Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 55

Happy New Year!

I can’t believe it’s almost New Year’s Eve! Thank you so much for spending time here with us this year. Your stories in our comments section lift us up, and we appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to hang out here. Wickeds, do you have any New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day traditions?

Julie: They have evolved over time. These days New Year’s Eve is introspective. This year I’m planning on doing a vision board, having a nice meal, and toasting 2023. New Year’s Day is a family dinner of some sort, but VERY low key. I’m grateful that my nieces are home from college, and one of my nephews is visiting next weekend, so the holidays are being stretched out. Happy New Year to all!

Barb: Our weird New Year’s Eve tradition is to spend it in the Fort Lauderdale Hilton. Our lease in Key West starts January 1, and we drive down the Keys the next day. It used to be a luxurious celebration in the hotel with room service and cocktails, but as the pandemic and staff shortages have altered things, now it’s delivery pizza. Last year there was an amazing fireworks display all up and down the beaches of Fort Lauderdale which I could see from our hotel window.

Edith/Maddie: I live with a New Year’s Eve grouch, who goes to bed at the usual time (well before midnight). Some years I have gathered a group of women friends to play games and eat and share the celebration, but not this year. One tradition I follow is to put away Christmas – tree, decorations, the lot – before New Year’s Day. I like to start the year fresh, although I do leave the electric candles in the windows for another few weeks, because they light up the dark.

Liz: I’ve been enjoying making up new traditions pretty much every year over the past few years as things change! I usually like a low-key NYE though – snuggling with the furbabies and maybe doing a vision board.

Sherry: Like Edith, I’m usually up by myself ringing in the New Year. I always think I’ll make Hoppin’ John and greens for New Year’s Day, but I’ve only done it once.

Edith: Sherry, we could have a zoom champagne toast together!

Sherry: Great idea!

Readers: How about you? Do you have any New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day traditions?

Welcome Back Guest Valerie (V.M.) Burns #giveaway

I’m so happy to welcome back Valerie Burns. She’s one of those people who I wonder how she does it all. Valerie is one of the hardest working women I know! She’s here celebrating the release of Bookclubbed to Death!

Thanks, Sherry Harris and all of the Wicked Authors for inviting me to spend time with you all today.

Bookclubs: Pack or Lone Wolf?

Over the years, I’ve belonged to quite a few different types of clubs. I’ve been involved with everything from dog clubs to an investment club at various levels. Some clubs require payment of monthly/annual dues, but not much more. While others require attendance at regular meetings and participation in the club’s activities. Even though I’m an avid reader, I have yet to join a book club. Nevertheless, a book club features prominently in my next Mystery Bookshop Mystery, Bookclubbed to Death. So, I’ve asked myself, why not?

What’s the big deal about clubs, you ask? Clubs represent a gathering of like-minded people to achieve a common goal. When I was involved in an investment club, our goal was to pool our money together to learn about and invest in stocks. The idea that one person alone investing a meager $25 dollars, wouldn’t be able to buy much when it came to the stock market. However, if twenty people all pooled their resources, together our combined $500 per month could result in bigger investments and consequently bigger returns. That was the theory, anyway. Along the way, we educated ourselves on the stock market. Things went along well for about a year, but then attendance declined. The zeal the members felt at the club’s inception petered out. Attendance at the monthly meetings declined. Dues weren’t paid in a timely manner, and we eventually disbanded the club.

Book clubs are different. Usually, no money is required to join a book club. A group of bibliophiles agree to read and discuss books. Sure, most members would need to purchase the books that weren’t available at a library, but then we’re talking about book lovers. Chances are, they were going to buy those books anyway. According to an article in Book Riot, more than five million Americans attend a book club either in person or virtually. And there are book clubs for every interest and socioeconomic classification. In person or virtual clubs abound for women, men, professionals, LGBTQIA+, or pretty much any other group imaginable. My sister’s book club reads the occasional book, but meets monthly to drink wine and socialize. Different strokes for different folks.

