Sherry Harris's Blog, page 13

New Editors for Level Best Books!

Hi All. Barb here. We don’t usually use the blog to break news (except book contracts), but this news involves the handing of the baton from one of us to another of us, so we figured the blog was a good place.

As regular readers know, for the past six years, I’ve been a co-editor, co-publisher at Level Best Books. Level Best was founded in 2003 and helmed by Kate Flora, Susan Oleksiw, Skye Alexander and Ruth M. McCarty. They published seven annual anthologies of short crime stories by New England authors. Then my group of editors, Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Leslie Wheeler and me, took over and did six editions.

It was a true labor of love, and by that I emphasize both the love and the labor. In March, we announced the edition that releases today, Best New England Crime Stories 2016: Red Dawn, would be our last. We put out a call for new editors.

It was slow going at first. Many highly qualified individuals approached us, but we were looking for a team, and a team we thought could be successful.

Imagine our happiness when a team did approach us that had all the requisite skills and experience, as well as a demonstrated love of short crime fiction and an intention to carry on the traditions of Level Best. Imagine my overwhelming happiness when one of the new editors turned out to be one of our own Wicked Accomplices, Kim Gray! Kim’s fellow editors will be Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Shawn Reilly Simmons, whom many of you may know from their work on the Malice Domestic conference.

Congratulations to the New Editors.

Here’s the full announcement.

New Editors at Level Best Books

LEVEL BEST BOOKS TO CONTINUE WITH NEW EDITORS/PUBLISHERS

Group Plans to Publish 2016 Anthology

Boston, November 6, 2015, Level Best Books announced today that it will continue publishing its annual anthology with a new group of editors at the helm. Level Best, an independent publishing cooperative, has released a collection of crime stories by New England authors every November for the last thirteen years. The current editors, Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross and Leslie Wheeler, recently announced that the 2015 collection, titled Best New England Crime Stories 2016: Red Dawn would be their last.

Retiring editor Mark Ammons said, “The new editorial team was by far the most qualified to approach us. We know they will be superb custodians of the Level Best brand.”

The new editors plan to publish a new collection in November 2016 titled Windward, in time for Crime Bake, the annual mystery writers conference sponsored by the New England Chapters of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

“Level Best has produced high-quality anthologies of New England-focused, short crime fiction for many years and we plan to continue the tradition,” said Verena Rose, a member of the new editorial team. Level Best was founded in 2003. Kate Flora, Susan Oleksiw, Skye Alexander and Ruth M. McCarty produced the first seven editions.

The new editors/publishers are all well-known members of the mystery community. Two of the four have received Agatha nominations for their work.

Kimberly Gray is a winner of the William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant, a member of Sisters in Crime and blogs for Scenes from a Baltimore Kitchen and The Wicked Cozy Authors. Her most recent short story entitled “Boardwalk Bound” was published in The Boardwalk Anthology in 2015.

Verena Rose was co-editor of the Agatha Award-nominated Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea: An Interesting and Entertaining History of Malice Domestic’s First 25 Years, published by Wildside Press in 2013. She is also a co-editor of the upcoming Malice Domestic Anthology, Malice 11: Murder Most Conventional, to be published by Wildside Press in 2016.

Harriette Sackler is the author of numerous mystery short stories and is a past Agatha nominee. She has been offered a contract for publication of Love Lives Here: The Story of House with a Heart Senior Pet Sanctuary, a work of non-fiction.

Shawn Reilly Simmons is the author of the Red Carpet Catering mystery series published by Henery Press. Her short story “A Gathering of Great Detectives” will appear in the Malice Domestic Anthology, Malice 11: Murder Most Conventional, to be published by Wildside Press in 2016.

Filed under: Barb's posts Tagged: Best New England Crime Stories, harriette sackler, Kim Gray, Level Best Books, Red Dawn, shawn reilly simmons, Verena Rose

Guest – Kaitlyn Dunnett

Jessie:  Today we are delighted to be joined by the talented and prolific Kathy Lynn Emerson and her alter ego Kaitlynn Dunnett. Kathy knows a thing or two about writing mysteries and about New England weather. Welcome Kathy!

