Book Spotlight- A Catered Tea Party by Isis Crawford

Happy Thursday! It's time for a tea party with Isis Crawford's new book A Catered Tea Party (A Mystery With Recipes Series book 12). Releases on August 30th.

Series: A Mystery With Recipes (Book 12)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington (August 30, 2016)
Language: English



Quiet Longely, New York, is abuzz with excitement over the opening of a revamped art complex—and catering sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons are helping put on an elaborate tea party for the opening night gala fundraiser. But when the billionaire behind the project drops dead, the Simmons sisters find themselves steeped in a whistling kettle of murder . . .

Everyone in Longely is talking about Blue House, an art complex that will bring the town a theater, an art gallery, and even a restaurant and coffee bar. But they’re less than enthusiastic about Ludvoc “Zeb” Zalinsky, the self-made billionaire who’s funding the complex—and rubbing everyone the wrong way. Bernie and Libby reluctantly agree to cater the Alice in Wonderland themed tea party he’s planned, but it quickly becomes clear that Zeb is madder than the hatter he’ll be dressed as . . .

The night of the benefit arrives and Westchester’s finest show up in droves, having paid $500 apiece to attend Zeb’s meticulously-orchestrated tea party. But just when it seems the production is going according to plan, Zeb lifts an electric tea kettle, clutches his chest, and falls to the floor in fittingly dramatic fashion. The kettle shorted out and his pacemaker malfunctioned—but it doesn’t take long for police to decide that this seemingly random accident was actually cold-blooded murder . . .

As Bernie and Libby set out to find the culprit, they realize Zeb might have had more enemies than money. With so many possible culprits to sort through, only one thing is clear: Zeb was poured a steaming cup of revenge—and a second serving may be on the menu…

Includes Original Recipes for You to Try!

DELICIOUS PRAISE FOR ISIS CRAWFORD AND HER MOUTH-WATERING MYSTERIES!



About the Author:


I was born in Egypt to parents who were in the diplomatic corps. When I was five my family returned to the states where my mother opened a restaurant and my father became a university professor. After I graduated from college, I ran a catering service and wrote a number of travel related article for a variety of magazines. Then I got married, had twin boys, acquired a golden retriever puppy, a two hundred gallon fish tank, three ferrets, and started another catering service that specialized in deserts. I’m now living in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, still baking and trying to maintain order in my ever expanding household.


That’s the official blurb on the back flap of my dust jacket and it’s partially true, at least the part about owning a catering business and having a small zoo is, but the truth is that Isis Crawford is my pen name. Before I became Isis Crawford (named incidentally for my cat) I was Barbara Block and still am. Like Isis, I ran a catering business, which also specialized in desserts. Unlike Isis, I co-owned a pizza shop as well. I have sons too – only I have three of them and instead of living in Hastings-On-Hudson I live in Upstate New York having relocated from New York City.


Find out more about Isis Crawford and her books at her website: 

http://isiscrawford.com/

Book Release and Giveaway - Betting Off Dead by Tonya Kappes

Happy Monday! What better way to start the week  than with a visit from Tonya Kappes! Her second book in the Spies and Spells series Betting Off Dead releasing on August 29th.

It's all about the Kentucky Derby and those fabulous hats the you see every year! Do you watch it and Do you wear a hat for the occasion? What is your favorite thing about the Derby?


Tonya is having a party tonight on her party page over at Facebook, she always brings the fun and there will be prizes too. head over there tonight at 7pm and tomorrow night at 9pm for a chance to have some great fun.

Follow this link and you won't miss it.

https://www.facebook.com/events/923171104495811/

Series: Spies and Spells
Paperback: 182 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 3, 2016)
Language: English






Betting Off Dead And they're off! Gambling on horse racing is Kentucky's number one sport but when Kentucky Derby Thoroughbred picked to win the Derby, Rails and Nails, ends up poisoned, SKUL special agent Mick Jasper and rookie witch Maggie Park, who keeps her witch powers a secret, are called in to investigate a world of illegal gambling where a run for the roses can prove to be deadly.


About the Author:

Tonya has written over 20 novels and 4 novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband and a teenage boy (her other three boys have spread their wings in college) and two very spoiled schnauzers in Kentucky.


Click the giveaway link for a chance to win a great prize:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NTVkZjZlZTZjY2ZmY2M4MTdmOGIyNTkzNmIxZWE1OjE2/?





