Food Blogger Mysteries

Advance Reader Copies Have Arrived

Look what arrived! FedEx dropped off a box and immediately I knew what it was – advanced reader copies for THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO, which releases on 9/28/21. While Connie was losing her mind (FedEx, UPS & Amazon trucks get her all fierce and protective, yes, she showed the FedEx who was in charge. LOL), I was dashing out to the front steps to grab the box and bring it inside. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t open the box fast enough.

I’m now getting them ready to mail out to reviewers this coming week. When I first did this with THE UNINVITED CORPSE I was terrified to send the book out because what happened if the reviewers hated it? Let me tell you, that feeling hasn’t gone away but it’s not as intense as it had been in 2018. First, the reviewer community in the cozy mystery genre are incredibly kind and professional. Not every reviewer will love my book, but I know these people won’t rip it apart just because they can. Second, as a writer I’m getting better at my craft and I’m feeling more confident to tell stories that may be a bit more complicated than I could have attempted to write in 2016 when I first sat down to write THE UNINVITED CORPSE. Third, the more often you do something, the easier it gets.

Here’s a fun fact about being an author. There’s nothing like holding your book for the first time, it doesn’t gets old.

A little about the book:

Food blogging is turning Hope Early into a household name. But the dead body down the block makes her a #1 suspect…
 
It seems everyone loves Hope’s blog these days, and she’s busier than ever volunteering to help other women create their own paths to success. So she’s shocked when a neighbor petitions to run Hope right out of her small Connecticut town! Set in her ways, apparently Birdie Donovan doesn’t like the chaos Hope’s sleuthing creates, the police activity and crime scenes, and it’s happening way too often lately. Eager to make amends, Hope bakes Birdie a batch of her best muffins. The delicious treats might have smoothed things over—until Hope discovers Birdie dead in her gazebo the very next day…
 
Now instead of worrying about holding on to her beloved home, Hope is trying to stay out of jail. Because suddenly she’s the lead suspect in the case. Not even her boyfriend, Police Chief Ethan Cahill, is promising he can clear her name, much less discuss the investigation with her. It’s up to Hope to get to bake new ground on the case before the lifestyle brand she’s created—and her whole life—crumbles…

To pre-order the book click here and you’ll be taken to the Food Blogger Mystery book page. And don’t forget, when you pre-order the book to enter my giveaway. For details on that giveaway click here.

Food Blogger Mystery Series

Giveaway for THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO

I’ve always loved aprons and I have a small collection of them. My new favorite is the one I created for the upcoming release of THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO, book 5 in the Food Blogger Mystery Series. In fact, I just wore it recently to whip up a batch of blueberry muffins.

To celebrate the release of THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO, which is available for pre-order from your favorite book retailer, I’m holding a giveaway! Pre-order THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO between now and Sept 27th and with your receipt, you will be entered into a giveaway for a Food Blogger apron and a $10 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Two winners (shipping to US addresses only & one winner per household) will be randomly selected.

Email your receipt to: [email protected]

Currently Reading, New Releases

Happy Release Day! A Spirit Seeks Asylum

Happy Release Day to my friend Lena Gregory! The sixth book in her Bay Island Psychic Mystery series released today.

Cass Donovan is confronted by ghoulish crimes both old and new when a defunct asylum is the site of a fresh murder and a long-hidden injustice . . .

The old abandoned buildings of the Twin Forks Lunatic Asylum have always fascinated and frightened clairvoyant Cass Donovan, but she never dreamed her psychic abilities would be put to the test there. Then the new owner of the site tells her he plans to renovate it and turn it into a boarding school, and he’ll pay Cass handsomely to determine whether the place is haunted! Cass accepts his offer, but her search for hints of old ghosts soon has her looking for clues among the living when the man who hired her turns up dead.

Returning to the shuttered asylum looking for evidence of who may have wanted her client out of the way, Cass stumbles upon signs of yet another murder, even as she’s besieged by an onslaught of haunting voices from the past. When it comes to light that rival real estate developers have been hatching plans of their own for the property, Cass sees no shortage of motives for the murders, but she’ll have to find a way to quiet the disturbing voices from long ago and focus on the here and now, because whoever’s behind the killings has targeted Cass as their next victim . . .

Food Blogger Mysteries, Sunday Snippet, The Hidden Corpse

Sunday Snippet ( oops…a day late)

Hope’s breath caught at the devastation in front of her.

“The plot was timely, well paced and interesting. She incorporated issues such as grief, the elderly and their memory, and local corruption and deception found in many towns and cities, making this an emotional story as well.

~Carla Loves To Read

THE HIDDEN CORPSE

☑️Mystery with recipes

☑️Small, New England town

☑️Mystery with recipes

☑️Adorable dog

***Blurb***

Former reality TV baking show contestant and recent divorcée Hope Early is trying to find her recipe for success as a food blogger—but murder keeps getting in the mix . . .

When Hope’s elderly neighbor perishes in a home fire, she can’t help but feel somewhat responsible. Only the day before, Peggy Olson had called her over, having burned a pot on the stove while she was sleeping and filling the house with smoke. In fact, she couldn’t even remember cooking. Clearly, it was dangerous for the woman to live alone.

But it turns out she wasn’t alone. When a second body is discovered in the basement of the burned house, suddenly what appeared to be a tragic accident is beginning to look like premeditated murder. As rumors spread like wildfire, Hope is determined to sort out the facts and smoke out a killer, but she might be jumping from the frying pan straight into the fire . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

Food Blogger Mysteries, Sunday Snippet, The Hidden Corpse

Sunday Snippet ( oops…a day late)

Hope’s breath caught at the devastation in front of her.

“The plot was timely, well paced and interesting. She incorporated issues such as grief, the elderly and their memory, and local corruption and deception found in many towns and cities, making this an emotional story as well.

~Carla Loves To Read”

THE HIDDEN CORPSE

☑️Mystery with recipes

☑️Small, New England town

☑️Missing wife case

☑️Adorable dog

***Blurb***

Former reality TV baking show contestant and recent divorcée Hope Early is trying to find her recipe for success as a food blogger—but murder keeps getting in the mix . . .

When Hope’s elderly neighbor perishes in a home fire, she can’t help but feel somewhat responsible. Only the day before, Peggy Olson had called her over, having burned a pot on the stove while she was sleeping and filling the house with smoke. In fact, she couldn’t even remember cooking. Clearly, it was dangerous for the woman to live alone.

But it turns out she wasn’t alone. When a second body is discovered in the basement of the burned house, suddenly what appeared to be a tragic accident is beginning to look like premeditated murder. As rumors spread like wildfire, Hope is determined to sort out the facts and smoke out a killer, but she might be jumping from the frying pan straight into the fire . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!