Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 59

The Dickens Mashup by Guest Author Heather Redmond and a #giveaway

I’d like to welcome author Heather Redmond back to the Wickeds’ blog. Heather is here to tell us about a twist related to A Twist of Murder, the fifth book in her Dickens of a Crime Mystery series, which was released on October 25th.

Heather will give a signed copy of her third Dickens of a Crime novel, A Christmas Carol Murder, to one lucky commenter below.

Take it away, Heather!

The Dickens Mashup

I have been writing my A Dickens of a Crime series for a few years now. My first big change to the series was adding Kate Hogarth’s point of view in last year’s The Pickwick Murders, because I took my sleuth, Charles Dickens, out of the main part of the action for a while, for reasons.

One thing that has remained consistent through the first four books is taking inspiration from one title in Dickens’s literary canon for each of my titles. I’ve covered his A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, and The Pickwick Papers, as you can tell from my own titles. I end up over-identifying so much that sometimes I confuse his original titles and my own!

When I came to book five in my series, I did my usual research. In this case, there was an online readalong of Dickens’s blessedly short novel, Hard Times. I thought it would be fun to join in, as it was led by a British professor. I plotted my novel around the themes and characters I learned about and started writing.

Until…disaster! The powers-that-be at my publisher decided they wanted an Oliver Twist-themed book from me next. What was I to do? They knew I was already working on the Hard Times book, but they thought I didn’t have to change much…it was mashup time! What is a mashup, you may ask? “A mashup is an act of combining (or mashing) two songs together at the same time. This will make an entirely new and different musical composition.” (www.openmicuk.co.uk)

As it so happens, this series had been driving toward an Oliver Twist book all along. I was featuring orphans, after all, including one named Ollie. Thank goodness! It wasn’t so hard to mash a novel about a school with no belief in the power of imagination in an industrial town, and a romp through the pre-Victorian underworld with a lucky orphan.

In my book, Charles Dickens is summoned to a boy’s school outside of London, where he discovers a man named Fagin Sikes has taken control. His belief in the power of a restricted diet causes three charity students to flee the premises. Before Charles can start his search for his young friends, a servant girl goes missing as well. There we go! A mashup of Hard Times and Oliver Twist, folded into a suspenseful mystery.

Readers, what two books do you think would combine well, in any genre? Answer below or just say “hi” by November 11th to be entered to win a signed copy of A Christmas Carol Murder, my third A Dickens of a Crime mystery. North American residents only.

About A Twist of Murder

The acclaimed historical mystery series A Dickens of a Crime continues with a reimagining of Charles Dickens’s classic Oliver Twist, filled with murder, mystery, and a young Dickens himself as the amateur sleuth. In other words, “Please, can we have some more!”Harrow on the Hill, March 1836: In a sense, orphans Ollie, John, and Arthur have always been treasure hunters. The mudlarks have gone from a hardscrabble life scavenging the banks of the Thames for bits and bobs to becoming students at a boarding school outside of London, thanks to the kind and generous intercession of Charles Dickens. But now they’re missing—as is, apparently, a treasure map.
 
When Charles arrives at the school, he’s hit with another twist—the servant girl who was allegedly in possession of the map has been strangled in the icehouse. Unbeknownst to them on their spirited adventure, his young friends may be in mortal danger. Now Charles and his fiancée Kate Hogarth, who has come to join him in the search for the runaways, must artfully dodge false leads and red herrings to find the boys and the map—before X marks the spot of their graves . . .

About Heather Redmond

Heather Redmond is the author of many novels, novellas, and short stories under three names. She writes the A Dickens of a Crime, the Journaling mysteries series, and next year will debut The Mary Shelley mysteries. Her novel, A Tale of Two Murders, received a coveted starred review from Kirkus and her Dickens series has been an online bestseller.

Win An Arc of Rum and Choke!

I am so excited that Rum and Choke, the fourth book in the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mystery, comes out on December 27th. I loved writing this book and I hope you like it as much as I do!

