Review - Crime and Poetry

Review

CRIME AND POETRY By Amanda Flower

The First Magical Bookshop Mystery

Violet Waverly rushes back to Cascade Springs, NY, a place she vowed never to return, to see her dying grandmother. She discovers, however, a talking bird flying around the family bookshop and a perfectly healthy Grandma Daisy! Violet also learns that her grandma has been keeping things from her including a boyfriend and the fact that the bookshop actually has magical properties granted by the famous spring water. Although Violet wants to flee town as soon as possible, Grandma Daisy declares that Violet needs to take over as Caretaker. Before Violet can even imagine what that means, yet alone entails, she finds a dead body, as she did prompting her previous flight from town. When her Grandma is named a suspect, Violet knows she can't leave town, at least not yet! 

Amanda Flower moves out of Ohio in her most recent mystery series and comes to Western New York. She brings something else new too-magic! While prior series involve the Amish and a living history museum this time she's devised a magical bookshop. While the outside world remains mostly mundane, the bookshop required a Caretaker who cares for the birch tree growing inside the building and is given information  in the form of books. At Charming Books the books chose their reader.

In CRIME AND POETRY Flower creates a delightful new world. A charming town in WNY, a Chief of Police who is both attractive and attentive, fun and spunky animals with minds of their own (Emerson the cat and Faulkner the crow), as well as a magical bookstore combine to make a captivating entry to a great new series. As a Western New Yorker myself I love reading books set in my area and am so pleased to see a main character who is part of the Seneca Nation.

Flower is off to a great start in her new series. She crafts a solid mystery with choices from the past coloring the present. Violet is an engaging protagonist. As an academic she has an analytical mind, yet her field of study, Transcendental Literature, requires the artistic and creative side. She's therefore able to appreciate the otherworldly, even if it takes a while to acknowledge it. These facets also produce a great detective. Violet will prove more than capable to solve mysteries that come her way.

FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.

Who Invited the Ghost for an Interview & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Teresa Watson to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Teresa writes the Ghost Writer Mystery series. WHO INVITED THE GHOST FOR DINNER? is the second book in the series and was released February 1st.

Kathy: Cam Shaw is a ghost writer. Would you ever consider working as a ghost writer?

TW: I think I would try it once, just for the experience. If it went well, then I would consider doing it again.


Kathy: Cam Shaw also deals with ghosts. Do you believe in ghosts?Have you ever had a ghostly experience?

TW: I wasn’t raised to believe in ghosts, but I think it is possible that they are around. Shortly after my father died last year, my mother said she felt he was in the house one night because she heard his office chair squeaking for a few minutes.


Kathy: WHO INVITED THE GHOST FOR DINNER? involves a production of BLITHE SPIRIT, a favorite play of mine. Why BLITHE SPIRIT? Any particular reason apart from ghosts?

TW: I’m a theatre geek! I was involved in high school and college, and I also did a community theatre production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS (I was M’Lynn). BLITHE SPIRIT is one of my favorite plays. It’s fun to watch Elvira wreak havoc on her poor husband’s life!


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

TW: I’ve been reading mysteries since I was in the sixth grade. Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie...my mother and I enjoy the same writers, so we trade books back and forth all the time.


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

TW: Not at this time, although I am open to trying a different genre at some point!


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

TW: Well, the Ghostwriter series is about a ghostwriter who is suddenly able to see ghosts, who ask for her help in solving their murders. It’s definitely turned her life totally upside down! My other series is the Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries series, about a woman living in a small town with a quirky cast of characters. She runs the local newspaper, and has managed to solve a few crimes, mostly by accident.


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

TW: I would have to say that my favorite character was Debra Cosgrove from the Lizzie series. Debra was Lizzie’s crazy half-aunt who happened to be a contract killer. I loved writing for her because I never knew what she was going to do, or when she was going to turn up! I think she had honorable intentions when it came to Lizzie, but her work usually got in the way of them having any kind of normal relationship. However, I was given a “death warrant” for her, and “ordered” to make her go away permanently, so she was killed off in DEATH CATCHES A KILLER. And before you ask, it was my mother who said she had to go (Mom also helps edit my books). Trust me, I argued like crazy to keep her around, but Mother was firm, so I bumped Debra off. *sigh* I still miss her. But, I think I have found a new favorite character, and that is Mac in the current Cam story.


