#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Anna St. John

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Anna St. John to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you never want to run out of: Coffee, pens, time.

Things you wish you’d never bought: Wrinkle cream. It didn’t work.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A quiet place, my computer, and a candle

Things that hamper your writing: Phone calls, household chores, rabbit holes when I’m doing research.

A few of your favorite things: A collection of Madeline dolls, a super soft sweatshirt, and my desk chair.

Things you need to throw out: Outdated clothes in my closet, and a lot of cookbooks I have never used.

Favorite foods: Potato soup, pecan pie, and ice cream sundaes.

Things that make you want to gag: Turnips, horseradish, and steak when it’s served too rare.

Favorite music or song: Songs from the 60’s, because they make me smile.

Music that drives you crazy: Rap, because I can never understand the lyrics.

Favorite smell: The sweet scent of lilacs reminds me of my mother’s garden.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Skunk spray.

The last thing you ordered online: Silver polish.

The last thing you regret buying: Silver polish. Now I have no excuse to avoid cleaning my tarnished tableware.

Things to say to an author: I love your characters and your books.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Writing cozy mysteries must be so easy.

Favorite books (or genre): Mysteries, Biographies, Historical Fiction, Romance, and Beach Reads.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Diet books, math books, or anything about taxes.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I once painted our large college dorm window to look like a stained-glass image of the three wise men for the holidays. (I haven’t accomplished anything that ambitious, since.)

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I knitted a sweater for my boyfriend and the sleeves stretched…and…stretched…and stretched, until they were waaay too long. He claimed he liked them that way. Shoved the sleeves up to his elbows and wore the sweater everywhere. I married him.

About Anna:

Anna St. John writes cozy mysteries featuring a mature, yet feisty, fomer crime reporter, Josie Posey, as the amateur sleuth.

Her debut novel, DOOMED BY BLOOMS, was released by Level Best Books in February 2023. CLOCKED OUT is the second book in her Josie Posey Mystery Series.

Anna is a former journalist, award-winning advertising copywriter and ad agency owner. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Kansas Authors Club.

Anna is represented by Cindy Bullard, of Birch Literary Agency.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cozyauthor/

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AuthorStJohn

Website: www.anna-stjohn.com

About CLOCKED OUT

Josie Posey and her posse of Mahjong Mavens are at it again, in this cozy mystery where the retired big city crime reporter turned small town crime solver uncovers another murder in picturesque English Village.

When the clockmaker’s daughter returns home for a visit, reporter Josie Posey is assigned the task of interviewing the talented watch designer. That very afternoon the young woman falls from a ladder while inventorying antique clocks.

At first, Josie is certain the fall was an accident. Everyone loved Ella McGregor Benjamin. But Ella’s deathbed statement is a mysterious riddle that can’t be ignored. With her Old English Sheepdog Moe by her side, and an ever-growing list of suspects, Josie scrambles to identify the killer before anyone else gets hurt.

The local police chief wants Josie to help solve the puzzle, but stay out of his murder case. The editor of The Village Gazette wants an in-depth story for the next edition. And somebody wants Josie to stop asking questions. Deadlines loom.

In this fast-paced rollercoaster ride of a mystery, the clock is ticking as Josie vows to find the killer before time runs out.