Find out more about Tonya Kappes at her website:

http://www.tonyakappes.com/

Blog Tour- Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver

Happy Friday! I am delighted to be part of this blog tour. Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver was released on June 7th. It was a fun read.

Paperback: 190 pages
Publisher: Lyrical Underground (June 7, 2016)
Language: English



Fortunes, fineries, and foul play . . .

It’s whale-watching season in Redwood Cove, and B&B manager Kelly Jackson’s battening down the hatches for the tourist rush at Redwood Heights—a Victorian-style estate owned by her boss. And due to recent jewelry thefts, her duties include keeping track of the many dust-covered artifacts spread throughout the property. But when Kelly finds Sylvia Porter’s lifeless body, menial tasks don’t seem so terrible. Enlisting the help of a ragtag group of brainy retirees, aka the “Silver Sentinels,” Kelly’s on the hunt for clues hidden behind the mansion’s glamorous façade. . .and for a killer who may want to make history of her next!

This is the second book in the series and it keeps getting better. The author paints a picture so well done you get pulled in from the first page. The cast of characters have grown and the story is a fun read. You will be hooked on this series.

About the Author:

Janet Finsilver is the USA TODAY best-selling author of the Kelly Jackson mystery series. She worked in education for many years as a teacher, a program administrator, and a workshop presenter. Janet majored in English and earned a Master’s Degree in Education. She loves animals and has two dogs–Kylie and Ellie. Janet has ridden western style since she was a child and was a member of the National Ski Patrol. One of the highlights of her life was touching whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon. MURDER AT REDWOOD COVE, her debut mystery, was released on October 13, 2015. Her second book, MURDER AT THE MANSION, was released on June 7, 2016.


Author Links
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/janetfinsilverauthor/?fref=ts
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JanetFinsilver
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/janetfinsilver/
Web – http://janetfinsilver.com/



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First in A Series- A Most Curious Murder by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

Happy Monday! This week's first is a series is A Most Curious Murder by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli. Released on July 12th. You won't want to miss a single page of this read.

Series: A Little Library Mystery
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (July 12, 2016)
Language: English



Jenny Weston moves home to Bear Falls, Michigan, to nurse her bruised ego back to health after a bitter divorce. But the idyllic vision of her charming hometown crumbles when her mother's Little Library is destroyed.

The next-door neighbor, Zoe Zola, a little person and Lewis Carroll enthusiast, suspects local curmudgeon Adam Cane, but when he's found dead in Zoe's fairy garden, all roads lead back to her. Jenny, however, believes Zoe is innocent, so the two women team up to find the true culprit, investigating the richest family in Bear Falls, interrogating a few odd townspeople, and delving into long, hidden transgressions--until Adam Cane isn't the only body in town, and they have an even bigger mystery to solve.

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's quaint and compelling series debut A Most Curious Murder will delight cozy mystery readers.


Praise for A Most Curious Murder: "Fans of [Lewis] Carroll will delight in Zoe's flights of fancy, and the northern Michigan setting in all its splendor is a charmer...an entertaining series with a quirky premise and captivating characters." --Library Journal

"This quirky, clever cozy series launch...[is] hard to resist." --Publishers Weekly

“Quirky main characters, lyrical dialogue and a story sure to appeal to bookworms as well as cozy mystery fans are all elements that give this novel a distinctive voice. A clever mystery and intriguing supporting cast round out the mix.” --RT Book Reviews, four star review

"An enchanting mystery with a delightful cast of characters and snappy dialogue. Book lovers are in for a real treat." --Hannah Reed, national bestselling author of the Scottish Highlands mysteries. 

Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli is a writer who writes -- constantly.

She is a book reviewer with the alternative newspaper, The Northern Express, in Traverse City, Michigan. Her short stories have appeared in many journals. She has had essays turned into stage pieces and performed, and read on Michigan Public Radio.

She teaches creative writing at Northwest Michigan College and was recently on the panel choosing Michigan Notable Books for the Michigan State Library. She has been given a grant by the Michigan Council for the Arts, for a book of essays on northern living, and appeared at writers conferences around the country.

She is a member of the Author’s Guild, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Michigan Writers, and Detroit Working Writers.

Her first mystery novel, Gift of Evil, was published by Bantam. Her novels Dead Dancing Women; Dead Floating Lovers; Dead Sleeping Shaman; Dead Dogs and Englishmen from Midnight Ink, are in bookstores now.