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

TW: I don’t think there is a specific inspiration. My father was a Methodist minister, so we moved a lot when I was growing up. You meet all kinds of people! Some of those people just make such an impression on you that you remember them for the rest of your life. So I used them for some of the inspiration in my stories.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

TW: The first Lizzie story, DEATH OF A CANTANKEROUS OLD COOT, actually started out as a story for a group of online friends. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and a friend and fellow writer, Jamie Lee Scott, suggested that I try and publish it. I did send it to a small publishing company, and they enjoyed the story, but wanted me to make it longer. I didn’t agree with that, because I felt it would take away from the story. So Jamie suggested self-publishing it; she created the cover, formatted it for me, uploaded it, and it just went from there!


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

TW: Wow, what a great question! Hm, let me think: the late Robert B. Parker (I love his Spenser series); the late Agatha Christie; Steve Berry (he writes the Cotton Malone series); and Jan Karon (the Mitford series).


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

TW: I’m actually not reading a mystery right now! *gasp* I’m reading OUT TO CANAAN by Jan Karon. It’s an excellent series, and one that I have enjoyed over the years with my parents.


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

TW: Does torturing my husband count as a hobby? *laughs* I’m a huge sports fan, so this is a great time of the year for me (as I write this, tomorrow is the Sweet 16 for the NCAA Tournament - GIG ‘EM AGGIES!). I’m a voracious reader, and read almost anything I can get my hands on. I love history, especially the Civil War and World War II. Movies are a big thing around here. Throw in music and crocheting, and that’s me in a nutshell!


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

TW: Dr Pepper, eggs, Apple Jacks, and Betty Crocker Ultimate Fudge Brownie mix!


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

TW: I have an index card with several title suggestions for the Lizzie series; two ideas for new Cam books; and two ideas for a couple of different possible series.


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

TW: You mean besides killing off people? *laughs* I really love hearing from people who have read both series, and having them tell me how much they love the stories. There are those who alternate between “what a great book”, followed by “but”, then switching back to “what a great book”. I do pay attention to what people say about the books, what they like, what they don’t like, or what they’d like to see happen. I do try to work some of those suggestions and comments into the next story. But isn’t that why every author writes? To hear that people really enjoy your stories? It makes all the hard work, sleepless nights (I just had one last night), and days of editing worthwhile.



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For a chance to win an e-book copy of WHO INVITED THE GHOST FOR DINNER? simply leave a comment on this blog post telling us if you'd like to be able to talk with ghosts. Leave your comment no later than 11:59 pm EDT Monday, April 11, 2016. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so that I may contact you should you win!

Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower. This book is the first in the Magical Bookshop Mystery series and was just released yesterday!

Violet rushes back to Cascade Springs, NY, a place she vowed never to return, to see her dying grandmother. She discovers, however, a talking bird flying around the family bookshop and a perfectly healthy Grandma Daisy! Violet also learns that her grandma has been keeping things from her including a boyfriend and the fact that the bookshop actually has magical properties granted by the famous springwater. Although Violet wants to flee town as soon as possible, Grandma Daisy declares that Violet needs to take over as Caretaker. Before Violet can even imagine what that means, yet alone entails, she finds a dead body, as she did prompting her previous flight from town. When her Grandma is named a suspect, Violet knows she can't leave town, at least not yet!

A Daughter's Interview and Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Richard Audry back to the blog today. This time we're discussing his Mary MacDougall Mystery series. A DAUGHTER'S DOUBT was released just last month.

Kathy: A DAUGHTER'S DOUBT is the third book in your Mary MacDougall Mystery series and is set in 1902. What made you decide upon writing a historical cozy and why this era?

RA: Back in the ’90s I created the first version of Mary. She came out of an epiphany I had when I first saw A Room with a View, starring Helena Bonham Carter. Wouldn’t it be fun to mash up Lucy Honeychurch with Sherlock Holmes? That first book was the result. But the mistakes I made were to emulate Holmes’s cool temperament for Mary and write in an archaic style. It had a good plot, but the cool, detached Mary was wrong and the style was off-putting. I set that book in 1903 because it was still the era of Holmes and there were certain real historical circumstances that the plot required.

