Month: May 2024

Posted in Authors, Interview

Interview and Blog Tour with Jann Franklin, author of Muffalettas and Murder

Posted on by Debbie

Welcome to Ruff Drafts, Jann. I understand you’re from Louisiana. How long have you been published?

3 years

What titles and/or series have you published and with which publisher?

They’re all self-published through my publishing company, Rougarou Press.. Small Town Girl Mysteries: Muffalettas and Murder, Boudin and Bloodshed, Fruitcake and Fraud, Mardi Gras and Mayhem, (coming out July 11) Sweet Tea and Suspects.

Tell us a little bit about your books — if you write a series, any upcoming releases or your current work-in-progress. If you have an upcoming release, please specify the release date.

I write faith-based books—my characters go to church and pray before meals. But they definitely aren’t perfect, nor do they think they are. They have their fair share of faults and quirks, just like the rest of us.

 Small Town Girl Mysteries (4 books with 5th coming out July 11)-Evangeline Delafose finds Graisseville, Louisiana just as she remembers—boring and uneventful, until her brother asks her to help solve a murder. Now she’s hooked. Follow Ev as she takes on each mystery, with her frustrating but loveable private investigator by her side. And, of course, a bit of insider info from the quirky residents of her small town.

Describe your goals as a writer. What do you hope to achieve in the next few years? What are you planning to do to reach these goals?

I plan to release 2 more books this year, including the first of my 3 Dog Mysteries. Then I will focus on 3 books a year, 2 from 3 Dog Mysteries and 1 from Small Town Girl Mysteries. I love writing cozies!

What type of reader are you hoping to attract? Who do you believe would be most interested in reading your books?

My readers enjoy twisty Southern mysteries with a touch of romance and a dose of humor. My books offer characters who exasperate as much as they endear. These quirky yet charming residents are just like family—sometimes you want to hug them, and sometimes you want to disown them. My readers immerse themselves in small town culture as they exercise their sleuthing skills and their funny bones.

What advice would you give other authors or those still trying to get published?

  • Don’t give up-just keep writing.
  • Find a community of authors, either locally or online. Or both!
  • Marketing terrifies everyone. Don’t scattershot everything! Just focus on one area of marketing (newsletter, social media, local events, etc.) that seems the least scary and perfect it. Then move on.

 What particular challenges and struggles did you face before first becoming published?

I didn’t realize I had to market my books—I thought if I wrote books, readers would find me and love me. But I didn’t give up, I found my community of fellow authors both locally and online. We support and encourage each other, and keep each other sane.

Do you belong to any writing groups? Which ones?

Association of Christian Fiction Writers is my source for fellow authors, both the national and the local groups. I was a member of Sisters in Crime, but our Louisiana chapter folded and the others are so far away.

What are your hobbies and interests besides writing?

My husband and I just started a food truck called Tin Roof Chef. Is that a hobby or an interest? Or both? I’ve got plans to develop a cozy mystery series based on a couple who run a food truck and solve mysteries—I’ve already got some good plot lines.

What do you like most and least about being an author? What is your toughest challenge?

Finding my audience is definitely the most challenging, and the best methods to do that. I’ve scattershot myself the last few years, but have settled into perfecting my newsletter and my website. I try to work social media in the nooks and crannies, but it’s not my focus at the moment.

What do you like about writing cozy mysteries?

What’s not to like about it? I create protagonists who are clever and kind and solve the crimes, and villains who deserve to go to prison—and they do. It’s just as how we wish the world could be. I do throw in some twists and turns—not every villain makes it to prison, and some victims were actually pretty nice. You know, more like how the world actually operates.

Can you share a brief excerpt from your latest title or upcoming release?

Of course! My newest release, “Sweet Tea and Suspects”, will come out on July 11—you can find it at your favorite major retailers:

The community theater is putting on “Death of a Salesman,” but someone has turned the play into reality!

Who killed Daniel Sullivan, star of the show and all-around jerk? Hometown heroine Jen Guidry was arrested, but did she really do it? Maybe it was the director, or the understudy? It could have been the producer, or the naïve ingenue. There are more suspects than cups of sugar in a pitcher of sweet tea.

Can Ev and Shorty solve their fifth case and bring the killer to justice? Regardless, the show must go on!

This book is the fifth of the Small-Town Girl Mysteries, a clean faith-based series of books with no profanity, sex, or graphic violence.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about you or your books?

My husband, John and I enjoy Sundays at Grand Cane Baptist Church, supper with family and friends, and the sense of community that comes from living the small-town life. Our kids come to visit, when they aren’t too busy living their big-city lives. You can visit me at http://www.jannfranklin.com

Please list your social media links, website, blog, etc. and include some book cover graphics and author photos if possible.

My Website Link:

https://jannfranklin.com

My Blog Link:

https://jannfranklin.com/blog/

My Facebook Page Link:

https://www.facebook.com/jannfranklinauthor

My Instagram Profile Link :

https://www.instagram.com/jannfranklinauthor/

My Goodreads Profile Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22583014.Jann_Franklin

My Bookbub Profile Link:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jann-franklin

My Amazon Author Profile Page Link:

http://bit.ly/3HN7aD3

Thank you so much for the interview, Jann. I’m sharing your Great Escapes blog tour below. Best wishes on your new release and upcoming releases.