What's New? A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley

Happy Friday! What's new? Coming on July 5th to bookstores near you. A Dark and Stormy Murder (A Writer's Apprentice Murder) by Julia Buckley.

Series: A Writer's Apprentice Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 5, 2016)
Language: English



An aspiring suspense novelist lands in the middle of a real crime, in the first in a captivating new series by the author of the Undercover Dish Mysteries.

Lena London's literary dreams are coming true—as long as she can avoid any real-life villains...

Camilla Graham’s bestselling suspense novels inspired Lena London to become a writer, so when she lands a job as Camilla’s new assistant, she can’t believe her luck. Not only will she help her idol craft an enchanting new mystery, she’ll get to live rent-free in Camilla’s gorgeous Victorian home in the quaint town of Blue Lake, Indiana.

But Lena’s fortune soon changes for the worse. First, she lands in the center of small town gossip for befriending the local recluse. Then, she stumbles across one thing that a Camilla Graham novel is never without—a dead body, found on her new boss’s lakefront property.

Now Lena must take a page out of one of Camilla’s books to hunt down clues in a real crime that seems to be connected to the novelist’s mysterious estate—before the killer writes them both out of the story for good...

Julia Buckley is a Chicago mystery author whose career started in 2006 with the publication of THE DARK BACKWARD. Since then her work has appeared on Kindle in the Madeline Mann series and the novel THE GHOSTS OF LOVELY WOMEN. She is currently writing two series for Berkley Prime Crime, the first of which launched with THE BIG CHILI.

She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Romance Writers of America, along with the Chicago Writer's Association. In addition, she has worked with the same writer's group since 2000.

Julia has taught high school English for twenty-seven years; she lives near Chicago with her husband, two sons, three cats, and a mischievous Lab puppy named Digby. 

http://www.juliabuckley.com/

What's New? Take the Monkey and Run by Laura Morrigan

What's New? Take the Monkey and Run (A Call of the Wilde Mystery) by Laura Morrigan. Coming July 5th to a bookstore near you.

Series: A Call of the Wilde Mystery (Book 4)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 5, 2016)
Language: English


Grace Wilde must use her psychic abilities to track down a pesky primate in the latest Call of the Wilde Mystery.

Grace Wilde is excited to head to New Orleans for her first “real” case as an animal telepath. She intends to help a woman find her missing sister, but when she attempts to communicate with her client’s cat, Coco, Grace gets distracted by the presence of a much wilder animal.

Coco confirms that a mysterious monkey has been swinging around the Big Easy. Grace thinks she might be able to help corral the cheeky Capuchin in addition to solving her case. But things get complicated when she receives a cryptic warning that her client isn’t what she seems. Now it’s up to Grace to separate the truth from the monkey business...


About the Author


Spending the first years of her life on a Costa Rican coffee farm blessed Laura Morrigan with a fertile imagination and a love for all things wild. Later she became a volunteer at a Florida zoo, helping out with everything from “waste management” to teaching an elephant how to paint. Drawing from her years of experience with both wild and domestic animals and her passion for detective novels, Laura created the Call of the Wilde Mysteries, including Horse of a Different Killer, A Tiger’s Tale, and Woof at the Door. She’s currently hard at work—writing the next Call of the Wilde mystery.

http://www.lauramorrigan.com/

Blog Tour and giveaway - The Calamity Cafe by Gayle Leeson

I am delighted to be part of Gayle Leeson's ( A.K.A. Gayle Trent) blog tour. She has a brand new series out called The Calamity Cafe (A Down South Cafe Mystery) that you will not want to miss.

Series: A Down South Café Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: NAL (June 7, 2016)
Language: English


First in a new cozy mystery series featuring Southern cooking that is to die for.

Aspiring chef and small-town Virginia native Amy Flowers is ready to open her own café offering old-fashioned Southern food. But her dream may go up in smoke when someone kills the competition…

Tired of waiting tables at Lou’s Joint, Amy Flowers doesn’t just quit—she offers to buy the place from her bully of a boss, so she can finally open the café of her dreams. Amy can’t wait to serve the kind of Southern, down-home treats and dishes that her grandmother always loved to the kooky cast of regulars at the restaurant. She knows her comfort food will be the talk of the sweet, small town of Winter Garden, Virginia.

