Posted in Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery, Spotlight

Spotlight and Blog Tour for A Hint of Mischief: A Fairy Garden Mystery by Daryl Wood Gerber


A Hint of Mischief (A Fairy Garden Mystery)
by Daryl Wood Gerber

About A Hint of Mischief

A Hint of Mischief (A Fairy Garden Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – California
Kensington Cozies(June 28, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496736044
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496736048
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09HRDQZH5

The proprietor of a fairy garden and tea shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Courtney Kelly has an occasional side gig as a sleuth—with a sprinkling of magical assistance. . . .

Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.

Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day—which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder . . .

About Daryl Wood Gerber

Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Fairy Garden Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read. She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. And she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and hitch-hike around Ireland alone. You can learn more on her website: httsp://darylwoodgerber.com

Author Links

WEBSITE: https://darylwoodgerber.com

FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/darylwoodgerber

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/darylwoodgerber

BOOKBUB: https://bookbub.com/authors/daryl-wood-gerber

YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/woodgerb1

INSTAGRAM: https//instagram.com/darylwoodgerber

PINTEREST: https://pinterest.com/darylwoodgerber

GOODREADS: https://goodreads.com/darylwoodgerber

GOODREADS BOOK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59120614-a-hint-of-mischief

AMAZON: https://bit.ly/Daryl_Wood_Gerber_page

NEWSLETTER: https://darylwoodgerber.com/contact-media/

Purchase Links – AmazonB&NKoboBookshopMurder by BookMysterious Galaxy

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 21 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – GUEST POST WITH RECIPE

June 21 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 22 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

June 22 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 22 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

June 23 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – This Is My Truth Now – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 24 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, GUEST POST WITH RECIPE

June 24 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 24 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

June 25 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

June 25 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

June 25 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

June 26 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 26 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW

June 27 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

June 27 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 27 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

June 28 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

June 28 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

June 28 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

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Posted in Blog Tour, Characters

The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady – Character Guest Post

Dianne Ascroft's avatar

Cathy Carter is visiting Ascroft, eh? to tell us about The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady, the first novel in the Buttercup Bend mystery series.

Welcome, Cathy. Let’s get started, shall we?

Tell us about the novel that you live inside. Is it part of a series? If so, please tell us about the series too.

The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady is the first of the Buttercup Bend cozy mystery series. It’s the first one in which I help solve a crime. I’m reluctant at first because I’m somewhat shy, but my more aggressive friend, Nancy, brings out the amateur sleuth in me. Together, we help investigate the murder of Maggie Broom, Buttercup Bends “Cat Crazy Lady” who just happened to leave my pet business a substantial amount in her will and much more than she’s left her brother and sister, both of whom the sheriff suspects…

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Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post: MEET THE CHARACTERS FROM THE CASE OF THE CAT CRAZY LADY

shellelp's avatarI Read What You Write!

Meet the Characters from The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady
By Debbie De Louise

Instead of a blurb, excerpt, or a plot synopsis, character profiles are a great way to introduce readers to a book. Here are some of the characters from The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady: Buttercup Bend Mystery #1. I hope you enjoy meeting them.

A picture containing person, indoor

Description automatically generated

Cathy Carter is the main character of The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady. She lives in Buttercup Bend which is a lovely small town in the Catskills of upstate New York with her grandmother, Florence and Siamese cat, Oliver. She co-owns a pet cemetery, Rainbow Gardens, and rescue center, Rainbow Rescues, with her brother, Doug, who lives next door with his pregnant wife, Becky. She and Doug are orphans. They lost their parents five years ago in a car accident. Cathy was injured in the accident and…

View original post 1,540 more words

Posted in Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery

Spotlight and Blog Tour for Bayou Book Thief: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery by Ellen Byron


Bayou Book Thief (A Vintage Cookbook Mystery)
by Ellen Byron

About Bayou Book Thief


Bayou Book Thief (A Vintage Cookbook Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – New Orleans Louisiana
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (June 7, 2022)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593437616
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593437612
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09FPJHVGK

A fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.

Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital.

Ricki’s dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, the city’s legendary restauranteur. Ricki is excited about turning her avocation – collecting vintage cookbooks – into a vocation by launching the museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware. Then she discovers that a box of donated vintage cookbooks contains the body of a cantankerous Bon Vee employee who was fired after being exposed as a book thief.