Fast forward two decades. My wife had been urging me to revive Mary—but a more sympathetic, friendlier Mary in more of a cozy style. So, three years ago I wrote the first new Mary novella, A PRETTY LITTLE PLOT, as a birthday present for her. The reaction from my beta readers was good enough to encourage me to write a second story and now a third.


Kathy: Historical mysteries require an extra special brand of research. What's your favorite method to research this time period?

RA: I had done a lot of library research back in the ’90s, for the first novel. For example, I discovered that lady detectives—while not common in that era—were working here and there. Much of that detail has carried over. Now, of course, with Google and Wikipedia, no more trips to the library are required. I don’t worry about conveying every little historical detail, but work at getting the important things right.


Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?

RA: Yes, there were several. There was a certain incident that involved my great-grandfather—according to family lore. And my research turned up other situations from roughly that period. They provided the jumping-off points for the plot. Unfortunately, any further details I could give would be spoilers.


Kathy: Are you able to share any future plans for Mary MacDougall?

RA: I plan to write at least two more novels. The first will have Mary unraveling a deadly plot involving a royal house of Eastern Europe. The next will be that very first story that I wrote twenty years ago, rebooted with the new, friendlier Mary and in a cozy style. I even have the title ready for that one—Blood on the Birches.


Kathy: The protagonist is a woman in the Mary MacDougall Mystery series, while your King Harald series features a man (and a male dog) in the lead role. Does a different gender point of view affect the way you write? Is one way easier?

RA: It does indeed. When your protagonist is female and you’re male, you need to look at things differently. Just as you would if your POV character was older or younger than you, richer or poorer, educated or uneducated. I write Mary based on my best assumptions of a smart, headstrong young heiress of 1902. And then I have my editors and beta readers—all female—review what I’ve come up with. To answer your second question, yes, it’s easier for me to see Andy’s POV than Mary’s. I just have a lot more in common with him. But having said that, a good writer should be able to write any POV, no matter how dissimilar to herself or himself.


Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pantsers, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a pantser, or do you fall somewhere in between?

RA: I’m a plotter. Writing a book can take hundreds of hours, and I could end up with something useless if I wrote as a pantser. So I like having a road map of where I’m going and the primary stops along the way. It’s fine to improvise and adapt and tweak a bit, but that map is what propels me forward.


Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

RA: The next two or three books I’m writing will be King Harald canine cozies. I’m working now on the first of those, in which Andy and Harald are stranded by a blizzard at a resort hotel. And I expect to get back to Mary MacDougall sometime in 2017.

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Review - Killer Takeout

Review

KILLER TAKEOUT by Lucy Burdette

The Seventh Key West Food Critic Mystery

Temperatures soar in Key West as the town celebrates Fantasy Fest. The Royal Court has been chosen, but one runner up does not take losing lightly and picks a fight with the Queen, Hayley's co-worker Danielle. As Haley Snow works on covering the event for Key Zest Magazine she samples numerous takeout foods and partakes of the the many activities found on the island. Adding to the activities, Hayley's mom and fiance are in town to get married. But with a hurricane brewing, tempers flaring, and Danielle a prime suspect in the suspicious death of her rival, Haley's got more on her plate than a mango hot dog!

Burdette has crafted a fine mystery in this seventh installment of the Key West Food Critic Mystery series. Her use of atmosphere drives both the plot and the characters. Hayley Snow has really grown since her first appearance.She's toughened up. While she loves her family, island family as well as blood, and enjoys their company, she's evolving into an independent woman who doesn't need a man to be happy. She's able to stand up and speak out for herself. Her confidence has grown without sacrificing her caring wholesome self.

KILLER TAKEOUT captures the atmosphere of a town on edge, a party town a step away from going too far. The weather turns up the heat creating tension, desires, and bringing out the competitiveness in its populace. As Hayley looks into the suspicious death she continues her work as a food critic providing us with mouthwatering food descriptions. We can almost taste the food, see the sights, and feel the humidity, thankfully safe in our cool homes without a murderer on the loose! In KILLER TAKEOUT Burdette skillfully combines atmosphere and characterization, with a thoughtfully plotted mystery to create a winning book!

