Review
Murder Fir Christmas by Joyce and Jim Lavene
The First Christmas Tree Valley Mystery
Murder Fir Christmas opens with Federal Wildlife Agent Bonnie
Tuttle returning to her home town to take over for the retiring agent
just before Christmas. While the people are friendly, perhaps overly so,
Bonnie is faced with more than she anticipated-a call out to a fire,
requiring the rescue of wildlife, and facing two murders at the scene,
including that of the man she's replacing. Add a mysterious old man with
a huge stag, and a hint of the supernatural and I'm already hooked. And
I didn't even mention the young wolf or the good looking guy!
Joyce Lavene died suddenly before the completion of this novel, but you would not know it. The words flow seamlessly as Jim was able to complete this most wonderful book. Joyce may be gone from this world, but she lives on in their work and I think she may have helped from beyond to finish this book!
The Christmas Tree Valley Mystery series is actually a spin-off of the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery series by J.J. Cook (one of the Lavene's pen names). While you don't need to have read the parent series to appreciate this new one, those who are familiar with the first series will have greater understanding, for not only do we interact with those characters, we learn more about them and find even deeper ties.Like the parent series, Murder Fir Christmas is a hearty book. It's filled with well developed, interesting characters, a finely paced mystery, a slow brewing romantic interest, and intrigue in many areas on many levels to keep readers engaged.
Murder Fir Christmas is just about the perfect gift. The Lavenes take a down to earth Federal agent dealing with arson and murder, yet add a touch of the magical blending Native American lore and a love and respect of animals to create a picture perfect mystery.
Recipes included.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Monday, December 7, 2015
A High Strung Interview and Giveaway
I'd like to introduce Janice Peacock to the blog today. Janice writes the Glass Bead Mystery series. High Strung, A Glass Bead Mystery ebook will be 99 cents from Dec 5 to Dec 9. A Bead in the Hand,
book two in the Glass Bead Mystery Series, is now available. Both can
be found in paperback and ebook editions on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
and iTunes.
JP: I do! I’ve loved beads since I was a girl in the 1970s living in Newport Beach, California. My friend and I often went to a groovy bead store (back when bead stores and many other things were “groovy”) and would play with beads for hours. As an adult I have continued to enjoy making jewelry and collecting beads. In 1992 I learned to make glass beads using a torch. By melting glass, layering colors, and sculpting it with various tools, I can create complex designs and styles. I’ve discovered I’m a pyromaniac! I enjoy working with a torch, while it’s intense working with a 2000 degree flame, it’s also relaxing to watch the flame dancing and the glass becoming liquid and flowing.
Kathy: What is your favorite type of piece to make? How would you describe your style?
JP: Most of my beads look ancient—like they’ve been washed up on shore or have been uncovered from an archeological dig. My signature beads look like small masks. I never get tired of making them, and I enjoy creating different expressions on the faces. The jewelry pieces I make are often quite large, chunky, and colorful. It’s fun to make a piece of jewelry to match a new outfit. While I love to make jewelry, I often find it is difficult to make time for it, especially with all the writing I’ve been doing.
Kathy: Setting is so important, especially in a cozy mystery. Why is Seattle the perfect location for the Glass Bead Mystery series?
JP: Seattle is a mecca for glass art, coming in second only to Venice, Italy. The famous glass artist Dale Chihuly is from Seattle, there’s also the Tacoma Museum of Glass nearby (where my work is in their permanent collection), the world-renowned Pilchuck Glass School is located just north of Seattle, and there are many glass blowing studios in the city as well. So, when I first decided to write a novel about a glass bead maker, I decided that Seattle would be a great location. It’s one of my favorite cities and I’ve spent a lot of time there, so I thought I’d use it as the setting for my books—that it might even give me a reason to visit now and then.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
JP: I’ve always liked mysteries and enjoy the craft orientation in many of the books in the cozy mystery genre. While I’m not a prude, I don’t really like to read graphic sex scenes in novels. I’m definitely squeamish and a total scaredy-cat, so I don’t like to read about gore or graphic violence. I wanted to write books that I would enjoy, so I decided that a cozy mystery series was the best way to go. Since I must read and re-read my own book dozens of times as it moves toward completion, it’s a good thing I like reading them.
Cozy mysteries speak to the things that are important to me: friendships and family, solving problems creatively (usually not finding murderers!), justice, crafts, and yes, cats.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
JP: High Strung is my first book, and while I intend to keep writing more books in the Glass Bead Mystery Series, I do have another cozy mystery series that has been knocking around in my head demanding to be written. It’s a little too early to reveal what that one is about, but I’m excited to get to work on it. I also write haiku poems. I spent a year writing one every day. I hope to collect them into a book and publish them someday, but for now, I’m focused on the Glass Bead Mysteries.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
JP: The Glass Bead Mystery series features a glass beadmaker named Jax O’Connell. She inherits a house in Seattle, and leaves her not-so-terrific life in Miami behind to follow her dreams. As Jax says, she wants to “shake up that old Etch A Sketch called life, and start with a clean slate.” Jax moves in next door to her quirky neighbor Val and reconnects with her old friend Tessa, a feisty Italian mother of three. And then there’s Gumdrop—Jax’s adorable grey cat who could use a serious attitude adjustment—who has, of course, travelled across the country with her to start her new life.
In High Strung: When a murder occurs during a bead shop's grand opening festivities, Jax must string together the clues to clear Tessa's name—and do it before the killer strikes again.
