Mel Turner first appeared in If Walls Could Talk and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Mel.

What is your full name?
Melanie Turner – but I go by “Mel”

How old are you?
Forty-one

What is your profession?
I run my own renovation company, focusing on historic homes in the San Francisco Bay Area

Do you have a significant other?
Yes! Not so long ago I met a wonderful, quirky man – who is able to deal with the fact that I occasionally see ghosts

What is their name and profession?
He’s a mathematician named Landon Demetrius

Do you have any children?
I have one stepson, Caleb, who has recently gone to college. We’re very close!

Do you have any siblings?
Two sisters, but they both live out of town

Are your parents nearby?
My mom passed away several years ago, but I live with my father, Bill Turner, the founder of Turner Construction

Who is your best friend?
Luz Cabrera

Do you have any pets?
One dog named Dog

What town do you live in?
Oakland, California, right across the Bay from San Francisco

Would you say you live in a small town or a big city?
Oakland’s a big city

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
Until recently I’ve lived with my dad and our family friend Stan in an old farmhouse in the Fruitvale district of Oakland. But Landon bought me an old house as an engagement present! So we’re re-doing it – and let me tell you, renovating one’s own home is a lot harder than renovating a client’s house!

What is your favorite spot in your home?
It my new home, definitely the “inglenook” by the fireplace

Favorite meal and dessert?
Food truck tacos and anything chocolate

Do you have any hobbies?
Mostly collecting old things

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Vacation? What’s a vacation?

What music do you listen to?
I’m partial to old 60s-70s music, Motown, and Nina Simone

Do you have a favorite book?
Winnie the Pooh

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Hanging out with loved ones – my dad, Stan, Luz, Caleb, and Landon, for family dinner and movie night (popcorn with plenty of butter!)

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
** A Good Foundation, But Needs Work **

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Amateur – I seem to get roped into solving murder cases because so many bodies drop on (or near) my jobsites! Also, since I communicate with ghosts, I often have an advantage in figuring out what happened.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I’m usually juggling several renovation jobs in various stages of completion, as well as ordering supplies and checking on permits. Now that I’m renovating my own house, as well, I spend my “spare” time dealing with things like choosing tile and deciding on paint colors. I like to have dinner with my dad whenever possible, and of course Landon and I like to spend our evenings together. (And by “evening” I mean until about 9 pm, since I get up at 5 to start the day. We construction types operate on early hours!) And then it’s off again to my jobsites – and perhaps to talk to a ghost or two.

The Last Curtain Call is the eighth book in the “Haunted Home Renovation” cozy mystery series, coming June 30, 2020.

A new ghoulish mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of A Ghostly Light featuring Mel Turner, a ghost-whispering contractor.

Mel Turner can’t resist the chance to bring the Crockett Theatre, a decrepit San Francisco Art Deco movie palace, back to life. But there’s a catch for Turner Construction: Several artists are currently squatting in the building, and they aren’t the only ones haunting the once-grand halls of the historic theater.

When one of the squatters is found dead, the police department has a long list of suspects to investigate. Meanwhile, Mel and her fiancé, Landon, are remodeling an old house for themselves, and Mel finds being on the other side of a home renovation project more challenging than she expected.

When Mel discovers that the former owner of the Crockett Theatre died under mysterious circumstances, and that there just might be a connection to the ghost haunting her own attic, the case takes a new turn—one that could bring down the curtain for the last time.

Purchase Link
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About the author
Juliet Blackwell is the New York Times bestselling author of the Haunted Home Renovation series, the Witchcraft mysteries, and several standalone novels, including The Vineyards of Champagne. A Bay Area native, she makes her home in Oakland, California — and spends a lot of time in France! Visit her website at x.

All comments are welcomed.