Greetings, Noters!

What a wonderful two weeks it has been since I last wrote.

I celebrated the release of #TagMe for Murder, Book 2 in the Trending Topic Mysteries; yes, Coco’s next mystery is now out in the world! For those of you who have been following my writing journey for a while now, you’ll know this mystery has been over five years in the making. I am so excited readers get to experience #TagMe for Murder for the first time, and I am so incredibly grateful for all the love and support shown to me by this amazing community. It was truly overwhelming and beyond touching to read so many beautiful messages from you all, celebrating the book’s release. Thank you for your steadfast enthusiasm and kindness.

What better way to celebrate a fabulous release week than by capping it off with Malice Domestic? I’m thrilled to be attending for a second time, and I cannot wait to moderate a very special panel, The Secret of the Old Clock: How Did Nancy Drew Influence You? Nancy has been my role model since I was seven (and I know you guys are probably tired of hearing that after all these years), so it is an honor to lead a discussion celebrating her. If you are in the Bethesda, MD, area this weekend, stop by Malice Domestic and say hi!

My guest this week is also celebrating a release. I was fortunate enough to host her on The Bookish Hour for a fascinating conversation, which I highly recommend watching after reading this feature.

Without further ado…

A Bit About the Author: Trish Esden loves museums, gardens, wilderness, dogs and birds, in various orders depending on the day. She lives in northern Vermont where she deals antiques with her husband, a profession she’s been involved with since her teens. Don’t ask what her favorite type of antique is. She loves hunting for old bottles and rusty barn junk as much as she enjoys fine art and furnishings. Trish is the author of the Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series from Crooked Lane Books.

Trish, thank you so much for joining me on Noteworthy today to celebrate the release of A Wealth of Deception. I was completely enthralled by this book — I read it one sitting, which is something I haven’t done in a long time. I can’t wait for my readers to learn more about you and your fascinating background. To begin, tell us what book made you first fall in love with reading?

I didn’t start reading at a particularly young age. In fact, my love of books long proceeded my ability to read, thanks to parents who were devoted to reading aloud. Once I started devouring books on my own, I was fond of fairytales and talking animal stories. The first mystery I fell in love with was SONS OF THE WOLF by Barbara Michaels. After that, I was a gothic novel fanatic through my teens.

I owe a great deal to my parents for reading out loud to me. It definitely fostered my love of books at a young age. How did your love of reading evolve into a love of writing? How did you begin your writing journey?

I started writing around the same time as I began to read. I loved transforming and expanding stories I read into adventures where I was the main character. In my late teens, I moved away from writing short stories and poems into creating ‘novels’ that I’d work on for months at a time. The only thing that prevented me from majoring in writing in college was that I also loved plants and science, and the college I went to didn’t have classes focused on commercial fiction which was my true love. I didn’t return to writing with publication in mind until I was in my mid-forties.

I’m so glad you found your way back to writing fiction. Tell us more about your main character in the Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series, Edie Brown. How did she first introduce herself to you?

I start working on novels by coming up with a general idea and plot I’m interested in exploring, then I create the characters to populate the story. As far as Edie Brown goes, I knew I wanted her to be an antique and art dealer, smart, and determined. From there, I started asking myself a series of questions: What type of woman antique dealer would be challenged the most by the plot I have in mind? What are her fears and weaknesses? What does she desperately want? And what does she want to avoid? … and so on. From there Edie came to life. She’s educated and seemingly confident, but inside she’s afraid of failing to live up to a high standard she’s set for herself. She’s driven to prove to her mother that she’s capable of running the family business. At the same time, she has trouble respecting her mother because of past events. Most of all, Edie is deeply wounded after witnessing the plane crash that killed her beloved grandparents.

I found Edie to be a completely lovable character. She’s strong yet vulnerable, and she surrounds herself with good people to help her. How has your career as an antique dealer helped with your writing? Did you always know you’d write a protagonist with a similar profession?

