A Fatal Flip Guest Post

I'm happy to welcome M. E. Bakos to Cozy Up With Kathy today. M. E. writes the Home Renovator Mystery series. Fatal Flip is the first book in the series.

My story is like many people who have a passion for writing. I wrote for the Trues Magazines market in my spare time while working a day job. Then, the confession market took a nosedive and my day job ended with a “right-sizing.” I started to look at writing novels.

I wanted to write the kinds of books I like to read. Light, humorous, mysteries with quirky characters. I wanted to combine my love of home projects with my love of writing, Fatal Flip, A Home Renovator Mystery is the result.

When I started writing Fatal Flip, I imagined the worst thing someone could find in a project would be a dead body. Add in complicated love relationships, dreadful survival jobs, and more dead bodies. It’s been a ride. I want to thank all the people who gave freely of their time and support. SINC, Minneapolis and the online Guppies group. Critique groups, supportive husband and reasonably attentive dogs. You know who you are, so I won’t name names (spoiler alert: names are in the book). Thank you, Lori Caswell for hosting this impressive book tour and all the reviewers and bloggers.

Presently, I am working on the second Home Renovator Mystery. I hope you enjoy the debut novel, Fatal Flip. If you like the book, please leave a review. I’d love to hear from you. You can find me on Face Book, https://mebakos.wixsite.com/author, or mebakos@yahoo.com.

Now, Katelyn Baxter, my main character in Fatal Flip, explains a little about the book. Let me know if you have any questions as the tour continues.

Katelyn Baxter

My name is Katelyn Baxter. I am a Home Renovation Specialist. That’s a fancy title for a house flipper. I’ve always had a passion for home improvement. When my company ‘rightsized’, i.e., canned me I decided, along with my best friend, Myra Payton’s blessing to follow my bliss. Flip houses in fictional Crocus Heights, Minnesota. What could be better, have fun, and make money rehabbing houses?

It hasn’t worked exactly as I’d imagined. Getting rid of a dead body wasn’t on the list of things to do, along with sanding, painting, and everything else that needs to be done before market. I’m in the middle of a murder investigation by hunky sheriff, Don Williams, while my ex, Eddy camps out on my sofa. To top it off, Ariel, my snooty neighbor is killed.

Yeah, I’m a soft touch for Eddy. It’s been lonely after Jake, my second husband died, and Eddy came calling. A lot of people might not understand why I let Eddy come around. He’s like an overgrown teenager, who teases me by calling me “wifey” when we’ve been divorced for several years. That early flame just doesn’t go out. At least, it hasn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, I could never marry Eddy again. At least, I don’t think I could.

I loved Jake with all my heart, but he’s gone, and I have to go on. Eddy is the devil I know, the hunky sheriff, Don Williams, is the unknown. If I were to analyze my relationships with Myra, Eddy, Wayne, I’d say our common denominator is that we all are a bit quirky. My excuse is I’m a product of a dysfunctional family. My father was a strict disciplinarian married to a hippie. Dad is dead, and my mother lives in a commune, only God knows where.

Myra, also widowed, and I have bonded over home improvement projects. She is probably the mother I wished I’d had. Eddy lost his parents as a teenager, found me, and a lot of other women, but I can still depend on him in some ways. Wayne Hamer is a retired resident in my townhouse complex. He works cheap to help me renovate the houses I flip. He’s working on staying sober and doing a great job of it. Who doesn’t love a man who can fix stuff? I’m sure Myra and Wayne have their own opinions about me and flipping houses. Myra and Wayne are up next.

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Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery by M. E. Bakos

About the Book

Fatal Flip: A Home Renovator Mystery 

Cozy Mystery 1st in Series 

Cozy Cat Press (October 27, 2017)  

Paperback: 220 pages 

Flipping houses can be fatal! When Katelyn finds a dead body in her first home renovation project, she seriously doubts her decision to “follow her bliss.” After getting fired from her steady job, her plan to flip houses takes a hit when she becomes a suspect. After all, possession is nine points of the law, isn’t it? Especially, when it’s a dead body.

To keep herself in pizza, peanut butter, good coffee, and her stray cat, Boots, in kitty chow she takes survival jobs as a wine sample hostess and market researcher. Meanwhile, Sheriff Don is kind of hunky, and her ex-husband, Eddy (it’s complicated) is back in her life sleeping on her sofa. How’s a girl supposed to solve dead body mysteries, make a living, and find love?

About the Author

M.E. Bakos has published several short stories in national women’s magazines. Her love of mysteries has led to writing cozies. Her first mystery short story, “Carpe Diem or Murder at the Carp Fest” appeared in the Festival of Crime, a SINC Anthology. Her second, “Perfect Storm . . . Perfect Murder” will be in Dark Side of the Loon, May 2018 also a SINC Anthology.

Her first cozy, FATAL FLIP, A Home Renovator Mystery has several home improvement tips for the reader. Mary is a member of Twin Cities Sisters in Crime, the SINC Guppies Group, and an alumna of the University of Minnesota. She is a lifelong resident of Minnesota and resides in Minneapolis with her husband, Joe Sebesta, and their spoiled Morkie.

Website - Mystery | M. E. Bakos, Author  
Purchase Links Amazon B&N    

TOUR PARTICIPANTS  
September 12 – Maureen's Musings – REVIEW  
September 12 – Mallory Heart's Cozies – REVIEW  
September 12 – Babs Book Bistro - HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST, GIVEAWAY  
September 12 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW
September 13 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
September 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST  
September 13 – I'm All About Books - SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY  
September 14 – Book Babble – REVIEW  
September 14 – The Montana Bookaholic – CHARACTER GUEST POST  
September 14 – Socrates' Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT  
September 14 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY  
September 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW  
September 15 – My Reading Journeys - REVIEW, EXCERPT POST
September 16 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW  
September 16 – Ruff Drafts - HOME IMPROVEMENT TIP POST  
September 16 – Brooke Blogs - SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY0
September 16 – Here's How It Happened – REVIEW