Character Interview
Character Name: Charlie Kingsley
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself--both something we learn from [the story] and something that readers might not guess? I have a little tea business I run out of my home in Redemption, Wisconsin. I grow my own flowers and herbs and turn those into teas and tinctures. Becoming an amateur sleuth was NOT part of the plan, but it appears not only do I have a knack for it, but my tea clients have a knack for getting into trouble and needing someone to bail them out. So far, though, I haven’t any issues offering both services, but I’m getting the feeling that might change.
2) How did you first meet your writer? Believe it or not, it was over thirty years ago. At the time, I didn’t even have a name, just the dead aunt that Becca inherited a house from. (This current series, The Charlie Kingsley Mysteries, is a spin off from Secrets of Redemption—Secrets of Redemption takes place mostly in current times while The Charlie Kingsley Mysteries takes place in the 1990s.) It took some doing to get her attention, she can be a little slow to catch on at times.
3) Want to dish about him/her? While overall, we do have a good relationship, she does frustrate me at times. It took a little doing for her to get on board with that there are a lot more stories that need to be told about Redemption and it really needed another second series. She also had some other silly idea that didn’t go anywhere that slowed things down a bit, but now we’re back on track.
4) Why do you think that your life has ended up being in a book? Because there’s always something going on. The stories need to be told.
5) Who's your favorite character? Why? Oh, this is a tough one. I have lots of favorites. Pat, of course, my best friend and sidekick. Claire, my other best friend, but she hasn’t been the same since the birth of her daughter. Those are probably the top two.
6) Who's your least favorite character? Why? Well, Officer Brandon Wyle is ALWAYS getting on my nerves. And we meet a new character, Rowena Tanveer, who just opened a psychic reading shop in downtown Redemption. There’s definitely something off with her, although I haven’t been able to put my finger on it.
7) What's next for you? Loch Ness Murder, which is a novella in the Mysteries, Midsummer Sun and Murder cozy mystery anthology, and after that Murder Among Friends, due to be released in August.
About Murder Next Door
Everyone knows vampires don’t exist.
So when Mildred Schmidt, one of Charlie’s customers, is convinced that her next-door neighbor’s house sitter is actually a vampire, Charlie of course has to step in to see what is really going on.
What she finds is … disturbing. The house sitter DOES have some peculiar habits—like digging holes in the backyard in the middle of the night.
Surely, they aren’t … graves.
But then Polly, a local teenager, goes missing.
Of course, teenagers DO run away from time to time.
Less explainable is the dead body that then appears in the “vampire’s” yard.
Luckily, Charlie is hot on the case, and not a moment too soon as she races to not only find Polly, but to discover the killer before the bodies start to pile up.
Meet Charlie. Better known as “Aunt Charlie” from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She's back, making teas and solving cases in this funny, twisty, cozy mystery series set in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin.
About Michele Pariza Wacek
When Michele was 3 years old, she taught herself to read because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but she does spend much of her time writing stories now. Mystery stories to be exact, ranging from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn’t enough, she also hosts a virtual book club you can check out and join (for free!) at MPWNovels.com.
Michele holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.