So, why haven’t I joined a book club? No idea. I have no doubt that I could find a cozy mystery lovers’ virtual book club that would provide a great opportunity to talk about cozies with people who love them as much as I do—my tribe. Yet, something always prevents me from taking the plunge. Based on my age and personality, I suspect that the group concept isn’t my thing, especially when it comes to books. Time is short—too short. I don’t want to take up my limited time to read books that don’t appeal to me. I don’t want to read books that I don’t want to read. I want to read what I want to read when I want to read it. When it comes to books, I expect Burger King. I want it my way!

In my newest book, Bookclubbed to Death, Sam hosts The Mystery Mavens book club at her bookstore. The leader of the club, Delia Marshall, is a demanding autocrat who runs the club with an iron fist. Plus, she’s also a book reviewer who wields a great deal of power. Even though, Delia Marshall bears no resemblance to any book club leaders (or reviewers) that I know, I suspect she and the Mystery Mavens represent my worst fears when it comes to organized clubs. Maybe now that the book is written, I’ve exorcised those demons. It just might be time to reconsider the book club thing. Afterall, no club could ever be as bad.

Readers: How do you feel about book clubs? Do you enjoy reading and discussing books with a group? Or, do you prefer to go solo and read what you want when you want? Let me know in the comments. One commenter will be randomly selected to win a copy of Bookclubbed to Death. To be entered in the giveaway, please type YES in the comments and include your email address. The giveaway is open to everyone (regardless of where you live) until midnight on December 4th. The winner will be announced on Monday, September 5th.

[image error] BOOKCLUBBED TO DEATH

When the bookshop she owns becomes a crime scene, mystery writer Samantha Washington discovers there is such a thing as bad publicity . . .
 
After the local library in North Harbor, Michigan, is flooded in a storm, Sam offers her bookstore as a new venue for the Mystery Mavens Book Club. Unfortunately, she immediately runs afoul of the club leader, Delia Marshall, a book reviewer who can make or break careers—something Sam can ill afford with her debut historical mystery soon to be published.
 
But the next morning, Sam opens her shop to find the unpleasant woman dead on the floor, bashed with a heavy—apparently lethal—tome: the Complete Works of Agatha Christie. While Sam is busy writing her latest British historical mystery in which the queen mother is suspected in the murder of a London Times correspondent, a pair of ambitious cops suspect Sam of the real-life crime. When she gathers Nano Jo and their friends from the Shady Acres Retirement Village to review the case, they discover every one of the Mavens had a motive. With her novel about to hit the stores, Sam must find out who clubbed Delia before a judge throws the book at her . . .

[image error]Buy Link—- Amazon, B&N

About the author
Valerie (V. M.) Burns is an Agatha, Edgar, and Anthony Award-nominated author. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She is also a mentor in Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program. Connect with Valerie at:

Website: http://www.vmburns.com/

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

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

Gifts and Talents — Rum and Choke Is Out!

The gift of friendship is so important in Rum and Choke whether it’s new friends, long time friends, or friends who aren’t who they seem to be. Do you have a favorite fictional friendship?

Julie: Congratulations Sherry! I can’t wait to read Rum and Choke! Fictional friendships? There are SO MANY. This year I read the Veronica Speedwell series, and her friendship with Stoker is wonderful. In Pride and Prejudice Charlotte and Elizabeth’s friendship is lovely. Poirot and Hastings, Amelia Peabody and Evelyn, the members of the Thursday Murder Club–crime fiction runs on great friendships, don’t you think?

Liz: Yay, congrats, Sherry! I agree with Julie – there are so many. I also love the Thursday Murder Club peeps. And Jessie’s Beryl and Edwina duo! So fun.

Edith/Maddie: I’m so excited for the new book, Sherry! I like the friendship between Joaquin and Chloe, for starters. Lucy Burdette’s Haley Snow and Miss Gloria have a great friendship in the Key West Food Critic series.

Barb: Congratulation, Sherry! I can’t wait to read Rum and Choke. Jessie’s Beryl and Edwina immediately spring to mind as fictional friends. I also love friendships between professional sleuths, like Reg Wexford and Mike Burden, or Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers.