In A Bead in the Hand: A bead bazaar turns bizarre when Jax finds the body of a famous bead designer beneath her sales table and must find the killer to prove her innocence.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
JP: I like all the characters, but Val is definitely one of my favorites. She’s six feet tall, is a former beauty queen, has fluffy red hair, loves anything sparkly, and is obsessed with makeovers and science fiction. It's fun coming up with wacky things that Val says and does. She’s great comic relief, but actually does help Jax solve mysteries, and likes to take care of Jax a little too. In A Bead in the Hand, which has just been released, Val is convinced that her perfume, Chanel Number 6 (according to Val, better than Chanel Number 5), is a ghost repellant and spends most of the book spraying it liberally around the old hotel where they are staying. She’s also determined to find out all sorts of things using Mr. Spock’s Vulcan Mind Meld from the Star Trek TV series. Many readers have told me that Val is their favorite character, as well. Readers also adore Gumdrop, Jax’s fluffy (and grumpy) gray cat, and I admit I love Gumdrop too—he reminds me of a couple of kitties I’ve had in my life.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
JP: Several years ago I took at class at the Corning Studio in upstate New York. You may recognize the name Corning—they are the manufacturers of Pyrex glass baking dishes and measuring cups. While working in the studio, I had an epiphany—the perfect way to kill someone! And while I didn’t have plans to murder anyone in particular, I decided that I wanted to write a murder mystery. As happens in life, it took me a few years before I sat down to write High Strung, but finally I did. It has been an amazing experience bringing my first book and its sequel to readers.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
JP: I had so much fun writing it, I wanted others to enjoy it too!
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
JP: I think I'd invite Janet Evanovich because she would have a lot to say about writing a series and keeping it fun, fresh, and humorous. I’d invite Agatha Christie because she is the Grand Dame of cozy mysteries. I’d be interested to hear what she had to say about the world of writing today and to get her advice about crafting the perfect crime. I’d invite JK Rowling because she was such a huge success and I think her books helped instill a love of books in a generation of young people, including my own daughter. And, I’d invite Glen David Gold, who is the author of one of my favorite books, Carter Beats the Devil. I missed an opportunity to meet him a few years ago, and it would be fantastic to have the chance to sit down and talk with him.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
JP:I’m currently reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. I find that I read a lot of nonfiction while I am actively writing fiction. I don’t like too many plot lines running through my head at the same time. Big Magic is about overcoming fear and learning to be the creative person you were meant to be. I recommend it highly to anyone who has creative passions, especially writers.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
JP: I love making beads and jewelry (of course!), but I also knit (but not very well), and quilt (I’m pretty good, but things are never perfectly lined up), and I also have made dollhouses and miniatures. My daughter and I, over the course of several years, created the Weasleys house from the Harry Potter books in miniature. I also like to make wine with my husband. We’ve become pretty decent winemakers and now have a closet full of wine bottles after doing it for several years.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
JP: Champagne—you never know when you’ll need to celebrate something.
Chocolate chips—my husband makes cookies whenever I’m feeling blue.
Trader Joe’s Yellow Curry Sauce—when I have random veggies, I like to steam them up, make rice and throw the whole thing together with curry sauce. Voila! Instant excellent dinner.
Nutella—The best thing about it is that it’s chocolate, but I’m not tempted to sit down and eat it all in one afternoon, like I might be with a box of chocolates.
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
JP: I do have plans for another book in the Glass Bead Mystery series. A Bead in the Hand, book two in the series, has just been released. Jax and her friends will be back in the third book in the series tentatively titled Killer Beads, which will be released mid-2016.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
JP: I like creating worlds and having adventures with my characters. They’re fictional, of course, but sometimes they feel real to me. After I’ve neglected them for a while, it is nice to meet up with them, see what they’ve been up to, and write down their adventures. It’s wonderful to hear from a reader who has had a laugh out loud moment while reading one of my books. I love the idea that people can escape for a little while into a world I’ve created, that they are entertained by what I’ve written, and maybe even learned a little along the way.
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Here are the links to my books:
High Strung (99 cents from Dec 5 to Dec 9)
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/High-Strung-Glass-Bead-Mystery-ebook/dp/B014QH483C/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1445448578&sr=1-3
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/high-strung-janice-peacock/1122599675?ean=9781513700335
iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/high-strung/id1035501055?mt=11
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26206341-high-strung
A Bead in the Hand, Released on Dec 5 and available on all major retailers
http://www.amazon.com/Bead-Hand-Glass-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B01721C3XQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1445794260&sr=1-5&refinements=p_n_date%3A1249102011
Connect with Janice Peacock
www.janicepeacock.com
jp@janicepeacock.com
blog.janicepeacock.com
Twitter and Instagram: @JanPeac
Facebook.com/JanicePeacockAuthor
Pinterest.com/JanPeac
www.goodreads.com/JanicePeacock
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If you'd like a chance to win an e-book copy of High Strung. Simply leave a comment on this post telling us if you'd ever beaded or made jewelry along with your e-mail and format needed no later than 11:59 pm EST Tuesday, December 8, 2015.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Empty Interview & Giveaway
I'd like to welcome Marty Wingate to the blog today. Marty writes the Birds of a Feather Mystery series. Empty Nest is the second book in the series.
Kathy: Julia Lanchester is the manager of a tourist center in a small English village. What made you choose this job for her?
MW: Being tourist manager gives Julia access to the entire Fotheringill estate - which includes the village, Seaton-under-Lyme. So many possibilities for trouble!
Kathy: Aside from her boss, Julia doesn’t mix well with the aristocracy. What are your thoughts on class differences?