The skills Ricki has developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures come in handy for investigations. But both her business and Bon Vee could wind up as deadstock when Ricki’s past as curator of a billionaire’s first edition collection comes back to haunt her.

Will Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware be a success … or a recipe for disaster?

About Ellen Byron

Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Bayou Book Thief will be the first book in her new Vintage Cookbook Mysteries. She also writes the Catering Hall Mystery series under the name Maria DiRico.

Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. An alum of New Orleans’ Tulane University, she blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America and will be the 2023 Left Coast Crime Toastmaster. Please visit her at https://www.ellenbyron.com/

Author Links

Newsletter: https://www.ellenbyron.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/

https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ellenbyronmariadirico/

Bookbub:

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maria-dirico

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23234.Ellen_Byron

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19130966.Maria_DiRico

Purchase Links

AmazonB&NKoboGoogle BooksAlibrisIndieBoundPenguinRandomHouse

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 8 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

June 8 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 8 – Island Confidential – REVIEW

June 9 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

June 9 – I Read What You Write – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 10 – Books to the Ceiling – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW

June 11 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

June 11 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

June 13 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW

June 14 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

June 15 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 15 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 16 – The Mystery Section – RECIPE

June 16 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

June 17 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

June 17 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW

June 18 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

June 19 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – GUEST POST

June 19 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

June 20 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

June 20 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

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Posted in Blog Tour

Blog Tour, Excerpt, and Giveaways for Mysteries, Midsummer Sun and Murders: A Cozy Mystery Anthology

Mysteries, Midsummer Sun and Murders: A Cozy Mystery Anthology
by Hillary Avis, Benedict Brown, Catherine Coles, Paula Darnell, Connie B. Dowell, Ellen Jacobson, Joann Keder, Patti Larsen, Cate Lawley, Gayle Leeson, Daisy Linh, Rimmy London, R.B. Marshall, Megan Mayfair, Wendy Meadows, Phillipa Nefri Clark, Michele Pariza Wacek, Erin Scoggins, Cathy Tully, Victoria LK Williams and Carly Winter

About Mysteries, Midsummer Sun and Murders


Mysteries, Midsummer Sun and Murders: A Cozy Mystery Anthology
Aye Alba Publishing (June 21, 2022)
Number of Pages ~1600
Digital B09K9NN64X

Poisonous picnics, burgled barbeques, deadly deckchairs… and midsummer mayhem!

From a brilliant bunch of amazing authors, including multiple prizewinners and USA Today best sellers, comes this wonderful collection of 21 summer-themed cozy mysteries.

Featuring peril at the pool, blood on the beach, and felony at the festival, these fabulous stories—21 brand new and exclusive tales—will keep you entertained until long after the sun has set.

With stories from Hillary Avis, Benedict Brown, Catherine Coles, Paula Darnell, Connie B. Dowell, Ellen Jacobson, Joann Keder, Patti Larsen, Cate Lawley, Gayle Leeson, Daisy Linh, Rimmy London, R.B. Marshall, Megan Mayfair, Wendy Meadows, Phillipa Nefri Clark, Michele Pariza Wacek, Erin Scoggins, Cathy Tully, Victoria LK Williams and Carly Winter, you’ll surely find some of your favourite authors and discover some great new writers within the ~1600 pages of this set.

This collection will only be available for a limited time so don’t miss out – grab yourself a bargain today!

Excerpt

The High Tide Deception by Patti Larsen

You know how fun it is to go to the beach, get some sun, swim in the ocean, lounge back with a good book and a cold drink and really settle into a hot, beautiful summer escape?

Not how my day was going.

When I’d taken the job as an infiltrate for a new sand sculpture competition, I have to admit, I jumped on it without looking into the actual position I’d accepted. See, I’d been working hard lately, doing what I’d only come to discover I did best—pretending to be someone else and spying on other people to make sure they toed the line for whoever paid me to rat on them.

Okay, I know how that sounds, but I honestly loved being a deception expert and aside from the few (yes, more than a few) bodies I’d stumbled over, the jobs I’d taken up until now had been relatively simple and an easy paycheck.

