Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I “met” Maria awhile ago when she was nice enough to share the first two books in the Sedona O’Hala series with me. Sedona sure gets into some intense situations but the thing that makes me love these story are the parts that are laugh out loud funny. I am so excited to have her here today to talk books. I will also review Executive Sick Days.
Welcome Maria!
Hi Everyone!,
I’m on a cozy reading group over on the Amazon forums. I asked the ladies there what I should blog about for my guest blog here on Dollycas’ fabulous site. “Oh, blog about your two feral kitties, Scamp and Junior,” said one. “No, no, you have to tell them about trying to find shorts that fit and that one pair you made where you kept cutting the legs to match until all you had left was pair of underwear with pockets.” Gosh. By all means, let me leave a first impression of a homeless bag lady with cats. Uhm.
Perhaps it’s best if I just introduce myself as a writer with a lot of hobbies. I write cozy mysteries and not-quite-cozy paranormal mysteries. Lori has told you all about my Sedona mystery series: an amateur sleuth trying her best to climb the corporate ladder and make a decent living. Like a lot of us, her boss isn’t necessarily cheering her on, and she has some co-workers who could make an angel plot revenge.
But enough about me. Let’s talk books. You like books, I like books. I’ll tell you my favorites if you tell me yours.
Elizabeth Peters – I not only like her Amelia Peabody series, but perhaps even more, her zany Vicky Bliss series. I am pretty sure Peters influenced me and I don’t mean my writing–I own a parasol because Amelia owns one. Ever since I read about a parasol making a nifty weapon, well, I just had to have one. It’s pure cotton lace and would make a terrible weapon, but yes, I really have walked through the park with my dear husband and my parasol. It is true that I giggled, but at least two other passersby stopped to ask me where I bought my parasol. One was a lady on a bicycle who stopped so suddenly I worried the little dog in the carriage behind her might catapult into a tree. We had a nice chat about my parasol. The dog’s name was Bo. I don’t remember her name, but I always wondered if she bought a parasol.
Virginia Lanier – Now this series isn’t really cozy. It’s got an edge and there are some parts that are heartbreaking and scary. But there’s dogs and people who work hard and care, and the writing and plots are some of the best I’ve read. Ever. I don’t think this author influenced me. I could not write like she did, and I don’t have a dog. But if I did have a dog, it would be awfully cool if, like in the books, it was a talented bloodhound capable of rescuing people–and guarding the heart of its owner as the most valuable thing in the world.
Patricia Briggs– She writes a lot of urban fantasy these days and it’s all very, very good. Specifically the Alpha and Omega series which has so much heart and mystery, you’ll be glued to the pages. I read Patricia Briggs back when she started out in fantasy. When Demons Walk 
Those are three of my favorites. Stop by and tell me yours!
~Maria
www.BearMountainBooks.com
Please Leave A Comment telling Maria your favorite authors and look for a special giveaway after my review.
Executive Sick Days
A Sedona O’Hala Mystery
3rd in Series
Bear Mountain Books
Those darn Huntington brothers have lured Sedona into another dangerous investigation. Good thing one of them makes her heart beat faster and the other gives her nice gifts, like a Mercedes.
Someone at the hospital is running a scam and it is not easy to figure out who or how but Sedona is on the case in addition to cleaning bed pans and avoiding a certain nurse. Hopefully she doesn’t end up on a slab in the morgue before she works out all the details.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The crime here is serious but Sedona just cracks me up time and time again.
This story hits home for me not only because my husband works for an x-ray company but because just last week I was contacted about a past due bill for a doctor I have never seen in my life. Yes, I was in the hospital last April but that doesn’t mean every doctor on staff can bill me for services. I understand way to clearly why American health care is so screwed up.
But now back to this wonderful story. The plot is believable and real. The characters are fantastic. Sedona volunteering at the hospital where her sister-in-law works is the perfect setting. How long can anyone seriously think they can hide a pregnancy? 🙂 The romantic tension keeps building with one Huntington and just plain tension is going strong with the other one.
This whole series of books is just plain fun and entertaining!! Word of caution, watch out for the snake!! You will love this book!!
Now for the special giveaway!
Since I received my Kindle I have become addicted
to it so this is an e-book giveaway.
My first!!
Your Choice Kindle or Nook!
Your Choice of one book from the Sedona O’Hala Mystery Series!
There will be 3 winners!!
Fill out the form below and I will contact you for your choice of book if you win!
Contest Will End April 12 AT 12:01 AM CST
GOOD LUCK!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I love Dorothy Cannel
i love the covers and since I also agree with your choice of favorite authors (isn’t Ramses great in the Amelia Peabody series), I am sure I will enjoy these books. Thanks.
I read mostly Amish or Historical Christian Fiction, just learned about the cozy mystery books and have read a couple. I am finding out that I like them too. So my favorite authors are Lauraine Snelling, Wanda Brunstetter, Amy Clipston, etc.
I am a huge Maria E. Schneider fan and have all of her books, so please don’t enter me in the giveaway, but I wanted to leave a comment to a) rave about her books and b) say thank you for the post. I plan on checking these other authors out!
I really wish I could enter the contest, but I just DO NOT do e-books. AND neither of the two county libraries I use have anything in print by this author. Oh well maybe another time.
Nora, some libraries have the whole set–ask if you can get them via InterLibrary loan! I do some print giveaways at my blog as well, so you might check there (if you send me an email, I can put you in for the next one whenever that is!)
Hi Karen!!! Nice to see you here!
Wendy, I haven’t heard of those authors–thanks for the tips!
Linda–I love Rames. And Amelia. And the setting. And the humor. And everything about those books. I admit–I’m not half the writer Peters is–she is my hero!