MW: I enjoy the idea of titles and think that nowadays, the aristocracy are quite down-to-earth, probably because so many of them have had to figure out how to keep hold of their house and lands. I know an estate in Scotland where they’ve turned part of the manor house into a hotel and they have cottages to rent on the estate (you can stay for free if you weed the garden!).
Kathy: There's some birding going on in the Birds of a Feather Mystery series. Do you go birding yourself? Do you have a favorite bird?
MW: I’m the kind of birder Julia is - I enjoy the birds of gardens, woods, and fields, but I’m not looking to create some earth-shattering life list. In England one of my favorites is the pied wagtail - he’s a cutie. In the States, I think the winter wren is my favorite.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
MW: I think cozy and traditional mysteries allow an author to tell characters’ stories as well as the mystery - and we also build a setting which is practically a character itself. When I read Christopher Fowler’s books (The Peculiar Crime Unit mysteries), I feel London as an important part of the story.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
MW: I’ve written non-fiction (how-to garden books), but cozies are my only fiction - at the moment!
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
MW: Empty Nest is the second in the Birds of a Feather series, which follows Julia Lanchester, tourist center manager. She’s the daughter of a well-known ornithologist (think Indiana Jones), which is where a lot of the birding comes in. She’s also a bit brash and loves chocolate cake. In the Potting Shed series (#4, The Skeleton Garden, will be out in March!), Pru Parke, a middle-aged American gardener, has moved to England. Pro gets involved with a Detective Chief Inspector in London, digs up a murder or two, and moves around the country a bit (#1 - London; #2 - Sussex; #3 - Edinburgh; #4 - Hampshire).
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
MW: My favorite character seems to be the one I’m writing about at the moment. In Empty Nest, I have a great fondness for Willow, the intern at the tourist center.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
MW: I’m a gardener and I love England - it wasn’t difficult to go from there to the Potting Shed mysteries. And because those books have to do with the outdoors, there’s always a mention of a bird or two. So, Birds of a Feather - set in one of my favorite places in England: Suffolk.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
MW: I like to tell a good story, and storytellers always need an audience.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
MW: Ray Bradbury - he first inspired me when I was thirteen years old
Louisa May Alcott - what female writer doesn’t want to be Jo?
Alexander McCall Smith - have you heard him speak? He’s like a stand-up comic
Jo Rowling - I love the new PI series
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
MW: Just finished Career of Evil (Rowling) and have started on Ian Rankin’s newest Rebus book.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
MW: Gardening, travel, writing. That about says it all!
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
MW: Olive oil, butter, several kinds of cheese, milk for tea
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
MW: I’ve already got Birds of a Feather #3 forming in my head - getting Julia into more trouble - and I’m just finished Potting Shed #5, which will be out in autumn, 2016. More to come for both!
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
MW: These characters who seem to appear, fully formed, in my head. I love getting to know them.
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Kathy: Julia Lanchester is the manager of a tourist center in a small English village. What made you choose this job for her?
MW: Being tourist manager gives Julia access to the entire Fotheringill estate - which includes the village, Seaton-under-Lyme. So many possibilities for trouble!
Kathy: Aside from her boss, Julia doesn’t mix well with the aristocracy. What are your thoughts on class differences?
MW: I enjoy the idea of titles and think that nowadays, the aristocracy are quite down-to-earth, probably because so many of them have had to figure out how to keep hold of their house and lands. I know an estate in Scotland where they’ve turned part of the manor house into a hotel and they have cottages to rent on the estate (you can stay for free if you weed the garden!).
Kathy: There's some birding going on in the Birds of a Feather Mystery series. Do you go birding yourself? Do you have a favorite bird?
MW: I’m the kind of birder Julia is - I enjoy the birds of gardens, woods, and fields, but I’m not looking to create some earth-shattering life list. In England one of my favorites is the pied wagtail - he’s a cutie. In the States, I think the winter wren is my favorite.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
MW: I think cozy and traditional mysteries allow an author to tell characters’ stories as well as the mystery - and we also build a setting which is practically a character itself. When I read Christopher Fowler’s books (The Peculiar Crime Unit mysteries), I feel London as an important part of the story.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
MW: I’ve written non-fiction (how-to garden books), but cozies are my only fiction - at the moment!
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
MW: Empty Nest is the second in the Birds of a Feather series, which follows Julia Lanchester, tourist center manager. She’s the daughter of a well-known ornithologist (think Indiana Jones), which is where a lot of the birding comes in. She’s also a bit brash and loves chocolate cake. In the Potting Shed series (#4, The Skeleton Garden, will be out in March!), Pru Parke, a middle-aged American gardener, has moved to England. Pro gets involved with a Detective Chief Inspector in London, digs up a murder or two, and moves around the country a bit (#1 - London; #2 - Sussex; #3 - Edinburgh; #4 - Hampshire).
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
MW: My favorite character seems to be the one I’m writing about at the moment. In Empty Nest, I have a great fondness for Willow, the intern at the tourist center.
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
MW: I’m a gardener and I love England - it wasn’t difficult to go from there to the Potting Shed mysteries. And because those books have to do with the outdoors, there’s always a mention of a bird or two. So, Birds of a Feather - set in one of my favorite places in England: Suffolk.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
MW: I like to tell a good story, and storytellers always need an audience.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
MW: Ray Bradbury - he first inspired me when I was thirteen years old
Louisa May Alcott - what female writer doesn’t want to be Jo?
Alexander McCall Smith - have you heard him speak? He’s like a stand-up comic
Jo Rowling - I love the new PI series
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
MW: Just finished Career of Evil (Rowling) and have started on Ian Rankin’s newest Rebus book.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
MW: Gardening, travel, writing. That about says it all!
