She’s Here! She’s Here! Mary Kennedy is here today! Her book
Dream a Little Scream 
was released August 4!
“The Wonderful Wacky World of Dreams”
by Mary Kennedy
Anything can happen in a dream. You can take on a new persona, explore lands both real and imaginary and have adventures worthy of Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean
But what are we to make of the strange dream images that flit through our minds as we sleep? They seem so real while we’re experiencing them, and sleep studies reveal that our bodies react to dreams with real-life physical stress. Are you climbing a mountain in your dream or swinging from a zip line like Angelina Jolie? Your blood pressure may soar, your heartbeat may ratchet up a notch and your chest may feel tight. If you awake and take a few deep breaths, everything will return to normal in a few minutes.
On the other hand, what if you’re dreaming of lounging in a meadow, taking in the sweet scent of honeysuckle as you thumb through a book of poetry? Your body will show signs that you are indeed, at rest. Your heart rate will ratchet down and your breathing will become slower as your mind enjoys this respite from the cares of the day.
In any case, it’s fun to explore our dreams and what they really mean, as the characters in the Dream Club do. The members like to think that they are uncovering clues to solving murders in Savannah and they seem to have had some success. They combine intuition with solid sleuthing skills and some dream work. But do clues from their dreams really solve crimes? Is it luck, or coincidence or a combination of the two? I leave it to the reader to decide.
About The Author
Mary Kennedy is the author of over forty novels and has made the BookScan, Barnes and Noble and Publisher’s Weekly best-seller list. She is a psychologist in private practice on the East Coast and lives with her husband and eight neurotic cats. Both husband and cats have resisted all her attempts to psychoanalyze them, but she remains optimistic. You can visit her at www.marykennedy.net
Dream a Little Scream
(A Dream Club Mystery)
2nd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting -Georgia
A Berkley Prime Crime mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group (August 4, 2015)
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Bill Brunning
Cover Design by Leslie Worrell
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425268063
E-Book ASIN: B00OQS4E4K
The national bestselling author of Nightmares Can Be Murder
Behind her down-home folksy persona, celebrity chef Sonia Scott is a real Dixie diva who’s made plenty of enemies in her climb to the top of the culinary world. One of them is the newest member of the Dream Club, Etta Mae Beasley, who claims Sonia stole her family’s recipes and used them in her latest cookbook.
After Sonia’s suspicious death from anaphylactic shock at a book signing held at Taylor and Ali’s retro candy store, Etta’s revelation sows seeds of doubt in Taylor Blake’s mind. Now the Dream Club needs to put their heads together to determine if one of their own decided to give the chef her just desserts…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
We return to Oldies but Goodies, the fantastic candy store filled with all the candy we loved when we were kids. This time Ali and Taylor are trying to expand their business by adding some yummy deserts. They have invited celebrity chef Sonia Scott to have a book signing in their shoppe. They sweetened the pot by offering to serve items only from Sonia’s cookbooks. The chef agrees and the store quickly fills with her fans. But during the book signing something goes terribly wrong and the author has an allergic reaction to something she ate and dies. The girl’s need the Dream Club to help them figure out what happened before their candy shoppe is as dead as Chef Sonia.
I just love these characters. I used to be quite a vivid dreamer and a Dream Club sounds like a dream come true when you want to determine what your dreams really mean. The club has a couple of new members, Etta Mae Beasley and Edward Giles. Edward is a botany professor and Etta Mae recently moved to town. She has a personal connection with Chef Sonia and her company. Everyone tries to make them feel welcome and of course Dorien is her normal pushy self.
I was drawn in immediately but Sonia’s nut allergy as I have a nut allergy too. I have only had one occurrence that required medical attention in my entire life and that was the day I learned of my allergy. Heck, I have not even had a Epi-Pen prescribed but when I read stories like this I think I should have one.
Kennedy has again given us quite a mystery to sink our teeth into. Of course Ali and Taylor are on the list of suspects because Sonia died at Oldies but Goodies but there are so many other suspects that could have done it. My mind was whirling with all the possibilities. But I was following the clues right along with the Dream Club and figured it out at the same time they did.
The dreams of the club added a very interesting element to the story. I learned how concentrating on something can truly effect your dreams. I love that one member of the club has a special gift that allows her to jump into other people’s dream. I also see where this can be both a good thing and a bad thing 🙂
This is a fabulous follow up to Nightmares Can Be Murder
Thanks to the people at Penguin I have 2 copies to give away!
Plus Mary is giving away a Dream Catcher!
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.
Following the new Google+ Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book Fan Page
will earn you 3 Bonus Entries.
Leave a comment for Mary for 5 Bonus Entries.
Pin this giveaway to Pinterest for 3 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 August 26, 2015 at 11:59 PM CST
Winners Will Be Chosen By Random.org
Winners 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.”
I read the first in this series and really liked it. Can’t wait to read this one. Love the Savannah setting.
