For this week’s Writer Spotlight Wednesday, we’re welcoming Emmeline Duncan to the blog!
Tell us about your new book!
I like to call Fresh Brewed Murder my Portland hipster mystery. When Sage Caplin opens her Ground Rules Coffee cart with her friend Harley, they aim to serve the best coffee in Portland. But then Sage finds the developer of the apartment building across the street dead next to her cart. It turns out her estranged grifter mother once scammed the man out of a significant chunk of change. But Sage isn’t the only person at the food cart pod with a reason to want the developer dead, even if her box cutter was the murder weapon. But will she be able to solve the murder before her business, and maybe her life, comes to a bitter end?
Your new book is part of a series. Please tell us about it!
Fresh Brewed Murder is the first in the Ground Rules Mystery Series. The second novel, Double Shot Death, will come out in April 2022, and I’m currently writing the third in the series. I’m really excited my series found a home with Kensington Cozies and think they’ve done a fantastic job launching my series into the world. I’ve enjoyed bringing the Portland, Oregon I know and love to the page.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
In addition to writing the Ground Rules series, I also write for teens as Kelly Garrett. My debut YA thriller, The Last To Die, was an Oregon Book Awards finalist. It showcases my love of anti-heroes and unlikeable female narrators. I received an Oregon Literary Fellowship in 2020. When I’m not writing, you can find me exploring regional hiking trails with my Great Pyrenees, Waylon. Or in one of the local coffee roasters sampling brews.
What’s your favorite book that you’ve read in the past year?
The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is one of my recent favorites. I’ve heard it described as a warm hug in book form. I also thoroughly enjoyed The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith. On the mystery side, I devoured Elly Griffiths’ The Night Hawk and Deanna Raybourn’s An Unexpected Peril.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
To write the stories I’d want to read. I’ve received excellent writing feedback over the years, but one of the key takeaways is to write the sort of book that I’d sacrifice a night’s sleep to stay up reading.
How can people learn more about your book and follow you?
My website, emmelineduncan.com, is a great place to find out more about my books. There’s a link to sign up for my newsletter on my website, which includes writing news, a drink recipe of the month, plus book and crime show recommendations. Instagram is my favorite social media platform, and you find me on Insta and Facebook as @writeremmelineduncan. I’m also on Twitter as @duncanemmeline.