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Today at Salty Inspirations, we welcome Bex, the midlife heroine of the Willowmere Mysteries. Between juggling newfound magical powers, running a lending library, and solving murders alongside her mischievous cat familiar, Bex has her hands full. She sat down with us to share a peek into her world
Interview with Bex from Axes and Alchemy
Hi Bex. Welcome to Salty Inspirations. How are you?
Exhausted! But also really excited and happy that another murderer is behind bars and my friends and I have restored peace in Willowmere.
For readers who haven’t met you yet, tell us a little about yourself.
I’m what’s called a woman of a certain age – 48, recently divorced, going through The Change. Interestingly, that’s often supposed to be the time when witchy powers manifest themselves, after we’re done with looking after everyone else in our lives. In my case, I inherited my powers from my aunt Violet, who also left me her lending library, a cat who turned out to be my familiar, and the duty of watching over Willowmere.
Before that, in my mundane existence, I earned my living as a furniture restorer and home-stager. I love bringing old neglected objects back to life and to think of their personal history. Matching people with things they’ll cherish is a pleasure. I hope one day I’ll find time for that again.
Currently I’m still in the early learning stages of witchcraft, which in my case involves a lot of baking with magic-infused ingredients, mastering protective spells and a little light levitation. Cat Cosmo is a strict taskmaster!
But I can’t complain – I also have my crazy coven right here. That’s what my aunt called me and me girlfriends back in school, way before witchcraft entered my life. My friend Harper and her wife, a singer, own the Blue Moon Inn, so I always have a place to go to for fun and relaxation.
Every cozy mystery heroine needs a solid sidekick. Who’s yours, and how do they help or cause chaos in your life?
I have Cosmo Merlin de Beaufort, a ten-pound cat who’s already mentored my aunt when she came into her powers. He’s the driving force behind my sleuthing! It’s surprisingly difficult because there’s not that many spells that help with investigations, even if occult forces are in play. (Caveat: Cosmo is only slowly introducing me to the world of witchcraft, revealing whatever he decides I’m ready for. It’s a little like being a toddler again!)
My crazy coven is always there to help, too. I mentioned Harper already. Her wife Reina is part siren, although she doesn’t know, and Ange is a Wiccan who’s also married to one of Willowmere’s doctors. Very useful when it comes to information about causes of death and evidence to do with the body!
Let’s talk romance. Is there a certain someone making your heart flutter or is your love life as complicated as your spell book? Do you have a spell book?
Honestly? I don’t know. First there was my divorce, then my aunt’s death and the revelation that I’m now a novice witch, and also have murders to solve … I’m not saying I’m averse to the idea of dating, and there is indeed someone who might be fun to see, but right now, I enjoy discovering the single new me! Does that make sense?
As for spell books – I do have them. They’re inherited. The tricky thing is that I can only read spells once I’m ready for them. Until then, most pages look blank to me.
What’s a normal day like for you—or is “normal” not really a thing when magic and murder are involved? Is the library magical?
I’m not sure yet if the whole library is magical. My aunt had the gift to match books to people, so they’d receive guidance or inspiration or warnings from whatever novel she gave them. I can’t do that – at least not yet. It would be cool though! There’s a lair behind a bookcase, a hidden room full of magical paraphernalia, and with a cabinet that takes witchcraft to open. Unless you concentrate, the lock is invisible!
I start my day with feeding Cosmo, then myself, and then taking a lesson from him. We bake most days – normal cookies and special ones that help people deal with pain or recover from stress.
In the afternoon, I open the lending library. It’s a private one that my aunt opened decades ago, because Willowmere was too small to warrant a public library. Luckily she had a private income which she also left to me, because the subscription fees barely cover new book purchases.
I love taking care of readers and sharing tea and cookies with them (you might have guessed that most teas are also home-made, with certain side-effects, including mitigating menopause symptoms). Cosmo acts as emotional support animal and he also makes sure I don’t hand out a special cookie without a good reason.
Add to that hanging out with my girlfriends and solving crimes and you can imagine why I’m exhausted.
Did you choose the magical life, or did it choose you?
Cosmo did the official choosing, but it seems I signaled the universe that I’d be the one to step into my aunt’s slippers. It sounds crazy, I know – it was my new hair color that did it. When my aunt’s death became imminent, halfway across the country I had the urge to switch up my style and go periwinkle blue.
That’s apparently inherited. Cosmo appeared in my aunt’s life the day she colored her hair purple.
What’s the most surprising spell or magical mishap you’ve ever experienced?
I started with a flour explosion over my head! Cosmo takes great care that I don’t hurt myself or anyone else. He’s also very strict in what I can and can’t do, to prevent me from profiting from my powers and thus corrupting my soul.
One thing that I’m struggling with is hot flashes! There are two kinds, one the sooooo frustrating byproduct of The Change, and the other is a reaction to the use of occult powers or plain evil close to me. I’ve called that my witchfire wave. The trouble is that it’s almost impossible to tell them apart, unless the heat is so strong it feels like an attack. So, my hot flashes are useless as a warning system. Sigh …
In Axes and Alchemy, you get tangled up in a murder mystery and pirate treasure. What can readers expect in book 2 of the Willowmere Mysteries?
Let’s just say that a podcast talking of a hidden treasure, including a recipe for alchemy, has attracted a lot of unwanted attention. We already had enough tension between old and new business owners and dumped lovers! Motives abound in this case.
As you can imagine, Cosmo and I try to keep our own powers well hidden, but it’s increasingly hard to do with real or wannabe mediums and psychics coming to town. My aunt never had to deal with this kind of thing when she watched over Willowmere!
Thanks so much for joining us today, Bex!
Whether you’re here for the spells, the small-town charm, or a midlife heroine who doesn’t back down from danger or dead bodies, we hope you’ll pay a visit to Willowmere soon. Just maybe keep an eye on your potions and your neighbors.
Axes and Alchemy (A Cozy Midlife Witch Mystery)
Willowmere Mysteries
by Carmen Radtke
About Axes and Alchemy
Axes and Alchemy (A Cozy Midlife Witch Mystery) Willowmere Mysteries
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Oregon
Independently Published
Publication Date : August 15, 2025
Number of Pages: ~230
ASIN : B0F897P74L
Pirate loot and deadly feud … So much for a peaceful next chapter: Novice witch Bex Merriweather has her hands full running a leading library and secretly studying magic under the critical eye of her opinionated familiar and mentor, cat Cosmo. The last thing newly divorced perimenopausal Bex needs is more tasks needing her attention. But when a podcast connects a pirate treasure and voodoo magic with tranquil Willowmere and treasure hunters as well as occultists flock to the town, feuds erupt. When a dead body is found, Bex and Cosmo can’t discount the idea that greed and black magic had something to do with the murder. But can she protect her secret and the town without exposing the truth about her inheritance? And is somebody already on her trail – somebody wishing her ill? With only her cat and her trusted circle of friends, Bex sets out to catch a killer before the treasure of a long dead pirate claims another victim. Axes and Alchemy is the second case in this fun-filled series. Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, magical mayhem, and heroines who believe it’s never too late for a new chapter—or a little witchcraft!
About Carmen Radtke
Carmen has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.
She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter.
When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.
The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Genie and Adriana Darling ghost mysteries and the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s.
Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family. Although she possesses no witchy powers, she’s known to be easily held spellbound by animals.
Author Links: Website – https://www.carmenradtkeauthor.comFacebook – https://www.facebook.com/carmenradtkeauthor
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