Magpie Maggie Takes the Wheel

March 29, 2024

Magpie Maggie Takes the Wheel

Magpie Maggie Takes the Wheel (Longhorn Trucking Mysteries)
by Katherine H. Brown

About Magpie Maggie Takes the Wheel

Magpie Maggie Takes the Wheel (Longhorn Trucking Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Texas
Independently Published: (March 27, 2024)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 100 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CVV3D972

Margaret (Maggie) Cumberland lives to shop; her father died with debts.

Before she can get her inheritance, Maggie finds out the will comes with certain stipulations. She has to get a job.
Not just any job, though. Nope. Dear old dad put in the will that she had to make three deliveries for the family business.

Sounds simple. Should be simple.
It’s anything but simple.

Maggie suddenly finds her pink convertible repossessed, her condo being foreclosed on, and her every minute spent studying for a CDL to pass a test that will allow her to drive an eighteen-wheeler truck across the state. Oh wait, not to mention that someone is apparently out to get something from her father’s trucking company, even if they have to go through her first.

Can Maggie steer clear of danger long enough to make her first delivery deadline or will there be more roadblocks than she can handle?

About Katherine H. Brown

Katherine H. Brown is a Texas author, mom, wife, lover of Jesus, devourer or books, and writer of stories. She loves words and revels in weaving them together to create a fun adventure and characters that make you smile. She loves the color blue, the splendor of the ocean, and the quiet of naptime with a toddler in the house. It is her hope that with each story she writes, more readers will find the joy, adventure, and escape that draws her to book after book as a reader as well.

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?
A couple of years ago, I had no idea that I wanted to write a mystery series with a young woman truck driver. Then one day, my friend Karen and I were chatting and she told me how when she was a younger, single mother she drove 18-wheeler trucks all over the country so that her son could be with her and they could make a good living as well as travel. Karen is a vibrant, small-statured woman who most often has purple or pink hair and is now married and loves to scrapbook and wear makeup. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me and the image that popped into my head of her driving a big giant truck was too good to not use in the creation of a brand-new character: Margaret Cumberland AKA Magpie Maggie in my brand-new series.
I had plenty of in progress writing projects so it did take a little while to circle back and start writing the series, but I knew right then that I wanted to create a humorous series about a girl with the most girly-girl looks and habits tossed into this career field and making the best of it.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
When I was writing this book, I had a lot of fun researching CB radio lingo. My MC really loves to talk so she can’t possibly miss the opportunity to chatter away and make new friends while she is on the road. It was fun to dip my toe into that portion for book 1 although she didn’t learn anything too in depth yet since she was being followed and driving in peril when someone tried to make her wreck off the road.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?
Book 2 in this series, Magpie Maggie Takes the Heat, is my current work in progress. In book 1, Maggie solves a small mystery but still has questions about the death of her father which will be answered in book 2.
I’m also working on book 4 in my steampunk mystery series with the Mary Poppins inspired main character. Book 1, A Spoonful of Gunpowder, has been one of the most popular books I’ve ever published which is so exciting and I am working on the next adventure for Anna-Marie, her found family of orphan girls, and all of the loveable characters in their London home.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?
Beyond those two series, I have not had time to lay out a plan for what comes next. One or two of my existing cozy mystery series will probably get another few books and I hope to continue this Longhorn Trucking Mystery series this year as well. I have titles and book covers for inspiration, but have not started plotting and planning and brainstorming where Magpie Maggie goes after book 2 at this time because among all of the writing which I love, I’m also homeschooling my toddler, driving my teenager to and from school commitments, and teaching fitness yoga at my husband’s gym. I’m a little stretched! LOL

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I can never say thank you to my readers and fans enough. Writing is such an exciting and creative outlet, yet even doing something I love is not without hard days, discouraging days, and months with income so low that I consider giving up. Then you beautiful readers go download another book or read another 400 pages on Kindle Unlimited and leave sweet reviews so that I am encouraged and able to keep moving forward to pursue this part of my life that I enjoy so much.
Thank you for giving new books and authors a try, thank you for sharing with others, thank you for the time it takes to leave a review.
I hope that you enjoy this new series and continue to find new favorite books and authors that bring you joy as well!