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
MW: Olive oil, butter, several kinds of cheese, milk for tea
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
MW: I’ve already got Birds of a Feather #3 forming in my head - getting Julia into more trouble - and I’m just finished Potting Shed #5, which will be out in autumn, 2016. More to come for both!
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
MW: These characters who seem to appear, fully formed, in my head. I love getting to know them.
Friday, December 4, 2015
A Yarned and Dangerous Interview, Review, and Giveaway
I'm pleased to welcome Sadie Hartwell to the blog today. While this visit is technically Sadie's first...it isn't really as Sadie is also known as Susannah Hardy. Susannah was here just last month. You can revisit that post here. Sadie writes the Tangled Web Mystery series, the first of which, Yarned and Dangerous, was released on November 24th.
Kathy: Yarned and Dangerous is the start of a new series which you write under the name Sadie Hartwell. You also write the Greek to Me Mystery series under the name Susannah Hardy. Why the name change?
SH: The Greek to Me Mysteries are published by Berkley Prime Crime. The Tangled Web Mysteries are published by Kensington Publishing. The name change was simply a business decision to keep the two series separate and to fulfill certain terms of my contracts. Susannah Hardy is a pen name, the name of my great-great-great grandmother. When I needed a new nom de plume, I chose one with a similar sound and matching initials. Readers are smart, so I knew they’d be able to make the association between the two names. Thus, Sadie Hartwell was born.
Kathy: The Tangled Web Mystery series features knitters and knitting. Are you a knitter?
SH: I am a knitter, as well as a crocheter, both skills I mostly taught myself as a kid, with some help from my aunt and a family friend. I love the way yarn looks and feels as it goes through my fingers, getting twisted and knotted into something wearable or otherwise usable. And interestingly, doing yarn-work quite often helps me sort out plot problems or character issues with my stories. Not that I think that will surprise other yarn-workers. Something about that repetitive motion of the hands frees up something in the brain. I can’t explain it any further than that, but I know it works!
And I want to let everyone know that I have a new Facebook group where we can talk about crafts, books, or books and crafts. So I hope everyone will join the group and join in the fun. https://goo.gl/BAmf3t
Kathy: Is Miss Marple Knits based on a real knitting shop?
SH: Not any specific shop, yet all of them, if that makes sense. Each shop has its own atmosphere, but there are certain universal aspects: gorgeous yarn in every conceivable color stored in cubbies and baskets; samples of knitted/crocheted projects strategically placed to entice shoppers; owners and sales staff who work there because they love it (I’ve never met a yarn store clerk who wasn’t passionate about her job); and customers browsing with yarn lust in their eyes. In case you can’t tell, I adore yarn shops!
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
SH: The Tangled Web Mysteries is a brand-new series, written under the name Sadie Hartwell. Book 1, YARNED AND DANGEROUS, features Josie Blair, a fashion designer whose dreams never quite came true in New York City. She moves to Dorset Falls in rural Connecticut to shut down her great-aunt’s yarn shop, but when one of the town’s knitters turns up dead in the storeroom, Josie sets out to find the killer, and in the process uncovers some decidedly not-warm-and-fuzzy truths about the town—and about herself. (www.sadiehartwell.com)
The Greek to Me Mysteries are written under the name Susannah Hardy, and are set in a Greek restaurant in a fictional village on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in northern New York State. Georgie Nikolopatos manages the historic Bonaparte House for her soon-to-be-ex-mother-in-law (wow, that’s a lot of hyphens!), while solving murders that threaten her town and her family. FETA ATTRACTION and OLIVE AND LET DIE are both available now. (www.susannahhardy.com)
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?
SH: Not for the story itself, which is completely made up. Except for the yarn lust. Watch any avid knitter/crocheter in a yarn shop and you’ll know that’s real. But I can tell you that Josie’s great-uncle, Eben Lloyd, bears an intentional similarity to my own grandfather, who passed away some years ago. Eb’s house and farm are based on my grandparents’ dairy farm in northern New York. My uncle still lives there.
Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?
SH: My first book, FETA ATTRACTION, was written entirely by the seat of my pants. As I was putting fingers to keyboard, I literally did not know what was going to happen in the next paragraph. But it turned out well enough to get me an agent and get me published. Now that I have contracts for multiple books, I do need to provide my publishers with brief outlines of what happens, so they can do their work and know I’m not going completely off the rails. And since I’m writing series, I do have to make sure I keep characters consistent from one book to the next. Now I pants it, let my subconscious work on the setup, for about the first half of the book. I take a brief break, then go back and reread what I’ve done so I can figure out how everything I’ve set up in the first half is going to get resolved in the second half. So now I’m a plotser!
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
SH: You bet! Book 3 of the Greek to Me series, as yet untitled, will come out in November, 2016. It is a standalone mystery, but it does complete a large story arc for Georgie and her family from books 1 and 2. Book 2 of the Tangled Web Mysteries, which has a title that I can’t release just yet, features Josie settling into life in Dorset Falls—until a new business owner ends up dead before he can even get his shop open. That will also be a late 2016 release.
*****
Yarned and Dangerous Book Description:
Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it big in New York City. But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins. And when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…
Includes original knitting patterns!
Links:
Yarned and Dangerous: goo.gl/0DX7bJ
Website: www.sadiehartwell.com
Facebook: https://goo.gl/vcfpRb
Sadie Hartwell’s Yarned and Dangerous Gang: https://goo.gl/BAmf3t
Twitter: https://goo.gl/8Y3qU5, @sadiehartwell
Bio: Sadie Hartwell grew up near the Canadian border in northern New York State, where it’s cold, dark, and snowy almost half the year—a perfect environment for nurturing a simultaneous love of mystery fiction, cooking, and needlework. She attended St. Lawrence University, graduating with a degree in history, and has worked as a waitress, handbag designer/manufacturer, office person, and copy editor before turning to writing full time. Now she gets to play with recipes and yarn and make up stories whenever she wants, and wishes everyone had a job as much fun as hers.
