Katie Lightfoot first appeared in Brownies and Broomsticks and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Katie.

What is your name?
Katie Lightfoot

How old are you?
I’m thirty.

What is your profession?
I’m a baker and own the Honeybee Bakery with my aunt Lucy and uncle Ben. And while I wouldn’t exactly call it a profession, I’m a practicing hedgewitch, also known as a natural or green witch. So is Lucy. Our skill at triggering the magical aspects of herbs and spices dovetails nicely with our work at the Honeybee. All of our pastries contain a little extra sprinkle of goodness and love.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes! My fiance.

What is his name and profession?
Declan McCarthy. He’s a firefighter.

Any children?
Not yet.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
Nope — I’m an only child.

Do your parents live near you?
No, they live in Fillmore, Ohio, which is the small town I grew up in. Two and a half years ago Lucy and Ben talked me into leaving Ohio and moving to Georgia.

Who is your best friend?
Oh, gosh. I’m such good friends with all the ladies of the spellbook club — that’s our informal coven — that I couldn’t pick just one. There’s Mimsey Carmichael, the eighty-year-old owner of Vase Value who loves flower and color magic, the beautiful and financially skilled Bianca Devereaux who focuses on moon magic, the smart and sophisticated attorney Jaida French who has a special talent for tarot, and the youngest member, Cookie Rios, who has been getting back in touch with her voodoo roots lately.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
Mungo (the Magnificent) is my black Cairn terrier and witch’s familiar. He adopted me the very same day I moved to town.

What town do you live in?
Savannah, Georgia

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
We’ve been staying in Declan’s apartment while my, excuse me, our carriage house is being renovated — both to make it a bit larger for the two of us after we get married, and because, well, there was that fire . . .

What is your favorite spot in your house?
In the house? Probably upstairs in the loft where I keep my altar tucked away in an old secretary’s desk. My other favorite place is outside, though, in the backyard gazebo.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
Well, I love all sorts of food, but I’d have to say that the Beef Wellington Declan made me the night he proposed might have been the best meal I’ve ever had. And while I bake for others all day, my personal go-to comfort dessert is peanut butter brownies.

Favorite hobby?
Hmm. Other than learning more about the Craft and spell work, I’d have to say running. It clears my head and balances out the different aspects of my life.

Favorite color?
Green.

Favorite author?
It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I absolutely adore Sarah Addison Allen.

Favorite vacation spot?
Vacation? What’s a vacation? Though the trip to Boston to meet Declan’s mother was nice.

Favorite sports team?
The Savannah Bananas!

Movies or Broadway?
I enjoy Broadway, but where I live movies are a lot more accessible — especially the ones I watch at home, curled up next to Declan while wearing my pajamas and soft wooby socks.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Both! I have a sleep disorder that makes it impossible for me to sleep more than a few hours at night. I’m up by four most mornings — pretty handy for a baker, actually.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur, though I’m told I have a calling to right wrongs in the magical world. Whatever.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
Mostly the members of the spellbook club, but also with Detective Peter Quinn of the Savannah PD.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Up early and then I go for a run — sans Mungo because he’s pretty lazy. Then Mungo and I head into the Honeybee. I get the sourdough that’s been slow-rising all night into the ovens and start on the other baking. Lucy and Ben arrive, and we open at seven. We serve customers all day, many of whom have become good friends. We close around five, and lately I’ve gone over to the carriage house to check out the progress on the renovations. If Declan isn’t working one of his forty-eight-hour shifts at the firehouse, he and I cook dinner together and have a quiet evening. You might think all that sounds pretty boring, and you’d be right if all that lovely routine wasn’t shaken up every few months by someone — often me — finding a dead body. Then routine goes right out the window! That’s what happened when one of our customers was recently murdered, and Detective Quinn called on me for help. Between the wedding plans, my father visiting, the carriage house construction, and a murder case, it’s a good thing I don’t need much sleep!

You can read about Katie in Cookies and Clairvoyance, the eighth book in the “Magical Bakery” cozy mystery series, released August 27, 2019.

Baker Katie Lightfoot serves up enchanted delicacies and tracks down a malicious murderer in the newest installment of this New York Times bestselling series. . .

Hedgewitch Katie Lightfoot is juggling wedding preparations, a visit from her father, and home renovations on top of her long hours at the Honeybee Bakery, where she and her aunt Lucy imbue their yummy cookies and pastries with beneficial magic. But when firefighter Randy Post is accused of murdering a collector of rarities, and his prints are on the statue that was used to kill the man, Katie steps in.

Randy is not only Katie’s fiancé’s coworker, but also the boyfriend of fellow spellbook club member and witch Bianca Devereaux. Bianca and Declan are both sure Randy is innocent, and so is Katie. However, to prove it she’ll have to work with ornery detective Peter Quinn again—and this time around he knows she’s more than your everyday baker.

Purchase Link
# # # # # # # # # # #

About the author
Bailey Cates is the New York Times bestselling author of the Magical Bakery Mysteries featuring baker and hedgewitch Katie Lightfoot. The eighth in the series, Cookies and Clairvoyance, released August 27, 2019. As Bailey Cattrell, she also writes the Enchanted Garden Mysteries starring gardener and aromatherapist Elliana Allbright. To find out more, please visit www.baileycates.com.

All comments are welcomed.