A Wicked Welcome Back to Laura Bradford

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Jane/Susannah/Sadie here, dreaming of daffodils…

I’m super excited to bring Laura Bradford, a/k/a Elizabeth Lynn Casey, back to the Wickeds. I asked her some questions recently, and here’s what she had to say:

  1. Tell us about yourself.laura

I’m a mom. I’ve wanted to write since I was ten. I’ve had 29 books contracted since being diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2006.  I love—and I mean, love—to bake (and eat). And if I could only vacation to one place for the rest of my life, I would choose Disney World—I love the innocent joy and the way it lifts my spirits.

  1. Tell us about your series.

How about I tell you about two of them? 😉

silenceflans_front mech.inddFirst, some quick background on the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, before I get to talk of the latest book.

When the series begins with Éclair and Present Danger, Winnie Johnson (my protagonist) owns a bakery. It’s all she’s ever wanted to do with her life. But the rising cost of rent on the shop soon threatens everything. When she learns she’s been named in a good friend’s will, she thinks she has a chance to stay open. Unfortunately, she soon learns she wasn’t left money but, rather, an old vintage ambulance and a cat that hates the very sight of Winnie. Forced to close her bakery, Winnie is left wondering what she’ll do now. That is until she really looks at the ambulance and sees a way to reinvent her business.

The Silence of the Flans—book # 2—comes out March 7. In an attempt to help de-stress her new boyfriend, Winnie (my protagonist) offers to let one of his business students do a short stint with her Emergency Dessert Squad. The hope is that the hands-on time with a real small business can make the difference between graduating and not graduating for this troubled girl.

Jay (Winnie’s boyfriend) tries to warn her about this particular student. Renee (Winnie’s best friend and employee) tries to convince her to let her go within the first few minutes…but Winnie doesn’t listen.

It’s a decision that may very well derail her new business when the next customer ends up dead—poisoned by one of Winnie’s own desserts.

Now for another new series…

death-in-advertisingDeath in Advertising, the kick-off title in my new Tobi Tobias Mysteries, debuted last month. While the book can be purchased in a trade paperback size on line, the main focus is the e-book and it’s lower price. From a career standpoint, I pursued this contract as a way to get my work in front of the E-audience as the vast majority of my readers, to date, buy physical books. I, too, am a physical book reader, but I know that there is a segment of the population who isn’t. And by reaching them, I hope to grow all of my series.

Death in Advertising is the first book in what, for now, is a three-book series.  All three books will be out in this calendar year so there is no lengthy wait between visits with characters I hope you’ll come to love.

Tobi Tobias (my protagonist) is a fun character. She’s funny, quirky, and, at times, a bit self-deprecating. But she learns a lot about herself as she moves through the books. And her posse of friends—including an African Gray Parrot she pretends to hate—are an absolute hoot to spend time with.

  1. Candy corn. Explain.

I wish I could. I just know that the final day or two of a deadline has me consuming large quantities alongside many glasses of milk. The Brachs Corporation really should consider me as a spokesperson.

  1. You are a very prolific writer. How do you get so much done?

I’m not sure how prolific I am. I have eight years of college tuition to pay (I’m halfway through now!) and that’s quite a motivator to work, work, work if there ever was one.

  1. You’re a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan. Which is your favorite book?

On the Banks of Plum Creek. It had everything—girl drama (Laura/Nellie), dramatic moments (leeches!) and everything else you could want in a good book.

Now that I’m thinking about that book, I’m realizing it’s time to do a little re-reading. J

  1. What’s next for you?

A few things.

*The 12th Southern Sewing Circle Mystery—Patterned After Death— (written under my pen name, Elizabeth Lynn Casey) comes out in June.

*The 2nd Tobi Tobias Mystery—30 Second Death—comes out in July.

*I’ll be releasing the sixth book in my Amish Mysteries in late summer/early fall.

*The 3rd Tobi Tobias Mystery—And Death Goes To—comes out in December.

*Dial M for Mousse, the third Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery, will be out in January, 2018.

*And a brand new project I’m beyond excited about will debut in the summer of 2018, releasing first in trade with a mass market reprint.  I’ll share more on my Facebook Author page when I can.

Thanks for stopping by, Laura! Readers, what’s your favorite Laura Bradford or Elizabeth Lynn Casey book or series?

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37 Thoughts

  1. First, welcome back to the Wickeds, but my goodness, Laura. That’s quite a year! Congratulations on all those releases. People often think I’m super productive, but I confess to feeling quite the slacker right now. ;^)

    Tell us more about the Emergency Dessert Squad since I’m afraid I have not gotten to book one. Do they do cookie runs at midnight? Deliver cakes for shotgun weddings? I’m so curious!

