Category: Guest Post

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Sprites and Scuttlebutt: A Magical Mystery Book Club by Elizabeth Pantley

Posted on by Debbie

 


Sprites and Scuttlebutt: Magical Mystery Book Club
by Elizabeth Pantley

About Sprites and Scuttlebutt


Sprites and Scuttlebutt: Magical Mystery Book Club
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Independently Published (February 15, 2024)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CJ5K611Z

Would you join a book club that gets absorbed right into their cozy mysteries? These people did, and now they are hooked on traveling into books to become the amateur sleuths!

In this journey, the book club travels to the Kingdom of Everglow, where the royal family is rocked to the core when a key staff member falls dead at a community event. In the turmoil that follows, any evidence of what happened is destroyed, so they must go by the recollection of witnesses who were too busy enjoying the celebration to offer any valuable testimony. The royal family is further distressed when they return to the castle to see signs of a break in that somehow defied their complex security system. They wake the next day to discover that one member of the royal family has fallen into a deep, deathlike sleep.

Can the Snapdragon Inn Book Club uncover the plot behind this attack on the royal family? Can they find the antidote to wake the princess from her supernatural slumber? Can they bring peace back to the worried royal family and the frightened community? Let’s hope they can, since they must solve the mystery and reach The End to get out of the book and back to their home in Colorado.

GUEST POST

Could YOU Really Write a Cozy Mystery Book?

By Elizabeth Pantley
Author of the Magical Mystery Book Club series

Have you ever said to yourself, I read so many cozy mysteries. I wish I could write one! The thought percolates and grows, until you really want to give it a try. But how do you even begin?

There are many articles and books about the technical approach to writing. How to make a plot outline, build characters, create a setting. This article isn’t about any of that. It’s about getting off the ground and beginning to make your dream come true when you’ve never done anything like this before.

Everyone is different, of course. But if you’ve never written a book before, here are some tips for getting started from scratch.

First, You Read

Pick two or three of your favorite books and read them again. But his time, read to learn. Pay attention to more than just the story and take lots of notes. How does the author keep your attention from page to page? How does each chapter end, and each new one begin? What sentences grab you, make you laugh, or cause you to gasp? How does the dialog flow when characters are speaking versus the narration portions of the story? How does the author describe each new character – it’s more than listing height and eye color! How does the author describe the settings? What ways make it interesting to learn about a new character or place?

Examine your Reading History

What kind of books fill your collection? Plan to write a book in the genre of those you read most. If you mainly read books about witches, don’t write a book about dragons! Write what you know, and what you enjoy reading. Your book will have more meaning and writing will be easier.

Don’t Fight a Blank White Screen

It’s unlikely you’ll pen a bestseller from the first word on a blank page. It can be overwhelming to begin from nothing. A better plan might be to come up with a basic person and place, then a rough plot line.

Who is the main character? Where does she live? Who are the people in her circle of family and friends? Once you figure that out, plan a murder! That can be the fun part. Who gets murdered, why and who did it? Once you have these basics you can approach your book in a way that feels right to you. Some people enjoy a complete chapter-by-chapter outline, others prefer to be a “pantser” – writing page-by-page by the seat of their pants and letting their creativity flow.

Be Flexible

You might start out believing you’re a free-flowing writer but get stalled every day without a clear path. If that happens, try writing out your plot chapter by chapter and see how that feels. Until you begin you won ‘t really know what’s best for you.

To be a Writer you Must Write!

Set a plan or schedule for yourself. It might be an hour a day, or even just four hours over the weekends. Build a plan that works within your real life. If your goal is too lofty it might scare you away.

Then don’t be afraid to add more hours if things are going well and you have the time. The more you write, the easier it will get!

Read and Learn

Once you get rolling that’s the time to read some articles and books about writing a mystery. There’s so much to learn, so don’t get bogged down by doing too much research. Writing is your top priority. You can always edit later to make your manuscript better!

If you’re thinking it could take you a year to write a book, you’re right! It might take a year. But a year from now you’ll either have your book written, or you’ll still be thinking about maybe, someday you might write one. So, go ahead. Get started. Good luck!

About Elizabeth Pantley

Elizabeth Pantley is the author of fourteen fun, magical cozy mystery books, as well as the international bestselling No-Cry Solution parenting series.

She simultaneously writes well-loved cozy mysteries: The Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the Magical Mystery Book Club series.

Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest, the gorgeous inspiration for the setting in many of her books.

Author Links
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24811.Elizabeth_Pantley
Website: https://www.nocrysolution.com/books/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinyfallsmystery/

Amazon Purchase Links: US CA UK AU
All the books in this series are now available as Audio Books!

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

February 19 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

February 19 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

February 20 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

February 20 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

February 21 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

February 22 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

February 23 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

February 24 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT

February 24 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST

February 25 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

February 25 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

February 26 – Review Thick And Thin – REVIEW

February 26 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

February 27 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

February 27 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW

February 28 – ebook Addicts – REVIEW

February 28 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

February 29 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

March 1 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

March 2 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here
GUEST POST

 

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Christmas in the Crosshairs by Deena Alexander

Posted on by Debbie

 


Christmas in the Crosshairs (Love Inspired Suspense)
by Deena Alexander

About Christmas in the Crosshairs


Christmas in the Crosshairs (Love Inspired Suspense)
Inspirational Romantic Suspense
Setting – Seaport, Long Island, New York
Love Inspired Suspense (November 28, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1335597794
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1335597793
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BTJ3BSJW

A baby in need of protection—

and a hitman in pursuit.

After evading an attack, defense attorney Adam Spencer is on the run from a dangerous hitman. The killer’s wife is Adam’s only hope at apprehending the criminal—until she lands in the hospital. Now he must depend on her twin sister, Jaelyn Reed, to find the answers they need…all while protecting the baby niece Jaelyn didn’t know she had. But with threats at every turn, trust may be the deadliest trap…

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

GUEST POST

Canine Search and Rescue

Anyone who knows me knows I love big dogs. All animals, really, but I have a soft spot for big dogs. They are loving, loyal, and amazing companions. I’ve had at least one, sometimes as many as four dogs, ever since I was a teenager. One of the most amazing dogs I’ve ever had was my Bernese Mountain Dog/ Golden Retriever mix, Koda. I still miss her every day.

When I decided to write a story about a canine search and rescue team, she was the first dog that came to mind. Although he only makes a cameo appearance in Christmas in the Crosshairs, Shadow—a Bernese Mountain Dog who, with his handler, works for Seaport Fire & Rescue—is one of the main characters in my story Kidnapped in the Woods.

