Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 70

Guest Amy Pershing plus #giveaway

Edith/Maddie writing from north of Boston a week ago, so who knows what the weather is like today.

Weather, schmether – it doesn’t change my warm welcome for my fellow Cape Cod mystery author buddy Amy Pershing, whose brand-new Cape Cod Foodie Mystery is out today! I love this series, and I know you will, too. If you happen to be on or near the Cape on Monday, July 11, please stop by our joint signing at the fabulous Titcomb’s Bookshop at 2 pm that day.

A Traditional (sort of) Fourth of July Celebration

You would think that an author writing about Cape Cod, famous for its summers of sand and sea and sunshine, would set all her books in that season. You would think. But you would be wrong.  In the world of cozy mystery publishing, the season in which a book is set is often the season in which the book is planned to be published. And so my first Cape Cod Foodie mystery, A SIDE OF MURDER, which came out in February, was set during the spring, and the second, AN EGGNOG TO DIE FOR, which was launched in November, was (surprise!) a Christmas book. Nonetheless, both were great fun to write, in part because it was a joy to share the quieter beauty of the Cape in the “off season.” But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy when with my latest, MURDER IS NO PICNIC, I finally got to write about the Cape in the “high season.” And over the Fourth of July, no less!

For most of my life I have celebrated the Fourth with my family in a small Cape Cod town. There, as in many small towns across America, the Fourth is celebrated with three unshakeable traditions: the parade, the picnic, and the fireworks. 

The day always starts with the parade down Main Street, which has remained much the same through the years (well, except for the hot harbormaster, see below). Here’s the hometown procession as described by our heroine, the Cape Cod Foodie herself, Samantha Barnes:  

We cheered loudly for the Nauset Sailing Club’s homemade float bearing its traditional Sunfish sailboat with a red, white, and blue striped sail and, as was traditional, the club’s youngest sailor at the helm. We oohed and aahed at the Uncle Sam on stilts and clapped along with the high school marching band playing John Philips Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” And we totally lost it for the Shawme Manor float, a long flat-bed truck on which a dozen older ladies and gentlemen were doing an enthusiastic Electric Slide led by none other than Jillian herself. But best of all, in my opinion, was the Harbor Patrol’s Grady-White being towed on a trailer behind the Patrol’s Ford Explorer. The boat was draped with red, white, and blue bunting, and at the helm was the hottest harbormaster on Cape Cod (and maybe the world) waving to his adoring (on my part anyway) fans.

After the parade, comes the best part of the day– the picnic. A real Fourth of July picnic with fried chicken and potato salad and, of course, apple pie. But one summer my sister Megan broke with tradition and baked a blueberry buckle… dense, moist, studded with berries, topped with a crispy, buttery, brown sugar crumble. I’ve never forgotten it. So I guess it’s no surprise that Sam is thrilled at the thought that the World’s Best Blueberry Buckle might be making an appearance at her Fourth of July picnic:

Clara Foster was maybe going to teach me how to make the blueberry buckle of my dreams? In time for the Fourth of July picnic of my dreams? Because, for me, the Fourth of July is all about the picnic. Okay, and the fireworks. And the parade down Main Street. But mostly the picnic. Which this year, Jenny had decided for me, was going to be a BYOL (bring your own lobster) clambake and would now, maybe, just maybe, conclude with the best blueberry buckle in the world.

Well, needless to say, it’s not that simple. It never is with Sam and the gang. Unfortunately, Clara Foster meets a sad end fairly quickly (but not before she shares the secret of buckle success with Sam). Also on the down side, Sam misses the Fourth of July fireworks — those breathtaking, enormous, ever-expanding chrysanthemums in the night sky — out of consideration for her faithful pooch, Diogi:

That night I opted out of the Fair Harbor fireworks display. Not because I don’t like fireworks. I love fireworks. Diogi, on the other hand, considers loud booms fair warning of the coming apocalypse, which he then prepares for by cowering in Aunt Ida’s claw-foot bathtub.

But all is not lost.

 Jason, who also loves fireworks, had opted to stay with me and my lily-livered dog. Because that’s the kind of guy he is.

After all, there are many different kinds of fireworks …

Readers: Do you have a favorite Fourth of July tradition or memory? (Mine might be my mother’s stars-and-stripes knee socks.) Please do share them in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of MURDER IS NO PICNIC!

