Welcome Author Traci Wilton and a #giveaway

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We’re hosting author Traci Wilton, who is really two people, co-authors Traci Hall and Patrice Wilton. This is their fourth visit to the Wickeds blog. Do you think we should have a Five-Timers Club like Saturday Night Live and give out jackets?

Today, we’re celebrating the release of the sixth book in their Salem B and B series, Mrs. Morris and the Pot of Gold, which was released on August 23rd. One lucky commenter below will receive an autographed copy.

Here’s the blurb

Salem, Massachusetts, B&B owner Charlene Morris will need the luck of the Irish—and the help of a ghost—to unveil a hooded killer . . .

Charlene has hired a van to ferry her B&B guests to an all-you-can-eat corned beef and cabbage dinner hosted by Salem’s Irish community at the Ancient Order of Hibernians club—but she should have booked a hearse. It’s never a good sign when the family black sheep drunkenly crashes a party by punching the guy dressed as a leprechaun. But things go from troublesome to fatal when Charlene stumbles upon a second brawl in an upper room—and this fight Connor Gallagher loses, his anonymous assailant rushing past Charlene, hidden by a hoodie.

Now Detective Sam Holden has another homicide on his hands, with Charlene as the only eyewitness. Even if she can’t give the police sketch artist much to go on, Charlene is determined to ID the murderer, with the help of Dr. Jack Strathmore, the charming ghost who haunts her B&B. The answer lies in the motive, and to uncover that sleuth and spook will need to shine a light on Connor’s shady past—before the killer pulls another Irish goodbye . . .

Take it away, Traci and Patrice!

Traci: Special shout out to Barb, our host!

We would love to chat about…traveling to the location that you are writing about.

Travel, travel, travel! This might seem like a no-brainer, but we actually didn’t go to Salem until after we’d turned in our first book, Mrs. Morris and the Ghost. We both love to travel—in fact, Patrice was a flight attendant before she became a writer.

Thanks to the internet and Google Earth, you can “see” a place now right down to the cars parked on the side streets. There were things we were able to add in Mrs. Morris and the Witch because we had visited by book 2 and understood the scent from the bay, the cobblestone streets, and the love that Salem has for its tourists. I mean, how cool is a city to acknowledge that hey, those girls that were hung weren’t actually witches, but let’s educate you on what really happened! Salem is full of amazing history. We have tried to include a tidbit in each book.

Traci and Patrice at Salem Wharf

During the research for Mrs. Morris and the Pot of Gold, we discovered that Salem had a lot of Irish immigrants. I don’t know that they were part of a gold heist though, haha. That was definitely our imagination 😊

Besides Salem, we have traveled to Maine for research, to Islamorada several times, to Greece, and we will be in Ormand Beach together in October.

I’ve hogged the word count lol, so let me turn you over to Patrice so she can share what she loves best about visiting a destination!!

Patrice: Hi There! No matter how much online research you’ve done there is nothing like visiting the place with your best friend and writing partner. The world you’re writing about takes on a new dimension, a new flavor is added, and the location becomes brighter, more real, and the more you associate with the locals, the more inspired you become. 

Traci and I not only share our passion for writing and entertaining, but we are now Partners in Crime!

Traci: So true, lol. One last thing that really impressed me about Salem was how friendly the locals were and so welcoming. I can’t wait to go back and check out any new restaurants, or maybe get some more lobster at the Hawthorne Hotel! It was yummy and the bar there was gorgeous. We stayed there for two nights, and it was the scene of the crime in Mrs. Morris and the Vampire.

Readers: Has reading a book ever made you want to visit a real place, and if so, where would you like to travel? Answer in the comments or just say “hi” to win an autographed copy of Mrs. Morris and the Pot of Gold.

Bio

Traci Hall and Patrice Wilton

Traci Wilton is a pseudonym of Traci Hall and Patrice Wilton. Patrice Wilton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty books, some indie-published and some published by Amazon/Montlake. Traci Hall is a hybrid USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty books. Visit them online at www.TraciWilton.com.

Follow us here: https://www.facebook.com/Traciwiltonauthor

Published by Barbara Ross

Barbara Ross is the author of twelve Maine Clambake Mystery novels and six novellas. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at www.maineclambakemysteries.com

57 Thoughts

  1. I love to travel, so I want to go everywhere I read about. That creates a problem when it comes to fictional places. I frequently look up places that don’t exist. I’ve been to Salem but your books make we want to go back.

  2. I’ve read quite a few books based in New Orleans and I definitely want to visit there. I’m from MA and have been to Salem a few times. Love the history. Thank you for this chance at your giveaway. pgenest57 at aol dot com

  3. Definitely!! I love to read about different areas and countries! So many places to see and I enjoy being an armchair traveler and experiencing new settings vicariously through the characters eyes. I’ve traveled to many states, but still am pining away to see Italy and Greece. Been to Boston many times, but I bet Salem is exciting come Halloween!

