hi Black cat with paw in air the moon

Lyla Lockwood

Purveyor of Whimsical Cozy Witch Mysteries

Knit Witch Cozy Mysteries

Cover for Knit, Purl... Murder!

Welcome to Wickerton Hollow...

Savvy Swift's life is turned upside-down when she discovers her fiancé cheating. What's a scorned girl to do? Take off in his classic Dodge Charger, of course!

Savvy is just settling into her new home in Wickerton Hollow when the woman who takes her in is accused of killing the town hussy. Strange things happen: a talking cat grants her wishes, the gnomes in the garden come alive, and she must steal back a relic a troll took from them because – whoops! – it is her fault he stole it in the first place. All this, while trying to solve the murder so she can spare her friend from prison.

Will Savvy have what it takes?

Perhaps. But it will take a whole lot of luck and a little bit of magic.

Cover for Dead Men Spin No Yarns

The Lady in the Locker Awakes!

Newly minted witch Savvy Swift just wants to get a grip on her power when Founder's Day comes to Wickerton Hollow. However, trouble keeps trying to find her: a haunted exhibit, a new friend in a coma, and a shroud that wants to kill her.

To solve the mystery means sweet-talking a gnome, appeasing the soul-sucking Lite Sprites, and keeping her nemesis, Officer Hoss, from interfering. All this while trying to drown out the voice that wants so badly to lead her to the creature lurking beneath the Bay of Tears.

Will she figure it out? Or, will she, too, end up in a coma? Or, worse?

Cover for Once Knitted, Twice Shy

Oh, the Tangled Webs We Weave...

Things between Savvy and Shotgun heat up when he gives her a necklace. The only problem? It implicates her in a murder and gets her thrown in jail.

What could be worse? The necklace is a good luck charm gone wrong. It's been magically enhanced to pull the essence off a dead man. Now, on top of proving her innocence, a deadly infection threatens her life. Worse still, a chatty spider makes a bargain to give the necklace to her arch enemy who she must hunt down or she'll die.

Cover for Ghouls Just Wanna Be Spun

Video Killed the Radio Star!

When the local D.J. turns up dead -- stabbed, then smashed to death by a video -- Savvy tries to keep her nose out of this investigation. Yet, when an unknown entity haunts all of Savvy's friends -- the Knit Witches dance like an Egyptian, she receives a boombox serenade from the wrong brother, and the rain turns purple -- she knows she must jump in before things get truly gnarly.

To make matters worse, a vampire throws rocks at Spooky. Nobody should come between a witch and her cat, especially not the undead. Savvy's well on her way to solving the murder when the corpse up and disappears.

Will Savvy survive the season? Or, will Halloween in Wickerton Hollow do her in?

Cover for Do Knot Piss Off the Fairies

Birdie Has Flown the Coop!

When Shotgun takes Savvy to Wickerton Hollow's preeminent make-out spot, they stumble upon trouble instead of romance. A mysterious light from an abandoned mansion captures their attention just as much as the fire-dancing woman they find inside captures their hearts.

But who is Birdie? Why can't she remember anything? And how could she have possibly survived alone in the woods all those frosty November nights?

Savvy sifts through clues to find the answer lies in something called the Faerie Notion. But has she become too involved? Because now she hears the call of the Fae and it takes all her strength to resist.

Can she outwit the Faeries, save Birdie, and herself? Or will Savvy's life end up like Birdie's: a lifetime lost to the realm of the Fae?

Cover for Needle Little Help from My Friends

Implausible!

Wedding bells ring in Wickerton Hollow when Stormy and Misty’s mom decides to have her wedding at the local inn. However, her marital bliss is threatened when Savvy’s insecurities block her coven’s magic, a dog splatters paint on the bride’s wedding dress, and the groom keeps disappearing – thanks to yet another of Spooky’s wishes.

It doesn’t help when the most detestable wedding planner on the planet pitches over the deck to his death during the rehearsal dinner. Now it’s up to Savvy to find a new venue, track down the groom, and save the dress – all while catching the killer!

Cover for Casting Off Magic Beans

Trouble Takes Root When Fudgle Spills the Beans!

Savvy desperately wants to leave her worries behind as she and her friends leave for a ski vacation – only instead of discovering peace and quiet, she finds another dead body! Shotgun takes up the case, but things aren't easy because he still doesn’t believe in magic and Wickerton Hollow is currently infected with fairytale hijinks. And, ummm, that might be Savvy’s fault because she traded a bunch of cow parsnips for some beans at the local holiday fair.

Instead of hitting the slopes, Savvy hits the street questioning suspects. Someone's gotta spill the beans before the chili competition. Otherwise, they’ll find themselves in a whole heap of trouble.

More Wickerton Hollow Stories

Cover for The Unusual Thing About Olive Eyes

Welcome to Wickerton Hollow...

The unusual thing about Olive Eyes is that she doesn’t know anything about herself – not even her name.

Appearing one day after an explosion, she finds herself in a world she only understands from TV reruns until she is shuffled off to foster care and has to interact with others.

When girls start disappearing and a large bag of cash appears, she suspects the foster home is a front for a sex trafficking ring. Olive needs to figure out who she is before she, or her BFF Cissy, is next.