It wasn’t until I really dug into researching search and rescue dogs that I realized how many lives depend on them, or how many different kinds there are. There are dogs who track missing persons, dogs who search for those who are deceased, and even dogs who go into collapsed buildings to search for survivors, just to name a few. I find it amazing how loyal and dedicated these dogs are. So much so, that they can even become depressed when they don’t succeed. After so much research, I’ve come to appreciate them and their importance in our lives even more.

And talk about loyalty. Right now, I have an Akita, Fluffy, and she is incredible, one of the most loving, affectionate, and loyal dogs I’ve ever had. While researching the breed, I came across the story of Hachiko, a Japanese Akita who was probably the most loyal dog who ever lived. He used to wait at the train station every day for his owner to return from work. One day, his owner passed away while at work. And still, every single day for nine more years, Hachikō made the trip to the train station to wait for him to appear.

About Deena Alexander

Deena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, where she met and married her high school sweetheart. She recently relocated to Florida with her husband, three kids, a son-in-law, and four dogs. Now she enjoys long walks in nature all year long, despite the occasional alligator or snake she sometimes encounters. Deena’s love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night, and she now works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor.

Author Links

Purchase Links – Amazon B&N Kobo Harlequin Apple Google Play

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 28 – Maureen’s Musings – REVIEW

November 28 – Just Another Teen Reading Books – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 29 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

November 29 – Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting – REVIEW

November 30 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

November 30 – Diane’s Book Journal – SPOTLIGHT

December 1 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

December 2 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

December 3 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 3 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

December 4 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

December 5 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

December 6 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

December 6 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW

December 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

December 7 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

December 8 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

December 8 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT

December 9 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

December 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

December 11 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Genie and the Ghost

Posted on by Debbie


Genie and the Ghost
(Genie and Adriana Darling Cozy Paranormal Ghost Mysteries)
by Carmen Radtke

About Genie and the Ghost


Genie and the Ghost (Genie and Adriana Darling Cozy Paranormal Ghost Mysteries)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in the Series
Independently Published (September 18, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 218 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1916241077
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1916241077
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CHFZYLW6

New York jewelry designer Genie Darling has returned to her childhood home in quaint Cobblewood Cove for one reason only: to sort through generations of old family heirlooms and hand anything of historical interest over to the local museum.

But after a failed mugging attempt, and the appearance of a beautiful but ghostly young stranger in a vintage evening dress, Genie realises there’s something suspicious – and spooky – going on.

The glamorous and friendly spectre turns out to be Genie’s own great-great-aunt Adriana, who died in 1929 in mysterious circumstances.

When there are more attempts on Genie and her home and her main suspect dies in a suspicious accident, she decides to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Does it have anything to do with Adriana’s death and reappearance?

With her unflappable, pet-whispering aunt and cat Cleo by her side, Genie sets out to lay this ghost to rest by solving the mystery and unmasking the culprits.

But digging up the past can be deadly …

GUEST POST

What’s in a name? Everything!

I can’t recall the last day I opened my emails or newsfeed without discovering an offer to help me a) plot my next book in a day, b) write a book in a week, c) become a six-figure author (I wish!).

It’s relentless. It’s also not even remotely going to become part of my writer’s life.

To set the record straight, I admire authors who can write a good or even great book in a week. Edgar Wallace, one of the most prolific and successful early British writers of sensational gangster, detective, and adventure novels, before the term pulp fiction existed, sometimes finished a book in three or four days. I read once that those were novels he dictated to a secretary. His collected works are over 170 novels, plus plays and short stories!

If I’m lucky, I reach over 2000 words a day if I have no other writing jobs to do.

As for plotting a book in a day, that’s the easier part. My outlines aren’t overly detailed, and by the time I jot down my notes, I’ve been working on an idea in my head long enough to know most things.

Motive and murder method? Piece of cake, sometimes literally.

What trips me up are the names. They have to be right for the character or nothings falls into place.

A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but there’s a huge difference between an Hercule Poirot and a Hercules Perry. Hercule is debonair, Hercules a man who could easily suffer from an inferiority complex or megalomania.

My first mystery series, inspired by a true event, has Alyssa Chalmers as a sleuth. Since her adventures are set in the early 1862, she needed a name that fit in with the era. It also had to suit her personality yet be something that could easily be confused with another name like Alice or Ellen, by men who underestimated or dismissed her. Not bothering to learn how a person is called, is a sign of disrespect, or a hint that something is amiss …

I was lucky with Genie and the Ghost because I knew their names. Geneviève aka Genie was equally proud of her first name and resigned to the problems the pronunciation would cause. She’s fiercely independent, yet loyal to her mother who changed the spelling of her own name from Amy to the much more glamorous Aimée.

I don’t know where the name Adriana came from. All I knew was that it was her – slightly different, yet easy to remember.

But the secondary characters kept on causing trouble. The septuagenarian Schuyler sisters went through a couple of metamorphoses. For a few days, they were called Moira and Maisie. That didn’t feel right though, and the names changed to Dora and Daisy. Yet again, that didn’t work for my imagination. Only when they became Primrose and Marigold could I finally come to grips with them.

Most cozy mysteries rely on lovingly crafted puns. They’re part of the fun. My excuse for not embracing that more in my books is that my novels straddle the line between classic mystery and cozy.

So far, I have lots of notes in various notebooks and files that include tantalizing names and bare bones of ideas. I only wish they’d also come with explanations because there hardly ever is any context.

It seems that Agatha Christie, whose works have been my constant companion since I was eleven years old, also tried out names. She made lists in her notebooks and would cross out everything she dismissed.

A few people have been asking me if I ever model my characters after people I know.

I don’t, usually. If I’m acquainted with a person, I’m too close to them to put them through the wringer. It’s different if I observe people I’ve never met before and know nothing about apart from what I can see or hear. Last summer I spotted a man with dollar bills stuck in his hat band. He’s a candidate for a novel character.

Like most writers, I also keep track of those who’ve done me wrong. In one way or another, justice shall be served on the page.

One area where names are no problem for me and characters are taken from real life, is when it comes to animals.

Before I typed the first word, I was well aware that there’s a cat in the Darling household, and that she plays an important part in the life of Genie and Adriana. I called her Cleo in memory of a kind and caring cozy mystery writer who sadly passed away in 2022. Barbara Silkstone was one of the first novelists to reach out to me because she loved my books. When her health deteriorated, her first thought was how to ensure that her cat Cleo would be taken care of.

