I'm thrilled today to have author

Mary Ellen Hughes

guest blogging!

Mary is the author of 

THE PICKLED PIPER 

and 

LICENSE TO DILL

Books 1 & 2 in the Pickled & Preserved Mystery series. 

Have you wanted to know more about your favorite authors? Sure you have. I have too. 

Well, Mary is here to fill in some blanks about herself.

10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MARY ELLEN HUGHES

Did I hear someone ask “WHO’S Mary Ellen Hughes?” Hah! Maybe so. And maybe I could have titled this “The First 10 Things You’ll Learn About Mary Ellen Hughes.”

Or, perhaps you do know that I’m a cozy mystery writer, author of 6 published cozy mystery novels with number 7 – LICENSE TO DILL – about to be released on February 3. If that’s all you know, then here’s a little more:

1.      I didn’t start my writing career with mysteries. My first published and paid writing was a humorous verse for The Saturday Evening Post.  I knew I should branch out when the check for that was $15.00

2.      Following the time-honored advice of “write what you know,” my first two mystery novels focused on things I knew well: tennis and skiing. The body in RESORT TO MURDER was discovered near the tennis courts, and A TASTE OF DEATH was set in a New Hampshire ski town. Both were fun to write.

3.      I also play the piano and did write a mystery/suspense novel that featured a classical pianist. Maybe someday it will make it into print.

4.      I have owned five cats so far in my lifetime (or they have owned me) and have managed to put a cat in many of my books. My characters then get to do all the cleaning up after those cats, while I get to take it easy. I love writing!

5.      I love dogs, too, but tend to get hives after petting them. In THE PICKLED PIPER, I gave Piper’s Aunt Judy a dog named Jack. Now I can have a dog, around as much as I like—and no itching!

6.      I write in one of our spare bedrooms, on a laptop and sitting in a comfy chair. Who needs a desk when you have a bed and all that floor space to spread your things around on?

7.      I actually do love pickles and do make them, though not nearly as much as my protagonist Piper Lamb does. She is the professional pickle-ist. I’m a writer—with deadlines to meet.

8.      In LICENSE TO DILL, Piper’s ex-fiancé returns from his travels and moves to Cloverdale, sparking a tug-of-war between him and Piper’s new boyfriend, Will. I never had two men fighting over me, but it sure was fun to imagine!

9.      I also brought a busload of young Italian soccer players to play against the Cloverdale All-Stars. I didn’t speak Italian when I began writing LICENSE TO DILL, and now I still don’t! (But an Italian friend helped me with words and phrases when I needed them.)

10.  Okay, I, um, exaggerated. That’s only 9 things you didn’t know about me. But to make up for it, you can enter to win an Advanced Reader Copy of LICENSE TO DILL simply by writing a comment here. Lisa will randomly pick a winner and get his/her mailing address.

Good luck!

Nice to know more about you, Mary!

You read right!

Mary is giving away an 

Advanced Reader Copy of 

LICENSE TO DILL!

This giveaway is open to US and CANADA only. 

Use the Rafflecopter form below.

Thank you for being here today, Mary!

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

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GOOD LUCK!

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