Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Death on Lily Pond Lane by Carrie Dolye. This book is the second in the Hamptons Murder Mystery series.

It's the off season in the Hamptons and Antonia Bingham has taken on extra work looking after a few estates while the owners are away. At one of her stops Antonia is surprised to discover the car of a house guest who was supposed to have already left town. She is even more surprised to find his dead body in the bathtub! In an attempt to protect the homeowners and thinking the death is a tragic accident, Antonia removes what may be a vital piece of evidence. However, the victim had been making high powered enemies by filming a documentary expose. Could his death actually be murder?

A Fatal Fiction Interview & Giveaway

I'm happy to welcome Kym Roberts to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Kym writes the Book Barn Mystery series. FATAL FICTION, the first book in the series, was released this month. Please check out my previous post for more information about FATAL FICTION including the Rafflecopter!

Kathy: In FATAL FICTION Charli agrees to sell off the family bookstore which is housed in a barn. What a neat place for a bookstore! Have you been in any uniquely placed bookstores?

KR: I used to meet my critique group in a neat little book store in Roanoke, TX called The Book Carriage. They have a loft overlooking the lower section of the store that was a great place to brain storm with the Litgirls. I’ve also met authors at a lighthouse in Maine and art festivals in Hanapepe, HI. Not to mention the tons of great old books I’ve found at antique stores in neat little displays. Last spring I had the pleasure of visiting Shakespeare and Company in Paris—that was a real treat. Italy has some interesting street vender style book stores that were also fun. Someday I’d like to visit The Spotty Dog’s Books and Ale in Hudson, NY and find a cozy little Highland closet bookstore in Scotland. We all have a bucket list!


Kathy: Charli also forms an alliance with the town beauty queen. Have you known anyone on the pageant circuit yourself?

KR: No, I have absolutely no knowledge or experience in that realm—picture Sandra Bullock in her navy blazer, white shirt and gray slacks. I’m comfortable with that version of a beauty queen.


Kathy: Hazel Rock, Texas is a frontier of big hair and bigger gossip. Have you ever lived in such a place?

KR: I live in it now! I really thought it was just hype about Texas, but the first time I went to the beauty shop—wow, that was culture shock! It was a scene from Steel Magnolias.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

KR: The humor and the happy endings. I could write dark all day, but isn’t there enough dark? I like to open the curtains wide and let the sun shine in.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

KR: Romantic suspense and romance—fair warning they’re much spicier.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

KR: The Book Barn Mysteries are about going home and repairing damaged relationships, and about starting new ones that make the experience comfortable, yet new and exciting.

My Malia Fern Mysteries are younger characters. Malia is growing into her skin as a self-sufficient adult while dabbling with dating and adding a touch of paranormal with Hawaiian folklore. (language and adult content)

The Tickled to Death Mysteries are about the trials a young woman faces after becoming a widow before her wedding day. With the help of a dog and an Army vet she just might leave the comfort of her little shop to live life once again. (All the proceeds of Dead Man’s Carve go to wounded vets.)

And my three romantic suspense books are about strong women conquering all their fears for the love they deserve—and of course the alpha males who drive them crazy;)


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

KR: I’m really identifying with Charli right now, I love the southern turn of phrases, although they can be challenging for a Yank to turn with ease. I like Princess the armadillo, but in real life armadillos stink, so Bogart from The Tickled to Death series is high on my list of pets—he kind of has an edge on all the others since he’s a real boxer—my dad’s dog was named Bogie. And I envy Malia, she’s the young woman I wish I had been;)


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

KR: Places I’ve lived or visited. There is something wonderful about experiencing new geographic areas, even if it’s just in your home state, or it’s across the country, or around the globe. There’s always something fascinating to see, history to learn, and people to meet.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

KR: In each of my careers I’ve had a desire to help people. I worked with victims for years, trying to be their voice when theirs wasn’t strong enough to be heard. But then when a tragedy struck my family, an author pulled me out of my darkest moments with her humor. I hope to reach people in the same way—a little escape, a little humor, and a lot of hope for the future.


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

KR: That’s pretty easy, you’ll find them on my website, Janet Evanovich, Suzanne Brockmann, Sue Grafton and Karen Marie Moning. I have pictures with three of them on my desk—now I just need to add the fourth and we can sit down and have that dinner!