  4. Congrats on the new book in the series!

    I’ve had more than a few works of fiction that have made me want to visit the locations. But it is usually some specific location that I want to go to rather than simply a country or state in general. The problem is since those locations are usually fictional it means that I can’t visit them.

    BUT…I have long wanted to go to Ireland. That actually predates reading books set in Ireland though.

  6. Definitely! There are so many places that I’ve read about that I would love to visit. Salem, the Florida Keys, Ireland and Scotland are all places on my bucket list of locations to visit. Right now, I have to settle for reading about them though.

  7. There’s so many places I’d like to visit- New Orleans, Alaska, Ireland, Australia, England, Italy… to name a few. I really enjoy learning about new places in the books I read and be able to at least experience it that way.

  8. Good morning!

    Love to armchair travel through the books I read. It’s especially fun when I’ve actually been to a place and can recognize a place or a business mentioned in the story. I’ve also checked out a place mentioned in a book if I am planning a trip there to see if it really exists and might be something I want to see in person.

    Fabulous cover and such an wonderful storyline! It’s on my TBR list and would love to have the opportunity to read and review. Thank you for the chance to win an autographed copy of “Mrs. Morris and the Pot of Gold” to read, add to my library and to loan out to friends.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    1. Congratulations on the new release, ladies! I recently read a book set in upstate New York. I’d love to visit that area sometime soon. Cheers!

  11. Congratulations! I always thought Salem would be a neat place to visit but now I want to go there even more. I won a set of your first 5 books and read them. I was so sad when I didn’t have another one to read. I preordered Mrs. Morris and the Pot of Gold and read and reviewed it in just a couple of days. Now I’m looking forward to Mrs. Morris and the Wolfman.

  12. I’ve visited some places from books – Corrie ten Boom’s house from The Hiding Place (she and her family hid Jews in the Netherlands during World War II). On the fictional front, I’ve been to Chateau Chillon in Switzerland thanks to Mrs. Pollifax and “Sleepyside” thanks to Trixie Belden. I’m still hoping to get to Key West.

    (No need to enter me in the giveaway.)

  13. I got a chuckle out of your idea for a 5 timers club!! And yes, books have made me want to visit places. Still have many to go, like England, but have visited some in the US.

  14. Welcome back, ladies! I live twenty miles from Salem but rarely visit there anymore. Where I want to go is Lucy Burdette’s Key West. One of these days…

  15. Yes! Years ago, I read about Sullivan’s Island (off the coast of South Carolina) interested me enough to want to visit there. I never did go there, but that’s okay, because I can always read other books which include that setting. I have not yet seen Sullivan’s Island as a cozy mystery setting and would definitely be interested in reading one!

  16. What fun! Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier made me fall in love with Cornwall and induced me to visit. Someday – I want to stay in the Inn – on a stormy night with no moon. Bucket list!

  18. I have visited some locations featured in some of the books I’ve read. One of my favorite places is Mackinac Island that is featured in the Candy Coated Mysteries by Nancy Coco. I have places on a list of locations I would like to visit because of reading about them in cozies.

  19. Yes, reading has often made me want to visit places. I have long wanted to visit England and I hope someday I will be able to achieve that dream.

  20. Although my traveling days are probably over, I was lucky enough to visit many places. Seeing ones that I read about made them extra special. We rode past a fete in England, and I thought “where’s the murder in the fortuneteller’s tent?” St. Simon’s Island reminded me of Carolyn Hart’s Annie Darling series. Thanks for the chance.

  21. Absolutely! Reading always has me wanting to visit a place I’m reading about. I would live to travel to different countries someday!

    Thanks for the chance!

  22. Yes, it has. I would like to travel to London, England. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

  23. I remember viewing the duckling statues in Boston after ennumerable readings of Make Way for Ducklings when my son was small.

  24. Absolutely, reading about these places make me want to visit them. We have visited the Florida Keys over 13 times and staying there for two months each year. NOLA is another favorite. there are so many that I want to visit, and hopefully I will visit Maine and other places in your wonderful cozies.

  25. Salem is so fun. My first visit was with my 8th grade class. We had read THE HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES, so the reading/traveling connection was forged. Ever since reading Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches series, I’ve wanted to visit New Orleans. It will happen some day!

    My debut mystery takes place in Portland, Maine, and I mention many real sites in the book (used fictionally, of course) as well as fictional organizations, restaurants, and businesses. My hope is that readers will be intrigued enough to visit some of Portland’s cool places, and I’ll post photos on my socials, as well, for those armchair travelers.

  26. I can’t wait to read your Salem B&B series. Re: locations, Barbara’s descriptions of Midcoast Maine make me want to visit (maybe not in winter!). A dear friend lives in the area, and it’s fun to be able to visualize landmarks and sights that are part of her everyday world.

  27. There are so many places that I have never gotten a chance to visit. That’s why I love reading about different settings!

  28. Wow–great answers everyone!! I have the travel bug so bad right now–it’s nice to see that I am not the only one! So, we are going to pick THREE winners!! Hang on for Barb’s post –keep reading!

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