Teddie St. John sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know all about her. Are you ready? Teddie, take it away!

What is your full name?
Theodora Renee St. John, but my friends call me Teddie.

How old are you?
Forty-two (but I feel thirty.)

What is your profession?
I’m thrilled to say that I’m an author of cozy mysteries—the Kate and Kallie series featuring B and B owner Kate and her crime-solving canine companion Kallie. Before that I worked in local government, but when I was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, I decided life is short; too short to be stuck in boring cubicle world, so I left that job and followed my passion instead. I still can’t believe I get paid for doing what I love—how cool is that?

Do you have a significant other?
You betcha! As we Scandinavians in Wisconsin say.

What is their name and profession?
Tavish Bentley. You may have heard of him; he’s a bestselling suspense author from England. I’m a lucky girl. Not only is Tavish smart, kind, funny, and gorgeous with a killer English accent, he doesn’t give a damn that I don’t have breasts (a rarity among men.)

Do you have any children?
Not human ones. I have a canine daughter named Gracie.

Do you have any siblings?
Nope. I’m an only child.

Are your parents nearby?
Sadly, my father passed away a few years ago, but my mom, Claire St. John, lives behind me in a sleek mother-in-law cottage.

Who is your best friend?
Char Jorgensen, owner of The Corner Bookstore. We’ve been friends since grade school. Char and I make up two of “The Three Musketeers” as our teacher dubbed us years ago. Sharon Hansen, who owns the local B and B with her husband, is our third Musketeer and other best friend.

Do you have any pets?
I have an adorable American Eskimo. (See answer above about Gracie, my canine daughter.)

What town do you live in?
Lake Potawatomi, Wisconsin.

Do you live in a small town or a big city?
Small town. I’m not a big city girl.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
I own a cozy bungalow from the ‘50s that I adore.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
My vintage, colorful, kitschy kitchen. I love to bake.

Favorite meal and dessert?
That’s a tough one. I loooove a good steak, salad, and (loaded) baked potato, but I also love my dad’s homemade lasagna and garlic bread. (He left me his recipe.) And in the summer, nothing beats bratwursts, potato salad, and watermelon. Yumm. For dessert, it’s a toss-up between Danish layer cake (moist yellow cake with ribbons of custard and raspberry filling and thick buttercream frosting) and a good chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.

Do you have any hobbies?
Baking and reading. My friends call me “the bookish baker.”

What is your favorite vacation spot?
England. (And I felt that way even before I met my English boyfriend.) I’m going back there in the fall and Tavish is going to show me around the Cotswolds, where he lives.

What music do you listen to?
A little bit of everything, except heavy metal. I love Adele, but I also like a lot of music from the seventies and eighties—Carole King, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, classic Motown—but also some great vintage stuff, like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Ella Fitzgerald. I also love Abba, which makes my classic-rock-loving-friend Brady shudder, but I don’t care; their music makes me happy. (I mean, have you seen Mamma Mia? Talk about joyful!)

Do you have a favorite book?
That’s like asking if I have a favorite child. How can I pick? I love historical fiction and am a big fan of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear as well as the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is definitely a favorite. I also love The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and To Kill a Mockingbird. (My first dog was named Atticus.)

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Baking treats to share with friends and an afternoon curled up with a good book.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
I’m Still Here!

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Amateur. I “work” with my two best friends, Sharon and Char, my fellow Musketeers.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Gracie wakes me early every morning to let her out. While she’s taking care of business, I have a cup of coffee and a piece of kringle and plan my day. Then I take my canine daughter for a walk to the park where I usually stop and chat with neighbors. Once back home, I’ll often bake a few batches of my famous homemade cookies and deliver them to Sharon for her B and B guests. I drop more cookies off at the sheriff’s office for pals Sheriff Brady Wells and his deputy Augie. Then I head to Andersen’s Bakery with my laptop for more coffee and a few hours of concentrated writing. Before heading home, I swing by The Corner Bookstore to visit my best friend and check out the latest books. (I’d never hear the end of it if I made cookies and didn’t take any to Cookie Monster Char.)

What does a typical day look like when you are on a case?
I’ll get together with my fellow Musketeers and we’ll huddle over the big kitchen island at Sharon’s B and B and brainstorm possible murder suspects. Then we’ll split up and research the potential murderers. (As an author, I’m used to doing research.) Often, this research leads me to taking a road trip—sometimes alone, sometimes with Char—to interview a suspect in person, which usually requires me to wear a disguise, due to my modicum of fame as an author. (My photo’s on the back of all my books.) I’ll strap on my knitted knockers, the occasional wig, and a costume to adopt the requisite persona necessary to get the information I need. This latest case looks like it might require an undercover trip to an exotic dance club. That should be interesting. . .

Deadly Delights, A Bookish Baker Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: June 2021
Purchase Link

In Laura Jensen Walker’s second Bookish Baker mystery, Teddie St. John enters a pie-baking contest. But her chances of winning plummet when she’s suspected of killing one of the judges!

August in Lake Potawatomi, Wisconsin, always means one thing: the annual baking contest. Picture The Great British Baking Show, writ Midwestern. It’s a huge draw for the upper crust of Wisconsin pastry aficionados. And, of course, bon vivant baker-turned-mystery writer Teddie St. John has a pie in the ring. The white vinyl baking tent boasts an array of folding tables housing each entrant’s daily baked good. And at one of those tables sits the corpse of the head judge, his face half-buried in a delectable coconut cream pie.

The body in question belonged to notorious Les Morris. Les may have been getting on in years, but he hadn’t outgrown his well-earned reputation for lechery. Now, Les is no more. But unfortunately, by his side lies Teddie’s distinctive embossed rolling pin…covered with blood.

It’s out of the baking pan, into the oven. A life sentence behind a lattice of prison bars and a tangle of rhu-barbed wire will never do, and Teddie’s quick wit and bohemian charm won’t save her from the long spatula of the law. So, with the help of her friends, she’ll concoct a recipe to clear her name–if the real killer doesn’t ice her first.

About the author
Agatha-nominee Laura Jensen Walker has loved mysteries ever since she read Trixie Belden in the fourth grade in Racine, Wisconsin. A former reporter and the author of several books, including Hope, Faith, & a Corpse and the 2020 Agatha-nominated Murder Most Sweet (her first Bookish Baker mystery) Laura lives in Northern California. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Deadly Delights is her third mystery and 20th book. Visit Laura’s website at laurajensenwalker.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

All comments are welcomed.