Meet Lily Gayle Lambert - A Guest Post & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Lily Gayle Lambert to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Lily exists in the pages of the Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery series by Susan Boles. Death Says the Gypsy Queen is the fourth book in the series and was released today!

Hi, everyone! Lily Gayle Lambert here. I’m excited about the opportunity to be here today.

I live in Mercy, Mississippi. It’s the town where I grew up. I left when I got out of high school. I couldn’t wait to shake the dust of a small town from my heels. I left so fast, I nearly set the carpet on fire on my way out the door. Ole Miss was my destination that day.

But, as I got older, I came to value all the things about Mercy that drove me crazy when I was growing up. There’s a benefit to living in a place where your family has lived for generations. Those roots run deep. I didn’t know just how deep until I came back home for good to live in the house my grandparents left to me.

Now I stay busy helping my cousin, Ben, solve crimes. He’s the county sheriff. I’m sure he wouldn’t see it that way. But, it’s the truth. Really. It is.

You’d think everything in a small town would be out in the open. Like knowing families for generations. And, someone always seeing you somewhere you’d rather not be seen. But, even small towns can hide some big secrets.

Right now, I’m keeping a big, big secret for an old friend. Vlad Templeton left Mercy when he was ten. He came back a few months ago with state money to run a sleep study. He’d become a doctor in the years he was gone. And, when he needed a small town with several generations of families living in it to run his tests, he came back to Mercy.

The hard part, the big secret, is known only to my cousin, Ben and me. We found out that Vlad was running a secret DNA test on his sleep study participants. He was looking for a gene relating to sleep apnea. Just like he told everyone. But he’s also looking for a different gene. One that relates to genetic anomalies. And he’s keeping that particular test secret from the participants.

And, now, I’m worried that word of that secret testing is going to get out. And cause a lot of heartache and trouble for a lot of innocent people.


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Summer Snoops and Cozy Crimes - A Spotlight & Giveaway

As the days get hotter and hotter it will be the perfect time to celebrate the dog days of summer. Today on the blog I'm featuring a compilation that does just that!

 

Summer Snoops and Cozy Crimes: 

Cozy Mysteries for the Dog Days of Summer

By Judith Lucci, Cindy Bell, Colleen Mooney, Amy Vansant, Colleen Helme, Kim Hunt Harris, Anna Celeste Burke, Ava Mallory, Sandi Scott, Susan Boles, Sam Cheever & Anne R. Tan

About the Books

Summer Snoops and Cozy Crimes: Cozy Mysteries for the Dog Days of Summer 

 Genre: Cozy Mystery  

Release Date: July 24th, 2018 Publisher: Bluestone Valley Publishing

WSJ Bestselling Author Judith Lucci - Gawd Almighty & the Corn

WSJ Bestselling Author Cindy Bell - Murder at Pawprint Creek

WSJ Bestselling Author Colleen Mooney -Dog Gone and Dead

USA Today and WSJ Bestselling Author Amy Vansant - Summer Teeth

WSJ Bestselling Author Colleen Helme - A Midsummer Night's Murder

WSJ Bestselling Author Kim Hunt Harris - The Murder of Bandera Bandito

USA Today Bestselling Author Anna Celeste Burke - A Body on Fitzgerald's Bluff

Ava Mallory - A Dream Stray-Cation

Sandi Scott - Croquembouche Murder

Susan Boles - Death on the Beach

USA Today Bestselling Author Sam Cheever - Toxic Tech

Anne R. Tan - Just Lost and Found

Bonus recipes from the authors are included!

Website - http://www.summersnoops.com/  
Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/summersnoopsandcozycrimes/  

Purchase and GoodReads Links - 
Apple: http://smarturl.it/SummerSnoopsApple  
Kobo: http://smarturl.it/SummerSnoopsKobo  
Nook: http://smarturl.it/SummerSnoopsNook

Purchase Link - Amazon

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About the Authors

Judith Lucci

Dr. Judith Lucci is a Wall Street Journal and best-selling Amazon. She is an award-winning author of the Alexandra Destephano Medical Thriller and the Michaela McPherson "Two Sleuth's and a Dog" Crime fiction series. Her newest series, Artzy Chicks, releases next month and features a group of , eccentric, talented but zany artists in their Art Gallery at a Mountain Resort.

