Cozy Up With Kathy: The Snow Job - A Guest Post & Giveaway

Sunday, February 25, 2024

The Snow Job - A Guest Post & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Lois Stone to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Lois on the pages of the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series by Diane Ascroft. The Snow Job is the third book in the series.

Lois Stone’s Scottish Dilemma

Hello! Thanks for inviting me to drop by. I’m Lois Stone and I’m the main character in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series. The books are set in Fenwater, a fictional small town in rural Ontario, Canada that was founded by immigrants from Scotland during the early 1800s. The residents of our town have a strong connection with its Scottish heritage, and everything Scottish is important to them, so the annual Burns Night supper is the biggest event on the calendar.

I’m a bit conflicted about it though. I only moved to town about six months ago. I have Scottish ancestry that my friends want me to celebrate since I’m now living in a really Scottish Canadian town, but I don’t really want to talk about my Scottish roots. You see, my grandfather was a bit of a scoundrel and my mother refused to tell me anything about him. My Scottish roots come from his side of the family so I wouldn’t want to explore them and upset my mother. But I can’t seem to get away from my ancestry here in Fenwater. Everyone around me is excited that the Burns Night supper is coming up and they want me to delve into my ancestry.

I might have been able to avoid all the fuss about the Burns Night supper if I didn’t play the bagpipes in the local pipe band. As The Snow Job, Book 3 in the series, opens our band is getting ready to play at the supper. I guess I’m actually looking forward to that part as this is the first Burns supper that I’ve played at with this band. I like our band uniform’s tartan kilt and I’ve learned all the tunes we’re playing. I’ll even know lots of people at the supper. My neighbours and friends will be there to toast the haggis and Burns’ memory. Though I’m still new in town, it will make me feel like I’m part of the community.

Oh, I’ve been rambling on but do you know what a Burns supper is? If you have any Scottish ancestry, you may have attended one. But, for those who haven’t, a Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the Scottish poet Robert Burns or Rabbie Burns as he is more commonly known.

Burns Night is celebrated each year in Scotland and in Scottish communities worldwide to honour Rabbie Burns, and it has also become a chance to celebrate all things Scottish – sort of like St Patrick’s Day without the green beer.

So, who was Rabbie Burns? He was a poet and song lyricist from Ayrshire in the southwest of Scotland, who was born on January 25, 1759. Only 37 when he died in 1796, he is regarded as the most prominent poet to have written in Scots, a UK regional dialect that is now recognised as a minority language. You probably know at least one of his works – he penned ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

The first supper was a memorial dinner organised by nine of Burns's friends on July 21, 1801, the fiftieth anniversary of his death. It was held at Burns Cottage in Ayrshire, where the poet was born. Although those present at the first supper didn’t foresee it, the supper has become an annual occurrence and Burns Clubs have been founded throughout Scotland and further afield. Burns suppers are now normally held on January 25th, the poet's birthdate.

Burns Night is steeped in respectful tradition but there are elements of fun and humour to the proceedings too. So, what happens at a Burns Night supper? There’s a traditional meal which consists of tatties (potatoes), neeps (turnips), and haggis, which was a favourite dish of the poet. Are you wondering what haggis is? Haggis is made from a sheep’s liver, lungs, and heart and mixed with suet and oatmeal. It may not sound particularly appetising to some of you, but it really is tasty – sort of like a spicier minced beef. There are also vegetarian versions available. Guests are piped in to the dining room and a Scottish grace is said. The haggis is then piped in with great ceremony and before the meal commences a guest recites Burns’ poem the 'Address to a Haggis', which extols how wonderful haggis is.

After the meal there are several toasts and speeches. The most important is the ‘Immortal Memory’, which is a speech commemorating Burns and his life followed by a toast to the poet.

At our supper, Dave Stewart, who has an antique stall in our market, is giving the toast, ‘The Address to the Lassies’. It’s a thank you to the women who prepared the meal, and the speaker often includes humorous opinions about women in general. My friend Marge is giving the ‘Reply to the Laddies’, rebutting any comments Dave might make about women. I’m rather nervous about that as you never know what she’ll come out with.

Preparations for our supper were going well until one of the Burns Night committee members died in suspicious circumstances the week before the event. My friend Connie found him lying in the snow. I had just been chatting with her on the street and I rushed back to help her when I heard her scream. I tried to revive the man while we waited for an ambulance. I was sad to hear later that he died, but I didn’t expect to have any more involvement in the matter. Marge had other ideas though. She worked with him at the museum and she wants to see justice done. So, she asked me to help her find his killer. I’ve promised my partner Bruce that I’d stay out of police matters but Marge is persuasive and what’s the harm in asking a few questions? So, I turned my thoughts from getting ready for the Burns Night supper to helping Marge find the killer. What could possibly go wrong?

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The Snow Job (Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries) by Dianne Ascroft

About The Snow Job

The Snow Job (Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series
Setting - Fenwater, a fictional small town in the province of Ontario in Canada during the early 1980s.
Independently Published (December 13, 2023)
Paperback: ‎ 310 pages

A Scottish shindig, a pretty pin, a cold corpse. When a well-liked and respected townsman is murdered on a snowy street in Fenwater, it’s up to Lois Stone to sift through a multitude of motives to find the killer.

Middle-aged widow Lois is beginning to feel part of the Fenwater community, and as winter sets in, she is getting ready for the town’s biggest Scottish event, the annual Burns Night supper. But when one of the committee members dies in suspicious circumstances, Lois has more to worry about than the fate of this year’s celebration. She tried unsuccessfully to revive the man and her friend Marge worked with him. So, they want to find his killer even though Lois promised her partner Bruce that she would stay out of police matters. But, what’s the harm in asking a few questions? Such as does someone want to safeguard their inheritance or give their business a boost? Will finding the motive for the murder lead them to the killer or maybe more?

And so begins a fortnight of slippery sidewalks, angst about ancestors, capable firemen and cunning firebugs, unreliable records, swirling Scottish music and swinging tartan kilts, calico cats and smouldering spooks set against the backdrop of snow glistening under streetlamps on serene streets, the comfort of ritual in a cold churchyard, the swish of skate blades in crisp night air and the tang of mouthwatering meatloaf in rural Canada in 1984.

The Century Cottage Mystery series is mainly set in rural Ontario, Canada during the early 1980s.
A tale for fans of Cindy Bell, Leighann Dobbs, Dianne Harman and Kathi Daley.