Amy Pershing, who spent every summer of her childhood on Cape Cod, was an editor, a restaurant reviewer and a journalist before writing the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries, including A SIDE OF MURDER — which Elizabeth Gilbert called “the freshest, funniest mystery I have ever read” — and AN EGGNOG TO DIE FOR — which Kirkus Reviews gave a starred review, saying, “A delightful sleuth, a complex mystery, and lovingly described cuisine: a winner for both foodies and mystery mavens.” Kirkus also gave another starred rave to the latest book in the series, MURDER IS NO PICNIC, saying, “A clever, empathetic, and totally believable heroine sets this fine cozy above the competition.”

Buy: MURDER IS NO PICNIC

Website: AmyPershingAuthor.com

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Thrillerfest and a New York City Holiday

by Barb, just home from the Big Apple

Back in March when Omicron was raging and no one was doing much of anything, I got an offer too good to refuse. I had always wanted to go to Thrillerfest. Not because I want to write thrillers, particularly, but because there were interesting speakers and most of all, because it was in Manhattan. But it was often held during July, when I was loathe to leave Maine (especially during the years when I was only here in the summer). Somehow it never quite worked.

But this year, the conference was in early June. More than that, back in the days when tourism was just coming back to the city, the hotel rate was one I was sure I would never see again. So I signed up. Conveniently putting aside the fact that I have a book due July 1.

As the weeks went by, Bill and I debated and debated. How safe would we feel? Would I be far enough along with the next Maine Clambake Mystery? Finally, we pulled the trigger. We bought tickets to two Broadway shows and let our niece, who lives in the city, know we would be there.

We took the bus from Portland to South Station in Boston and the Acela from Boston to Penn Station in New York. For over a year in 2009-2010, the Acela to New York was my commute when I worked in Manhattan (a block from the Kensington offices in one of those life coincidences). The train brought back happy memories. It was also our first time on public transportation in two and a half years. It was fine. (Well, I guess I won’t know for a week if it was fine, but it seemed fine, fun even.)

How Did It Go?

It couldn’t have gone better.

The hotel was great and couldn’t have been more conveniently located.

On Wednesday, we went with our niece to see a matinee of a revival of The Music Man.

For some reason, I couldn’t quite believe we were going to see Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Up until the curtain went up I was preparing for the announcement, “In the role of…” But the curtain went up and we did see them and it was absolutely terrific.

Thursday we went to the Museum of Modern Art. I honestly can’t remember how long it had been.

Matisse: The Red Studio

Friends had told us about the exhibit of Matisse’s The Red Studio. MoMA has assembled all of the artwork and sculpture in the painting in one place. (Except for the nude on the left which Matisse considered unfinished and asked his daughter to destroy on his death.) It was a really neat and instructive way to see the painting.

Van Gogh: Starry Night

That night we went to see the gender-switched revival of Company. I LOVED it.

The Music Man debuted in 1957, Company in 1970. Do you think the 60s might have been a turbulent decade to result in such a radical change in an art form? Yes, it was. I was there. But here are these two revivals happily on Broadway, down the street from Hamilton and Wicked, all co-existing. I wish we could have that attitude about all creative endeavors. Something doesn’t have to be bad in order for something else to be good.

It was a nice bookend for Bill and me, too, because we saw Patti LuPone in Evita in 1979 or 1980.

Finally, to Work

My panel was on Friday morning with Daniella Bernett, Jenna Harte, and Cheryl Hollon. The topic was a bit of a brain twister: HAMMETT, LARSSON OR CHANDLER? The Thrills Of Mystery. Three dead male noir writers for a panel of four live female cozy and traditional mystery writers. And it was at 8:00 a.m. Friday morning. But moderator Linda Sands did yeoman’s work and we all acquitted ourselves well. Since I’ve never contributed in an way to the International Thriller Writers or the Thrillerfest community, I was happy to have a panel at all.

Then on to my publisher Kensington’s offices where publicist extraordinaire, Larissa, had arrange for Cheryl, me, and Katherine Marple Kalb to sign books, make some TIKTOK videos and have lunch. I forgot to take a photo of this with my own phone, but Kensington did, so I’m sure you’ll see some soon. Since I’ve already publicly vowed to avoid TIKTOK if I can, I was happy Kensington was doing it.

Then a drink late that afternoon with my agent to discuss the state of the world. All and all a productive publishing day.

