Monday, August 18, 2014

Guest Post Giveaway for three - Molly MacRae

It is a great pleasure to have the charming Molly MacRae joining us today!! Welcome Molly and thank you for being here today! I love small towns and although I don't live in one right now , it is a dream of mine that one day I will.

Molly is doing a wonderful giveaway: There will be 3 winners so you must leave a comment and email!!

 copy of one of the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries (winner’s choice), a copy of Learn to Knit (published by Leisure Arts) and a copy of Learn to Crochet (published by Leisure Arts.)






Small Towns – Writing What I know and Love


What is it about small towns and cozy mysteries? Why do they seem to go together like porch swings and iced tea? Like cats and warm laps? Like arsenic and old lace? Is it because a small town is the perfect place for committing murder? I think so. Small towns give us everything we’ll find in big cities – all the treachery and villainy – but they give it to us on a more personal, manageable, scale.


Small towns make great playgrounds for writers. It’s fun creating characters and putting them in uncomfortable shoes and even less comfortable situations, building shops and houses and furnishing them either well or outrageously, sampling everything in the bakery without gaining an ounce, publishing newspapers and building roads – and doing all of that with the magical taps of a keyboard. It absolutely tickles me when readers say that Blue Plum, Tennessee, the town in my Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, feels so real they’d like to crawl right into it and stay.


Blue Plum is made out of bits and pieces from my favorite small towns. Most of the pieces come from Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest town and a place dear to my heart. I was director of the history museum there for seven years and came to know the town’s history and stories and the people who loved them and preserved them. If you ever visit Jonesborough (and I highly recommend that you do) some of the places you’ll recognize are the courthouse, the row house where I put the Weaver’s Cat, and the café that I reimagined and renamed Mel’s on Main. When you do visit Jonesborough, stop at the Main Street Café for lunch. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.


If you’d like to see how I picture Blue Plum, take a look at my Pinterest boards. You’ll see the mountains, the streetscape, Mel’s café, and the Holston Homeplace Living History Farm. And, of course, you’ll see the Weaver’s Cat. You’ll see some of the baby hats that members of TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Fiber) are knitting for their 1,000 hat challenge and the mannequin with its outfits. You can browse the shop’s reference library and find classes to take—haven’t you always wanted to knit a sock monkey or make a pair of shark mittens? And you’ll see examples of lace more substantial than Geneva the ghost.


Blue Plum isn’t idyllic. No small town is a utopia or an Eden. People, and life in general, tend to interfere. Death—murder—happens. Murders do seem to happen more often in the small towns of cozy mysteries, but that’s okay, because cozy mysteries give us—writers and readers—the chance to set things right in a way that doesn’t always happen in the real world. And isn’t that the best of worlds?


Watch for Plagued by Quilt, book 4 in the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, coming in November 2014 and available now for pre-order.
The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, published by Penguin/NAL. Molly’s short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine since 1990. After twenty years in northeast Tennessee, Molly lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois.


You can find out more about Molly at www.mollymacrae.com. You can find her blogging on the first Monday of each month at www.amyalessio.com and on the 23rd of each month at www.killercharacters.com.

Here is the prize :

Last Wool and Testament (Haunted Yarn Shop Series #1) Dyeing Wishes (Haunted Yarn Shop Series #2) Spinning in Her Grave: A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery









36 comments:

  1. Hi Shelley! Hi Molly! I love your books, and the little town you created. I don't think I live too far from Jonesborough, I will have to go for a visit. Thanks for the chance to win, I have all of your books, but would love to share with a friend. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would <3 <3 <3 to win one of the Yarn Shop Mysteries! bubs(dot)girl(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would love to win. This is a great series. I ha e always wanted to learn how to crochet. Thank you for the chance to win

    ReplyDelete
  4. Would love to win!


    patucker54 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I first met Molly years ago during Magna Cum Murder - she and her writing were delightful then as now. It's been happy years reading her books. Looking forward to her continued, and deserved, success. hharra@bsu.edu

