Thanks for Muffin by Victoria Hamilton ~ Character Interview

Posted October 15, 2025 by karenbaron in Blog Tour, Contest - Giveaway, Spotlight / 1 Comment

Thanks for Muffin

Series: Merry Muffin Mysteries #8

Author: Victoria Hamilton

Genre: Cozy Animal Culinary Mystery

Setting: Wynter Castle, Western New York State

Release Date: October 14, 2025, by Beyond the Page

Pages: 211

Summary:

When Merry Wynter’s festive gala takes a fatal turn, she’ll have to grill her guests to catch a killer . . .

After years of planning and hard work, Merry Wynter was finally ready to host the grand opening gala of the Wynter Woods Center for the Performing Arts. With musicians, entertainers, members of the media and even influencers on the guest list, the event went off without a hitch—until a particularly nasty journalist posted a criticism of the gala and everything Merry was trying to accomplish. Still reeling from the review days later, Merry wasn’t sure what to feel when she discovered the reporter’s dead body on the grounds of Wynter Castle.

With many of her guests staying on at the castle for the weekend, Merry realizes they’ve got a murderer in their midst. Going from celebrating to sleuthing, she discreetly questions each of them, trying to weed out the culprit. She quickly learns that the victim had heated arguments with several of the people at the gala, and it turns out those people were all connected by a tragedy in the past. Certain the killer is among them, Merry will have to unearth the final clue that nails the killer—before the killer decides she’s getting too close . . .

Includes delicious muffin recipes!

Character Interview with Merry Grace Wynter

How did you and your author meet?

Merry Grace Wynter: Victoria Hamilton would claim she dreamed me up, but in truth I was out there, living my life, when she stumbled across my story. I’ve cooperated, I suppose you’d say, by giving her the inside scoop, but it’s all me. I wrote down everything that’s gone on since the day I drove up through Autumn Vale, New York, asking directions from the hunky sheriff, and then up the winding lane to my real honest-to-goodness American castle. How was I to know there would be murders to solve? And that I’d be seeing a whole lot more of Virgil Grace, the hunky sheriff.

Why did this writer decide to feature you in a whole series of books?

MGW: Typical writer, she just wanted a juicy story, and with the murders, the castle, my friends, my love story… how could she resist? I mean, it’s got everything, my story does. Autumn Vale is an enchanting village in Western New York State, so cozy atmosphere? Check! There was immediate chemistry with that darned hunky sheriff, so love story? Check again. A cast of fun and funky characters? That is my life, so check again. Add to that a sweet ginger cat, my love of teapots, my habit of baking waaay too many muffins, and you have an irresistible mix!

Do you have any friends or family helping you out?

MGW: Do I?? Pish Lincoln; I call him my pretend Dad. He has always been there for me when I needed him, and he followed me to my castle and stayed to make sure I was okay. Shilo Dinnegan: she’s pretty busy now, with a husband and a couple of kids, but when I first fled the city she followed me and stuck like glue. That’s the kind of friends you need. Doc English: what can I say about him? He’s my great uncle Melvyn’s buddy and my only link to my family past. And last but not least, Virgil Grace: First Autumn Valeite I met when I arrived. Our chemistry was off the charts from the moment we met, and it still is, five years later.

There are more… many more. So read the books!

Do you have a regular job and investigate on the side or are you a full-time detective?

MGW: I guess my real job is baking muffins for cafes, bakeshops and the senior living facility here in Autumn Vale, but I also have been working toward making Wynter Castle pay its own way. We’re almost there, with the opening of the Wynter Woods Center for the Performing Arts about to open at Thanksgiving, with a big gala, and famous guests staying over. Investigating murder is just what I have to do to keep my castle from getting into the news. We have gotten a bit of a reputation as a bad luck castle. I hate that. This time, I’m going to make sure we solve things before it hits the news!

Have you solved other cases or is this your first one?

MGW: Oh, there have been others. It started right away when I moved to Wynter Castle to try to figure out if I could fix it up and sell it. See, someone kept digging holes on the property, and then I found a body in one. Not fun. After that there was a body in a fake coffin at a Hallowe’en party, and a body in the half bath on the main floor, and… yeah, it keeps happening. I thought we’d moved past it because there were a couple of years with no bodies but… sigh. It’s happened again.

Do you have a gift or a special talent?

MGW: My only talent is baking. I make a mean muffin. That’s why I have my own company, Merry’s Muffins.

Who is the most important individual in your life?

MGW: That is an awful question! You’re going to make me choose between Pish Lincoln, who is the best pseudo-dad a gal could have, or Virgil Grace, the love of my life? Can’t do it. They are dead even.

What is your ideal vacation?

MGW: I’ve been many places in my life. My first husband, Miguel Paradiso, was a photographer, and a Spanish citizen working in the US. We traveled in Spain, and around the world on photo shoots. But for vacation I don’t think there’s anything better than my own home. A cup of morning coffee on the back deck, overlooking the woods. That is perfection.

If you could change anything about your life what would it be?

MGW: Money would be nice. I guess that’s the only thing. Like most people I imagine that having enough money not to worry anymore would be lovely, but I wouldn’t trade anything that I have to get it. So… I don’t suppose I would change a thing.

Thanks for the fun questions! It’s been grand.

Merry Muffin Mysteries Series

About the Author

Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the bestselling author of four mystery series: the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, the Merry Muffin Mysteries, and A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder Mysteries.

Giveaway

Prize: One Prize Package: $25 Amazon Gift card. Also, a swag bag with an exclusive one-of-a-kind Merry’s Muffins canvas book tote with bookmarks, Victoria Hamilton Mysteries Promotional Pens, a Cool Skull Teaspoon, and more! Giveaway is open to US and Canada!

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Thanks for Muffin by Victoria Hamilton ~ Character Interview