A Camelot Flowers Mystery: Poppies, Perils, and Poison by Erica Wynters
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A Camelot Flowers Mystery: Poppies, Perils, and Poison
From author Erica Wynters comes another Camelot Flowers Mystery blooming with secrets, suspicions, and danger at every turn…
Things are finally looking up with florist Gwen Stevens’ family business, Camelot Flowers, which means her biggest problem now is making her heart choose between her lifelong crush on the charming Chris Crawford and her budding romance with Finn Butler, the new police detective who makes her want to stop and smell the roses.
But Gwen’s thorny love life takes a backseat when Shannon Wentworth, a newcomer to the small town of Star Junction, drops dead in the local coffee shop the day after she announces her candidacy for garden club president. Unfortunately, Margie Philips, Gwen’s surrogate aunt, has been garden club president for years and had threatened to win again this year at any cost—which suddenly puts her in the role of prime suspect in Wentworth’s untimely demise!
Determined to clear Margie’s name, Gwen digs deep and discovers a bouquet’s worth of secrets, including marital infidelity, a lawsuit threatening to ruin a local business, and even doubts about where Margie was right before the murder. With too many suspects all hiding something, will Gwen uncover the truth before the killer poisons her chances of a happily ever after?
Poppies, Perils, and Poison (Camelot Flowers Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Illinois
Publisher : Gemma Halliday Publishing (March 19, 2024)
Number of Pages – ~280 pages
Digital ASIN : B0CPKP9N3G
To purchase Poppies, Perils, and Poison, click on any of the following links: Amazon – Apple – Barnes and Noble
Guest Post from Erica Wynters
Author of the Camelot Flowers Mysteries Poppies, Perils, and Poison
Let’s talk about setting
One of my favorite parts of writing the Camelot Flowers Mystery Series has been creating the fictional small town of Star Junction, Illinois. I love how the setting of a book becomes like another character, influencing how the other characters in the book act, who they are as people, and how we feel while reading it. For instance, I love the Sloan Krause series by Ellie Alexander in large part because I’m intrigued by the setting of the real-world town of Leavenworth, Washington, which was designed to mimic a Bavarian town in the mountains of Washington. In fact, my husband and I had a chance to take a day trip to Leavenworth for our anniversary a few years ago. That trip was one hundred percent inspired by Ellie’s descriptions in her books, and my desire to see the setting of a series I loved with my own eyes.
When I started writing the first book in the Camelot Flowers Mystery Series, I knew I wanted to create a place that readers would love, a town that felt like going home. I wanted Star Junction to be interesting, quirky, and rich with a history that made it feel like a real place. I grew up in a small, rural town in Wisconsin, which loosely serves as an inspiration for Star Junction, where our main character, Gwen Stevens, runs her family flower shop, works out her complicated love life, and more importantly, solves murders.
Setting, however, isn’t just descriptions of physical places. It includes how people talk, the town’s culture, even how the people in that place think about the world. One of the ways I’ve captured the culture of Star Junction in the newest book of the series, Poppies, Perils, and Poison, is through inserting Midwest rules into the narration. People who live in the Midwest or grew up there will connect with the unspoken social expectations that these rules represent, while those who have no personal experience will get a glimpse of what Midwest culture is like. Here are a few examples:
The other women on the planning committee and their husbands were already
cleaning up the leftover food, pulling linens off the tables, and putting away the chairs. Margie looked around and said, “No, I know you just got in today, April. Go on home and rest. We’ve got it covered.”
“Are you sure?” my mom asked, in true Midwestern fashion. Midwestern rule number thirty-two: always give someone a chance to change their mind.
“Nonsense,” my mom said firmly. “It was no trouble at all.”
Another Midwestern rule—even if something was a lot of work, it was important to pretend it wasn’t. In this case, however, it was the truth. My mom loved nothing more than to arrange flowers.
Have you ever visited the location of a beloved book? What kind of settings to do you love in the books you read? Small towns? Big Cities? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Here is a sneak peek of Poppies, Perils, and Poison with a glimpse into one of the classic settings of the series, the local coffee shop Just Beans.
