Sophie 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?
Sophie Parker. At one time, the Parker name was well-respected in my little town of Jefferson Grove, Virginia, but that changed when my father and brother went to prison for running a Ponzi scheme. The only other Parker in town is my great-aunt, Rose. She inspires fear, not respect.

How old are you?
29

What is your profession?
I’ve had a few jobs. It’s not easy to find work that lets me use my passion for folklore and fairy tales. When I returned home to take care of my great aunt after my dad and brother went to prison, no one wanted to hire me because of the Ponzi scheme thing. I was hired as a wench waitress at the Booty Burgo, a pirate-themed sports bar. Eventually, the library hired me part-time to run children’s programming. Today, I have that job full-time.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes!

If so, what is his name and profession?
My beau is AJ Devin, my high school crush. He’s Scotch-Irish, so he has that thick wavy red hair and devilish blue eyes they’re known for. He’s also from Cooters Hollow, our equivalent of being from the other side of the tracks. We reconnected when he invited me on an airplane ride after a particularly bad day that included a disastrous job interview and my miscalculating the math on my coupons at the grocery store. The airplane ride didn’t end so well either when AJ and I were picked up for the murder of the indebted plane’s owner. Did I mention his job is repossessing airplanes?

Do you have any children?
No. Maybe someday.

Do you have any siblings?
I have one brother, Will, who unfortunately is incarcerated with my father for running a Ponzi scheme.

Are your parents nearby?
My father lives at the Federal Penitentiary in Petersburg, Virginia. I try to visit him once a month, bringing him his favorite lemon bars. My mother ran off with her personal trainer when my father went to prison. I think she’s in South America. She’s somewhere that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States. I haven’t seen her since my father was arrested.

Who is your best friend?
Lani Lafferty. She’s been my best buddy since high school. When I first returned home to Jefferson Grove, she was my only friend. She introduced me to the coupon group I belong to. She also works at the sheriff’s department, which comes in handy when I have to poke my nose into a murder case.

Do you have any pets?
No, but AJ has a Great Dane named Duchess, who we all call Dutch. She saved our lives once.

What town do you live in?
I live in the small town of Jefferson Grove, Virginia, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. It’s surrounded by mountains and hollows, including the one AJ is from, Cooters Hollow. The area was once well-known for bootlegging, and moonshine is still a popular, albeit illegal, pastime of many residents.

When I was growing up and my father’s business was legit, I lived in the affluent Monticello Heights. Now I live in an older part of town in the home my Aunt Rose grew up in.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
It’s a small southern mountain town.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I live with my octogenarian Aunt Rose and help take care of her. She’s sharp and spry, but sometimes goes on buying binges from late night TV and sleepwalks. She could be shopping while she’s sleepwalking. Either way, she needs someone to look after her. The home is a quaint, early twentieth-century, one-story home with a cute porch that AJ and I sometimes sit on to talk. He’s a little afraid of Aunt Rose, so he prefers to visit me outside.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
My bedroom where I know I’m out of Aunt Rose’s way. She has a sharp tongue and no tolerance for nonsense, so I try to avoid upsetting her.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
Aunt Rose makes the best pies in all the Blue Ridge. My particular favorite is huckleberry picked from the plants growing wild in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When Bull, a biker who works with AJ, comes over, he and Aunt Rose make delicious cookies as well.

Do you have any hobbies?
I love fairy tales and folklore.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I’ve been too broke for a vacation lately, plus my 30-year-old poop-brown Volvo doesn’t have a huge driving radius in the heat and humidity of summer or frozen cold of winter. But when I was younger and my family had money, I liked to go to the beach. The closest I get to the water’s edge now is at AJ’s house at Jefferson Lake.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
AJ would probably say I liked to poke my nose into other people’s business and get in to trouble, but that’s rarely a fun time, especially when I almost end up dead. I like to read and spend time with my friends and AJ.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Riches to Rags: A Reverse Fairy Tale with a Happy Ending

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m an amateur sleuth who pretty much snoops on my own. Sometimes Sergeant Scowl. . .er. . .Davis, is involved, but he’s usually telling me to mind my business. Occasionally, a friend may help. One time, my high school nemesis, Vivie, who still doesn’t like me, helped on a case, but she was the one the police suspected of murder.

What is a typical day in your life like in general and when you are on a case?
My life is typical. . .I get up, go to work at the library running children’s programs in the morning and after school. On Tuesday evenings, I have my coupon exchange group. Other evenings I might visit with AJ if he’s not repoing an airplane. Or I’ll hang out with Aunt Rose watching IDTV. Wednesdays I grocery shop because my coupon group says that’s the best day to get the most deals.

If there’s a pie contest going on, which happens quite a bit around here, I often take Aunt Rose to deliver her pie since she doesn’t drive. I always have to hope we don’t run into her nemesis, Carl Jackson, while we’re handing off her pie. He’s nearly always selected as judge in the pie contest, much to my aunt’s consternation.

When I’m sleuthing, I have to fit my snooping in around my job, although you’d be surprised how often I can glean clues at the library. Sometimes I’m out late when I’m trying to solve a case. A few times, I’ve ended up in big trouble that landed me in the hospital.

Death of a Miser, A Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery #3
Genre: Cozy
Release: August 2022
Purchase Link

It’s the holiday season in Jefferson Grove and Sophie Parker’s life is good. She hung up her waitress uniform months ago and now works full time sharing her beloved folklore and fairy tales as the library’s children’s program coordinator. She’s getting along with all the members of her coupon group, including her high school nemesis, Vivie Danner. There are only two blips in Sophie’s life; the first is her airplane repo boyfriend, AJ Devlin, who over the last few months has cancelled more dates than he’s kept making Sophie wonder if perhaps their relationship is coming to an end.

The second is her great aunt Rose who enters her locally famous pie into the Winter Jamboree’s pie contest. While Aunt Rose nearly always wins, contest judge Carl Jackson always has something negative to say about her pies. This time is no different when Carl criticizes her pie for being too sweet and then steals it. It’s an insult Aunt Rose can’t let pass. Unfortunately, while she’s fussing at Carl, he drops dead.

Carl’s death is assumed to be from natural causes, until the medical examiner determines that he was poisoned, and all eyes turn to Aunt Rose as his most likely killer. Sophie knows her aunt would never use one of her prized pies to murder, so she sets out to keep her aunt out of prison. It doesn’t take long for Sophie to learn that the charming Carl Jackson was actually a greedy, sometimes cruel, miser, who had many enemies. As she learns more about Carl and those who had reasons to want him dead, Sophie creates problems in her coupon group, between her and AJ, and with a murderer bent on stopping her and Rose from celebrating the holidays ever again.

About the author
Jenna Harte is a die-hard romantic, writing about characters who are passionate about and committed to each other, and frequently getting into trouble. She is the author of the Valentine Mysteries, the first of which, “Deadly Valentine,” reached the quarter-finals in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. She penned the Southern Heat contemporary romance series and the Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery series, the third book of which, Death of a Miser, comes out in August 2022. When she’s not telling stories, she works by day as a ghost writer and online entrepreneur. Keep up on the murder and mayhem at jennaharte.com.

All comments are welcomed.