I swiped at the sweat making it through the bandana I’d wrapped around my head, scowling at the reminiscence of my second job working in a greenhouse. I’d sworn I’d never take another assignment like that one. Certainly hadn’t come here to Fairmile, Virginia, to lug, lift, heft and hurl mounds of sand into a giant pile for three days.

Which, I’m sure you’re now realizing from my rambling and unhappy mental state, was exactly what I ended up doing.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t opposed to physical labor or sunshine or sand or the ocean or anything to do with summer. It was the unique combination of those elements that had me knee-deep in a shifting pile, blisters long formed on my hands despite the gloves I wore, sweating out my weight in water as the late August sunshine had its way with me.

“No, no. I said more sand here.” I scowled sideways at the tall, silver-haired man who snapped orders like a career general, the target at least not me this time, but one of the other team members helping unload the last of the specially imported sand that would form the base of the giant creation he planned to erect before the end of competition on Sunday. He’d already assembled the wooden frames we now filled with—and then compacted—with sand. The sound of someone using a hand tamper nearby only added to my headache. Though it was more him than anything driving me toward a migraine.

Since I was the newbie—grunt slave, in other words—I’d borne the brunt of his dissatisfaction since I showed up this morning. While Martin Littlefield might have been a world-renowned artist and sand sculptor, the man had an attitude like a beat-up old truck—loud and nasty.

I was this close, I have to admit, to dumping my shovel, forfeiting the payout and getting my fine behind back to Marigold before I did something I’d regret. Only the tenacious drive instilled by my Very Sparkly and Super Fantastic Special Agent dad, Andrew Walker, kept my stubborn self from telling Mr. High and Fighty Littlefield where he could shove his tons of precious sand. Instead, I grit my teeth and dug in while the sound of screaming, laughing children, the faintest breeze carrying scents of ice cream and pretzels and suntan lotion mixed with the matching sounds of exertion from the three others shifting piles of sand into various wooden shapes for our lord and master had me firmly deciding from now on, no matter how good the job sounded?

Research, Petal Morgan. Lots and lots of research.

About The Authors

About Ellen Jacobson

Ellen Jacobson is a writer, cat lover & obsessed with chocolate. She writes cozy mysteries and romantic comedies including the Mollie McGhie Mysteries and the Smitten with Travel Rom-Coms.

You can find out more on her website (ellenjacobsonauthor.com), sign up for her newsletter (https://www.subscribepage.com/m4g9m4).

About Patti Larsen

I’m a multiple award-winning writer with a passion for the voices in my head. With many (many!) titles across many (many!) genres, all in happy publication, there’s no end in sight…

That being said, I’m short (permanent), happy (I have the best life ever) and blonde (for ever and ever). I love to talk one on one about the deepest topics and can’t seem to stop seeing the big picture. I happily live on Prince Edward Island, Canada, home to Anne of Green Gables and the most beautiful red beaches in the world, with my multiple cats, pug overlord and lady and Gypsy Vanner gelding, Fynn.

About R.B. Marshall

Like my amateur sleuth, Izzy, I’m a dressage-riding computer geek who loves coffee – but there the similarity ends. She is far smarter than me, and a lot younger! I hope you’ll join me in discovering where her curiosity leads to next…

Pretty much all my books are set in my native Scotland, and my mystery stories are no exception. You’ll meet colourful characters solving perplexing puzzles in the most glorious landscape imaginable. Throw in a castle or two, the occasional royal, and maybe even a delicious cake shop, and you’ll have the recipe for my new series.

I also write fantasy and clean romance/women’s fiction, as Roz Marshall: http://viewAuthor.at/RozMarshall

and Historical Romance telling the story of Mary Queen of Scots, as Belle McInnes: http://viewauthor.at/BelleMcInnes

About Hillary Avis

Hillary Avis writes cozy mysteries about smart women who persist until they uncover the truth—about themselves, about their communities, and of course about any unsolved murders.

She grew up in a small town on the west coast, went to college in a small town on the east coast, and now lives in beautiful Eugene, Oregon. She has two charming children, three fluffy dogs, and two practically perfect felines named Mystery and Intrigue. She also has too many chickens and one very patient husband.

