Lizzie sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better.

What is your full name?
Elizabeth Marion Hale, but everyone just calls me Lizzie.

How old are you?
Twenty-seven.

What is your profession?
Lucky me, I own Love Under the Covers, the premier romance bookstore in the Midwest.

Do you have a significant other?
Well, there’s Max Alverez, a ranger in the nearby national park. I wouldn’t say we’re “significant” yet, but we’re working on it.

What is his name and profession?
See above. Max isn’t the kind of ranger who helps visitors learn about wildlife or nature. In fact, he’s the first to admit he knows nothing about the furry creatures who inhabit the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He’s a law enforcement ranger which means his job is to make sure all laws are followed within the park.

Do you have any children?
No children.

Do you have any siblings?
I’m an only child who was lucky to have parents smart enough to invest in Apple stocks in my name from when I was a kid. The money I’ve made let me open my dream bookstore.

Are your parents nearby?
I grew up in Chicago and that’s where my parents still live. But my dad’s sister, Charmaine, lives in Tinker’s Creek, Ohio. After years of spending my summer vacations in the town adjacent to the national park, I knew that’s where I wanted to live.

Who is your best friend?
Charmaine and I share a property. She’s in the house up front and I’m in what used to be the carriage house at the back. She also works for me. While I have lots of other friends in town, I’d have to say she’s my bestie. She’s always up for helping me investigate.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, a large, very shaggy white dog named Violet. She belonged to the victim of the first murder I investigated (see Death of a Red-Hot Rancher) and she came home with me and has never left. She’s the best companion any girl could ever have!

What town do you live in?
Tinker’s Creek, Ohio

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
It’s a very small town, but since it’s near the national park, there’s always a lot going on. We’ve got restaurants and shops the park visitors come to, and the train that chugs through the park stops not far from my house. It’s the perfect place for Love Under the Covers, my romance bookstore!

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I live in an old carriage house that I’ve renovated.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
Wow, I love every inch of my house, so that’s a tough one. I think it’s a toss up between in front of the living room fireplace and out in the garden where I have a table and chairs. The garden itself belongs to Charmaine and she’s got everything growing there from herbs to flowers. It’s overgrown and overblown, and it’s pretty much paradise!

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
There is nothing like Nick’s pizza in town. Dessert? Violet and I love to take walks and stop for ice cream.

Do you have any hobbies?
No time for hobbies. Running a bookstore takes lots of hours and lots of energy.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Now that you mention it, I haven’t had time for a vacation since I opened Love Under the Covers. Hmmm. . .since one of my favorite things to do is watch baseball, I suppose a trip to ballparks would be on my bucket list!

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Reading. Oh, how I love to immerse myself in the fictional worlds between the covers of a book! Make it a romance novel, and I’m in heaven!

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Love Under the Covers

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m definitely an amateur and I wouldn’t be at all if people didn’t keep getting bumped off in Tinker’s Creek. When that happens, I work side by side with Max.

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
My typical day at the bookstore is heaven on earth. Dealing with customers. Recommending new books. Arranging book groups and meetings of the local romance writers group. I love everything there is to do at a bookstore. When I’m investigating, I have to leave a lot of that to Charmaine. She’s a real people person so it works out great.

Murder of a Mail-Order Bride, A Love Is Murder Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: August 2022
Purchase Link

When real life starts mimicking the plot of one of the romance books that line the shelves in her bookstore, it’s up to Lizzie Hale to catch the killer, in this riveting new Love is Murder mystery.

Lizzie Hale thought mail-order brides existed only between the pages of the historical romances she stocks in her bookstore, Love Under the Covers. But when not one, but two local men introduce her to their respective new wives, she’s forced to reevaluate that notion.

Lizzie is surprised when Al Little, the owner of the local hardware store, asks Lizzie and her aunt Charmaine to help Svetlana, his new bride straight from Russia, to settle into Tinker’s Creek, but they agree.

Everything is going swimmingly—until a wrench gets thrown into their plans when Svetlana is found drowned in the creek.

With Al’s suspicious best friend—who has his own mysterious mail-order bride—and the secretive matchmaker who put them together, Lizzie’s got more suspects than she knows what to do with. But she’ll have to nail down who the killer is fast, before someone else winds up dead.

About the author
Mimi Granger began her publishing career writing historical romance. These days, she prefers the twists and turns of a good mystery and Murder of a Mail-Order Bride is the second book in her Love is Murder mysteries. As Casey Daniels, she’s written the Pepper Martin mysteries, as Kylie Logan, she’s written the Jazz Ramsey mysteries, and as Lucy Ness, she’s penned the Haunted Mansion mysteries. She lives outside of Cleveland with her husband and an Airedale named Eliot Ness, and she was once fortunate enough to share her life with a big, white shaggy dog named Lucy who is the inspiration for Violet on the cover of her books.

All comments are welcomed.