do. Plus, I’m constantly on guard for those in search of our secret library. In addition to these jobs, my most important role in life is raising my sons and spending time with friends and family. We all love to talk books and enjoy our afternoon tea!
You can read about Jane in Murder in the Locked Library, the fourth book in the “Book Retreat” mystery series. The first book in the series is Murder in the Mystery Suite.
Welcome to Storyton Hall, Virginia, where book lovers travel from near and far to enjoy the singular comforts of the Agatha Christie Tea Room, where they can discuss the merits of their favorite authors no matter how deadly the topic . . .
With her twins, Fitzgerald and Hemingway, back in school, Jane Steward can finally focus on her work again—managing Storyton Hall, and breaking ground on the resort’s latest attraction: a luxurious, relaxing spa named in honor of Walt Whitman. But when the earth is dug up to start laying the spa’s foundation, something else comes to the surface—a collection of unusual bones and the ragged remnants of a very old book. The attendees of the Rare Book Conference are eager to assist Jane with this unexpected historical mystery—until a visitor meets an untimely end in the Henry James Library. As the questions—and suspects—start stacking up, Jane will have to uncover a killer before more unhappy endings ensue . . .
Purchase Link
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Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win this lovely Cottage teapot. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends April 28, 2018. Good luck everyone!
About the author
New York Times bestseller author, Ellery Adams, has written over thirty novels and can’t imagine spending a day away from the keyboard. Ms. Adams, a Native New Yorker, has had a lifelong love affair with stories, food, rescue animals, and large bodies of water. When not working on her next novel, she bakes, gardens, spoils her three cats, and wastes far too much time on Pinterest. She lives with her husband and two children (aka the Trolls) in central North Carolina. For more information, please visit elleryadamsmysteries.com.
All comments are welcomed.
This sure sounds like an exciting book! Love 💕 the awesome cover of this new book! I love 💕 love 💕 love 💕 all of Ellery Adams awesome books! Thank you so much dear Dru Ann for the chance to win!
I would be delighted to win this book! Anything UK resonates with me. How do we learn when or if we were to win? Do you send us an email?
This is such a delicious series! For fellow readers, who wouldn’t love a book about avid readers, vacationing at a lovely place called Storyton Hall? I will search in vain for a place like this that actually exists! Thank you for the chance to win this wonderful installment in this fun and exciting series!
What an awesome giveaway for tea lovers like me!!!
What a delightful series. I could get lost in Storyton Hall!
This is a great series. What a wonderful giveaway. A quaint teapot. Get a chance, try reading the other books in the seriesm
I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. Great title and cover. Thank you for a chance to win this cute teapot. What a great way to spend an afternoon by reading an awesome author and drinking tea!!
I recently read (and enjoyed) Murder in the Locked Library. Thank you for this awesome giveaway.
I’ve got a hold on this book at the Howard Beach branch of the library. I’d love to win that tea pot. My wife collects them and we’ve bought a few over the years in our travels.
I drink tea all tea & would love to win this teapot. I love this series & author. Thanks for the review & giveaway.
Tea is my drink all year round since it is soothing and gives me great enjoyment and pleasure. What a wonderful giveaway. This book sounds captivating and very special.
Having English lineage, I enjoyed this book although it was set in Virginia. I love the teamwork exhibited in the storyline and the spunky sons of Jane Steward. Thanks for including this book on your blog. I say it’s an adult version of Harry Potter without the magic.
Fabulous series!! Congrats on the new release, Ellery!
I absolutely adore this series. Thank you for the chance to win this lovely teapot. I would proudly add it to my collection.
I enjoyed meeting Jane Steward — she sounds like she would be a wonderful friend, although I’m afraid I would be one of those people looking for the secret library. The teapot is lovely and such a wonderful giveaway prize. Thanks Ellery and Dru Ann!
The novel interests me very much. Intriguing and unique. I have been a tea drinker my entire life and depend upon this wonderful drink to help my ailments and give me hope.
What an adorable teapot. Just what we need for our book club’s annual tea.
I have read the previous books in this series and own this book. All of Ellery Adams’ books are thoroughly good reads. I’m looking forward to having enough time to read this one.
One of the best series available! Read the first three , waiting to buy the fourth!
I love this series and have been trying to figure out the mystery of Jane’s significant other. I hope this book includes some clues to that.
Thanks for the chance! I love these tea pots! I started collecting when I worked in the UK for 12 years. Because am retired, now back in States to our home in PA…my IP address, if you check such things, will show up as UK since I am over here visiting. My permanent home is in Pennsylvania though! And by the way, I can’t wait to read this new Ellery Adams book!
The book sounds interesting. The teapot is very cute!
Interesting series I enjoy it. The teapot is awesome.
Great author, great books, sweet tea pot!
Thanks!!!!
Teapots and cozy mysteries! What could be better?
Be still my heart, I adore that teapot.
And I love this series.
This sounds like such a charming cozy mystery series! I love the setting and really enjoyed reading the interview.
What a great way to get to know more about the character, and tease us with some wonderful hints of secret stuff! This is at the top of my buy list!
Ooh, I would love to win that teapot! It is beautiful and I love tea! Thank you for the opportunity. I am looking forward to this next book. This series is one of my faves.
Really enjoyed the interview with Jane. I haven’t read this series yet, but it’s definitely on the top of my TBR list.
Congrats on the book release. What a wonderful teapot too!
Enjoyed the Q & A.
Ellery Adams is one of my favorite authors and the Book Retreat is one of my favorite series.
Absolutely loved this book as usual! I love everything I’ve read by Ellery Adams. Gorgeous teapot!! Thank you for the chance!
This series sounds interesting. A boyfriend who is a baker/bookthief? How does that work?
I am so excited to return to Stockton! Thanks for the chance to win!
Storyton!
I love this series, but then I love all of the series Ellery writes. Cute teapot! I’d love to win it. It would remind of of Jane’s cottage when I used it.
What a great “interview”/review. I just finished reading Murder in the Locked Library and loved it.
Thanks for the lovely giveaway!!
I must check out and read “Murder in the Locked Library”
I know just the person who would adore the delightful teapot.
**** WINNER ****
Cottage Teapot is Linda Herold
Congratulations!
How exciting! Thanks so much!
How exciting! Thanks so much!