Monday, June 30, 2014

Guest Post- Leslie Budewitz

It is a pleasure to have with us today, the lovely Leslie Budewitz!! Her new book in the series comes out July 1st! Don't miss this great series!



Naming Names

“Where do you come up with these names?” our friend Joe said, laughing into his glass of a chilled Italian white as we chatted before dinner at our favorite restaurant. “The Pinskys!”

Naming characters is great fun, and occasionally a challenge. Erin Murphy, the protagonist in my Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, came to me already named. The perfect name for a half-Irish, half-Italian lass, don’t you think? I liked that it hints at half her heritage, while silent on the other half, though she identifies with both. Her widowed mother Fresca—Francesca Conti Murphy—also popped on to the page fully named, but I puzzled over her older sister. Turns out that, like a family in my childhood neighborhood, the mother named the first two kids—Nick and Chiara (it’s said with a hard C and rhymes with tiara). When the third kid came along, the father decided it was his turn and chose the name himself.

As Erin’s illustrates, names are a chance to hint at a character’s heritage and age, and sometimes, her personality. You expect very different Sally Grimes and Heidi Hunter to be very different women—and they are. Pete Lloyd has a softer sound than Gib Knox—a man who’s earned his nickname, Nasty Knox. Of course Drew Baker is a chef. And Kyle Caldwell? He intends to break the family tradition of starting every name with a K, when he finally settles down.

Erin is intrigued by two young men: Rick Bergstrom, whose first name conveys strength and his last the Norwegian heritage common in Montana’s farming community. The effect, I hope, is a wholesome appeal. And Adam Zimmerman? Well, he’s an all-around, great guy—from A to Z.

Word play is a fun part of naming. In Death al Dente, first in the series, Jay Walker wants nothing more than to leave his past behind, renaming himself James Angelo. Erin uncovers his secrets with help from a former classmate, Polly (Easter) Paulson. In Crime Rib, Erin gets a little help from Polly’s twin sister Bernadette, better known as “Bunny”—now married to Robert “Rob” Burns.

And just as men in my family are often dubbed “Bud,” Old Ned Redaway’s been called Red from childhood, when he had the red hair to match the nickname. Naturally, he calls his bar Red’s. His son Ted, alas, isn’t up to the challenge. In Crime Rib, his grandson steps in—and the burly, red-haired J.D. Beckstead continues the rhyme. Actually, I can’t take credit for his name. A local couple bought a character name at a charity auction, but I’d already used Dean and James (she’s Jamie) in the first book, so we combined their initials and last name. Perfect.

Sometimes, my first choice doesn’t stick. When Polly walked onto the page, well past the half-way mark, my victim’s name had to change from Paulette Rankin to Claudette. And when Claudette turned out to have a teenage son, Ian, I realized her last name had to go, too—I didn’t want to give a character in a cozy the same name as the well-known Scottish crime writer. Thank goodness I was careful using the “search and replace” function when changing Rankin to Randall—or I’d have made up a new word: crandallness!

And Bob and Liz Pinsky? Erin’s friends and landlords clearly echo our pal Joe and his wife Julie, a pair of 60ish working class New Jersey Italians who moved west and made good. But I’d already given Fresca that Italian ancestry. Polish ancestry is common in the northeast, and I adore the poet Robert Pinsky’s work. It fit.

Any fun naming stories to share?


About Crime Rib:

“Gourmet food market owner Erin Murphy is determined to get Jewel Bay, Montana’s scrumptious local fare some national attention. But her scheme for culinary celebrity goes up in flames when the town’s big break is interrupted by murder…

Food Preneurs, one of the hottest cooking shows on TV, has decided to feature Jewel Bay in an upcoming episode, and everyone in town is preparing for their close-ups, including the crew at the Glacier Mercantile, aka the Merc. Not only is Erin busy remodeling her courtyard into a relaxing dining area, she’s organizing a steak-cooking competition between three of Jewel Bay’s hottest chefs to be featured on the program.

But Erin’s plans get scorched when one of the contending cooks is found dead. With all the drama going on behind the scenes, it’s hard to figure out who didn’t have a motive to off the saucy contestant. Now, to keep the town’s rep from crashing and burning on national television, Erin will have to grill some suspects to smoke out the killer…”



About Leslie:

Leslie Budewitz is the national best-selling author of Death al Dente, first in the Food Lovers' Village Mysteries set in northwest Montana, and winner of the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Crime Rib, the second in the series, will be published by Berkley Prime Crime on July 1, 2014. Her Seattle Spice Shop Mysteries will debut in March 2015.

Also a lawyer, Leslie won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction for Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure (Quill Driver Books), making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction.

For more tales of life in the wilds of northwest Montana, and bonus recipes, visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter.

