Tag: cozy mystery

Cozy Wednesday with Author Barbara Ross (Giveaway too!)

Posted on By Dollycas 44 Comments on Cozy Wednesday with Author Barbara Ross (Giveaway too!)

cozy wednesday 2013 640Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!!

I am so excited to have Barbara Ross here today! 

Her new book Clammed Up is sure to be a hit with all over you!!

The Alpha and the Omega: Continuing Characters in Series

barbfordollycasLori, thanks so much for having me for Cozy Wednesday.

 It’s an interesting time for me as an author. On September 1, I handed in the manuscript for Boiled Over,  the second book in my Maine Clambake Mystery series. And on September 3, Clammed Up,  the first book in the series was released.

 As you can imagine, it’s been an interesting time. In fact, as I switched on September 2, from writing to promotion mode, my mother-in-law said, “It seems like all summer it’s been Boiled Over, and now it’s Clammed Up !

Boiled Over is my first time writing a second book in a series. So it got me wondering, how do people feel about continuing characters? Not the main characters, but the other people who populate the book?

 I admit to being a full-out series fan. Nothing makes me happier than finding a book I love and then discovering there are four or six or ten more to read in the series. Once I’m caught up, and have to wait a full year for the next one (as I just did with Louise Penny), it kills me.

17239894Part of the reason I love series is because of the way characters and settings can develop over time. I’m a huge fan of Ruth Rendell’s Wexford series. I love the way Kingsmarkham, the town where her Chief Inspector Reg Wexford works, evolves from being a small market town the first book, From Doon to Death (1964) to an ever growing suburban city in the latest books. And how along the way, Wexford has to deal with increasingly complex, modern issues of race, immigration, and environmental activism—not to mention the baffling personal lives of his grown daughters. (The latest book in the series, No Man’s Nightingale is out in the UK, but won’t be here until November. I am trying to restrain myself from ordering it from Amazon UK.)

I get invested in the secondary characters, too. I spent a long time reading every Rendell short story I could get my hands on, because I was convinced there was a story in which Wexford’s faithful no. 2, Detective Mike Burden’s first wife dies. It turns out, she dies off stage. But reading all those stories was great, because it brought back my childhood love of short fiction and got me writing my own. Now I’m a co-editor of an annual short crime fiction anthology for Level Best Books. www.levelbestbooks.com

But I have to confess, there are some series I’ve given up because the author couldn’t seem to let go of a single secondary character. So every last person from the first book gets pulled into the second book and so on, until by the fourth book, I’m thinking, “Who are all these people and why does the author think I care about them?”’

maineclambakefordollycas

 In Boiled Over, I tried to use the “bar story” principle. Pretend you’re meeting an old friend for a drink, the kind of friend you can not see for years and then pick the conversation right up where you left off. You say to her, “You wouldn’t believe what happened to me!” As you tell the tale, you introduce her to all the people she needs to know about for the story, plus a few other people who were really important in your life at the time and were giving advice, and so on. You don’t tell her what happened to every person you’ve met since you last saw her. The other people in your life are presumably going about their business, and may show up in another bar story some other time, but we don’t have to talk about them now.

Plus, some readers don’t get to read the series in order. (I love to read in order, but I’ll go out of order in a pinch.) So if you have someone who was a suspect in the first book wandering through the next one, doesn’t that give it away?

How do you feel about series characters? Less is more, or the more the merrier? Let me know, because I have to start Book 3 next week!

~Barbara

 Thank you Barbara for dropping by today! I think a great group of core characters visited by new characters each book is great but then the twist after a few books when one of those core characters gets in trouble always adds to the suspense too!  I am sure my readers will help you tackle this question too!

About This Author
Barbara Ross’ novel Clammed Up, first in a new series of Maine Clambake Mysteries, will be published by Kensington in September 2013. Barbara and her husband own the former Seafarer Inn at the head of the harbor in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. From her perch on the Seafarer’s wide front porch, Barbara’s had a chance to observe the quirks of life in a small resort town, along with the stunning harbor views. Barbara and Bill no longer run the inn as a Bed & Breakfast. Barbara is notoriously not a morning person. They considered a Bed-and-Get-Your-Own-Damn-Breakfast, but there didn’t seem to be much of a market.