    1. Thanks for the warm welcome, Edith! The Emergency Dessert Squad is just what you’d think–a delivery service you can call when you need a dessert rescue.

      Been banged up and bruised and need a pick me up? Call Winnie and order some Black-and-Blue cookies.

      Dealing with hot flashes? Winnie has Hot Flash Fudge Sundaes.

      Want to let that employee know just how special they are? Winnie can make a You’re A Peach Pie.

      Lots of desserts for all sorts of issues! And yes, I wish I had the money to be able to bring this concept to reality (beyond books).

  2. Wow. Just wow. There’s keeping busy, and then there’s taking over the world. Congrats on all your series. I for one will look forward on reports on how your e-series fares, compared to your print-first books. Of course, you already have an outstanding reader base!

  3. That is one impressive resume, Laura! And you are one of the nicest authors I’ve ever met to boot! Thanks for taking time to visit with us today!

  5. Thanks for visiting, Laura! I knew you were a prolific writer but I had no idea how many books you have written! You’re an inspiration!

    1. It was the best… Cool fact, Barbara: I visited one of the Laura Ingalls’ homes about 10 years ago. They had Pa’s fiddle and Mary’s sewing machine. So cool. Oh and Pa? He looked nothing like Michael Landon. Quite small.

  7. My favorite of Laura’s series has to be the Jenkins and Burns books because that’s how I was introduced to Laura’s writing. Thanks to her appearance on the New Kids of the Block panel fo the debut of that series and confused meeting at the lobby in the hotel of Malice many moons ago just as her Elizabeth Lynn Casey sewing series was kicking off (Was she Laura or Elizabeth? Had I been calling her by the wrong name? How embarrassing!), I was introduced to her in real life.

    And Sherry is right, Laura is one of the nicest authors (and people) I know too. 🙂

  9. What wonderful timing. I just finished (and wrote a first draft of my review for) The Silence of the Flans yesterday. And now i know why I love Laura’s books so much. I’m a huge DisNerd myself. I’m planning to spend Saturday at Disneyland. (Only an hour drive away, so much easier and cheaper to get to than Disney World.)

    Looks like I have quite a few more great books to read this year. Looking forward to the next Amish mystery for sure, and I enjoyed the first Tobi book, so I look forward to spending more time with those characters.

    1. Thank you, Mark! Disney is bliss, isn’t it? Looking forward to your take on The Silence of the Flans! You always give very thoughtful reviews.

  10. Well I’m all caught up on the Sewing Circle Mystery Series. I’ve read Eclair and Present Danger and Death in Advertising. I’ve loved everything I’ve read so far by this amazing author. I can’t say I have a favorite. I just need more books 🙂

    1. LOL! I’m trying, Jayme, I’m trying! 🙂 I think you’ll really be pleased with Patterned After Death (the next sewing circle out in June).

  12. I can’t pick a favorite, I’ve read all her series and I swear with each new book it becomes my favorite one. I agree with the others, I was lucky enough to have finally met Laura after a few years of stalking…er…following her on her blog and FB and she is as nice in person as you might expect. Can’t wait for this year of reading

    1. And Debbie S., meeting you in person after “seeing you around” all these years on FB and my blog, was one of the highlights of my 2016.

  13. I have not had the pleasure of reading any of Laura Bradford’s books yet. Looking forward to reading all of them.

  14. I absolutely adore the Amish Mystery series! Clare, Jakob and Aunt Diane are the best!

  15. I love everything Laura writes. She has a way of writing that just pulls me in and I cant get enough. Besides all that she is an amazing person (only knowing her on facebook) and is a hero to those of us that also have m/s. Thanks for visiting the Wickeds

  16. Definitely the Amish series. Living in Lancaster, PA, means I have a special place in the heart for the Amish people, and Laura’s series is so well researched that I know what I read is authentic.

  17. I also love the Southern Sewing Circle series and Eclair and Present Danger. I’ve got to get back to Aaron’s Books, the indie bookstore where I’ve met Laura several times, to catch up with all the new books. Laura, you are one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

  18. Laura Bradford, I think you’re onto something with this emergency dessert squad ambulance idea. ( :
    I haven’t read any books by either author yet, but now I’ve been motivated to do so. I, too, am mostly a physical book reader, but I’m really trying to cross over into e-books too. Thank you wicked cozy authors for introducing your readers to more cozy writers.

    1. I missed this comment, I’m sorry. I hope you do try the emergency dessert squad mysteries. They’re fun in the way an escape book should be. At least I hope so.

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