When Hillary’s not reading, writing, or editing, she bakes bread, makes pottery, drinks coffee, and streams The Great British Bake-Off, but not all at the same time.

About Cate Lawley

Cate Lawley writes humorous, action-filled mysteries that frequently contain a paranormal twist.

When Cate’s not tapping away at her keyboard or in deep contemplation of her next fanciful writing project, she’s sweeping up hairy dust bunnies and watching British mysteries.

Cate is from Austin, Texas (where many of her stories take place) but has recently migrated north to Boise, Idaho, where soup season (her favorite time of year) lasts more than two weeks.

She’s worked as an attorney, a dog trainer, and in various other positions, but writer is the hands-down winner. She’s thankful readers keep reading, so she can keep writing!

Paranormal cozy mystery series:

-Vegan Vamp Mysteries

-Night Shift Witch Mysteries

-Death Retired Mysteries

-Cursed Candy Mysteries

Cozy mystery series:

-Fairmont Finds Canine Cozy Mysteries

Cate’s sweet romance series:

-Love Ever After

-Lucky Magic

For bonus materials and updates, visit her website to join her mailing list: www.CateLawley.com

About Rimmy London

Posted in Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery

Blog Tour and Podcast for THE CASE OF THE CAT CRAZY LADY

My new cozy mystery, The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady, the first Buttercup Bend Mystery, will be on tour with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours from June 14 to June 27. The tour schedule is below. Please follow the tour for excerpts, guest posts, and giveaways.

THE CASE OF THE CAT CRAZY LADY TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 14 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 15 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – GUEST POST

June 16 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 18 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 19 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

June 20 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 22 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW (Cozy Wednesday)

June 23 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST

June 24 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 25 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 26 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 26 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

June 27 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT

I was also featured on the Once and Future Authors podcast where I spoke about my cozy mysteries and other books. Check the show out here:

 

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Valued for Murder: A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery by Victoria Tait


Valued for Murder: A British Cozy Murder Mystery
(A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery) by Victoria Tait

About Valued for Murder

Valued for Murder: A British Cozy Murder Mystery
(A Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery)

Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Kanga Press (June 10, 2022)
Number of Pages c. 240
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09TRXWWNG

An antiques show. A dead diva. For an amateur sleuth the truth is not always crystal clear.

Dotty Sayers is enjoying her job in a Cotswold auction house. When she’s offered a place on an antiques TV show, she nervously agrees to a makeover and is surprised by the admiring glances she receives. Working on set at a historic country hotel, she realises all that glitters is not gold when at the bottom of the circular staircase, one of the experts is found dead.

Was the death accidental or something shadier? Dotty promises to leave the investigation to the police, but as this amateur sleuth appraises the dead woman’s estate, she can’t help unveiling clues. But when she returns from viewing a priceless sculpture, and finds her British blue cat missing, she knows that life does not imitate art.

Can Dotty tell a fake from the real deal and identify the killer?

Guest Post – Antique Television Shows

The death in Valued for Murder occurs during the filming of a fictitious antique TV show, The Antique Tour, when a celebrity expert is killed.  A potentially priceless bronze sculpture, which is brought to the show by a member of the public, is also featured in the story.

Before I started writing the Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, I re-watched the 1980s British show, Lovejoy, about a loveable rogue and shady antiques dealer who was always out for a quick buck.  However, his conscience usually got the better of him, and as he had a talent for discovering hidden treasures, he always extricated himself and his friends from whatever scrape they were in.

My advanced readers have enjoyed the antique show setting.  In the UK, the number of shows relating to antiques, auctions, and associated themes, such as architectural restoration, have steadily increased.  The original programme, The Antiques Roadshow, is popular in both the US and the UK, as I believe, is Antiques Roadtrip.

So why are these shows so popular?  People love a rags to riches story and the dream that an object gathering dust in their garage or attic is worth a fortune.  This concept is one of the themes in Valued for Murder.

Many people have an object which has been handed down as a family heirloom, which they are very attached to.  Seeing similar people with similar items on the television creates an emotional link and brings them back to watch the program each week.

As viewers, we love watching the reaction of the owners to the valuation of their items, but we also enjoy the personal stories behind objects.

The shows have also helped the antique industry, particularly in jewellery, with members of the public becoming aware of the wide range of antique jewellery, much of which is affordable, and they seek it out to buy.