Lisa, I like Dorothy Cannel as well!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and entering. It’s wonderful to meet you!
Yes, I am a cozy mystery fanatic!
Hi – I always thought a parasol would be the neatest thing! But now I think it would be one more thing to cart around! I love so many authors that I can’t list them here! I have Kindle for PC, but spend so much time on the computer that I rarely read those books….someday I keep telling myself!
Leo Tolstoy, John Green, Kirsten Hubbard, Jane Austen, Paulo Coelho.
Pragya, I’ve read Jane Austen. :>)
Dee, a dear friend bought me the parasol. I love it! I use it on very hot Texas walks in the summer as the sun comes up. It’s lighter than an umbrella because the top is a cotton lace.
My favorite author–Lillian Jackson Braun of the Cat Who.. series.
Love Cozies. Too many great Cozy authors to have a favorite.
i love a lot of different authors,
The Sedona O’Hala Mystery series sounds great. It’ll be fun trying to catch the culprit. I recently started the Stephanie Plum series so Janet Evanovich is a favorite.
I like all 3 of the authors you mention, and, in addition — Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Parker, Deborah Crombie, Marcia Muller, Barbara Michaels (who is Elizabeth Peters) and Maria E. Schneider (and much as I love the Sedona books, I love the paranormals even more).
I am happy to say I met a lot of my favorite authors: Margaret Sutton (Judy Bolton), Betty Cavanna (Connie Blair as Betsy Allen), Asimov, John Alexander, Andre Norton, and Susan Wittig Albert. My new favorites authors are Kate Collins, Lorna Barrett/LL Bartlett, and Laura Childs. Though I am getty to read more for the challenges I am in and expanding my likes with each new author I read. Having been a volunteer in a hospital your new book looks like one I would enjoy.
I enjoy Janet Evanovich too! Especially the first three or five or so. She’s a wonderful writer.
Rachelle, that is a very nice diverse list! I love Andre Norton and of course have read Asimov, Susan Wittig Albert and Laura Childs (the tea series.) Wonderful stuff!
I specialize in mystery books. I would love to read this, though I have to be honest and say that I’ve never heard of it. I probably would have picked it up if I had. Thanks for the author/series reveal. (at least it is to me).
My favorite authors are Debbie Macomber, Robyn Carr, Joanne Fluke, Joanna Carl, Monica Ferris, and many more!
Love cozies and love all of the authors I have read. Also love Debbie Macomber, Fern Michales, Kathi Macias, Tricia Goyer, Julie Lessman, Linda Conrad and many more.
I would have liked to read more about your two feral kitties and how they’ve adapted. We have a cat that we got from the A.S.P.A. and she’s very sweet with us, but she growls and hisses and everyone else if they get close. She is also a scaredy-cat, being afraid of plastic bags rustling, shadows moving and just about anything else.
My favorite authors change with time, but this past few years I have loved Alan Bradley, Louise Penny, any of the Cozy Chicks; Lorraine Bartlett, Deb Baker and Ellery Adams and more. I discovered Bill Crider this year and a new Indie author, Robert Thornhill, who is a hoot! Robert deserves credit for starting to write in his sixties, figuring out how to get his books published and not giving up. So many more writers! I’d better stop.
I love Stephenie Meyers, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Penny Jordan. Tore923@aol.com
I read a bit of everyone these days but my favorites are still James Patterson and John Grisham.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
Barbara Mertz, not as Elizabeth Peters, but as Barbara Michaels is a favorite.
Thank you for taking the time to share with us today. I think Sedona is a character I would like to get to know 🙂 I love a wide range of authors; Laura Childs, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, J.A. Jance and I am more than willing to add Maria Schneider to the list 🙂
Denise, thanks! I’d love to be on that list!
Liz, I like Barbara Michaels as well and have read every single one.
Nancy, you can read the entire adoption story on my blog where I blogged and took pictures of events as they occurred:
http://www.bearmountainbooks.com/category/hobbies/project-cat/
In short, it’s been quite a journey. Scamper is still pretty wild, although Junior is a fairly well-adjusted kitten. He still runs when we have visitors, but we can pick him up and pet him. He’s very affectionate when I garden and loves to follow my husband around and jump at him around doors.
Scamper loves us, she just doesn’t know it yet!!!
I really enjoyed the intro to Maria, the homeless cat lady!! 🙂
One of my all time favorites is Dorothy Gilman. I have picked up The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax many times as a gift for a friend to introduce them to that series! I love trying the new authors, like Jenn McKinlay and Heather Weber and continuing to read my favorite series by authors like Laura Childs, Denise Swanson, and offbeat mysteries by people like Lisa Lutz!
I have always meant to read an Amelia Peabody book, will need to get going on it!
Cute cover. I love it when I find a new author.
Holdenj! No, no, I’m NOT the homeless cat lady!!! I swear!!! …sigh.
I love Dorothy Gilman!!! I still have a few in the Pollifax series to read, but also enjoyed The Clairvoyant Countess and The Tightrope Walker. If you like Lisa Lutz, you might like Karen Cantwell. She’s got some pretty zany mysteries out and I thought they were a lot of fun (and funny).
Thanks Kiki!
I’m a cozy mystery addict. There are way to many favorites to list. Looking forward to checking this series out & adding it to my TBR list. Thanks for the giveaway. 🙂
I have lots of favorites – mostly Christian fictions authors – but I am reading a lot more cozy mysteries lately. I like Diane Mott Davision, JoAnne Fluke and Debi MacComber.
Yes, some more good ones in there, Andrea! I don’t read a lot of fiction that is specifically marked Christian just because I tend to shop by genre such as cozy mystery, but what I have read is often cozy or similar.
My favorite authors include Sophie Littlefield, Brandon Mull, and Cassandra Clare. There are many others.