Toast with a Chocolate Martini and Murder
MUSE MONDAY
Last week, my sister and I had our first chocolate martini of the year. We have one twice a year, once in the spring for her birthday and again in the fall for my birthday. We've been doing this for a few years now. We always go to the Hasayampa Inn in Prescott, Arizona and sit in the saloon called the Peacock Room. This tradition is what led to the cozy mystery series I am writing with co-author Joyce Proell. Candy, Cigarettes, and Murder released in March. Book two, Reading, Writing, and Murder is set to release in September.
Our fictional Chocolate Martini Sisters are Emma (Em) Banefield and Nicole (Nic) Earp. They find a lot more murder and mayhem at the Dulce Inn in our fictional town of Wyatt, Arizona than my sister and I find in the Peacock Room!
Over the next few weeks, I'll share some never before seen excerpts and photos of the inspiration behind this really fun to read series.
The Inspiration Photos (could that be Em on the patio?) and new excerpt:
“Hakata and Guthrie must be inone of the event rooms is my take. They’re located down the hallway.” Thanks,she mouthed and gave the clerk a little wave. “If Guthrie’s there, I’m going tohead outside and chill in a patio lounge chair. Care to join me?” “Hmmm.” Nic acted as though theproposition required deep contemplation, but her quick answer, as ininstantaneous, suggested she’d already made other plans. “I’m going to moseyabout for a bit.”
She lifted one brow, amused.“Oh?”
“Thought I’d wander to the diningroom and maybe catch Dan Lee. Lunch hour isn’t in full swing yet.
“On the prowl, eh? Are youthinking to provoke his temper again?”
Nic glanced at her toes with asheepish smile. “If Chef Payne hasn’t arrived yet, he might have time to talk. Iwant another go at him. Maybe he’ll reveal something more about Payne’sreaction to Shaw.”
“Well…” She glanced at her phonefor any messages. There weren’t any. “When you get hungry for lunch, partner,you know where to find me—in the great outdoors.”
It didn’t surprise Emma to findthe patio deserted at this time of morning, not on the first day of the artfair. People didn’t hang around inside a hotel when they could be outside playingand shopping in perfect weather. The patio, constructed of dull red bricks, waslocated on the opposite side of the building from the Azul. Around its border,a row of trees strung with lights gave it a semi-secluded look. She tookadvantage of the shade of a decorative Japanese maple and stretched out in alounge chair, wiggling her toes, and closed her eyes. A moment couldn’t getmuch better than this.
For the first time since she’dset off with Nic earlier in the morning, she found herself alone. With nopleasant social distractions at hand, images of the murder scene flooded hermind. She winced at the sheer ugliness of murder. What a way to go, bludgeonedto death. Sometimes winding up dead was a matter of being in the wrong place atthe wrong time. If this morning’s murder had been a random event, she couldhave easily been the victim. The alarming notion sent a cold shiver ripplingover her body.
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