Barbara is the 2013 co-chair of The New England Crime Bake. She is a co-editor/co-publisher at Level Best Books, which produces an award-winning anthology of crime and mystery stories by New England authors every November. Barbara also blogs with a wonderful group of Maine mystery authors at Maine Crime Writers.

Barbara’s first mystery novel, The Death of an Ambitious Woman, was published by Five Star/Gale/Cengage in August, 2010. In her former life, Barbara was a co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of two successful start-ups in educational technology. When they aren’t in Boothbay, she and her husband live in Somerville, MA.

17239894
Clammed Up
(A Maine Clambake Mystery)
Brand New Series
Cozy Mystery
Kensington Publishing Group (September 3, 2013)
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0758286857
E-Book File Size: 551 KB
ASIN: B00C6BFTZ2

goodreads-badge-add-plus

 

 

Summer has come to Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and tourists are lining up for a taste of authentic New England seafood, courtesy of the Snowden Family Clambake Company. But there’s something sinister on the boil this season. A killer has crashed a wedding party, adding mystery to the menu at the worst possible moment. . .

Julia Snowden returned to her hometown to rescue her family’s struggling clambake business–not to solve crimes. But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder. When the best man’s corpse is found hanging from the grand staircase in the Snowden family mansion, Julia must put the chowder pot on the back burner and join the search for the killer. And with suspicion falling on her old crush, Chris Durand, the recipe for saving her business and salvaging her love life might be one and the same. .

Dollycas’s Thoughts
A delightful debut that has me hungry for more!!!

The story is set in a beautiful part of this country and every bit of it was clear in my mind’s eye. From the island to the ferry trip to the town of Busman’s Harbor. Sounds like a great place to vacation.

Julia’s homecoming being marred by murder is awful but this girl is up for the challenge. She uses skills she has learned while away to whittle down the suspects and it isn’t easy. She makes mistakes. She is scared and worried about losing her family business and is so real and credible. It is so easy to identify with her which makes her a great protagonist.

The supporting cast is strong as well. I personally wanted to take on Sonny. He had just given up and if Julia would not have come back the business would have been history, but his support of Julia was truly lacking. Family drama! I love it! This is a group of characters that will surprise you. Ross has filled this Clambake Mystery with plenty of red herrings!

It seems Julia and Livvie’s dad had put together a wonderful business. There will be some changes going forward but I know the family will come out on top and the clambakes will be even more popular. I am ready to buy my ticket today. Boiled Over (A Maine Clambake Mystery) will be served up May 6, 2014!

a perfect escape

5 STARFISH

Dollycas
Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

I am giving away my Advance Copy
and the author is giving away a published copy!

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 Barbara 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 September 25, 2013 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.”

Cozy Wednesday, Giveaways, Guest Posts, Reviews 2013

Special Guest – Author of Mama Gets Trashed – Deborah Sharp

Posted on By Dollycas 36 Comments on Special Guest – Author of Mama Gets Trashed – Deborah Sharp

special guest blue

 

This is a new series for me.
I am thrilled to have Deborah here today!!

Mama Gets TrashedThanks to Lori for the chance to be here today. I’m thrilled to meet everyone!

Like all writers, I’m often asked a question by an earnest aspiring author that goes something like this:

“How do I write a book that will make high-minded literary critics swoon and college professors assign serious essays?”

Beats me, I always answer. I’m not that kind of writer.

Don’t get me wrong. I work hard, and I’m proud of my Mace Bauer Mysteries. But so far, Sweden has not phoned to notify me I’ve been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. It’s impossible to take yourself too seriously when one reviewer describes your main character as “a redneck Stephanie Plum,” and another calls your series “a humorous bit of fluff, perfect for the beach.”

I’m okay with that. When I left newspaper reporting to write funny, Southern-flavored fiction, fluff was exactly what I was seeking.

DeborahSharpTRASHED2I’m not sure what the authors of serious literature are doing the month before their books come out. But this was the scene with my husband, Kerry, in our South Florida yard on a sweltering day a couple of weeks before the publication date of my newest book, Mama Gets Trashed:

“It looks better if you’re smooshed deeper into the garbage can.” Hands on my shoulders, Kerry pressed down like he was trying to squeeze ten tubes of toothpaste back into one tube.