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Review
Yarned and Dangerous by Sadie Hartwell
The First Tangled Web Mystery
Working in the fashion industry is hard. Working for an egocentric womanizing male designer makes it more difficult. When said womanizing designer puts the moves on Josie Blair, she quits, instead of just taking some vacation time to help her recuperating uncle. Josie has been commandeered to help her curmudgeonly uncle who suffered a broken leg as well as being left a widower after a car crash. With her mom on a cruise, Josie's the only one left to help her uncle around the house as well as close his new wife's yarn store. Begrudgingly, Josie leaves New York City and heads to the wilds of Connecticut. Although Josie and Cora had never met, Josie feels the warm draw of Cora's shop. Intending to close it, she's faced with several yarn crazed ladies who want to buy the stock. When one is later found murdered in the locked shop, Josie realizes there's a lot more going on in this depressed town than she thought!
This series is off to a great start with Yarned and Dangerous! Great characters emerge from the yarn lust filled eyes of the knitters, the senior ladies trying to snare a newly available man, and the nasty mother and daughter in law. A neighborly feud and mysterious goings on create some trust issues-for Josie and us, the readers. Josie is a likeable protagonist while Uncle Eb gives a gruff no nonsense exterior. There's more than meets the eye to many of the characters providing depth as well as increasing our interest in the story.
Hartwell writes with both humor and grit providing us a well rounded mystery filled with interesting characters in a town meant for a comeback. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next entry in the Tangled Web Mystery series.
Knitting patterns included.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Kathy: Yarned and Dangerous is the start of a new series which you write under the name Sadie Hartwell. You also write the Greek to Me Mystery series under the name Susannah Hardy. Why the name change?
SH: The Greek to Me Mysteries are published by Berkley Prime Crime. The Tangled Web Mysteries are published by Kensington Publishing. The name change was simply a business decision to keep the two series separate and to fulfill certain terms of my contracts. Susannah Hardy is a pen name, the name of my great-great-great grandmother. When I needed a new nom de plume, I chose one with a similar sound and matching initials. Readers are smart, so I knew they’d be able to make the association between the two names. Thus, Sadie Hartwell was born.
Kathy: The Tangled Web Mystery series features knitters and knitting. Are you a knitter?
SH: I am a knitter, as well as a crocheter, both skills I mostly taught myself as a kid, with some help from my aunt and a family friend. I love the way yarn looks and feels as it goes through my fingers, getting twisted and knotted into something wearable or otherwise usable. And interestingly, doing yarn-work quite often helps me sort out plot problems or character issues with my stories. Not that I think that will surprise other yarn-workers. Something about that repetitive motion of the hands frees up something in the brain. I can’t explain it any further than that, but I know it works!
And I want to let everyone know that I have a new Facebook group where we can talk about crafts, books, or books and crafts. So I hope everyone will join the group and join in the fun. https://goo.gl/BAmf3t
Kathy: Is Miss Marple Knits based on a real knitting shop?
SH: Not any specific shop, yet all of them, if that makes sense. Each shop has its own atmosphere, but there are certain universal aspects: gorgeous yarn in every conceivable color stored in cubbies and baskets; samples of knitted/crocheted projects strategically placed to entice shoppers; owners and sales staff who work there because they love it (I’ve never met a yarn store clerk who wasn’t passionate about her job); and customers browsing with yarn lust in their eyes. In case you can’t tell, I adore yarn shops!
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
SH: The Tangled Web Mysteries is a brand-new series, written under the name Sadie Hartwell. Book 1, YARNED AND DANGEROUS, features Josie Blair, a fashion designer whose dreams never quite came true in New York City. She moves to Dorset Falls in rural Connecticut to shut down her great-aunt’s yarn shop, but when one of the town’s knitters turns up dead in the storeroom, Josie sets out to find the killer, and in the process uncovers some decidedly not-warm-and-fuzzy truths about the town—and about herself. (www.sadiehartwell.com)
The Greek to Me Mysteries are written under the name Susannah Hardy, and are set in a Greek restaurant in a fictional village on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in northern New York State. Georgie Nikolopatos manages the historic Bonaparte House for her soon-to-be-ex-mother-in-law (wow, that’s a lot of hyphens!), while solving murders that threaten her town and her family. FETA ATTRACTION and OLIVE AND LET DIE are both available now. (www.susannahhardy.com)
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?
SH: Not for the story itself, which is completely made up. Except for the yarn lust. Watch any avid knitter/crocheter in a yarn shop and you’ll know that’s real. But I can tell you that Josie’s great-uncle, Eben Lloyd, bears an intentional similarity to my own grandfather, who passed away some years ago. Eb’s house and farm are based on my grandparents’ dairy farm in northern New York. My uncle still lives there.
Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?
SH: My first book, FETA ATTRACTION, was written entirely by the seat of my pants. As I was putting fingers to keyboard, I literally did not know what was going to happen in the next paragraph. But it turned out well enough to get me an agent and get me published. Now that I have contracts for multiple books, I do need to provide my publishers with brief outlines of what happens, so they can do their work and know I’m not going completely off the rails. And since I’m writing series, I do have to make sure I keep characters consistent from one book to the next. Now I pants it, let my subconscious work on the setup, for about the first half of the book. I take a brief break, then go back and reread what I’ve done so I can figure out how everything I’ve set up in the first half is going to get resolved in the second half. So now I’m a plotser!
