Blog – Debra Sennefelder

And then came Connie

A couple of months ago I sat down with a cup of coffee and scrolled through my blog posts. All the way back. I was looking for some inspiration because I really wanted to get back to writing regular posts. It felt like the more time I was away from regularly blogging, the harder it was to write a post. That seemed odd to me since I have been able to write 80,000 word plus novels. Yet a 500 word blog post stymied me. Go figure. So I thought a look back to when I was regularly writing blog posts might help me get back into that groove. Well, what I realized was that I never wrote about Connie joining our family. Well, I’m going to do that now.

If you haven’t met Connie yet on social media, here she is. Connie came into our lives after a rough four months. Our beloved Susie passed away unexpectedly over the Memorial Day week. She was fifteen. Then four months later, Billy passed away. He was fourteen. Our hearts were broken and our home was so quiet. Then Connie came and it hasn’t been quiet since. And she was exactly what we needed.

Within two months of her coming home, I enrolled her in puppy school. There she learned the basics, met her best friend, Maura (they still have play dates) and got her diploma.

Connie has a lot of energy and she loves a good game of tug of war and ball playing. She’s also curious, so I love taking her places like a local garden center that has animals. She always rides shotgun in her booster seat.

She loves holidays (probably because there’s always a new toy for her) but she’s also a hard worker, so much so that she’s been promoted to my office manager. The girl keeps me on task. 🙂

In June, Connie celebrated her second birthday and in a few weeks we’ll celebrate two years of her joining our family. She’s still a ball of energy and she’s a bit of a ham in front of the camera and doesn’t mind wearing a hat. 🙂

While Susie and Billy will always be in our hearts, Connie has carved out a place for herself. Do you share your life with a pet? Leave a comment below sharing something about your best buddy.

Food Blogger Mysteries, Sunday Chat

Sunday Snippet

No, the coldness inside of her just sat there, expanding with every minute that passed, and it hurt.

“This is perhaps my favorite book in the Food Blogger Mysteries so far. I’ve enjoyed watching, author Debra Sennefelder, flesh out and grow her cast of characters. Characters I both love, and love to not like. They are layered with wonderful, and not so perfect layers. She truly is a gifted writer.”
~Lisa Ks Book Reviews

THE CORPSE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

☑️Mystery with recipes
☑️Small, New England town
☑️Twenty year old cold case
☑️Adorable dog

Blurb

Food blogger Hope Early takes on a cold case that’s heating up fast . . .

Building on her recipe for success with her food blog, Hope at Home, Hope is teaching her first blogging class at the local library in Jefferson, Connecticut. She’s also learning about podcasts, including a true-crime one called Search for the Missing, hosted by Hope’s childhood friend, Devon Markham. Twenty years ago on Valentine’s Day, right here in Jefferson, Devon’s mom disappeared and was never found. Finally Devon has returned to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother—and she asks Hope to help.

The next day Hope discovers Devon’s apartment has been ransacked. Her laptop with the research on her mother’s cold case is missing, and Devon is nowhere to be found. When her friend’s body is later discovered in a car wreck, Hope is convinced it’s no accident. Clearly, Devon was too close to the truth, and the cold-blooded killer is still at large in Jefferson. Now it’s up to Hope to find the guilty party—before the food blogger herself becomes the next subject of another true-crime podcast . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

Friday Faves 9/10

It’s Friday so I’m sharing some of my favorite things from this week. While I’m looking forward to the start of fall, I’m shocked that it’s already September 10th. Wasn’t it just Labor Day? What the heck happened? I guess life happened, right? So much to do and some days it seems like there aren’t enough hours to accomplish everything on my growing to-do list. But, I did manage to jot down some of my favorite things to share with you today.

woman on cell phone

My faves this week include a podcast, a new bookstagram account, an interview with one of my favorite authors, the workout of the week, a little self-care/pampering purchase and my current read. Ready? Let’s get started.

Podcast: Author Stories with Hank Gardner. This is a podcast I’ve listened to for a very long time and it was the first podcast interview I did. This week’s episode featured author Vera Kurian, author of Never Saw Me Coming.

Instagram: There’s a new bookstagram account on the block. My friend Heidi Z. has launched her bookstagram account recently and she’s rocking it over at @Heidizreadz. Check it out!