The toothpaste was getting a bit cranky.

”It won’t matter how it looks if my legs are broken in half at the knees.”

Gingerly, I edged a Hefty trash bag off my shoulder and onto the ground for a smidge more room.

It was photo day. We were getting creative with title-related props to go with the theme of TRASHED. I wondered if William Faulkner (Nobel Laureate, 1949) ever considered posing with a tombstone to promote “As I Lay Dying.”

Probably not.

My husband has been a reporter on TV for 30 years. He has strong opinions about what makes a visually interesting picture. I was also in journalism for many years, and have my own ideas about how pictures can tell a story. We don’t always agree, but I did refrain from whomping him with the rubber lid of the can.

After 25 years of marriage, I’m used to Kerry encouraging me to leap out of my comfort zone. The author photo on the back of my books is pretty standard, even staid. Kind of like me. But when it comes to playing off the theme of the books for photos on social media or to go along with personality profiles, he’s encouraged me to cut a little looser. So, it was a feather boa and Hollywood bling for the movie-set theme of Mama Sees Stars.  For Mama Gets Hitched, which detailed Mama’s fifth try at tying the sacred knot, I donned hideously tacky wedding wear. And, to promote Mama Rides Shotgun and its trail ride setting, I showed up in the saddle on TV, sporting a cowboy hat. At least this latest session did not involve horse manure.

With my knees jutting into the side of a 40-gallon can, I tugged at my trash collector’s neon safety vest and smiled for the camera.

Click.

How about you? Are you already wild and crazy, or do you have to be pushed to find that side of yourself? Would you ever climb into a trash can for art?

~Deborah

I don’t know how I missed this series! I am so glad Deborah and I connected on Facebook because I am started at the beginning with Mama Does Time (A Mace Bauer Mystery) as soon as possible!! 

Mama Gets Trashed
Mama Gets Trashed (A Mace Bauer Mystery)
5yh in Series
MIDNIGHT INK (September 8, 2013)
Cozy Mystery
Paperback: 360 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0738736150
E-Book File Size: 825 KB
ASIN: B00EA117KM
goodreads-badge-add-plus

 

 

After a tipsy Mama tosses out her wedding ring with the trash, she drags daughter Mace to the city dump to search. When they stumble upon the body of librarian Camilla Law, the straitlaced town is scandalized: Not only is a killer on the loose, but prudish Camilla is all done up in sexy black leather. Foul play and fetish wear in little Himmarshee, Florida? Mama’s blushing fifty shades of pink!

About Deborah Sharp

A former USA Today reporter, Deborah Sharp traded sad news stories for funny fiction with her Mace Bauer Mysteries, featuring Mace’s wacky Mama. Deborah rode a horse across Florida for one book. For another, she was interviewed by Al Roker on the Today show. She was a lot less nervous about the horse. Married to TV reporter Kerry Sanders, she lives in South Florida, where she spends her spare time chasing iguanas out of her hibiscus. Mama Gets Trashed, out Sept. 8 from Midnight Ink, is the series’ fifth book. Visit her online at www.DeborahSharp.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/deborah.sharp1.

Mama’s on Facebook, too: https://www.facebook.com/groups/32030252049/

You can read an excerpt from TRASHED, here:  http://www.mamagetstrashed.com/

Thanks to the wonderful Deborah Sharp I have 1 copy of
Mama Gets Trashed 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 Deborah for 5 Bonus Entries !

How about you? Are you already wild and crazy, or do you have to be pushed to find that side of yourself? Would you ever climb into a trash can for art?

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

Contest Will End September 20, 2013 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

Giveaways, Guest Posts, Spotlights

Cozy Wednesday with Author Victoria Hamilton (Giveaway too!)

Posted on By Dollycas 37 Comments on Cozy Wednesday with Author Victoria Hamilton (Giveaway too!)

cozy wednesday 2013 640Welcome To Cozy Wednesday!!

I am super excited to welcome Victoria Hamilton here today!!

Cozy Is As Cozy Does
by Victoria Hamilton

 

VictoriaHamilton-WebWhen I started writing mysteries I wasn’t really aware of sub-genres. I wrote what I wanted to write, disregarding what I considered arbitrary rules.

And I couldn’t get published to save my life.