There are also reports that despite of the pandemic, or maybe because of it, there is rising interest period pieces over modern equivalents and that vintage pieces and family heirlooms are making a comeback.  The trend for upcycling is leading people to repurpose items they didn’t think worth keeping into something useful or fun.

Shows in the UK such as Bargain Hunt are popular, as everyone likes the chance of buying a piece and selling it at auction for a profit.  And if they make a loss, it doesn’t matter as they are spending someone else’s money!

Antique fairs are increasing in popularity and the customers who visit are more knowledgeable than ever before.  While some are looking for a bargain, to make a profit, I would caution that it is best to buy items you like and want to live with.

And if you think you have an item of value or interest you’d like to take to a show?  Look up the relevant show’s website and find out what you need to do.  Antiques Roadshow, for instance, is only allowing visitors who have applied for tickets, although this is free to do.

I hope you enjoy Valued for Murder and future episodes of your favourite antique shows.

About Victoria Tait

I was born and raised in Yorkshire, UK, and never expected to travel the world. But I fell for an Army Officer, and I’ve followed him from Northern Ireland, up to the Scottish Highlands, across to Africa and the Kenyan Savannah, back to the British Cotswolds, and we are now living in Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Southern Europe.

I never expected to be an author, but all this moving is not ideal for holding down a job. Instead, I’ve taken the experiences of the places I’ve lived to write vivid and evocative cozy mystery books with determined female sleuths.

I have two fast-growing teenage boys, and together we’ve learnt to ski on the Bosnian mountains. I also enjoy horse riding, mountain biking and I’ve started running as a way to improve my physical fitness, mental wellbeing and shed some excess pounds.

Author Links

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/victoria-tait

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

For access to exclusive content, giveaways and freebies, sign up for my newsletter at my website: VictoriaTait.com

Website: https://victoriatait.com/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/VictoriaTaitAuthor/_saved/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20373879.Victoria_Tait

Purchase Links – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

June 10 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 10 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT

June 11 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 11 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

June 11 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW

June 12 – Ruff Drafts – GUEST POST

June 12 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 14 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 15 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

June 16 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 16 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 16 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

Enter the Giveaway: https://kingsumo.com/g/lhltms/valued-for-murder

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Posted in Blog Tour, New Releases

Guest Post and Blog Tour for the Physicist’s Daughter

The Physicists’ Daughter: A Novel
by Mary Anna Evans

About The Physicists’ Daughter


The Physicists’ Daughter: A Novel
Historical Fiction
Poisoned Pen Press (June 7, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1464215553
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1464215551
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09TGB4BVK

The Nazis are no match for the physicists’ daughter.

New Orleans, 1944

Sabotage. That’s the word on factory worker Justine Byrne’s mind as she is repeatedly called to weld machine parts that keep failing with no clear cause. Could someone inside the secretive Carbon Division be deliberately undermining the factory’s war efforts? Raised by her late parents to think logically, she also can’t help wondering just what the oddly shaped carbon gadgets she assembles day after day have to do with the boats the factory builds…

When a crane inexplicably crashes to the factory floor, leaving a woman dead, Justine can no longer ignore her nagging fear that German spies are at work within the building, trying to put the factory and its workers out of commission. Unable to trust anyone—not the charming men vying for her attention, not her unpleasant boss, and not even the women who work beside her—Justine draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.

Guest Post by Mary Anna Evans

It Never Hurts to Know How Things Work, or How I Came to Write a Historical Novel With the Very Science-y Title of The Physicists’ Daughter.

When I was in college, I had a chemistry book subtitled: “The Central Science.” The arrogance of that subtitle made my physics classmates snicker, as they were pretty sure that their science was the central one.

This kind of rivalry goes on between people in all disciplines. I’m sure that historians think that archaeologists should spend more time in archives and that archaeologists think that historians should get out in the field and put their hands on things that historical people actually used. I would bet that paleontologists think that historical archaeologists should stop wasting their time on “new” stuff. And cosmologists almost certainly think that the further you get from the dawn of time, the less important your field of study is.