Recipes included.

FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.

Nosy Neighbors - Guest Post, Review, & Giveaway

Nosy Neighbors
by Tonya Kappes

I live in Louisville, Kentucky. Old Louisville to be exact. We aren’t that big of a community, so we are sorta like a small town within the bigger city. We live on a very charming street called Belgravia Court. Our houses are very close together and the front doors face our very own courtyard.

Let me introduce you to some of them.

Mrs. Hubbard, our neighbor across the courtyard, and Auntie Meme had had a few words right there in the courtyard in front of everyone. Auntie Meme told her to mind her own business, only her exact words were my business isn’t your business and unless you’re my panties don’t be up my ass.

Mrs. Hubbard was as mad as a wet hen but it didn’t stop her from still being nosy.

Auntie Meme put a rodent spell on Mrs. Hubbard’s house sending every rodent on Belgravia Court over there. The Orkin man was a fixture over there.

Susie Brown, our other neighbor and Belgravia Court’s neighborhood watch president, even started a rumor that Mrs. Hubbard and the Orkin man were having a fling. Only we knew the truth and we never gave into gossip. In fact, the women loved to meet up in the courtyard on Saturday nights with their fancy cocktails and catch up on the gossip on Belgravia Court. The Park family—my family—were always a topic of interest because we spent much of our time to ourselves. Well, not Auntie Meme. She spent a lot of time looking out the front window wondering what type of spell she could send Mrs. Hubbard’s way. When she’d get down to the nitty-gritty of a spell, Mom wouldn’t let her send it. Auntie Meme fussed that Mom let her make the spell, why not let her send it. Mom let Auntie Meme concoct THE spells so she wouldn’t have to entertain my feisty auntie.

Still, the neighbors loved to gossip about us. Much was speculation, but still, they lived on speculation. 

Welcome to Belgravia Court! We are happy to have you!

Spies and Spells

SPIES AND SPELLS, the first in this highly anticipated new series from USA TODAY Bestseller Tonya Kappes because we know she's a queen at writing paranormal mystery witch series, is here! 


Spies and Spells 
Spies and Spells Book 1 
While Maggie waits for her Witchy Hour, she works at the family diner with her mom, aunt Meme and Lilith, her sister - all witches. Soon Maggie gets entangled with a mysterious handsome stranger, Mick Jasper, and his secret U.S. organization, SKUL. Has she found her calling? 

Amazon

 

Be sure to visit each blog on the Spies and Spells blog tour. At each stop you will notice a bold and italicized word. These words make up one sentence. On April 9^th, the last blog stop, you will have to opportunity to answer the sentence question and be entered to win a Tonya Kappes Loves Her Readers Mystery Box! On each blog stop, you will be able to enter a Rafflecopter giveway for a $50 Amazon Gift Card and signed print copy of Spies and Spells from Tonya Kappes. An added bonus~ All the blog titles are in the word search puzzle above. There are four extra mystery words in the word search. Find them and be entered to win a Starbucks Gift Card, Kappes mini Tote, Kappes flashlight pen, and Kappes sticky notes! You will be able to tell them to Tonya on April 9^th! Good luck!

Spies and Spells Blog Tour Schedule

April 1^st: Brookes Blog

April 2^nd: Forget The Housework I’m Reading

April 3^rd: Cozy Up With Kathy

April 4^th: A Girl and Her eBooks

April 5^th: Chatting about Cozies

April 6^th: Lisa K’s Book Review

April 7^th: Booth Talks Books Blog

April 8^th: Shelley’s Book Case

April 9^th: Tonya Kappes Blog

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Review

SPIES AND SPELLS by Tonya Kappes
The First Spies and Spells Mystery

Maggie Park lives in Historic Old Louisville, Kentucky along with her sister, Lilith, her mom, and aunt. And their familiars. You see, the Park women are witches and Maggie and Lilith are helping at the family restaurant while waiting for their Witchy Hour; the time when their true path will be shown. In the meantime, the sisters still goad each other into magical dares. One such dare leads Maggie to witness, and interfere with, a package drop. This misadventure brings one determined man, high end make up, and the start of Maggie's Witchy Hour.

