There are going to be more Food Blogger mysteries!!!
In December, I signed a three book contract and I’m beyond thrilled! So much so, that I’m halfway through the first draft of Hope’s latest adventure. I don’t have a publication date yet, but what I can share now about the book is that the story revolves around Drew’s family. So. Much. Fun.
2022 has been a challenging, roller-coaster of a year. While things may have gone sideways, there have been blessings. I’m looking forward to this new year and writing more Food Blogger mysteries.
It’s a couple days after release day and it’s still all good! And a little bit crazy as I’m trying to juggle writing a new first draft, finalize a project for my agent and take care of life things. Oh, there’s also Connie. The weather is cool and she’s full of energy. There’s been a few games of tug of war with a sock between my work sessions.
Since Tuesday, I’ve received emails and messages and comments about THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO. I’m so grateful for all of them. There are also reviews being shared and I thought I’d share a few of them. Here’s one.
If you haven’t gotten your copy of THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO, no worries! It’s available at your favorite retailer.
Well, it happened. THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO released yesterday. And like every other release day, it was a busy 24 hours. And I loved every minute of it. From answering reader emails, posting on social media, checking on my blog tour stops to doing a live Zoom event with five other amazing authors also celebrating book birthdays, I was all over the place. And I even got my car an oil change! Yep, the glamorous life of an author. đ
Yesterday was also National Neighbor’s Day. How fitting that the release of THE CORPSE IN THE GAZEBO fell on that day because Hope is dealing with a particularly cantankerous neighbor, Birdie Donovan. In fact, Birdie is circulating a petition to force Hope to move from their street. Now, this doesn’t sit well with Hope, who loves her neighborhood and her restored farmhouse. She’s not moving any time soon and she lets Birdie know just that. Unfortunately, that conversation happens in public and it’s captured on video, which goes viral. That’s pretty bad, right? Well, it gets worse for Hope. To find out how much more worse, you’ll need to pick up your own copy. đ
Yesterday I also got to celebrate my book’s birthday with five other cozy mystery authors and had the pleasure of joining in on a panel discussion about our books. To check out that video, click here to be directed to YouTube. And be sure to check out their books! Now’s the time to stock up on cozy reads.
Cozy mysteries are perfect for gift giving. Wouldn’t it be great to mark some gifts off your list?
Fudge shop owner Allie McMurphy never expected her maid of honor duties to include clearing the groom of murder . . .
THE BODY OF A CRIME
Itâs late spring on picturesque Mackinac Island, Michigan. Allie is prepping her Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop for the start of the tourist season and her best friend Jennâs wedding. But when Jennâs fiancĂŠ Shane, a crime scene investigator on the island, misses a dinner date, the two friends go looking for him. Led by Allieâs bichonpoo Mal into an alley, they come upon Shane standing over a body with a bloody knife in his hand. Shane wonât say whatâs happened, just tells them to call 911. As the CSI is taken into custody by his colleagues, including Allieâs beau Rex Manning, the fudge maker vows to prove her friendâs fiancĂŠ is not a killerâbefore the ceremony turns into a jailhouse wedding . . .
With Halloween just around the corner, the fall colors in Georgetown are brilliant. As manager of the Color Me Read bookstore, coloring book creator Florrie Fox has arranged for psychic author Hilda Rattenhorst to read from Spooktacular Ghost Stories. But the celebrity medium arrives for the event in hysterics, insisting she just saw a bare foot sticking out of a rolled-up carpet in a nearby alley. Is someone trying to sweep murder under the rug? Florrie calls in her policeman beau, Sergeant Eric Jonquille, but the carpet corpse has disappeared without a trace.
Then in the middle of her reading, Hilda chillingly declares that she feels the killer’s presence in the store. Is this a publicity stunt or a genuine psychic episode? It seems there’s no happy medium. When a local bibliophile is soon discovered missing, a strange mystery begins to unroll. Now it’s up to Florrie and Jonquille to expose a killer’s true colors . . .
Tucked away inside an old lighthouse in Beacon Harbor, Michigan, bakeshop cafĂŠ owner Lindsey Bakewellis ready to make her first Christmas in town shine bright. But her merry plans crumble fast when murder appears under the mistletoe . . .
