ABOUT THE BOOK
A Mediterranean cruise gives glass shop owner Savannah Webb a chance to demonstrate her expertise—and fire up her skills when it comes to foul play . . .
When Savannah signs on to perform glassblowing on a ship, part of the appeal is that she’ll get a chance to reconnect with her boyfriend Edward’s family. An added bonus is that Edward’s cousin, Ian, will be joining them on board. But when Ian disappears at the beginning of the cruise, the ship’s authorities initially consider it suicide.
Savannah tries to balance her growing suspicions with work on her shows, but her relationship with the other glass artists begins to crack. And she can’t let love color her judgment when Edward suddenly jumps to the top of the suspect list. His fate is in Savannah’s hands, and she’ll do everything she can—on land and sea—to clear his name . . .
Book Details:
Title: Shattered at Sea
Author: Cheryl Hollon
Genre: Cozy mystery
Series: Webb's Glass Shop Mystery, book 5
Publisher: Kensington (August 28, 2018)
Print length: 304 pages
INTERVIEW WITH CHERYL HOLLON
Q: Cheryl, what’s the story behind the title of your book?
A: I try to match the title to both the featured glass art and the emotional theme of the story. This time, it fits – not only is there a fair bit of shattered glass, but also a few shattered passions.
Q: Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
A: Each book in the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series highlights a particular skill within the broad category of glass art. Savannah Webb will teach and participate in each skill area exploring and expanding her knowledge of the craft, along with her assistant, Amanda Blake. As a subject matter expert consulting with the St. Petersburg Police Department, her close associations within the art community and the unusually keen observation skills of her apprentice, Jacob Underwood, combine to solve crimes. Edward Morris, boyfriend and the British owner of the pub next door, fills out the investigation posse with more than moral support accompanied by coffee and scones. The craft topics for the fifth book in the series explains glass blowing on a cruise ship. It is not necessary to read the series from the beginning, you can start anywhere.
Q: Where’s home for you?
A: I live in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I was born in a small town in eastern Kentucky where most of my family originated, but grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where my dad could get regular work. Most of my summers were spent in the idyllic countryside just west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
A: Persistence is the key to success if you want to be a writer. Actually, I think that applies to anything you want to achieve. You must show up and do all the things – and then do a little bit more.
Q: What do you love about where you live?
A: Over the years, St. Petersburg has grown from a retirement winter haven to a modern urban village. We love the cafés, restaurants, art galleries and world-class museums.
Q: What’s one thing you wish your younger writer self knew?
A: Study more craft. Yes, most writers have talent, but there are so many good ways to get better so that your journey to publication is shorter.
Q: What makes you excited?
A: The start of a brand-new book gives me the shivers. I love the promise that this book can be, can do, can go anywhere. It’s the open road of the unknown. Love it!
Q: Do you have another job outside of writing?
A: No, I’m a full-time writer after an engineering career designing and installing military flight simulators in England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. I combine a love of writing with a passion for creating glass art in the small glass studio behind my house. I’m living my dream.
Q: How did you meet your spouse?
A: Husband and I met in high school on my first blind date. It was not love at first sight, but more curiosity about this handsome, muscular, shy fellow that had an open heart and a curious mind. We fell in love three dates later.
Q: If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
A: Husband – everything else is stuff.
Q: Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
A: Lonely genius. I could entertain myself with books from my enormous To Be Read pile.
Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
A: I’m living exactly where I want to be. I’ve had the pleasure of living in a lot of wonderful places around the world, but we chose wisely to settle in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Q: One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?
A: All she would have to do is add a little arsenic to the almond milk I add to my coffee – DEAD!
Q: Who is your favorite author?
A: My favorite is Louise Penny. I can’t wait for her next book.
Q: What book are you currently reading and in what format?
A: I’m reading the hardback of The Girl From Blind River by Gale Massey.
Q: Do you have a routine for writing?
A: I write the first thing every morning after making a very large cup of coffee with an old-fashioned French press.
Q: Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
A: I can write anywhere, anytime, with anything. However, I’m most productive in my office at home.
Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
A: I wept like a baby after a reader told me that my books helped her cope with the lonely hours tending to her mother in Hospice.
Q: Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
A: I love the old world feel of my local library, Mirror Lake. It’s within walking distance and is a Carnegie library built in 1915 in Beaux-Arts style. It has a separate room just for crime fiction.
Q: Are you happy with your decision to publish with Kensington Publishing?
A: Being part of the Kensington family is an honor and privilege. They’re a family-owned, family-run business with the freedom to adjust quickly to market demands and calamities. As most authors will tell you, the road to publication is usually long and challenging. I started writing more than ten years ago, and I signed with an agent and then publisher at year seven. The best and truest thing to do is keep writing. If you want to be published, you simply must persist.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m thrilled to be writing the first book in a new series for Kensington Publishing. The main character is Miranda Trent, who inherits her uncle’s farmhouse in Wolfe County, Kentucky. She starts up a new business that takes tourists on short hikes to paint trail stunning mountain vistas in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Afterwards, she takes them to her farmhouse for a traditionally prepared southern meal cooked by the local church ladies. Each course is paired with a sampling of moonshine. The name of her business is Paint ‘n’ Shine. The first book in the series is planned to release sometime in 2020.
OTHER BOOKS BY CHERYL
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career of designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind her house in St. Petersburg, Florida, Cheryl and her husband design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass, and painted glass artworks.
Connect with Cheryl:
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