Who says hunting killers won’t heal a broken heart? Not when each murder Meg solves brings her closer to why her husband and son had to die…
Wild Women Authors feature Hook, Line and Murder, a contemporary
cozy mystery written by GG Calpo and published by the Wild Rose Press.
About the Book: What does Meg Brightbook, a retired kindergarten teacher, do when the
killer of her husband and only child still walks free a year after dirt had
covered their graves? Go rogue, of course!
When the detective responsible for Meg’s nightmares
takes over the murder investigation of her former student, Meg hunts the killer
down with help from her friends. Their cozy lunches at Sweet Buns Café turn
into tactical meetings while these retired grade school teachers get themselves
in trouble better suited to those in their twenties. And to put the icing on
their cream scones, someone is after Meg. Is it the killer—or has she uncovered
secrets better left buried with her loved ones?
Good morning, Meagan. Thanks for joining us. Let’s
begin with why you chose teaching for a profession. My mother was a teacher and I saw how much of a
difference she made in children’s lives, especially preschoolers and
kindergartners. Her students kept coming back to her, even after finishing high
school, and I wanted that life, where you get to develop meaningful
relationships.
Knowing what you know now, if you had it to do over
again, would you stick with being a teacher or do something different? Oh yes! No two days were the same when I was teaching.
I like variety and energy, and kindergartners kept me on my toes. I had to be
creative, flexible and playful, as well as be a problem solver. It’s a very
exhausting job, but the rewards of seeing your students grow to be these
wonderful adults made it worthwhile.
What is your biggest fear? Not keeping a child safe, physically or emotionally. Life
can throw curveballs at you, and sometimes, no matter how you try, one of your
kids doesn’t make it, just as Brie did. It hurts and you question yourself.
That’s why it was very important to us to find out who killed Brie. We couldn’t
leave it up to Detective Storm. Brie was our responsibility, and we owed it to
her to get her justice.
Who is your favorite fictional character and why? I love Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote.
I’ve read all her books. She’s never flustered, even when surrounded by chaos,
and she always stands up for the innocent.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received? See the small things. You must be very observant with
kindergarteners, as their communication skills have not fully developed. And
their first answer is rarely the true one. Not because they don’t want to tell
you the truth, but more because they’re not sure how. So you ask gently, you
observe before acting and, sometimes, you let silence do the work. Fortunately
for me, this advice has been very helpful in flushing out Brie’s killer.
Thank you for this, Meg. Now we’d like to chat with GG.
Which writer or character[s], from either books or
movies, have had a major impact on your writing? My favorite author is Terry Pratchett, for his dry wit
and humor (Discworld series featuring a world carried on the backs of four
elephants standing on a giant turtle). I’m pretty sure I’d never be able to
duplicate his wittiness, dry or otherwise, but I strive to inject humor into my
writing.
With regard to research, where did you start for this
novel? Did that lead you down different paths, thereby changing the original
concept? I started writing Hook,
Line and Murder mainly to honor my sister, who was a kindergarten teacher.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer last 2019 and I was having a hard time
dealing with it. At first, I bounced ideas and plot lines off her on how a
retired kindergarten teacher would go about solving the murder of a former
student, just to make her smile. Then the characters came alive, the writing
took off and, before I knew it, the book was finished. I had hoped to put a
paperback into my sister’s hands but, sadly, she passed away this past
September.
Tell us a bit about your publisher. How did you hear
about them? I attended the 2025 annual
conference of the Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference in New Jersey, and
they had an editor/agent pitch session. I was matched with two editors who were
looking for cozy mysteries, one of whom was Melanie Billings of The Wild Rose
Press.
What influenced you to submit to them? The Wild Rose Press has an excellent reputation for
supporting its authors. The founding partners are very involved in the
publishing process, as well as being accessible and transparent.
How was the submission process? Relatively painless. Melanie asked me to submit my
full manuscript after my pitch. She took about a month to get back to me, and
then it was full steam ahead with the publication process.
What was the turn-around time from date of query to
date of release? It was a tight
timeframe because of the outstanding efforts of Melanie. I queried her in April
2025. She got back to me within a month, and my book, Hook, Line and Murder,
was released on February 9, 2026.
What are you reading right now? I just finished Marble Hall Murders by Anthony
Horowitz, which I loved for its concept of a book within a book. It’s the third
in the series, with the first two (Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders)
adapted by Netflix into a series.
What’s next for you? I’m hard at work on Book 2 of The Sweet TOOTH Murder Mystery Series,
which should be out by the end of 2026. I’ve also started writing short stories
about a retired Filipino-American detective, Luzviminda Abad—four-feet eleven
and walks with a cane. She’s a badass detective who refuses to let her
sixty-plus years get in her way. Readers can download a free copy of The
Mozzarella Mystery by joining my mailing list at www.ggcalpo.com.
A Bit More About Our Feature Author: GG Calpo is a retired lawyer and accountant who traded contracts and numbers for the far more enjoyable chaos of fictional crime. Now she writes cozy whodunits featuring warm-hearted golden-aged sleuths who’ve seen it all, heard it all and will investigate a murder with zero hesitation. She loves stories where the stakes are personal, family and friendships are paramount, with characters who refuse to follow the outline and endings that pull the rug out. When not plotting twisty crimes—on paper only, of course—she spends her time reading, crocheting blankets and sweaters for her five grandchildren, watching mystery TV shows and taking long walks in her neighborhood. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband and two corgis, Whiskey and Nugget.
Visit her at www.ggcalpo.com.
To learn more about GG and the stories she creates, go
to: https://www.ggcalpo.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/gg.calpo
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gg.calpo
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/62170493.G_G_Calpo
Amazon Author Central: https://amazon.com/author/gg.calpo
To Purchase Hook, Line and Murder, go to:
Amazon: https://a.co/d/2ag38ZW
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hook-line-and-murder-gg-calpo/1148773282?ean=9781509264063