However, I’m going to go ahead and attract the slings and arrows of chemists by saying that physicists have a pretty good claim on the title of “The Central Science,” since physics describes the ways that the molecules of various chemicals move and connect and disconnect. At rock bottom, physics is about the way things work.

Since the long-ago time when I earned a BS in engineering physics, I’ve done a lot of jobs that don’t seem to have much to do with science at all. The job that seems furthest from my science-y background is writing novels, but I’m here to tell you that those studies come in handy every day. Let me say, once and for all, that my professors were correct when they said, “A degree in physics will prepare you for darn near anything.”

“How so?” you might ask. Well, in my experience, you come away from studying science, in general, and physics, in particular, with a deep appreciation for the relationship between cause and effect. And what better way to describe the plot of a page-turning novel than as a series of incidents that flow inexorably toward an exciting ending, from one event to the next? A reader wants to finish a story believing that it couldn’t logically have ended any other way.

These are the ideas I brought with me to The Physicists’ Daughter, the story of a Rosie-the-Riveter-type worker who finds herself up against a spy trying to sabotage the factory where she builds the boats and planes that Allied soldiers took into World War II. My character, Justine Byrne, knows science because her physics professor parents taught it to her, but the people around her don’t expect a woman to know such things in 1944. They don’t expect her to be able to weld. They don’t expect her to be able to solve their codes. They don’t expect her to be able to tell that none of the frightening things happening around her are accidents. Nobody in Justine’s world expects a well-behaved, twenty-one-year-old woman to be a threat to anyone at all, especially not to the Axis powers that are trying to take over the world, wiping out people who aren’t like them in the process.

Justine doesn’t accept situations that don’t make sense. When somebody tells her something that simply cannot be true, she looks for the truth. She is driven to find out why things are the way they are. Justine’s knowledge of science—her bone-deep understanding of cause-and-effect—is the thing that she brings to the fight against the Nazis. It is her secret weapon in the war against Hitler.

Because the Nazis are no match for the physicists’ daughter.

About Mary Anna Evans

Mary Anna Evans is the author of The Physicists’ Daughter, the first in her series of WWII-era historical suspense novels featuring Rosie-the-Riveter-turned-codebreaker Justine Byrne. Her thirteen Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries have received recognition including the Benjamin Franklin Award, a Will Rogers Medallion Award Gold Medal, the Oklahoma Book Award, and three Florida Book Awards bronze medals. She is an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she teaches fiction and nonfiction writing, including mystery and suspense writing. Her work has appeared in publications including Plots with Guns, The Atlantic, Florida Heat Wave, Dallas Morning News, and The Louisville Review. Her scholarship on crime fiction, which centers on Agatha Christie’s evolving approach over her long career to the ways women experienced justice in the twentieth century, has appeared in the Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie (coming September 22, 2022), which she co-edited, and in Clues: A Journal of Detection. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Rutgers-Camden, and she is a licensed Professional Engineer. She is at work on the second Justine Byrne novel, The Physicists’ Enigma.

Author Links

Website: https://maryannaevans.com/

Twitter: @maryannaevans

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

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

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-anna-evans

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12395.Mary_Anna_Evans

Purchase Links

Bookshop IndieBound Barnes and Noble Amazon Booksamillion Nook Kindle Kobo

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 2 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 3 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 3 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 4 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

June 5 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 6 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 8 – Ruff Drafts – GUEST POST

June 8 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

June 9 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW

June 9 – Novels Alive – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Jemima Pett, Author – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

June 12 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – fundinmental – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – GUEST POST

June 15 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW

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Posted in Blog Tour, New Releases, Spotlight

Spotlight and Excerpt for The Double Exposure Murder: A Robyn Cavanaugh Mystery by Jeanne Quigley

The Double Exposure Murder (A Robyn Cavanagh Mystery)
by Jeanne Quigley

About The Double Exposure Murder

The Double Exposure Murder (A Robyn Cavanagh Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Garland, a fictional town in Orange County, NY
TouchPoint Press
Number of Pages: 270

Robyn Cavanagh enjoys a thriving second career as a portrait photographer in her beloved suburban hometown of Garland, New York. Having built a large portfolio of high school senior photos and family portraits, Robyn is thrilled when math teacher Brooke Gibson hires her to take photos of a different subject: 16 Clover Lane, the house Brooke has recently inherited from her late great-aunt. Brooke will soon put the home on the market and wants Robyn to take the photos for the real estate listing. Robyn thinks the cozy house will attract prospective buyers—until she finds bride-to-be Brooke’s battered body in the garden shed.

