Guest Post // Nancy Warren, Author of The Great Witches Baking Show

The Great Witches Baking Show Book Cover The Great Witches Baking Show
Culinary Cozy
Nancy Warren
Cozy Mystery
Ambleside Publishing
January 15, 2020
250
Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours

A baker with secrets
Witches in trouble
The cameras are rolling
Ready, set, die.

Poppy Wilkinson is thrilled to be chosen as a contestant on The Great British Baking Contest. As an American with English roots, winning the crown as Britain’s Best Baker would open doors she’s dreamed of. In more ways than one. Appearing on the reality show is her chance to get into Broomewode Hall and uncover the secrets of her past.

But strange things are happening on the show’s set: accusations of sabotage, a black cat that shadows Poppy, suspiciously unsociable residents at Broomewode Hall—and the judges can be real witches.

There are murmurs that Broomewode is an energy vortex. It certainly makes Poppy see and do things that aren’t exactly normal, and seems to draw interesting characters to the neighborhood.

When a fellow contestant dies in mysterious circumstances, Poppy has more to worry about than burned pies and cakes that won’t rise. There’s a murderer on the loose and it’s up to Poppy and her new friends to solve the crime before it becomes a real show-stopper.

From USA Today Bestselling Author Nancy Warren, this delicious series of cozy paranormal mysteries will have you guessing until the end. Includes recipes.




I love baking. Always have since I was a child. I love the way ordinary ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, eggs fruits, and flavorings come together and make magic. I’m a huge fan of the Great British Bake-Off, or Baking Show in the U.S. and when the idea popped into my head to substitute the word Witches for British I laughed so hard, I knew I had to try and write a paranormal cozy mystery series that combined witches, baking and mystery solving. The Great Witches Baking Show was born.

So far it’s working out really well. Each novel takes place over the filming of one episode and someone dies each week. The victim isn’t always one of the bakers. Sometimes it will be someone in the crew, or a supplier, or someone in the village. The victim will always be associated with the show in some way.

At the center is Poppy, a young woman who grew up in Seattle but has moved back to a small village near Bath in the UK. Like many adopted kids, her origins haunt her and she’s on a quest to find out where she came from. The show is filmed on the grounds of the mysterious Broomewode Hall in the Somerset countryside where Poppy feels a strange connection. She loves to bake, but she’s also discovering powers she didn’t know she had and, as the bodies pile up, she’ll discover she’s a pretty good amateur sleuth, too.

Just like in the real baking show, the contestants and cast and crew will get to know each other better as the weeks go on. There will be friendships made, perhaps the odd romance will begin, and every week will be the anxious waiting to find out who managed to bake a spectacular showstopper, and who will be sent home.

I’m having so much fun writing these books and as an extra treat, I can binge-watch GBBO without feeling guilty, because it’s research! I can’t believe the talent of some of the home bakers out there. 

It’s fun for me to make up baking challenges for my characters in these books, and see what the various personalities come up with. So far, I don’t know who’s going to win, or who’s going to be sent home in all of the books. I find out as I write them, which keeps it fresh for me.

At its heart, this is a series about family. I enjoy the way strangers bond as they bake under pressure week after week. They do become a kind of family. You always end up feeling the world’s a better place after watching one of those cooking shows. I hope The Great Witches Baking Show will give that same satisfying conclusion.

Like all spoofs, this one is also an homage to this classic British reality show. I hope readers will enjoy the behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of a competitive baking show and, of course, at the end of each novel, there are delicious recipes!


Thank you, Nancy, for sharing your development inspiration!



This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Nancy Warren. There will be two (2) winners. Each winner will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on February 1, 2020, and runs through March 2, 2020. Void where prohibited.

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Author Nancy Warren

Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than seventy novels, including the best selling Vampire Knitting Club series and the Toni Diamond mysteries. She’s from Vancouver, though she tends to wander. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, appeared on the front page of the New York Times when her book Speed Dating launched the Harlequin/Nascar series. She was also the answer to a clue in a crossword puzzle in Canada’s National Post newspaper.



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