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks like a great series. Looking forward to reading it.
    kpowers784@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the clever titles and colorful covers. I have not talent when it comes to knitting and such. In small towns, the quirky and weird standout. That's what makes reading about small towns fun.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Molly MacRae is one of my favorite authors, second only to Agatha Christie. The Haunted Yarn Shop mysteries are a fun read. Love that she's being featured today. Looking forward to Plagued by Quilt! kristincrochets@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Molly, I haven't started this series yet but it's on the list now. afarage(at)earthlink.net

    ReplyDelete
  10. I havent tried this series yet but want to. Im a city girl who would to live in a small town atmosphere. Elisanabby at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Really enjoyed the first in series and look forward reading the next two
    Becky Prazak
    rjprazak6@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. This would be captivating and lovely. What a great series. Thanks for this giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a wonderful series which would be memorable. Many thanks. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love all needle crafts . Remember knitting my first afghan . Then all the grandkids wanted one for themselves. Though I need to take breast and read my favorite cozy mysteries!! Ronnalord(at)msn(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  15. A few years ago I took a knitting class. I only knit straight things...with only a garter stitch...and I haven't knit anything in eons.

    cozyupwithkathy at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  16. I want to come to Blue Plum and to the yarn shop. I would love to be able to visit there. I guess I will have to get reading!

    ElaineE246 at msn dot come

    ReplyDelete
  17. Small towns are good settings for cozies because people all know each other---and each other's secrets.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love cozy mysteries. Thanks for having such a great giveaway.

    xzjh04@ gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Looking forward to reading these great cozy mysteries.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'd like to win one of the haunted yarn shop mysteries. I have the first one.
    catbooks72(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  21. would love to win!

    westoncarol@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  22. This would be a great boon, I already know which friend I would gift both the learn to knit book & the first book in the series. The rest is mine ;)

    Monica dot welham at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow what a great turn out! Thank you thank you Molly for being here today! The winner will be chosen soon. If you haven't followed my blog, please do, I am having a giveaway when I hit 150 followers!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I would love to win! The jow to books would be useful in teaching my granddaughters like my grandmother taught me. I love cozies and haven't read these.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks for having me, Shelley! Your blog is beautiful and I've so enjoyed reading all the comments. Thanks, everyone, for stopping by today. Good luck in the drawing!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Love to read from this series...Thanks for having this.
    Marilyn (ewatvess@yahoo.com)

    ReplyDelete
  27. What a wonderful contest for a wonderful series. I am so looking forward to Plagued by Quilt.
    mary-fairchild@sbcglobal.net

    ReplyDelete
  28. Haven't tried this series yet but it sounds like it needs to be on my growing TBR pile. Thanks for the giveaway. Kuzlin at aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Loved Last Wool and Testament, read it at least twice
    Reserved the books at the library, which I thought was nice
    But alas and alack, they haven't come through
    I'm way down the list, says my librarian so true.
    Hope I win one of these so I can follow the tale
    If I'm lucky, it will be in the mail!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I would love to read one, they look great, thank you!
    jslbrown2009(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I already knit - and love to read the haunted yarn shop mysteries. I love anything where murder and ghosts and knitting are included all in one book! I have a knitting group that provides support to those who want to learn to knit (like those crochet people) and a group that knits and crochets for charities locally. They both provide a great way to support each other and enjoy turning string into something beautiful. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I've always been fascinated with knitting/crocheting/needlepointing/etc........
    love the creativity & the love that goes into it.......

    cyn209 at juno dot com

    ReplyDelete
  33. I would love to learn how to knit! It's a craft I have always admired in others. Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  34. Molly,
    I love cozy mysteries that take place in small towns. Your yarn shop mysteries have me intrigued. I'd love to win a copy of the first book in the series.
    pgligor@zoomtown.com

    ReplyDelete
  35. These are on my TBR list. It sounds like a terrific series and I can't wait to start them. I learned to crochet at a young age from my Mom and Grandma. Never could learn to knit but boy could I make those pot holder. Great giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I love needle arts. I taught myself to crochet and knit. Although I love to knit I am not as proficient at it as I am crochet. I am looking forward to reading these books which have not been added to my TBR list.

    ReplyDelete

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...