Putting the “Breakfast” in B&B - A Peachy Scream Guest Post, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Nina Fleet to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Nina on the pages of the Georgia B&B Mystery series by Anna Gerard. PEACHY SCREAM is the second book in the series.

Putting the “Breakfast” in B&B: Nina Fleet
By Anna Gerard, author of PEACHY SCREAM

My name is Nina Fleet, owner of Fleet House Bed & Breakfast Inn in Cymbeline, Georgia. If you’ve ever visited a B&B before, you know that the second “B”, breakfast, is as important as the first. And, for some guests, it’s even more so. Unfortunately, in this busy world of ours, the morning meal always seems to get short shrift. We grab a container of yogurt, or butter an English muffin, head off to work eating as we drive, and call it good. But I firmly believe that when people are away from home, the grab-and-go just doesn’t cut it.

You’ve probably heard some variation on the expression: “Eat breakfast like royalty…eat lunch like the rich…eat dinner like the poor.” At Fleet House, I make sure to treat my guests like monarchs at breakfast. So, what’s on my menu? When 7:30AM comes around, my guests will find everything from cereal to cinnamon buns, quiche to cottage cheese, bacon to bran. And let’s not forget the rolling cart filled with everyone’s favorite morning beverages: coffee, tea, milk, and orange juice. I’m happy to say that people never leave my breakfast table complaining.

Though, giving credit where credit is due, I have a secret weapon…the Peaches and Java Diner here in Cymbeline, which caters my breakfasts for me. My friends Daniel and Gemma Tanaka run the place, and Daniel’s food is definitely fit for royalty. Their teenaged daughter, Jasmine, brings my breakfast orders over on her bike before school. Once the food is here, all I have to do is make everything look pretty using my collection of vintage serving dishes, and then accept the compliments.

Given breakfast’s role in the B&B experience, I’ve done a little research on its history. And so, here are a few fun facts I’ve found on the internet about that first meal of the day that I enjoy sharing with my guests…

· Breakfast as we know it didn’t become popular until the mid-19th century.

· The average person eats breakfast at 7:31AM Monday through Friday.

· That same average person sleeps in on the weekends, eating at around 8:29AM.

· Waffles were brought to North America from the Netherlands in the 17th century.

· The Apollo 11 astronauts had a choice of Frosted Flakes or Corn Flakes for breakfast during their mission.

· Almost 50% of the 100 billion bananas eaten world-wide every year are eaten for breakfast.

And, this bit of trivia is perhaps my favorite…prior to the advent of coffee, beer was the breakfast beverage of choice. If you know some interesting breakfast facts, I’d love to hear them. Until then, here is a quote from Lewis Carroll that puts that first meal of the day into perspective...Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

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Review

PEACHY SCREAM by Anna Gerard

The Second Georgia B&B Mystery

Cymbeline, Georgia is gearing up for its annual Shakespeare festival. While Nina Fleet is too late to become an official sponsor of the event, she's happy to host the Georgia Amateur Shakespeare Players at her B&B. That is until she discovers the director is none other than Harry Westcott, the actor who previously lay claim to her Queen Anne home. Although worried about Harry's machinations, Nina allows the group in only to find the Shakespearean troupe plagued by pranks. When their Hamlet is found dead in Nina's garden the first thought is that he died of natural causes. But did he? One thing is certain, something's rotten in the Fleet House B&B and it's up to Nina to find out what!

I'm delighted to be back at Fleet House Bed and Breakfast and even more delighted to be thrust back into the world of theatre, especially Shakespearean theatre. Shakespeare and his themes are timeless, as are motives for murder and the two are intertwined beautifully in this second Georgia B&B Mystery. In addition to loving the nod to the bard I also appreciated the way in which the book acknowledges certain modern societal issues.

The characters come to life in the pages of PEACHY SCREAM and drive the story while keeping the readers invested. The characters are vibrant and unique from the young emo thespian to the trophy wife and the pastor/county coroner/funeral director Reverend Doctor Bishop. Everybody, from the actors in the troupe to the townsfolk, have intriguing symbiotic relationships. I especially love the dynamic between Nina and Harry.

PEACHY SCREAM is a delightful mystery infused with Georgian hospitality and Shakespearean dramatics. I wish I could imbibe a peach mimosa while giving Mattie a pat as I relax under the magnolia tree ready to see what happens next!

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Peachy Scream: A Georgia B&B Mystery by Anna Gerard

About Peachy Scream

Peachy Scream: A Georgia B&B Mystery  

Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series  

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (July 7, 2020)  

Hardcover: 320 Pages

To die, or not to die? Georgia B&B proprietor Nina Fleet turns amateur thespian to bring the curtain down on a Shakespearean actor's killer.

 

It's nothing short of inevitable that Cymbeline, GA, hosts an annual Shakespeare festival. But stage-struck Nina Fleet is about to learn that putting on an amateur theatrical production can be murder. Nina's anticipating showbiz glamour and glitz when a community Shakespearean troupe arrives for a two-week stay at her B&B. But the lights dim when she learns the company's director is her nemesis, struggling actor Harry Westcott--who still claims to be the rightful heir to Nina's elegant Queen Anne home.

 

Meanwhile, the troupe members are not content to leave the drama upon the stage. Accusations of infidelity and financial malfeasance make a shambles of rehearsals. And then, two days into the troupe's stay, the lead actor is found dead in Nina's formal Shakespeare garden. Natural causes...or murder most foul?

 

Nina uncovers evidence that something is indeed rotten in the town of Cymbeline. Too bad Harry is the only one who believes that she's not going completely off script. And exposing the truth isn't easy when the remaining troupe members say the show must go on...particularly when all of them seemingly had a motive for wanting their fellow actor to permanently exit stage right. Determined to keep the killer from making a curtain call, Nina and her trusty Australian Shepherd, Matilda, join forces with Harry to sleuth out the murder plot. Will they succeed before someone else shuffles off this mortal coil? Find out in Anna Gerard's delightful second Georgia B&B mystery.

About Anna Gerard

DIANE A.S. STUCKART is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series (writing as Ali Brandon). She’s also the author of the award-winning Leonardo da Vinci historical mysteries, as well as several historical romances and numerous mystery, fantasy, and romance short stories. The first book in her Tarot Cats Mystery series is FOOL’S MOON, available in trade, large print, and Kindle versions. Her Georgia B&B Mystery series from Crooked Lane Books launched July 2019 with PEACH CLOBBERED, written as Anna Gerard and available in hardcover, e-book, or audio CD. Book 2, PEACHY SCREAM will be on the shelves July 2020.

Diane is a member of Mystery Writers of America and served as the 2018 and 2019 Chapter President of the MWA Florida chapter, receiving the “Flamingo” Chapter Service award in 2019. She’s also a member of Sister in Crime. In addition to her mystery writing affiliations, she’s a member of the Cat Writers’ Association and belongs to the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association. Diane is a native Texan with a degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, but has been living in the West Palm Beach FL area since 2006. She shares her “almost in the Everglades” home with her husband, dogs, cats, and a few beehives. Learn more about her books at www.dianestuckart.com

Author Links:
Website – www.dianestuckart.com / www.georgiabbmysteries.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/blackcatmysteries  

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