I'm pleased to welcome Chloe to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Chloe on the pages of VANISHING INTO THE 100% DARK by Amber Royer. This book is the eighth in the Bean to Bar Mystery series and was released last week.
OMG, you guys, I’m actually in Japan! And it’s amazing! I just saw an early cherry blossom. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to see that. Probably half of the seventeen years I have spent on this Earth, ever since I saw Your Lie in April. I can’t entirely recommend it, since the ending totally broke me, but some of the best anime seem to have the saddest endings.
Anyway, thanks for tuning in last week when I was a guest on Reformed Jerk Cat, my mom’s YouTube channel mostly about my stupid jerky cat that got himself picked up by a very nice lady who taught him manners. I know, right.
Here on my channel, in case you’re new, it’s mostly restaurant reviews, travel tips and short films put together by me and my friends. Joey has gotten into Lego stop motion videos, so look forward to some of those, with me as the voice of Lovely Lillian.
But let me tell you how I wound up in Japan. You remember the chocolate shop lady? The one who saved me – and a bunch of other people including Hudson Nolan -- a few months ago when we were trapped in a hotel in Galveston? Well, Hudson himself got her invited to a chocolate festival here in Tokyo. AND, more importantly, he said we could do a collab video between me, Chloe of Chloe Creates and his main channel, TokyoGoGo. You simply cannot fathom how excited I am.
Hudson also told me about a movie being filmed near here. I’m not supposed to share any of the details, but I will say – there’s a very good chance I can work my way into being on screen. Y’all know how persuasive I am. Send positive thoughts. You know you want to see your girl on the big screen.
But first, I have to do something with all of these books. You see, Mrs. Koerber has a collection of books back at her chocolate shop. They’re memorabilia from the mystery cases she’s helped solve. Each one has somehow contained a clue, or been connected to someone or otherwise helped her solve a specific mystery. And a whole bunch of true crime and mystery fiction aficionados have all showed up at the chocolate festival, to give her one of their favorite books. Someone set up a feed, so I’ve been watching it happen in real time, even though I’ve been sitting here with one of Mrs. Koerber’s friends, drinking tea. I managed to sneak out here to stream when my substitute chaperone went to the bathroom.
I’ve never seen Mrs. Koerber be superstitious about anything else – but she freaked out over the books. Now she’s convinced someone’s going to be less alive. If I want her to be okay with me being in the movie, I need her to be in a better mood. But first, I need to get the part. I’ll pick up streaming once I’m inside the building. I promise, Hudson, it will just be me gloating about getting a part in a movie. Nothing recognizable that you will have to worry about, I double pinkie promise.
***
Okay – I’m picking up recording from a conference room inside the movie studio. I’m in here waiting for the director to come interview me, and there’s not enough signal inside here to stream. I’m getting a little bored, honestly.
I wish there was someone else on this trip remotely near my age. Mrs. Koerber and Mrs. Nash are both older than my Aunt Pauline. They’re both gooey over their respective boyfriends, and I’m not sure how to deal with that, considering they’re all in their thirties – and I don’t have any current romantic prospects of my own. Y’all know what happened with the last guy I dated. I’m not eager to get my heart stomped on again. Unless I meet a really good guy, it’s book boyfriends only for me, and right now that’s Ryan from Switch the Flip. Have you read it? I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but man, I did not see that ending coming.
Guys. Y’all. I heard a bunch of commotion in the hallway. I’m not sure if the camera picked it up or not. And get this. I went to go see if everything is okay – and I’m locked in. I’m sure everything’s fine. It sounded like maybe the janitor knocked over a trashcan out there or something. Only – what if it’s not?
***
I’m sorry I screamed in the recording. This cute little cat wound its way around my leg, and I didn’t know what it was. I thought – let me not think that again. A shiver just went down my spine. But surely that’s just because I’m stuck in here without a phone signal. No way to call out, and I’m in a locked room. Everything is probably fine, and there was just a commotion on set as part of the movie. That makes the most sense. After all, I’m waiting in here to talk to the director when there’s a break. Probably, the door got locked by accident, and someone will realize soon that I’m still in here. Only – what if it wasn’t an accident?
***
Y’all. The door is opening. I told you everything is going to be okay.
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Vanishing Into the 100% Dark (Bean to Bar Mysteries) by Amber Royer
About Vanishing Into the 100% Dark
Cozy Mystery 8th in Series
Setting - Japan
Publisher: Golden Tip Press (March 4, 2025)
Print length: 324 pages
Bean to chocolate maker Felicity Koerber has been invited to be part of a chocolate festival in Tokyo. It’s a big deal for a Texas gal with a chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand, so a whole group of her friends come along to support her. It’s intimidating enough to be giving a class on chocolate making with the help of a translator – she also stumbles across the scene of a murder, where a quirky group of international actors and stunt performers are making a monster movie. Felicity has already solved half a dozen murders back in Texas, so at this point her friends basically expect her to get involved – even before the young media influencer in Felicity’s group becomes the main suspect. Felicity has taken on the role of chaperone for Chloe, so she can’t imagine how she could explain what went wrong to the girl’s mother. Which gives her even more motivation to figure out the real killer.
In the meantime, things get complicated at the chocolate festival when a rival chocolate maker tries to get her disqualified from the awards competition – and claims that her amateur sleuth status is bringing undesirables into the festival. And things are even more complicated as the stress of being in an unfamiliar place brings out secrets about Felicity’s friends – and her fiancé.
About Amber Royer
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. Her workbook/textbook Story Like a Journalist and her Thoughtful Journal series allow her to connect with writers. Amber and her husband live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them at local coffee shops or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs. They both love to travel, and Amber records her adventures on Instagram – along with pics of her pair of tuxedo cats. If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.amberroyer.com
Blog: http://amberroyer.com/blog/
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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoA_29HV2nPmRnox9LPVanw
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amber_royer
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Amber-Royer/e/B00PFV4CGM
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8144619.Amber_Royer
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