The Scottie Barked at Midnight is the third novel I’ve begun with an

accident on an icy or rainy Maine road in the month of March. Odd, you say? Not if you’ve ever visited Maine at that time of year. At its best, it’s mud season. At its worst, there is glare ice under the tires.

The first time was in my first published novel. Aimed at readers age eight to twelve, The Mystery of Hilliard’s Castle (1985) starts with the words “It was March and drizzling.” Everything the heroine can see is brown and dingy. There are still patches of snow in the fields and the road is slick. Then another car runs into them.

Next up came Cloud Castles (1989), my first published novel for grown ups. A romance in the Silhouette Intimate Moments imprint, it begins thus: “Rain spattered against the windshield in immense dripping blobs.” The heroine is on a desolate rural road in western Maine. A little later, when she tries to stop to avoid another vehicle, the car hydroplanes and she ends up facing back the way she came. When she passes out from a bump on the head, the other car disappears, making the story she gives the hunky deputy sheriff who rescues her seem highly suspect. Hey—it is a romance. Actually, it’s romantic suspense or, to use the old-fashioned term, “woman in jeopardy.”

After that, I stayed off slick Maine back roads, both in my writing and in real life, for a good many years, but in The Scottie Barked at Midnight (2015) there was just no other place to start. Here’s how Liss MacCrimmon’s latest adventure begins:

            Liss Ruskin peered through her windshield into what could only be described as “a dark and stormy night.” She knew that phrase was a cliché but there were times when a few overused and hackneyed words did a better job of summing things up than a whole paragraph of metaphor and simile-laden description. This was one of them.

It’s not just raining, it’s sleeting. Liss is chugging along a “winding two-lane road at a snail’s pace, eyes peeled for glare ice on the pavement.” Her tires keep losing traction on the slick surface and she narrowly misses sliding sideways into a ditch. She’s relieved to make it safely down a long, steep hill, but she breathes a sigh of relief too soon.

It was at that instant that something darted out of the trees and ran right in front of Liss’s car. Despite everything she’d been taught about winter driving, Liss braked hard and turned the wheel, the desire to avoid killing a defenseless animal proving stronger than her sense of self-preservation.

            The next seconds seemed to last an eternity. One tire hit a patch of black ice. The car slued toward the side of the road. Liss felt a small bump and hoped it was only the car going over the ridge of dirty, hard-packed snow left behind by a winter’s worth of plowing. Then an enormous tree loomed up out of nowhere. Sure she was about to slam head on into its massive trunk, Liss let go of the steering wheel, squeezed her eyes tightly shut, and covered her face with her arms.

Of course, since Liss is our heroine, you know she’s going to survive. But what about the animal she swerved to avoid? As soon as she stops shaking, she gets out of the car to look for it, and that’s where the Scottie of the title comes into the story.

Some people think it’s trite to start a book with the weather. Others say it’s taboo. As Liss does, I admit it’s a bit of a cliché, but when you live in Maine, the weather is more than just something you talk about. Come visit us in March and you’ll see what I mean.

Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett is the author of over fifty books written under several names. She won the Agatha Award in 2008 for best mystery nonfiction for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2014 in the best mystery short story category for “The Blessing Witch.” Currently she writes the contemporary Liss MacCrimmon Mysteries (The Scottie Barked at Midnight) as Kaitlyn and the historical Mistress Jaffrey Mysteries as Kathy (Murder in the Merchant’s Hall). The latter series is a spin-off from her earlier “Face Down” series and is set in Elizabethan England. Her websites are www.KathyLynnEmerson.com and www.KaitlynDunnett.com

Filed under: Guest posts, Jessie's posts Tagged: driving, Kaitlynn Dunnett, Kathy Lynn Emerson, maine, The Mystery of Hilliard's Castle, The Scottie Barked at Midnight

Wicked Wednesday–Favorite Greek Dishes

We all know that Greek food is to die for, right? Today, we continue our celebration of Susannah Hardy’s latest release, Olive or Let Die.

So tell us, Wickeds–What’s your favorite Greek food? Greek restaurant? Where did you first eat Greek food?

