Inspiration by Cheryl Hollon
What was the inspiration for the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series? This is a frequent question when I am interviewed. It is one of my favorites because I get to talk about my friends. My cozy mysteries are based on an actual shop in St. Petersburg, Florida in a small business district that stretches along Central Avenue. The name of the real shop is Grand Central Stained Glass & Graphics (www.grandcentralstainedglass.com)www.grandcentralstainedglass.com).
How did this happen? My husband and I have been working with glass for about twenty years. He started working with stained glass, but as he is color blind in the blue-green range, I have always picked out the glass. When he moved into fused glass, we found a new glass shop near us owned by Eloyne and Bradley Ericson. Over the years, our friendship grew and when I was looking for a new idea for a cozy mystery series, I noticed their thriving shop filled with happy crafters and inspiration struck like a thunderbolt. We held the launch party for the series in their shop surrounded by beautiful glass, wonderful friends and new reading fans.
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You can read more about Savannah Webb and her friends in Shards of Murder, the second book in the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery series, published by Kensington Books.
About Shards of Murder:
When a glass-making competition turns deadly, glass shop owner Savannah Webb must search for a window into a criminal’s mind. . .
As the new proprietor of Webb’s Glass Shop, Savannah has been appointed to fill her late father’s shoes as a judge for the Spinnaker Arts Festival, held in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. With her innovative glass works, the clear winner is Megan Loyola, a student of Savannah’s former mentor.
But when Megan doesn’t show up to accept her $25,000 award, rumors start flying. And when Savannah discovers the woman’s dead body on festival grounds, the police immediately suspect her of murder. To keep from appearing before a judge herself, Savannah sorts through the broken pieces of glass scattered around the victim for clues as to who took this killer competition too far. . .
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Meet the author:
Cheryl Hollon writes full time after she left an engineering career designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind the house, Cheryl and her husband George design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass and painted glass artworks.
You can visit Cheryl and her books at
http://www.cherylhollon.comhttp://www.cherylhollon.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheryl-Hollon-Writer/357992230995844https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheryl-Hollon-Writer/357992230995844
http://www.twitter.com/cherylhollonhttp://www.twitter.com/cherylhollon
Loved the book. Picked it up because I repaired church windows while in college to make extra money. It's changed a lot since then but to connect it with a murder mystery was so much fun. I hope she does more.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed PANE AND SUFFERING. It was fun for me as well.
DeleteI am looking forward to the next story, I really liked the first one.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Only 26 days until Book #2 (not that I'm counting or anything...)
DeleteSounds like a good series!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elaine. I had a blast writing it!
DeleteI recognize the structure behind you...it's The Pier in St. Petersburg, Florida, isn't it...? :)
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