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
SH: You bet! Book 3 of the Greek to Me series, as yet untitled, will come out in November, 2016. It is a standalone mystery, but it does complete a large story arc for Georgie and her family from books 1 and 2. Book 2 of the Tangled Web Mysteries, which has a title that I can’t release just yet, features Josie settling into life in Dorset Falls—until a new business owner ends up dead before he can even get his shop open. That will also be a late 2016 release.
*****
Yarned and Dangerous Book Description:
Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it big in New York City. But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins. And when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…
Includes original knitting patterns!
Links:
Yarned and Dangerous: goo.gl/0DX7bJ
Website: www.sadiehartwell.com
Facebook: https://goo.gl/vcfpRb
Sadie Hartwell’s Yarned and Dangerous Gang: https://goo.gl/BAmf3t
Twitter: https://goo.gl/8Y3qU5, @sadiehartwell
Bio: Sadie Hartwell grew up near the Canadian border in northern New York State, where it’s cold, dark, and snowy almost half the year—a perfect environment for nurturing a simultaneous love of mystery fiction, cooking, and needlework. She attended St. Lawrence University, graduating with a degree in history, and has worked as a waitress, handbag designer/manufacturer, office person, and copy editor before turning to writing full time. Now she gets to play with recipes and yarn and make up stories whenever she wants, and wishes everyone had a job as much fun as hers.
***********************************************************************
Review
Yarned and Dangerous by Sadie Hartwell
The First Tangled Web Mystery
Working in the fashion industry is hard. Working for an egocentric womanizing male designer makes it more difficult. When said womanizing designer puts the moves on Josie Blair, she quits, instead of just taking some vacation time to help her recuperating uncle. Josie has been commandeered to help her curmudgeonly uncle who suffered a broken leg as well as being left a widower after a car crash. With her mom on a cruise, Josie's the only one left to help her uncle around the house as well as close his new wife's yarn store. Begrudgingly, Josie leaves New York City and heads to the wilds of Connecticut. Although Josie and Cora had never met, Josie feels the warm draw of Cora's shop. Intending to close it, she's faced with several yarn crazed ladies who want to buy the stock. When one is later found murdered in the locked shop, Josie realizes there's a lot more going on in this depressed town than she thought!
This series is off to a great start with Yarned and Dangerous! Great characters emerge from the yarn lust filled eyes of the knitters, the senior ladies trying to snare a newly available man, and the nasty mother and daughter in law. A neighborly feud and mysterious goings on create some trust issues-for Josie and us, the readers. Josie is a likeable protagonist while Uncle Eb gives a gruff no nonsense exterior. There's more than meets the eye to many of the characters providing depth as well as increasing our interest in the story.
Hartwell writes with both humor and grit providing us a well rounded mystery filled with interesting characters in a town meant for a comeback. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next entry in the Tangled Web Mystery series.
Knitting patterns included.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Why campuses are locations for violence - Guest Post
Why campuses are locations for violence
By Bourne Morris
In the last few years hardly a month goes by that we don’t come home to a terrible report about violence on a college campus. And these stories, of course, are only part of the overall incidence of national school violence.
In my mystery novels, I have chosen to focus on college campuses because so many are unique and interesting locations for crime. I am writing particularly about campuses set in small town and cities. If you went to one, you may remember a fairly bucolic setting of green lawns and trees and graceful buildings, gathered together on a single parcel of land, near to but separate from the town itself.
These campuses are usually welcoming and open. Anyone can walk in and stroll down the pathways, enjoy the efforts of college gardeners and what is normally the peace and quiet of scholarly pursuit. You don’t even have to be a student or an alumnus or employee. In some cases, you are allowed to tour the library or several of the more public buildings. Doors are left unlocked during the day. People you encounter, including campus police, usually ignore you. So, unless you are carrying an automatic rifle, or are raging and visibly distressed, no one will bother you. Or even notice you.
The average campus is as anonymous as a shopping mall, less guarded than an airport or a bus station. Unlike corporate or government buildings, no one stops you at a desk. No one asks you for I.D, or your reason to be there. In a high school or grammar school building these days there’s a good chance you’ll be locked out or challenged, but not on a college campus.
Don’t get me wrong, the average college campus is probably no more dangerous than the average American small town. But, when we think about the mysteries we have read, doesn’t it seem that the average small town locates the very stuff of violence and treachery?
And as far as my characters are concerned , the same is true for my fictional college campus.
Let’s start with the faculty. I was on a college faculty for 26 years before retiring and I can tell you with certainty that faculty groups are not always civilized and polite. Some people are mad as hell. For one thing, many universities are located in small towns and are the only game in town. So if you’re a tenured professor, or even on track to become tenured, and you are unhappy with your job or angry with your boss, you can’t just walk down the street and get another job at another university. If you want to leave, you have to leave town. And that means selling your house and uprooting your spouse and your kids. So maybe instead of quitting your job, you dig in and wait for change. Meanwhile you’re very frustrated, short-tempered and, quite possibly, resentful because your feelings are hurt all the time. You are a petri dish for an act of violence.
Or let’s say you are a student. Not a happy, popular party loving student or a respected serious scholar. You’re the student who came to college full of hope and expectation and discovered disappointment. After all your dreams and too much of your parent’s money, it’s not working out. But your folks are counting on you to stick it out. The courses are dull and unsatisfying. The assignments and tests are too hard. The other students don’t find you all that attractive. The job you had to take to help support yourself is boring drudgery. You go to bed lonely and wake up angry… every day.
