A Zappy Little Christmas in October? You bet. Paula Charles’ new book releases October 21, and I preordered it months ago. Isn’t the cover beautiful? I can’t wait to read it. Paula agreed to stop by the blog today, and here’s Paula.
Thank you, Jackie, for inviting me here today to chat about my newest book.
A Zappy Little Christmas is the third book in the Hometown Hardware mysteries. This series features Dawna Carpenter, the widowed owner of Carpenter’s Corner Hardware in the mountain town of Pine Bluff, Oregon.
In Zappy, Dawna, her daughter April, and elderly family friend Smitty are taking a festive tour on the town bus, dubbed the Christmas Light Trolley, to ooh and ahh over all the beautifully decorated homes in town.
Having them jump on the Christmas Light Trolley was inspired by a similar tour we took my husband’s grandmother on years ago when we all lived in Cody, Wyoming. That tour was just like the one I described in the book, (sans a dead body!), with festive treats, lights, and fun Christmas music pumping through the speakers. We all enjoyed it so much, and Grandma Mary’s eyes truly sparkled that night. When I thought about writing a Christmas cozy, I knew the trolley had to be included.
I hope you all enjoy your time experiencing Pine Bluff at Christmastime!
Silver bells ring out, but in the air there’s a feeling of…murder.
Pine Bluff, Oregon resembles a perfect cozy Christmas card. Sparkling Christmas trees line snowy main street. Wreaths, red ribbons, and colored lights adorn every door. Hardware store owner Dawna Carpenter is in a festive mood. She invites her elderly neighbor, Smitty, to join her and daughter April on the Christmas Light Tour, a trolley that takes guests through all the best decorated neighborhoods while they enjoy steaming mugs of hot cocoa and scrumptious treats.
But when Smitty spies one of the homeowners dead—a macabre decoration in an otherwise merry display—the cheerful ride turns somber fast. Dawna notices the ghost of the deceased woman standing next to the display, clearly angry over her recent demise. As snow blankets the valley and her newest employee is implicated in the crime, it’s up to Dawna to find out who’s been naughty and who’s been nice—before it’s lights out for her, too.
Thanks for sharing, Paula. Congratulations on A Zappy Little Christmas!
I’m excited to share a little about Axe Me No Questions by Paula Charles. I asked Paula to tell us a little about her latest book. (Release date 1/28/25–preorder available now.)
Axe Me No Questions is the second book in the Hometown Hardware Mystery series. Dawna Carpenter was originally based on my grandmother who owned and operated the hardware store in the small town where I grew up. Friends and family have told me they hear and see me in Dawna, so I guess we’re more alike than I knew!
The town of Pine Bluff is fictionalized, but when I thought about what Dawna might be getting mixed up in during the fall, I thought of the Timber Festival my hometown used to host when I was young, and decided it was the perfect event to showcase the area and get Dawna tangled up in another murder mystery.
During the Timber Festival in Pine Bluff, the main even is a lumberjack and jill contest. While I’ve attended these type of events, I’ve only ever been an onlooker, never scrambled up a pole or attempted to roll logs in the water with my fast feet. Though I’m no award-winning axe thrower, I can wield an axe with the best of them to chop firewood!
Here’s the back cover info for Axe Me No Questions.
Heads are on the chopping block as hardware store owner Dawna Carpenter finds herself on the cutting edge of a murder investigation.
In the quaint mountain town of Pine Bluff, Oregon, fall has arrived and it’s time for the annual Timber Festival, complete with Lumberjack and Lumberjill contests, and booths serving spicy chili and creamy pumpkin pies. Dawna and her daughter April have plans to watch the logging contest together. She’s looking forward to soaking in all her favorite things about the season, which includes having a conversation with her deceased husband, who she is certain is still hanging around the house.
But when Dawna falls over the body of one of the lumberjacks, with his own throwing axe imbedded in his chest, her focus turns to murder. With the town in turmoil, Dawna takes Chief Dallas’s request to keep her ears open as a full license to snoop. Who had an axe to grind with the charismatic lumberjack? Dawna had better stay sharp, or she might be the next one to get the axe.
Thanks, Paula.
Friends, I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about the second book in the Hometown Hardware Mystery series.
Dawna’s back with friends and family in Axe Me No Questions. It’s a delightful follow-up to Hammers and Homicides in A Hometown Hardware Mystery series.