In my Jack and Frances series, corgi Tinkerbell insisted on appearing unplanned in Murder Makes Waves. He instantly became one of my favorite characters and series regular. His namesake was a hospice dog I used to see every week on a zoom call with a writer’s group. The original Tink made the most of every single day, and so does my fictional Tinkerbell.

So, while I won’t ever write a whole novel in a week, and six-figure author sounds unlikely, I stick to my process. That includes grappling with names. After all, false starts happen to the best of us.

Shakespeare’s troubles with “Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter” are one of my favorite parts in the romcom movie, “Shakespeare in Love”. Even though there’s no way I have of knowing if the bard had ever considered anything remotely outlandish for any of his plays, it sounds about right to me.

Ethel is a sitcom character. Juliet is a love interest for the ages.

And to me, Adriana will forever be a glamorous flapper living her best life almost a century after her demise.

About Carmen Radtke

Carmen has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.

She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter.

When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.

The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s.

Genie and the Ghost is her first paranormal cozy mystery.

Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family.

Author Links

Website – https://www.carmenradtke.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Carmen-Radtke-1958399947738868/

Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/@CarmenRadtke1

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/carmenradtke

Purchase Link – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 8 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

November 8 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 9 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 9 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 10 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 11 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

November 12 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

November 13 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

November 13 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 14 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

November 14 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 15 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

November 16 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

November 16 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

November 17 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 18 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

November 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Mrs. Morris and the Wolfman (A Salem B and B Mystery) by Traci Wilton

Posted on by Debbie

 

Mrs. Morris and the Wolfman (A Salem B&B Mystery)
by Traci Wilton

About Mrs. Morris and the Wolfman


Mrs. Morris and the Wolfman (A Salem B&B Mystery)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting – Massachusetts
Kensington Cozies (August 22, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496741374
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496741370
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BNWG9V65

Saturday night at the movies has some added flair now that Darren and Elise Shultz are reopening one of Salem’s classic theaters. Charlene is delighted to help the couple with their venture, and Darren has lined up a cult classic double-header featuring Lon Chaney in The Wolfman. But things get hairier than expected when Elise starts to choke on her popcorn mid-movie—and once the lights go up,
she’s dead . . .

When tests reveal Elise’s popcorn was poisoned, Detective Sam Holden eyes her husband as the guilty party. Charlene doesn’t believe Darren would hurt his wife—even if his company’s specialty seasoned salts were sprinkled on the fatal snack. But who else had a motive to do something so unsavory? With a little help from Jack, the handsome ghost who haunts her B&B, Charlene delves into the ill-fated couple’s past. And the more she learns, the more Charlene wonders if this time, she’s bitten off more than she can chew . . .

GUEST POST

Drawing out Romance in a Cozy Mystery

Excerpt from Mrs. Morris and the Wolfman included

Even when one of the parties is a ghost, three is a crowd.

The premise of the Salem B&B series is that Charlene Morris, a widow, moves to Salem after the death of her soulmate to escape her overwhelming grief. Charlene isn’t interested in love, which was part of our plan as we plotted to keep her single. It used to be a saying that once you had your main character married, that was the death of the series.

There are certain expectations that a reader has when they pick up a cozy mystery—not to say that there aren’t exceptions, but for the most part a cozy is about an amateur sleuth that takes place in a small town, and things (like murder lol) keep happening to draw our protagonist in.

A hunky detective—we have Sam Holden, a Sam Elliott twin with the glorious mustache. We also have a ghost in the mansion, Dr. Jack Strathmore. Sam doesn’t believe in ghosts and can’t see Jack. Charlene and Silva the cat are the only ones who can.

Charlene, from Chicago, is very logical and the idea that her mansion is haunted is difficult to accept—but it’s true, so what is she supposed to do? As the series progresses, Jack eases Charlene’s grief with being a friend. Two years have passed since book one, and Charlene is just now willing to date Sam.

It’s complicated.

Sam can’t come to the bed and breakfast (for a sleepover, wink, wink) without upsetting Jack. Jack is a ghost and no matter how close he and Charlene are, it can never be more. We’ve drawn this out by putting in obstacles of Sam possibly moving away. Avery moving into the B&B. Guests all around. And Officer Jimenez at the Salem police department loathes Charlene. She is jealous but hasn’t said anything. And now that Charlene is considering a relationship with Sam, she worries about Jared. He was her everything and when he died, she was devastated. Dare she ever love anyone like that again?

Jack feels out of place, and very much like a third wheel. He loves Charlene with all of his heart. Sam also loves Charlene with everything in him.

We’ve had readers vote for Jack to become real and marry Charlene, while others are Team Sam all the way.

Do you have a favorite? I’d love to hear from you!

About Traci Wilton

From cozy mysteries to seaside romance, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall writes stories that captivate her readers. As a hybrid author with over sixty published works, Ms. Hall has a favorite tale for everyone. Mystery lovers, check out her Scottish Shire series, set in the seaside town of Nairn, or the Salem B&B Mystery series, as Traci Wilton. Her latest project is an Irish Castle cozy as Ellie Brannigan. Whether it’s her ever-popular By the Sea romances, an Appletree Cove sweet romance, or a fun who-done-it, Traci finds her inspiration in sunny South Florida, living right near the ocean.

Author Links

Website https://www.tracihall.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tracie.hall.35/

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

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/tracihallauthor

Amazon https://amazon.com/author/tracihall

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

Kensington https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/author/traci-wilton/

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Apple – Kobo

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

October 2 – RUFF DRAFTS – AUTHOR GUEST POST

October 2 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

October 3 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW

October 3 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

October 4 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

October 4 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 5 – Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense – AUTHOR GUEST POST

October 5 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

October 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

October 6 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 6 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW

October 7 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

October 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

October 8 – Baroness Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

October 8 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

October 9 – Brooke Blogs – RECIPE

October 9 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

October 10 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

October 10 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 11 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

October 11 – Lady Hawkeye – RECIPE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Secrets and Scallywags: Magical Mystery Book Club

Posted on by Debbie

 


Secrets and Scallywags: Magical Mystery Book Club
by Elizabeth Pantley

About Secrets and Scallywags


Secrets and Scallywags: Magical Mystery Book Club
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – A Small Oceanfront Community
Better Beginnings, Inc. (September 20, 2023)
Digital Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C494MPJ8

When this club selects a book, magic happens. They become the main characters in the story when the mystery comes to life.

This month’s book selection takes them to a charming island community that’s abuzz over a mysterious boat that washed ashore. Rumor has it that it’s the same pirate boat that sunk a year ago in the bay. The one that supposedly sank with treasure aboard.