Sherry: Thanks so much! First, I think all the Wickeds have wicked good friendships in their books. Each take is so different and complex. I know I’m like a broken record with this, but I love the friendships in my beloved childhood Betsy-Tacy book. The series runs from the time they meet in first grade to their adult lives and weddings. I love the friendships in Kellye Garrett’s Detective by Day series and the complicated relationships in Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series.

Readers: Do you have a favorite fictional friendship?

A Grateful Heart

How lucky am I that I get to celebrate the release of Rum and Choke down in the Florida Panhandle where the book is set? It’s also great to be able to be with my mom on the day the book releases. My mom (and dad) instilled a love of reading in my sister and me. Before we could read, we were read to. There were endless trips to the library, money for a book or two at book fairs, and books being passed from person to person. Even as adults when we lived far from each other there were many, “Have you read (fill in the blank)?” conversations.

I’ve said this before, but I can’t say it enough – I’m so grateful to Malice Domestic the convention that celebrates the traditional mystery. I mentioned them in the acknowledgements of my first book – Tagged for Death. There I met Julie Hennrikus in such a random way. We were seated at the same table at the banquet. Because of Julie I joined Sisters in Crime and started attending Crime Bake.

Through Sisters in Crime (and the wonderful Seascape Writers retreat run by Hallie Ephron, Lucy Burdette, and S.W. Hubbard) I met Barb, Edith, Jessie, and Liz. I still marvel at how these, at the time, seemingly random events made such a huge impact on my life. And since I’ve formed such close friendships with so many authors I adore and admire. Heck, Barb literally pushed me up in front of her agent at Crime Bake and when she heard he was looking for someone to write a garage sale series thought of me. And here we are celebrating my thirteenth book.

I’m lucky to have met short story writer and editor Barb Goffman through the Chesapeake chapter of Sisters in Crime. She edits my books and each one is all the better for it.

The people of Kensington Books have been fantastic to work with. There are so many people behind the scenes when it comes to producing a book—many who I’ve never met. And then there are the more obvious people like my editor Gary Goldstein and Larissa Ackerman, Communications Manager, who is one of the hardest working (and loveliest) women I know.

I always have to thank my agent, John Talbot. The day Barb pushed me in front of him he said no. But three weeks later I was writing a proposal for him and the rest, as they say, is history. Just last week he buoyed my spirits when he called to say he loved the manuscript I’d sent him. It’s a departure for both of us – a sweet romance with some interesting twists.

I’m thankful to the wonderful readers, bloggers, librarians, and bookstore owners who have supported me. There’s nothing better than the random person who tells you that something in your book meant something to them.

And my family. I don’t know how I got so lucky. My husband and daughter are my biggest cheerleaders. They have wisdom when I’m down, they didn’t complain when I traveled a lot (okay, they didn’t complain too much!) and we celebrate each launch in big or small ways.

You can see why my heart is grateful.

Readers: What makes you grateful?

Here’s a bit about the book: Bestselling author Sherry Harris gives us the latest in a new cozy mystery series featuring a bartender sleuth in the tiny town of Emerald Cove, Florida.

Chloe Jackson runs a saloon in Emerald Cove, Florida—and she also happens to be an expert at putting people behind bars . . .
 
LAST CALL
 
The Florida Panhandle Barback Games are coming up and Chloe’s been drafted to represent the Sea Glass Saloon—competing in various obstacle-course events that conclude with rolling an empty keg up a hill. The rivalries are so fierce that some of the participating bars even stoop to bringing in ringers.
 
Meanwhile, Chloe’s friend Ann—a descendant of the famed pirate Jean Lafitte—asks her to come along for a boat ride as Ann dives into the Gulf of Mexico. She’s found some old papers that may identify the location of sunken treasure. Instead, she finds a sunken body—of one of the ringers hired for the Barback Games.  Now that murder is in the mix, Chloe has to figure out whether one of the competitors went overboard . . .