Muffalettas and Murder: Small Town Girl Mysteries
by Jann Franklin

About Muffalettas and Murder


Muffalettas and Murder: Small Town Girl Mysteries
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Louisiana
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rougarou Press (January 30, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 238 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8987739402
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BPQYJQ3T

Evangeline Delafose is finding Graisseville, Louisiana just as she remembered—boring and uneventful. Until her brother Nate asks her to help solve a murder.

Follow Ev as she navigates clues, dead bodies, and quirky small-town residents to solve a mystery. And of course, show her little brother that she’s still got it.

If you like cozy mysteries with twists and turns, deep South settings, and a hint of romance, you’ll love this series! Let’s not forget quirky yet charming characters who remind you of family—sometimes you want to hug them, and sometimes you want to disown them. Enjoy small town Graisseville with Ev as she solves crime with help from her family and friends. This is a clean faith based read with no profanity, sex, or graphic violence.

This book is the first of the Small-Town Girl Mystery Series.

Author Links

Webpage: https://jannfranklin.com

Blog: https://jannfranklin.com/blog

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jannfranklinauthor/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22583014.Jann_Franklin

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org –

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 17 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

May 18 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

May 19 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

May 20 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 21 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW

May 22 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 23 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

May 24 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 25 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 26 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 26 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW

May 27 – FUONLYKNEW – RECIPE

May 27 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

May 28 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

May 29 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

May 29 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

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Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

 

 

Posted in Blog Tour, Reviews

Review and Blog Tour for The Seafarer’s Secret by Carol Ann Collins

Posted on by Debbie

*****5 stars

If you like books about hidden treasure and pirates, you’ll enjoy this one. It takes place in a small town of Eden on the outer banks of North Carolina as residents prepare for a Blackbeard festival. Eva Knightly moved to Eden five years ago and has since been working as the staff historian at the historical society. Involved in the upcoming festival, she is sidetracked when she learns a body was found of a woman named Gabby who cleaned the home of the police chief’s grandmother. Years ago, the police chief, William, had lost his wife, Catherine, when she fell into a sand hole on the beach and was covered by the sand. William hasn’t gotten over the death or his guilt, even though they’d been separated when the accident happened and that Catherine had been having an affair with an unknown man.

When it’s discovered that a strange gold coin was found on Gabby and had also been found on Catherine but never reported, Eva finds herself involved in helping William solve what begins to look like two murders. Catherine was a friend of Eva’s, despite the fact Eva had a crush on William during their marriage but never acted on it.

Why were the coins found on the two dead women, and were their deaths murder? What’s the connection between them and is the local pastor involved when he turns in two duplicate coins that he claims were left in the collection plate, or is someone else responsible? Who was Catherine seeing, and will Eva and William solve her murder and that of Gabby? Will that eventually get together? These questions and others are answered in this readable book that also includes letters written by an anonymous woman at the time of Blackbeard. While the author fictionalizes some of the information about the pirate, she also includes researched facts. I enjoyed the story and the conclusion of the mystery.


The Seafarer’s Secret
by Carol Ann Collins

About The Seafarer’s Secret


The Seafarer’s Secret
Cozy Mystery
Setting – North Carolina
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beaufort Books (March 26, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 310 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0825310288
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0825310287
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BZBCSG86

Secrets are revealed. Lies are exposed. And in order to have a future, William and Eva will have to delve into the past.

William Templeton, widower and police chief of Eden, North Carolina is working the scene of a local woman’s drowning when the body is found with an old gold coin in her pocket – identical to a coin that was discovered on Catherine’s body, his estranged wife, over a year ago. Catherine’s case, originally deemed a tragic accident, has been reopened, forcing William to step down as police chief.

Historian and Blackbeard expert, Eva Knightly, is brought into the investigation to help identify the coins and can’t understand why her good friend Catherine never mentioned anything about it. When more coins surface at a local church, Eva and William know it’s more than mere coincidence. With the entire town whispering about Blackbeard, cursed coins, and lost treasure, it becomes hard to separate what is true and what is a myth.

The Seafarer’s Secret is a thrilling cinematic mystery featuring the exigent slow-burning romance between William and Eva as they work together to reveal the secrets and lies of Eden, North Carolina. Though, in order to have a future, they’ll have to look deep into the past to keep from being a modern-day killer’s next victim.

About Carol Ann Collins

Writing allows Carol Ann Collins to combine two of her favorite things, history and romance. Her work is a combination of historical fact, pure fiction, and a vivid imagination. Though she is an introvert who had no problem staying inside during quarantine, she enjoys traveling with her husband and two adult children. In her spare time, she is an avid book collector and bargain shopper who loves to combine the two. To date, her favorite find is an 1869 edition of Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain purchased for $10.

