Penny first appeared in The Cold Light of Mourning and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Penny.

What is your name?
Penny Brannigan.

How old are you?
I am in my mid 50s. As a book character, I don’t age in the same way you do.

What is your profession?
I started out as a manicurist, but I now co-own a Spa, and spend more time watercolour painting. So I consider myself a business owner and artist.

Do you have a significant other?
Not at the moment. But my author has something exciting planned for me in my next book.

What is his/her name and profession?
Sorry, but you’ll have to wait to find that out!

Any children?
No.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
No.

Do your parents live near you?
Sadly, my parents died many years ago. I am an ex-pat Canadian who lives in Wales; they lived in Canada.

Who is your best friend?
Victoria Hopkirk. She is also my business partner at the Spa.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I have a grey cat called Harrison, and I love dogs.

What town do you live in?
I live in the market town of Llanelen, in North Wales.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
I inherited a lovely cottage just outside the town.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
I love my cozy sitting room.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
I like fresh salmon, with rice and broccoli. As for dessert, give me a Victoria sponge cake any day.

Favorite hobby?
Painting, of course, but I also love nature and walking in beautiful Snowdonia.

Favorite color?
Green. I live in Wales, after all.

Favorite author?
Elizabeth J. Duncan. We’ve come a long way together.

Favorite vacation spot?
I vacation at home because Wales is the most beautiful place on earth.

Favorite sports team?
Sorry, I don’t really follow sports.

Movies or Broadway?
I enjoy live theatre, but it’s been decades since I saw a Broadway show.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I enjoy mornings. I love walking to work when the day is new.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
My sleuthing partner is my best friend, Victoria. She’s great when I need a sounding board.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Weekdays follow the usual routine most people are familiar with. I walk to work along the River Conwy, and spend the morning in the Spa. Victoria and I have lunch together at least once a week, often a picnic on our favourite bench in the churchyard beside the river. But when sleuthing calls, I’m prepared to drop everything and swing into action at a moment’s notice.

You can read about Penny in Remembering The Dead, the tenth book in the “Penny Brannigan” cozy mystery series, released September 10, 2019.

Canadian amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan attends a dinner party at a posh country house–where a historic chair disappears and a waiter is murdered.

Artist and spa owner Penny Brannigan has been asked to organize a formal dinner to mark the centenary of the armistice that ended World War One. After dinner, the guests adjourn to the library for a private exhibition of the Black Chair, a precious piece of Welsh literary history awarded in 1917 to poet Hedd Wyn. But to the guests’ shock, the newly restored bardic chair is missing. And then Penny discovers the rain-soaked body of a waiter.

When Penny learns that the victim was the nephew of one of her employees, she is determined to find the killer. Meanwhile, the local police search for the Black Chair. The Prince of Wales is due to open an exhibit featuring the chair in three weeks, so time is not on their side. A visit to a nursing home to consult an ex-thief convinces Penny that the theft of the Black Chair and the waiter’s murder are connected. She rushes to Dublin to consult a disagreeable antiquarian, who might know more than he lets on, and during the course of her investigation confronts a gaggle of suspicious travelers and an eccentric herbalist who seems to have something to hide. Can Penny find the chair and the culprit before she is laid to rest in the green grass of Wales?

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About the author
A two-time winner of the Bloody Words (Bony Blithe) Award for Canada’s best light mystery, Elizabeth J. Duncan is the author of two series of traditional mysteries: the Penny Brannigan series set in North Wales and Shakespeare in the Catskills featuring costume designer and amateur sleuth Charlotte Fairfax. A former journalist, public relations practioner, and college professor, Elizabeth is a faculty member of the Humber School for Writers. She divides her time between Toronto, Canada, and Llandudno, North Wales.

To learn more about Elizabeth, visit her website at elizabethjduncan.com.

All comments are welcomed.