Every bookshop has its secrets
But Only One Will Threaten to
Close Its Doors for Good
And not everyone wants the truth to come out.
What I’m Writing
News
A Quick Snapshot into the Writing Life of Amateur Sleuth Mystery Author A. D. Hay.
12 July 2026
A few weeks back, late one night, at three minutes to nine in the evening, I wrote the last word in the epilogue for Emma Warwick Mystery Book 2, A Will to Murder.
Yes, I’m a night owl—guilty as charged.
The word count for my revised first draft is 58,239, making it a full-length book that will probably have 230-ish pages, including the front and back matter. So it will be a little over three times the size of A First Edition Felony.
According to my super-detailed daily writing habit spreadsheet, I’ve been working on this on and off since I first wrote the opening beat for chapter one way back on the 7th of May 2023. Yes, you read that year correctly; it’s not a typo.
In the spirit of disclosure, I’m that author who has multiple pen names, thus multiple books on the go. As you know, I’ve also written and published A First Edition Felony and A Fatal Steeping during this time, plus two others under a second pen name.
But for me at least, this feels like a monumental milestone.
31 October 2025
The dyslexia friendly edition has been published.
Yay!
I’m thrilled to announce that A First Edition Felony is now available in paperback in a dyslexia-friendly edition.
This special edition has been formatted with readers in mind, featuring the Open Dyslexic font in a larger size, cream paper, extra spacing, and a sans-serif typeface on the cover to make reading more comfortable and enjoyable.
Whether you’re discovering Emma Warwick’s first mystery for the first time or revisiting it in a new format, this edition offers the same witty whodunit with a more accessible reading experience.
At present thew dyslexia-friendly edition is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and can be ordered at your favourite book store by quoting ISBN-13: 978-1-916609-21-1 to your book seller.
20 October 2025
I’m excited to announce that I’ve started my Black Friday Sale early.
Starting from today, A First Edition Felony will be on sale for 99p or 99¢ on my online store, The Poisoned Teapot Bookshop and on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, and Smashwords.
Unfortunately, this book is not longer on sale for 99¢ or 99p , but you can still get it on Amazon or order it through your local library.
Looking for Something?
Emma Warwick Cozy Mystery Series
Hover, or if you’re on mobile, click on the images to read the book description.
MEET A.D. HAY
Hello,
I’m Amelia, and I write cozy mysteries under the pen name Amelia D. Hay.
When not absorbed in a gripping page-turner or writing cozy mysteries, I love to travel around Europe, drink tea and rosé, and eat pizza. I’m also obsessed with journalism, art history, and am a closet religious thriller fan.
Also, I’m the host of The Authorpreneur Podcast and the Mystery Novel Nerd Podcast. And I write Amateur Sleuth Mysteries (which do contain blood, gore, low-level violence, and light swearing) under the pen name A. D. Hay.
Right now, I’m writing the first three stories in a cozy mystery series featuring Emma Warwick, an almost forty-something amateur sleuth.