Today, I’d like to thank author Julia Buckley for taking time to answer some interview questions, especially during this busy time of year. Julia Buckley also writes as Veronica Bond, and Bond has a third book out in the Dinner and a Murder mystery series, Death at a Castle Christmas. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Would you introduce readers to Veronica Bond?

Sure! Veronica is the pseudonym that I use for my dinner and a murder series. All of her books are set in a Gothic structure called Castle Dark. The castle is owned by the Corby Brothers, two young entrepreneurs who inherited the building at their uncle‘s death.

Would you introduce us to Nora Blake?

Nora Blake is a very talented actress and singer who, when the series begins, has just tried out for a Chicago production of EVITA. She and many others were convinced that she had the role – – and then she didn’t get it. Devastated, she takes some time to recover her equilibrium. At this point, she receives a call from a man named Derek Corby. He is interested in hiring her to join an acting troupe who perform interactive mystery theater productions at a venue called Castle Dark.

Nora thinks the job sounds dreadful, like a cheap dinner theater hiring mediocre talent. But Derek is charismatic, and he persuades her to meet him for an interview. Ultimately, she agrees to come and visit the castle before she makes up her mind. From the time that Nora sees Castle Dark, her life changes – in good ways and bad.

Would you give us the elevator pitch for Death at a Castle Christmas?

Nora Blake is now a veteran of the castle acting troupe. The cast is about to begin a grueling schedule of December Christmas shows, and the castle is a flurry of decorating and rehearsal. In the midst of this festive atmosphere, Several complications arrive at once: someone tries to break into the castle, mysterious children appear at the door, a man goes missing, and a body is found in the woods behind the castle. Nora and her friends find themselves in the center of a mystery. Officially her boyfriend, detective John Dashiell, is in charge of the investigation, but the castle thespians, along with Nora‘s teenaged brothers, who always had complications of their own, intend to do their best to help solve the mystery so that everyone can have a merry Christmas. (I think if I talked fast and the elevator was going from floor one to floor 20, I could get all that in. 

What did you enjoy most about writing a Christmas mystery?

I try to capture this sense of celebration and seasonal traditions in the book. It was very fun doing this sort of Christmasy world building, and I’d like to think the reader will feel immersed in a joyful and nostalgic holiday setting.

List your favorite 3-5 Christmas stories, whether or not they are mysteries.

Oh, wonderful. 

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
When I was a kid, my family used to make a circle of chairs and we would read the entire novel aloud, taking turns reading. It was one of our little traditions, and I still think of it very fondly. Nowadays, I listen to it as an audiobook. It’s great, but not as personal and fun as the family reading.

2. A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
I cannot think of a more beautiful, lyrical, creative, and atmospheric Christmas story. Not to mention the fact that Thomas succeeds in making the reader feel nostalgic for a time and place they did not experience. It brings a tear to my eye every time I read it. There is also a beautiful televised version, an old BBC production starring the great Denholm Elliott. I highly recommend it.

3. “She Loves Me,”
A Broadway musical based on a Hungarian story, which also inspired the movie “The Shop Around the Corner,” and decades later, the movie “You’ve Got Mail.” It’s a sweet story with great songs about two young people who work in the same shop and don’t know that they are each other’s secret correspondent. And of course, it is set at Christmas time.

4. “Miracle on 34th St.”
The original version with Natalie Wood. Not only do I think little Natalie captured the spirit of a child torn between innocence and her mother’s cynicism, but the whole movie is so powerful nostalgic. Like Dylan Thomas’s story, It makes the viewer long for the days captured in that story of Christmases Past.

5. “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen.
This is not exactly a happy play, but it is beautifully told and very satisfying as a piece of literature. It is a three act drama, which begins on Christmas Eve and ends on Boxing Day. Ibsen manages to capture the stressful contrast between the desire to create a traditional, cozy, and happy Christmas and the reality of a Christmas season, beset by financial worries, strained relationships, and a married couple Keeping secrets from one another. I love this play so much, that I actually wrote it into book 2 of this series, in which Nora and her friend Connie play the two main female characters at a community theater production.