At first Lou Lou refuses to sell, but when she seems ready to make a deal, she tells Amy to come see her. Showing up at the eatery ready to negotiate, Amy is shocked to find her former employer murdered. As the prime suspect, Amy will have to clear her name by serving up the real killer—and with Lou Lou’s stack of enemies, that’s a tall order.

Includes delicious Southern recipes

Filled with southern charm and mouth-watering food you, you will be hooked from the start. A delightful cast of characters and a murder that will have you guessing until the end. The story line is so well written you will be deeply involved in the book. Delectable and enjoyable.

About The Author –

Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. I also write as Amanda Lee. As Gayle Trent, I write the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. As Amanda Lee, I write the Embroidery Mystery series. I live in Virginia with my family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff. I’m having a blast writing this new series!

Authors Links:
Webpage – http://www.gayleleeson.com
Gayle Trent Webpage – http://www.gayletrent.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GayleTrentandAmandaLee/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/GayleTrent
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/426208.Gayle_Trent


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Blog tour and giveaway-Eclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford

I am so thrilled to have Laura Bradford here with her brand new series Eclair and Present Danger( An Emergency Dessert Squad Series).Releasing on June 7th, you will want to add this one to your list of read.

Series: An Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (June 7, 2016)
Language: English



Synopsis

The first book in the delicious new Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery series from national bestselling author Laura Bradford.

With her rent rising faster than her pie crust, bakery owner Winnie Johnson had hoped to be rescued by an inheritance from her wealthy friend and neighbor Gertrude Redenbacher. Instead all she inherits is the widow’s hostile hissing tabby, Lovey, and a vintage ambulance, restored by Gertrude’s late husband. As her dream crumbles, Winnie makes her final delivery—a peach pie to an elderly widower. But she finds Bart Wagner lying on his kitchen floor, smothered by a pillow.

To comfort her frightened and grieving neighbors, Winnie comes to the rescue with her baked goods—and an idea is born: dessert delivery via her ambulance and a new business called the Emergency Dessert Squad. When she’s not speeding to the scenes of dessert emergencies, Winnie is also racing to track down Bart’s killer—before she needs to call a real ambulance for the next victim…

My review:

In Eclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford, she dishes up a fun new mystery with a feisty cast of characters. Filled with humor and charm. You will want this to be on your reading list. It is a fun read that will keep you captivated and reading until the very end.

Keep Your Hands Inside The Car At All Times
By Winnie Johnson
(of the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries by Laura Bradford)


I used to love roller coasters—I loved the hills, the dips, the sharp turns…all of it. But now that my life has become one, I’m no longer such a fan.

Take for instance, my last twenty four hours or so…

One minute, I’m sitting across from my late neighbor’s attorney, waiting to see if the bequest Gertie left me will be enough to keep my lifelong dream (aka my bakery, Delectable Delights) open despite my landlord’s sudden need to raise my rent to an amount I can’t possibly pay. And the next I’m being handed a cat named Lovey (who hisses every time she looks at me) and keys to the vintage ambulance Gertie’s late husband was restoring prior to his own death.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m touched that Gertie thought so highly of me to leave me her two favorite possessions, but neither of them are capable of keeping Delectable Delights’ open.

Poof! My lifelong dream is gone…done…o-v-e-r. And there’s absolutely nothing I can do except cry.

But before I can do that, I have to make good on a promise I made to another friend, the late Ethel Wagner. You see, I promised Ethel that I would make a peach pie for her husband each week. It was her way of letting Bart know that she loved him even if she was no longer here to tell him that with words.

So I put a temporary hold on my tears and threw myself into the one thing that makes me feel whole—baking. I scooped, I measured, I stirred, I patted, I pinched, I cut, and I watched the numbers on my oven timer tick down until Bart’s peach pie was exactly the way he liked. When it was done, I carried it across the street and up to Bart’s door just as I have every week since Ethel’s passing. Only this time, despite his car being in the driveway, he didn’t come to the door when I knocked. He didn’t answer when I poked my head inside and called his name, either.

That’s when I went inside and found him—dead. Or, in the interest of full disclosure, murdered. Awful, I know.

Yet somehow, amid the tears (and therapeutic baking session) that followed, I came up with a way I might be able to…um…stay in business. And it’s pretty darn creative if I must say so my—
Whoa. Where do you think you’re going?
This ride isn’t over. Not even close. I still have a business to launch and a killer to catch.


Coming, June 7th!!!

The first book in the delicious new Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery series from national bestselling author Laura Bradford.