When the club meets the ghosts of the men from the boat, they learn the astonishing secrets of the treasure. These ghosts can’t move on until it is found.

Can the motley group find the treasure and free the ghosts? They better, since it’s the only way they can exit the book and get back home.

GUEST POST

Where I Find Ideas to Write About

No matter where I am, book ideas grow. Every day brings ideas for characters, plots, and even villains.

Writing mysteries has changed the way I look at the world. It leads me to inspect what’s around me in a whole new way. In the past, I would read the paper and skim past certain articles, I would quickly change the channel past a murder case. Who wants to hear about a dead body found in the park? Well . . . mystery writers, that’s who! Now when I see that heading, I eagerly read to learn the who-done-it, the how-done-it, and the who-found-it!

Mysteries, even paranormal mysteries, are better if the storyline has some sense of possibility. It could really happen, so your story becomes more believable and more easily understood. Even in a magical community, if the reader finds the story possible, they can become more engrossed in solving the crime right along with the protagonist. So, the daily news stories I used to avoid become great research for the next scene or the next book.

Creating characters in fiction is the most fun I’ve had with writing. I’ll often use a person from my life experiences, a great movie, or a fascinating book, and plant the seeds of a character. Then, very quickly this person becomes real and begins to grow into a whole new being. As the story evolves, so does the character. Their personality and individual traits bloom on the page until they become very real.

Settings for my books often have their roots in life and cinema, also. It’s easier to base a setting on a real place as a starting point. From there you can remodel the location to suit the series, the story and the characters. The setting for my book club series originated in the mountains of Colorado. The gorgeous settings, the mysterious fog, and the interesting mountains and winding roads, made for a great place to begin each magical journey.

Book ideas start in life and often take a flying leap off the board from there. It is fun to examine the starting point of an idea and compare it to the completed work. Often you can still see the origin there, but sometimes the book has carried the idea off to a whole new fictional world.

About Elizabeth Pantley

Elizabeth Pantley is the international bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents, published in over twenty languages.

She simultaneously writes well-loved cozy mysteries: The Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the Magical Mystery Book Club series.

Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest, the gorgeous inspiration for the setting in many of her books.

Author Links
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/destinyfallsmystery/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-pantley

Purchase Links

Amazon Links: US CA UK AU

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

September 20 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

September 20 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT

September 21 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

September 21 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 22 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

September 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

September 23 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

September 23 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

September 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 24 – Bigreadersite – REVIIEW

September 25 – CelticLady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 25 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

September 26 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

September 27 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW

September 28 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

September 28 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

September 29 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 30 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

October 1 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW

October 1 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

October 2 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

October 3 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – CHARACTER GUEST POST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Blog Tour and Guest Post for Have Yourself A Deadly Little Christmas, A Year-Round Christmas Mystery by Vicki Delany

Posted on by Debbie


Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas
(Year-Round Christmas Mystery)
by Vicki Delany

About Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas


Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas (Year-Round Christmas Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – Rudolph New York
Crooked Lane Books (September 19, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639104631
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639104635
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BQLJWBN4

It’s beginning to look a lot like murder in the sixth installment of this charming cozy mystery series, perfect for fans of Donna Andrews and Jacqueline Frost.

It’s the beginning of December in Rudolph, New York, America’s Christmas Town, and business is brisk at Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a gift and décor shop owned by Merry Wilkinson. The local amateur dramatic society is intensely preparing a special musical production of A Christmas Carol. But it’s not a happy set, as rivalries between cast and crew threaten the production.

Tensions come to a head when a member of the group is found dead shortly after a shopping excursion to Mrs. Claus’s Treasures. Was someone looking to cut out the competition? Everyone in the cast and crew is a potential suspect, including Aline, Merry’s mother, and Merry’s shop assistant Jackie O’Reilly, who was desperate for a starring role.

It could be curtains for Christmas—and for Merry—unless the killer can be ferreted out of the wings.

About Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. Author of more than fifty books, she is currently writing the Tea by the Sea mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year-Round Christmas mysteries, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates). Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

GUEST POST

Too Much Christmas? Not in Rudolph, New York.

For Chicks on the Case

By Vicki Delany

Most of us would agree that Christmas can come too soon. We complain (I certainly do) about decorations in the stores and seasonal ads on TV before summer’s even over, never mind before Halloween.

But still, a lot of us do our shopping ahead of time. I know people who buy decorations for next year the week after this year’s Christmas, and who start shopping for gifts around the time they put away the New Years’ Decorations.  It’s a wise woman (or man) who starts her baking in plenty of time. A traditional Christmas cake or old-fashioned English pudding, full of rum or brandy, or sometimes both, needs to be started months ahead to be perfect for the big day.

It’s precisely to help out those early birds that the town of Rudolph, New York celebrates Christmas all year round.

Don’t rush to your atlases or Google maps looking for Rudolph because I made it up. It’s the town at the center of my series, The Year-Round Christmas mysteries from Berkley and Crooked Lane.

Rudolph wants to be known as America’s Christmas Town and everything in Rudolph is about celebrating the holidays. All year round. They have a Santa Claus parade twice a year.  The usual one the first Saturday in December, and then another for Christmas in July when Santa arrives by boat. (As featured in the third book in the series, Hark the Herald Angels Slay.)

In Rudolph everyone gets into the spirit of the thing.  Victoria’s Bake Shoppe is famous for its gingerbread.  There’s Candy Cane Sweets, the North Pole Ice Cream Parlour, The Elves Lunchbox, Cranberries Coffee Bar, Touch of Holly Restaurant, The Yuletide Inn, the Carolers Motel. (Looking at this list it seems as though the residents and visitors to Rudolph like to eat a lot.)

The series protagonist is Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures. Merry’s dad, Noel, is Santa Claus. Yes, Merry knows that he isn’t really Santa, but she does sometimes wonder. He has a way of knowing exactly what someone wants before even they do.

Rudolph, New York, wants to be known as America’s Christmas Town. Here, we celebrate Christmas all year round. In July, the town goes all out to take advantage of its prime location on the shores of Lake Ontario and its Christmas Town theme, when Santa arrives for his summer vacation in a grand boat parade. He sets up his umbrella on the beach to meet visiting children, and high school students dressed as vacationing elves serve as his attendants, as does Alan in his toymaker getup.