Signed copies of Rum and Choke are available through One More Page Bookstore in Arlington, Virginia.

The Joy (And Challenges) Of Writing A Series — Welcome Guest Olivia Blacke

I’m so happy to introduce Olivia Blacke to The Wickeds! I met Olivia when she asked me to be on a mystery panel with three additional authors. We had so much fun. She has a new series coming out and it sounds fun!

One of the things that drew me to cozy mysteries in the first place is that they’re expected to be part of a series. As a reader (and as a writer!) I love that I can get deeply invested in the characters and setting in a series, so when the next book comes out, it’s like seeing old friends. Although ironically, this also causes the “Cabot Cove effect” in cozies where our intrepid sleuth is constantly stumbling across dead bodies in their (formerly) quiet town.

Vinyl Resting Place, the first cozy in the Record Shop Mysteries, introduces three sisters. Juni Jessup, the baby, is free spirited. Maggie, the middle sister, has a head for numbers. Tansy, the eldest, is charismatic and (over)protective. With the popularity of vinyl records on the rise, the sisters reboot the family business by opening Sip & Spin Records in a small town near Austin, where they’ll offer hot tasty coffees and a cool selection of music. They’re on track to becoming Texas’s newest music destination until a body deader than disco falls out of the supply closet. Family is everything to the Jessup sisters, so when their favorite uncle is the prime suspect, they’ll do anything to bail him out of hot water, even if it means putting their shop on the line.

One challenge with writing a series like the Record Shop Mysteries is creating characters that are consistent, but still have room to evolve. Will Juni ever conquer her fear of public speaking? Will Maggie learn to accept that life is messy sometime? When you pick up the newest book in a series you’ve been reading for a while, it feels like you’re hanging out with your besties. When you get to experience those familiar characters grow over time, it makes them even more relatable and lifelike.

In a series, character scan live forever. This can become a problem, because now the author needs to keep track of everyone or risk accidentally killing off a character in book two only to have them pop up again in book six. Cozies are especially susceptible to this because they can have a large cast of characters. Add in that many authors work on multiple series simultaneously, and chaos reigns. To keep everything straight, I keep extensive character notes in a spreadsheet, with main characters often having their own document complete with photos of their favorite meals or latest hairstyle.

Which leads us to a final challenge – how does a writer keep books from getting repetitive? One of my favorite series is Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. Sure, Stephanie’s pet hamster is 28 years old now (a miracle!) but I still rush out to buy the latest book as soon as it’s out, because I know it’s always entertaining and fresh. Something I use when writing a series to keep the ideas coming is to keep a running list of situations when I’m writing that might not fit in the current plot, but could be essential in a later book. For instance, in Vinyl Resting Place, Juni suggests they host a karaoke night in the record store, but that scene doesn’t show up until book three at a pivotal moment.

Of course, when there are so many books to choose from, readers sometimes pick up a book in the middle and then they choose to skip around, or read the series in order from start to finish.

Readers: When you’re reading a series, do you start with the newest one or do you always start at the beginning?

BIO

OLIVIA BLACKE (she/her), author of Vinyl Resting Place, finally found a way to put her Criminology degree to good use by writing quirky, unconventional, character-driven cozy mysteries. Olivia, who wants to be a unicorn when she grows up, is a little nerdy, a lot awkward, and just the right amount of weird. Connect with Olivia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or check out her website OliviaBlacke.com.

VINYL RESTING PLACE

Vinyl Resting Place blends murder, music, and macchiatos in a delightful cozy mystery.

When Juni Jessup returns to her small Texas hometown, she and her sisters put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, the ideal place to enjoy musically-themed coffees like Espresso Yourself while listening to great music and town gossip, until – record scratch! – a body deader than disco falls out of the supply closet during the grand opening.

Family is everything to the Jessup sisters, so when their off-beat uncle is arrested, they’ll do anything to help, including putting Sip & Spin Records up for collateral. Unable to face the music, Uncle Calvin takes off, leaving the future of the shop in peril. Can Juni and her sisters catch the real killer before the trail – and the coffee – goes cold?