Back to Playing (Sort of)

Since I’ve already confessed my Outlander love here I will tell you that Saturday was all about Diana Gabaldon. Back at Thrillerfest, I went to hear her speak.

Diana Gabaldon

I got my book signed. The inscription says something in Gaelic. I wish I could remember what. I hope it was something about a journey or Scotland, since I blubbered that I would be there in July.

There were late afternoon downpours on Wednesday and again on Thursday as we scurried to dinner before the theater. But Friday, Saturday, and Sunday couldn’t have been more beautiful. As for the rest of our time, we had several wonderful meals and occupied ourselves doing Very Touristy Things. All and all, a wonderful visit to this great American city.

Readers: How about you? New York, New York–a helluva town or no way? What’s your favorite city?

Welcome Guests Kathryn O’Sullivan and Paul Awad! #Giveaway

Ten or eleven years ago I was nervous about walking into my first Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime meeting. As I walked down the sidewalk, I met a lovely couple–Kathryn and Paul. Our friendship has only grown and I’m so glad to welcome them (Katherine has been here before talking about her Colleen McCabe mystery series) both to the Wickeds.

Today Kathryn and Paul are here to talk about their new book When Earth Shall Be No More. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy and it as an edge-of-your-seat read! This is what I said after reading it: “When Earth Shall Be No More hit every emotion as I tried to figure out who to trust in this deftly handled dual timeline sci-fi mystery. The characters drew me into a world so realistic and unique, I had a hard time putting this book down.” Look for a giveaway at the end of the post! Here’s a bit about the book:

Environmental scientist Constance Roy is one of forty-nine refugees rescued from Earth’s destruction and transported to the ark spaceship Orb by an automaton race called the Curators. Twelve months have passed since their rescue. But now, with the ship’s orbit decaying, the refugees seem doomed to crash into Jupiter’s fiery belly.

In a parallel universe on present-day Earth, another version of Constance seeks answers to the questions that have haunted her since childhood: How and why did her mother die? The head of a mysterious corporation housed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague can give her the answers, but not without a price.

Two time streams collide when the Constance on Earth discovers that Nicolas, her son, has the ability to save the Orb and its inhabitants. Now she must battle treacherous Curators wishing to destroy Nicolas, while on the Orb, another Constance must fight to save the ship from Jupiter’s fatal pull.

Only together can they save their son – and future generations of humankind.

KATHRYN:  As someone who has always read (and now writes) mysteries, I never imagined writing a science fiction novel. Paul and I got the idea for When Earth Shall Be No More when I was on a trip to Chincoteague, Virginia to do a signing event for one of my mysteries.

PAUL:  At the time, I was reading Brian Greene’s The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Kathryn and I were discussing the idea of parallel universes and speculating about what our lives might be like in another life. Did we know one another? Were we married? What were we doing for careers? As we were driving past NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on our way to Chincoteague Island, the juxtaposition of the high tech NASA facility with the charm of Chincoteague struck us as quite unusual and an interesting setting for a book. That’s when the idea for When Earth Shall Be No More was born.

KATHRYN:  Our book shows the main character, Dr. Constance Roy, in parallel worlds. In the Earth universe, Constance is an environmental scientist, professor, and single mother to Nicolas. When readers meet her, she has been summoned to Wallops Island for a meeting with her research benefactor. In the other universe, Constance is without a child and one of forty-nine refugees trapped on the Orb, a doomed spaceship orbiting Jupiter. I found it interesting exploring how circumstances influenced the outlook, personality, and behavior of each Constance.

PAUL:  Writing a book with parallel worlds also allowed us to write different chapters at the same time. People are often curious about how we wrote as a team and got everything to flow and sound like “one voice.” We don’t know if our process was unique, but we started by sketching out ideas and major plot points for the story. Then we assigned ourselves chapters. After we each wrote a chapter, we shared it with the other and gave each other notes. Sometimes what the other person wrote was surprising and took the story in a new direction.

KATHRYN:  Yes, and we very much followed one of the cardinal rules of improvisational acting. Whatever one of us wrote, the other would respond with “Yes, and…” No ideas were ever shot down. The other great thing about writing with Paul was that if one of us got tired of being in one of the worlds, we would just switch universes and everything would feel fresh again. (I can remember one time I really needed to get off the spaceship!) Once we finished all the rewrites, it was hard for us to tell who wrote what.