Here’s a bit about the book: 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 . . .

Kirkus Reviews said: A Florida bartender’s sense of obligation and adventurous spirit lead her into danger. They also called it “a fun read.”

Readers: Do you know what a barback is? I learned about them when I was researching for the series. Let me know and one of you will win an ARC of Rum and Choke.

Grateful for Places in 2022

Many of us got out a little more in 2022 relative to the two previous years. We returned to old haunts and visited new places. I have to admit, a particular setting can make me quite emotional, whether I am soaked in happy memories by the familiar, stirred by the beauty of nature, or stimulated by the sights and sounds of the city.

Wickeds, was there somewhere you went this year, a familiar place or a new one? Tell me about ONE place that you’re grateful you got to visit in 2022 and why.

Edith/Maddie: Attending Malice Domestic IN PERSON in North Bethesda, Maryland was huge, but that was for the people, not the place. For me the best place was my visit to northern California last month. I always feel I can breathe better when I’m back in my home state. I’ve been visiting my aunt and uncle’s second home in the Alexander Valley since I was in college. Much was new to me about the area, and so much was familiar. I’m grateful to the extreme.

Liz: Would you be sick of me saying my beach? Technically it’s not a visit because I moved here, but since it was a big move, I didn’t do a lot of visiting other places. But I’m so grateful to live here and be able to walk on the beach every day and watch the dogs play. It is definitely a mood booster every single day.

Julie: One place? I’m going to go for a non-writing related place, though I was happy to go to Left Coast Crime, Bouchercon and Malice Domestic this year. The one place I was thrilled to go was Italy. I went on a writing retreat in Tuscany, which was more beautiful than pictures. Food, wine, new friends, adventures, creativity engaged–I’m so glad I decided to go. Though it’s still stressful to travel, I’d forgotten how good it is for my soul.

Jessie: Like Liz, my happy, grateful place is almost always the beach. Last year I spent almost no time in Old Orchard so it was with much glee I returned this summer and fall. I can never get enough of the salt air, the rolling waves, and the bracing breeze! For me, a perfect day revolves around a walk on the beach and a session spent writing!

Barb: This is a tough one–and I asked the question! In 2022 I was grateful to be going anywhere. But on reflection, I’m most grateful the week Bill and I spent in Edinburgh. For me it was a return. I’d been twice before for work, seeing a lot of windowless conference rooms and auditoriums. It was the first time for Bill. It reminded us that we love cities, we love museums and galleries, castles and palaces, winding streets and formal gardens. It felt so good to be traveling again.

Readers: Did you go anywhere special–a return or a new place–in 2022?

We Partied Like It’s 1999 by Guest Author Christin Brecher

Sherry and Julie were lucky enough to see Christin Brecher at Kensington’s CozyClub Mini-Con last month. Here, Christin tells us all about it and about her recent book launch, too.

The launch celebrated the release of Photo Finished, the debut in Christin’s new A Snapshot of NYC Mystery series, which was released on October 25th.

Take it away, Christin!

… Living La Vida Cozy

Readers and writers, remember 1999?  What were you doing?  Apparently, we all knew how to party back then?  For many of us, those party days are a bit of a distant memory – especially since Prince’s immortal anthem was written in the ‘80s!   Between Covid and… fill in the blanks as you will… it’s been a tough couple of years for everyone to gather together.  For authors and readers, we’ve missed the time to talk books, share stories, and celebrate new launches.  As for the partying, the most we every sought on top of the good company was an occasional glass of wine and, maybe, a couple of nibbles.  Alas, listening to a reading and raising a glass have been tough with masks on, and health trumps it all. 