Winter Reads

Books Gouda.jpg wikicommons

Wickeds, what books are you reading and looking forward to reading?

Sherry: I’ve had more time to read lately. I recently finished Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn and London Rules by Mick Herron. I’m looking forward to reading No Home for Killers by E. A. Aymar, Hide by Tracy Clark and Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head!

Edith/Maddie: I finished Paula Munier’s The Wedding Plot (highly recommend), GT Herren’s delightful , and Blind Faith by Alicia Beckman, aka Leslie Budewitz, which is brilliantly told. Now I’m absorbed in Bombay Monsoon by James Ziskin and have Louise Penny’s latest cued up. By then Sherry’s Rum and Choke will be out!

Barb: I just finished Val McDermid’s 1989, an Allie Burns mystery and sequel to the book 1979. It was interesting to revisit the end of the 80s, when Lockerbie, AIDs, and the disintegration of the Soviet Empire occupied our concerns. I didn’t love the book, though, which is weird for me because I normally love McDermid’s novels. Next up, a pair of books I’m reading for possible blurbs. The first is Church Street Under, sequel to the excellent The Drinking Gourd, by Katherine Fast, published by Level Best. Then Final Cut, about an amateur sleuth who is a Hollywood costume designer, by Marjorie McCown, who was an actual Hollywood costume designer, coming from Crooked Lane in June.

Julie: Sherry, I loved Killers of a Certain Age. Hide by Tracy Clark is on my TBR pile, along with Exit Interview by Dana Cameron, The Appeal by Janice Hallett, Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz and Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson.

Liz: I just finished Nine Lives by Peter Swanson, Julie – so good! And just started Eight Perfect Murders too! I also loved The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Next up is Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell, and Lock Every Door by Riley Sager.

Jessie: I always love to know what you all are reading! Right now, as holiday prep, I am reading That Cheese Plate with Change Your Life by Marissa Mullen. I am also reading The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. Up next is Hot Protestants- A History of Puritanism in England and America by Michael P. Winship and The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan.

Readers: What are you reading or looking forward to?

Cover Reveal! Nine Lives and Alibis

By Liz, so excited to share this with all of you! Even though it’s the wrong holiday…

Christmas came early this year…

Hot off the presses – the cover for my upcoming Cat Cafe Mystery! Isn’t she gorgeous?

I don’t have a pub date yet, but I’m looking forward to sharing it when I do. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave me a comment below.

Gifts and Talents — Fun Gifts

What is a fun gift you’ve received? Who gave it to you and where do you keep it?

Julie: Forty years ago (how is that possible?) my mother gave me a bound recipe book where she wrote down some of her favorite recipes. She left me room to write down my own. At the time I loved it because I wanted the recipes. Now I love it because it represents so many memories, and I love seeing her handwriting while looking up Chicken Yum.

Liz: One of my good friends is from New Orleans, and when I would visit I always loved the food. For Christmas she would always send me a giant box of my favorites, like dirty rice, monkey bread, and the absolute best – chicory coffee. The best care packages!

Sherry: Julie, I think you need to share that Chicken Yum recipe! And those are great care packages, Liz! A few years ago my husband put a cheap Wonder Woman bracelet in my Christmas stocking. When I pulled it out he said, “You’re my wonder woman.” It was so sweet. I keep the bracelet on my desk.

Edith/Maddie: Just more proof Bob is a keeper, Sherry! One year one of my sons put a wind-up orange scorpion in my Christmas stocking. My astrological sun sign is Scorpio, and I love the toy. Various visiting children have had fun playing with it, too, and so far it still winds up and crawls across the floor. Scorpie holds pride of place with a few other items on one of my office bookcases.

