Cozy Wednesday with Betty Hechtman – Author of Silence of the Lamb’s Wool (Giveaway too!)

 

Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!!

I am thrilled to welcome Betty Hechtman here today!!

Cool Off With Casey
By
Betty Hechtman

There’s nothing better on a sweltering summer day than to escape into Casey Feldstein’s world on California’s Monterey peninsula. The weather is cool year round with white skies and creeping fingers of fog. It makes you want to grab a fleece jacket and go for a bracing walk on the silky sand beach across the road from Vista Del Mar, the moody hotel and conference center where Casey puts on her yarn retreats.

If you want to get away from it all, there isn’t a better place than Vista Del Mar. The Arts and Crafts style buildings are over 100 years old and built with lots of dark wood and local stone. The buildings are sprinkled over 100 acres of sloping grounds dotted with tall, narrow Monterey pines and Monterey cypress trees shaped by the wind. You won’t find any manicured lawns here. The grounds have been allowed to grow wild. If a tree falls, it is left to decompose naturally. Rumor has it that it is the same if an animal dies. Maybe a body, too, who knows? Situated on a small peninsula jutting into the Pacific ocean, it literally is the end of the earth.

What a perfect place to hold a yarn retreat. A group of people with a common interest gather there to spend time on their craft and learn something new. There is always the smell of wood smoke in the air. All the guest room buildings have living room-like lobbies furnished with overstuffed chairs that surround a glowing fireplace. Just the place to gather with some friends, take out your knitting and talk about murder.

In Silence of the Lamb’s Wool Casey has arranged for a retreat that starts with the shearing of some sheep and ends with the knitting of a shawlette, making for a very busy weekend. It only gets more complicated when a key player in the retreat turns up dead and leaves Casey in the lurch.

Lucky for Casey some of her first time retreaters have come back. Her best friend and boss, Lucinda Thornkill is there to help, even if the manager of Vista Del Mar is still trying to give Casey a hard time.

Even with all that is going on, Casey manages to continue her nightly baking of desserts at the Blue Door Restaurant and keeps the coffee spots in the town of Cadbury by the Sea supplied with her delicious freshly made muffins, though she is shocked when one of the muffins turns out to be a clue.

And the two men in her life – will her ex, Dr. Sammy win her back with his bagful of tricks, or will Dane, the adorable cop down the street, ever get to first base with her?

Want to truly feel apart of the story? There is a pattern for the shawlette and recipes for some of Casey’s specialties included.

Enjoy!

~Betty

About The Author

Silence of the Lamb’s Wool is the second book in the national bestselling Yarn Retreat series that features dessert chef Casey Feldstein who puts on yarn retreats at a slightly sinister hotel and conference center on California’s Monterey peninsula. Betty Hechtman also writes the national bestselling Crochet mystery series. All books in both series include patterns and recipes. She says it is like a dream come true to be able mix her love of mystery with her love of making things. She grew up in Chicago and has a degree in Fine Art. In addition she has studied everything from improv comedy to magic. She has written newspaper and magazine pieces, short stories and scripts. She lives in Southern California and Chicago and has yarn stashes in both cities.

For more information check out BettyHechtman.com, Facebook and her Friday blog for Killerhobbies.blogspot.com

Silence of the Lamb’s Wool
(A Yarn Retreat Mystery)
2nd in Series
Cozy Mystery
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group (July 1, 2014)
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Patricia Casteleo
Cover Design by Rita Frangie
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425252581
E-Book File Size: 1476 KB
ASIN: B00HDMMF56

 

Dessert chef Casey Feldstein has learned one end of a knitting needle from the other after inheriting her aunt’s yarn retreat business, but a murder threatens to unravel her latest event . . .

Casey’s running a new retreat called “From Sheep to Shawl” at a resort on the atmospheric Monterey Peninsula. Participants will learn about sheepshearing, fixing up the fleece, and spinning, and will eventually knit a lovely shawl.

Nicole Welton has been hired to teach the fleece-to-fiber portion of the retreat. She’s an expert spinner, and her small shop in Cadbury by the Sea houses a beautiful assortment of spinning wheels and drop spindles. But when the new teacher fails to show up for class and is found lying dead on the boardwalk, it leaves everyone’s nerves frayed.

Now Casey has to knit together clues faster than she can count stitches before someone else at the retreat gets dropped . . .

Includes a knitting pattern and a recipe!

 

Thanks to the people at Penguin I have 2 copies to give away!

Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old
with a US or Canadian mailing address.

Duplicate entries will be deleted. Void where prohibited.

You do not have to be a follower to enter but I hope you will find
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 Betty for 5 Bonus Entries !

If you publicize the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere you will receive
5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.

Contest Will End July 30, 2014 at 11:59 PM CST
Winner Will Be Chosen By Random.org
Winner Will Be Notified By Email
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.”