Karen Shughart

is the author of the Edmund DeCleryk Mysteries

Book 1 MURDER IN THE MUSEUM released in 2018

Early one gray November morning, retired Lighthouse Cove, NY police chief, Edmund DeCleryk, finds Emily Bradford's body on the beach at the base of the bluff where the local museum and historical society stands. At the same time, a break-in has been reported at the museum, and Emily's coat and purse are found hanging on a peg in the museum's gift shop where she worked. Was her death the result of a burglary gone bad or something more sinister?

When the police chief is called out of town for a family emergency, he hires Ed, now working as a criminal consultant, to assist deputy police chief, Carrie Ramos, with the murder investigation. After several leads don't pan out, the chief, now back in Lighthouse Cove, decides to close the case. Confident that with more time the murder can be solved, Ed is determined to continue investigating on his own, with encouragement from his wife, Annie the museum's executive director.

One morning while in the basement of the museum, the couple discovers a copy of a map dated 1785, and Ed's instincts tell him it may be connected to Emily's death. On a hunch, he and Annie travel to Toronto, Canada, where he learns of the original map and a manuscript written in 1847 that were unearthed during an archaeological dig. The manuscript contains information about a ship that capsized during a fierce storm on Lake Ontario -- in 1785. Now Ed has clues as to why the murder occurred, but he still doesn't know who committed the crime. Or does he?

Book 2 in the series 

MURDER AT THE CEMETERY released February 3

On a bright, spring afternoon the

 body of George Wright, a childhood friend of criminal consultant Edmund DeCleryk, is discovered at a cemetery where casualties of the War of 1812 are buried. After conducting an autopsy, the medical examiner determines that George has been murdered, the cause of death by poisoning. Lighthouse Cove Police Chief Carrie Ramos hires Ed to investigate, with his spunky wife, Annie assisting him.

Suspects include a physician’s assistant, college student and a family member, among others; however, George’s demise may be the result of secrets that have surfaced from the grave. You’ll discover what Ed found on the beach in Murder in the Museum and how that, and an artifact dating back to the early 1800s, are linked to this untimely death.

Annie loves to cook, and at the end of the book she shares recipes for meals she prepared for friends and loved ones.

Karen was kind enough to answer 

some questions for me to share with you. 

Enjoy!

LKBR:  Thank you for joining us today, Karen.

KS: You’re welcome, Lisa. Thanks for inviting me to participate.

LKBR: Please tell us a bit about Murder in the Cemetery: An Edmund DeCleryk Mystery.

KS: Here’s the synopsis of the book, Lisa:

On a bright, spring afternoon the body of George Wright, a childhood friend of criminal consultant Edmund DeCleryk, is discovered at a cemetery where casualties of the War of 1812 are buried. After conducting an autopsy, the medical examiner determines that George has been murdered, the cause of death by poisoning.  Lighthouse Cove Police Chief Carrie Ramos hires Ed to investigate, with his spunky wife, Annie assisting him.

Suspects include a physician’s assistant, college student and a family member, among others; however, George’s demise may be the result of secrets that have surfaced from the grave.  You’ll discover what Ed found on the beach in Murder in the Museum and how that, and an artifact dating back to the early 1800s, are linked to this untimely death.

Annie loves to cook, and at the end of the book she shares recipes for meals she prepared for friends and loved ones.

LKBR: What are your plans for this series?

KS: This is the second in the series of Cozy mysteries that are set in a small village on the south shore of Lake Ontario in upstate New York.  There will be three more. Like books one and two, each murder will be the result of and linked to an historical event. In the first book, Murder in the Museum, it’s a manuscript that was written post-Revolutionary War. In Murder in the Cemetery, a small battle in Lighthouse Cove during the War of 1812 is connected to the murder.

LKBR: Are you working on any new projects?

