Without a Shadow of Doubt
Olivia Penn from Without a Shadow of Doubt, an Olivia Penn mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us how she went from writing advice columns to investigating crime scenes.
Welcome, Olivia. I’ll turn the floor over to you –
When I first started my career as a journalist for a Mid-Atlantic regional paper, I assumed my work would be all hard deadlines and reporter’s notebooks. As a bright-eyed graduate, I thought I’d be chasing stories about zoning board disputes, local fairs, and, maybe occasionally, something juicy enough to make the front page.
I never imagined I’d become “Dear Ms. Penn,” the advice columnist people now turn to for advice from breakups to breakdowns. That opportunity arrived in the most unexpected way. One of my editors suggested I try my hand at writing the feature, and the column took off almost immediately. I received so many questions from readers that what was intended as a weekly column soon became a daily feature and my main gig. I wrote about heartbreak and career woes with as much honesty and humor as I could manage. Readers responded, and before I knew it, my column was picked up by a larger paper, then syndicated. Somewhere along the way, I traded press passes for a steady stream of letters beginning with, “Dear Ms. Penn, I don’t know what to do …”
A little over a year ago, I was given a promotion, and I was on my way to New York to be closer to the larger media and publishing outlets. Fate, however, had other plans, and circumstances changed. Life has a way of humbling even the best-laid strategies, and I found myself back in my hometown of Apple Station, Virginia. It’s a place that smells like fresh-cut grass in spring and fireplaces in winter. Porch swings are almost a requirement, and gossip makes the rounds quicker than hummingbirds at full feeders.
Of course, I couldn’t just abandon my pen. I still write my national advice column, but I also picked up a little side gig: a pro bono weekly column for the Apple Station Times. Around here, people don’t write me to ask whether they should break up with their boyfriend or quit their job. Instead, I’m doling out recipes for triple berry pie and passing along my grandmother’s tips for using vinegar for everything from shining windows to keeping ants out of the sugar bowl. It’s folksy, practical, and I absolutely love doing it.
But here’s the part I never, ever expected about moving home: murder. Four times I’ve been drawn into investigations I had no intention of joining. Not as a detective, mind you, but as someone whose life or friends got tangled in knots the police couldn’t easily untie.
I’ve learned that the same skills that serve me as an advice columnist come in handy when faced with crime. You learn to read between the lines of a letter, to notice what someone isn’t saying as much as what they are. You develop patience, listening carefully instead of rushing to judgment. And maybe most importantly, you recognize that every problem, whether it’s a troubled relationship or a suspicious alibi, comes down to human nature. People want to be understood, and people want to be believed.
In Apple Station, those skills have helped me ask the right questions at the right time, sometimes nudging the truth into the light. Still, I’d never call myself a sleuth. Solving crimes has been less about playing detective and more about refusing to look away when things don’t add up.
That said, I hope those days are behind me. Crime may make for compelling headlines, but it’s not something anyone wishes on their doorstep. This weekend, I’m planning to attend the Highland Games here in town, and I’m looking forward to bagpipes, caber tosses, and shortbread cookies. No mysteries allowed.
At least, that’s the plan.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Olivia, and good luck to you and your author, Kathleen Bailey, with Without a Shadow of Doubt, the latest book in the Olivia Penn mystery series.
Readers can learn more about Olivia and her author, Kathleen Bailey by visiting the author’s website and. her Instagram, BookBub and Goodreads pages.
The book is available online at the following retailers:
About Kathleen Bailey: Kathleen is the award-winning author of The Olivia Penn Mystery Series. She writes mysteries with heart and humor that keep to the traditional and cozy sides of crime. For over twenty years, she worked as a pediatric physical therapist with children who have special needs, drawing on degrees in English, psychology, and physical therapy. She now writes in Virginia with her feline assistant, who insists on supervising every draft. When she’s not writing, Kathleen can usually be found covered in cat hair, surrounded by far too many sticky notes, and plotting new twists to keep readers guessing. She is a member of Sisters in Crime.