Unfortunately, the only clues to her past are random: a black feather, an old woman who is fascinated with her, and a prophecy that matches the double pupil in her right eye.

Things start to come together when she’s given an amulet and an old book. Will putting these together bring Olive the answers she yearns for? Or will it rip her life apart?

About

Image of Lyla Lockwood

THE OFFICIAL VERSION

Lyla Lockwood believes that magic is real and there is nothing more powerful than a story.

Lyla's own story is set in a cozy house where she lives with the love of her life, 2 scrumptious kiddos, a fluffer for a dog and a cat who talks only to her.

BUT...

Who am I? There's a hefty question. I'm a wanderer. I'm resourceful. I'm whimsical. And, yes, I believe in magic. The magic of everyday: the wonder of living and of having someone to love who loves me.

I was born a farm girl to a wild cast of characters. The tedium of repeated questions led my father to never let a good story be interfered with by what a person might call "the truth". This contrasted with my determined, straight-as-an-arrow mother who, according to him, was "probably eaten by the hogs?" whenever we asked him where she'd gone out to for the zillionth time.

I was lucky enough to inherit both qualities: tenacity and the propensity to tell a fib more than the truth (just so long as it was interesting, of course). It made for one wicked combination. It made me a story teller.

Through a spectrum of many different ages and, therefore, many different perspectives I've come to reconsider what I thought about my priorities and how to live life. Somewhere between attending too many funerals and having a couple of babies that stole my heart, I made a decision: stories are important, even necessary. So I wrote. A lot. Every single day. And something amazing happened.

I haven't stopped since.

Who am I? You can read about me in my books.

Have I ever been cheated on? Yes, many times.

Am I now a sucker for the nice guy? Absolutely.

Does my grandmother hold a special place in my heart? Yes, indeed.

Does my life have its share of crazy characters? Uh, yeah. Jam-packed.

Is magic there whenever I look for it? Always.

There is so much to tell and the only way to do it is to start at the beginning and tell the whole tale until it is done. So, that's what I do. Everyday.

I can't thank you enough for wanting to be a part of that journey.

News

#9 in Cozy Crafts & Hobbies Mystery on Amazon!

Knit, Purl... Murder - Book One of the Knit Witch Cozy Mystery series - is all the way to #9 on the best seller list! Thank you to all my new readers!

Needle Little Help from My Friends Releases December 13th, 2022

Book Six - Needle Little Help from My Friends - continues the adventures of Savvy and her friends as they prepare for a wedding where everything keeps going wrong! To top it all off, the detestable wedding planner is murdered leaving Savvy to find the killer and save the wedding.

Over 100,000 Pages Read on Kindle Unlimited

I can't believe it! So far over 100,000 pages on Kindle Unlimited alone! Even more print and ebook orders. I'm humbled by the support of all my readers!

Goodbye to a Legend

Saddened to hear of the passing of Kirstie Alley (or is it Cursed Tea Alley? Spelling was never my strong suit). The independence and strength of her "Rebecca Howe" was an inspiration to a whole generation of young women. She will be missed by so many.

Do Knot Piss Off the Fairies Releasing on 11/8/2022

Can Saavy outwit the Fae as she attempts to recover the life of her new friend Birdie? Find out in this latest installment of the Knit Witch Cozy Mysteries!

Releasing October 11th, 2022: Ghouls Just Wanna Be Spun

Savvy's adventures continue in Ghouls Just Wanna Be Spun - Book 4 of the Knit Witch Cozy Mysteries Series. As Halloween approaches, the local DJ is murdered with a video tape and suddenly everyone is walking like an egyptian, the wrong brother is serenading Savvy with a boombox and the rain in Wickerton Hollow turns purple. This mystery gets pretty gnarly!

Over 20,000 Pages Read on Kindle Unlimited

Reads of my first 3 books have now topped 20,000 pages on Kindle Unlimited! That's in addition to all the print and ebook orders. Thank you all so much for your support! I hope you're enjoying Savvy's adventures as much as I enjoy writing them.

Once Knitted, Twice Shy Releasing September 13th, 2022

Will Savvy be able to solve the mystery of a cursed necklace before it kills her? Find out in Book Three - Once Knitted, Twice Shy - of the Knit Witch Cozy Mysteries Series. It releases on Amazon Kindle on September 13th, 2022!

Dead Men Spin No Yarns Releasing August 16th, 2022

Book Two - Dead Men Spin No Yarns - of the Knit Witch Cozy Mysteries Series releases on Amazon Kindle on August 16th, 2022! I hope you're all as excited as I am to continue Savvy's story!

Knit, Purl... Murder Audiobook Is in Production

With the assistance of a superb voice actress and a great audio engineer, I've put the wheels in motion to produce an audiobook of Knit, Purl... Murder. Look for it coming to Audible in coming months!

Knit, Purl... Murder Releasing July 12th, 2022

I'm proud to announce the publication of the first book in the Knit Witch Cozy Mysteries Series! Releasing on Amazon Kindle on July 12th, 2022! The print version will be released shortly after.

The Website Is Up

Happy to say I finally got the website up and running! Hope you're enjoying it.