In 2017, 'Viral Intent' (Book 3) Alexandra Destephano Series) was awarded a Gold Medal by Readers' Favorites for 'Best Political Thriller'. as was her crime thriller 'The Case of Dr. Dude' (Michaela McPherson #1) for a Gold Medal for 'Best Amateur Sleuth for 2017. 'The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year' won an additional gold medal for 'Best Holiday Read' of 2017.

Her favorite things are reading, writing art and animals. In her spare time she teaches painting, loves up on animals and raises money for needy causes. Judith lives with her 4 dog family in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She loves to connect with her readers and is available at judithlucciwrites@gmail.com. Check our her website at judithlucci.com. and sign-up for a free copy of Chaos at Crescent City Medical Center.

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Cindy Bell

Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Cindy Bell, has always loved reading, but it is only recently that she has discovered her passion for writing romantic cozy mysteries. When she is not reading or writing she loves baking (and eating) sweet treats or walking along the beach with her energetic cocker spaniel, thinking of the next adventure her characters can embark on. Cindy is the author of the Chocolate Centered, Donut Truck, Dune House, Sage Gardens, Nuts about Nuts, Bekki the Beautician, Wendy the Wedding Planner, Heavenly Highland Inn and the Macaron Patisserie Cozy Mystery Series.

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Colleen Mooney

Colleen Mooney was born and raised in New Orleans along with everyone else in her family. She is a Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author and writes a cozy mystery series set in New Orleans called The New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles and the fourth book, Death By Rum Balls was released in December 2017.

Since January 2017 Colleen organized a Sisters In Crime chapter in New Orleans, has been elected President and has a planned a Mystery Writers’ Conference for June. She is currently working on her 5th book in the Brandy Alexander series.

In New Orleans, she’s been a member and active in many Mardi Gras Krewes, Super Krewes, and organizations. Colleen says she has never met a parade she didn’t like.

She’s an ardent animal lover and the Director for a breed rescue, Schnauzer Rescue of Louisiana for the last fifteen years. She has rescued and placed over 350 abandoned or surrendered Schnauzers. She loves to write and writes about what she loves. Colleen says, “New Orleans is where it all happens for me.”

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Amy Vansant

Amy Vansant is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author specializing in fun, comedic reads about accident prone, easily distracted women with questionable taste in men. So, autobiographies, mostly. Ha! But seriously: She writes happy romantic comedies, mysteries, and urban fantasies. Amy is the former East Coast Editor of SURFER Magazine but the urge to drive up and down the coast interviewing surfers has long since left her. She's a dog-lover who works at home with her goofy husband and loves interacting with fans, so stop by her blog or Twitter and say hi!

http://www.amyvansant.com/

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Colleen Helme

Colleen Helme is the author of the bestselling Shelby Nichols Adventure Series, a wildly entertaining and highly humorous series about Shelby Nichols, a woman with the ability to read minds. When asked if reading minds is something Colleen wishes she could do she says, "No way! It gets Shelby into so much trouble that I would never want that ability." Known for her laugh since she was a kid, Colleen has always tried to find the humor in every situation and continues to enjoy writing about Shelby's adventures. Besides writing, she loves reading, biking, hiking, and playing board and card games with family and friends. She loves to connect with readers and admits that fans of the series keep her writing.

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Kim Hunt Harris

Kim knew she wanted to be a writer before she even knew how to write. When her parents read bedtime stories to her, she knew she wanted to be a part of the story world. She started out writing children’s stories, and her stories grew as she did. She discovered a gift for humor and a love for making people laugh with her tales, and the Trailer Park Princess series was born.

Kim loves to not only make her readers laugh and entertain them with a good mystery, but also to examine the issues the everyday people face…well, every day. Issues like faith and forgiveness, perseverance and tolerance. Set in Lubbock, Texas, the fun books feature a cast of quirky characters, outrageous situations, a drama queen of a dog, and from time to time, a tear or two.