This author, however, has felt the old rhythm pick up again this fall.  I’m starting to meet readers face-to-face once more. My blossoming optimism that this trend might be the start of good things to come occurred in October when Kensington Books hosted their first CozyClub Mini-Con in two years.  On a bright fall day, over a hundred of us gathered in a community center in Shiremanstown, PA.  Twelve authors shared their stories with readers who came from far and wide to join.  We smiled and hugged! and caught up on our lives as if at a class reunion everyone wanted to attend.  There was so much goodwill in that room you could have cut it with a knife (we were a group that reads and writes about murders so it feels like a good metaphor).  I realized that the cozy community is as warm and spunky as the cozy towns we write about, and that our face-to-face time has been sorely missed by all.  I will also add that the thoughtful organizers at Kensington and host Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop gave us red, green and yellow stickers to wear to signal how comfortable we were with personal contact given ongoing health concerns. 

Kensington CozyClub Mini-Con

Gang of AuthorsMe!Julie and her books

My good fortune continued last week when my new book, Photo Finished, came out.  Again, for the first time in two years, I was able to have an in-person book launch.  The story of aspiring photographer and amateur sleuth, Liv Spyers, is based in NYC, and gathering at the city’s Corner Bookstore was the most ideal setting to welcome the book.  Many readers have asked me how it is possible to write a cozy mystery based in a big city.  I wish you could have been there that night when guests arrived with parents, kids, husbands.  We met in a bookstore which, when it opened in the ‘70s, gave Carnegie Hill neighborhood its heart.  Who says NYC isn’t cozy?  We’re gritty, too, but we can pull it together.  To gather in person after so many years was better than the wildest party I’ve ever attended.

The Corner Bookstore, Carnegie Hill, NYC

I hope we may continue to gather together.  With the gap in these events, I’ve realized a literary lifestyle includes others who are also on reading journeys. As a reader, I will probably attend more events than ever.  And as an author, I hope to see you sometime, somewhere, to sign a copy and chat.  Until then, happy reading!  And don’t forget to party like its 2022 when you can.

Readers: Is there something you had given up during the pandemic that you have done again/are eager to do again? Let us know what it is.

About Photo Finished

While some people escape into books or music, Liv Spyers escapes through her camera’s lens, which inspires her to jump into things she might otherwise have no business tackling—like moving to New York City. Hustling to make her dreams come true as a portrait photographer, she runs a pocket-sized studio below her grandparents’ West Village brownstone and key shop, where she also lives and works part-time. All of which still has her down to the end of her savings as the holidays approach. Everything changes in a flash, however, when elite events photographer, Regina Montague, invites Liv to shoot with her at New York City’s most exclusive socialite event of the year—the Holiday Debutante Ball!
 
Liv snaps at the opportunity, convinced that a job with Regina will launch her career. But when her fabulous new gig ends with the murder of billionaire Charlie Archibald, her dream job may never develop with Regina framed for murder. Once Liv begins to focus on her photos from the ball, she’s convinced they reveal Charlie Archibald’s real killer. Now, between cracking the world of high society—and the attentions of a handsome stranger—Liv must hustle once again to expose the killer . . . before she gets cropped from the picture!

About Christin

As an author, I love developing new characters and plot twists, spending my days in writer-friendly cafes, and puzzling out stories and motives with fellow mystery buffs.

The publication of my first series, the Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries, sprang from my life-long connection to Nantucket, a small, foggy island off the coast of Massachusetts, which is marked by its history in whaling and candle-making, its beautiful shingled houses and cobblestones, and its strong community. As for my newest series, a Snapshot of NYC Mysteries, I was born, raised, and still reside in New York City, a perfect place to stir the imagination and celebrate life’s everyday stories. You never know what lies around the corner in this town.

Guest- Carol Perry and a Giveaway!

Jessie: In New Hampshire where it is cold enough that Sam, the poodle, needs a jacket for morning walks!

I am so pleased to welcome Carol Perry to visit with us today. I met her in person for the first time last month at a conference down in Florida purely by chance. I was sitting alone at a table at lunch and she happened over and sat next to me. We were both surprised and delighted to discover we already knew each other online and had a lovely chat. If you add to our chat here by leaving a comment you will be entered into the giveaway for a chance to win a pair of books in her Haunted Haven series! Without further ado, take it away, Carol!

“Ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night!” How I love them all! And why wouldn’t I? Born in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween eve, this day has always been a special one for me in so many ways. An only child and avid reader, mysteries have long been my genre of choice. My dad had a shelf full of Erle Stanley Gardner, Rex Stout and Raymond Chandler paperbacks.  We listened together to “I Love a Mystery,” and “Lights Out.” My own shelves housed an ever-growing collection of Nancy Drew, and Judy Bolton books. Later I favored Phyliss Whitney, Agatha Christie and Helen McGinnis stories No wonder then, that after a career as an advertising copy writer, I began writing mysteries of my own, beginning with my Witch City Mystery series. (Book #13 coming next year!)

            One day my editor at Kensington Books called. “Can you write a paranormal cozy series?” she asked. Naturally, when an editor asks a question like that, the only sensible answer is “Sure. Of course I can.” (Then you go and look up “paranormal” in the dictionary.) Thus began my literary relationship with ghosts. .(Although I once lived in a real haunted house in Gloucester, Massachusetts.  But that’s another story.)  

Haunted Haven Mysteries began with Be My Ghost. My protagonist, Maureen Doherty, has lost her job as ready-to-wear buyer for an old-time brick-and-mortar Boston department store. Then her golden retriever, Finn, flunks his guide dog test for being too friendly, too curious. So both of them are out of work and almost out of money when the letter from a Florida attorney tells her she’s inherited an inn in Haven, Florida from a mysterious benefactor.

Maureen believes it’s a good place to make a fresh start with a new business venture, but she gets more than she bargained for when she finds a dead body in a rocking chair on her front porch and meets some of the inn’s inhabitants in the form of ghosts who lend their otherworldly talents to help her solve the mystery.

The Haven House Inn, of course, is delightfully haunted—and I have come to love my ghosts. Lorna DuBois is a deceased movie starlet who appears only in black and white. Babe Ruth drops by when the Yankees play the Rays. It’s Maureen’s first Halloween in Florida and she meets more ghosts, and because this is a cozy mystery—there’s that pesky murder to be solved.

Just released last week is the second entry in the series– High Spirits. More ghosts, more murders and Maureen and Finn celebrate their first Christmas in Florida –replete with lighted palm trees and pink plastic flamingoes wearing Santa hats. 

I’ll be giving away a set of signed copies of both Haunted Haven Mysteries: Be My Ghost and High Spirits to one luck commentator.

Readers: Do you believe in ghosts?

https://caroljperry.com

A Visit To The Morgue with Author Christine Falcone and a #giveaway

Please welcome my friend Christine Falcone to the blog. In her post, Christine gives us a wonderful tale from true life. Christine’s debut mystery,

Ex’d Out: A Melanie Bass Mystery, was released on October 18th. Chris is giving a copy of Ex’d Out to one lucky commenter below.

Take it away, Chris!

A Visit To The Morgue

Melanie Bass, my protagonist in Ex’d Out, is a nurse and as such has had to deal with death. She was not prepared, however, to discover her ex-husband dead. She also never expected that he had somehow put her in jeopardy by his actions prior to his murder.

Like Melanie, prior to retirement, I worked as an RN. During this time, I was also writing – mysteries for the most part. As something wonderful or unusual or even very sad happened at work I would remind myself to remember it. Someday it would become grist for the mill.

A few years ago, I decided it would be beneficial to go to the morgue and really see what it was like, especially because at that time I was working on a story with a morgue attendant as the protagonist. A patient had sadly passed during my shift, his family had spent time with him and all the final paperwork was done and his body was ready to be transported to the morgue. This is usually done by two of our Environmental Associates. (Surprisingly, no one wants to go to the morgue alone!)  I asked the EA whose job it was to transport the body if I could go with her. I got one of my fellow nurses to cover my patients and Lothel and I set off. On the walk there she told me how much she hated going to the morgue, how it gave her the willies. I assured her we would be there and back very quickly, nothing to worry about.

