Carla's Book Crush

Bleeding Heart Librarian by Jackie Layton
Series: A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery – Book 3
Publisher: Level Best Books
Release Date:  May 6, 2025
Genre:  Cozy Mystery

Emma Justice is friends with the local librarian and brings her extra flowers once a week. On a hot July morning, when people are gathered outside the closed library past opening time, Emma calls the police. The librarian’s body is found in the building and beside the body is a pink and white bleeding heart plant.

Tess Carranza was a lovely person dedicated to children and patrons of the library in Lutz, Texas. Tess recently confided to Emma about her fear someone was using the library to gather information to commit crimes. Emma didn’t get the entire story from Tess before her death, but now she’s determined to stop the crime and catch Tess’s killer.

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More In This Series

About the Author

Jackie Layton is the author of cozy mysteries with Spunky Southern Sleuths. Her stories are set in Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina. She lives on the coast of South Carolina, where she enjoys walks on the beach and golf cart rides around the marsh. Reading, gardening, and traveling are some of her favorite hobbies. Jackie always keeps a notebook handy to write down ideas for future stories. Many of her ideas come from people watching and watching Dateline and American Greed.

Connect with Jackie by visiting jackielaytoncozyauthor.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Author Q&A

CB: Jackie, I appreciate you “talking” with me today. One of my favorite things is interviewing authors and getting into their writing minds.

I read that as a child, you loved playing with dolls and Barbies and dreamed of writing stories in high school. Can you tell us about the moment you decided to go for it?

Layton: When my youngest son was in high school, it occurred to me that if I didn’t try to write a story soon, I’d regret never trying. I wasn’t sure where to start, but I met Brandilyn Collins. She told me to join a writing organization, take classes, and attend a conference.  

CB: My audience and I are curious about how writers work. What does your creative process look like from idea to finished draft?

Layton: Often an idea just hits me. If I’m in the middle of writing another story, I’ll jot down a few notes. For instance, I was still writing my dog walker series, when I was inspired to write a series set in Texas. I often went to the farmers market when visiting my family in Waco. I couldn’t imagine a farmer having time to solve a murder, but maybe a flower farmer could. I began to research flower farmers by reading blogs and following some on Instagram. When I finished my work in progress, I started with my characters. Then, I created the murder and began plotting. I have a loose plot, but as I write, if something doesn’t work, I’ll change direction. Sometimes, I have to stop for more research, and sometimes, I mark a section that needs more details and I continue to write, so I don’t lose my flow. Then when I get stuck, I go back and research.  

CB: Your characters are described as “Spunky Southern Sleuths.” What makes a Southern sleuth spunky in your world, and how do you keep those personalities new and interesting?

Layton: Each of my sleuths is at a different stage in life. Andi Grace Scott raised her siblings after their parents died in a car crash. She’s in her early thirties and has been a dog walker for a few years. Emma Justice became a mother at a young age, and she’s thirty-eight. Her daughter is starting college, and Emma is following her dream of becoming a flower farmer. Kate Sloan is a widow and empty nester. She’s fifty-three and has moved back to her hometown of Fox Island, Georgia. She and her best friend have started a professional organizer business. When each of these women are confronted with murder, they each have a different reason to solve it. They will use their personal skills and connections to track down clues in their quest to stop a killer

CB: What sparked the idea for your Texas Flower Farmer Mystery series? I’d love to hear what inspired the series as a whole.

Layton: My youngest son and his wife moved to Waco, Texas in 2017. As I began making trips to Texas, I discovered so many warm and charming people. I wanted to write a story with friendly people who care about each other. For instance, on of my grandkids needed to go to the ER, and they were able to call another family in the middle of the night to come to the house and stay with the other children. So, it’s more than friends, it’s tight friendships where you can count on each other.  

CB:  Let’s chat more about Bleeding Heart Librarian. The bleeding heart plant beside Tess’s body is such a striking detail. How did you land on that particular flower, and what does it symbolize in this story?

Layton: Bleeding Heart plant has a petal shaped like a tiny heart or maybe even a teardrop. It can be grown inside or outside, so it worked as an indoor plant in the library. When Emma finds the broken planter then the librarian’s body, she is heartbroken.  

Also, Emma has a soft spot for murder victims and wants to find justice for them, so she is a bleeding heart sleuth. 

CB:  For those of us who love bookish books, the library setting feels like a great setting. How did you use that space and the people connected to it to build the suspense?

Layton: I had so much fun designing the library from the children’s area, to the research area and to the offices. I tried to use all the spaces and had a blast picturing the scenes.  

CB:  What do you hope readers walk away with after reading Bleeding Heart Librarian?

Layton:  I hope readers will be satisfied with the ending, but I also hope they have enjoyed the relationships between the characters. I think we all long for good, loving friendships.  

CB: Thank you again, Jackie. I wish you the best of luck with Bleeding Heart Librarian! 

Layton: Thanks, Carla! 

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a Texas-and-flower themed prize bundle which includes an ebook of Bleeding Heart Librarian, a $5 Starbucks card, lip balm and holder, a blue and white bag, a fabric coaster, a designer Wet-It swedish cleaning cloth, a journal, a car coaster and an alarm key chain!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 19, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on May 26, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

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