Cozy Wednesday with Kathleen Bridge – Author of Hearse and Gardens – #Review / #Giveaway too!

Welcome to Cozy Wednesday! 

I am so happy to Kathleen Bridge back to Escape With Dollycas! 

Montauk – Separating Fact from Fiction…

by Kathleen Bridge

 

I chose Montauk to be the main setting for my Hamptons Home and Garden Mysteries because it fulfills all the prerequisites readers look for in a cozy or traditional mystery. As an author, I have used poetic license in creating Meg Barrett’s Montauk, while not veering too far from reality.

The Montauk Point Lighthouse is an amazing structure that sits on the easternmost tip of Long Island and was commissioned by George Washington. Montauk’s nickname, THE END, refers to the piece of land jutting into the Atlantic, where the lighthouse sits. How cozy is that?

The hamlet of Montauk is nestled between the ocean and the Long Island Sound. On the ocean side you have white sandy beaches and one of the top surfing destinations in the country–Ditch Plains Beach. During the summer season you can find a fantastic gourmet food truck parked at the entrance to the beach. The ocean cottages I talk about in my books are real. They are perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean, sometimes referred to as the Montauk Moors and during hurricane and nor’easter season you might think you were in Cornwall, England.

On the northern part of Montauk, lies a thriving fishing community. Montauk boosts more saltwater fishing records than any other port in the world–not just the U.S.–the world!

Because of its beauty and closeness to Manhattan (116 miles due west) and East Hampton (16 miles due west), it has had its share of celebrity residents: Andy Warhol, Dick Cavett, Ralph Lauren, Annie Leibovitz, Billy Joel and Julianne Moore just to name a few. Montauk has been the setting of the television series, Royal Pains, Revenge, and The Affair. Also filmed in Montauk, are the movies, Still Alice and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a short story that takes place in Montauk, The Unspeakable Egg, and James Patterson uses Montauk as the setting in some of his novels. The Rolling Stones really did hang out in Montauk, and the Memory Motel, a title of one of their songs, still sits on Main Street.

In my second book, Hearse and Gardens, I talk about the “Montauk Monster.” The Montauk Monster was real. In my first book, Better Homes and Corpses, I told about German spies who swam to shore during WWII and were apprehended by the local Coast Guard–also true. Theodore Roosevelt spent time in Montauk with his troops after the Spanish American War as they recovered from yellow fever. Teddy also hung out at Deep Hollow Ranch, the oldest working cattle ranch in the United States. I try to weave all of Montauk’s’ rich history into my books.

Now for fact vs. fiction: A Tale of Two Sisters Books in Montauk is a thinly disguised The Old Man and the Sea Books in my series.

In my books, I based the vintage store Rockin’ Retro, on a real shop I used to visit every time I came to Montauk, called Whoa Nellie.

Mickey’s Chowder Shack is my fictitious amalgamation of The Clam Bar, Lunch, and The Dock Bar and Grill. And Paddy’s Pancake House is my version of Mr. John’s Pancake House on Main Street.

Another fact is: I LOVE MONTAUK! If you are interested in seeing photos or learning more about the “real” Montauk, please check out my “Montauk–The End” board on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KathleenBridgeG/montauk-the-end/ .

~Kathleen

What a great post! Love to have a reference when I am reading to clearly form pictures in my mind. 

Thank you Kathleen for being my guest today! 

About The Author

Kathleen Bridge started her writing career working at the Michigan State University News in East Lansing, Michigan. She is the author and photographer of an antique reference guide,  Lithographed Paper Toys, Books, and Games, and the author of Revenge of the Sports Widows—How to Cope with a Sports Fanatic. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and has taught creative writing classes at the William Cullen Bryant Library in Roslyn, New York. Kathleen is also an antiques dealer in Long Island, New York, and has contributed to Country Living magazine.

Find out more on her webpage here.

 

 

A Hamptons interior designer deals with skeletons in the closet in the new mystery from the national bestselling author of Better Homes and Corpses.

To keep her mind off the legal battle over the oceanfront cottage she’s trying to buy, Meg agrees to help her friend inventory and clear out furniture from the massive Montauk estate of wealthy art broker Harrison Falks. But the job takes a terrifying turn when Meg discovers a skeleton in a hidden room in one of the estate’s many bungalows. The remains turn out to be those of Harrison’s son, who went missing nearly twenty years ago—along with one of his father’s Warhol paintings.

As Meg delves into the Hamptons’ pop art past, she gets drawn into the sketchy goings-on and family drama at the estate. But when Meg makes no bones about solving the crime, she just might become the subject of the killer’s next installation.

INCLUDES RECIPES AND DECORATING TIPS

Thanks to the publisher 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 Kathleen 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 June 8, 2016 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.”