Author Links

Website: https://www.carolanncollins.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcarolanncollins/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23031966.Carol_Ann_Collins

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Bookshop.org – Kobo

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 15 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 16 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – REVIEW

May 17 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 17 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH SPOTLIGHT

May 18 – Jemima Pett, Author – REVIEW

May 18 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

May 19 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 20 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

May 21 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 21 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

May 22 – Ruff Drafts – REVIEW

May 22 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read! – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 23 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 24 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for The Light Beside the Sea: A Zodiac Mystery by Connie Di Marco

Posted on by Debbie


The Light Beside the Sea
by Connie di Marco

About The Light Beside the Sea


The Light Beside the Sea (A Zodiac Mystery)
Traditional Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – San Francisco, California
Publisher – CMA Literary (May 6, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 341 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8989009596
Digital Print length ‏ : ‎ 318 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D393JQ87

San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti has been haunted for years by the hit and run death of her fiancé, Michael Sefton. The driver of the vehicle was never apprehended. The lone witness to the accident spoke to no one and now is dead. Even the cold case detective assigned to the case died before any resolution was found. Every time Julia thought she might be getting close to an answer, each clue led only to a dead end.

Michael, a graduate student, had just returned from an archeological dig in Guatemala when he was killed. But why did he mail his journal to Julia for safekeeping before his return home? What was he afraid of? Why did another graduate student fall to his death on that trip? And now, another man connected with that journey has been murdered closer to home. And the murderer hasn’t finished.

When Julia finally finds the courage to delve into the journal Michael sent to her years before, she learns of the undercurrents, jealousies and anger between members of the group. She begins to understand the pressure and fear her fiancé was coping with and his suspicions of their University mentor who was most likely engaged in unethical and illegal behavior.
But events soon take a darker turn when Julia finds a likeness of the Maya god Hunhau, god of death and the underworld, on her doorstep. A strange man covered with markings and tattoos keeps appearing to her but no one else seems to see him. With guidance from another professor she’s introduced to a world she never knew existed.

Is the man she sees human? And is he under the sway of the Maya god of death?

Will he unleash evil or is he here to right a wrong done to his people?

Julia must move quickly or her death will be the next.

GUEST POST

When Is Enough, Enough?

It can be a real joy to write a series.  Once the agony of creation of the first book is over, the main characters are set, the location is determined, and secondary characters can be fleshed out as well.  The trick with each book is to choose which characters will appear and which ones (other than the main protagonist) might also be part of the plot.

Julia Bonatti, my San Francisco astrologer, lost her fiancé in a hit and run accident.  Since then, she has built her astrological practice, but she’s been haunted for years by Michael’s death.  Was he killed by a driver who fled the scene?  Or is there more to the story?

I always knew that one book in the series would have to resolve this story.  There comes a point when a thread like this must come to some sort of resolution.  I wasn’t sure exactly when the time would be right, but now that time has come with The Light Beside the Sea.

There are many wonderful series that can continue a thread or a source of tension through many books.  One of my favorites is Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mysteries consisting of more than 20+ books.  But for Julia, the question is when.  When is the right time?  Will readers be bored by Julia’s tragedy after four books?  After eight books?  I’m still not sure how many more books I’d like to write in this series, but it just felt organically correct to put Julia’s tragedy to rest.  Nothing can bring Michael back but how long can Julia go on this way?

There are characters in fiction and the mystery genre who have a “ghost,” a particular wound or addiction or disease or problem that will always stay with them.  Readers know that their detective or sleuth is blind and must struggle with that affliction, another protagonist may have synesthesia and see auras, another is widowed, while another may struggle with addiction.

In Julia’s case, the series begins with the reader’s knowledge that her life has been marked by tragedy and this has haunted her through four full-length novels.  Even the prequel novella, Enter a Wizard, Stage Left, is set only a few months after Michael’s death.

I truly admire writers who can carry a character’s passions or burdens through many novels without boring their readers.  But I felt that Julia’s path would be limited if she wasn’t allowed to have answers, some resolution of Michael’s death.  She believed all along that Michael was accidentally killed by a hit and run driver.  She followed every trail that might lead her to the driver who drove away from the scene and left her fiancé dying on the street.  But in The Light Beside the Sea, she begins to suspect there is more to the story.  That Michael’s death was no accident.  That his death might be part of a much larger story and in The Light Beside the Sea, she’ll learn that his death was a murder and he was not the only victim.

Most of all, I hope readers will truly enjoy the mystery and the story in The Light Beside the Sea! 

About Connie di Marco

Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries featuring San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti, a woman who never thought murder would be part of her practice. The fifth book in this series, The Light Beside the Sea, has just been released.

Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the author of the national bestselling Soup Lover’s Mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime. You can find her excerpts and recipes in The Cozy Cookbook and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. Connie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers Association, International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

Author Links

Blog: http://conniedimarco.com/blog
FB: https://www.facebook.com/connie.di.marco.author
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/askzodia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connie_di_marco/
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14751339.Connie_di_Marco

Purchase Links – Amazon –

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 6 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 7 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 8 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

May 10 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

May 11 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

May 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 14 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 15 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 16 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 17 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

May 18 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

May 19 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

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