Paint Can Kill: Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
by Joanna Campbell Slan
I am delighted to welcome Joanna Campbell Slan
back to Escape With Dollycas today!
How Authors Beget Authors
By Joanna Campbell Slan
I’m teaching my son to write cozies. Michael is a huge reader with a creative mind. He’s got a great idea for a series, and he’s a terrific writer. Besides, this is a fun project for the two of us. In fact, each time I talk with him, I think of Caroline Todd and how she wrote with her son, Charles. Together, they were the author “Charles Todd,” quite a dynamic duo. And now Caroline has passed. I find myself looking for her at conferences. Gosh. That’s a lesson. Always take the time to chat with people you like, no matter how busy you are. None of us know how much time we have.
Today my son asked me about clues. “How can my protagonist find a clue that the cops wouldn’t see?”
That’s a good question, isn’t it? I explained that on occasion, cops overlook clues. I attended a lecture by a woman whose company cleaned up after tragic accidents. (Translation: She came in after a violent murder or a suicide.) She told our group she once found teeth jammed into a ceiling tile. The victim had put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The cops and forensics crew had searched for clues, but they’d neglected to look…UP.
I also pointed out that an amateur sleuth might have access to information that the professionals don’t have or can’t get or aren’t aware of. For example, tomorrow there’ll be an Easter egg hunt in my son’s neighborhood. His wife is in charge. I asked my son if the neighbors had a special Facebook group to plan these events. Or did they have an email list they shared? Or some other way of communicating? These are avenues the police would not necessarily know about unless someone told them. Even if they did find out, they would have to get the necessary permissions whereas a person who was part of the group would be privy to that information immediately.
My son is quickly getting the hang of this. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “Agatha Christie doesn’t even tell the reader all the clues she’s gathering, does she? At least, not until the end?”
See? I told you he’s a smart kid. One day when he’s 80 books into his career, I can imagine him teaching his son, my grandson, these same skills. Isn’t that a wonderful thought?
Thank you, Joanna, for visiting today. Excited to see what your son writes!
Keep reading for info about PAINT CAN KILL, and Joanna.
About Paint Can Kill
Paint Can Kill: Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting – Hobe Sound, FL
Publisher : Spot On Publishing (December 15, 2023)
Paperback : 252 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8870813547
Digital ASIN : B0CLYY79CV
It’s raining outside, and it’s raining inside. Hey, that’s Florida. But as sassy entrepreneur Cara Mia Delgatto watches a van full of Highwayman paintings walk out the front door of The Treasure Chest–because the collection’s owner is taking them back–she’s crying on the inside all the way to the bank. There will be no quick fix for this. Instead Cara focuses on an outstanding bill. When she visits the wealthy woman who has stiffed her, Cara stumbles over another stiff, a dead body. With multiple crisises in her business life, Cara grieves the loss of her live-in love and her rescue Chihuahua. The man and the dog have left a huge hole in her heart. Will Cara survive all these losses?
- Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series is a clean read
- Features a female amateur sleuth and her friends
- Includes Florida lore and history
- Shares ideas for upcycling, recycling, and repurposing
- Celebrates friends, family, and fur babies
Great Escapes Praise for Paint Can Kill:
Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
by Joanna Campbell SlanI so enjoyed traveling to Florida in Paint Can Kill: Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series by Joanna Campbell Slan. The mystery is solid and the pacing is excellent. A truly enjoyable read.
~Sarah Can’t Stop Reading BooksBottom Line: Paint Can Kill by Joanna Campbell Slan is an engaging and layered story with likable characters and complex mysteries. Twists, turns, and red herrings await readers in this charming cozy mystery, and you may find yourself craving a peaceful cottage on the coast after reading it!
~Reading Is My SuperPower
About Joanna Campbell Slan
Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let’s not even go there.
Otherwise, Joanna’s a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).
Currently, she writes six fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books), the Tai Chi Mystery Series (featuring a mature female amateur sleuth!) and the Friday Night Mystery Series (set in Decatur, IL in 1986 with a spunky female heroine.)
A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.
In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida. You can email her at jcslan@joannaslan.com or visit her website at https://linktr.ee/jcslan
Author Links
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Purchase Link
Amazon
The Rest of the Series
Find all books written by Joanna Campbell Slan HERE
TOUR PARTICIPANTS – Please visit all the stops.
April 8 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
April 8 – Teatime and Books – SPOTLIGHT
April 8 – Maureen’s Musing – SPOTLIGHT
April 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
April 9 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW
April 10 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 10 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
April 11 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 11 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
April 11 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST
April 12 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
April 12 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 13 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 14 – Maureen’s Musing – SPOTLIGHT
April 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
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Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
What a busy person she is! Love the cover and the story sounds great.
Sounds like a great read.
This sounds like a great addition to the series. Cute cover too.
How exciting that Joanna is teaching her son to write mysteries. I just love the dog on the cover of this book.