by: Gayle Leeson
Series: A Ghostly Fashionista Mystery
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Release Date: March 25, 2025
Publisher: Grace Abraham Publishing
Stitched together with charm and mystery, this is one ghostly fashionista adventure you won’t want to miss!
For retro fashion designer Amanda Tucker, creating showstopping Halloween costumes seemed like the week’s biggest challenge—until her ghostly companion, Max, discovers an antique Bible tied to her own family history. When the Bible, purchased at an estate sale, is revealed to have belonged to Max’s grandmother, Amanda finds herself caught in a whirlwind of hidden relatives, long-buried secrets, and family intrigue.
Meanwhile, Amanda’s assistant, Zoe, struggles to decide between chasing her dreams in fashion and giving in to her mother’s demands to work at the family diner. As if the week couldn’t get more tangled, Amanda’s grandfather and Max’s nephew uncover shocking news at the estate sale’s auction house: the proprietor has been shot.
With Designs on You hanging by a thread, Amanda and Max must unravel the mysteries of the past before they sew up a perilous future. Will their sleuthing skills save the day, or will these secrets prove too dangerous to handle?
I’m doing great, and I hope you are! I’m so happy to be here today.
I’m excited to have you here. You’re a new to me author, can you please tell me what drew you to writing cozy mysteries?
I’ve loved mysteries since I was a little girl reading Encyclopedia Brown and The Secret Seven. I moved on to Nancy Drew and the works of Victoria Holt, and I was hooked.
Congratulations on the release of Corsets and Casualties, the sixth book in your Ghostly Fashionista Mystery series. Can you please tell me about the series and what readers can expect from Corsets and Casualties?
The series follows the adventures of Amanda, a young woman who designs retro fashions made from vintage patterns, and her best friend, a ghost named Maxine a/k/a Max. Amanda met Max when she leased a shop in historic Abingdon, Virginia’s fictional Shops on Main. Shops on Main is actually based on a building that was constructed in the late 1800s for twin girls. One side of the house was a mirror of the other side. Max’s family was living in the house when she died in 1930, so she, in effect, haunts the building—in a fun way!
In Corsets and Casualties, the bookseller at Shops on Main buys an antique Bible from an estate sale, and Max discovers that it belonged to her grandmother. There’s a genealogy handwritten inside the pages of the Bible, and Max sees a name she doesn’t recognize. Her mother had a sister that Max never knew about. Max enlists Amanda’s help learning about this mysterious aunt, which leads Amanda to an auction house. When the auctioneer is shot, Amanda and Max find themselves in the midst of another mystery.
As I mentioned, this is the sixth book in the series. Can new readers easily pick it up and not have any problems understanding the characters and dynamics?
Absolutely. Although some of the characters grow throughout the series, each book is a standalone and will give new readers all the information they’ll need to enjoy the story.
Speaking of characters, tell me about some of the characters we’ll meet in the book and series.
Amanda is a young fashion designer and entrepreneur. Her parents have moved to Florida, so her biggest supporter is her grandfather, Dave. Max is the “ghostly fashionista,” a flapper, who died in 1930. Amanda and Dave can both see Max because they have a familial connection to the love of Max’s life. There are a handful of additional characters—members of Max’s family—who can also see her, but most people cannot. Jason, Amanda’s boyfriend, is a photographer, who has a studio in Shops on Main. Jason doesn’t believe in ghosts…yet.
Final question. What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
My favorite part of writing is unraveling the story. I once had a friend call me after reading one of my books and say, “I had no idea he was the bad guy!” I said, “I didn’t either!” LOL
I like that. Gayle, thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for me.
Thank you for having me!
Purchase Corsets and Casualties from:
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A Ghostly Fashionista Mystery Series:
Kerry Vincent, Hall of Fame Sugar Artist, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director, and Television Personality says the series is “a must-read for cake bakers and anyone who has ever spent creative time in the kitchen!”
Says Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times bestselling author, “One day I found myself happily reading . . . mysteries by Gayle Trent. If she can win me over . . . she’s got a great future.”
Places to find Gayle Leeson:
You can follow the Corsets and Casualties Blog Tour here.
The blurb sounds really good. I enjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI love the character descriptions. They sound like they'd be fun to read.
ReplyDelete