With her rent rising faster than her pie crust, bakery owner Winnie Johnson had hoped to be rescued by an inheritance from her wealthy friend and neighbor Gertrude Redenbacher. Instead all she inherits is the widow’s hostile hissing tabby, Lovey, and a vintage ambulance, restored by Gertrude’s late husband. As her dream crumbles, Winnie makes her final delivery—a peach pie to an elderly widower. But she finds Bart Wagner lying on his kitchen floor, smothered by a pillow.

To comfort her frightened and grieving neighbors, Winnie comes to the rescue with her baked goods—and an idea is born: dessert delivery via her ambulance and a new business called the Emergency Dessert Squad. When she’s not speeding to the scenes of dessert emergencies, Winnie is also racing to track down Bart’s killer—before she needs to call a real ambulance for the next victim...

About The Author –

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey) is the author of several mystery series and a handful of romance novels. She is a former Agatha Award nominee and the recipient of an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award. In her free time, Laura enjoys making memories with her family, baking, playing games, and catching up with friends. In addition to the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, Laura writes The Amish Mysteries and The Jenkins & Burns mysteries, as well as The Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries (as Elizabeth Lynn Casey).

For more information, visit Laura’s website: www.laurabradford.com or get to know her even better on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/laurabradfordauthor, and on Twitter: @bradfordauthor

Website: www.laurabradford.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurabradfordauthor

Twitter: @bradfordauthor


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Murder Most Fowl by Edith Maxwell

Book Spotlight- Murder Most Fowl (Local Foods Mystery) by Edith Maxwell.

Series: Local Foods Mystery (Book 4)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington (May 31, 2016)
Language: English



Spring may be just around the corner, but a cold-blooded killer has put the big chill on the residents of Westbury, Massachusetts. It looks like organic farmer-turned-sleuth Cam Flaherty will have to set aside her seedlings for the time being as she tills the soil for clues in the mysterious death of a local poultry maven.

With the weather getting warmer, Cam should be spending her days pruning blueberry bushes and taking care of the new batch of chicks that just hatched. But murder knows no season. So when her fellow fowl-raiser Wayne Laitinen is found dead at his breakfast table one morning, Cam must put down her trimming shears and put on her crime-solving hat.

The kind-hearted chicken farmer didn't have any enemies--or did he? A wealthy financier has been working hard to convince him to sell her his land, while a group of animal rights activists recently vandalized his property. Money troubles were threatening to sink his marriage. And a thirty-year-old scandal was driving a wedge between him and one of his oldest friends.

Murder, blackmail, cover-ups. There's a fox in the hen house. But where? With some help from her off-again, on-again flame, police detective Pete Pappas, Cam will have to crack this case before Wayne's killer flies the coop forever.

Short bio: Agatha-nominated and Amazon bestselling author Edith Maxwell writes the Local Foods Mysteries and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries (as Maddie Day), and the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries (as Tace Baker), as well as award-winning short crime fiction. Maxwell lives north of Boston with her beau and three cats, and blogs with the other Wicked Cozy Authors. You can also find her at www.edithmaxwell.com, @edithmaxwell, and on Facebook.

Long bio: Edith Maxwell has always been a writer. She made her living writing technical documentation in the software industry, wrote features and essays as a free-lance journalist, edited medical texts, and produced several published articles and a doctoral dissertation in the field of linguistics. And before that she wrote fiction and news articles, with her first paid published story appearing at age 9. Creating fiction, long and short, is what makes her happiest.

She is active in Sisters in Crime, serving as the vice-president of the New England chapter, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a long-time member of the Society of Friends (Quaker), currently the Clerk of Amesbury Friends Meeting. Her art story was featured in the National Endowment for the Arts 50th anniversary celebration.MaxFarmer

As a former organic farmer Edith knows the language and tensions of someone like Cam Flaherty, the farmer in the Local Foods mysteries. Edith lived in southern Indiana for five years and loved the slow pace and language of its natives, so it made sense to set the Country Store Mysteries there. She taught independent childbirth classes and worked as a doula for some years, giving her insight into the life of an historical midwife as portrayed in the Quaker Midwife Mysteries.

She lives in Amesbury, Massachusetts, but is originally a fourth-generation Californian. She has two grown sons, and lives in an antique house with her beau, their three cats, and several fine specimens of garden statuary.

https://edithmaxwell.com/

Blog Tour and Giveaway- The Madness of Mercury by Connie di Marco

I am thrilled to be part of this blog tour. Connie Di Marco is visiting and she has a brand new book series releasing on June 8th. The Madness of Mercury (A Zodiac Mystery).

