BY KAREN BOSSICK

Ever wonder what it’s like to run a bed and breakfast?

Deedie Runkel can recount dozens of unusual, often humorous, experiences she and her husband have had from instant chair Zumba lessons for guests to a cowboy wedding to the staff, one of them who recently murdered her husband.

Runkel, the cousin of Hailey resident Alex Taylor, recounts many of her favorite stories in the new book, “Scone by Scone…Tales of an Innkeeper’s Life.”

And she will tell several of her favorites at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 19, at Black Owl Coffee, 208 North River St. in Hailey.

“She’s very entertaining and a great storyteller,” said Taylor.

Playwright Lisa Loomer thinks so, too: “The stories about an innkeeper’s life are hilarious and heartfelt. The characters are unforgettable, the recipes delectable. But it’s Runkel’s flair for treating life as a delicious challenge and for treating the most outrageous guests with grace that make this book such a rich meal.”

Deedie Runkel and her husband bought Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Ashland, Ore., following careers in journalism, non-profit management and government service in Washington’s D.C’s beltway.

Their intent as rookie innkeepers was to offer pillows for guests coming to see the drama at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But they have found plenty of drama at their inn, from the case of the stolen necklace to guests bearing stuffed pigs to the need for marriage counseling.

Good thing Deedie has experience leading efforts to prevent nuclear war!