Make Note of Michelle Bennington

Greetings, Noters!

I never thought I’d be able to write these words, but here they are:

Over My Dead Blog, Book One in the Book Blogger Mysteries, is launching on October 31st!

Yes, this long-awaited cozy mystery is finally here! Get ready for a charming adventure filled with books, secrets, and sleuthing. Readers will meet book blogger Winnie Lark and her twin brother, Strider, as they set out to uncover a killer. With clever twists that delight and an abundance of bookish charm, Over My Dead Blog is sure to be an irresistible treat for fans of cozy mysteries, book lovers, and armchair detectives everywhere.

I am counting down the days until Winnie’s first mystery is out in the world, and you can now pre-order Over My Dead Blog on Amazon Kindle. Come Oct. 31st, the paperback edition will be available, and the book will be free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

My guest this week certainly knows the excitement of launching a new book, as she is celebrating her latest release, Mermaid Cove.

Without further ado…

A Bit About the Author: Born and raised in the beautiful Bluegrass state of Kentucky, Michelle Bennington developed a passion for books early on that has since progressed into a mild hoarding situation and an ever-growing to-read pile. She delights in transporting readers into worlds of mystery, both contemporary and historical.

In rare moments of spare time, she can be found engaging in a wide array of arts and crafts, reading, traveling, and attending tours involving ghosts, historical homes, or distilleries.

Michelle, thank you for joining us here on Noteworthy. I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your series. Before we begin talking about your work, can you share what book made you first fall in love with reading? I

I had a collection of fairy tale books that I read over and over when I was a child.

How did your love of reading evolve into a love of writing? How did you begin your writing journey? I’ve always been a bookworm. As I grew and developed as a reader, I began to understand that reading was fulfilling both intellectually and emotionally. Each book felt like a trip to another land. And I wanted to do that for other people. I think I came into this realization around age 13 or so. I was inspired a great deal by Edgar Allan Poe at the time, among others.

Mermaid Cove is the second book in your Small Batch Mysteries and features your heroine, Rook Campbell. What made you want to write a whodunit? I’ve always loved Forensic Files, Dateline, Law & Order SVU and other such true crime / forensics / mystery / police procedural programs, so it seemed like a natural evolution to combine the shows I love to watch with my love for reading and writing.

Ooo, I love Forensic Files and Dateline. I listen to my Dateline podcast every day (a bit obsessively). It’s both fascinating and terrifying how evil humanity can be, but knowing there are people committed to finding the truth is also inspiring.

How did Rook introduce herself to you? What made Rook the woman you wanted to write about, and how did she get such a cool name?

I don’t really know how she developed. I didn’t have a firm character sketch of her when I started. I only had her name. I think she’s a little bit me, a little bit an old friend of mine, and maybe a little bit of who I’d like to be sometimes. Much of her personality kind of develops on the spot, so sometimes she surprises me. It’s been interesting. In many ways, watching Rook develop as a character has been like meeting someone new and learning about them over time--much in the same way friendships develop in real life.

Her name has a couple of different connections. First, it’s a nod to my late grandmother who loved the Rook card game. Second, rooks are from the corvid family of crows and ravens, so they have black wings (like Rook’s hair) and they’re smart. Since a group of crows is called a murder and crows or ravens are often associated symbolically with mysteries, I thought Rook would be a cool name for an amateur sleuth.

Tell us about Four Wild Horses Distillery. How did small batch bourbon come to be the focus of your cozy mystery series?

I’m from Kentucky and I wanted a story set in my home state that would help to paint it in a positive light, while highlighting something distinctly “Kentucky.” I also wanted to write a cozy mystery that entailed something other than bakeries and cafes. I don’t have anything against those stories, but I just wanted to push the boundaries a little in terms of subject matter.

The idea for the series began with a bourbon tour at the famous Buffalo Trace Distillery. I love bourbon, especially bourbon-flavored foods, and I love learning about its rich history. I somehow found out about a ghost tour going on at Buffalo Trace. I love ghost tours, too. They’re really just history lessons with a supernatural flair. But I love history.  So, history, bourbon, and ghosts? I’m in!  

As the tour progressed, daylight descended, the spaces were dimly lit, and the guide shared ghostly tales connected to the history of the place; add to this, my interest in true crime, forensics, etc. All that played on my imagination and before the tour ended, I was wondering, “What if we open this door and discover a dead body?” Then around that time I’d read an article about the Pappy Van Winkle bourbon heist that had happened a few years prior. In the bourbon world, that heist was a HUGE ordeal. Pappy, as it’s commonly known, is north of $1,000 per bottle, depending on how long it’s aged. So, those two things came together to create my first book, Devil’s Kiss, which released last year.

That’s amazing. You had me at a haunted distillery. What a fascinating world to explore. Speaking of exploring, let’s learn more about your writing world. What does your workspace look like? Is there anything you need for a successful day of writing?

My workspace is wherever I land. I’ve written in airports, on planes and trains. I write on long car drives. I write on lunch breaks at work. I write on vacation or when visiting family. Usually I write with a laptop, but I sometimes type notes into my phone, into emails, on napkins and scraps of paper. When I’m not on the move, I write in my living room, TV blaring. It’s usually on Dateline or Forensics Files. But sometimes, it’s just on any show I’ve seen a million times, so I don’t need to pay attention (Seinfeld, The Office, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier are among my favorites).

I sit in “my” spot on the couch (the right side), my feet propped up. I’m usually in my robe or other comfy clothes, my hair clipped up out of my face, and a cup of coffee on the table beside me. I’ve recently carved out an office space in my home, but I haven’t yet moved my operation there. The space doesn’t feel right yet.  

What is your favorite, can’t-live-without writing tool?

I cannot write without my laptop. And a cup of coffee.

I hear you on the coffee front. It definitely kickstarts my creative juices. Well, we’ve come to our final question. It’s vacation time. What literary hero do you enlist to be your travel companion? Why?

Jane Austen. She’s intelligent, has a sharp sense of humor, and loves to read and write. So, we could “talk shop.” But I also think she would have a keen interest in seeing historical sites, learning about them, but also indulging in lighter activities like “sea-bathing,” dancing, going to the theater, and hitting up ghost tours. Then we could have discussions about whether or not ghosts actually exist over scones and tea.

How delightful does that sound? Michelle, thank you so much for taking the time to share a bit about your life, your work, and your new book, Mermaid Cove. Noters, you can read more about Mermaid Cove below!

Mermaid Cove: Though Rook Campbell's life is full of challenges with work and caring for her ailing grandma, she's decided it's time to focus on her job at a local distillery, reignite her love life, and move forward from her ex --all which proves to be much easier said than done.

Meanwhile, distillers from all over have entered a prestigious bourbon contest for big bucks, prizes, and coveted bragging rights in the bourbon community. The Mermaid Cove Distillery, co-owned by Rook's friend, Patrice Dawson, is poised to take away the prize, which will solve many financial problems for the struggling business. But another distiller at the competition isn't interested in fighting fair. So when Patrice goes missing, Rook is certain the culprit is within the bourbon community. She's determined to find Patrice or die trying.