Cozy Wednesday with Bailey Cates (Giveaway too!)

Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!

I had read other stories by this author and absolutely loved them! As soon as I saw the cover of this book I knew I was going to enjoy the Magical Bakery Mysteries!! I was so right. We are introduced to wonderful characters in a perfect setting. 

I am so thrilled to have Bailey stop by and visit today. I have mixed up one of the recipes from the book so grab yourself a Cheddar Sage Scone and help me welcome Bailey Cates!!

Hi Bailey!!

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for inviting me to guest here at Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book!

My Magical Bakery Mysteries features Katie Lightfoot. An experienced baker, she’s recently relocated to Savannah, Georgia to escape an engagement gone bad and open the Honeybee Bakery with her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben. Little does she suspect that she’s about to get involved in a murder investigation to clear Ben’s name – and there’s another surprise in store. Aunt Lucy belongs to a spell book club, a group of gentle witches who more or less operate out of the Honeybee.

A coven with an oven, if you will. I’d like to introduce them to you.

At seventy-eight, Mimsey Carmichael is the oldest member of the group. The first time Katie meets her she thinks she’s in her early sixties, though. Aunt Lucy swears that her dear friend and mentor appears so young simply because of good humor and clean living. Sporting a pure white pageboy, Mimsey describes herself as comfortably round. She’s a Savannah native and owns a flower shop in the historic district. She’s married, has one daughter, and practices flower and color magic as well as being the best in the spell book club at divination. Oh, and her familiar happens to be a parrot named Heckle.

Lucy Eagel is next in age. She’s the younger sister of Katie’s mother, but they are unfortunately estranged due to a disagreement about their hereditary gift of hedgewitchery. It’s the family “specialty” when it comes to magic and involves kitchen and garden magic as well as a deep understanding of herbal craft. Lucy and Ben have been married for ten years, though like Katie, Lucy is originally from Ohio. She’s short and slim with a mane of graying blond hair and a penchant for batik and patchouli. Her familiar is Honeybee, the orange tabby who inspired the name of the bakery.

Then comes Bianca Devereaux, a single mother of a five-year-old girl whose husband left her when she became a practicing Wiccan. Tall and willowy, with long dark hair and pale skin, Bianca is the witchiest-looking of them all. She owns a wine shop on Factor’s Walk called Moon Grapes, and her favorite magic involves moon spells. Most of her money comes from her ability to capitalize on trends in the stock market. Bianca doesn’t have a familiar.

Jaida French is an African American lawyer whose specialty is tarot magic – meaning she incorporates tarot cards and their meanings into her spell work – and a bit of divination. She has a flair for fashion, a love of fine food, and to Katie she always smells of cinnamon. She lives with another witch – and lawyer – named Gregory and her familiar, a Great Dane named Anubis.

And finally, there’s Cookie Rios. She’s twenty-four, coltish and has a slight Haitian accent from spending her first nine years there. Her father was a voodoo priest and died mysteriously, but Cookie has chosen to practice the kind of magic the rest of the spell book club does – most of the time. She’s not afraid to break the rules, changes jobs – and boyfriends – every three or four months, and doesn’t have a familiar.

And Lucy’s husband, Uncle Ben? Well, he’s not in the spell book club, but he’s very patient – and very lucky to have Katie and the other ladies on his side!

~Bailey

Thank you so much Bailey for introducing us to your fictional friends. I hope you will come back soon and often!!

 

About This Author

Bailey Cates writes the Magical Bakery Mysteries. They feature new witch and baker Katie Lightfoot and are set in Savannah, Georgia. The first in the series, Brownies and Broomsticks, released this month in paperback and ebook formats from NAL/Penguin. She also writes the Home Crafting Mystery Series as Cricket McRae. The sixth in the series, Deadly Row to Hoe, will release this November from Midnight Ink/Llewellyn.

 

For more information, please visit her website www.cricketmcrae.com or check out her blogs at www.hearthcricket.com and www.baileycates.com. You can also find her on Twitter: @cricketmcrae and @writerbailey and on Facebook as Cricket McRae and as Author Bailey Cates.

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Brownies and Broomsticks:

A Magical Bakery Mystery
A Brand New Series
An Obsidian Mystery
Published by New American Library
A Division of The Penguin Group

Katie Lightfoot leaves behind an assistant baker job in Ohio to come to Savannah to work with her Aunt Lucy and  Uncle Ben as they open up the Honeybee Bakery. (The bakery is named after Lucy’s cat.)

While whipping up delectable treats to sell Katie notices Lucy adding mysteries herbs to the recipes. Katie gets quite the surprise when she learns that Aunt Lucy is a witch and these herbal additions are for much more than flavor. The recipes are in fact spells!

After the bakery opens early to cater to the local business group the treasurer tries to stiff them for most of the bill. Ben tells her to fork over the full amount or he will go over her head to the president. After she threatens Ben with running the bakery out of business she storms out.

Within minutes the treasurer is found dead in her car and Uncle Ben is the prime suspect. Lucy and Katie team up with a few of their friends and mix up some spells to prove Ben is innocent and sweep the real killer all the way to jail.

Dollycas’s Thoughts
Could there be more perfect witches than those who bake up tasty treats? Plus the book even shares some of their recipes!!

Cates has created an ideal protagonist in Katie Lightfoot and surrounded her with some whimsical characters, including a hunky firefighter and some very special pets. (My hubby was a firefighter way back when, just saying.) She wrapped around them an intriguing mystery in a yummy setting that makes this story a joy to read.

The women in this story are so different from each other and would it not be for the shared trait of witchcraft they probably would not even know each other, let alone become friends. They realize they each have faults and accept each other for who they are. 

The men on the other hand don’t get along as well. Declan, the firefighter, can barely stand to be in the same room as Steve, the reporter. They have a past the fuels their fury but they both care about Katie. 

Lucy and Ben have a strong relationship but both Lucy and Katie have to deal with Katie’s mom’s denial of the “family specialty”.  

Bailey Cates blends this all together masterfully giving us a charming cozy to devour. The bewitching book group and bakery foundations have been set in this first installment and has given us a taste of what’s in store. I can’t wait to see what the author conjures up for us next.

Thanks to the people at Penguin
I have 2 copies to giveaway!!

U.S. and CANADIAN RESIDENTS
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something you like here and become a follower.

Followers Will Receive 2 Bonus Entries For Each Way They Follow.
Plus 2 Bonus Entries For Liking My Facebook Fan Page.

Leave a comment for Bailey for 5 Bonus Entries !

If you publicize the giveaway anywhere you will receive
5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.

Contest Will End June 6, 2012 at 11:59 PM CST
Winners Will Be Chosen By Random.org
Winners Will Be Notified By Email
and Will Be Posted Here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. 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.”