Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: RELUCTANT AMATEUR SLEUTH ANASTASIA POLLACK INTERROGATES (UHM...INTERVIEWS) NEW HUSBAND ZACHARY BARNES

Zack photographing a lemur

Now that Zack and I have tied the knot, I thought it was high time he sat down for a character chat here at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers.

A: State Your Full Name.
Z: Zachary Barnes but my friends call me Zack.

A: And your aliases?

Z: Sweetheart, are we really veering into that territory this soon?

A: It was worth a try. Let’s move on. Tell our readers how old you are.

Z: I was forty-five when author Lois Winston created me. That’s when you and I met in Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Over the course of twelve books and three novellas, it’s now a year and a half later, so I’m pushing forty-seven.

A: What is your profession?
Z: I’m an award-winning photojournalist.

A: And?

Z: And that’s all.

A: So why all the constant trips to D.C.? And why do you often fly off at a moment’s notice to questionable locales like Guatemala and Madagascar?

Z: Because I freelance for National Geographic, The Smithsonian, and the World Wildlife Fund.

A: Guatemala?

Z: Photographing indigenous tribes in Guatemala.

A: And Madagascar?

Z: Lemurs.

A: Nothing else?

Z: Pochards.

A: Pochards. Right. Code name for some secretive operation, no doubt. How many people are really interested in photographs of pochards?

Z: You’d be surprised. They were thought to have gone extinct in the late 1990s.

A: But you found some?

Z: Not me. I was just lucky enough to snag the assignment to photograph the ones that were found.

A: In one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

Z: You go where the work takes you.

A: Said the guy who claims he doesn’t work for one of the government alphabet agencies.

Z: Says the guy married to the woman with a wild imagination. And maybe I should remind you that your life as a magazine crafts editor hasn’t exactly kept you safe from murder and mayhem.

A: You had to bring that up?

Z: Under the circumstances, I thought it was appropriate.

A: But I don’t deliberately go looking for trouble.

Z: And yet trouble always seems to find you. Not to mention the dead bodies. How many are there at this point?

A: I’ve lost count.

Z: My point, exactly. I take you for a relaxing trip to Tennessee wine country in A Crafty Collage of Crime, the latest Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, and what happens? Within minutes of arriving at the first winery, you find another murder victim.

A: Perhaps we should move on.

Z: Excellent idea. What else would you like your readers to know about me?

A: How about a lightning round?

Z: Go for it.

A: Favorite food?

Z: Does wine count as food?

A: I believe it’s considered one of the two main food groups, chocolate being the other. Favorite vacation spot?

Z: Barcelona.

A: You’ve got to be kidding! Have you forgotten I was kidnapped in Barcelona?

Z: Which is why we need to go back so you can enjoy the city.

A: Given the dead bodies in Tennessee, maybe we shouldn’t have cancelled our trip to Barcelona.

Z: Sweetheart, given your Karma, you would have stumbled across a dead body or two no matter where we went.

A: Moving on. Favorite music genre?

Z: Jazz.

A: Favorite movie?

Z: Casablanca.

A: That’s one of my favorite movies.

Z: I know. I’m trying to get on your good side.

A: Or is it because along with a love story, it's also a spy movie?

Z: Do you ever give up?

A: You may slip and ‘fess up at some point.

Z: Not if I’m really a spy. I’d be too well trained.

A: That’s the conundrum, isn’t it?

Z: I’ll never tell.

A: Favorite book?

Z: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

A: Now you’re messing with me.

Z: I enjoy messing around with you.

A: Let’s keep this clean. If author Lois Winston ever options the rights to the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, who should play you?

Z: George Clooney or Hugh Jackman.

A: Who should play me?

Z: Tina Fey.

A: Biggest Pet Peeve?

Z: A wife who won’t believe I’m not a spy.

A: Well, readers, there you have it. What do you think? Is Zack really a spy, or have I let my imagination run amok? Do you think I’ll ever find definitive proof one way or another, or will Lois Winston keep us all guessing?

A Crafty Collage of Crime

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 12

Wherever crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack goes, murder and mayhem follow. Her honeymoon is no exception. She and new husband, photojournalist (and possible spy) Zachary Barnes, are enjoying a walk in the Tennessee woods when they stumble upon a body on the side of a creek. The dead man is the husband of one of the three sisters who own the winery and guest cottages where Anastasia and Zack are vacationing.

When the local sheriff sets his sights on the widow as the prime suspect, her sisters close ranks around her. The three siblings are true-crime junkies, and thanks to a podcaster who has produced an unauthorized series about her, Anastasia’s reputation for solving murders has preceded her to the bucolic hamlet. The sisters plead for her help in finding the real killer. As Anastasia learns more about the women and their business, a host of suspects emerge, including several relatives, a relentless land developer, and even the sisters themselves.

Meanwhile, Anastasia becomes obsessed with discovering the podcaster’s identity. Along with knowing about Anastasia’s life as a reluctant amateur sleuth, the podcaster has divulged details of Anastasia’s personal life. Someone has betrayed Anastasia’s trust, and she’s out to discover the identity of the culprit.

Craft project included.

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