Liz: I worked with a woman years ago who had married into a Greek family. Though she no longer was, her two children enjoyed the traditional food, so she continued to cook and bake it. And lucky for our office, she brought in lots of goodies. I have no idea what half the things were called, but they were all delightful – and she made a mean baklava!

Jessie: As far as I know, I’m not Greek. When I was a child I had a friend named Cassie whose father was Greek. Her grandmother simply would not believe I wasn’t Greek too. Every time she visited my friend she would ask “How’s your little Greek friend.” Cassie would reply, “Yaya, she’s not Greek!”. Yaya would shake her head and say, “It’s so sad when folks forget their own people.”

One day Cassie called to tell me Yaya was visiting and insisting that I come over. She was teaching Cassie how to make Spanakopita, an astonishingly delicious spinach and feta pie-type dish. Yaya said every good Greek girl needed to know how to make it and that included me. How could I refuse? I still have the recipe card written in my twelve-year-old handwriting in my recipe box. I’m still not Greek but I do make a mean Spanakopita. Thanks, Yaya!

Marios just a few years ago.

Edith: One of my best friends in grad school was a big guy named Marios Fourakis. He realized he couldn’t afford to eat out, so he wrote his mother in Thessaloniki and asked for her recipes. What a treat to go to Marios’s house for dinner. Much bourbon would be consumed, and we wouldn’t eat until about ten PM, but then we’d have avgolemono, broiled lamb bones with oregano, or homemade (including the phyllo dough) cheese and meat and spinach spanakopita. Died and gone to heaven!

Barb: Your reminisces made me remember that when I was young I babysat for a doctor whose family name was Christopoulis. The husband’s mother used to send them the best baklava! But really, I don’t remember eating much Greek food until my post-college trip that included Greece. Everything was fresh and local. The salads had no lettuce, just the best tomatoes, peppers, onions, feta, ever. But my favorite was moussaka. Oh my. Like I’d died and gone to foodie heaven. I did eventually learn to make it myself, though I haven’t in a long while. Just typing this is making me hungry.

Sherry: The first Greek food I made was baklava and found it wasn’t really that hard  — using store bought phyllo. I’m not sure when I first ate Greek food — sometime well into adulthood — but it was, as they say, love at first bite. When we lived in San Pedro, California there was a wonderful Greek restaurant called Papadakis. We walked in and a handsome man (Mr. Papadakis) took my hand, kissed it, and then led us to our table. The food was excellent but the atmosphere made it even better.

Julie: Jessie, I know what you need to make on the next Orchard retreat! Favorite Greek food? I really can’t. Especially real Greek food, where even a salad is a delightful palette experience. I love fresh feta, good baklava, real pita, stuffed grape leaves. Is there bad Greek food?

Readers: What’s your favorite Greek food? Greek restaurant? Where did you first eat Greek food?

Filed under: Wicked Wednesday Tagged: Greek to Me Mysteries, Jane Haertel, Olive or Let Die, Spanakopita, Susannah Hardy

Happy Book Birthday, Susannah Hardy!

Yes, it’s release day for Olive and Let Die, the second book in Wicked Accomplice Susannah Hardy’s Greek to Me Mystery series.

Here’s the description:

As manager of the Bonaparte House, a historic landmark and Greek restaurant in upstate New York, Georgie Nikolopatos knows her local legends—and her traditional Greek recipes are to die for.

Between her soon-to-be ex-husband Spiro coming out of the closet and her budding romance with Captain Jack Conway, Georgie’s life is beginning to feel like a soap opera.  And that’s before a surprise visit from her estranged mother Shirley, better known as soap star Melanie Ashley. But the dramatic family reunion takes a chilling turn when another long-lost relative turns up dead.

Just outside Spiro’s new restaurant, Georgie and Melanie find the body of Doreen Webber—a cousin Georgie never knew she had. With Spiro’s partner Inky on the list of suspects, Georgie begins to wonder what else her mother may be hiding. Is the dead-broke diva capable of murder?  She’d better find out before someone adds a new twist to the family plot.

Includes delicious Greek recipes!

What say you Wickeds?