Barb: I was a little stumped by this question, until last night when I was carefully wrapping three boxes of undies, one for each of my granddaughters. In our family, Santa always brings the children underpants. The tradition goes back to my youth. When my brother was little he was most ungracious about gifts of any type of clothing. He would fling the item over his head without a word and tear into the next package. My parents would scold him for being ungrateful, not thanking the gift-giver, etc. If this behavior continued, they threatened, one year he would get nothing but clothing, in fact, ONLY UNDERPANTS. Sure enough, one year we came down Christmas morning and the tree was festooned with underwear. There were other presents, but the undie tree made the necessary impression and we received undies every year thereafter. And thus it continues unto the third generation. The undies are in wrapped presents, though my oldest granddaughter (newly in on the Santa secret) did suggest draping them on the tree. I pointed out that this is her youngest cousin’s first year wearing underpants and she might be overwhelmed by it all. We are plotting about next year.

Jessie: I loved reading about all your gifts! They are so thoughtful and charming! Several years ago my husband combed through the internet and bought me all of the P.G. Wodehouse books he could find. Since he is one of my all-time favorite authors I was absolutely thrilled! I still read several each year, usually right after Christmas!

Sherry: I just had to come back and comment after reading through all these! What wonderful people we all have in our lives! And Barb that story is hysterical! I wish there were photos of the undie tree!

Readers: What is a fun gift you’ve received?

Opening Lines

Wickeds write an open line for this photo!

Edith/Maddie: [Scrawled at the bottom of the Dear Santa note on the hearth] Thx fer the warm milk and rum, but yer gonna regret using nutmeg in them cookies. Always makes me want to run out and kill someon… [Writing trails off]

Liz: Shoulda remembered from college that Bacardi was never a good idea. Now I have a missing elf, a totaled sleigh, and no idea where the reindeer ran off to. And the Uber won’t take me to the North Pole, so I’m at the mercy of the cops!

Barb: Well, that explained the mess under the Christmas tree.

Sherry: The knife would be the most obvious weapon of choice. But never underestimate an elf costume and a boa with a piano wire hidden inside.

Julie: [Tired Mrs. Claus surveying the mess on the steps sighs then starts to hum.] It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Every year it’s the same. Winkie, make some coffee. Blinkie, go find him. He always pulls this diva act before the big ride.

Jessie: The work holiday party always ended the same way. Everyone drank too much, the decorations were yanked down and someone inevitably left their gift behind. This was the first year, however, that someone used a feather boa to strangle an elf.

Readers: Add your opening line.

A Look Back, a Look Forward

Edith/Maddie writing from north of Boston, finally mostly ready for Christmas and looking forward to it. Read down for a giveaway!

How did it get to be nearly the end of the year already? My 2022 writing year was full and wild, with, um, two book releases plus a novella, three short story publications, three books and two short stories submitted, a new series begun, and a new historical mystery polished and sent to my agent. Whew! I worked hard, but since it’s my dream job, I (mostly) enjoyed every day at my desk.

I also got back into the writing world in person, attending Malice Domestic (and COVID), Bouchercon, and New England Crime Bake. At Malice, I was finally able to deliver my acceptance speech for Charity’s Burden winning Best Historical Novel in 2020 and pick up my Agatha teapot.

Library and bookstore events with real-live people were so fun, as was zooming into book groups and panels all over the country.

But that’s all old news, and I’m really looking forward to 2023. First up is the release of Four Leaf Cleaver at the end of January. It’s not too late to pre-order it as a gift for your bookish loved one! You can print out a gift certificate here.

Shortly after the release, Hugh and I take off for Puerto Rico to help my son John celebrate his marriage to his beloved Alexandra. I can’t wait!

Later in the year there will be more conferences, more panels, and more books.

My next release, Murder at a Cape Bookstore, Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery #5, will be out at the end of August.

Isn’t that a fun cover? You saw it here first! The book is already up for preorder. As an illustration of how far ahead publishers work, last week my editor asked for cover ideas for #6, Murder at the Rusty Anchor, which I won’t even start writing until April!

And the Cece Barton Mysteries launch in the fall (more about that later).

But enough news. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, the solstice, or something else, I wish you a warm, delicious, and book-filled holiday.

Readers: What’s your favorite winter holiday food or drink? I’ll send one commenter one of my last two Country Store Mysteries ten-book jigsaw puzzles.