The hospital I worked at had an old system of tunnels beneath it that had formerly been used to transport patients and supplies between buildings before a new covered walkway system was built. However, the way we were to take to the morgue was through the tunnels. It was just as creepy as portrayed in old horror movies – hot, confined, mostly empty and you could hear footfalls on the tile floor from far away. I had trained in that hospital and as students many years before we traveled all over in them – even toward the morgue to prove our bravery and satisfy our morbid curiosity. So, I wasn’t bothered by our route.

When Lothel and I got to the morgue we rang a bell and an attendant let us in and checked our paperwork, then directed us to the morgue anti-room where bodies are left until they are logged in. I was curious to take a quick look around, noting the stretcher with another covered body on it and the jars of preserved who knows what lining the shelves. The door was heavy and without thinking, I let it close behind us. I heard Lothel’s panicked voice behind me “You locked us in! We can’t get out! What do we do now!” There was in fact no inside handle to open the door. The only thing to do was to yell and knock hard on the door to let the attendant know we were still in there. Even as we were doing it, I thought what a scene that would make – loud knocking coming from inside the morgue and shouts of let us out! Lothel tells me it was a long time until the attendant, a medical student, came to let us out, but in reality, it was only a couple of minutes. The medical student rather irritably pointed out that there was an ‘emergency’ handle on the upper right-hand side of the door to open it. Lothel never let me forget that day, and never trusted me to go to the morgue with her again.

This particular incident never made it into E’d Out, but I have a feeling it may find its’ way into book two.  Another lesson learned – not all your friends want to participate in your research.

Readers: Have you ever had an experience that was scary but also kind of funny? Answer the question or just say, “hi” in the comments below to be entered to win a copy of Ex-ed Out.

About EX-D OUT

After their divorce, Visiting Nurse Melanie Bass must keep in contact with Dr. Artie Krapaneck, her philandering ex-husband as they share custody of her beloved dog, Bruno. When she arrives at a Connecticut highway rest stop to retrieve the dog for “her week” she discovers the body of her ex-husband along with that of an unknown woman.  It seems that now Artie will finally be out of her life forever. He isn’t. He left a “legacy” that now puts Melanie’s own life in danger – as well as Bruno’s.

BUY LINKS:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Your Local Independent Bookstore

About ChristineChristine Falcone

Christine Falcone lives on the Connecticut Shoreline with her family and a dog who is not nearly as well behaved as Bruno, the beloved canine in her novel.

Website: Christinefalcone.com
Facebook: Christine Falcone

Celebrating spooky season

By Liz, looking forward to Halloweekend!

It’s spooky season – my absolute favorite time of the year. And to make it even better, I’m currently working on the next Cat Cafe book, which is taking place in…yup, you guessed it—Halloween season.

It’s got a dead psychic and his missing cat, a cat costume parade, JJ dressed up as Sherlock Holmes, a pumpkin shortage, and a haunted inn.

And even more fun, there’s a character some of you might recognize who is making a guest appearance in this book. (Hint: she owns a crystal shop in Connecticut.)

Yep, Violet is coming to Daybreak Island. I think she’s bringing Sydney with her too, for a little extra fun. They’re going to be vendors at the Halloween marketplace. And there was a glitch at the inn where they were supposed to stay, so now they’re bunking with Maddie and Grandpa. I can’t wait to see what kind of fun they get up to.

So in honor of spooky season, here are a few things that are making me happy right now:

I found the best new crystal store nearby, Ravenstone. It’s really filling my soul to be able to walk around and be in the energy of so many beautiful crystals. I even found one named “Fiona,” which I had to get in honor of Violet’s mom. (And speaking of Violet, if you haven’t preordered Witch Way Out, you can get it here! This is Fiona:

Also, spooky shows and movies! Every October (well, all year round but especially October) I love to immerse myself into scary stuff. Right now I’m watching The Watcher on Netflix. Next up: Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, a Stephen King adaptation also on Netflix. Fun fact? This was filmed in my old neighborhood last year. The dogs and I used to go to the set every morning to check it out. Some of it was filmed right on my street, and the rest at an old mansion nearby. Very cool experience. 

