Interview with T.C. Wescott, Author of Slay Bells @mousetrapbooks #mystery #interview

T.C. Wescott was born in Missouri but has lived in Oklahoma most of his life. Like pretty much every author who has ever breathed, he is an avid reader. His favorites are classic mysteries from the Golden Age, as well as just before or just after that period (which is widely considered the period between the two World Wars). His first mystery novel, Running from Scissors, was published in July 2018 and will be the first of at least three books in the Running Store Mystery series.

The Christmas Village Mystery series launched in November of the same year with the debut title Slay Bells. The formula for his books is simple - mixing the classic, traditional detective fiction standards with all the trappings of the modern cozy mystery.

Wescott is also (under another name) the author of two award-winning non-fiction books as well as many essays and articles.

His latest book is the cozy mystery, Slay Bells (A Christmas Village Mystery).

Website Address: www.tcwescott.com

Twitter Address: www.twitter.com/MousetrapBooks

Facebook Address: www.facebook.com/BetterMousetrapBooks

About the Book:

Title: SLAY BELLS (A CHRISTMAS VILLAGE MYSTERY)
Author: T.C. Wescott
Publisher: Better Mousetrap Books
Pages: 273
Genre: Cozy Mystery

BOOK BLURB:

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the village, the night settled in over swirling-smoke chimneys; the air was alive with pine and holly, with sugar and cinnamon and cider, by golly!

Along snowy lanes and through shadows it crept, past windows behind which each villager slept, where sleeping dogs lie and cats rest a’purring-

Tonight, in Christmas Village, a killer is stirring.

Welcome to Christmas Village, a magical hamlet where even in December the roses hold their luster and bees buzz among the bluebells. Nestled betwixt an opulent garden with meandering footpaths and an ancient grove of plum trees, Rose Willoughby’s boarding house is plum-full with lodgers. There are no vacancies, but just wait. Soon there will be one…and another…and another.

When the Inn’s guests begin dying in inexplicable ways, some villagers believe a beast from old village lore is the culprit. The sheriff knows better, but he’s just as helpless to catch the invisible killer as are the town folk with their eyes to the sky in search of a flying creature. But our mysterious murderer hasn’t counted on yet another lodger coming to the cottage: Maribel Claus.

Short as a stump, round as a wheel, sweet as a candy cane, and a sharp as a whip, Maribel loves a good puzzle. But can she unmask the phantom killer in time and save Christmas?

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Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life!  Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process.  Can we begin by having you take us back to the beginning?  When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

Slay Bells is the first book in the Christmas Village Mystery series. The notion for a series taking place in Christmas Village came to me years ago when I got the idea to write a stand-alone murder mystery called something like Who Killed Santa Claus? in which Santa Claus himself would be murdered in his cozy North Pole village. Later, when I decided I should try my hand at a mystery series I canned the rather dark idea of killing Santa but kept the village (although it’s not necessarily in the North Pole now). Santa himself doesn’t make an appearance in Slay Bells but our protagonist, or sleuth, is Mrs. Maribel Claus. My concept and goal for the series is for it to be the coziest, most mysterious cozy mystery on the market.

                                                                                           

Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

You don’t need to know everything before you start writing. You’ll figure it out along the way. Trust your instincts and just start writing and see where it goes. You’ll figure the rest out as you go along. If you don’t write, you’ll learn nothing about writing.

Q: What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

I’m going to follow up Slay Bells with more Christmas Village Mystery books and I can’t wait to begin writing them! I have another series as well called The Running Store Mystery series. The first book, Running from Scissors, was published this past July and the second book, Running from Arrows, which is a mystery-romance, will come out in January ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Q: What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

I don’t know how surprising it is, but one factor I believe readers will find appealing about Slay Bells is that it’s not only a whodunit but a howdunit. Two victims are murdered under seemingly impossible circumstances and in order to figure out who the killer is, Maribel must first discover how the murders were committed. It really ramps up the suspense and fun!

Q: Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

There’s no message. It’s pure escapism through the cozy, fantastical village which the characters inhabit and the puzzles of the murders for the readers to work out (or simply enjoy watching as Maribel works them out).

  

Q: Thank you again for this interview!  Do you have any final words?

Only to say that if you’re a fan of locked room, Golden Age, or cozy mysteries, then picked up Slay Bells and/or Running from Scissors. Both are available in paperback and Kindle editions at Amazon’s website or through my website, tcwescott.com. I would also encourage readers to follow me through BookBub, Goodreads and my Amazon author page. I have a lot more good stuff coming up in the near future!