Series: A Zodiac Mystery (Book 1)
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Midnight Ink (June 8, 2016)
Language: English



Synopsis
San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti’s life is turned upside down when she becomes the target of the city’s newest cult leader, Reverend Roy of the Prophet’s Tabernacle. Driven out of her apartment in the midst of a disastrous Mercury retrograde period, she takes shelter with a client who’s caring for two elderly aunts. One aunt appears stricken with dementia and the other has fallen under the spell of the Reverend Roy. To add to the confusion, a young man claiming to be a long lost nephew arrives. The longer he stays, the more dangerous things become. Is the young man truly a member of the family? Can astrology confirm that? Julia’s not sure, but one thing she does know is that Mercury wasn’t merely the messenger of the gods—he was a trickster and a liar as well.

In Connie Di Marco's brand new book The Madness of Mercury, the signs are all there that this will be a great new hit. A Fresh new cast of characters and a strong story line keep your interest peaked and keep you so involved in the story you won't want to stop reading. It keeps you guessing until the end with twist and turns. I enjoyed this one and am looking forward to what will happen next.

It’s in the Stars

You might think that an astrologer as a protagonist is an odd choice, but I liked it. That’s why I invented Julia Bonatti, a crime-solving astrologer. I’ve always loved mysteries and once I was introduced to the subject of astrology, I was fascinated. Astrology is a mystery all by itself. So I thought, why not put the two together?

Now, you may not believe in the subject. That’s okay. You certainly don’t have to, but it is amazing to look at a natal chart and make a quick observation about the character of a person. How that individual approaches life, how they appear to others, what sort of opinions and attitudes they might hold.

The natal chart is a map of your intentions at birth. It will describe the things that come easily to you, as well as those traits and skills that will or must be developed in this lifetime. The birth chart will show where you are headed on your life path. Character really is destiny, and your astrological chart is both the map and the timing of that journey.

Here’s just one example -- Saturn by transit makes a complete cycle of the natal chart every twenty-eight or so years. It’s called the Saturn return and when that planet returns to its natal position at approximately age 28 (or a little more), it’s always a significant time, a “coming of age” cycle, a time we are most free to make our own choices in life, apart from parental or societal influences. Think back on your own experiences. What happened around that time? Did you marry? Have a child? Change occupations? Get a divorce? There is both a completion of the old and a beginning of the new at the time of the Saturn return.

And astrological studies of famous people are just as interesting. Here’s one I’ve read about that has always intrigued me. Both Mahatma Ghandi and Charles Manson have similar patterns between Mars, Venus and Saturn in their charts. Could you imagine two such different people having anything in common? They each made different choices in life. Manson chose a life of evil, Ghandi chose an ascetic life devoted to freeing his country.

Does Julia use astrology in solving crimes? Yes, she does. She can tell if there’s a relationship between two individuals. She can tell when someone is wearing a mask. She knows when a client might be in danger because of a transit or an eclipse to a sensitive point in their natal chart.

Astrology is an endlessly fascinating subject and if you follow the Zodiac Mysteries, you’ll see that I try to tailor the characters to their natal horoscopes or vice versa. I may add a disclaimer that anyone born on a certain date isn’t necessarily a murderer, I don’t want to frighten anyone, and I do take liberties, but not too much. Just enough to tell a story and solve a mystery.

About The Author –
Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries from Midnight Ink. She was fascinated by astrology at an early age and this was the inspiration that gave birth to Julia Bonatti, San Francisco astrologer and her newspaper column Ask Zodia. Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. Connie lives in Los Angeles with her family and a constantly talking cat.
Website: www.conniedimarco.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ConniediMarco
Twitter: @askzodia
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/Connie_di_Marco/the-zodiac-mysteries/



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Murder, By George by Jeanne Quigley

Do you love a good mystery? Murder, By George( A Veronica Walsh Mystery) by Jeanne Quigley was released on May 18th. Filled with drama and murder, this fast-paced page-turner will have you reading late into the night. Jeanne is giving one lucky reader a chance to win an advanced reader copy of this book. Leave a comment and email below to be entered. Good Luck everyone.