We might play at Christmas all year, but it’s the beginning of December when everything comes together. The hotels go all out with the decorations and seasonal activities, and the restaurants offer special menus featuring traditional holiday fare. Vicky’s bakery goes heavy on the mince tarts and gingerbread and even old-fashioned fruitcake of the sort that people buy and almost no one ever eats. (Although Vicky’s is fabulous!) The theater group always does a play with a holiday or Christmas theme, and it’s an important part of the town’s annual celebrations. Last year’s production of Miracle on 34th Street had been an enormous flop, or so I’d heard. Mom told me the company was desperate this year to recover from that disaster. They’d never attempted a musical, but encouraged by the new artistic director to be bigger and bolder than ever before, they were taking a chance with A Christmas Carol.

                                                                                Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas, by Vicki Delany

Of course, it wouldn’t be a mystery novel without strife and conflict. And they find that, in abundance, as the town struggles to put on A Christmas Carol: The Musical.

Tell me, Chicks and friends, would you like to celebrate Christmas all year round? What would be the ideal length of the holiday season for you?

ABOUT THE BOOK: It’s the beginning of December in Rudolph, New York, America’s Christmas Town, and business is brisk at Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a gift and décor shop owned by Merry Wilkinson. The local amateur dramatic society is intensely preparing a special musical production of A Christmas Carol. But it’s not a happy set, as rivalries between cast and crew threaten the production.

Tensions come to a head when a member of the group is found dead shortly after a shopping excursion to Mrs. Claus’s Treasures. Was someone looking to cut out the competition? Everyone in the cast and crew is a potential suspect, including Aline, Merry’s mother, and Merry’s shop assistant Jackie O’Reilly, who was desperate for a starring role.

It could be curtains for Christmas—and for Merry—unless the killer can be ferreted out of the wings.

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than fifty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.  She is currently writing the Tea by the Sea mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year-Round Christmas mysteries, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates).

Vicki is a past chair of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival.  Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

Find Vicki at http://www.vickidelany.com

Facebook

Instagram: Vicki.Delany

You can sign up to receive Vicki’s quarterly newsletter at Vicki Delany – Canadian Author of Mystery Novels and Suspense Novels » Contact

Author Links

Website – www.vickidelany.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor;

Twitter: @vickidelany and@evagatesauthor

Instagram: vickidelany

Bookbub: Vicki Delany Books – BookBub

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

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

September 11 – Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

September 11 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT

September 12 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

September 12 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

September 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 13 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 14 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

September 14 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

September 14 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 15 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

September 15 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 15 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW

September 16 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

September 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

September 17 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 17 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 18 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 18 – My Reading Journeys – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 19 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 19 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

September 20 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

September 20 – Carla Loves to Read – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

September 21 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

September 21 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

 

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Murder ala Mode, the first Coffee & Cream Mystery by Lena Gregory

Posted on by Debbie

Murder A La Mode (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries)
by Lena Gregory

About Murder A La Mode


Murder A La Mode (Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – New York
Gemma Halliday Publishing (August 8, 2023)
Digital – Number of Pages 230
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C2LH144G

From author Lena Gregory comes a delicious new series that will warm your heart and leave you guessing until the very end…

When twenty-five-year-old Danika Delaney, black sheep of the Delaney clan, returns home to Long Island to take over Jimmie’s, her eccentric uncle’s old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island, she’s not exactly thrilled. But things start to look up when her uncle tells her she can do whatever she’d like with the shop, and it seems she might realize her dream of a small trendy café. That is, until she discovers the body of her ex-boyfriend’s estranged wife in a melted puddle of rocky road in the malt shop basement. With her two sidekicks, her sister and a good childhood friend, in tow, Dani searches for–or stumbles upon—one clue after another. But as she narrows down the suspect list, she realizes if she’s not careful she may end up in a puddle of her own…

About Lena Gregory

Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of Central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

GUEST POST

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lena Gregory

I love getting to know my readers, so please feel free to leave a comment letting me know a little something about you. Do you share any of my quirks?

  1. My faith and my family are the most important things in my life.
  2. I grew up on the south shore of eastern Long Island and spent most of my time attending dance classes or reading.
  3. My husband and I recently relocated from Long Island to Central Florida. We have three amazing kids, ages thirty-two, twenty-four and twelve. Yes, my little guy came as quite a very happy surprise! And I am extremely family oriented. I enjoy nothing more than spending time with my husband and kids.
  4. I absolutely love big dogs. At the moment, we have an Akita, a Weimaraner, and two Australian Shepherds.
  5. I am a master at procrastination. I don’t have a lot of writing time, but sometimes, when I do sit down to write, I just can’t seem to get going. So I tell myself there are important things I have to do before I can start writing. The first of those is usually facebook, because there might be something interesting I “need” to know. I love to chat with readers, my agent, and other authors, so I often hang out there for a bit. Then I check all of my emails, because, you know, something really important that wasn’t there five minutes ago, might be there now. And then I head for twitter. By the time I finish all of that, I’m usually hungry so, I grab a snack, then finally sit down to get started.
  6. One of my favorite things to do is take a long walk with my kids and take lots of pictures of nature.
  7. I have worked many jobs, some I loved, others not as much. I was a dance teacher and choreographer for more than twenty years. When my daughter was in high school I choreographed and co-directed several high school musicals. I also worked in a deli, which will feature in a mystery I’m currently outlining. And I cleaned houses in the Hamptons, which gave me more material than you could imagine for a future cozy mystery series.
  8. I am painfully shy. As much as I love socializing and even meeting new people, I do much better one on one than I do in a group.
  9. I started writing my first novel when I was forty-five years old—in a notebook because I’d never heard of Microsoft Word and didn’t even know how to use email.
  10. I am very high strung and rarely relax. I go from the time I get up until the time I go to bed. I talk fast, I move fast, and I always have a list a mile long of things I have to get finished in a day. Of course, I usually forget or misplace the list, so it doesn’t always help much.

Don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know if you share any of those same traits.

Author Links

Purchase Links

Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo

MURDER A LA MODE TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 8 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 9 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 9 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

August 10 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

August 10 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

August 10 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

August 11 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 11 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 13 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 14 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 15 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT

August 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

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

August 16 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 17 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 18 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

August 18 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

August 19 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

August 20 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

August 21 – My Reading Journeys – SPOTLIGHT

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

 

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for A Sour Note, a Music Box Mystery by Jill Piscitello

Posted on by Debbie


A Sour Note (A Music Box Mystery)
by Jill Piscitello

About A Sour Note


A Sour Note (A Music Box Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Hampton Beach, NH
Wild Rose Press (June 26, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1509249176
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1509249176
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C2ZH3XL2

On the heels of a public, broken engagement, Maeve Cleary returns to her childhood home in Hampton Beach, NH. When a dead body turns up behind her mother’s music school, three old friends land on the suspect list. Licking her wounds soon takes a back seat to outrunning the paparazzi who spin into a frenzy, casting her in a cloud of suspicion. Maeve juggles her high school sweetheart, a cousin with a touch of clairvoyance, a no-nonsense detective, and an apologetic, two-timing ex-fiancé. Will the negative publicity impact business at the Music Box— the very place she’d hoped to make a fresh start?

