New Mills author's latest book takes readers on a Scottish adventure full of whiskey, tartan and murder
An author who has published more than a dozen cosy crime books says she has found her way back to writing after taking a break for a couple of years.
Fans of Kate P Adams, known locally as Kate Minchin, will be delighted to know her latest Joyce and Ginger book - Murder Wears Tartan is out now.
Kate said: “It’s been a long time coming and this is my first long read since 2023 and it feels great to be writing again.”
Kate lost both her mum and dad within months of each other in 2023, the book she was working on at the time was published but then she took a break and only published a collection of short stories from her other cosy crime series, The Charlton House Mysteries, as they were also already written.
“Writing about Joyce and Ginger again is like hanging out with old friends.
“When I wasn’t writing I didn’t feel like a writer despite having a dozen books already published but I feel like me again now.” Joyce and Ginger are an unlikely duo who started their first solo adventure in Buxton but a body was found while they were on holiday.
A trip to London for the second book also saw them solve a murder and a trip to Scotland both Edinburgh and the HIghlands sees them solving not one but two murders.
For Kate the decision to send the friends over the border was a natural one.
“I love Scotland, I love exploring so it was great for me to take trips and dive into the history of the country a bit more.”
Kate says she loves the research part of her books as much if not more than the writing element.
“I need to know about what I’m writing about.
“What animals live in the woods by Scottish castles, what do the birds sound like and what do the flowers smell like so I can really take my readers on a journey.
“The landscape and setting is like another character in my book so it needs lots of detail.
“If I can’t engage with it, how can I expect my readers to believe what I’m writing?”
Kate used to live in America and says some of her audience is still over the pond but she wants to increase her reach in Derbyshire and become more of a known local author where she grew up and now loves again.
Not one to rest while the creative ideas are flowing Kate, who’s Joyce and Ginger book is out now, is already working on the next installment for Charlton House, a historic stately home.
She said: “I can’t choose between Joyce and Ginger and Charlton House as they are very different.
Charlton House is a long series of books with indepth characters but because it is a stately home there is the option to bring in new staff members or friends and expand the world that way which is great.” Murder Wears tartan is out now available on Amazon or katepadams.com