Always Reading: Virtual Book Tour: A Deathly Display by Kirsten Weiss

This post is part of a virtual book tour orgnaized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kirsten Weiss will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A killer stalks her sister.
A mysterious painting holds the key.
Can Maddie unravel the mystery before Melanie meets a deadly fate?

When Maddie and Herb attend a curation class at the upscale Domus Vinea museum, the mood turns darker than a gothic portrait after Maddie’s opera-singing sister, Melanie, discovers the museum director’s body. Now, with a cunning killer targeting Melanie next, Maddie must act fast.

Racing against time, Maddie and friends investigate a gallery of suspects, including a dashing vintner with a haunted painting that may hide a deadly secret. If Maddie can’t crack the case, and fast, her sister’s life could end in one fatal stroke.

A Deathly Display, the latest in the Paranormal Museum series, blends quirky sleuthing, small-town chills, and paranormal thrills with a dash of humor. Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries!

Grab A Deathly Display and start reading this hilarious whodunit!

For readers who crave a cozy mystery about a woman finding belonging through small-town wine-country sleuthing and the gentle absurdity of everyday hauntings. Perfect if you like breezy pacing, light supernatural quirks, and warm humor over gritty tension—think vintage charm, quirky neighbors, and just-enough chills to keep pages turning without losing sleep. Book 11 in the series.

Read an Excerpt

Stuffing the brochure into the pocket of my navy hoodie, I walked to the window. The gentle blues of twilight streamed through it, making a trapezoid on the museum’s wooden floor.

A narrow, carved piece of wood stuck out beneath the sill. There appeared to be two wooden hinges at its base. It was another door. Curious, I pried the top open.

The slender strip of wood popped off the wall. I caught it before it could hit the floor and froze, squatting, door cradled in both hands. Horrified, I gaped at the piece of carved wood.

“You broke it,” Herb hissed. “You broke the house on our first visit!”

“I didn’t break it. It fell off.” Frantically, I tried to work the door back into the hinge.

“What are you doing?” Bran asked from behind me.

Heart pounding, I spun to face him and hid the slim little door behind my back.

“Are you hiding something behind your back?” Bran cocked an eyebrow. Now, he looked like an angry Roman general, the trimmed stubble on his jaw more threatening. Not even his jeans and blue button-up eased the effect.

I blinked, sweating. He’d caught me like a kid elbow-deep in a cookie jar.

Author Interview

Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?

KW: I’m grew up in Northern California, lived overseas for about 20 years, and now I’m living in Colorado Springs.

What genre do you read? Who's an author you read? Name your top 5 authors.

KW: Mystery is my favorite genre, but it really depends on the author. I will always buy the next Harry Dresden novel by Jim Butcher. If I had to pick my top five faves: Agatha Christie, Amanda Flower, Juliet Blackwell, E.J. Copperman, and Carolyn Ridder Aspenson.

What book are you reading right now, and what do you like about it?

KW: I’m reading The Kamogawa Food Detectives, Menu of Happiness, by Hisashi Kawshiwai. I love the way it uses food as a gateway to secrets and memory. It’s a beautiful cozy mystery series out of Japan.

Favorite sports.

KW: I don’t enjoy watching sports, but I do enjoy martial arts. Is that a sport?

Favorite thing about the state/country that you live in.

KW: Colorado Springs is blessed with an amazing amount of trails and parks. I think it has more park acres per capita than anywhere else in the US. I try to take advantage of them as often as possible, and enjoy the red rocks and hoodoos.

How long have you been writing?

KW: I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but I got serious about it in 2011. I’d returned from living overseas and was really floundering. So I thought—what the heck? Why not pursue my dream?

What inspired you to become a writer?

KW: Reading. I have always been a voracious reader, and I wanted to create my own stories.

What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

KW: I fall somewhere in between. I’ll usually plot the first half of the book and a few key points toward the end (like the ending) but I like leaving myself some freedom for spontaneity.

How did you come up with the ideas for your series? (If your book is a standalone, please skip)

KW: I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about a guy who had a hot dog restaurant with a paranormal museum on the side. Eventually, he was making more money from the museum than the dogs. I thought a paranormal museum would make an awesome setting for a cozy mystery.

How do you celebrate ﬁnishing a book?

KW: You know, I haven’t been celebrating that much. I usually just start the next book. But I’m trying to make more of a thing about it.

What would you tell a writer who is just starting? What program do you use for writing? What advice would you give to a writer working on their ﬁrst book? What’s your writing software of choice?

KW: I think people can get hung up on the software and technical aspects. Just write the darn book! You’ll learn a lot from the process—especially from the mistakes. But yes, I do use software like Scrivener for my first draft.

How do you organize everything and ﬁnd the time to sit down and write?

KW: Writing is my full-time job now. It’s no longer so much a matter of finding time, though life and appointments can interfere. I learned early on to set a schedule and stick to it.

As an author, what would you choose as your spirit animal?

KW: A house cat. They’re independent, observant and subtle, and are resilient and adaptable—all great qualities for a cozy mystery author!

Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?

KW: My sister, Alice. She later became a writer herself, and we cheer each other on and edit each other’s early drafts.

How do you name your characters?

KW: I think it is useful to have names that somehow connect to the character’s personalities, but it’s not always possible. I do try to make sure that everyone has names that start with different letters and don’t sound too similar, to keep readers from getting confused too.

Can you describe a typical day in your writing life?

KW: I write a chapter first thing in the morning, edit a different manuscript late in the morning, and once that’s done, I turn to marketing work in the afternoon.

Tell us about your current release.

KW: A Deathly Display is book 11 (!) in my Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series. On it’s face, it’s a classic cozy mystery – a body is discovered at a swanky museum event, and the more the heroine, Maddie, digs into the mystery, the higher the stakes become. But it’s also a book about love, and sisters, and discovering that you weren’t the person you used to be. It’s set in Central California wine country, so I get to include one of my favorite past times—hanging out in wineries!

AA: Thank you for being here with me!- Melissa

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