GUEST POST

What’s in a Name?

By: Jill Piscitello

What’s in a name? For this author, quite a bit. First, I make a painstaking effort to ensure I’ve never personally known any human with a name I’d like to use. I don’t base my characters on real people and aim to avoid such confusion. So how do I choose from the long and ever-growing list? Sometimes, when I hear a name, it immediately strikes as one I’d like to use for a character. But most often, the names that appear in my books are attached to a fond memory. For example, my friend grew up on Reynold’s Avenue. Reynold’s pops up in Homemakers’ Christmas as a catering business. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was a favorite childhood movie and led to the stepmother, Clarice, in Tinsel and Tea Cakes. I also paid homage to The Facts of Life’s Edna Garrett with Daphne Garrett, an employee at The Music Box.

Every once in a while, I’m forced to resort to countless websites offering names according to themes, cities, meanings, and years of popularity. But this search requires time far better spent writing. Without an existing attachment to the sound, meaning, or internal pull toward the name, I need to build and ingrain a connection before proceeding with the storyline.

There are unofficial rules to choosing a name. They should not look or sound similar to any other in the book, be easy to pronounce, fit a specific personality, and meet genre expectations. But I believe stepping outside the confines of a rule box is okay. I remember loving the name Aisling in Maeve Binchy’s Light a Penny Candle, but I had zero idea of the pronunciation. The word was lovely in print, and I needed no other reason to adore it. The name has stuck with me for 30+ years. I now know the correct pronunciation and will likely use it for a character that may or may not be Irish.

Naming fictional towns and business establishments such as restaurants, pose their own challenges. To date, I try to have fun with the process. One example is Dog Eared, the fictional used bookstore in Hampton, NH. For years, one of my first stops in Hampton was The Book Outlet. My daughter and I could get lost in there for hours. A Sour Note wasn’t complete without reference to this favorite diversion, and I wanted the fictional name to radiate the same joy we felt flipping through the many dog-eared pages of used books. The outlet has since closed, and we’re always searching for a new spot.

What makes a name special for most people? Often, a connection to family members is important.  But a name can also relate to one’s culture or personal experience. Sometimes the goal is to convey meaning. But that grows tricky when multiple sources share different meanings for the same name.  Depending on which website I visit, Jill might mean “youthful”, “child of the gods”, “girl”, and “sweetheart”. Given that I just stepped into the last year of my 40s, I’ll go with “youthful”.

When done well, naming a character has lasting, iconic, implications. Some authors craft such vivid, 3D, larger than life characters, their first and/or last names take on a life and definition of their own. Scrooge is synonymous with greed. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Don’t be a Scrooge”. Sherlock is often used to imply inept detective work, such as the inability to locate something in a drawer or coming to an obvious conclusion. “No kidding, Sherlock” is one common phrase. Wonka resulted in a line of chocolate products. Was Hannibal chosen because it rhymes with cannibal? Lolita now describes a young woman too alluring for her age. We’re unlikely to see anyone name their child Dracula or Frankenstein any time soon. Mr. Darcy pops up in more versions of books and movies than I dare to count. Holly Golightly is every bit as singsong as a name should be for such an enchanting character. For an author to create another Katniss, Hermione, or Gatsby, they’d likely appear more than presumptuous. I dared to name one heroine Scarlett, but mainstream popularity allowed me to do so.

Sometimes, authors write manuscripts around a moniker that catches their fancy. One of my works in progress demands to be finished if for no other reason than I love the name of my fictional town in Maine. Stay tuned.

Pseudonyms are another piece of the name game. When my first book was contracted, I struggled with whether or not to use my real name. Piscitello isn’t easy to spell or pronounce. Who would remember me? Did the name even fit my sweet, holiday romance genre? I knew a cozy mystery was in my future. Would something short and sweet be better? As previously noted, I prefer a personal connection and spent a good amount of time playing with names of grandmothers and great-grandmothers. My maiden name was taken by another author, so that option was kicked to the curb. I shared the struggle and a few viable, flowery options with my publisher who suggested I stick with my real name because it was, in fact, memorable. I’m still not sure if I made the correct decision, but here’s to no regrets.

About Jill Piscitello

Jill Piscitello is a teacher, author, and an avid fan of multiple literary genres. Although she divides her reading hours among several books at a time, a lighthearted story offering an escape from the real world can always be found on her nightstand.

A native of New England, Jill lives with her family and three well-loved cats. When not planning lessons or reading and writing, she can be found spending time with her family, trying out new restaurants, traveling, and going on light hikes.

Author Links

Website: https://jillpiscitello.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Piscj18

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

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21978074.Jill_Piscitello

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jill-piscitello?list=author_books

Purchase Links

Amazon Barnes and Noble Apple Google Kobo BooksAMillion Walmart Bookshop.org

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 17 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

July 18 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 18 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

July 19 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 19 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 20 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

July 20 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

July 21 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 21 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

July 22 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

July 23 – FUONLYKNEW – RECIPE POST

July 24 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

July 24 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

July 25 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

July 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – RECIPE POST

July 27 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

July 28 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 29 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

July 30 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Guest Post and Blog Tour for Paw and Order, A Detective Whiskey Cat Cozy Mystery by Chris Abernathy

Posted on by Debbie


Paw and Order: A Detective Whiskers Cat Cozy Mystery
by Chris Abernathy

About Paw and Order


Paw and Order: A Detective Whiskers Cat Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Florida
Wright on the Mark, LLC. (May 23, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 204 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8394838439
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C4FP73K1

What’s better than a K-9 cop? A feline detective. Detective Whiskers is out to prove himself, and keep his human from being framed for murder, or worse. He’ll need the help of his new animal friends and Sheila’s group of female sleuths. This cozy mystery set in a small town in Old Florida is purrfect for cat lovers and anyone who enjoys a fun beach read.

Who is really catching killers in Paradise Cove? It’s not the local police. The Paradise Cove Murder Society is getting the job done, with more help than they realize from a furry detective named Whiskers.

