One Gold Ring By Dianne Ascroft

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We’re excited to welcome Dianne Ascroft, author of the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries, to talk about her latest novella, One Gold Ring. Set in the charming fictional Canadian town of Fenwater, this holiday mystery is full of cozy fun, clever puzzles, and festive cheer.

What inspired you to write a Christmas-themed story for One Gold Ring?

The short answer is that I love the holidays and just had to set another story in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series during the Christmas season (I wrote another holiday novella, Mistletoe and Murder, a couple of years ago).

I love the atmosphere of Christmas: the wonder, the glitter, the buzz and the memories it evokes for me. I can’t resist strings of coloured lights winking in ever-changing patterns, ornaments and tinsel in every imaginable, shiny colour, and evergreen wreaths, garlands and trees adorned with glittering baubles. I love all of these things, and I wanted to write a story that allowed me to liberally sprinkle the atmosphere of the holidays into it. It was also the perfect time of year in which to set Bruce’s romantic proposal to Lois – or it will be if Bruce, Marge and Lois manage to find the engagement that was stolen before he could propose, and if Bruce and Marge can keep Lois from finding out that it’s her engagement ring they are hunting for.

Fenwater is such a vivid, cozy town. How did you create it, and what real-life inspirations shaped it?

One of the reasons I love writing cozy mysteries is that they allow me to explore the place as well as the mystery at the heart of the story. Readers are drawn to appealing settings so it’s important that the place where the story is set beckons them to step in and stay a while.

With that in mind, I knew I had to find the right place for the stories in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries. Some places just linger in your mind. Something about the atmosphere grips you. For me that spot is Fergus, Ontario, Canada, a small town one hundred kilometres northwest of Toronto. It captured my heart almost forty years ago when I first visited it, and when I got the idea for this series, I knew it was the right place to set the stories. I wanted to create a warm, welcoming place that would be central to my stories and that readers would want to return to book after book. So I fictionalised the small town that I knew and it became Fenwater, the place that Lois now calls home.

Lois Stone is the main character of the Century Cottage series, while Marge Kirkwood is a strong supporting character. Was it difficult to write a story where Lois’s sidekick has to keep the main character somewhat in the dark while investigating?

Writing the novella was a good chance for me to try something a bit different. The novels in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries are told from Lois’s point of view, and she is always in the loop with what’s happening during investigations. In the novella, Mistletoe and Murder, Marge had a chance to take centre stage and share the story from her point of view, but Lois was completely clued in about what was happening throughout the investigation.

One Gold Ring is told from the viewpoints of three characters: Marge, Lois and Bruce. We hear from each of them in different chapters and discover what they know and how they view what’s happening. It was a great opportunity to get inside each character’s head and see things from his or her point of view. The challenge for writing Marge’s chapters was to find explanations and excuses she could use to keep Lois in the dark about which ring they were really looking for so she wouldn’t spoil the proposal that Bruce has planned. I couldn’t resist having Marge slip-up sometimes and accidentally reveal to Lois tidbits of information she is trying to hide and then she has to find ways to cover up these blunders.

The story includes a missing engagement ring, bustling streets, and clever calico cats! How do you balance holiday charm with the mystery?

The story plays out amidst the holiday charm and cheer of the Honey Pot diner, the town’s historic market building and St Andrew’s Street, Fenwater’s main street. I always enjoy including descriptions in my books of the places where the story is happening. I think allowing readers to see the place in their heads adds to the story for them and doesn’t distract them from the mystery. So this time I included details about what I imagine Fenwater looks like at Christmas.

Of course, I included the scents and sounds too and I could feel myself right there in the midst of everything. When Lois and Marge passed the holiday refreshments table at the market I wanted to stop and get a slice of the coffee and walnut cake or the banana bread or maybe the Swiss roll. And when we neared the end of the story, I was ready to curl up in front of Lois’s toasty fireplace with Lois and her friends and enjoy the lights twinkling on the mantlepiece and the Christmas tree.