Just Beans was crowded by Star Junction standards, which meant half the seats were filled. Penny found a table in the corner near the fireplace. I set my purse on one of the empty seats.
“Let’s order,” Penny said.
I studied the handwritten chalk menu hanging on the wall. “What looks good?” I asked.
“I’m going to get the turkey and pesto sandwich. It comes with chips,” Penny said. “I’ll try the BBQ chicken salad,” I said.
“Then we can talk about what you’re going to wear to the gala,” Penny said with delight.
I started toward the counter, but Penny remained sitting.
“Are you coming?” I asked.
“I’m going to save our seats,” Penny said, pulling a twenty-dollar bill from her purse. “Lunch is on me, if you order.”
It would be easy to argue that there was no need to save seats, but I wasn’t going to argue with Penny buying lunch. I approached the counter, where a woman with white- blonde hair cut into a stylish bob was talking to Amanda, the owner of Just Beans. The woman got louder, and I slowed my approach.
“I asked for a double espresso with two pumps sugar-free vanilla and a splash of heavy cream. This has two and a half pumps of sugar-free vanilla. I can taste it,” the woman snapped. “Two weeks in this Podunk town, and I haven’t had a decent cup of coffee yet.” The woman had yelled the last words, drawing everyone’s attention to the counter.
I’d never heard Amanda say a cross word about anyone in all the years I’d known her. She had a bright blue T-shirt on that sported the Just Beans logo with the words Make it a Great Day printed underneath. She had her dark-brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail and was wearing a blue headband that matched the color of her shirt. She gave the woman a tight smile and said, “I’m happy to remake it if there’s a problem.”
The other woman leaned forward and said, “The problem is you and your subpar coffee-making skills.”
Everything within me wanted to jump in defend Amanda with something like, If you don’t like the coffee, then maybe make your coffee at home, but before I could say anything, Amanda had already turned around to make another drink.
The woman turned while she waited and noticed me standing a few feet behind her. “What?” she snapped.
My mind went blank. The woman’s green-eyed glare cut right through me. “Beautiful weather we’re having today, isn’t it?” I stammered out.
The woman glanced toward the window, where a steady drizzle was coating the glass. The temperatures were in the low fifties. Cold and wet. The worst kind of weather. She rolled her eyes at me and muttered something about thinking a small town would be charming. I might have also heard the word idiot, but I couldn’t be sure.
Interested in diving into all that the town of Star Junction has to offer?
On March 19, 2024, Poppies, Perils, and Poison, the second book in the Camelot Flowers Mystery Series debuted.
Book 1 – Marigolds, Mischief, and Murder released in May 2023
Book 3 – Sunflowers, Scarecrows, and Scandal releases fall 2024
I love to connect with readers. You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ericawynters. On Instagram at www.instagram.com/ericawyntersauthor. Or at my website at www.ericawynters.com.
Erica Wynters — Author of the Camelot Flowers Mysteries and Poppies, Perils, and Poison
Erica Wynters may have lived most of her life in the frigid Midwest, but now she spends her time in the warmth and sunshine of Arizona. She loves hiking, hunting down waterfalls in the desert, reading (of course), and napping.
Can napping be considered a hobby?
When not weaving tales of mystery with plenty of quirky characters, laughs, and a dash of romance, Erica works as a Marriage and Family Therapist helping others find their Happily Ever Afters.
To learn more about Erica, click on any of the following links: Website, Facebook & Instagram.
Visit all the Stops on the Tour!
March 21 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
March 21 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 22 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 22 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
March 23 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 23 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
March 23 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 24 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
March 24 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 25 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
March 25 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW
March 26 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
March 26 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
March 27 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 27 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
March 28 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 28 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 29 – Teatime and Books – SPOTLIGHT
March 29 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 30 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
March 30 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
March 30 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
Thank you so much for having me! I love talking about writing and especially all things cozy mysteries!
Great to have you join me and my readers!
Elena