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

KR: Shhhh, I’m supposed to be living and breathing my third Book Barn Mystery, but between you and I and your readers, Janet Evanovich Turbo Twenty-Three—vroom, vroom!


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

KR: OMG, what hobby do I not have? I like remodeling—my house is in constant need, refinishing antiques, book art, carving, painting, computer graphics and a run reluctantly to stay in shape. When I’m at the coast, I surf—badly.


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

KR: Simply Lemonade, watermelon, blue berries and Blue Bell Homemade vanilla ice-cream. Charli might have issues with that in the second and third books of the Book Barn Mystery series! (And don’t let the fruit fool you, I ate all the pumpkin pie)


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

KR: The second Book Barn Mystery, A Reference to Murder comes out May, 2017 and the third Perilous Poetry next fall/winter. Dead Right There, A Malia Fern Mystery releases hopefully in March or April and I’m not sure about When a Stranger Carves, A Tickled to Death Mystery—hopefully before the end of 2017.


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

KR: Creating a smile on a reader’s face. If each one of my book raises the corners of one mouth—that’s good enough for me. If they create more, I hope readers will share that gift with someone else.

Fatal Fiction - Spotlight & Giveaway

Fatal Fiction
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Lyrical Underground (December 6, 2016)
ISBN-13: 978-1601837325
E-Book ASIN: B01CWYTJVC

Synopsis

When kindergarten teacher Charli Rae Warren hightailed it out of Hazel Rock, Texas, as a teen, she vowed to leave her hometown in the dust. A decade later, she’s braving the frontier of big hair and bigger gossip once again . . . but this time, she’s saddled with murder!

Charli agrees to sell off the family bookstore, housed in a barn, and settle her estranged dad’s debt—if only so she can ride into the sunset and cut ties with Hazel Rock forever. But the trip is extended when Charli finds her realtor dead in the store, strangled by a bedazzled belt. And with daddy suspiciously MIA, father and daughter are topping the most wanted list . . .

Forging an unlikely alliance with the town beauty queen, the old beau who tore her family apart, and one ugly armadillo, Charli’s intent on protecting what’s left of her past . . . and wrangling the lone killer who’s fixin’ to destroy her future . . .

About The Author

Three career paths resonated for Kym Roberts during her early childhood: detective, investigative reporter, and . . .nun. Being a nun, however, dropped by the wayside when she became aware of boys—they were the spice of life she couldn’t deny. In high school her path was forged when she took her first job at a dry cleaners and met every cop in town, especially the lone female police officer in patrol. From that point on there was no stopping Kym’s pursuit of a career in law enforcement. Kym followed her dream and became a detective who fulfilled her desire to be an investigative reporter, with one extra perk—a badge. Promoted to sergeant, Kym spent the majority of her career in SVU. She retired from the job reluctantly when her husband dragged her kicking and screaming to another state, but writing continued to call her name, at least in her head. Visit her on the web at kymroberts.com.

http://www.kymroberts.com/
https://twitter.com/kymroberts911
http://www.ekensingtonbooks.com/author.aspx/31810

Purchase Links
Amazon B&N


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Book Blast - Self Serve Murder

Book Blast – Self Serve Murder by D.E. Haggerty

Self-Serve Murder (Death by Cupcake)
3rd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Self-Published
Paperback: 130 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1540620712
E-Book ASIN: B01M8K0RYR

 Synopsis:

Book 3 in the Death by Cupcake series. Can be read as a standalone.

Kristie is kind with a capital K, so it’s quite the surprise when she wakes up next to a dead man with no recollection of the previous night. Even worse? She’s naked. Kristie may be a sweetheart out to save the world, but sticking her nose into an investigation of rapes across campus makes her the target of a murderer. Before she knows it, Callie is smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation with her colleagues Callie and Anna. If that’s not enough to drive a sane person up the wall, a friend has decided he’s going to keep her safe whether she wants him to or not. And, oh yeah, he’s her man and that’s that.

Come join us at Callie’s Cakes, where murder investigations are on the menu. You are most welcome, but you may need to serve yourself as our barista Kristie is busy trying to save the world.

Warning: Although there are plenty of moments that will make you shake your head and laugh at the antics of the ladies of Callie’s Cakes, the subject matter – rape on college campuses – is very real and somewhat darker than your usual cozy mystery.

