Q&A With A.L. Jensen 

Mickey Mikkelson has connected me with award-winning author and book coach A.L. Jensen!  A.L.’s novel is a who done it cozy murder mystery titled Hygge and Homicide. A.L. Jensen is the pen name of Author and Book Coach, Liisa Kovala and more information can be found about her at: https://www.liisakovalabookcoach.com/ 

Q: Welcome to Book Notions Liisa! Would you please give a brief description of your book Hygge and Homicide?

A: Thanks for having me! I’m delighted to share the description of Hygge and Homicide. 

When talented interior designer Minna Halonen returns to her idyllic northern hometown after decades away, she’s ready for a fresh start. Recently divorced and with her daughter grown, Minna eagerly takes over Nordic Cozy, her mother Elsi’s beloved home décor shop, embracing the hygge lifestyle and peaceful natural surroundings she’d forgotten she missed.

Partnering with her lifelong friend Christie, a creative event planner with an eye for detail, Minna pours her heart into transforming an old lakeside property into Hygge House—a cozy retreat for workshops, gatherings, and the perfect blend of Scandinavian comfort and woodland charm.

But on Grand Opening morning, Minna’s dreams of a tranquil new beginning crumble when she discovers a dead body on her doorstep! With whispers spreading through Lakewood’s tight-knit community and business grinding to a halt, Minna must channel her designer’s eye for detail into amateur sleuthing.

Can this middle-aged entrepreneur catch a killer and restore harmony to her picturesque hometown? Or will Minna’s second chance at happiness be cut tragically short?

The first in the delightful Hygge House Mystery series—where murder meets Scandinavian comfort in a rustic northern town.

Q: Where did the idea for Hygge and Homicide come from & how long did it take you to write the book? 

A: As a historical fiction author, I’d been thinking about writing in another genre for a long time, but I hadn’t landed on what I wanted to do. I went to a lovely writers’ retreat in Queenston, Ontario, playing around with the idea of a contemporary women’s fiction or perhaps a romance series. While driving to nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake, I spotted a beautiful heritage house and insisted my friend pull over so I could take a photo. That house became the seed of the idea. What if the house became the centre of a series of mysteries? By the time I was driving home after the retreat—about a five-hour drive—the characters, setting, small town, and mystery were downloading. I started working on it right away and had the first draft done in about six weeks. Of course, more drafts and editing followed, but all told, I probably had that first book “done” in six months.

Q: I read the bio that our mutual friend and your publicist Mickey Mikkelson emailed me. Hygge and Homicide is the first book in a series! What can fans expect in book 2 and how many books do you intend to write in the series? I know I would definitely read it since I’m a mystery lover! 

A: Exactly true! Book 2, Midsummer, Marriage, and Murder, is set in the same small Northern town of Lakewood, featuring our middle-aged amateur sleuth Minna Halonen and her best friend and business partner Christie Andersson. This time, they’re hosting their first wedding at Hygge House over the Midsummer weekend, but things don’t go exactly as planned. Readers can expect to see their favorite characters, including local carpenter James, Minna’s mother Elsi, and her social media savvy daughter Sofia, along with Grace and Jack from Book 1, plus mini Goldendoodle Hugo Dogberg, and all those lovely local businesses and quirky townsfolk. And, of course, Nordic touches throughout. 

I’m currently working on Book 3, Murder by Nordic Design, and I’m planning six books in the series.

Q: What lessons and reminders do you hope readers learn after they read Hygge and Homicide? 

A: I hope that my ideal readers will learn that it is never too late to reinvent oneself. As a middle-aged, divorced mom and empty-nester, Minna has left her career and her life in the big city to return to her small hometown, hoping for a fresh start. She takes risks, despite her doubts and anxieties, and possibilities open up for her. Of course, she wasn’t expecting to become an amateur sleuth! As someone who has reinvented her life, I know it’s possible to pursue new dreams in the latter half of life.

Q: If Hygge and Homicide were to be picked up by Hollywood, who would be your dream cast to play the characters within your novel?

A: I love this question so much, but it’s such a challenge because there is so much talent out there. 

If I had my dream cast, I’d love the incomparable Kate Winslet to play Minna Halonen and Patricia Arquette to play her best friend Christie Andersson. I can’t help but picture Scott Patterson as the kind and capable James Evergreen. I’d love Dame Helen Mirren to portray the sharp-witted and stylish Elsi Berg. And I can picture Hannah Dodd of Bridgerton fame as Sofia Halonen. 

Q: You are a book coach on top of being an author! How do you manage to juggle both careers? What wisdom and advice do you have for anyone wanting to do one of these careers or both? 

A: Book coaching was a natural fit for me. I’d been a teacher for twenty-eight years before I left teaching in 2022, and I knew I wanted to continue working, both as a writer and something else. When I found book coaching, I knew it was my dream job. I don’t see being an author and book coaching as separate—they are both part of my career as a creative. I also write a newsletter and host the Women Writing Podcast, am President of the Toronto chapter of Sisters in Crime, sit on the Wordstock Literary Festival Board, and run weekly Women Writing Circles. It might seem chaotic to others, but I enjoy balancing my week with interesting books and writing-related activities. There’s never a dull week!

For those wanting a career as an author, please know most of us do have other kinds of work to sustain us. Find work that allows you to write while paying the rent and groceries. I’m so grateful to be at a stage in my life where I can do this work wholeheartedly, but I would not have made that same decision when my children were young. We all need to decide what’s best for our own life circumstances. That being said, I love everything I’m doing now and, although it’s work, it’s work I want.

Q: Who have you represented as their book coach?

A: I have several clients who are new writers working on memoirs and novels, all at various stages of the writing process. I’m particularly proud of my client Holly Gutwillinger who is releasing her first novel, North of Broken: Furever Home in March 2026. I also have a client, Katie Curtin, who will be releasing the tenth anniversary edition of her non-fiction book The Happy Well-Fed Artist: How to Get Your Creative Project Off the Ground and Into the World. It’s been delightful working with Katie on this gem of a book for artists.

Q: Would you please give links to your social media so the readers of the blog and I can follow you? 

A: Website: https://www.liisakovalabookcoach.com/

Substack: https://liisakovalawomenwriting.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liisakovala/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_l_jensen/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liisakovalawriter/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/a.l.jensen.author/