Author Interview: Dead & Breakfast by Rosiee Thor & Kat Hillis
Dead & Breakfast by Rosiee Thor & Kat Hillis is a paranormal murder mystery, yet the vampires are the ones trying to solve this mystery! I love this genre-bending plot, plus its gay, always a good addition. We had the opportunity to ask authors Rosiee Thor and Kat Hillis a little about their work together!
Yes, sometimes we expand our reach from just Young Adult, and bring you interviews and features of adult or middlegrade books too!
Thank you Berkley for sending me a finished copy!
Dead & Breakfast
by Kat Hillis, Rosiee ThorPublished by: Berkley
on October 14, 2025
Genres: Adult, LGBTQIA+, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller
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The new vampires in town are sinking their teeth into solving a murder…
Married odd couple Arthur and Sal are totally normal. They wear sunscreen, not because the sun can kill them, but because even the undead need a skincare regimen. They eat garlic whenever they want, though it gives Sal indigestion. They can talk to creatures of the night, but only the raccoons that rifle through their garbage. Really, they don’t bite… except into delicious baked goods.
Ready to settle down and stay out of trouble, the two have opened a bed & breakfast in the idyllic, if not-so-paranormal-friendly, town of Trident Falls, Oregon. But trouble finds them when the mayor is discovered dead in their begonias with two puncture wounds in his neck. With the help of a werewolf barista, the elven town coroner, and a very human city manager, Arthur and Sal will need to prove they aren’t literally out for blood by catching a killer…
Author Interview
- Dead & Breakfast brilliantly balances cozy mystery vibes with queer paranormal chaos. What inspired you to blend a murder mystery with the afterlife and a B&B setting? And why did you choose Trident Falls as the backdrop?
The concept for Dead & Breakfast came about eight years ago. Rosiee was working as an intern for Kat’s now literary agent and wishing that the cozy mysteries in the slush pile were funnier and had more vampires. The punny title was born that day, but the rest of the story didn’t come together until Kat entered the picture. Once we started writing together, the ideas never stopped flowing!
As for Trident Falls, Oregon, we wanted a small town where readers could feel at home. Rosiee is from Oregon, so they know just how cozy and beautiful rural Oregon can be! - Writing with another person can be like hosting your own creative séance. What was your co-writing process like; did you summon ideas over late-night Zooms, leave ghostly comments in Google Docs, or each claim a character like paranormal Pokémon?
Kat: I happen to love drafting and hate revising, and Rosiee loves revision but hates getting down that first terrible draft. Our process leans into our strengths, which is great for me, because I get to have fun and write a goofy fast draft without worrying about making it good, and Rosiee revises (which means I get to read a great new version of each chapter without doing the work!).
Rosiee: Our process is quite strange, but it works for us! Because we’re on opposite sides of the country, we’re working totally different hours, which means Kat finishes a chapter by noon or so my time, and then I revise it all afternoon to send back to her by morning. Of course, this also means I’m sending Kat absolutely unhinged jokes after she goes to sleep, but I like to think she enjoys waking up to a dozen stupid puns in her inbox every morning. - Arthur and Salvatore are such a dynamic (and undead) duo. Arthur is the reluctant investigator while Sal thrives in the spotlight. What was it like writing their relationship as they face small-town drama, suspicious neighbors, and the occasional corpse in the begonias?
Kat: If I had to sum up the process of writing Dead & Breakfast in one word, it would be fun. That sounds simple or cliche, but these books really are a delight to work on from the initial planning phase to doing copy edits–I’m always chuckling at the jokes and getting drawn into their sweet romance. I love a good opposites-attract trope, and with vampires, you get to turn everything up to
eleven.
Rosiee: Kat’s absolutely right. Writing Arthur and Sal is the most fun I’ve ever had at this job. It’s such a joy to write about an older, established couple who really love each other. There’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to queer futures right now, but I like to think that writing about two immortal husbands whose problems span the normal and paranormal is our way of putting hope into the world in some way.
About Kat Hillis
Kat Hillis is the author of queer science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. When she’s not writing, she’s probably thinking about it or talking about it—she has been described as a jock whose sport is writing. If she’s procrastinating, she can be found drawing, reading, or binge-watching TV shows. A lifelong narrative enthusiast, she loves all types of gaming (tabletop RPGs, video games, and board games). She lives in Alabama, where she enjoys the two weeks of tolerable weather a year. She’s the co-author of the Dead & Breakfast series and author of the forthcoming Necromancy and the Art of Hero Killing.
About Rosiee Thor
Rosiee Thor began their career as a storyteller by demanding to tell their mother bedtime stories instead of the other way around. They spent their childhood reading by flashlight in the closet until they came out as queer. Now, they write stories for all ages, including young adult novels Tarnished Are The Stars (a Pacific Northwest Indie Bestseller) and Fire Becomes Her, the picture book The Meaning of Pride, and tie-in novels for franchises like Life is Strange and Firefly. Their short fiction appears in anthologies including the Lambda award nominated Being Ace, and they are the editor of Why On Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology and This is How We Roll. Their debut cozy mystery, Dead & Breakfast, is forthcoming from Berkley Press. Rosiee lives in Oregon with a dog, two cats, and an abundance of plants.
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