Excerpt:

I assumed that, as soon as we got back to my apartment, everyone would take off, and I’d be left alone to contemplate what happened. Contemplate. I snort to myself. Freak out’s more like it. Unfortunately, when I open the door and turn around to thank everyone, the men push their way in and collapse on my sofa. My sofa, heck my apartment, was not made to house the two oversized detectives.

I don’t shut the door but stand at the entrance with my mouth opening and closing in my best imitation of a fish. Think, think, think. Oh yeah, I have the perfect excuse for keeping them out. “Should you be in here? Doesn’t CSI or whatever it’s called in real life need to do their thing? Find clues or fingerprints or something?” There! That sounded reasonable. Not at all like I’m trying to kick everyone out. 

Logan snorts. “You watch too much TV.”

Luckily, Ben takes pity on me and explains. “They’ve already come and gone. And even if they hadn’t, it wouldn’t matter.” The confusion must show on my face. The big detective smiles. “We were all here this morning.” I nod my head in understanding but don’t move away from the door.

Anna sits on Logan’s lap and I cringe as my sofa creaks. “You might as well shut the door and come in here.” Oh great, the troublemaker is on the case. Looks like I don’t have a choice. I shut the door and walk the short distance to my living room. I collapse in the chair across from my friends and close my eyes. Let the questions begin.

“So why were you in that bar anyway? You don’t drink. Or at least the few times we’ve gone out, we nearly had to force-feed you beer.” Callie’s voice actually sounds hurt.

I shrug and try to evade giving away the real reason for my visit to the bar. “Am I not allowed to go to a bar on a Friday night?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Callie immediately snaps. Darn it! I suck at the secret spy mission stuff.

“Sorry, I’m not feeling well.” There, that’s not a lie.

“We just need you to answer a few questions and then we’ll leave you alone,” Ben insists in a gentle but firm voice. Obviously, I’m not getting out of answering some questions and considering I woke up naked next to a dead man, I should probably be grateful I’m getting grilled by my friends instead of cuddling up to some jailbird named Bertha.

 


Buy links:
Amazon     Smashwords    Barnes and Noble    Kobo

Author Bio: I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although I did manage, every once in a while, to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I decided to follow the husband to Istanbul for a few years where I managed to churn out book after book. But ten years was too many to stay away from ‘home’. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

Author links:
Website: http://dehaggerty.wordpress.com
Blog: https://dehaggerty.wordpress.com/category/mymusings/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dehaggerty
Twitter: https://twitter.com/denaehaggerty
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DEHaggerty/posts
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/denahaggerty/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7210211.D_E_Haggerty
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/D.E.-Haggerty/e/B00ECQBURU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_5?qid=1438239628&sr=8-5

What Fresh Interview & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Jeffrey Marks to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Jeffrey writes the Marissa Scott Mystery series. WHAT FRESH SMELL is the third book in the series and was released earlier this year.

Kathy: In WHAT FRESH SMELL a daycare teacher is murdered. What makes having a daycare a good center for a mystery?

JM: I wanted to look at the issue of how parents sometimes have a real disconnect with their children. The kids spend 6-8 hours a day at the daycare and in some cases, the parents don’t know who is taking care of the kids. That’s why I chose Pamela as a victim. She was probably not the person that many of these parents would have wanted to watch their children, but they didn’t know.  Aside from that, I work in a school (as my day job) so stories and ideas come into my head frequently. This is probably as close as I’d get to writing about my work.


Kathy: What made you decide to make your protagonist a female instead of a male character?

JM: I had written one series with a male protagonist early on, and I wanted to try something different. (More about that later!) The male series were historical mysteries, and I wanted to do something contemporary. I wrote the first draft of the first novel in just six weeks. For someone who spent 18 months on a historical and five years on a biography, six weeks felt like a whirlwind. I had such fun that I’ve come back to the character when I need a boost in the writing.


What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

I’ve always read mysteries, and most of the authors I read are cozy mystery writers. I’ve been at it since I was 14 when my father brought home THE UNDERDOG AND OTHER STORIES by Agatha Christie and gave it to me to read. As soon as I finished that book, I went out and bought 5 more. It’s been like that ever since.