When Brooke’s mother asks her help in canceling the wedding plans, Robyn plays amateur sleuth and gathers clues while also collecting refunds from Brooke’s wedding vendors. With help from her friend Will Vonderlin, Robyn assembles evidence of a possible love triangle, financial indiscretions, and neighborhood feuds and builds a suspect list that includes Brooke’s fiancé, a jealous relative, a longtime rival, and a shady bartender. The clues lead Robyn to the killer and a spectacular July Fourth finale complete with a marching band and a parade of howling dogs.

Excerpt

Yogi and I arrived at 16 Clover Lane a couple of minutes before 10:30. Brooke’s Ford Focus was parked in the carport.

Brooke didn’t respond to the first ring of the doorbell. I pressed the button again and waited a few seconds. The front door was open several inches, so I called to Brooke through the screen door. When she still didn’t answer, I assumed she was either in the bathroom or the backyard. I opened the screen door and entered the house, Yogi at my heels. The door to the powder room was open, and Brooke wasn’t in any of the first-floor rooms.

“Brooke! It’s Robyn.” I yelled up the staircase opposite the front door. I listened for a few seconds then headed into the kitchen. “Let’s go out back.”

The mystery deepened when I didn’t find Brooke on the patio. More possibilities ran through my mind. Brooke could be on a stroll around the block or in a neighbor’s house for a quick visit.

I called Brooke’s cell; when it went to voice mail, I ended the call without leaving a message. I’d text her, but before I started the message, a breeze blew open the shed door. The creaky door closed with a soft thud; then, another puff of wind urged it open again.

I spotted a can of paint on the ground outside the shed. “I should’ve known Brooke would fix the shed.”

Curious about the paint color Brooke had selected, I crossed the yard and bent over the paint can. I thought Brooke might have selected sunny yellow to match the house, but she had purchased a dark green shade. New paintbrushes and a drip pan lay on the grass next to the can. Did she plan to enlist me to help with the shed’s facelift?

The shed’s door creaked open and closed a third time. I moved to secure the door shut, but first I peeked inside and experienced an adrenaline rush like I’d never had. Fighting a growing sense of panic, I wrapped a length of the leash around my hand and pulled Yogi away from the supine form on the shed’s floor.

I took a second look at the still figure, clad in cut-off jeans and a white tank top. “Brooke!” Brooke’s mouth was open, and her eyes stared at the roof. Her nose was bloodied, and scratch marks stretched from her shoulders to her wrists. Her collarbone jutted out at a sickening angle.

I pushed back the door and told Yogi to lie down, making him a makeshift doorstop. He obeyed and watched me check Brooke for a pulse and breath.

It was a futile attempt, I knew, but a necessary one.

I stepped into the doorway and called 9-1-1, my glance fixed on the steel-blade shovel on the ground next to Brooke’s body.

About Jeanne Quigley

Jeanne Quigley is the author of the Veronica Walsh Mysteries and the Robyn Cavanagh mystery series. Unlike her fictional sleuths, she has never been a soap opera star or an accountant (though she was an accounting major for a few minutes in the spring of 1985), but she has worked for an educational publisher and in the music industry. A lifelong New Yorker, Jeanne lives in her native Rockland County.

Author Links

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

Blog https://www.jeannequigley.wordpress.com

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7229196.Jeanne_Quigley

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Jeanne-Quigley/e/B00F8GRI3S

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 30 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

May 30 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 31 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 31 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – GUEST POST

June 1 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 2 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

June 3 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

June 3 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 4 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

June 4 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

June 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

June 5 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW

June 6 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 8 – Girl with Pen – SPOTLIGHT

June 8 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST

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Review and Blog Tour for Old Bones and Ice Cream Cones: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Book 6 by Elizabeth Pantley

*****5-stars

Another fun and absorbing tale in the Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic cozy mystery series by Elizabeth Pantley. I can’t get enough of this series and even though I’ve only read three of the six books so far, I’m hoping to catch up with all of them soon.