Romance plays a subtle but important role, especially with the engagement ring and upcoming proposal subplot, in the story. How do you weave that into a cozy mystery without overshadowing the main plot?

The mystery is always central to each story in my Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series but the connection Lois and Bruce felt for each other from the moment they first met was easy to develop into a romance as the series progressed. Lois is a bit shy and introverted and Bruce is easygoing and laidback so their romance is low key and it doesn’t dominate the stories. Marge often has fun teasing Lois about her feelings for Bruce but their banter doesn’t overshadow the mystery they are trying to solve. The romance is just part of who Lois and Bruce are.

One Gold Ring is a 90-page novella. How does writing a shorter story differ from your full-length novels in terms of pacing?

It is very different from writing a novel, but in some ways, it’s easier to write a shorter story as there is only room for one plot running through the story. There isn’t space to include too many suspects or add numerous clues to confuse readers. The challenge for the writer is to make the simpler story engaging and entertaining, and characters play a crucial role in this. Characters that readers connect with and root for are one of the main reasons they keep reading.

Cozy mysteries allow you to explore both place and character while solving a puzzle. What do you enjoy most about writing in this genre?

I’m not sure that I can separate the elements that comprise a cozy mystery and I enjoy writing all them. I think the story needs to be compelling, one that will matter to the characters and the reader. But this doesn’t mean that it has to be a larger-than-life blockbuster that includes a huge cast of characters and many flashy settings. It can be set in a small place like Fenwater where characters live relatively ordinary lives. Cozy mysteries can play out on a small stage but still capture the reader’s imagination. And those are the kind of stories I want to tell.

Writing cozy mysteries allows me to give my characters a significant mystery or crime to solve while living in the sort of world readers want to visit. I also get to develop the characters’ personalities to make them believable people that touch readers’ hearts. All of this is what I love about writing cozy mysteries.

For readers who enjoy One Gold Ring, what can they look forward to next in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series?

I released The Snow Job, the third novel in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series, last winter and this Christmas novella, One Gold Ring, last month. I’m currently busy editing the fourth novel in the series so I can release it next spring. Its working title is The Dutchwoman’s Demise. The novel will bring back all the characters that readers love in the series and will also let them get to know Lois’s next door neighbour, Blanche, better. She has had a very interesting life.

Thank you, Dianne, for sharing a bit about One Gold Ring and the fictional world of Fenwater. Fans of cozy mysteries and holiday fun will definitely want to pick up this festive novella! Read an excerpt below.

One Gold Ring (Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries) by Dianne Ascroft

About One Gold Ring

One Gold Ring (Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries) Cozy Mystery Novella related to the main Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries Series Setting – Fenwater – a fictional small town in rural Canada. Independently Published (November 1, 2025) Paperback Print length : 104 pages ISBN-13 : 979-8272391599 Digital Print length : 102 pages ASIN : B0FYX6KXGD

A busy shopping street, a cozy coffee klatch, a missing ring: Marge Kirkwood has no desire for anyone to gift five gold rings to her. She just needs to find one elegant gold ring sparkling with dainty diamonds and rubies: the one that was stolen due to her carelessness. When Marge Kirkwood meets her friend Bruce Murray at the Honey Pot diner to reassure him about his choice of an engagement ring for her best friend Lois Stone, she couldn’t be happier for the couple. But a few moments of her inattention could scupper Bruce’s plans for a romantic Christmas proposal. A cunning thief seizes the opportunity Marge’s lapse affords to snatch Bruce’s family heirloom. Soon afterwards Lois arrives and joins Marge and Bruce in the search for the ring. Three heads may be better than one or two but Lois can’t find out that it’s her engagement ring they are hunting for. And so the week before Christmas begins with dashing through the snow without a sleigh, tangy gingerbread muffins and cinnamon scented apple cider, clever calico cats, slippery snow-sheathed sidewalks, glittering gems set in gold, hazardous high-heeled boots, rushing thieves and bustling Christmas shoppers set against a cheerful holiday clad shopping street, sultry Christmas songs serenading shoppers in the market, the sweet scent of carnations, roses and baby’s breath bouquets in the florist’s window and a mantlepiece twinkling with shiny baubles and lights woven through holly in a comfy century cottage.