Barb: I have to say, this title brings a smile to my lips every time I see it. To me it is just too funny. Can’t wait to see what Georgie is up to now.

Sherry: I love the title too — along with the first Feta Attraction! One of the many things that sets this series apart from others is the interesting relationship Georgie has with her husband. I look forward to reading more about Georgie and her shenanigans!

Liz: Looks hilarious, Susannah! I love dysfunctional family dynamics, especially when murder is involved. And I agree with Barb, the title is awesome. Congrats!

Jessie: Great titles, great character names and a family-filled mystery? What more could anyone want!

Edith: Happy day, Susannah! I loved book one – cant wait to read this one, too.

Julie: Happy Book Birthday!! Love this series–congratulations!

Readers: Join us in congratulating Susannah, and ask her questions about the series – and then go buy the book!

Filed under: Book Birthday, Group posts Tagged: Greek to Me Mysteries, Jane Haertel, Olive and Let Die

What We See

by Sheila Connolly

I somehow find myself writing a paranormal romance/mystery series about people who see their dead ancestors. Not everyone in the stories, and not all the time. They don’t see random departed strangers either—only people who are direct lineal ancestors. Like me, my characters have a whole lot of them scattered all over Massachusetts, so it keeps happening. Sometimes it’s unexpected, and sometimes they go looking. They’re still learning how the whole thing works.

One problem, though (for me, not for them): when I started this series, I thought it would be a single book. My main character Abby Kimball discovers this unusual ability of hers after she moves to Massachusetts, but it’s a big surprise to her, and she doesn’t understand it. Even by the end of the book, she’s still pretty clueless. How handy for me: I didn’t have to explain what was happening to her.

Oops, the series kind of grew, and the fourth book is coming out shortly. Maybe readers don’t care if they don’t know the nuts and bolts of what Abby is experiencing. But I want it to make sense, and I want to play fair with the readers. I mean, as a writer I feel it’s cheating to just pop in a new psychic ability because it’s convenient to the plot. And I also have to make this phenomenon consistent from one book to the next. That means I have to understand what’s going on.

Oh, right, it’s not real. Or is it? There are plenty of reports on psychic sightings, and plenty of people who dismiss them as hysterical or false. That’s kind of interesting. There are supposed pictures of spirits, but then, images are pretty easy to manipulate (more so now than ever). There are television programs where ghost hunters wander around with electronic devices muttering things like “there’s some significant energy here” but are they for real? Does anybody really know? Or are they just giving us an hour’s entertainment?

I’ll admit up front that I have never seen a ghost or a spirit or a reincarnation or whatever you want to call it. I’d like to. I’ve visited places where I’ve felt that there was something unseen going on, but I can’t prove it. I’ve had extraordinary luck tracking down my own ancestors (for genealogy purposes), so much so that I’d like to think that maybe they want to be found and they’re lending an unseen hand. But try to prove that (I’ll be happy to provide a list of those coincidences if you’re interested)!

So all this leads to thinking about things like how we humans, and maybe more important, how other animals “see” things. Dogs can smell scents in minute amounts, far more than we can. Heck, a vulture a couple of hundred feet in the air can smell carrion on the ground below. Cats can see better in the dark than we can. Some animals are said to sense a coming earthquake, which isn’t mystical but is more likely based on sensing tiny tremors or changes in energy that humans miss.

And what about the things humans can’t see? Take color-blindness: some people are physiologically unable to perceive certain colors. We can prove scientifically that infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths exist—but we can’t see them. But some insects and birds can. Dog whistles are inaudible to human ears, but dogs hear them.

And don’t even get me started on dark matter, which is a hypothetical kind of matter that cannot be seen with telescopes but may account for most of the matter in the universe. The existence and properties of dark matter are inferred from its gravitational effects on visible matter, on radiation, and on the large-scale structure of the universe. Dark matter has not been detected directly, making it one of the greatest mysteries in modern astrophysics. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

Just this past week, the Boston Globe published an article by Lisa Randall, who has written a book titled Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs. In the article she says that the goal of her book “was to illuminate the gap between our limited observations and the many barely perceived phenomena that permeate out reality.” Hooray! I am not alone in wondering about the things we cannot see.