KS: I will soon begin to write Murder at Freedom Point, the third in the series. The murder will be linked to the Underground Railroad and transporting escaping slaves to Canada and freedom prior to the Civil War.  I’m also trying to finish a novel I started years ago, B Street, that is not a Cozy and is set is central Pennsylvania. There is a tie-in to an incident that happened during World War II. It appears I like marrying history with the present in my books.

LKBR: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

KS: When I was five, my family was driving to the beach when we had a flat tire.  While my dad was changing the tire, I wrote a poem about it. It was my first. My mother posted it on our refrigerator for months! Since then, I’ve always written in one form or another.

LKBR: Was getting your first book published everything you thought it would be? The feelings? The process?  

KS: The mystery series’ books are not the first I’ve written. I wrote non-fiction before, but I don’t remember having the same emotional reaction to those as I do with having my novels published. I think it’s because, other than researching and integrating historical information into each book, everything comes from my imagination. I spend a lot of time doing what I call ‘wordsmithing’ and pay a lot of attention to detail. I don’t write quickly, there are multiple rewrites and often changes in characters and tweaks in the plot along the way.  I lose sleep. Lots of it.  At the end, it’s like giving birth!  I cry with relief and excitement.

LKBR: How did you handle it when changes were made to your first manuscript? I don’t have a thick skin, so I know how I would have felt.

KS: Interestingly, my works of fiction haven’t been tampered with much, other than some corrections I missed when submitting, like punctuation or a misused word. I am fine with having my work edited, I want the finished product to be professionally written and polished and am used to having my work critiqued. For a period in my life I was a newspaper columnist and feature writer.

LKBR: What is your favorite part of being a writer?

KS: That’s an interesting question. I love developing the plot, getting from A to Z, and making the pieces fit, like a very complex puzzle. But I really love writing descriptively and developing characters. I want readers to picture in their heads what I describe in words.

 LKBR: Have you ever read a book that has stayed with you long after reading it? 

KS: Probably War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is my most favorite book ever. I’ve read it several times and never get bored, it’s beautifully written and majestic, and I’ve always been attracted to sweeping sagas. My ancestry is mainly Russian, and my ancestors came to this country before the Revolution there in 1905. Reputedly, one of my great-uncles was murdered for plotting against the Czar! I am particularly fascinated with pre-revolutionary Russia-not only the literature-but also the art, architecture, music and of course, the history and socio-political system.

LKBR: Why are reviews, good or bad, so important to authors?

KS: Good reviews help to sell books and tell the author that what she’s written is appreciated. A bad review can be a mixed blessing. If there’s a trend, then maybe something needs to be changed in the writing. I don’t get upset with an occasional bad review. Different strokes for different folks…. Not everyone will like my writing or books in my genre, and that’s okay.

LKBR: On what sites do you recommend readers leave their reviews?

KS: Amazon and Goodreads. Barnes and Noble, too. Nice comments on social media are also appreciated.

LKBR: If you could spend one hour with a reader, what would you want to talk about?

KS: Not myself. I’d be interested in learning about that person’s life: what makes that person tick, what he or she likes to read, what her interests are. Family history and stories.  I’d have lots of questions. There’s something unique and special about everyone.

LKBR: Thank you so much, Karen Shughart, for letting us get to know you better!

KS: You’re very welcome, Lisa! And thanks again for giving me this opportunity.

You can find Karen's books here.

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Karen Shughart has worked professionally as a journalist, writer, editor, publicist and non-profit executive. Her passions include her family, cooking, gardening, writing, photography, walking, and learning new things. Murder in the Cemetery: An Edmund DeCleryk Mystery is the second in a series of Cozies published by Cozy Cat Press (2020) that take place in Lighthouse Cove, NY on the south shore of Lake Ontario. It follows Murder in the Museun (Cozy Cat Press, 2018). In addition, she is the author of two non-fiction books: The Pennsylvania Bed and Breakfast Guide and Cookbook; and Creating Special Events, from Dollars to Dessert. Follow her blogs on Ladies of Mystery: www.ladiesofmystery.com or on her website: https://www.karenshughart.com

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