I'm pleased to welcome Marcy Blesy to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Marcy writes the Tucson Valley Retirement Community Mystery series. Dying to Go is the first book in the series.
Kathy: In Dying to Go we meet Rosi Laruee—named Rosisophia Doroche after her mother’s beloved Golden Girls. I love the Golden Girls, though I would never name my daughter Rosisophia Doroche! While I probably am most like Dorothy I think Blanche is my favorite. Who is your favorite Golden Girl?
MB: I am definitely most like Dorothy, the responsible, former teacher. I love Sophia, though. She is unapologetically real and doesn't have a filter. LOL
Kathy: In the first Tucson Valley Retirement Community Mystery Rosi finds the body of a local tart and business owner. I do enjoy a good tart, partly because you can get several in an assortment of flavors instead of just one pie! Are you a fan of tarts? What kind?
MB: LOL I am more of a cake girl with extra frosting, but if I had to choose a tart, I would choose cherry!
Kathy: Rosi meets a lot of interesting people and a Golden Retriever puppy she names Barley. I love dogs, although I only have cats at the moment. Why pick a Golden for the breed and why a puppy instead of an older dog?
MB: I am more of a cat girl, too, and my next series will feature a cat. However, I adored my old dog. She was a mutt but so sweet. I wanted Barley to be a puppy because puppies, by nature, are more apt to create funny problems for the owner. Goldens are sweet family dogs.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
MB: I LOVED Murder, She Wrote as a child. As an adult I tended to read thrillers, but they can be too intense for me. Cozy mysteries are the perfect solution to my interest in mysteries that don't make me keep the light on at night. I also love creating memorable characters, and cozy mystery books are often character driven.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
MB: Yes! For a decade I wrote only children's books, mostly early chapter books for second-fourth grades. I was a school librarian and inspired by my elementary students.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
MB: The Tucson Valley Retirement Community Cozy Mystery Series is currently a five book series with more to come. Rosi visits her retired parents at their retirement community in Tucson Valley where they spend their winters away from the snow of the midwest. Her dad is having knee replacement surgery, and she is going to help. Her long marriage has recently ended, and she's become an empty nester. She needs a break, and Tucson Valley is a good excuse to get away. However, things get crazy when she discovers a dead body and becomes fully immersed in the world of a retirement community as a 39-year-old divorcee. It's funny and light-hearted with an interesting murder mystery.
The Secret of Blue Lake and The Secret of Silver Beach are part of my romance, mystery series full of heart-warming family drama.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
MB: I love Rosi. She's been knocked down and made some poor choices herself, but she evolves and matures as she starts a new life for herself. She's also accident prone and gets into lots of silliness which makes her human.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
MB: I describe the series as a mix between a funny Golden Girls episode and a Murder, She Wrote episode. I'm a girl of the '80s. What can I say? LOL
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
MB: I love to write and have made my passion into a job. I hope others can take my books and escape for a few hours and enjoy the time with my mystery and characters.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
MB: I have to go old school to some of the books that made me fall in love with reading: Louisa May Alcott (Little Women), Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia), Wilson Rawls (Where the Red Fern Grows), and a current author of my favorite books when I was a school librarian, Mo Wilems. He is hilarious. Humor and tears describe my reactions to my favorite books. When a book makes me feel something, that's the best. (Except fear!)
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
MB: I am currently reading The Extraordinary Life of Same Hell by Robert Dugoni
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
MB: I like walking along Lake Michigan looking for beach glass or interesting rocks. My husband and I like to travel, and any chance we can get to spend time with our adult sons, we take it!
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
MB: Coca-cola, Ritz crackers, eggs, cereal
Kathy: Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
MB: Yes! Book five in the Tucson Valley Retriement Community Cozy Mystery Series comes out March 17. Book six will be out by early May. At some point, I will pivot to another series I have planned and hope to write back and forth between the two series.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
MB: I love the feeling I get when I have passed beyond that sticky plot point and all the pieces seem to fall into place like a great puzzle. Writing is also wonderfully therapeutic.
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Dying to Go (Nothing to Gush About): A Tucson Valley Retirement Community Cozy Mystery by Marcy Blesy
About Dying To Go
Dying to Go (Nothing to Gush About): A Tucson Valley Retirement Community Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - Arizona
Publisher: Independently Published (November 9, 2023)
Paperback: 281 pages
Thirty-nine-year-old Rosi Laruee—named Rosisophia Doroche after her mother’s beloved Golden Girls—decides that the end of her twenty-year marriage and her dad’s impending knee replacement surgery are all the excuses she needs to visit Tucson Valley Retirement Community. But the drama follows Rosi when she finds the body of local tart and business owner, Salem Mansfield. The information she discovers using her newspaper reporter sleuthing skills coupled with the clues she picks up from lackluster Police Officer Dan Daniel lead to a surprise discovery when the murderer is revealed. Along the way, she meets a cast of characters in her parents' social circle who leave her questioning her parents' choices in friends while simultaneously befriending many of the residents, including a handsome landscaper and a brand-new Golden Retriever puppy she names Barley. Rosi’s visit to Tucson Valley proves more than she’d bargained for, but maybe, she realizes, it’s just the kind of change she needs.
Laugh out loud with Rosi, and be prepared to get the happy feels along the way! Book 2 Dying For Wine (Seeing Red) Book 3 Dying For Dirt (All Soaped Up) Book 4 Dying to Build (Nailed It) Book 5 Coming Soon!
About Marcy Blesy
Marcy Blesy is the author of over thirty books including the popular cozy mystery series: The Tucson Valley Retirement Community Cozy Mystery Series. Her adult romance mystery series includes The Secret of Blue Lake and The Secret of Silver Beach, set in Michigan. Her children's books include the best-selling Be the Vet series along with the following early chapter book series: Evie and the Volunteers, Niles and Bradford, Third Grade Outsider, and Hazel, the Clinic Cat. Her picture book, Am I Like My Daddy?, helps children who experienced the loss of a parent when they were young.
Marcy enjoys searching for treasures along the shores of Lake Michigan. She's still waiting for the day when she finds a piece of red beach glass. By day she teaches creative writing virtually to amazing students around the world.
Marcy is a believer in love and enjoys nothing more than making her readers feel a book more than simply reading it.
Author Links:
Website www.marcyblesy.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550966870826&mibextid=kFxxJD
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marcy_blesy?igsh=MXhlYXpibnhoeWkyNw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Purchase Link - Amazon
Thank you so much for featuring my cozy mystery on your blog. I truly appreciate your support of authors!
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