A Murder and Maggie MacGill
Rebecca Lee Smith, author of A Murder and Maggie MacGill, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.
Welcome, Rebecca.
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.
A Murder and Maggie Macgill, is a standalone mystery. When elementary art teacher Maggie MacGill finds the richest, most despised woman in town dead, then inherits her estate, it seems like the miracle she’s been praying for to help her family out of their financial troubles. No one knows why old Mrs. Grayson left her fortune to Maggie, but once the matriarch’s housekeeper accuses Maggie of murder, and a series of unexplained pranks directed at the MacGill family turn nasty, Maggie must untangle a web of secrets and discover who has it in for her before it’s too late. Even if it means accepting help from the victim’s grandson, a man she’s loathed since high school but whose devastating grin and quick wit can still make her heart race.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from? Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
When I’m searching for new ideas for a novel, I play the “what if” game. What if an art teacher (I was once an art major) ran into a man she had hated for years, was forced to deal with him in order to solve a mystery that would protect her family, then realizes she may have been completely wrong about him? This is a fantasy I’ve had about a few people in my own life. If there’s a theme underlying the story, it’s about letting go. Letting go of the past. Letting go of old preconceptions about someone while learning to let go of a few fears of your own.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favourite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
My favorite characters are always the ones who make me laugh. I’m sure on some level I loosely base them on people I have known or worked with (even though I don’t mean to), but the funny ones are definitely the ones I love best. And it’s always gratifying to have my amateur sleuth come up with the perfect retort on the spot. I envy that in a person. I can always think of the perfect comeback, but it’s usually the next day when I’m in the shower.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
I try to make sure I cover all the sense bases—sight, smell, hearing–you get the idea. Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine that I’m physically there, looking around, like a little fly on the wall trapped in a house. I can hear the crackle of leaves on the pavement or smell the delicious aromas wafting from a bakery around the corner that I’ve just decided is there. I know it sounds silly, but it really does ground my imagination into a different setting and help bring it to life in my head.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
A Murder and Maggie MacGill was such a joy to write. I hope it will appeal to readers who enjoy solving small-town mysteries featuring a clever, sarcastic, and slightly cynical heroine, some heart-stopping suspense, a little romance, a lot of witty banter, and a family with humor and heart.
Thank you for answering my questions, Rebecca, and good luck with A Murder and Maggie MacGill.
Readers can learn more about Rebecca Lee Smith by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook and Amazon Author pages. You can also follow her on Twitter/X and BlueSky.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
About Rebecca Lee Smith: Rebecca lives with her husband and a dog named Wilbur in the beautiful, misty mountains of East Tennessee, where the people are charming, soulful, and just a little bit crazy. She’s been everything from a tax collector to a stay-at-home-mom to a professional actor and director. She loves to travel the world but her Southern roots and the affectionate appreciation she has for the rural towns she lives near inspire the settings and characters she writes about.