So it is that big a jump to believe that there is some lingering imprint or energy from people who have gone before? Okay, let’s assume they don’t show up fully dressed in clothing of the right period, and start a conversation with whoever is seeing them. But what if we perceive or sense something vague, and our mind adds the details to make those whatever-they-ares more understandable to us?

Four books into this series which wasn’t going to be a series, my protagonist Abigail Kimball is still trying to understand, with the help of a few other people (and now a kitten). In the next book (what? There’s going to be a fifth?) I want my characters to take a look at the science. They may not find answers, but at least they’ll learn something.

A 2013 Harris Poll showed that 42% of Americans believe in ghosts. How about you? Have you ever seen anything you can’t explain? Or felt something odd, without any reason? Don’t worry—I’ll believe you.

 

The fourth book in the Relatively Dead series, Watch for the Dead, will be released this week, as soon as we get it uploaded.

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Sheila's Posts Tagged: ghosts, Relatively Dead series, Watch for the Dead

Where Are The Wickeds? + On a Stick Contest Winner

On a Stick Contest Winner

First of all, we are thrilled to announce that our On a Stick contest winner is, (drumroll, please) Mark Baker! Mark is a bona fide cozy fan, blogger, reviewer, and blog commenter of the first order, and we are looking forward to taking him to Crime Bake. Mark, Jessie will be in touch to let you know what she needs from you to put you on a stick!

Where are the Wickeds?

Next weekend, November 6-8, the Wickeds and the Wicked Accomplices are ALL at the New England Crime Bake. Many of us are on the committee. Julie is finishing up her two year term as co-chair, Edith is wrangling volunteers. Jessie honchoed both the advertising sales and the manuscript critiques and Barb was on the programming committee. Sherry and Kim are on their way up from the MD/VA/DC area. Liz and Jane are coming in from Connecticut and Sheila from Mass. The Crime Bake is our home conference and played a role in all of our mystery writing journeys. We can’t wait to see each other and to see some of you.

On Saturday, November 14, Barb and Liz will appear with a whole host of thriller and mystery writers at the Mission K-9 Rescue Tribute Gala in Wakefield, MA. The purpose of the Mission K9 Rescue Gala is to bring awareness and raise money to support the Hero Dogs who have served our country and communities so bravely. The foundation provides monetary, transportation, adoption and medical assistance for retired military and contract dogs. Tickets are still available.

Edith has a bunch of November events. She’s already at Magna Cum Murder in Indianapolis, IN with the following panels:31 Oct 4:30 PM. “Keeping Your Characters Straight” and 1 Nov 9 AM.”Odd Jobs: The Gifted Amateur” panel. Then later on Sunday she’ll be signing at River Crossing Barnes & Noble from 2-4. On 2 November at 6 PM she’s the guest author at Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, North Park Branch,. November 3 from 5-7 PM  you can find her reading and signing at Bloomington Barnes & Noble. Then Crime Bake, as Barb said. The afternoon it closes she’ll be selling and signing at Ipswich Public Library Author Fair, Ipswich, MA, from 1-4 PM. On 10 November she is featured author at the Flint Public Library in Middleton, MA, and the next day, 11 November, on a panel with the Nevertheless Writers at the UU Alliance at 1 PM, First Church, Newburyport, MA. Finally, on 22 November  from 1-4 PM she be at the Sisters in Crime table, Berkshire Book Festival. Some month! Hope to see you somewhere in there.

Filed under: Where Are the Wickeds? Tagged: Berkshire Book Festival, Evansville Public LIbrary, Flint Public Library, Magna Cum Murder, Mark Baker, Mission K-9 Rescue Tribute Gala, New England Crime Bake

Opening Lines–Country Store Edition

We continue our celebration of the release of Flipped for Murder with our own Edith Maxwell writing as Maddie Day. Write an opening line for a story inspired this photo snapped (appropriately) at the Story Inn in Indiana – the country store which inspired her series.

Liz: He didn’t belong in this neck of the woods, with his fancy tie and New York facial hair. I had to put his head up as a warning to any other fancy boys who thought they could come in here and beat me at checkers.