Decades ago, I was a fan of the Lovejoy Mysteries, a British TV show about a roguish antique dealer. I always fantasized about how much fun it would be to write a similar series set in the United States and with a woman protagonist instead of a man. By the time I started writing Scandal Mountain Antiques Mysteries series, I’d added to that list a desire to write a series that showed an up-to-date look at the antique trade and the crimes surrounding it. And, yes, the fact that I’ve been an antique dealer most of my life makes a huge difference. It allows me to not only give the reader an insider’s view of the antique dealing trade but also to deepen that experience by showing how a dealer uses all their senses when evaluating a piece of art or antique: the sense of touch, sound…and even smell. I like to think doing that rather than just doling out facts about art and antiques leads to a deeper reading experience.

What has been the most exciting antique piece you’ve come across in real life?

The most exciting piece is always the latest find. It really is a rush to spot and buy a fresh item no matter if it’s a collectable like a Thomas Dam troll, a piece of 19th century Vermont stoneware, or a unique railroad lantern. That said, one of the most fun things my husband and I have come across and sold was a wicker casket we found in the attic of a funeral home’s barn. Wicker caskets were used to transport the deceased from their place of death to the funeral parlor. We sold the casket to the Shelburne Museum. They display it in the back of a stunning horse drawn hearse. Here’s an article with a photo of the hearse and wicker casket (scroll down): https://bit.ly/3o14o6q

You mentioned this piece on The Bookish Hour, and I was spellbound. It must be so much fun to explore and relive moments of history in these finds. Switching topics to your writing process, what’s your favorite way to unwind after a tough writing session?

I live in a rural Vermont village and have a small river in my backyard. One of my favorite ways to unwind is to simply sit in the sunshine and watch the wildlife that visits: warblers, ravens, woodpeckers…geese, and ducks, as well as minks, otters, and sometimes larger animals like deer. One time a baby moose even passed through.

That sounds so peaceful and cathartic. What a wonderful place to live and work! Tell us three things that are always on your writing desk/writing space.

Only three? I keep tons of small doodads on my desk—miniature decoys, crystals, trolls, buttons from conventions I’ve attended, a crocodile pencil sharpener that belonged to my mom, an antique stamp box filled with paperclips and such. I also hang writing-related notes on the wall behind my computer. They say stuff like: “Violence can undermine suspense.” “Promise peril. Show the aftermath of violence.” “What questions am I answering in this scene?” “What questions am I leaving unanswered?” In other words, loads of little things that inspire me.

I can only imagine the cool trinkets you have! What is your favorite, can’t-live-without writing tool?

That’s easy. My favorite writing tool is Microsoft’s read-aloud function. When I revise a manuscript or even when I’m just having a hard time with a sentence or paragraph, I have the computer read the section back to me. Something about hearing someone else read my words allows me to figure out what’s not working and to pick up on things like repeated words, typos, and places that need tightening.

I’m a big believer in hearing my work out loud as part of the writing process. You’re so right. Hearing it from someone else really singles out things that need tweaking.

It’s hard to believe that we’re at our final question. Trish, you stumble across a crime scene. What book character are you alerting first? Why?

I’m going to call Shane Payton from my Scandal Mountain Antiques Mystery series. Shane is not only involved with local Vermont law enforcement and the FBI, but he’s also levelheaded and has super instincts. He’d take my call seriously and be fast to act.

I’m a big fan of Shane. His affable personality and willingness to help really makes him a standout detective in my book. Noters, if you’d like to hear more from Trish, you can check out our The Bookish Hour episode, and please make sure to pick up a copy of A Wealth of Deception. A genuinely enthralling read!

Watch Trish Esden on "The Bookish Hour”

A Wealth of Deception: Danger, art, and a touch of romance collide in Trish Esden’s second exquisitely crafted Scandal Mountain Antiques mystery, perfect for fans of Jane K. Cleland and Connie Berry.

Some people are willing to die for their art. Others are willing to kill for it.

When Vermont antique and art dealer Edie Brown discovers an unsettlingly dark collage by the famed reclusive “outsider” artist known only as Vespa, she opens a Pandora’s Box of deception and danger.

Edie teams up with Uncle Tuck and Kala to investigate the background of the collage, but only uncover secrets that are more disturbing than the artwork itself. As Edie tracks down the validity of the piece, she stumbles into an art underground where some people are willing to kill to keep their schemes a secret.

Esden expertly crafts a complex cast of characters, a breathtakingly gorgeous setting, and a twisty plot that often poses more questions than answers.