Series: A Veronica Walsh Mystery
Hardcover: 268 pages
Publisher: Five Star Publishing (May 18, 2016)
Language: English



Retired soap opera actress Veronica Walsh leads a fulfilling second act in her Adirondack hometown of Barton. Her boutique, All Things, is thriving and she enjoys a romance with Professor Mark Burke. She has neither the time nor the desire to be an amateur sleuth.

Trouble finds her when architect Scott Culverson buys a vintage box at the village's annual flea market and discovers a valuable painting and love letter inside a locked drawer. The awe over the masterpiece, a 1920's portrait of Barton's main street, turns to rage when a fierce argument ensues. The box's seller insists the painting was not included in the sale, while Ella and Madeline Griffin, whose mother received the painting as a wedding present, demand that Scott return the painting to their family. The artist's daughter, the formidable Leona Bradshaw Kendall, later joins the battle over Orchard Street.

When Scott is stabbed to death and the painting and letter stolen, the Griffin sisters ask Veronica to help clear suspicion from their hot-tempered great-niece, Regina. Despite a vow to stay out of the investigation, Veronica's loyalty to her friends draws her into the case.

Veronica crosses paths with a shady contractor, brassy hairdresser, overwrought lawyer, and adoring Czech housekeeper as she searches for both killer and work of art. Whom can Veronica trust, and who will lead her to the brink of death?


About the Author

Jeanne Quigley grew up reading mysteries, watching soap operas, and vacationing in the Adirondacks, never imagining these pleasures would be the foundation of her debut novel. Her love of characters-real and fictional-led her to study Sociology and English at the University of Notre Dame. Jeanne has never been a soap star, but she has worked in the music industry and for an education publisher. She lives in Rockland County, New York.


https://jeannequigley.wordpress.com/

Crafty Thursday- Knitting

This month's Thurday's are all about authors who write cozy mysteries with crafts. Today's book was just released on May 3rd. Murder at Lambswool Farm ( A seaside knitters mystery) by Sally Goldenbaum.
Do you knit or crochet?  If you do, What are on your needles now? Have you always wanted to learn?

Late summer blooms in beautiful Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, and while a harvest thrives, Izzy Chambers Perry and the other Seaside Knitters will need to cast on their sleuthing skills to save a local farm. Unfortunately, finding a killer can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. . . .


Seaside Knitter Birdie Favazza has long loved knitting, but lately she’s taken on a new challenge—making a family farm operational again. With help from friends, Lambswool Farm is now up and running, with thriving crops and grazing sheep. In addition, the farm will host rustic, six-course prix fixe dinners plated by local chefs and served on a gorgeous restored harvest table, decorated to perfection with colorful knitted vegetables crafted by Izzy Chambers Perry, her aunt Nell, and the other Seaside Knitters.


But on the night of the first meal, everything spins out of control when one of the guests, Seaside Harbor’s family physician, becomes fatally ill. It seems that behind Dr. Alan Hamilton’s friendly bedside manner was a man with enemies and secrets.


Soon the town is gossiping and pointing fingers at all possible suspects—including the women at Lambswool Farm. Now the Seaside Knitters must join together to uncover the truth in Dr. Hamilton’s complicated past—and restore peace to town and country alike.


About Sally:

Life.....It's been a meandering, interesting journey that began in Manitowoc, WI, a town on the shores of Lake Michigan. There my father built ships, my mother stayed home, and my sisters, brother and I lived an easy small-town life. After high school, I moved to St. Louis (college); then Bloomington, IN (graduate school); and several other places along the way. Jobs included working in public television—with Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood just down the hall; teaching Latin, creative writing, and philosophy; and very early along that journey, living in St. Louis as a Catholic nun. A checkered past, of sorts.

After marrying a nice Jewish man whom I met in graduate school (my mother always said she had named me Sarah for a reason), a job brought us to a small town (Prairie Village), attached to a big city (Kansas City) and the home we still live in.

And it was here that my writing life took root.

The seeds to writing a novel—-or rather 'finishing' a novel—were planted in a sandbox in a park, not far from our Prairie Village home. It was there I met another newcomer to the area, Adrienne Staff, a woman who would become a life-long friend. While our children played together in the sand that day, I learned that not only was Adrienne as hungry for friendship as I was, but both of us loved to read and write and had drawers filled with unfinished novels. In no time at all we decided that perhaps the key to finishing a novel (at least, in our case) was to write a book together. A match made in heaven--a nice Jewish girl from New York and an ex-nun--certainly a pair with diverse experiences to spare! We'd hold one another to the task and we would complete a book and rid ourselves of the awful unfinished novel curse.