Sheila and her cat Whiskers are starting a new life in the perfect little Florida beach town that managed to avoid the big crowds, condos and chain stores. But as soon as they arrive the town has its first ever murder. Good thing Whiskers is a trained detective! Fred, Sheila’s husband of forty years, was a police detective who recently passed away, right before they were supposed to retire to the beach. After forty years of devoting herself entirely to being a good wife and mother she’s now left to put her life back together, but what kind of life will it be? In a fresh setting, and with some quirky new friends, she slowly begins to remember all of the dreams she had as a young woman. She has a second chance to chase those dreams, if she can stay alive and out of prison. When her next door neighbor is killed and the evidence points to Sheila, it’s time for Whiskers to step up.

Whiskers was Fred’s loyal assistant and he’ll need to remember everything he learned from his mentor to keep Sheila safe as she rediscovers herself. With the help of some unexpected new friends of his own Detective Whiskers sets out to prove to the world, and himself, that he is worthy of the shiny badge on his collar. If you love humorous cozy mysteries where pets take the lead and eccentric friends come together to solve crimes with just the right amount of suspense then the Detective Whiskers Cozy Mystery Series is exactly what you’re looking for.

Excerpt from Paws and Order

Sheila does not understand. I know we’re not supposed to play favorites with our humans, but we all do. Fred and I had a connection that was … special. I’ve tried communicating with Sheila, but— Okay this part is a little embarrassing. Every time I tap her hand with my paw, she thinks I want food or a belly rub. Which, of course, I do. I ALWAYS want food or a belly rub. Or both. But I’m trying to tell her something important, and all of a sudden, she puts those fingernails to work on my belly and I’m gone. Lost. A zombie. It feels sooooo good. Whatever I needed to say is up in smoke, my eyes are closed, and I hear a Karen Carpenter love song in my head.

Don’t judge me.

GUEST POST

How do you read books? For many people there is nothing quite like the feel of a book in their hands, turning each page as they go. For others, the convenience of eBooks has taken over. What a joy it can be to suddenly have unexpected time available to read and you have can choose from several books downloaded onto your device or download any of millions of books available online. For a growing number of readers the favorite choice is to listen. Audiobooks have been the fastest growing segment in publishing for several years and that trend doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon.

For me, audiobooks were an introduction to the insider’s view of the publishing world. I spent more than three decades of my life as a radio personality and eventually added “voice actor” to my resume. You may have heard my voice when you called a business and got their messaging service, or on a radio or television commercial, narrating a documentary about the Goodyear blimps, as a virtual host in an escape room, or even at a kiosk in your local shopping mall. I had never even considered “books on tape” as they used to be known until an author who knew about my other work asked I would be interested in narrating his audiobook. I did it, loved it, and became a full-time audiobook narrator. That experience opened doors for me to become an author, as well.

I thought some of you might be interested to learn about how books become audiobooks so I’ve typed up part of the process to let you “join me in the booth.”

When people ask me what I do for a living my wife cringes. She knows what’s coming. “I talk to myself in a padded room all day.” It used be worse. For a few years, I was also an anchor on a small television station. So after recording books during the day, I would go to the station and put on my microphone and my earpiece that allowed the producers to talk to me and give me instructions. During that period of my life. my answer to the previous question was “I talk to myself in a padded room all day then when I get out I go and do what the voices in my head tell me to.”

I no longer hear “voices in my head” so we can stick to the padded room.

My recording booth is four feet wide, four feet deep, and a little less than eight feet tall. It is built to block out noise so that the recording is clean but I also had to add sound dampening materials inside (the padding in my padded room) that absorbs reflected noises, primarily my voice. Without that it would sound like I’m in a box — which, really, I am but you don’t want it to sound like that. You want the voice to pass by the microphone one time, not multiple times as it is bounced around from wall to wall. I have carpet on the floor and ceiling, acoustic foam panels on two walls and a special sound absorbing blanket on the other two walls. The combination works well.

Speaking of the microphone, you might be surprised at which microphone I use. It’s the same microphone you see on a lot of movie sets, a Sennheiser MKH-416 Shotgun microphone. These mics do a great job of capturing sound in one small area without picking up too much from outside the specified space. It’s called a ‘shotgun’ mic because it has a long barrel-like structure.

There’s not much else in the booth with me. I have an iPad with the manuscript and a keyboard and mouse to control the computer outside the booth. And a seat. Standing for hours at a time while recording wears you out so must narrators find a seat that is comfortable but allows them to project their voices well from a good posture.

Usually my projects are “self-directed” and I work alone, Sometimes, though, I will work with a director who connects into my headphones from NYC or wherever they are and helps guide me through the reading. So the “voices in my head” do come back occasionally.

Much of the work happens before the recording. Obviously, a narrator needs to read the book first. While reading I take notes about names and words that I need to research for pronunciation. I consider characteristics of characters so I can convey those in my reading. I mark my script with notes to help me avoid too many starts and stops along the way while getting the emphasis in the right places.

I won’t get into the technical aspects — just know that a professional sound engineer adjusts the sound to make it “just right” and cleans up any noises that make it through. Sometimes this requires parts to be re-recorded. A proofer also listens to make sure pronunciations, characters and other important elements stay correct and consistent.

I hope you enjoyed reading just a little about how a book becomes an audiobook. If you want to hear one that I narrated you can search for my name on whatever platform you use to discover audiobooks. Enjoy!

About Chris Abernathy

Chris Abernathy has narrated more than 200 audiobooks and now he is writing his own stories. He has been a storyteller his entire life — around campfires at a summer camp as a counselor, on the radio for more than 30 years, as an actor with background roles on major motion pictures and TV series, as a producer of short films for social media and more. Chris is married with two sons and lives on the Gulf Coast in Alabama. He is a dual national with citizenship in the US and UK and visits family in the Scottish Highlands as often as possible.