Kim lives with her husband of more than thirty years and two teenage kids in Texas.

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Anna Celeste Burke

Anna Celeste Burke is an award-winning, USA Today Bestselling Author!

Welcome! Join me to get a free eBook--just copy & paste the link: http://www.desertcitiesmystery.com

Life is an extravaganza! figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge.

On my way to Oahu to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had met in San Diego and married in Tijuana, I was nabbed by the police as a runaway. When the police let me go and the rock band broke up, my husband and I had to find another way to survive. Our next stop: Disney World where we trained to be chefs, courtesy of the Walt Disney World University. A GED for my husband and many more years of education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. Retired now from my role as a professor of social work and behavioral science, I have picked up a long-time interest in writing fiction. I'm still married to the same sweet guy and live with him in the Palm Springs area. In addition to reading and writing fiction, I enjoy painting, hiking, hanging out with my handsome husband and tending to my Siamese kitties.

An award-winning and bestselling author I enjoy snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, & food—California style! My books include the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery series set on California’s Central Coast, and The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery series set in Orange County, California--the OC. Coming soon: The Misadventures of Betsy Stark also set here in the Coachella Valley. Find out more at http://www.desertcitiesmystery.com.

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AVA MALLORY

AVA MALLORY has been a grade school teacher, a psychiatric technician, a dementia unit nurse manager, and a Hospice nurse. She has embarrassed herself in front of handsome celebrities, won vocal contests much to the chagrin of her children, survived a major earthquake, and nearly drowned when she mistakenly thought a YMCA lifeguard asked her to dive into the deep end on her first day of swim lessons. She and her eternally annoyed children share their home with a massive collection of books and a never-ending supply of new book ideas.

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Sandi Scott

Sandi Scott is a cozy mystery reader who finally found the courage to write the stories in her head and share them with others. She fell in love with mystery books when she first started reading Agatha Christie eons ago, although her favorite female sleuth will always be Harriet the Spy. She loves dogs, her family, her readers, and sweet treats -- not necessarily in that order.

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Susan Boles

Susan Boles is the award-winning author of the Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Series and also writes romantic suspense in the Brotherhood Protectors series. A lifelong long love of all things mysterious led Susan to write cozy mysteries. Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden were the first to show her that girls can be crime solvers. Agatha Christie showed her that even small towns have big secrets. And Phryne Fisher showed her lady detectives can be outrageously individual. She lives in Mississippi with her rescue mini dachshund, Lucy, and her rescue cat of no particular breed, Zimba. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  

Sam Cheever

USA Today Bestselling Author Sam Cheever writes mystery and suspense, creating stories that draw you in and keep you eagerly turning pages. Known for writing great characters, snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning author of 50+ books.

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Anne R. Tan

Anne R. Tan fell in love with storytelling in elementary school, but decided to study engineering so she could get a “real job.” Her day job is her vacation from home and she moonlights as a writer to keep the voices inside her head under control. She is a toddler wrangler and a part-time short-order cook for her family. She is married to her version of Bob Vila who believes everything needs to be fixed, even if it’s already working. The koi fish in her pond are the only sane members of her household.

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Journey of Discovery - A Guest Post & Giveaway

Journey of Discovery 

By Susan Boles

Writing novels is a unique and personal experience to each author. I've discussed process with many authors and most seem to have their own system worked out. My very first novel was an historical women's fiction called Kate's Pride. It's out of print now, but it was based very loosely on one of my own great great grandmothers. It was a good book and one I'm proud of. Maybe I'll republish it someday.

When I wrote that book, I was a total pantser. I didn't plot out the book at all. I let it flow as I wrote and that worked out just fine for that type of book. For me. I do know authors who write historical fiction novels similar to it and plot out everything.

But this post is about my own journey of discovery. When I decided that I wanted to write the Lily Gayle Lambery Mystery series, I began that same way I'd done with the historical. Writing as I went, having a really good time. But, once I got that first draft finished and went back to do a read through, I realized I'd left out a lot of clues and important information, And I didn't want readers to get to the end of the book and be upset because they clues they would have needed to solve the crime just weren't to be found scattered throughout the story.