Jessie: When things were slow at the store Frank passed the time by playing checkers with his ventriloquist dummy, Leftie.

Julie: It was the best date I’d had in years. That explains a few things, doesn’t it?

Sherry: All I can say, is the guy had me over a barrel.

Barb: “Who’s that?” I asked, cocking my head toward the dummy by the checkerboard.

“Dunno,” Gus answered, “but he’s beating the pants off me.”

Edith: (These are hilarious!) “Ah, shoot, Jim Bob,” Wanda said. “You done wiped me off the board again. Now I guess you’re really ahead.”

Readers, what about you? Give us your best opening lines.

 

Filed under: Book Birthday, Opening Lines Tagged: Brown County Indiana, Flipped for Murder, Story Indiana, Story Inn

On Celebrating – and Going Nuts

Edith here, north of Boston until noon but in Indiana as of 5 PM.

I love these Wickeds. Isn’t this the best group, evah? It’s indeed a celebration to launch a brand-new series, and one close to my heart. Thank you, everyone – Wickeds, Accomplices, and readers – for helping me make this week a party! And since FLIPPED got as low as #49 (as of this writing) on the Amazon mystery amateur sleuths list (the best I’ve done so far with a novel), it’s really been a celebratory few days.

I am trying to remember to have fun. Really. But I’m going a little bit nuts. The Country Store Mysteries are on a seven-month schedule. That means…yes. As of last weekend, the first book wasn’t out yet. I had a deadline to return copyedits on the second book, Grilled for Murder. And I’m over halfway through writing the third book, When the Grits Hit the Fan. Then I have write a proposal for three more books in the series! Whew. Gulp. It’ll be fine, as Catriona McPherson said in her post earlier this year.

I’ve been the guest on all kinds of fabulous blogs in the last week – Jungle Red Writers, Dru’s Book Musings, Buried Under Books, Mystery Playground, and Club Hen House, to name a few – with more to come in the next couple of weeks. The work of writing the guest posts is done, of course, but I have to check in and reply to comments several times a day, and select giveaway winners sometimes, too.

With Barbie last year in Brown County.

Later this week I’m heading to Indiana for a delightful but busy six days of book promotion. I’m on two panels at the Magna Cum Murder conference, a Barnes & Noble signing in Indianapolis, a library talk (which I haven’t prepared yet) in Evansville, a visit to Brown County where the series is set, and a Barnes & Noble signing in Bloomington (details for all events here). My Hoosier sister Barbara will be with me the second half of the trip, which will make it even better. And we’re going to have lunch with the Gingerbread Log Cabin competition organizers in Brown County – an event I included in Grilled for Murder!

Two days after I get back? New England Crime Bake! And I don’t have a costume for the British pub-themed banquet yet. Gah. Any ideas? 

But really, it’s all good. A graphics-oriented friend helped me design new bookmarks that unify all my series, and I’m taking plenty on my trip to give away. You like ’em?

Now, back to the work in progress. I just keep telling myself, it’ll be fine.

Readers: any suggestions for not going nuts this week?

Filed under: Book Birthday, Book Release, Edith's posts Tagged: Catriona McPherson, Country Story Mysteries, Create It With Gingerbread, Flipped for Murder, Maddie Day, Magna Cum Murder, Story Inn

Wicked Wednesday–Favorite Breakfasts Out

For Wicked Wednesday, we continue our celebration of Flipped for Murder by our own Maddie Day with a discussion of our favorite breakfast joints and the best thing on the menu there. Go to it Wickeds!

Liz: There’s an lovely organic food place not far from me that makes THE BEST pumpkin smoothies this time of year. Heirloom Food Company has a whole lot of awesome to offer – like their Portobello and Kale Tofu Scramble – but those smoothies….as a pumpkin freak, I could live off them.

Jessie: I’m actually not a big fan of breakfast beyond just a cup of coffee, but the Friendly Toast,  in Portsmouth, NH makes me reconsider my opinion. The menu is appealing and the decor is kitschy and unexpected. Truth be told, their lunch and dinner menu is at least as good as the breakfast offerings.