And finally, my new oracle deck, the Starseed Oracle by Rebecca Campbell.

Readers, what’s making you happy this spooky season? Leave a comment!

Wicked Wednesday- The Plot Thickets

Jessie: In Northern New England, tidying the gardens for a long winter’s nap!

Today we are continuing the celebration of Julie’s release of The Plot Thickets which centers around a cemetery gardening project. I wanted to ask you all how you feel about cemeteries. Do you find them to be tranquil, often beautiful locales or do they send a shiver up your spine?

Barb: Congratulations, Julie! I cannot wait to read The Plot Thickets. Portland, Maine’s Eastern Cemetery is right across the street from our house, the view I look out on as I write in my study. Cemeteries make great neighbors–very quiet. Founded in 1668, Eastern Cemetery is the oldest historic landscape in the city. I love watching people strolling there, by themselves or clustered in tour groups, as I eat breakfast at my dining table

Eastern Cemetery, Portland, ME from my study

Liz: Congrats, Julie! I love cemeteries. My best friend in high school and college lived right across the street from one and we used to walk around it at night and just enjoy the quiet. I also love Mt. Auburn Cemetery–I could walk around there for hours.

Edith/Maddie: Congratulations, Julie! Can’t wait to dig into the book. I stayed in a retreat cottage behind a Quaker cemetery on Cape Cod earlier this month, a burying ground surrounding the nineteenth century Meetinghouse on three sides. I love strolling through it, and have borrowed a good number of the names for my historical Quaker mysteries over the years. Not spooky, not even with a full moon rising over it as it did while I was there!

Sherry: I love the covers of the Garden Squad books and can’t wait to read The Plot Thickets! Growing up we had family friends who lived next to a cemetery. My friend and I loved to walk around it and look at all the gravestones. I have to say when I spent the night I was fairly certain I’d see all manner of ghouls if I looked out the window. When we started the blog the header (now the picture of all of us) was of a gravestone. I finally found the photo at 10:30 last night.

Jessie: We live near a cemetery too, and I always think of it as such a peaceful place. Like Edith, I always enjoy reading the names on some of the very oldest headstones. There are also a few small, family graveyards in our village that can be seen if one peers through the woods and beyond tumble-down stone walls. I always feel as if there are spirits in those asking me to pay attention as I go by.

Julie: Thank you, everyone! I love wandering around cemeteries. My grandmother used to drive me through “her” cemetery, and tell me the stories of the people who were buried there. That memory fueled part of the story for the book. Lilly was so used to the names on the gravestones, and knew their stories, so when things seem out of order, she notices.

Readers, how about you? Do you stroll through cemeteries on leisurely walks or hurry past as quickly as you can?

A Year in the Life of Lilly Jayne **giveaway**

by Julie, dodging raindrops in Somerville

I am THRILLED to let you all know that today is the launch for the fifth in my Garden Squad series, The Plot Thickets! The end of the book marks a year since Roddy Lyden crashed Lilly Jayne’s garden party, and the Garden Squad started guerilla gardening around Goosebush, Massachusetts. A year in book time, and almost four years since Pruning the Dead, the first in the series, was released.

This book takes place in the spring, and Lilly has had a rough winter. She fell on the ice, and her back still bothers her. She’s frustrated that she can’t do everything as easily as she once could. When she and Delia go to the town cemetery to look into a possible beautification committee project cleaning up some of the gravestones and planting flowers, she’s looking forward to wandering around. Her father used to give tours of the historic site, and Lilly knows many of the markers by heart. Or so she thought. As she wanders towards the Jayne family mausoleum (of course they have a mausoleum), she notices that some markers seem to be missing or moved. Is her memory going? Or is something afoot?