Readers: We’re fascinated by the multiverse and the idea of parallel lives. What if I had made other choices? Had different opportunities? Met different people? What would my life be like? Here’s our question to you, readers: What do you think or hope your life is like in a parallel universe?

SHORT BIO

Paul Awad and Kathryn O’Sullivan are an award-winning husband and wife writing and filmmaking team. They have collaborated on feature and documentary films, screenplays, and web series. Paul is a cinema professor and Kathryn is a theatre professor at Northern Virginia Community College. Kathryn is also the award-winning writer of the Colleen McCabe mystery series. www.paul-awad.com  www.kathrynosullivan.com .

GIVEAWAY

Paul and Kathryn are happy to give away one signed hardcover copy of When Earth Shall Be No More (United States and Canada only).

Welcome Guests Katherine O’Sullivan and Paul Awad! #Giveaway

Ten or eleven years ago I was nervous about walking into my first Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime meeting. As I walked down the sidewalk, I met a lovely couple–Katherine and Paul. Our friendship has only grown and I’m so glad to welcome them (Katherine has been here before talking about her Colleen McCabe mystery series) both to the Wickeds.

Today Katherine and Paul are here to talk about their new book When Earth Shall Be No More. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy and it as an edge-of-your-seat read! This is what I said after reading it: “When Earth Shall Be No More hit every emotion as I tried to figure out who to trust in this deftly handled dual timeline sci-fi mystery. The characters drew me into a world so realistic and unique, I had a hard time putting this book down.” Look for a giveaway at the end of the post! Here’s a bit about the book:

Environmental scientist Constance Roy is one of forty-nine refugees rescued from Earth’s destruction and transported to the ark spaceship Orb by an automaton race called the Curators. Twelve months have passed since their rescue. But now, with the ship’s orbit decaying, the refugees seem doomed to crash into Jupiter’s fiery belly.

In a parallel universe on present-day Earth, another version of Constance seeks answers to the questions that have haunted her since childhood: How and why did her mother die? The head of a mysterious corporation housed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague can give her the answers, but not without a price.

Two time streams collide when the Constance on Earth discovers that Nicolas, her son, has the ability to save the Orb and its inhabitants. Now she must battle treacherous Curators wishing to destroy Nicolas, while on the Orb, another Constance must fight to save the ship from Jupiter’s fatal pull.

Only together can they save their son – and future generations of humankind.

KATHRYN:  As someone who has always read (and now writes) mysteries, I never imagined writing a science fiction novel. Paul and I got the idea for When Earth Shall Be No More when I was on a trip to Chincoteague, Virginia to do a signing event for one of my mysteries.

PAUL:  At the time, I was reading Brian Greene’s The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Kathryn and I were discussing the idea of parallel universes and speculating about what our lives might be like in another life. Did we know one another? Were we married? What were we doing for careers? As we were driving past NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on our way to Chincoteague Island, the juxtaposition of the high tech NASA facility with the charm of Chincoteague struck us as quite unusual and an interesting setting for a book. That’s when the idea for When Earth Shall Be No More was born.

KATHRYN:  Our book shows the main character, Dr. Constance Roy, in parallel worlds. In the Earth universe, Constance is an environmental scientist, professor, and single mother to Nicolas. When readers meet her, she has been summoned to Wallops Island for a meeting with her research benefactor. In the other universe, Constance is without a child and one of forty-nine refugees trapped on the Orb, a doomed spaceship orbiting Jupiter. I found it interesting exploring how circumstances influenced the outlook, personality, and behavior of each Constance.

PAUL:  Writing a book with parallel worlds also allowed us to write different chapters at the same time. People are often curious about how we wrote as a team and got everything to flow and sound like “one voice.” We don’t know if our process was unique, but we started by sketching out ideas and major plot points for the story. Then we assigned ourselves chapters. After we each wrote a chapter, we shared it with the other and gave each other notes. Sometimes what the other person wrote was surprising and took the story in a new direction.

KATHRYN:  Yes, and we very much followed one of the cardinal rules of improvisational acting. Whatever one of us wrote, the other would respond with “Yes, and…” No ideas were ever shot down. The other great thing about writing with Paul was that if one of us got tired of being in one of the worlds, we would just switch universes and everything would feel fresh again. (I can remember one time I really needed to get off the spaceship!) Once we finished all the rewrites, it was hard for us to tell who wrote what.