Welcome to the witchy world of Tonya Kappes. In SPIES AND SPELLS she creates a new world around Belgravia Court where witches live side by side with mortals, the mortals generally clueless about their different neighbors. Kappes also creates a new construct for her witches. Faced with a "Witchy Hour" witches don't decide on a career on their own. Instead fate announces what their path will be. The witches here have familiars, but Maggie has one of a quite different sort. Instead of a cat, macaw, or owl, who help her mom, sister, and aunt respectively, Maggie's familiar is a car; a car named Vinnie. A car names Vinnie who can get jealous.

SPIES AND SPELLS brings together mystery, romance, and humor...lots of humor... and paves the way for future stories set in this new world. As someone who studies the occult and various nature paths I was unable to take the book too seriously, yet I did not take offense. SPIES AND SPELLS is silly lighthearted froth, but it's a lot of fun. If you're looking for an escape into a magical world with a hint of romance you should find this book a pleasurable read-I did!  

A Dolphin Bay Interview & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Kathi Daley back to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Kathi has a brand new series which was just released this past week!

Kathy: Murder at Dolphin Bay is the first in a new series for you. Was there a specific inspiration for this series?

KD: I love Hawaii and I love writing about the area. I first wrote about the area in Maui Madness, A Zoe, and it was one of my most popular books in the series. I wrote Maui Madness while on location while I wrote Murder at Dolphin Bay during a snowstorm in Tahoe, but it was so nice to mentally take myself out of the storm and onto the beach.


Kathy: Have you spent any time in Hawaii?

KD: Yes. My husband and I love Hawaii and have been many times. Living on the west coast it is actually closer than going to eastern locals such as Florida. We usually stay on Maui but have also visited the big island and Oahu as well. We are going in April and plan to spend time on both Maui and Oahu.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite locale?

KD: We always stay in the same condo which is located north of Lahaina. It is located right on the beach and the view of Molokai in the distance is spectacular and there are a lot of fantastic restaurants in the area.


Kathy: What's your favorite way to pass the time in Hawaii?

KD: I really just like to relax when I go to Hawaii. I’ve been often enough that I don’t feel the need to sightsee so we usually just lie on the beach and read. I do plan to do some writing while I’m there. I love sitting on the lanai sipping my coffee while I create stories about life on the islands. It should work out that I can work on Book #2 in the Sand and Sea series while I am there. I find that these trips help me to describe the ‘feel’ of island life in more vivid detail.


Kathy: What do you prefer, the sand or the sea?

KD: I think the sand. I am a certified scuba diver and I do enjoy getting into the water while I am in Hawaii, but I find that more often than not I am lazy and just want to lounge around during my free time.


Kathy: You start a new series with the Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries. How do you find time to write the many series you do?

KD: I write all the time wherever I am. I recently flew to Knoxville for Romancing the Smokies which required me to take a week away from my computer but I managed to write the first two chapters of the book I am currently working on while on the plane. I enjoy writing multiple series. I think I would become bored writing the same characters every time.


Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

KD: I am currently working on Kitten Kaboodle – a Zoe – which will publish in May. The first book in my new Southern Seashore Mystery series – Barkley’s Treasure - publishes in April, and The Great Catsby – A Whales and Tails – publishes in June. After that I will publish book 2 in the Sand and Sea series which does not as of yet have a title.

Here are five facts about me that may be true or may be false. I will share the answers as to which are true and which are false on my Facebook page tomorrow. www.facebook.com/kathidaleybooks. In the meantime try to guess by giving your answers in the comments below.

1. I had a pig named Maxwell when I was a child.

2. I was a child model.

3. My middle name is Raquel after Raquel Welch.

4. I once stole an entire litter of kittens from my neighbor.

5. I am terrified of snakes.

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Kathi is giving away a Murder at Dolphin Bay Tote and a book - paperback or kindle winners choice. NON US winner gets a kindle copy of the book and a $15 Amazon gift card in lieu of tote and paperback.

I'll pick a winner from someone who comments with guesses to Kathi's 5 facts. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so that I may contact you, should you win. Please leave your comment no later than 11:59 om EST Saturday, April 2, 2016.