Guest-Traci Hall and a Giveaway
Jessie: Looking forward to what October might bring!
Today’s guest, Traci Hall is here talking about one of my favorite topics, research! Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of her latest release! Take it away, Traci!
I love, love, love being on the Wickeds Blog—it is always fun to be here, and thank you to Jessica for the invite!
I am celebrating the release of Murder at a Scottish Christmas, available now. This is book six in the Scottish Shire series and honestly, I am gobsmacked by it. Stunned, grateful, and ready to write more.
There’s been a snafu with the audio version, but it is coming. Beverley A. Crick, the narrator for the series, does an incredible job. I like to listen to her version of the last story I wrote as prep for the next book, which will be Murder at the Scottish Games, out in 2025.
The research I did for those games of brute strength involved watching buff men in kilts tossing the caber or lifting stones (literal rocks lol) while at the Loch Norman games in North Carolina—it was sweaty work, but I did it all so I could bring those muscles to the page.
Which brings me to my topic: Research Rabbit Holes.
When I started off with the idea of a Scottish Christmas, I wanted to include puppies. Big red bows, happy families, maybe Wallace should get a fur sibling. The danger with writing cozy mysteries is that the holidays and murder go hand in hand. What kind of crimes might happen around Christmas morning? Or the new year…
Hogmanay is the Scots celebration of the New Year, and it is a big deal—like American New Year on steroids. Lots of fireworks go off. Fireworks could cover up the sound of a gun. But who can we kill? At this point, my main characters are like family, so we need to bring in other family…Amelia Henry. She’s got a shady past. She’s dark haired, as is her brother McCormac.
A handy thing, as another Scots tradition involves the first-footer. Yes, Scots are superstitious folks. In order to ensure good luck for the following year, a tall, dark-haired man bringing gifts of black bun, coal, coin, salt, and whisky, must cross your threshold at midnight. These items might vary but they are meant to represent prosperity.
Anybody who is caught up with the series knows full well that Paislee’s had a string of bad luck and while she invited Hamish, her handsome dark-haired friend, to come for Christmas and New Year, he has to cancel at the last minute, leaving Paislee in a desperate bind. Amelia offers up McCormac. Because Paislee’s house isn’t finished yet to move in, they decide to share Christmas dinner together at the Muthu Newton Hotel. Paislee, Brody, Grandpa, Amelia…and McCormac. He’s all about the flash, and had given Amelia a pedigreed white Pomeranian for Christmas. He’s driving a brand-new Mercedes, and drunkenly ditches Amelia with Paislee to leave early and have “dessert” with one of his lasses, dropping cash on the table. He offers a bargain if Paislee wants a designer pup for Brody, who nods, until he hears the price of thousands of pounds. Paislee is not all that surprised that someone shoots McCormac under the cover of fireworks on Hogmanay but will help Amelia as she discovers that her brother hadn’t really turned over that new leaf as he’d promised.
While researching cute Christmas pups I discovered that puppies had been smuggled from Ireland to Scotland, and around the UK. It was a legit problem. Smuggled puppies? Sadly, this happened without thought to the puppies’ welfare during transport. The mom used for breeding was kept in a constant state of pregnancy, again, without thought to her health.
My hero in this story, besides DI Zeffer, Paislee, and Amelia, turned out to be the veterinarian for Wallace, Dr. Kathleen McHenry. She is a fierce advocate for the pups and for shutting down puppy mills—which, because this is a cozy mystery, we get to have that happy ending <3 They are cracking down around the world too.
While I was researching things people smuggled, I was shocked by the variety of items. Watches and drugs were at the top of the list, and designer fish cleverly transferred in an apron under a woman’s skirt, tied with a stolen dinosaur skeleton for something I can’t forget.
I am a big believer in rescue pups. I’ve included a photo of our chihuahua mix, Pazia. She was rescued from a hoarding situation in Puerto Rico. Dogs require patience and love. They deserve food, water, and health care.
I used to have Pomeranians myself and so I understand wanting a certain breed of dog. My toy pom, Pippa, was an adorable hot mess. Her hips were bad, she had an overbite, and she required surgery that permanently ruined the use of her back leg. We bought her from a strip mall puppy store. She lived to be 17, and used that back leg like a kick stand, lol. They have websites dedicated to certain breeds of pups that still need homes, so if you are in the market for a dog and have your heart set on a certain breed, you might want to check them out.
Readers, I would love to hear about your pup—rescue or not! Share in the comments. If you don’t have a dog, do you have a cat? Bird? Fish? Pet rock? I’ll choose a winner for an autographed copy of Murder at a Scottish Christmas. Thanks again for joining me here today at the Wickeds!
Traci Hall bio: From cozy mysteries to seaside romance, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall writes stories that captivate her readers. As a hybrid author with over sixty published works, Ms. Hall has a favorite story for everyone.
Mystery lovers, be on the lookout for her Scottish Shire series in seaside Nairn, or her Salem B&B Mystery series as Traci Wilton, or third, her Irish Castle mystery series as Ellie Brannigan. Whether it’s her popular By the Sea contemporary romance series or a fun who-done-it, Traci finds her inspiration in sunny South Florida, by living near the ocean. Reach her here: traciella@aol.com
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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Scottish-Christmas-Shire-Mystery/dp/149674439X
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-at-a-scottish-christmas-traci-hall/1144532602?ean=9781496744395
Murder at a Scottish Christmas
The holidays in the charming seaside village of Nairn hold bright hope for sweater shop owner and knitting enthusiast Paislee Shaw—but a fireworks celebration provides cover for a killer in the sixth installment of USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall’s Scottish Shire Mystery series.
All Paislee wants for Christmas is for her new home to be finished, but it looks like she’ll have to wait for New Year’s Day. Whether the paint on the walls has dried or not, she’ll host a feast for her twelve-year-old son Brody, Grandpa, their black Scottish terrier Wallace, and friends—including police station receptionist Amelia Henry and her brother McCormac, whose black locks can fulfill the Scottish first-footer tradition that a tall, dark-haired man should be the first person to enter your home on New Year’s to bring good luck.
But McCormac’s luck is about to run out. During Hogmanay—when the Scots welcome the New Year with dancing, bonfires, and midnight fireworks—he collapses as the sky brightens in a blaze of color. A shooter has used the noise of the fireworks to hide a gun’s blast. Amelia is inconsolable, and Paislee vows to do whatever she can to help DI Zeffer solve the murder—even if it puts her in the killer’s sights next . . .
