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Death at the Manor by Katharine Schellman

Guest Post + Book & Author Info + Giveaway!

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Death at the Manor

The tortured spirits of the dead haunt a Regency-era English manor—but the true danger lies in the land of the living in the third installment in the Lily Adler mysteries, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn.

Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to spending the autumn away from the social whirl of London. When she arrives in Hampshire with her friends, the Carroways, she doesn’t expect much more than a quiet country visit and the chance to spend time with her charming new acquaintance, Matthew Spencer.

But something odd is afoot in the small country village. A ghost has taken up residence in the Belleford manor, a lady in grey who wanders the halls at night, weeping and wailing. Half the servants have left in terror, but the family seems delighted with the notoriety that their ghost provides. Intrigued by this spectral guest, Lily and her party immediately make plans to visit Belleford.

They arrive at the manor the next morning ready to be entertained—only to find that tragedy has struck. The matriarch of the family has just been found killed in her bed.

The dead woman’s family is convinced that the ghost is responsible. Lily is determined to learn the truth before another victim turns up—but could she be next in line for the Great Beyond?

To purchase Death at the Manor, click on any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | bookshop.org

Genre: Historical Mystery
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 9th 2022
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 1639100784 (ISBN13: 9781639100781)
Series: Lily Adler Mystery #3

Guest Post: There Is No Writing Routine

by Katharine Schellman

One of the questions I get asked the most about writing is what a typical “writer’s day” looks like for me.

It’s a question I wish I had a good answer to! While I would love to be the sort of writer who has a set schedule and a firm ritual to put me in the writing mood, the truth is that the stage of life I’m in doesn’t lend itself to very consistent work days.

In addition to writing full time, I also have a day job (which is often my night job) as well as two small children. So on days that I have daycare, or days when my husband is home with the kids, I tend to cram in as much work as I can. For me to write, all I need is a working computer and however much time I have to myself.

My days generally begin between 6 and 7am, depending on when my kids wake up. If it’s a daycare day, my husband is out the door with the kids around 8:30am. My working hours on daycare days tend to be between 9am and 4pm, when I leave for pickup, and then begin again once my kids are asleep for the night.

But of course, that work varies greatly! I’m fortunate that my day job is also done on my own schedule and from home since that gives me a great deal of flexibility. On any given day, I may be…

… drafting a new novel

… going through notes from my editors

… fact-checking or editing articles for a client

… working on a marketing graphic for a book tour

… doing a Zoom interview

… meeting with a bookstore owner

… writing a newsletter for my author email list (which, by the way, you can sign up for here if you want a free mystery!)

… updating my website or social media

… half a dozen other things that always seem to pop up

Some days I get through everything on my to-do list and realize I haven’t gotten a single new word down. That’s okay—I don’t think a writer has to write every day. There are a lot of other things that need to get done too!

On days when I’m home with my kids, I generally don’t work unless they’re asleep. But when a deadline is looming, all those divisions go out the door.

Put the baby in a carrier so that I can hold her while also going through edits at the kitchen counter? Done that.

Schedule strategic playdates with the neighbors so that my older kid can be out of the house while I frantically try to get a few more words written? Absolutely.

Ignore the mountain of laundry and the dirty bathroom because I know I’m already going to be up writing until 2am and can’t afford distractions? Those are someone else’s chores right now!

So if can’t seem to create a routine for yourself, whether for writing or another creative pursuit, or if you’re in a stage of life that doesn’t allow to have a “typical” structure to your days, don’t worry too much about it.

The routine will come later. The bathroom will get cleaned another day. The work can still get done, even if the process isn’t always streamlined or pretty.

At least, that’s what I tell myself.

Katharine Schellman — Author of Death at the Manor

Katharine Schellman is a former actor, one-time political consultant, and now the author of the Lily Adler Mysteries and the Nightingale Mysteries. Her debut novel, The Body in the Garden, was one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2020 and led to her being named one of BookPage’s 16 Women to Watch in 2020.

Her second novel, Silence in the Library, was praised as “worthy of Agatha Christie or Rex Stout.” (Library Journal, starred review) Katharine lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in the company of her husband, children, and the many houseplants she keeps accidentally murdering.

To learn more about Katharine, click on any of the following links: KatharineSchellman.com, Goodreads, BookBub – @katharineschellman, Instagram – @katharinewrites, Twitter – @katharinewrites & Facebook – @katharineschellman

Visit all the Stops on the Death at the Manor Tour!

08/08 Showcase @ Nesies Place
08/09 Showcase @ BOOK REVIEWS by LINDA MOORE
08/10 Interview @ I Read What You Write
08/10 Review @ Review Thick And Thin
08/13 Review @ Bookish Indulgences
08/15 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
08/17 Review @ nanasbookreviews
08/18 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
08/19 Review @ It’s All About the Book
08/20 Showcase @ Brooke Blogs
08/22 Review @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
08/23 Interview @ Cozy Up With Kathy
08/24 Showcase @ The Authors Harbor
08/25 Showcase @ The Mystery Section
08/26 Review @ Cozy Up With Kathy
08/29 Review @ Novels Alive
08/30 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
08/31 Review @ Avonna Loves Genres
09/01 Guest post @ The Mystery of Writing
09/01 Review @ 5 Minutes for Books
09/02 Podcast Review @ Books to the Ceiling

Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell

All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio.

Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020

Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020

The Foundation of Plot, a Wait, Wait, Don’t Query (Yet!) guidebook.