Readers: We’re fascinated by the multiverse and the idea of parallel lives. What if I had made other choices? Had different opportunities? Met different people? What would my life be like? Here’s our question to you, readers: What do you think or hope your life is like in a parallel universe?

SHORT BIO

Paul Awad and Kathryn O’Sullivan are an award-winning husband and wife writing and filmmaking team. They have collaborated on feature and documentary films, screenplays, and web series. Paul is a cinema professor and Kathryn is a theatre professor at Northern Virginia Community College. Kathryn is also the award-winning writer of the Colleen McCabe mystery series. www.paul-awad.com  www.kathrynosullivan.com .

GIVEAWAY

Paul and Kathryn are happy to give away one signed hardcover copy of When Earth Shall Be No More (United States and Canada only).

An Artistic Streak

Let me be clear — when it comes to drawing or painting I have zero talent. It’s something I always wished I could do, but what I lack our daughter makes up for. She comes by it honestly from my husband’s side of the family. The painting below was painted by someone on my husband’s mother’s family. Sadly, we aren’t sure who.

We also have two paintings that Bob’s maternal grandfather painted. His cousin from Brazil brought them to us when he visited about fifteen years ago and we treasure them!

Our daughter took oil painting classes in fourth and fifth grade. This is her very first painting:

These are a couple of others she did when she took the class. The Point Vincente lighthouse in Palos Verdes, California. She painted it from a picture I’d taken. And then the family portrait. A friend of ours said it captured our essence.

When she was in fifth grade we moved from Florida to Virginia. She was so sad as we drove away in the car. I suggested that she should write some poems to express her feelings. We ended up pairing her paintings and poems in a booklet to give away as Christmas presents.

She’s painted on and off ever since. We just celebrated her thirtieth birthday so here are a couple of her more recent paintings. I wish she had more time to paint.

She does all the chalk signs for the winery she works at and does them free hand. Here are two of them:

Readers: Do you or does someone in your family have an artistic streak when it comes to drawing and painting?

June Bugs: A Sudden Enthusiasm

This month June bugs are the prompts for our Wicked Wednesdays. We’re starting with this definition of bug, “a sudden enthusiasm”. Someone who suddenly gets involved with photography is referred to as a camera bug, for example.

Wickeds, do any of your characters develop an unbridled enthusiasm for something? Does that passion play a role in a plot? Does it last? Have you developed a sudden enthusiasm for something?

Barb: The Wickeds are sick of my pandemic-related Outlander obsession. I watched the show with my husband then started reading the books. Now everything is Outlander-related, as in “that actor is in Outlander,” etc, etc. We’re headed to Scotland this summer, which is not Outlander-related, a long-planned, pandemic-postponed trip, but I think it might become so. As for my characters, I wouldn’t say they develop obsessions, but I am very grateful for the things I learn along with them, be it about making pottery (Muddled Through), digital gaslighting, (Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door), oyster farming (Shucked Apart), etc.

Edith/Maddie: Have fun in Scotland, Barb! I’m not sure if it qualifies as a bug, but I got involved in a flurry of office reorganizing a month ago. I changed around the furniture and ordered a new bookcase. I love it! In Murder in a Cape Cottage (out in September!), Mac picks up colored pencils and an adult coloring book. Not sure that will stick, though. Robbie’s mostly scrambling to come up with new recipes, enjoy her marriage, and run a business – oh, and solve crimes.

Sherry: Will you come do my office next, Edith? I have my laptop on a wobbly stack of papers on my desk as I type this! Barb, I watched about a season and a half of Outlanders before I lost interest — however, Elizabeth loves it. I’m a bit obsessed with Mick Herron’s Slough House books, but I’m making myself read them slowly. There’s eight of them so far and I’ve finished the fourth. I also watched the Apple TV+ version of Slow Horses. The casting was perfection and it did a good job of following the book. Sarah Winston is obviously obsessed with garage sales and Chloe water sports both to their detriment sometimes.

Jessie: I love this question, Julie! My protagonist, Beryl, develops a lot of sudden enthusiasms. She is forever throwing herself into new things, most notably detecting! I am quite sure she gets this from me. I tend to dive into things with a great deal of vigor. My latest obsession is color. I have an easel and a cart filled with art supplies set up in my kitchen and just spotting my paint palette covered in blobs of brilliant color has led to a craving for it in many aspects of my life. I have been on the hunt for rainbow colored yarn, vibrant inks for my fountain pens and even a new pair of fuchsia running shoes.