From Christie I went to many other authors who wrote in the 1940s and 1950s. Back in those days, minimum wage was $2.10. I could buy 1 paperback for $1.99 or multiple books at the used bookstore for $0.25 apiece. Since the books were used, most of them were 20-30 years old, which meant I read a significant number of authors prior to the thriller/espionage/hardboiled detective era. It’s not a surprise that the biographies I write are of the authors I read in my youth. Without exception, they all wrote during the era of the books I read as a teenager.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

JM: As I mentioned, I write a historical mystery series set in southern Ohio. They’re very different than this series. I’ve only written three books in that series, because they are extremely time consuming. I work with towns in southern Ohio, and I have to research street names and mayors and policemen and all the rest. I love the books, but I doubt I’d go back to them at any point soon.

I’ve also written a series of biographies of mystery writers, starting with Craig Rice. WHO WAS THAT LADY? was the biography of Craig Rice, and it was nominated for several awards and sold quite well. That encouraged me to write more. The latest is a dual biography of Ellery Queen, the two cousins who collaborated under that name. As you can imagine, it takes a significant amount of time to write the biographies of two men. I’m at about 150 pages in that book and hope to have it completed next year.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

JM: Marissa Scott is the head of the cosmetics department at a Cincinnati department store, Kantor’s. She’s the single mother of a young son. She’s originally from Columbus, Ohio, but she had moved down here with her husband. They subsequently divorced. She’s trying to make ends meet while trying to be a great mom and a good employee.

My other series is a historical series set just after the war in southern Ohio and features US Grant as the detective. He actually made a victory tour through the Midwest after the war and an attack was made on his life during that tour. THE AMBUSH OF MY NAME is a fictionalized version of that attack, set in Georgetown, Ohio, where Grant grew up (and where I was born.)


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

JM: Ellen, the head of security for Kantor’s, is a favorite character of mine. She’s is her own person. Despite working in a department store and being friends with the head of cosmetics, Ellen doesn’t care. She wears clothes that are comfortable for her work. She’s the current generation of a long line of police officers and this is her part of that tradition. She’s just very comfortable in her skin, and I wish I could be that relaxed about myself some times.


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

JM: Yes, Marissa works at a department store in the cosmetics department. She has a small child. My sister worked in a department store as the head of the cosmetics department and had small children. She’s since out of that line of work, and her children are grown. However, the impetus for the character was fairly clear.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

JM: I submitted the first book in this series, THE SCENT OF MURDER, to the Malice Domestic Grant contest in its first year. Malice Domestic is a conference and organization that promotes cozy mysteries. The book won that grant, which gave me money to attend Malice and to look for an agent and/or publisher. The book was published a short time later.


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

JM: I think I’m going to stick with dead authors. I know a number of living authors, who I enjoy dining with.

Everyone always assumes that I would invite Agatha Christie, but she was very shy, and I’m not sure she’d appreciate being put in that situation. I think I’d include Fred Dannay, who was half of the Ellery Queen collaboration and had phenomenal understanding of the mystery genre. Craig Rice, who I’ve written about, would be invited, as I’ve never heard her voice. Most of the other authors I’ve profiled I’ve heard speak. Margaret Millar would be invited, because I missed the one chance I had to meet her, and it still is a regret. Finally, I would invite Phoebe Atwood Taylor, because I like lots of lively conversation and wit.


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

JM: I am reading Chloe Kendrick’s Maeve Kinkaid series. They’re a series of cozy mysteries set around a food truck. I’m enjoying the camaraderie of the characters and the fun situations. I’m also reading the new biography of Shirley Jackson, who cannot be considered cozy by any means, but the biography is very well done.


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

JM: I am a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, one of the martial arts. I enjoy the workouts and concentration on something more physical and less mental than writing. I also collect Rookwood Pottery; my great-grandmother worked there. So over the years, I’ve inherited a few pieces and purchased many more.


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

JM: Yogurt, cottage cheese, carrots and tomatoes. It’s a rather bland diet, but it works.


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

JM: Yes to both. I’m currently working on a new book in the current series. In it, Marissa is working at a discount facility of the department store, and Gavin shoots an armed gunman – except the police who search the scene cannot find the weapon. It’s a bit of an impossible crime novel combined with headlines that could easily be pulled from today’s headlines.

I’ve been toying with a new series idea as well. In it, the main character would be a former medical examiner who lost her job in a political shuffle. She comes back home to the family knife shop, and since it’s a mystery, I’m sure you can figure out what happens next.


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

JM: I love to talk about book and specifically mysteries. Being an author gives me a wealth of chances to talk about mysteries and books. I would be happy to talk about such things all day if I could.

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