Inspiration: A conversation over at the Clubhouse author’s group mentioned Creative Live. I went over to check out what was being discussed but found Kelly Corrigan’s interview with Jane Green. I grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down and watched the interview. I was reminded that watching these types of interviews is very motivating and inspiring to me. This is a big help now since I’m starting a new book. 🙂

My current: Poisonous by Allison Brennan. I love the Max Revere series and so sad that it’s ended but I’m catching up. I think I have one more to read in the series.

Workout: Get Healthy U’s Mat Pilates 3. I love Pilates and this workout was just what I needed.

A little bit of pampering: I indulged and bought a collection of nail polish from Nails, Inc. I love the colors (I prefer neutrals and browns). I admit the name of the collection had me right away – Sweet As Chocolate. Hello! Unfortunately, it’s currently sold out. But there are other collections and I really like the quality of the product.

Do you have a fave this week you’d like to share? Leave a comment below. 🙂

Friday Reads

Happy Friday! We made it through another week and I’m so looking forward to the weekend for a couple reasons. Reason number one: the weather is supposed to be pleasant. Yay! Bye bye humidity. I know, it’ll be back. Just let me have my moment. 🙂 Reason number two: I’m going to be starting a new book to read because I just finished one. I’m not sure which one book I’ll choose. There are three I’m considering.

We’re easing into one of my favorite reading seasons. My reading sessions will involve a cozy fleece blanket, a hot cup of tea and Connie nearby for an extra layer of coziness (there’s never too much cozy, is there?). I also tend to shift toward reading more print books. In the warmer months I’ve found myself drifting toward e-books. Not sure why that happens, so I don’t give it too much thought, I just read. And now let me share with you the book I just finished reading last night. SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE BRASH BLONDE by by Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey. This was such a fun read and I want to read the two other books in the series.

Martha “Marty” Hudson has it all…almost. While her best friend, Irene Adler, is a dot-com millionaire many times over, Marty’s days are filled with working as a barista at a Stanford University coffee bar, crashing various courses and lectures, and dodging the rent collector at her crummy apartment. But when Marty suddenly finds out that a long-lost aunt has left her a Victorian home at 221 Baker Street in the heart of San Francisco, she’s hopeful her luck is about to turn around! Okay, so the Victorian is run down and probably in need of more repairs than Marty could ever afford, but at least it’s a link to family. However when Marty starts sifting through the contents of the dilapidated home, she realizes her aunt’s death may not have been natural…and might have been a case of murder!

Taking her suspicions to the grumpy Detective Lastrade and the uber-hot medical examiner, Dr. John Watson, only gets her a pair of doors slammed in her face. But Marty and Irene don’t give up that easily. Instead, they invent fictitious private investigator, Sherlock Holmes, to open those doors for them! Between Marty’s eclectic class-crashing knowledge and Irene’s tech know-how, “Sherlock Holmes” investigates an over-the-hill yoga teacher, mob shops in Chinatown, pot dispensaries in the East Bay, and a slew of suspicious characters. But when the killer returns—this time with Marty in sight!—even the great Holmes may not be able to save her…at least not without a little help from the girls.

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Last year I wrote a post on How To Read in the Fall and I shared some tips for making the most of our autumn reading season. If you’d like to check the post out click here.

Inquiring minds want to know: What are you reading?

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Food Blogger Mysteries, Sunday Snippet

Sunday Snippet

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, it does no one any good to dig up the past.”

“The plot was great and kept me up late into the night as I just could not put it down.”
~Colleen, Goodreads Review

THE CORPSE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

☑️Mystery with recipes
☑️Small, New England town
☑️Twenty year old cold case
☑️Adorable dog

Blurb

Food blogger Hope Early takes on a cold case that’s heating up fast . . .

Building on her recipe for success with her food blog, Hope at Home, Hope is teaching her first blogging class at the local library in Jefferson, Connecticut. She’s also learning about podcasts, including a true-crime one called Search for the Missing, hosted by Hope’s childhood friend, Devon Markham. Twenty years ago on Valentine’s Day, right here in Jefferson, Devon’s mom disappeared and was never found. Finally Devon has returned to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother—and she asks Hope to help.

The next day Hope discovers Devon’s apartment has been ransacked. Her laptop with the research on her mother’s cold case is missing, and Devon is nowhere to be found. When her friend’s body is later discovered in a car wreck, Hope is convinced it’s no accident. Clearly, Devon was too close to the truth, and the cold-blooded killer is still at large in Jefferson. Now it’s up to Hope to find the guilty party—before the food blogger herself becomes the next subject of another true-crime podcast . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!