And so we did. Soon after finishing our first book, we found our wonderful agent, Andrea, and went on to publish a dozen or more novels together.

Years later friendship again played a huge role in my publishing life—this time in the person of Nancy Pickard, who invited me to help her with a mystery she was working on. Nancy turned a blind eye to the fact that I had never written a mystery—and together we sat and drank coffee and talked and wrote and rewrote, examined red herrings and twists and turns, and talked some more. And we finished the mystery.

After that, I was hooked! Now not only did I love to read mysteries, I loved to write them, too. How fortunate I was to have learned from a pro—and then to have lucked into my first mystery series, The Queen Bees Quilters mysteries.

A couple of years and three mysteries later, my life took another marvelous turn: my first grandchild! And along with baby Luke was born a new mystery series, The Seaside Knitters mysteries. (Grandchildren....knitting....it was meant to be.) Luke's parents live in a charming seaside town on Cape Ann, just north of Boston. A perfect place for a mystery series. And a perfect place for the series' author to visit OFTEN—to research plots, check out life on the dock, eat lobster—and to watch Luke, his now five-year-old sister Ruby, and his brand new brother Dax grow and thrive.

And more grandchildren followed right here in Kansas City. All together there are now six amazing little people who fill our lives and hearts and keep me writing mysteries.

It's a good life. 

http://www.sallygoldenbaum.com/

Book Release- Peril by Ponytail by Nancy J. Cohen

Nancy J. Cohen's newest book Peril by Ponytail is released today. I am thrilled to have her with us today.

Series: Bad Hair Day Mysteries
Hardcover: 285 pages
Publisher: Five Star Publishing (September 16, 2015)
Language: English




Marla and Dalton’s honeymoon at an Arizona dude ranch veers from dangerous to downright deadly faster than a horse headed to the corral. With her husband’s uncle—the resort’s owner—on the suspect list for murder, Marla races to prove his innocence. She hopes her blind trust isn’t misplaced, especially when she learns their relative has secrets he’d rather keep buried. As the bodies pile up, she digs deeper to find the killer. With her new family in jeopardy, she’d better figure out who’s adding to the spirits at a nearby ghost town before someone she loves is hurt. Saddle up for Marla’s latest adventure in the Wild West where a Bad Hair Day is the least of her worries.


About the Author:

Nancy J. Cohen writes the humorous Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring hairdresser Marla Vail, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Titles in this series have made the IMBA bestseller list and been selected by Suspense Magazine as best cozy mystery. Nancy has also written the instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery, an easy-to-follow reference on how to write a winning whodunit. Nancy's imaginative romances, including the Drift Lords series, have proven popular with fans as well. These books have won the HOLT Medallion and Best Book in Romantic SciFi/Fantasy at The Romance Reviews.


A featured speaker at libraries, conferences, and community events, Nancy is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets. When not busy writing, she enjoys fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and outlet shopping, plus frequent visits to the salon for research. NancyJCohen.com



Amazon Hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/Peril-Ponytail-Bad-Hair-Mystery/dp/1432830988/
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/peril-by-ponytail-nancy-j-cohen/1121698516
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25419636-peril-by-ponytail


Nancy J. Cohen Bad Hair Day Mysteries http://nancyjcohen.com


Giveaway: Leave a comment by Sept.18th for the chance to win a copy of Peril in Ponytail by Nancy J. Cohen. Winner will be notified within 48 hours after giveaway closes and you will have three days to respond after being contacted or another winner will be selected.

Book Release Day- Dressed to Kill by Lynn Cahoon

Happy Tuesday! Dressed to Kill by Lynn Cahoon is released today. Are you a fan of the series?  I have enjoyed this series from the start and you will too.Would you like to win a e-copy of this book? Leave a comment and email to be entered.

Book Description:

Jill Gardner, the owner of Coffee, Books, and More, has been suckered into playing a twenties flapper in murder/dinner theater. Though it is for charity... 

Of course everyone is expecting a "dead" body at the dress rehearsal...but this one isn't acting! It turns out the main suspect is the late actor's conniving girlfriend Sherry...who also happens to be the ex-wife of Jill's main squeeze. Sherry is definitely a master manipulator...but is she a killer? Jill may discover the truth only when the curtain comes up on the final act...and by then, it may be far too late.