Julie: I love these answers. Edith, I hope this organizing urge moves south a bit. Barb, I love your Outlander obsession. Scotland is going to fuel it. Sherry, I can see the Slough House bug hitting here as well. The books are the perfect tone for me right now. Jessie, we are very much alike in our enthusiasm to try new things! I approach things with gusto, and often it wanes. But having acrylic paints and canvases at the ready isn’t a bad thing. When a whim hits, I’m prepared. As for my characters? Ernie stress bakes bread, which is a lovely way of dealing with things. In The Plot Thickets, he bakes a lot.

Readers, aren’t these bugs fun? Do you have a bug that you’d like to share?

Welcome back Nancy Coco – Summer Festivals and a Champagne Fudge Recipe

By Liz, happy to welcome our friend Nancy Coco back to the blog! She’s got an amazing recipe for you today – take it away, Nancy!

One of my fondest memories of growing up in Michigan is of going to the summer church festivals. There would be rides in the parking lot and inside the school were different games in every classroom. The games were the duck pond where for a set number of tickets you got a chance to grab a rubber ducky and read the number off the bottom and find out what prize you won. I never could hit a balloon at the dart toss, but sometimes I’d get lucky at the ring toss. Still my all-time favorite was the cake walk. 

Photo by MD Duran on Unsplash

I can still here my dad say, “Cakenicklechance” in a Polish accent. It was what the ladies would call out to get you to join the cakewalk. A nickel a chance to win a homemade cake – all you had to do was end up on the right number when the music stopped.

Mackinac Island has some wonderful festivals. For my latest Mackinac Island book, “A Midsummer Night’s Fudge” I envisioned a midsummer night festival to help raise money for the health clinic. But it’s  no cake walk, as Allie McMurphy discovers the festival Director floating dead in the water. Soon it appears other members of the committee are targeted, and she is on the lookout for a killer.

What festivals happened in your neighborhood? Did you have a favorite festival event or game? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of the book. And for celebratory fun, here is a boozy fudge recipe.

Champagne Fudge

Ingredients:

3 cups of dark chocolate chips

1 cup of heavy cream

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup of champagne (sparkling wine – fizzy or flat will work)

Directions:

Butter an 8×8 inch pan. In microwave, microwave on high for 1 minute the chocolate chips, cream and pinch of salt. Stir and microwave for 30 seconds and stir until melted. Remove and whisk in the champagne. Pour into pan and cool. The fudge should spring back slightly. (Hint: If it is too wet, put back into a bowl and add powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time until firmer consistency.) Pat back into pan. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Enjoy!

The tenth in the Nancy Coco Candy-coated mysteries, “A Midsummer Night’s Fudge” is out May 24, 2022. For more information, go to www.nancyjcoco.com.

USA Today Bestselling Author, Nancy J Parra AKA Nancy Coco AKA Nell Hampton is the author of over 30 published novels which include five mystery series: The Oregon Honey-comb Mystery Series (Kensington), The Candy-Coated Mysteries (Kensington), The Kensington Palace Mystery Series (Crooked Lane), The Wine Country Tours Mystery Series (Crooked Lane) The Gluten-free Baker’s Treat Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), and The Perfect Proposal Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime).  Her writing has been called witty and her protagonists plucky by reviewers around the world.  Nancy is a member of Sisters in Crime and loves to hear from readers. 

Welcome Back Krista Davis, and a #Giveaway!

By Liz, excited to welcome the lovely and talented Krista Davis back to the blog! She’s talking about one of the best parts about writing books – dedicating them to someone. Take it away, Krista!

Dedicated to You!

I joke a lot about the glamorous writing life of an author. The truth is that I’m not jetting around the world or drinking martinis in chic bars surrounded by clever celebrities. In fact, I have never done any of those things. Hmm . . . I must be doing something wrong.

But there is one fun thing authors get to do. We can dedicate our books to the special people in our lives. I think most authors dedicate books to close family first. After all, they’re the ones who put up with our years of moaning and groaning about our books.