If you’ve read the series, you know never to bet against Lilly Jayne. The plot weaves around small town politics and shady business deals. As I mentioned in a Jungle Reds post recently, I did a lot of research, mulled it over, and made it all work for the book. I loved revisiting all of the characters, and moving their lives forward in different ways.

Writing this series has been a great joy. I am sorry that this is the last book Kensington will be publishing in the series. I didn’t know that it wasn’t renewed when I wrote the book, and parts of it may have changed if I had known. (If you have a book group who wants to read The Plot Thickets and invite me to visit, I’ll let you know more about that. Reach out at jhauthors at jhauthors.com). Though the last in a series is bittersweet, I am so grateful to have five books published, and to have introduced the Garden Squad to the world.

I’m also grateful to my sisters Kristen and Caroline, who took ARCs of the book on their travels and sent me pictures. And to my niece Becca, who helped be photograph the book at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Travels with THE PLOT THICKETS to Dublin, Galway, London, Stonehenge, Cape Cod and the Museum of Fine Arts.
Thanks to my sisters Caroline Lentz and Kristen Spence!

Please post pictures of your copy of the book traveling around, and tag me. If you’ve enjoyed the series, let your friends know. Help me make this launch week wildly successful.

I hope you enjoy reading The Plot Thickets as much as I enjoyed writing it.

To celebrate the release of The Plot Thickets, I’ll give away three copies of the book to commenters. Tell me, do you like wandering around old cemeteries?

About the book:

The ever-quintessential New England town of Goosebush, Massachusetts truly shines in springtime, but when an underhanded undertaker digs herself an early grave, it’s up to sixty-something gardening sleuth Lilly Jayne—and her fellow Garden Squad members of course— to unearth the cryptic killer . . .

With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order, after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum . . .

Though at first it appears Whitney died by suicide, Lilly has doubts, and apparently, so does Chief of Police Bash Haywood, who quickly opens a murder investigation. Plenty of folks in town had bones to pick with Whitney, including her stepdaughter, Sasha, and funeral home employee, Dewey Marsh—all three recently charged with illegal business practices. But when the homicide inquiry suddenly targets an old friend, Lilly and the Garden Squad must rally to exhume the truth before the real killer buries it forever . . .

Buy the book:

The book will be available in mass market paperback, large print, e-book, and audio book. It is available at your local bookstore, through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org or other online retailers. You can also request it through your local library!

Connect with me on social media:

JHAuthors.com

Instagram: @JHAuthors

Facebook: @JHAuthors

Sign up for my newsletter here!

All the Details

Edith/Maddie here, writing from north of Boston but not completely sure what time it is.

I arrived home last evening after dark from a full week – full in all senses of the word – in northern California, three times zones away. I went to fine-tune atmospheric details of Murder Uncorked, my first Cece Barton novel, as well as “Murderous Mittens,” the novella in Christmas Mittens Murder that will precede the novel in publication and will introduce the series. Both books will release next fall.

The Cece Barton series is set in the Alexander Valley wine country in northern Sonoma County. I’ve created a fictional town called Colinas (“hills” in Spanish) that I shoehorned in somewhere vaguely in the vicinity of Geyserville and Cloverdale.

As it happens, my father’s sister Jo and her husband Richard Reinhardt built a vacation home in a community called the Vineyard in the hills above Geyserville in 1969.

Sadly, Jo passed away almost fifteen years ago, but Dick – the first published author I ever met – is a lively and sharp-minded San Francisco resident of ninety-six who maintains his garden at the house in the Alexander Valley.

Dick Reinhardt showing me a blanket woven in 1837 for my quadruple-great-grandmother on the Maxwell side.

When I asked if I could occupy the Vineyard home for a week to hone the book, Uncle Dick welcomed me.

The veranda at the Vineyard house – looks like it could be a wine bar or tasting room!

After twenty-four hours of rich conversation and laughing with two of my cousins, their spouses, and Dick and his lady friend, they all went back to the Bay area and left me this house for the next five days.