And so began a learning experience for me. I went back through Death of a Wolfman half a dozen times to piece in the clues and plot point needed for the conclusion to make sense. As I began writing Book 2, Cherry Cake and a Cadaver, I determined I was not going to make that mistake again.

So, I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a tri-fold foam core board and marked it off into chapters. Then, I purchased multiple colors of post-it notes and assigned each major character a color. Clues were hot pink – because it seemed like the right color for them. I fiddled around with the post-it notes creating the story line and putting clues in place, but it was a little too bare. Next I purchased multiple colors of index cards which I proceeded to fill out with short scene descriptions that I assigned by number to various chapters so that I would have a clearer picture of everything I wanted to make sure got included in each chapter.

The experience of writing each of these mysteries was totally different. And I think I may have gone just a tad bit overboard with the plot mechanisms for Cherry Cake and a Cadaver. Maybe on the next one I'll come up with a happy medium!.

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Cherry Cake and a Cadaver by Susan Boles 

Synopsis 

 

Lily Gayle and the gang set out to find a killer after local baker Luxen Natolovich is found dead hours before the grand opening weekend at the new Bed and Breakfast in town, Midnight Dragonfly. As Lily Gayle deciphers the clues around Luxen's death she uncovers a conspiracy of lies and half truths that could very well be tied to a refugee camp in Mississippi during World War II. The deeper Lily Gayle digs, the deeper the conspiracy runs, and the closer she comes to being the killer's next victim.

 

 

 

About the Author

Susan calls McNairy County, TN her home ground even though she has moved away. It was here, at Bethel Springs Junior High School that she began her writing career with two friends. They formed their own little writers group that was so secret they were the only ones who knew it existed. She still has some of the stories they wrote carefully preserved in a loose leaf binder and tucked away for safety.

She has worked in retail management, briefly for the Census Bureau and for many years in the investment/insurance industry in the regulatory compliance arena. All of which are left brain activities. So she exercises her right brain activity with reading and writing…just to keep both sides even.

Reading has been a passion since she was very young. As a toddler, her mother read to her from her 'baby books' and her Mother tells a story about her holding one of them upside down and 'reading' by repeating the story verbatim from memory.

Death of a Wolfman is the first in the Lily Gayle Lambert mystery series. Her previously published romantic suspense novel, Fated Love, is a contemporary paranormal romantic suspense (with a twist of paranormal) set in Memphis, TN. Her first novel, Kate's Pride, is a historical women's fiction set in West Tennessee in the aftermath of the Civil War. The novel is loosely based on her own Great Grandmother and published under the pen name Renee Russell.

Life got in the way of writing for many years but now she's come back to her early love.

Author Links: Webpage - www.susanbolesauthor.com Twitter - @SusanBAuthor Blog - https://susanbolesauthor.wordpress.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/people/Susan-Boles-Author/100010974857065 Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-boles-author-a4075484 GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14866595.Susan_Boles  


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A Wolfman Interview & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Susan Boles to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Susan writes the Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery series. Death of a Wolfman is the first book in the series and was released August 5th.

Kathy: Lily Gayle Lambert is a professional seamstress. Do you sew?

SB: Yes, I do. I learned some very basic sewing when I was about twelve and then had sewing in school in both eighth grade and ninth grade. Then, my original college major was Fashion Merchandising, so I took some clothing construction classes at that time. I used to make some of my clothes when I was in high school and college.


Kathy: Lily specializes in period dresses for convention attendees and re-enactment groups. Do you participate in these type of events? Are you a re-enactor yourself?

SB: I'm not a re-enactor. But I would love to do it! I have a friend who is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and I have attended some events as her guest...and made costumes to wear for the events. Early Renaissance. I've attended costume parties a some writers conventions too. I have a beautiful satin and lace Renaissance ball gown that I made and also a chiffon mid-calf length fairy dress.


Kathy: What period of clothing has your favorite style?

SB: I love the clothing from the Renaissance. All those gorgeous lacings and wild sleeves! And I love Antebellum costumes too.The ball gowns from that period are gorgeous!