With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas everâwinning the town-wide cookie bake-off. Unfortunately, striving for a picture-perfect December in Beacon Harbor is a lot like biting into stale shortbread. Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition . . .
Self-appointed Christmas know-it-all Felicity Stewart is determined to take the top spot in the bakeâoff, and sheâs not afraid to dump a little coal in everyoneâs stocking to do it. Just as the competition heats up, everything falls apart when the judge is found deadâand covered in crumbs from Lindseyâs signature cookie!
Solving a murder was never on Lindseyâs wish list. But with her reputation on the line during the happiest time of the year, sheâll need to bring her best talents to the table in order to sift out the true Christmas Cookie culprit.
Thereâs nothing like autumn in picturesque Goosebush, Massachusetts, but beneath the seasonâs sun-dappled foliage, Lilly Jayne and her Garden Squad must investigate a shadowy murder mystery after a theater ownerâs sudden death sows as much drama behind the scenes as on any stage…
Lilly Jayne typically spends the harvest season baking festive pies and crafting colorful wreaths to enter in the libraryâs annual fundraising contest. But this year, autumn opens on a somber note when beloved local theater owner, Leon Tompkin, dies unexpectedly. His memorial sets the scene for a mini reunion of The Goosebush Playersâ best and brightest alumni, including Hollywood star, Jeremy Nolan…until someone plucks Jeremy from the spotlight, permanently.
Now, as dedicated theater volunteer, Scooter McGee, falls under suspicion, Lilly and her Garden Squad must spring into action. They quickly discover a cornucopia of potential suspects in Jeremyâs murder. Was it an embittered ex…or a jilted lover? A rival thespian…or an overly ambitious artist? Lilly rakes through the piles of clues, but if she doesnât uncover the real killer soon, more than autumn leaves will be dropping in Goosebush…
he ghost of an Elvis impersonator has got psychic painter Celeste Cabot all shook up . . .
Celeste has pulled up in her pink Shasta trailer, aka mobile art studio, to the Sevier County Fair in the mountains of eastern Tennessee to sell her paintings. A highlight of the fair promises to be the celebrity impersonation contest. But the low point is when Celeste and her floppy-eared white Chihuahua Van (short for Van Gogh) find an Elvis impersonator in his trailer doing a great impression of a corpse, clutching a doughnut in his hand.
Seeking a vision to solve the crime, Celeste paints her own Elvis portraitâand suddenly the ghost of the Elvis impersonator appears. They say fools rush in, but with the help of this spirit, Celeste sets out to find the real killer among all the fake celebrities. Itâs now or never, because there wonât be time to tell the killer: âDonât be cruel.â
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 Hopeâs blog these days, and sheâs busier than ever volunteering to help other women create their own paths to success. So sheâs shocked when a neighbor petitions to run Hope right out of her small Connecticut town! Set in her ways, apparently Birdie Donovan doesnât like the chaos Hopeâs sleuthing creates, the police activity and crime scenes, and itâs 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 overâuntil 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 sheâs 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. Itâs up to Hope to get to bake new ground on the case before the lifestyle brand sheâs createdâand her whole lifeâcrumbles . . .
Her headlights shone on the white garage door and her mouth gaped opened at the large block letters scrawled across the door.
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“A suspenseful finale delivers not just tense moments, but a heroine who must deal with the resulting trauma. This realism makes it a standout novel in the abundant cozy mystery genre.”
Food blogger Hope Early finds one item not on her scavenger hunt listâa dead husband . . . Between developing her food blog, Hope at Home, and choosing low-cal recipes for a feature in Cooking Now! magazine, Hope has a full plate. Still, sheâs never too busy to compete in a Jefferson, Connecticut, traditionâthe townâs annual scavenger hunt.
But as she races with her team to check off the next item, Hope discovers a grisly surpriseâthe body of shady real estate developer Lionel Whitcomb, shot in a parking lot. His wife Elaine, whoâs also in the hunt, gasps and nearly faints. But two other women on the scene cry out that their husband is dead.
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.