I was able to read and ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of Axe Me No Questions, and I was riveted. I love the characters, the small-town vibe, and trying to solve the mystery with the twists and turns Paula Charles throws at the reader.
When a dead body is found, Dawna is back to sleuthing. What an adventure it is.
I recently spent time with Paula Charles at Malice, but we’ve been friends longer than a few weeks.
I asked Paula to share something she’s thankful for, and here’s her response.
“Just having gotten back from the last of several back-to-back trips, I am so very thankful for our cozy and comfortable cottage. And I’m doubly thankful for friends like you!”
I read an Advanced Readers Copy of Hammers and Homicide this fall and loved it. Paula’s book is out in the world now, she graciously stopped by to chat.
Welcome, Paula!
Hi Jackie!
I’m so glad you liked Hammers and Homicide! It’s such a relief to hear people are enjoying it and it’s not just rubbish!
Thank you for having me on your blog. Here’s my answers to your questions.
You and I both write mysteries set in small towns. Most of my life, I’ve lived in small towns. What about you? Do you live in a small town?
       I’m definitely happiest in a small town! I grew up in a town with a population of right around twelve hundred people. In fact, it’s the town Pine Bluff is based off of in Hammers and Homicide. Not only was the town small but the area is fairly remote. The closest “big town” nearby was only about ten thousand people. Since then, I’ve mostly lived in towns of about ten-thousand, still small town, though I lived in Redding, California for a handful of years. Our current little town doesn’t even have a stoplight, though it’s growing really fast around here and I’m not sure that’s going to last much longer.
Tell us some of your favorite parts of living in a small town.
      While small towns can be a hotbed of gossip, they’re normally quieter and a slower pace of life than the city. You can hear yourself think. People look out for each other. One of my favorite things about our little town is the concerts in the park series in the summer. We have a gorgeous little park with a gazebo and coliseum seating. Half the town turns out to sit on the grass, chat with their neighbors, and have picnics during the concerts. Kids run around and play and it’s just a good time. There’s a similar scene in Hammers and Homicide. I couldn’t resist adding it!
Do you have a favorite store? Would it be fair to guess a hardware store?
       That’s another thing to love about small towns. Usually, there’s fun and unique shops. Bookstores are always my favorite, and a nearby town has a whole row of vintage shops with tons of refurbished furniture and decor. I like to take a day every few months and wander through those shops! So, no, none of those are hardware stores. The hardware store in my book is based on the hardware store my grandparents owned in my hometown. It was fabulous but no longer exists. When I see an old-fashioned hardware store, I do always pop in and wander around!Â
Are you handy with a hammer?
        Somewhat! I can build small things, like a birdhouse, and pound nails into a fence or help put up walls on the chicken coop. Anything bigger would probably not stand up for very long!Â
I think that’s impressive. What are some of your hobbies?
        I’m a voracious reader, but aren’t all writers? A few years ago I was doing quite a bit of furniture restoration and repurposing, though it’s been a while since I tackled anything. All my tools and paints are waiting for the next project! I like to knit in the evenings while watching television with my husband, but even that has slowed down a lot. My hands tend to be tired after a day of tapping away at the keyboard. In the spring and summer, we grow a veggie garden and I have scads of flower beds. It’s restorative to dig your hands in the dirt!Â
Yes, I’m love to garden too.
How did you decide to make Dawna Carpenter a sexagenarian? Tell us a little about what inspired you to write Hammers and Homicide.Â
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I’m combining these two questions because they go hand-in-hand. I had taken a workshop about writing family stories not long before I sat down to write Hammers and Homicide. Because I was in the family story telling mode, my thoughts went right to my grandmother when I started thinking about my protagonist. My grandfather was a contractor and my grandmother ran the hardware store they owned in our hometown. I began to wonder how Grandma would have done if she was Jessica Fletcher, and Dawna bloomed out of those initial thoughts. I didn’t give any specific thought to Dawna’s age other than basing her off of my grandmother when I was a young teenager. I drew on my own childhood memories a lot as the setting for the book, the hardware store, and Dawna’s house developed on the page.
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Jackie! It was a lot of fun to be here!
It’s been fun, Paula. I discovered we have a lot in common. My grandmothers and my mom all loved gardening, and I have have some iris bulbs I’ve moved from home to home from over twenty years. Not all survived, but some did.
Jackie Layton 