Sometimes, a special family member deserves a dedication. I dedicated Murder, She Barked to my maternal grandmother because the series features Oma, a German grandmother. She’s not exactly modeled after my grandmother, but my Oma loved to read and would be flipping out about her granddaughter, the author.

Also in the Paws & Claws Mysteries, I dedicated Big, Little Spies to Buttercup, the dog who inspired the character of Trixie. Now, it might seem odd to dedicate a book to a dog, but I don’t think the series would have existed without her. Buttercup was a Jack Russell terrier, full of energy, and one of the smartest animals I have ever known. She was dumped on my street along with eight puppies that did not belong to her. She’d been abused but it didn’t take her long to realize that life was good at my house. I’m not joking when I say that I never had to scold her. She knew when she was doing something rascally. It was like she could read my mind. My sweet Buttercup lived a long life. These days, I love having her come alive again in my Paws & Claws Mysteries.

The Diva Says Cheesecake, which is my latest Domestic Diva Mystery, is dedicated to a family friend who knew me when I was three years old. She recently told me that when I figured out how the latch worked on her kitchen door, I would run to her house, open the door, and then close and lock it to hide from my mother! My parents never mentioned this terrible behavior. What a pain I must have been. But it says a lot that at age three, it was her house I ran to. That’s certainly deserving of a dedication.

I have two more books coming up this year. One of them is A Colorful Scheme in my Pen & Ink Mysteries. It’s dedicated to a dear friend from my twenties. We worked together in a huge convention hotel, and we had a ball. Thanks to Facebook, we’re in touch again. I think a dedication is a nice way to let her know how much she means to me.

Just for a moment, put yourself in my shoes (expensive glamorous glittering stilettos), and tell us to whom you would dedicate a book.

And now I’ll get back (in flat comfortable sandals) to the reality of a fresh mug of hot tea (milk and sugar, please), seat in chair, fingers on keyboard, and a host of characters whose lives are far more interesting than mine.

Readers, who would you dedicate a book to? Leave a comment for a chance to win an ARC of The Diva Says Cheesecake! or A Colorful Scheme!

New York Times Bestselling author Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mystery series, the Paws & Claws Mystery series, and The Pen & Ink Mysteries, which have covers that can be colored. Look for the fifteenth Domestic Diva Mystery THE DIVA SAYS CHEESECAKE! on May 31st; the fourth Pen & Ink Mystery, A COLORFUL SCHEME, on August 30th; and the eighth book in the Paws & Claws Mysteries, A GOOD DOG’S GUIDE TO MURDER on September 6th. Krista lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with two dogs, two cats, and a depleted stash of chocolate. You can find her at www.KristaDavis.com, www.instagram.com/kristadavisauthor, www.facebook.com/KristaDavisAuthor, pinterest.com/kristadavisbook , and twitter.com/kristadavis.

Guest Lauren Elliott – For the Love of Cozies

Liz here, excited to welcome Lauren Elliott! I feel like we are kindred spirits – bookmobiles and crystals!! I mean, come on! Welcome Lauren, and take it away!

Hi, everyone! I would like to say a huge thank you to Liz Mugavero and all the wonderful Wicked authors for inviting me to be a guest on their blog today. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge cozy fan because they’re fun, easy reads, and they all have a few elements in common. For instance, they’re generally set in an idyllic location and have a cast of colorful, quirky characters who live seemingly normal lives—that is until murder happens on their doorstep. Then the adventure starts as the generally inept amateur sleuth and her (or his) equally as unqualified friends attempt to discover “whodunit.” 

Take my Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery cozy series as an example. It centers on Addison (Addie) Greyborne, a thirty-something woman who worked as a research assistant for the acquisitions department at the Boston Library and got to do a bit of sleuthing in tracking down and authenticating rare books and documents. As a classic book nerd and long-time fan of the Golden Age detective writers like Agatha Christie, she had no idea that her research assistant skills would be of use in her real life until she inherited a house and opened a used bookstore in Greyborne Harbor, Massachusetts, a quaint little seaside town where murder is not … uncommon. 

In the recent release of A MARGIN FOR MURDER, the eighth book in the series, bookshop owner Addie Greyborne leaves her Greyborne Harbor bookstore, Beyond the Page Books and Curios, in the capable hands of her assistant while she travels to the neighboring town of Pen Hollow to attend a book sale at a library that is closing. But the real find is a bookmobile bus, which she plans to refit as a traveling bookstore to hit all the summer festivals. But before the bookmobile can be delivered to Addie, a fatal car crash occurs. After an autopsy reveals poison in the victim’s system and prize first editions go missing, Addie must determine what would drive someone to murder. 