Kathy: Lily is also an amateur genealogist. Have you tried tracing your roots?

SB: Yes. I have been a amateur genealogist for about twenty five years. I've traced some of my family lines back to the early 1600's. It's one of the most interesting and frustrating things I've ever done. When the trail is hot, it can be amazing. But when it goes cold, it gets so frustrating that I could just scream.


Kathy: Is the Wolfman your favorite monster?

SB: I'm a fan of all the old monster movies. Dracula...."Look into my eyes!....the Wolfman, The Mummy. They kept me mesmerized as a kid. Watching them now, I see how corny/campy they are, but the memories are priceless. Sitting deep in the couch. lights off, with a blanket handy for when the scary stuff happened. But the Wolfman fit this story, so he is the one who got top billing.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

SB: I've been a fan of Agatha Christie for as long as I remember. I think that's true of a lot of cozy writers. She's the Queen of the genre. I also read all of the Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books over and over. Later, I loved watching Murder, She Wrote. I still love reading cozies and am always excited when I find new ones.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

SB: I wrote a women's historical fiction titled Kate's Pride that is loosely based on the life of one of my Great grandmothers. She’s was one who I couldn't trace back. She was disowned by her family shortly after the Civil War and, by the time I came along asking questions, no one knew who here family had been. I'm still looking. So I wrote a book about what I thought might have happened to her in that time and place and in her circumstances. It's still available from Wings express. I also have a romantic suspense with a twist of paranormal. It's contemporary and set in Memphis, TN. Not based on any real life situations though.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

SB: Death of a Wolfman is the first book in the Lily Gayle Lambert mysteries. I have books two and three blocked out. I’m really looking forward to writing them. There are lots of adventures in store for Lily Gayle, Dixie and Miss Edna. I also have another cozy mystery series in the planning stages. The main character for that series will be Stella Mae Starlight.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

SB: I have to admit, I kind of love Miss Edna. She's in her seventies and has a lot to say about life and love having lived so long. She's a great foil for Lily Gayle and Dixie. It helps that's she's an 'observer of human nature'. She sits on her front porch with binoculars and does 'bird watching' so she sees a lot of what goes on in town.


Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

SB:I grew up in a small town setting where my family has lived for generations. At the time I was growing up it was a real nuisance. There was always someone to see you where you weren't supposed to be. And they weren't afraid to call your Mama and tell on you. But, looking back, I'm pretty nostalgic about it. It really gives a person a sense of roots to grow up that way. I wanted to portray that in this series.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

SB: All the way back to junior high school I wanted to be a published author. I have two friends who formed a group with me back then and we wrote short stories that we only showed to each other.


Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

SB: Greg Iles - I love his lyrical southern writing.

Stephen King - Quirky mind

Jane Austen - I read her books over and over

Agatha Christie - I read her books over and over


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

SB: Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller. It's a great series about Bell Elkins who returned home to a small mountain town in West Virginia and became a prosecutor.


Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

SB: I am all things crafty and DIY. I love fixing up my home but am on a somewhat limited budget. So I have done some tile work inside and am landscaping the backyard myself. I enjoy knitting and crocheting during the winter months but don't seem to want to work with yarn during the summer. I recently bought a Zoom Loom. It reminds me of those pot holder weaving frames I had as a child. I plan to Zoom Loom a bunch of squares and make some throws for my den this fall and winter.


Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

SB: In the freezer, I am never without Haagen-Dazs chocolate and almond ice cream bars. In the pantry, Velveeta mac and cheese, red potatoes (I love homemade mashed potatoes and gravy), and Wolf brand chili with beans. LOL. Kind of a weird mix now that I'm looking at the list!


Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

SB: I have books two and three broadly outlined in the Lily Gayle series and I have the broad strokes of the first book of another series with a character names Stella Mae Starlight.


Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

SB: My day job is tracking regulatory changes in the investment industry. That's a very left-brain activity. With no room for creativity. Being an author opens the door to creativity as wide as I can swing it. I'm free to make up anything that I choose and run as far as my ideas will take me and my characters.

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