Earl Grey and Shallow Graves (A Waterwheel Cafe Mystery) by Victoria Tait
About Earl Grey and Shallow Graves
A Waterwheel Cafe Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – England
Kanga Press (May 19, 2023)
Number of Pages : 216
Digital ASIN : B0BXQL5YS5
A 30-year-old skeleton. A missing girl. Can a community police officer read the tea leaves or will a deadly secret remain buried for ever?
Sergeant Keya Varma is delighted with her new part-time role as the Cotswolds’ Rural Engagement Officer. She’s also fulfilling her dream of opening a small neighbourhood café. But she gets herself into a stew with renovation works when builders unearth a young girl’s remains.
While Keya and her police colleagues gain ground reviewing the unsolved disappearance of a local girl, her brief taste of success turns to dust when a friend is found dead at her tea shop. Confusion over identities threatens to bury the investigation and our junior police officer is worried that justice won’t be served.
Can Keya dig into the mystery and uncover the real culprit?
Earl Grey and Shallow Graves is the first book in The Waterwheel Café series. If you’ve enjoyed the Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, then you’ll love meeting some of your favourite characters and making new friends in Victoria Tait’s intriguing British cozy mystery.Buy Earl Grey and Shallow Graves and unearth a killer today!
About the Interview with Victoria Tait
When did you catch the writing bug? I’m not sure I have caught the bug. I enjoy writing, and entertaining readers, but I treat it as a business with many aspects, including the writing. I had no childhood desire to write, and I only started in 2019 as my military husband was given a posting abroad, where I wouldn’t be able to work. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with my time, so I decided to try writing. I still don’t consider myself a creative and I’m still surprised when readers email me to say how much they’ve enjoyed reading my books!
Besides Author, what other job titles have you held? As I came to writing relatively late in life, I’ve had many jobs. I left university and qualified as Chartered Surveyor. I managed teams of professionals senior to me, and far more qualified, running multi-million pound building projects.
After setting up a small home improvements business and then a direct selling greeting cards business we moved to Kenya. There I set up and ran a café and farm shop. I had to sell it when we left Kenya, and after that I moved into the author business.
When you’re not working, what fills your time? I do work a lot at the moment, as I write and market my books, as well as formatting them and undertaking personal and business admin. We’ve moved back to the UK after being abroad during Covid and I’m starting to attend in-person events and reconnect with friends and family. I enjoy it, but currently find it exhausting. I’ve more events planned and hope that as long as I take breaks when I need them, I’m make the most of the opportunities.
I also enjoy visiting different places, particularly if I can write off the costs as book research! I visited Edinburgh in February with my oldest son, which is the location for the next book to be released.
If your life were made into a movie, is it a comedy or drama? My life would probably be more apt for a travel documentary of all the places I’ve lived. With the military, we’ve moved at least every two years to homes in places including Northern Ireland, Scotland, Kenya, the Cotswolds and Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What is your favorite childhood memory? I have many happy childhood memories as I grew up in the countryside with many animals including ponies, chickens and cats. I enjoyed riding competitions and through them met many fantastic friends. We were always messing around in the summer holidays playing catch or having water fights.
What advice would you give to your younger self? Be self-sufficient. I worked hard at school as I knew this and wanted to be in charge of my own finances and destiny. But when I married into the military, I wasn’t able to continue my main career because I moved locations. But now the military want to discharge my husband, on mental health grounds, and if they do, I’ll need to earn enough to support the family. I’m very lucky to have the started this great career later in life (I turn 50 when this book releases).
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you? I’m always doing embarrassing things. Yesterday I shouted across the room to a friend, but the woman turned round and it was a complete stranger. Everyone looked at me as if I was an idiot!
What is your greatest achievement? Giving birth to and bring up my two boys, now aged 13 and 15.
What makes you laugh? I haven’t laughed much recently, except when my youngest son finally tells a joke which is funny. Instead I try to enjoy and spend time enjoying the little things. Today is one of the first warm, sunny days we’ve had so my husband and I explored a new walking route. We stopped to watch the lambs in the fields, to try and remember the names of wild flowers, and to remark how the young buds on a tree were furry. And better still, I’d completed over 70% of my target ‘steps’ for the day, which did make me happy.
What is your greatest extravagance? I’m from Yorkshire, in the UK, where we are known for being frugal. I like shopping at auctions and thrift shops, buying food which is on offer in the supermarket, and making my own meals when I can. However, as I have a lot on my plate at the moment, as well as my writing, I’m allowing myself some ready-made soups and meals to save me time cooking.
What are your pet peeves? In the Clifton Strengths, I have high responsibility, so I hate people not doing what they say they’ll do, or what it is their job or role to do. I also become agitated when people are late, but that’s me rather than them.
What is always in your fridge? Milk, butter, salad and vegetables, eggs, chocolate, and white wine (and not necessarily in that order!
What is your most treasured possession? I had to prepare a ‘grab bag’ in Sarajevo, in case we were evacuated. I had my laptop, as so much of my life is on it, but I also included a photo frame which I can close and protect like a book. In one side there is a photo of my youngest son and me at the Kenyan coast, and in the other side my husband and our oldest son after they’d completed a prestigious Kenyan mountain bike race.
What is your favorite movie? I just love Gladiator. The big scenes, the character dynamics, the under-dog, the fabulous music and the great lines.
What is your favorite song, and why? Sorry, I don’t have a favorite song. I love music from the 80s, but at the moment it’s piano music and the sounds of nature on my Calm app which help me most.
What did you eat for breakfast? Did you make it yourself? I don’t eat breakfast. I’ve put on a ton of weight over the past few years and after reading Atomic Habits I’m looking at the small ways I can lose weight and become healthier. Fasting until lunch time is one thing, and I don’t find it difficult. I did have poached eggs on an English muffin, sausages and salad for lunch though. And yes, I prepared it myself.
Describe your perfect day. Wake early (around 5.30 am) after a restful sleep, grab a cup of coffee and start writing. Having completed 2,000 to 2,500 words, go for a run or walk. Shower and do any washing or house admin.
After a healthy lunch, whizz through my admin and marketing so I have time to call a friend. Have someone else cook me supper, without asking what to do next every five minutes, and sit down at the table as a family, discussing the day’s events and future activities.
Alternatively, wake up at a cottage by the beach on a sunny day. Not have any admin to do so write, walk, read and eat out at wonderful cafes or restaurants. But that’s a dream!
About Victoria Tait
I was born and raised in Yorkshire, UK, and never expected to travel the world. I’ve drawn on my experiences following my military husband to write cozy murder mystery books with vivid and evocative settings. My determined female sleuths are joined by colourful but realistic teams of helpers, and you’ll experience surprises, humour, and sometimes, a tug on your heartstrings.
I hope you enjoyed Keya’s first book. Join her and her friends as they solve more mysteries in my Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, also based in the Cotswolds. Visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TMJFL7L
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