Website: www.LeslieBudewitz.com
Facebook: LeslieBudewitzAuthor

Book Info:
Crime Rib by Leslie Budewitz
Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, #2
Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Penguin Random House (Berkley Prime Crime)
ISBN-10: 0425259552

ISBN-13: 978-0425259559

Get it here if you haven't yet!


Sunday, June 29, 2014

Weekly Wrap Up #25

Here is what happened this week:

June 23rd- Guest Review

Book's I've Read

Muffin but Murder by Victoria Hamilton
The Cat Who Could Read backwards by Lillian Jackson Braun

Coming this week:

June 30th- Guest Post - Leslie Budewitz
July 1st- Cozy Book Release Day
July 2nd- Author Spotlight- Pheobe Fox
July 3rd- First in a New Series- Ill Gotten Panes
July 4th- Friday 56
July 5th Book Trivia- Vicki Delany

Hope to see you here!

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Book Trivia- E.j Copperman

I am so thrilled to have E.j. Copperman hosting book trivia today! The prize is a fantastic tote bag!Answer the questions to be entered in!


Here we go! Good Luck!! 

1. What are the names of the two “house ghosts” in the Haunted Guesthouse series?

2. Where does Alison Kerby live (town and state, please)?

3. In THE THRILL OF THE HAUNT, where is Everett (the homeless man) murdered?

4. Why won’t Lieutenant McElone walk into Alison’s house?

5. Who is Melissa’s (Alison’s daughter) best friend?

And the prize is:






Friday, June 27, 2014

Blog Tour and giveaway -Death in Perspective

What an honor to be part of Larissa's book blog tour! Larissa is a fantastic author and her 4th book Death in Perspective  was incredible! Love it!
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Death in Perspective
by Larissa Reinhart


There is a lot of snooping, spying and action that gets Cherry in dangerous situations.I can’t wait to see what happens next…
~readalot
Author Larissa Reinhart is a master at creating terrific characters like Cherry.
~Mommasez….
A Cherry Tucker Mystery #4
Cozy Mystery
More Product Info Coming Soon!!

Synopsis
In Cherry Tucker’s fourth mystery, the curtain rises on Cherry’s debut as a high school set designer at the posh, private Peerless Day Academy. Cherry’s been hired to design scenery for an avant garde adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but the theater teacher’s hoping Cherry can also turn the spotlight on a malicious bully who’s sending poisonous texts to the faculty. The director’s got his own drama to hide, and the phantom texter seems eager to spill school secrets. When a school secretary’s death is ruled a suicide, Cherry suspects foul play. The phantom bully may be using blackmail to rid the school of unwanted staff, urging a Montague-Capulet styled showdown.
With Deputy Luke Harper wanting to return as Cherry’s leading man, he’s eager to assist her efforts in fingering the phantom culprit, but Cherry fears family secrets may doom them to the role of star-crossed lovers. Offstage, Cherry’s searching for her missing brother who’s fixed on a vendetta against Luke’s stepfamily, so she instead turns to the local, foreign racketeer, Max Avtaikin, for assistance. With the bully waiting for a murderous encore and her own family skeletons to hide, Cherry scrambles to find her brother and the mysterious texter before the phantom decides its curtains for Cherry and forces her to take a final bow.
my review:
I was drawn in to this story from the start.Cherry is a strong character and the story makes you want to read till the end. I was  captivated by all that is taking place and how Cherry will handle it. Her wit and humor makes this a great read for when you need that pick me up. This whodunnit will keep you on the edge and make you want more. I am looking forward to the next adventure.

larissa
About The Author
After teaching in the US and Japan, Larissa enjoys writing, particularly sassy female characters with a penchant for trouble. She lives near Atlanta with her family and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit. Visit her website or find her chatting on Facebook. Death in Perspective is the fourth book in the best selling Cherry Tucker Mystery series. The first, Portrait of a Dead Guy, is a Daphne du Maurier finalist, Emily finalist, and Dixie Kane Memorial winner.



Author Links:
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1qMwr29
Purchase Links
Amazon B&N


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Thursday, June 26, 2014

First in a New Series- Scene of the Climb

Happy Thursday! Today's first is Scene of the Climb by Kate Dyer-Seeley!!


Scene of the Climb

















Book Description

 June 3, 2014
Portland, Oregon, is the perfect fit for someone like Meg Reed. It's a city with a small town feel, where she can crash on the couch of her best friend Jill, now that she's graduated from journalism school. . .But a girl needs a job, so Meg bluffs her way into writing for Northwest Extreme magazine, passing herself off to editor-in-chief Greg Dixon as an outdoor adventure enthusiast. Never mind that Meg's idea of sport is climbing onto the couch without spilling her latte. So when she finds herself clawing to the top of Angel's Rest--a two-thousand-foot peak--to cover the latest challenge in a reality TV adventure show, she can't imagine feeling more terrified. Until she witnesses a body plummet off the side of the cliff. Now Meg has a murder to investigate. And if the climbing doesn't kill her, a murderer just might. . .
Includes Adventure Guides!