This doesn’t at all relate to books, but what is your favorite holiday food?

My mother was German, and she was an amazing baker. She outdid herself at the holidays, making trays full of homemade cookies – five or more different kinds – fudge, a German pastry called, ironically, an Amerikaner. She made stollen, A German fruit bread, and a frosted almond pastry that I can still taste in my memory And because my birthday was five days after Christmas, she always made me a wonderful birthday cake. So to answer your question – all of the above. But especially the fudge. And especially the birthday cake. 

I have one last question, but, first, is there anything you’d like to add?

I would like to add a little cast list, just to intrigue possible readers. Nora lives on the third floor of the castle, and directly across from her is Constance Lancaster (her best friend Connie). The actors get free room and board, which was initially the main reason Nora took the job. Like all artists, actors can suffer periods of poverty. Next to Connie’s room is that of Renata Hesse, a German American actress who has classical experience and has the respect of everyone in the castle. But there are more!

Elspeth – The costume manager and designer who wears 1 million hats, literally and figuratively, and is indispensable to Derek.

Derek and Paul Corby – The owners of the castle, but talented actors and singers themselves.

Zana – The castle chef, who once worked at the Balfour bakery in Wood Glen.

Jade Balfour— A teenager who has befriended everyone in the castle. She works at her parents’ bakery, Volunteers at an animal shelter, and promotes the cause of feminism In her high school club, “the feminist lens. “

Jay and Luke Blake – Nora’s twin brothers, 10 years younger than she is and much beloved by her, despite their endless sarcasm and ridiculous antics. The other members of the cast love the boys, too, especially Renata, who has no family to speak of, and has essentially adopted them as her own.

Detective John Dashiell– – An investigator for the Woodland Police Department, – he meets Nora in book one and is smitten with her from the start.

There are new characters in book 3 named Emory, Mike, Vivi, Sebastian, Wendy, Charlie, and Jennifer. But I’ll let you meet them when you read the book.

(Digby, the black lab, is the inspiration for Hamlet in the castle.)

My final question. I spent my entire career as a librarian. Tell us about your favorite library experience.

This is actually hard to narrow down! You will be happy to hear that I have a raft of happy library memories. So I hope you’ll indulge me if I share more than one.

First, I went to a tiny Catholic grade school with a tiny library at the back of the school hall. What made it special was that my mother was one of the volunteer librarians. I was a shy little child who would have been very happy to stay home every day with my mother, so seeing her there every Wednesday at library time was a real day brightener. Especially because she had pre-selected a pile of books that she knew I would like, so I would peruse the shelves and her pile and pick my favorites from there.

Another favorite was my village library, which my dad helped to bring into existence. Our town was very small, but my dad helped to form a library board, and then they found the funding to buy a little house in town and turn it into our first library.  One of our forms of entertainment was to walk over there and pick out about 10 books apiece, bringing them home like bags of treasure. My sister, my mom and I generally went as a trio. When we came home, we picked the one that looked the most intriguing and started reading. 

My most recent favorite library  is the one in the high school where I taught for 24 years. I befriended the librarians, Molly and Sue, early on, and when I wasn’t bogged down with work, I would visit them down there and talk about books and current events. They hosted little birthday parties for the faculty who frequented the library, and they allowed my creative writing club to hold our events in their lovely book lined space, including the Heartbreak Café, which was a Valentine’s Day poetry slam, and the October scary story contest, where students read their short stories aloud And we all ate candy in a candle lit room. Lots of happy times occurred in that library. Molly and Sue knew the preferences of every student, and they always knew which books to recommend. They are now retired as am I, and many of my students have gone on to great careers, marriages, parenthood. But we all hold these beloved places and memories in our hearts.

Thanks for letting me chatter on! I hope that people looking for a cozy Christmas experience will consider reading Veronica Bond‘s new title!

Thank you so much, Julia! Your answers brought back so many memories of books, food, and this mystery series. I hope others enjoy it as well!

Death at a Castle Christmas by Veronica Bond. 2025. 206p.