When you think about it, there are plenty of potential villains on a college campus. And I think about it all the time while I’m writing. My first novel, “The Red Queen’s Run” focused on vicious professors and the murder of a dean. My second, ‘The Rise of the Red Queen” opens with the kidnapping of a student by a disturbed man with a grim agenda. And, in the Red Queen series, my protagonist, a beautiful red haired academic is always involved in going after the criminals and intriqued by the handsome detective who helps her.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Currently Reading...
I just started reading Murder Fir Christmas by Joyce and Jim Lavene with Chris Lavene. Sadly, Joyce Lavene died before this book was completed, but Jim plugged on and finished this first book in the Christmas Tree Valley Mystery series.
This series is actually a spin off of the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery series Jim and Joyce write under the name J.J. Cook. Christmas Tree Valley is located right next to Sweet Pepper and Federal Wildlife Agent Bonnie Tuttle has already met Sweet Pepper Fire Chief Stella Griffin...and former Chief Eric!
Murder Fir Christmas opens with Federal Wildlife Agent Bonnie Tuttle returning to her home town to take over for the retiring agent just before Christmas. While the people are friendly, perhaps overly so, Bonnie is faced with more than she anticipated-a call out to a fire, requiring the rescue of wildlife, and facing two murders at the scene, including that of the man she's replacing. Add a mysterious old man with a huge stag, and a hint of the supernatural and I'm already hooked. And I didn't even mention the young wolf or the good looking guy!
Recipes included.
This series is actually a spin off of the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery series Jim and Joyce write under the name J.J. Cook. Christmas Tree Valley is located right next to Sweet Pepper and Federal Wildlife Agent Bonnie Tuttle has already met Sweet Pepper Fire Chief Stella Griffin...and former Chief Eric!
Murder Fir Christmas opens with Federal Wildlife Agent Bonnie Tuttle returning to her home town to take over for the retiring agent just before Christmas. While the people are friendly, perhaps overly so, Bonnie is faced with more than she anticipated-a call out to a fire, requiring the rescue of wildlife, and facing two murders at the scene, including that of the man she's replacing. Add a mysterious old man with a huge stag, and a hint of the supernatural and I'm already hooked. And I didn't even mention the young wolf or the good looking guy!
Recipes included.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
An Interview for Your Life and Review
I'm pleased to welcome Karoline Barrett to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Karoline writes the Bread and Batter Mystery series. Bun for Your Life is the first in the series and was released November 17th.
Kathy: Setting plays such an important part of a book, especially in cozy mysteries. I am a proud resident of Western New York and love reading books set in my area. Why is this area the perfect location for Bun for Your Life?
KB: Cozy mysteries are typically set in small towns, and upstate New York is dotted with small, picturesque towns and farms. Since my family is from there, I’m familiar with the area, which made it easy to build my fictional town of Destiny based on towns near Seneca Lake.
Kathy: People who only think of NYC when New York is mentioned are missing out on so much, including the fact that New York is really an agricultural state and we're one of the top states in apple production! No wonder then that the co-owners of Bread and Batter Bakery are preparing for Destiny’s annual Apple Harvest Fair. What are some of your favorite things about fruit and harvest festivals? You are so right about people thinking of only NYC when they hear New York. I love buying homemade jams and jellies, homemade breads, cakes, and the right-off-the-farm fruits and veggies at these festivals – items you can’t find at your grocery store. I also like the arts and crafts vendors. And, you can’t beat the outdoors on a crisp, sunshiny autumn day!
KB: Molly and Olivia sell not only baked goods, but tote bags and t-shirts. Why branch out? (Mind you, I'm quite apt to buy shirts and totes from companies I like myself!) Lots of people, including me, love souvenirs, so why not? It’s good advertising for their bakery—Bread & Batter—they add something special to the ambience, and they’re fun.
Kathy: Is Bread and Batter Bakery based on a real bakery?
KB: No, it’s totally a product of my imagination.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
KB: The small town setting, the mystery, and the characters, who are usually humorous or quirky; people readers can identify with.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
KB: My first book, The Art of Being Rebekkah, is women’s fiction and was published in 2013 by E-Lit Books. I also have a romance I work on when I have the time.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
KB: My Bread & Batter series revolves around Molly Tyler who, with her best friend, Olivia Williams, owns Bread & Batter Bakery in the fictional town of Destiny, New York. When murders send the bucolic town where she grew up into a tizzy, Molly steps in to whip up some answers, despite the disapproval of the town’s handsome new detective.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
KB: Oh, this is a hard one! I’ll say Molly because the story is told from her point of view. But, all the characters have their own endearing qualities. Well, maybe not the bad ones…
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
KB: The small towns I’m familiar with in upstate New York that are surrounded by apple orchards and vineyards. It’s such a peaceful area, and the people are all so friendly. And I love small, independently owned bakeries, so I had to include one of them in my series.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
KB: Some people say they write only for themselves, which is fine, but I wanted to share my books with the public. I want people to enjoy reading about Molly and Olivia, Detective Sean Corsino, and the rest of the gang in Destiny, as much as I enjoyed writing about them.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
KB: Shirley Jackson, Janet Evanovich, Sylvia Plath, and Ann B. Ross.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
KB: I’m reading A Body in the Belfry by J.B. Hawker; I promised her I’d review it.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
KB: Reading, beach time, photography, and traveling with my husband.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
KB: 1. Eggs
2. Coke (I’m a total Coca Cola addict!)
3. Fruit (recently picked apples with my husband, so lots of those right now!)
4. Yellow rice
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
KB: I do! Raisin the Dead, the second book in my Bread & Batter series, is coming April 19, 2016.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
KB: People telling me they love my books and asking when the next one will be out!