Author Links

Webpage – http://authorchrisabernathy.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorchrisabernathy/

Amazon author profile – https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chris-Abernathy/author/B07YLJPKNQ

Newsletter signup – https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/a7s6c0

Purchase Link – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 17 – Nadaness In Motion – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 17 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

July 18 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

July 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 19 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

July 19 – Bigreadersite – REVIEW

July 20 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 20 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW

July 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

July 21 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

July 22 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

July 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

July 23 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 23 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

July 24 – Kam’s Place – REVIEW

July 24 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

July 25 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT

July 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

July 26 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

July 26 – The Plain-Spoken Pen – REVIEW

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Posted in Blog Tour, Guest Post

Blog Tour and Guest Post for Passport to Spy, A Kat Lawson Mystery by Nancy Cole Silverman

Posted on by Debbie

Passport to Spy: A Kat Lawson Mystery
by Nancy Cole Silverman

About Passport to Spy


Passport to Spy: A Kat Lawson Mystery
Historical Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Germany
Level Best Books (June 6, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 268 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXCGY2Y5

After losing her job as an investigative reporter for The Phoenix Gazette, Kat Lawson has a new gig. The FBI has asked her to work undercover as a reporter for Travel International to cover Munich, Germany’s festive holiday scene—an excuse to get close to Hans von Hausmann, a very charismatic and popular museum curator suspected of hiding a cache of stolen masterpieces believed to be part of the World’s Largest Art Heist. The job comes with lots of perks: airfare, travel expenses, the opportunity to see the world…and for a seasoned reporter like Kat, nothing she can’t handle. But, when a trusted source is found dead, Kat realizes the tables have been turned. Armed with evidence that will expose a cache of artwork stolen from museums and the homes of wealthy Jews during the 2nd World War, Kat must find a way to avoid being caught by the German Polizie, who have enough evidence to charge her with murder, and those who want her dead to keep their hidden treasures forever secret. The hunter has become the hunted; now, Kat has a target on her back.

GUEST POST

The Story Behind the Story

As a young woman, I lived in a small medieval Bavarian town near Munich, Germany. I was an Air Force wife in the early 70s, a little more than twenty-five years after the war had ended. Most of the Germans I met were maybe just a few years younger than me, and those older, anxious to look forward and not back at a time that had reflected the worst of their country. At the time, I remember being asked by my then-husband’s commanding officer if I might join a group of wives to host a luncheon for some local women who wanted to practice their English. It turned into a regular monthly coffee klatch—one of the highlights of my years there—with six or seven German housewives who liked to bake. We’d meet monthly at one of their homes, usually apartments, or when the weather prevailed, for a garden party at one of the community gardens. It was always delicious. And fattening! I don’t think there’s such a thing as a low-fat German dessert. Everything was made with real butter and lots and lots of cream. There was no way I could get away with just sampling each woman’s cake. It might have been an international incident if I did. Instead, I ate a healthy portion of each, and in addition to the desserts, drank lots of black coffee splashed with schnapps and finished off with an eier liqueur, German eggnog, that had I been wearing socks, would have knocked them off.

I left Germany in 1976. I had learned enough shopper’s-Deutsch to navigate my way around medieval villages, where early on, I had managed to find some porcelain factories that set up their kilns inside barns to make ends meet. I even bought a porcelain chandelier that once hung above a cow stall and, to this day, hangs in my mother’s apartment. My travels allowed me to start a shopper’s newsletter for military wives looking to buy gifts like hand-carved wooden nativity scenes, nutcrackers, candies, and Christmas ornaments while visiting places off the beaten path that tourists might not know about.

My experience in Europe opened my eyes not only to a country of beautiful lakes, mountains, and people but of secrets that, until years later, I had no idea existed. It wasn’t until 2012, nearly thirty-seven years after I had left Germany, that I heard a story about a routine customs check at the Swiss border, a border I had passed through many times, that would lead to the discovery of 1500 hidden works of art in a Munich apartment. Blocks from my old stomping grounds.

And thus began my research…

Passport to Spy is based on the life of Hildebrand Gurlitt, a once-successful museum curator who had worked with the Nazis to destroy what Hitler considered to be degenerative art while looting masterpieces and the homes of wealthy Jews and some of Europe’s best museums.

After the war, Gurlitt argued that he only did what he needed to survive and had helped save art that would have otherwise been destroyed. However, records—and the Germans did keep a detailed accounting—show that the sale of such art was used to help finance the Third Reich. And what the Nazis didn’t sell, destroy or secure for what was to be the Fuhrer’s Museum, Gurlitt took for himself.

As the war dragged on and the Allied bombing increased, the Nazis hid their treasures in mountain caves, salt mines, and castles like Neuschwanstein.

All might have been lost and forgotten were it not for groups like the Monuments Men, who attempted to return what today art historians call The World’s Largest Art Heist.

At the war’s end, Gurlitt avoided prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials, claiming he was one-quarter Jewish and a victim of Nazi persecution. But rather than walk away, Gurlitt had one final trick up his sleeve and a lot of moxie. He tracked down the allies’ collection center where those works of art—some Gurlitt had stolen and others part of the Nazi’s cache—were being housed, and with a stack of forged papers, approached those in charge and claimed the art in question belonged to his family. Shockingly, he was allowed to truck hundreds of stolen masterpieces away.

Under German law, it wasn’t illegal to own stolen art, and Gurlitt believed the spoils of war were indeed his, and upon his death in 1956, the entire collection was passed on to his son, Cornelius Gurlitt. It was Cornelius Gurlitt who attracted the attention of the Swiss/German border police, which ultimately led to the discovery of a hidden cache of stolen art in a Munich apartment.

The story was one I couldn’t stop researching. Gurlitt’s Hoard wasn’t the only cache of hidden treasures found after the war. And the Germans rush to report it. The story was finally reported to the press two years after the initial find.

When I finished my research, I couldn’t help but think back to my time in Germany and wonder how close I might have come to stumbling upon some hidden cache while researching little-known shopping sights. I believe the story picks the writer; in this instance, Gurlitt’s Hoard picked me, and Passport to Spy is a ripped-from-the-headlines attempt on my part to fictionalize the tale while keeping the essence alive.

About Nancy Cole Silverman

Nancy Cole Silverman spent nearly twenty-five years in news and talk radio, beginning her career in college on the talent side as one of the first female voices on the air. Later on the business side in Los Angeles, she retired as one of two female general managers in the nation’s second-largest radio market. After a successful career in the radio industry, Silverman retired to write fiction. Her short stories and crime-focused novels—the Carol Childs and Misty Dawn Mysteries, (Henry Press) are both Los Angeles-based. Her newest series THE NAVIGATOR’S DAUGHTER, (Level Best Books) takes a more international approach. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a thoroughly pampered standard poodle.

Author Links

Website www.nancycolesilverman.com Facebook Nancy Cole Silverman | Facebook Goodreads: Nancy Cole Silverman (Author of Shadow Of Doubt) | Goodreads

Purchase Links – Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 6 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 6 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

June 7 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

June 8 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 8 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 9 – Books to the Ceiling – SPOTLIGHT – PODCAST

June 9 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

June 11 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 12 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

June 13 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 15 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 16 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 18 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – CHARACTER GUEST POST

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

 

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!