I have dream catchers all over my room, but have space for one more. This sounds like my cup of tea, so sign me up for the giveaway.
This series seems so interesting.
I’m on on those that have to read books in order, saying that I’m reading the first one in the series now and really enjoying it. Looking forward to Dream a Little Scream. Thanks for the giveaway.
Adding this title to my TBR list
The dream club sounds like something I would have liked to have in real life…except I rarely have dreams now!
Love the cover.
Love all your mystery books, they bring so much happiness to my life.
Interesting concept!
What a delightful and special book and feature. Thanks for this interesting post.
Sounds like a wonderful series for me.
I haven’t heard of this series but looks great. I’ll check it out.
Dream a little dream can either wake you up out of a sound sleep or leave you with a smile on your face. I am sure this book will be a pleasantly fun read. robeader53@yahoo.com
Love the cover and the book sounds great!!
I enjoyed the first book in this series, so I can’t wait for this book. Thanks for the giveaway. Kuzlin at AOL.com
So happy to be a guest on Escape with Dollycas and thank you for all the kind words about the Dream Club series. Glad everyone is enjoying it!
This book sounds so good – I’m glad the review said it’s better to start at the first book, so that’s where I’ll begin! Is the second cat on the cover sitting in the window?
Celia, yes, you’re right! A lot of people couldn’t find the second cat, and I had trouble, myself!
I love the sound of the story, characters, setting etc., but what makes this so interesting is it’s about dreams, a club and written by a psychologist! Ms Kennedy I love the whole concept and have added this book and your first to my must read cozy list! Thank you for a wonderful post and giveaway!
Thank you so much, I think it was my work as a psychologist that gave me the idea for the series–my clients love to talk about their dreams!
I enjoy finding new to me authors to read .
I really enjoyed the first book and can’t wait to revisit with the characters.
Thanks so much, Debbie, I think you would enjoy this one! The Dream Club has to sift through a LOT of suspects when Sonia Scott meets her end. Who knew she was suck a diva? It seems a lot of people really didn’t like her!
This is a bit different for a cozy and I love that! I’m off to check out this series and crossing my fingers and toes to win!
Read the first one, and look forward to the next one. Mary, you would have a field day with my dreams! I have some real doozies. This morning I dreamed that my cat got sprayed by a skunk-and when I woke up I found out he did! (It helped that I woke up in the middle of the night to that noxious odor!)
Hi Michelle. Don’t know if it still works, but our dog Sandy used to chase skunks as a hobby, and we found that the feminine douche products worked best. Just really soak the miscreant! Sandy seemed to think it was some sort of game.
I love this idea…dreams? The cover is great reminiscent of my own four-poster bed!
OMG< Michelle, your poor cat! And poor you. It is really hard to get rid of that smell! I wonder if you can bathe him with some sort of disinfectant that won't hurt him. And thank you for the kind words about Nightmares, so glad you liked it!
Hi Holden, not vintage Harlequins, definitely vintage Scholastics. I wrote 35 teen and middle grade books for them!! It was a great time to be writing for Scholastic. You have a sharp eye to notice that! Thanks for stopping by.
I can’t wait to read this book. What a great series.
Congrats to Mary on the new release, I’d love to win the new dream book! I love all the books in her author pic–do I spy some vintage Harlequins? 🙂
Figuring out what dreams mean is so interesting. I think that I never dream but I’m sure I must, just never have vivid memories when I wake up. Thanks for the giveaway. Can’t wait to read this one.
I like the idea of dreams only maybe having the answers
Hi Sheila, yes, I remember when I first wrote the proposal, I made sure that the editors knew that the clues found in the dreams could just be a coincidence. Some of the dream club members (and some readers) choose to think that the dreams really *did* reveal important clues, and that’s okay, too. To each her own! Thanks for stopping by…
A great writer and great series.
Love the Dream Club, would love to belong !
Karen, I wish I had one (in real life), I would invite you and ply you with delicious desserts!
Dreams are great. Great concept for a book. Looking forward to reading it.
Wonderful writer and great premise. Too bad we can’t remember all of our dreams.
Haven’t read either book yet, and they sound really great. I don’t ever remember dreams, so the idea of directed dreams is really intriguing. Thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win.
I like the how this book incorporates dreams (and being a mystery book too). I am looking forward to reading the book.
Thanks so much, Jen. When I was playing around with a plot idea for this series, I thought: “Why not a dream club?” And then I immediately thought of a lot of plot possibilities, characters, etc. Thanks for stopping by.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
This book sounds really good. The Dream Club sounds fascinating! I never remember my dreams, so it would be interesting to see if I can concentrate and maybe start remembering some. 😉
Your books sound wonderful. I like the cover too. It’s so cozy and cute. Thanks for having the giveaway.
I’d love to win this. I have your first book. Haven’t gotten to it yet. I’m reading lots of good reviews.