****************************************************************************
Review
Bun for Your Life by Karoline Barrett
The First Bread and Batter Mystery
Molly Tyler and her best friend, Olivia Williams, own the Bread and Batter Bakery in central New York. Molly gets into an argument with local orchard owner Calista Danforth over booth location for the local apple festival; a nasty argument witnessed by a good looking newcomer to town. When Calista is later found murdered, strangled with a Bread and Batter t-shirt, the good looking newcomer comes back. Turns out he's the town's new homicide detective! Molly is determined to "help" the detective. Whether she's getting involved to save herself from a murder charge or distract herself from her ex-husband's actions, remains to be seen.
Bun for Your Life is a lighthearted mystery set in a wonderful locale. Molly starts the series with more thoughts to the past than the future. Through the book she grows and realizes the past is just that, nice, but the past and there's much more to Molly's life. The search to clear her name of the murder charge leads Molly to much more, including relationships, new and old, history, and above all, new beginnings.
Filled with humor, Barrett creates a pleasurable first entry in a promising new series.
Kathy: Setting plays such an important part of a book, especially in cozy mysteries. I am a proud resident of Western New York and love reading books set in my area. Why is this area the perfect location for Bun for Your Life?
KB: Cozy mysteries are typically set in small towns, and upstate New York is dotted with small, picturesque towns and farms. Since my family is from there, I’m familiar with the area, which made it easy to build my fictional town of Destiny based on towns near Seneca Lake.
Kathy: People who only think of NYC when New York is mentioned are missing out on so much, including the fact that New York is really an agricultural state and we're one of the top states in apple production! No wonder then that the co-owners of Bread and Batter Bakery are preparing for Destiny’s annual Apple Harvest Fair. What are some of your favorite things about fruit and harvest festivals? You are so right about people thinking of only NYC when they hear New York. I love buying homemade jams and jellies, homemade breads, cakes, and the right-off-the-farm fruits and veggies at these festivals – items you can’t find at your grocery store. I also like the arts and crafts vendors. And, you can’t beat the outdoors on a crisp, sunshiny autumn day!
KB: Molly and Olivia sell not only baked goods, but tote bags and t-shirts. Why branch out? (Mind you, I'm quite apt to buy shirts and totes from companies I like myself!) Lots of people, including me, love souvenirs, so why not? It’s good advertising for their bakery—Bread & Batter—they add something special to the ambience, and they’re fun.
Kathy: Is Bread and Batter Bakery based on a real bakery?
KB: No, it’s totally a product of my imagination.
Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?
KB: The small town setting, the mystery, and the characters, who are usually humorous or quirky; people readers can identify with.
Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?
KB: My first book, The Art of Being Rebekkah, is women’s fiction and was published in 2013 by E-Lit Books. I also have a romance I work on when I have the time.
Kathy: Tell us about your series.
KB: My Bread & Batter series revolves around Molly Tyler who, with her best friend, Olivia Williams, owns Bread & Batter Bakery in the fictional town of Destiny, New York. When murders send the bucolic town where she grew up into a tizzy, Molly steps in to whip up some answers, despite the disapproval of the town’s handsome new detective.
Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?
KB: Oh, this is a hard one! I’ll say Molly because the story is told from her point of view. But, all the characters have their own endearing qualities. Well, maybe not the bad ones…
Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?
KB: The small towns I’m familiar with in upstate New York that are surrounded by apple orchards and vineyards. It’s such a peaceful area, and the people are all so friendly. And I love small, independently owned bakeries, so I had to include one of them in my series.
Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?
KB: Some people say they write only for themselves, which is fine, but I wanted to share my books with the public. I want people to enjoy reading about Molly and Olivia, Detective Sean Corsino, and the rest of the gang in Destiny, as much as I enjoyed writing about them.
Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?
KB: Shirley Jackson, Janet Evanovich, Sylvia Plath, and Ann B. Ross.
Kathy: What are you currently reading?
KB: I’m reading A Body in the Belfry by J.B. Hawker; I promised her I’d review it.
Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?
KB: Reading, beach time, photography, and traveling with my husband.
Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.
KB: 1. Eggs
2. Coke (I’m a total Coca Cola addict!)
3. Fruit (recently picked apples with my husband, so lots of those right now!)
4. Yellow rice
Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?
KB: I do! Raisin the Dead, the second book in my Bread & Batter series, is coming April 19, 2016.
Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?
KB: People telling me they love my books and asking when the next one will be out!
****************************************************************************
Review
Bun for Your Life by Karoline Barrett
The First Bread and Batter Mystery
Molly Tyler and her best friend, Olivia Williams, own the Bread and Batter Bakery in central New York. Molly gets into an argument with local orchard owner Calista Danforth over booth location for the local apple festival; a nasty argument witnessed by a good looking newcomer to town. When Calista is later found murdered, strangled with a Bread and Batter t-shirt, the good looking newcomer comes back. Turns out he's the town's new homicide detective! Molly is determined to "help" the detective. Whether she's getting involved to save herself from a murder charge or distract herself from her ex-husband's actions, remains to be seen.
Bun for Your Life is a lighthearted mystery set in a wonderful locale. Molly starts the series with more thoughts to the past than the future. Through the book she grows and realizes the past is just that, nice, but the past and there's much more to Molly's life. The search to clear her name of the murder charge leads Molly to much more, including relationships, new and old, history, and above all, new beginnings.
Filled with humor, Barrett creates a pleasurable first entry in a promising new series.
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