The outdoor writing spaces alone are enough to make anyone drool.

But I didn’t head west for an intensive writing retreat.

I wanted to soak up all the details of the place. What the air smells like in October, when Murder Uncorked takes place. What’s blooming, which birds fly around, and how the light looks. What produce is being harvested. How the drought is affecting home gardeners and larger-scale farmers. Who lives and works in the area. What small-town California policing is like. How the intensive grape agriculture and wine production affects people’s lives. And the hazards of the ever-present fire danger.

I’m a native southern Californian, but I’d forgotten the distinctions between live oaks, scrub oaks, and black oaks. I was reminded of the California quail’s beautiful headdress, and the call of the scrub jay. I saw how some mornings dawned bright and sunny, and on others fog filled the valley and didn’t burn off until eleven.

I also visited a farmers’ market, an independent bookstore, and two long-time college friends in the small city of Healdsburg.

Linda Hillel and Jon Eisenberg, friends of mine for fifty years

But I had book research to do, too. One of the highlights was arranging an interview with Cloverdale Chief of Police Jason Ferguson.

Cloverdale Chief Jason Ferguson

My fictional town of Colinas is about the same size as Cloverdale, ten miles north of Geyserville, and I was delighted that Chief Ferguson was enthusiastic about giving me a half hour of his time to pick his brain about small-town California police procedure. He spoke to how his people would work with the Sonoma County sheriff’s homicide detectives and crime scene unit. He told me of the various crime charges, which can vary state to state, and about the issues facing their town. And now I have a California cop on speed dial.

I also paid a pilgrimage to the Alexander Valley Winery tasting room and totally grilled the young woman pouring that day. Cece Barton manages a wine bar, not a vineyard tasting room, but she and the knowledgeable Alyssa share many of the same practices. (Sherry’s daughter Elizabeth Harris, who manages a winery in Virginia, has also been super helpful.)

Alyssa Poncia at the Alexander Valley Winery tasting room

Other highlights of the trip included meeting neighbors of my uncle’s, Jo and Jose Diaz.

Jo is a wine reviewer and knows all about the industry. She and Jose invited me for dinner, and Jo even pulled out her Le Nez du Vin sommelier smell-training kit, with fifty-four tiny vials of scents found in wines.

The day before I left, Victoria Heiges, another family friend, invited me to take a tour of the Kendall-Jackson vineyards production facility. It’s extensive, and accepts the grapes, separates them from stems and leaves, crushes out the juice, puts it in vats, ferments it, and eventually fills barrels. Victoria’s friend Ed Robinson is the maintenance manager of the place and gave us a thorough tour.

Ed and Victoria. She doesn’t look like someone with nefarious ideas, does she?

Victoria is an avid cozy mystery reader and realized she’d already read five of my books before even knowing I was Dick’s niece. She was full of lurid excitement – exactly the kind of fan any crime writer wants – about all the dangerous opportunities in the Kendall-Jackson facility. Two-ton vats of (heavy, juicy) just-picked grapes, giant grape-moving augers, powerful air-filled crushing bladders, and the workers who have to crawl into the bottom of 62-ton vats filled with carbon dioxide to clear out the residue.

Oh, plus chemicals to clean tanks as well as the enormous diesel-powered generator, which they turn on in case of fires or other power outages. Take a gander at those power cables.

These hazards won’t be in the first book, which is already written, but you can expect to read about wine production – possibly even including murder – in future stories.

So, yeah, my mind, along with my notebook and my phone camera, is full of rich details to enrich the first book, the first novella, and all the rest of the Cece Barton stories. For those of you who are northern Californians, I’ll be back next fall when Murder Uncorked releases! Who wouldn’t want to return to this stunning sunset Mother Nature blessed me with on my last evening there?

Readers: What kind of regional or occupational details have you enjoyed reading about? Have you imagined any murderous mayhem? Share your favorite!