Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I always love it when Paige comes to visit!!
Timing Might Not Be Everything, However . . .
by Paige Shelton
“Flurry” is a good word to describe my last few years. “Fun, exciting, and crazy” would work too. And, sometimes, so could “confusing.”
Though I’ve had a great time writing mysteries, I truly only like the good times – very specifically, the writing. I’m not good with numbers and contract details don’t hold a lot of interest for me. However, I’ve learned that writing is not just writing; it is also a business. I’ve forced myself to try to pay attention to the stuff that doesn’t interest me, stuff that’s extremely important like numbers and contract details. But, since a frog can’t change it stripes – wait, that’s not it – since I can only be me, something was bound to be missed along the way.
Back in 2011 I was working on my 2012 Farmers’ Market book, A Killer Maize. I was happily pounding out the words, enjoying the chance to write something that would be a great fit for September, close to October, something a little creepy, something that worked well with fall and Halloween. Oh, I was having a great time. Here’s where I made a big mistake. I’d assumed (oh, yeah, we know what happens when you do that) that A Killer Maize would publish nine months after the previous book in the series because that’s how the publish schedule had been going. But then someone sprang the news: A Killer Maize was publishing a whole year after the previous book – this year spread happens sometimes after a series has been on the shelves awhile. My creepy Halloween-y book would be publishing in December. Oh dear. But it was far too late to do anything about it. A Killer Maize did publish in December of 2012, and though it wasn’t quite right for the season, it was a wake-up call for me and my “pay-attention” skills.
The awesome part of all of this is that something really good happened next. If A Killer Maize published in December, then maybe my next December book could be a Christmas or holiday mystery – which is something I’ve always wanted to write. I got the approval, quadruple checked the publish date (December 3, 2013) just in case I’d missed another potential surprise, and was excited to get started on the fun stuff, the writing. I ended up loving every minute of working on Merry Market Murder. It’s got Christmas trees, tree farms, snow, surprise ornaments, recipes galore (including what I think is the absolute best cut-out cookie recipe ever in the history of all cut-out cookie recipes), murder, secret and not so secret Santas, a little romance, and a current mystery that also reaches back in time a little. I hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
And, since it truly is about that time – Happy December and happy holidays to everyone. A very special thanks to Lori (Dollycas) and all her readers for making this such a wonderful blog, and for inviting me to stop by.
~Paige
About Paige Shelton
Paige Shelton is the national bestselling author of the Farmers’ Market Mysteries and the Country Cooking School Mysteries. She grew up in the Midwest but moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, after college. Paige enjoys reading, listening to music from the 80s, and watching way too many zombie movies with her husband and son.
Find out more on her webpage here.
Merry Market Murder
(A Farmers’ Market Mystery)
5th in Series
Cozy Mystery
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (December 3, 2013)
The Berkley Publishing Group
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Dan Craig
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425252352
E-Book File Size: 2030 KB
ASIN: B00BTRDI84
Bailey’s Farmers’ Market is this season’s go-to holiday destination, but not all the vendors are feeling the Christmas spirit…
This is the fifth installment of the Farmer’s Market Mystery Series featuring fraternal twin sisters Allison and Becca Robins. Allison manages Bailey’s Farm Market and Becca is a vendor selling her jams and preserves.
Ridgeway Christmas Tree Farm has decided to add a booth at Bailey’s Farmers’ Market this year. Most of the regular vendors are excited about it until another tree farmer, Reggie Stuckey, arrives with a truck full of trees and tries to claim he has an exclusive contract to sell them. Before Allison has time to sort out the contract dispute Reggie is found with a tree stake in his chest. Things are far from MERRY!
Soon after the body is found Becca starts to receive unusual and mysterious ornaments. She thinks they may be clues to who killed Reggie. As she tries to wrap her mind around what these clues are telling her she discovers a lot about some people she thought she knew pretty well.
Just who is the Scrooge that that is set on keeping these holidays from being happy?
Dollycas’s Thoughts
One of my favorite series and this time we get to visit over the Christmas holidays. Again Becca lands right in the middle of the trouble. Her detective boyfriend wishes she would butt out but the clues are all being left for her and she can’t just ignore them.
This is a very clue oriented mystery and Becca has to dig deep and back in history to put everything together and then she may still be too late. Paige Shelton has put a real clever spin on the clues this time. They need to be pondered and investigated and then sometimes pondered a bit more.
All our favorite characters are back and it seems Becca and Allison’s parents may be sticking around awhile. The new characters are interesting. A tree farmer than looks a bit like Santa can’t be a bad guy. can he?
Anytime is a great time to “escape” to visit Bailey’s. But with the smell of pine in the air and a bounty of tasty treats available this is perfect time. Time to get in the holiday spirit and you know this book would make a perfect stocking stuffer for the cozy mystery lover on your list. The recipes in the back of book are fabulous, the Orange Meltaways are just one that has been added to my holiday baking list.

Thanks to the people at Penguin I have 2 copies to give away!
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and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar.
CLICK HERE FOR ENTRY FORM
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.”
Fun series.
I must play catch-up with this series!
I’ve only read the first book in this series.
Love, love, love her books!!!!
Looks like a series I need to check into! Maybe I’ll win and that’ll be a start!
A unique and special series.
I enjoyed learning about this series and your writing.Thanks.
Great review, I can’t wait to read it.
A Christmas cozy? Fantastic! It sounds awesome!
I love finding new reads. Thanks so much 🙂 Haven’t read any from the series but certainly plan to. 🙂
Can’t wait to see what Becca is up to.
I love Christmas cozies! This one looks really good. Thanks for sharing it with us!
This book sounds fun, interesting and intriguing. Looking forward to reading it.
This is a good and fun series!
I love going to our local farmers market. I will have to read these books soon.
I love this series, but I am behind by one book, I must get reading. Thanks for the chance to win.
Love the holiday cover! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
Looks like a really good series.
I’m enjoying this series and looking forward to the Christmas entry. Who’s sending those mysterious ornaments? Great reading for a cold, snowy day in MN.
This sounds like fun and perfect for the season.
Sounds great
What a fun series. Thank you for the chance to win the newest book in it.
This sounds like a good series, would love to win this book.
wfnren(at)aol(dot)com
Merry Market Murder sounds like a great Christmas mystery. I have added this series to my wishlist. Thanks for the holiday giveaway!
Love the setting for Merry Market Murder!
We don’t have a farmer’s market here in the winter months–and I’m really missing it. If I read your book maybe I’ll not miss it as much–plus I enjoy a good mystery.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
I’ve been wanting to read this series-it needs to find its way to the top of my pile. I’m curious about the best cut out recipe, as I thought my mom had it! lol
cozyupwithkathy at gmail dot com
Have truly enjoyed your series and looking forward to reading more, Paige. I think the book covers are very memorable as well; like the bright colors on them. Keep up the great work. Cynthia B.
I have not read any of these books by Paige Shelton. I’ve only gotten into reading cozy mysteries the last two years and I’m loving them. This sounds like a great series.
I love reading this series! Thanks for the review and giveaway chance.
Thanks for the giveaway, can’t wait to read it, hope I win.
I can’t wait to read this one.
How fun to read about twins. Fraternal twins are certainly two separate people — don’t have to look alike or think alike or be alike — but they could still be close and be friends.
And Christmas time is a wonderful time of year — no one should be murdered with a tree stake! – but maybe he had it coming. Must find out how this comes out.
Paige, I love this series ~ please keep the cozies comin’!
sounds good to me