Is this one on your list!  If you have read it leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it!

You can get it here is you haven't yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Scene-Climb-Pacific-Northwest-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00GYLVTO0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403284291&sr=1-1&keywords=scene+of+the+climb

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Author Spotlight- Juliet Blackwell

Happy Wednesday!! I'm spotlighting Juliet Blackwell today!! Juliet is the author of The Witchcraft Mystery Series, The Haunted Home Renovation Series, and The Art Lovers Mystery Series!

Image of Juliet Blackwell

Juliet Blackwell has been fascinated with witchcraft, alternative healing, and spirits of all kinds ever since her favorite aunt visited and read her tea leaves...with astonishing results.
Blackwell is the New York Times bestselling author of the Witchcraft Mystery series, which features a misfit witch with a vintage clothing store in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury neighborhood; and of the Haunted Home Renovation series --in which Mel Turner, a restorer of historic homes, finds ghosts behind the walls. Under the pseudonym Hailey Lind, Juliet penned the Art Lover's Mystery series with her sister Carolyn--including the Agatha-nominated Feint of Art. Arsenic and Old Paint is the latest in that series.
Juliet's father always counseled her to get a job that would pay a lot of money, but instead she studied, painted, and worked with newly arrived immigrants. As an anthropologist, she studied systems of physical and mental health care all over the world, and taught Medical Anthropology at SUNY-Albany. As a social worker, she worked in elementary schools in rural New York and with refugees and immigrant populations in San Jose, California, where she also taught English as a second language. She operated her own painting and design studio in Berkeley for twelve years, and worked on historic restoration/renovation throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Arizona, New York, and New Jersey.
Juliet has spent time in Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France. She now lives in a happily haunted house in Oakland, California, where she continues to paint, in addition to writing every day. She served two terms as president of Northern California Sisters in Crime, and sat on the board of Northern California Mystery Writers of America. She worked as a "house captain" for the Rebuilding Together organization for six years. She is now a tutor for the Second Start adult literacy program at the Oakland library, and volunteers for the Alameda Food Bank. Blackwell is the proud mother of a beautiful son and the foster mom to her neighbor's pets...especially a black cat named Oscar.
She has some amazing books out !!

Home For the Haunting (Haunted Home Renovation Series #4) Tarnished and Torn (Witchcraft Mystery Series #5)

Here upcoming new release :
A Vision in Velvet: A Witchcraft Mystery

you can preorder here:


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Blog Tour-Drive Bye by Amy Saunders

I'm pleased to have Amy Saunders joining us today!! She is on tour for her book Drive Bye.



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Drive Bye
by Amy Saunders

It is fast paced. Clean cozy mystery. With lots of action, drama and family issues.
~readalot
Ms. Saunders scored points with me on this one before I ever clicked to ‘turn the page’ on this one. I love punny titles chock full of “double entendre”. Add to that the fact that this is a “team cozy mystery” (Book 3 of the “Belinda and Bennett Mysteries”) in the style of Agatha Christie (I loved her Tommy and Tuppence) and my reading engines were revving already.
~Back Porchervations
drivebye_final_medDrive-Bye
(The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book Three)

Cozy Mystery
File Size: 1321 KB
Print Length: 174 pages
ASIN: B00J47HT0O
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Synopsis:
Belinda’s recent blunders have come back to bite her – and Bennett – in the monster cupcake. But they’re not the only ones with problems.
A car crash uncovers the body of an unlikely murder victim. But the more they learn about her, the more the answer to her death seems to lie in issues that reach far beyond Portside.
As the truth comes out, and Belinda’s personal life teeters on the breaking point, she takes life by the maraschino cherries, and finds help in very unexpected places.

my review:
This is my first book by Amy Saunders and i will be adding the other two in the series to my reading list. I loved the story plot and Belinda is a fantastic character to follow. I wasn't sure how it was going to go in the first few pages but once I really delved into the story and got to know Belinda I wanted to read it to the end.  Belinda is faced with all sorts of issues but the one that has her ending up in places she wouldn't normally find herself , is the one she is trying to solve before she is the next murder victim.

You will enjoy this book and want to go back and read it from the beginning of the series!

amy_saundersphotoAbout This Author
Amy Saunders is a mystery lover with a soft spot for humor and romance–and the ocean. She lives in Massachusetts, and loves to bake and watch movies. She’s the author of one mystery series and three standalone mysteries. Learn more about Amy and her books at her website.