Since I’ve been working on the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series for the past few years, I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it has been to create an entirely new fictional world in my new Crystals & CuriosiTEAS Mystery series, which stemmed from my strong Irish roots and love of all things Irish—especially its history, folklore, and folk medicine. It was these stories about homemade cures, teas, and a mysterious blue bottle, which was rumored to induce second sight abilities, that inspired the contemporary character of Shayleigh Myers or Shay, a broke, divorced, intuitive gemologist that inherits Crystals & CuriosiTEAS, an eclectic tea and psychic shop, from a mystery woman named Bridget Early, someone she barely knew.

 

In the first book, STEEPED IN SECRETS, due for release in the fall, things reach a boiling point when Shay discovers a stranger’s body on the shop’s roof. The terrifying discovery sets her on an impractical investigation for answers. Not only is she desperate to unravel the secrets of her past but also to find out if there is a connection between them and the body on her rooftop. She soon discovers though that she’s not the only one in the small artsy community of Bray Harbor, California, whose life is steeped in secrets. 

Despite where your personal tastes lie, be it with crafters, candy-shop owners, bakers, pet groomers, a tea merchant, or a bookseller—to name a few of the professions that these unusual amateur sleuths work in—there is something in cozies for everyone. Whether you’re lying poolside or on a beach, or you only have a thirty-minute timeout in your hectic day, cozies are the perfect choices to pick up. So, grab your favorite beverage, turn the world off, and get lost in a new one filled with entertaining adventures and a colorful cast of characters. Where else besides a cozy can you channel your inner Miss Marple and work alongside another amateur sleuth to try to put the pieces of a puzzling murder together to figure out “whodunit?”  

USA Today Bestselling Author Lauren Elliott grew up devouring the entire Nancy Drew series and then graduated to Victoria Holt, Agatha Christie, Barbara Erskine, Lynn Kurland, and Michael Crichton to name a few of her favorite authors. When it came time for post-secondary education, journalism seemed like the logical choice as she had written for as long as she could remember. Soon after graduation, while working for a small publication, she discovered that reporting wasn’t what fueled her writing passions.  As someone with an additionally strong background in professional theater who had the love of storytelling and captivating and holding an audience, her fiction-writing career began to take center stage. You can find her on Website, Facebook, Instagram, BookBub, and GoodReads.

Readers, what do you want to ask Lauren? Leave a comment below!

Moving, and other change

By Liz, surrounded by boxes and moving anxiety

A week from today is moving day.

While most of me is in the “woohoo!!!” stage, part of me is dealing with the stress of a maze of boxes, piles of work to do in between packing, trying to find new furniture and make sure I’ve remembered to change all my auto-delivery addresses, and on and on. You know, all the common moving stressors. 

I think I’m also a little generally anxious about the whole thing. It’s absolutely the right move for me right now, but there’s always some worry about going to a new place, starting new routines, finding all the things I’ll need. This entire last year has been almost non-stop change, and I’m really hoping that things settle down a bit once the move is done. 

But the amazing thing about all the change is the way I received it. In the past, I would’ve lost my mind if ONE of the things had happened—never mind ALL the things. Instead I was able to recognize that I’d put the idea out there to the universe that I wanted different things in my life, and when they were delivered, I saw them for what they were—all opportunities. 

The end of a relationship gave me an opportunity to think about what I most want out of my life, in all areas, and how to get closer to that.

A major shake-up at work gave me an opportunity to change the way I approach my career(s). 

Leaving a toxic workplace gave me an opportunity to think differently about what’s good for my health—emotional and otherwise—and make choices that support that. Similarly, that change gave me an opportunity to realize I can surround myself with the types of people whom I actually want to be around, who are good for my soul, who I can energetically vibe with—not just the people with whom I’m forced to be around in a workplace. Because they are usually not my people.

And deciding (twice in the past year) to change locations gave me an opportunity to really choose, for the first time probably ever, where I wanted to be independent of other people or situations factoring in. 

It’s been amazing. And freeing. So I’m approaching it—and all the other “new” things in my world with a new “Bring it on” attitude. I’m ready. It’s gonna be amazing. 

Readers, how do you approach change?