Lila first appeared in The Semester of Our Discontent and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Lila.

What is your name?
Lila Maclean.

How old are you?
30-something.

What is your profession?
Assistant professor of English at Stonedale University.

Do you have a significant other?
No.

Any children?
No.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
No, but my cousin Calista James came to live with us when her parents (my beloved aunt and uncle) passed away, so we grew up together. She feels like a sister.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
Calista’s cat Cady is often at my house. I love cat-sitting!

What town do you live in?
Stonedale, Colorado.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
A tiny rented bungalow with a yard the size of a postage stamp.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
Curled up on the sofa, book in hand.

Who is your best friend?
Calista. (No surprise there, probably.)

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur sleuth.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
My colleagues Nate Clayton, Francisco de Francisco, Tad Ruthersford, and Calista have all participated at various times.

Favorite meal?
A fruit, vegetable, and cheese plate. Especially the cheese.

Favorite dessert?
Ice cream birthday cake.

Favorite hobby?
Reading mysteries.

Favorite vacation spot?
Hawaii. I’ve never been there, but I already know it would be my favorite.

Favorite color?
For clothes, black. Otherwise, magenta.

Favorite author?
Isabella Dare, the mostly unknown mystery writer on whom I wrote my dissertation.

Favorite sports team?
The Stonedale University Silver Gryphons.

Movies or Broadway?
Broadway when I lived in New York City; movies now that I’m out west.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Both. It’s the middle part that seems difficult sometimes.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Everything revolves around reading, writing, and teaching books of various kinds. Add in some grading (of things related to books), class discussions (about books), and meetings with colleagues and students (regarding the study of books), and that’s my day, most of the time. Until there’s a mystery, that is. . .

Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a kindle copy of one of the books in the “Lila Maclean Academic” series (The Semester of Our Discontent, The Art of Vanishing, The Spirit in Question). U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway will end October 7, 2018. Good luck everyone!

You can read about Lila in The Spirit in Question, the third book in the “Lila Maclean Academic” mystery series.

English professor Lila Maclean knew drama would be involved when she agreed to consult on Stonedale University’s production of Puzzled: The Musical.

But she didn’t expect to find herself cast into such chaos: the incomprehensible play is a disaster, the crumbling theater appears to be haunted, and, before long, murder takes center stage.

The show must go on—yet as they speed toward opening night, it becomes clear that other members of the company may be targeted as well. Lila searches for answers while contending with a tenacious historical society, an eccentric playwright, an unsettling psychic, an enigmatic apparition, and a paranormal search squad.

With all of this in play, will she be able to identify who killed her colleague. . .or will it soon be curtains for Lila too?

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About the author
BIO: Cynthia Kuhn writes the Lila Maclean Academic Mystery series: The Semester of Our Discontent, an Agatha Award recipient for Best First Novel; The Art of Vanishing, a Lefty Award nominee for Best Humorous Mystery; and The Spirit in Question. She is professor of English at Metropolitan State University of Denver and serves as president of Sisters in Crime-Colorado. For more information, please visit cynthiakuhn.net.

All comments are welcomed.