Links:
GoodReads – http://www.goodreads.com/amydsaunders
Purchase Links
AMAZON B&N


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Monday, June 23, 2014

Extra Guest Post today-Paul DeBlassie III

It's a pleasure to have with us today Paul DeBlassie III author of  The Unholy, is a psychological/paranormal thriller.




Where do ideas come from?
Ideas come from the deep repository of the collective unconscious mind that inspires images and symbols during the fantasies of waking life and during dreams and nightmares. Mainly, it’s the nightmare stuff that bodes best for writing psychological thrillers and dark fantasy such as is in The Unholy. When I wake up in a cold sweat with the characters of the novels threatening me (I remember when Archbishop William Anarch, sinister prelate in The Unholy tormented me for nights on end, demanding that I not write the story) that’s when I know that real inspiration is flowing and that to listen to it and follow the images and symbols that emerge from my deep, unconscious mind during sleep and during the reverie of writing the story will end up in the development of spine tingling realities that jettison both me as the writer and the reader into phantasmagoric realms that have a way of shaking up conscious mindsets and get our heads blown out in a very, very unsettling but ultimately useful way. My writing, in other words, comes from an inner place of torment that needs to be let out so it can be set right. When mind stuff is set right inside me I can feel it by sensing a quality of being at peace, that I’ve written to the best of my ability and been true to the deep, archetypal energies swirling through my mind during the narrative. It really is a trip to listen to ideas, let them become images, and suddenly have them take over a page. It’s like the pages catch fire and everyone has come to life and things become disorderly, fraught with conflict, and danger looms.

About the Author:

PAUL DeBLASSIE III, PhD, is a psychologist and writer living in his native New Mexico. A member of the Depth Psychology Alliance, the Transpersonal Psychology Association, and the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, he has for over thirty years treated survivors of the dark side of religion.

His latest book is the psychological/paranormal thriller, The Unholy.

Connect & Socialize with Paul!

About the Book

A young curandera, a medicine woman, intent on uncovering the secrets of her past is forced into a life-and-death battle against an evil Archbishop. Set in the mystic land of Aztlan, The Unholy is a novel of destiny as healer and slayer. Native lore of dreams and visions, shape changing, and natural magic work to spin a neo-gothic web in which sadness and mystery lure the unsuspecting into a twilight realm of discovery and decision.
Purchase your copy at AMAZON
Discuss this book in our PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads by clicking HERE


COPY & PASTE FOR BOOK SPOTLIGHTS:

Title: The Unholy
Author: Paul DeBlassie III
Publisher: Sunstone Press
Pages: 200
Language: English
Genre: Psychological/Paranormal Thriller
Format: Paperback/Kindle
Purchase at AMAZON
A young curandera, a medicine woman, intent on uncovering the secrets of her past is forced into a life-and-death battle against an evil Archbishop. Set in the mystic land of Aztlan, The Unholy
is a novel of destiny as healer and slayer. Native lore of dreams and visions, shape changing, and natural magic work to spin a neo-gothic web in which sadness and mystery lure the unsuspecting into a twilight realm of discovery and decision.

Book Excerpt:

“Hush now, child,” said a voice she recognized as that of her mother’s
closest friend. “The man cannot harm you, mijita, as long as you are with us.
We will make him think you are dead. But you must be very quiet. Ya no
llores,” the woman warned, raising a finger to her lips.

The woman then carried her into a dark cave illuminated by the light
of a single candle. The cave was frightening, with shadows of what appeared
to be goblins and demons dancing on the red sandstone walls. “I will return for
you soon. You will be safe here,” the woman said. The girl watched the woman
walk away, shivering as a breeze blew through the cave’s narrow passages.

Closing her eyes, she rocked back and forth—imagining herself safe in
her mother’s arms—then opened her eyes to the light of the full moon shining
through the mouth of the cave. The shadows on the walls were just shadows
now, no longer goblins and demons. As she slipped into a trance, images
flickered in her mind. She saw the woman who had brought her to this place
scattering pieces of raw meat around the open mesa where her mother had
struggled, helped by two other women the girl could not identify.

Suddenly, the scene shifted to a stone ledge jutting over the mesa, and
she heard the pounding footsteps of a man running toward the women. The girl
felt her heart race and her breathing quicken, afraid that the bad man would
spot them and kill them. Then the image shifted again, and she now saw on the
mesa three gray wolves circling the raw meat and the man walking away from
the granite ledge. As he left, she heard his thought: The child is dead.

First in Series- Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross

Happy Monday! This week's First in Series is Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross Released on August 22, 2000. Seri...