Julie: Jessie, we have a Friendly Toast in Cambridge. I wonder if they are related? (News flash–they are! Found out when I went to get the link!) First off, let me say that breakfast/brunch out is my favorite thing in the world. The S&S serves breakfast all day long, is a deli, and I can walk there. Love it. This summer, I went to Donna Jean’s Diner in Weir’s Beach, and it was one of the best breakfasts ever. So, so good.

Barb: As is well known on the blog, I am not a morning person. So it’s not surprising that for years my favorite breakfast place was The New Yorker Diner in Watertown, MA. The diner was open 6:00 am to 2:00 pm, and then it would reopen again, 11:00 pm to 4:00 am. So in our youth, and a little beyond, it was a great place to head after a night of partying. Favorite order: omelet with ham, onions and cheese, served with the best home fries in the world and scali toast. Now that I live in Somerville, I’ve switched my allegiance to the terrific Kelly’s Diner. Favorite order: blueberry pancakes, of course!

Edith: When I lived in Bloomington, Indiana, my friend Jennifer and I would go out to eat at a diner whose name escapes me. But the memory of their crispy hash browns still makes me swoon – sopping up a couple of runny fried egg yolks – and I’ve never had any as good since. Also love brunch, and had a fabulous California Eggs Benedict in West Hollywood a couple of years ago with two high school friends. So of course that is going in book two as a breakfast special. But the whole wheat banana walnut pancakes at the Story General Store were the best – and inspired this new series!

Sherry: I’ve lived in eight different states and hands down the best breakfast places are in California. That said I loved Helen’s in Concord, Massachusetts when we lived in Massachusetts. And I’m a sucker for the french toast at a place called Spartans here in Virginia.

What about you, readers? Favorite breakfast joint? Favorite order?

Filed under: Wicked Wednesday Tagged: California Eggs Benedict, Concord MA, Country Store Mysteries, Flipped for Murder, Helen's, Maddie Day, Spartans, Story Inn

Happy Book Birthday, Maddie Day!

Today, the Wickeds are celebrating the release of Flipped for Murder, the first book in the new Country Store Mysteries from Kensington by Maddie Day (aka our own Edith Maxwell).

Here’s the lowdown on Flipped.

In this freshly baked series, author Maddie Day lifts the lid on a small town in southern Indiana, where a newcomer is cooking up a new start–until a murderer muddles the recipe…

Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a For Sale sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand re-opening of Pans ‘n Pancakes, but when the mayor’s disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press. With all eyes on her, she’ll have to summon her puzzle-solving skills to clear her name, unscramble the town’s darkest secrets, and track down a cold-blooded killer–before she’s the next to die…

What say you, Wickeds?

Birdy, the cat in the Country Store Mysteries – literally, in this case!

Liz: So happy for you, Edith! I can’t wait to meet Robbie and take a trip to Indiana! Major congratulations.

Barb: I haven’t read Flipped, but I have heard so many good things from the people I know who have. I can’t wait!

Jessie: It looks like an appetizing start to a delicious new series. Congratulations, Edith!

Julie: Edith/Maddie, you amaze me! I am so thrilled about the launch of this new series, and can’t wait to visit South Lick, and Pans and Pancakes.

Sherry: I read an early version of Flipped and was floored! Edith has created a completely new character with a unique voice and a fresh take on life. Robbie is as different from Cam (in Edith’s Local Foods series) as grits are from Boston baked beans and folks, not many people can pull that off.

Edith: You guys are darlings! Thank you SO much for these congratulations, and for all the other stuff you do behind the scenes, each and every one of you, to help make my author career a possibility. I love you each – and each of our blog readers here, too. So I’ll give away a copy of FLIPPED to a commenter today!

Readers: Who has been to Indiana, or the Midwest generally? What’s your favorite part, and least favorite? And if you haven’t, do you have any more than a vague idea the difference between Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio? (Edith sure didn’t before she moved there!)

Filed under: Book Birthday Tagged: Country Store Mysteries, Edith Maxwell, Flipped for Murder, Local Food Mysteries, Maddie Day