What I like most about this series is the vivid descriptions of the magical island as well as the interesting characters and, of course, the magical library and the cats. In this installment, Latifa again steals the show with the other felines from the Secret Cat Society. Hayden and Han’s relationship undergoes a trial when Han disappears periodically and returns in an upsized model. While this is nice, it’s also an indication of black magic and that something sinister is being planned for him.

Without giving away the details of the story, which includes two mysteries, Hayden needs to obtain an antidote from an enemy to destroy the spell on her boyfriend. She also needs to travel to the mysterious island of Gladstone where she is not allowed to go.

The second mystery involves a murder from over thirty years ago that is discovered when Hayden finds a body in a boat. The women of the Destiny Falls knitting club may know something about the murder, as they went to high school with two of the women who disappeared at that time and whose body may be one of them.

It was fun to read about the 1950’s ice cream social that took place in the story and all the preparations that went into it including the costumes.

I highly recommend this book as a must read for fans of the Destiny Falls mysteries and also those new to the series. While some back story information is revealed, it’s still possible to read this one as a standalone and will also make one curious to read the past novels.

Check out the blog tour below and also my previous posts about the Destiny Falls series.

Review for Falling into Magic: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic #1 by Elizabeth Pantley

Review of THE GHOST CAMPER’S TALL TALES, A Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic Cozy Mystery, by Elizabeth Pantley

Interview with Elizabeth Pantley, Author of The Disappearance of Emily, A Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic Novel

Sneaky Interviews Chanel from The Disappearance of Emily by Elizabeth Pantley

Sneaky Interviews Latifa from Falling Into Magic, A Destiny Falls Magic and Mystery Cozy Mystery by Elizabeth Pantley

 


Old Bones and Ice Cream Cones: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Series
by Elizabeth Pantley

About Old Bones and Ice Cream Cones

Old Bones and Ice Cream Cones: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Series
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Better Beginnings, Inc. (May 20, 2022)
Print length ‏ : ‎328 Pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09W42KVV1

A boyfriend who’s missing. Or was. . . Or is. . . A boat full of old bones. A community ice cream social. A friend in trouble, a spiteful witch, and an angry villain. The mysteries and fun abound in Destiny Falls. Hayden, Latifa, and their family and friends are up for the excitement and adventure.

Old Bones and Ice Cream Cones follows the series format of combining two stories that blend into one. A murder mystery and the island mystery.

The Island Mystery: Hayden’s boyfriend Han is missing. But she swears she saw him zoom by in his car. She’d thought it was a surprise, and that he was home early from his secret service case. She was wrong. The surprise is that his signal isn’t pinging, and no one knows where he is. There appears to be black magic behind his disappearance. Can they learn who’s responsible and bring Han safely home?

The Murder Mystery: A pile of old bones is found in an ancient fishing boat. They could be tied to the disappearance of two young women years ago, back when many of the Destiny Falls people where in high school. Many of the citizens had bad history with the missing students. Do the bones belong to them, and what happened? Were the they murdered? And could the murderer be living among them?

Hayden and Latifa’s many adventures in Destiny Falls will keep you guessing with each book in this fun and intriguing series.

About Elizabeth Pantley

Elizabeth Pantley says that writing the Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic book series is the most fun she’s ever had at work. Fans of the series say her joy is evident through the stories she tells. Elizabeth is also the internationally bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents. Her books have been published in over twenty languages. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, the beautiful inspiration for the enchanted Destiny Falls world.

Author Links

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24811.Elizabeth_Pantley
Website: https://www.nocrysolution.com/books/
Newsletter Sign-up: https://www.nocrysolution.com/mailing-list/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethpantley/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nocrysolution/_saved/
Blog: https://elizabethpantley.com/
Audiobook: https://www.amazon.com/Falling-into-Magic-Destiny-Mystery/dp/B09DTF3Y15
Series link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MCSN2KD

Purchase Link – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 20 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, GUEST POST

May 21 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

May 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

May 22 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 23 – Novels Alive – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – Baroness Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 25 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT

May 25 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 26 – Ascroft, eh? – GUEST POST

May 27 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 28 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

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

May 29 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT

May 30 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

May 31 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

June 1 – Ruff Drafts – REVIEW

June 2 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 2 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

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