About Dianne Ascroft

Dianne Ascroft is a Canadian who has settled in rural Northern Ireland. She and her husband share their small farm with some elusive wild creatures. She is currently writing the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series. She believes that part of the enjoyment of reading a cozy mystery is losing oneself in a pleasing setting so she fictionalized a small town she knew and the first novel in the Century Cottage Cozy Mystery series, and the town of Fenwater evolved from there. She wanted to create a place that beckons readers to step in and stay a while, and characters that readers would remember. Cozy mysteries allow her to explore the characters and the place, as well as the mystery at the heart of the story. Writing stories set in her homeland, Canada, has also been a nostalgic journey for her and she enjoys every minute of it.

Author Links

• Website: www.dianneascroft.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/DianneAscroftwriter
• Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/y1k5c3
• GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1357575.Dianne_Ascroft
• Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
• Tour Participants:
• December 12: Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
• December 13: Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
• December 14: Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
• December 15: Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
• December 16: FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
• December 17: Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
• December 18: Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• December 19: Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
• December 19: Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• December 20: Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
• December 20: Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
• December 21: Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
• December 21: Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

Excerpt from Chapter 1:

Marge knew she would have to apologize properly to Bruce when she got a chance. What a stupid thing to do. She wasn’t usually so careless. But then again. Marge grimaced then quickly cleared her expression in case Lois noticed. What about the watch that belonged to the Titanic survivor a couple of summers ago? She’d just left it sitting out on her desk at the museum where anyone could see it. Look how that turned out. But the ring would be fine. No one would even notice it there on the table.

Marge heard boots softly thud to a stop on the tile floor behind them and glanced over her shoulder. Bruce stood there, his expression anxious. He glanced at Lois, who was still looking at the Specials board.

“Got it?” Lois asked him without turning around.

Bruce pulled his lips into something like a smile. “Yeah, don’t worry, we won’t have to wash dishes.”

He mouthed to Marge, “I don’t see it.”

Marge felt her heart pound. The ring had to be there. “Oops, my scarf’s going to slide off the seat. Be right back.” With a quick glance at Bruce, she hurried back to the table. When she saw the empty tabletop, the sinking feeling in her stomach took all thoughts of food away. But the ring couldn’t be gone. She’d just left it there a few minutes ago. She reached for her coat and lifted it off the seat to peer under it, then did the same with Bruce’s jacket on the opposite bench. Nothing. She glanced around the floor in front of the booth and under the table. The shiny gold ring should be easy to spot on the black and white floor tiles. But nothing there either. She glanced at the tables on either side of their booth, trying to avoid the diners’ gazes. No, nothing. She considered asking them if they had seen the ring but Lois might overhear her.

Glancing up at the counter, she saw Lois turn to look. She forced a smile and returned to stand behind the couple.

“Do we know what we want yet?” Lois asked.

“What do you fancy? Apple and cinnamon pancakes, I bet,” Bruce said.

“I’d like a gingerbread muffin afterwards with my coffee so I’ll take something lighter for lunch. Grilled cheese sandwich, I guess.”

Lois turned back to the counter and Marge tapped Bruce’s arm. “It’s not there,” she mouthed.

“You sure?” he murmured.

Marge nodded. She felt sick. How could she have let this happen? The gorgeous ring that Bruce was going to give her best friend was gone. She stared mutely at Bruce.

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If you enjoyed learning about One Gold Ring, take a look around the rest of the blog for more stories, insights, and inspiration.

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