I happened upon a great agent who, just before she went on hiatus from accepting any more proposals for a matter of months, gave me some tips, the most important of which was to read some of the cozies she represented. It was the best advice I’ve ever gotten. I ‘got’ it after reading a few.

BranNewDeathcover mediumHere are my conclusions:

– Cozies don’t focus on the guts and gore of the murder itself, thought the body may be examined and the death may be gruesome.

– Cozies may, but do not have to, focus on the protagonist (the main character) and the complicating factors in his or her life.

– Cozies may have elements of suspense and action, but these must not overwhelm the working-out of the puzzle by the protagonist.

And that’s about it. I don’t believe that writing in the cozy genre necessarily means you cannot have a sexually active main character, nor does it have anything to do with race, religion or sexual orientation.

But not everyone agrees with me. I had one ‘reviewer’ on Amazon give my book A Deadly Grind one star because he/she said, and I quote: “I like my cozy mysteries to be a true definition of cozy. I felt that having Homosexual characters was not necessary to the plot. Did the author really intend for it to be in there or is the editor trying to push an agenda? If homosexuality is going to be in a book, shouldn’t it be under “Gay/Lesbian” and not “Mystery”?”

So… disregarding that she was factually incorrect about A Deadly Grind, and the crack about an editor pushing an agenda (something that has never happened to me), what about her ‘true definition of cozy’ remark? Is there a true definition of a cozy?

If you asked a hundred cozy readers, you’d probably come up with a wide range of opinion as to what is a ‘true’ cozy, and maybe that’s the way it should be. Some say that a police detective or officer should not be the main character, but Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache mysteries are considered cozy by most. Some, like the quoted ‘reviewer’, feel that there shouldn’t be any gay characters in a cozy mystery, but what, then, do you say about Monica Ferris’s Needlecraft Mysteries and her protagonist’s needlework shop employee, Godwin?

I say it’s individual. Your cozy is not necessarily the next reader’s cozy. Of course there are parameters and conventions, but rules were made to be bent, and the guidelines are malleable. I like stretching them a bit, and I enjoy reading mysteries that will not be bound by the rules. But I think we’re each allowed to make up our own guidelines and decide what cozy is for us.

What about you? As a reader, do you have any guidelines as to what YOU think a cozy is or should be?

~::~

BranNewDeathcover medium
Bran New Death
(A Merry Muffin Mystery)
BRAND NEW SERIES
Cozy Mystery
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group (September 3, 2013)
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Ben Perini
Cover Design by Lerley Worrell
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425258835
E-Book File Size: 1071 KB
ASIN: B00BDQ39E4

goodreads-badge-add-plus

When Merry Wynter discovered that she inherited a genuine American Castle in the ‘wilds’ of upstate New York, her first reaction was to contact a real estate agent to sell it, sight unseen. Things were a little complicated, what with a lunatic employer making her life miserable. But after losing her job and with the castle not sold, Merry decides to trek to Wynter Castle to see what the problem is.

One barrier to selling is immediately evident; someone is digging giant holes on the property! Merry accuses local Tom Turner of being her late night gopher and warns him to stay off her property, or else, but it happens again. Merry storms out to confront whomever is doing the damage, but doesn’t count on finding a dead man at the bottom of the hole.

What is going on at Wynter Castle and in Autumn Vale? How can Merry convince hunky sheriff Virgil Grace that she is not the one who bashed the victim over the head?

Dollycas’s Thoughts
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Or in Merry Wynter’s case if life gives you questions you make muffins while you try to find the answers.

She has not recovered from her husband’s death, she has lost her job, and she has inherited A CASTLE!! A castle that needs a lot of work before it will be ready for sale. Plus Autumn Vale is not your normal small town.  Just a couple of people welcome Merry, she gets an icy reception from most of the residents. Then she find one of them dead on her property.

Victoria Hamilton has written an extraordinary story featuring some very eccentric characters in some unique situations. This story twists more than Chubby Checker.  These characters all have so much depth and we learn so much about them in this series debut but I feel like we are just starting to scratch the surface to their stories. Plus in addition main mystery there are many subplots intertwined and the story flows effortlessly. The reader is drawn right into Autumn Vale and into this wonderful castle and into all the drama that ensues.

I want to visit this castle. It sounds like a place I would love. If Merry is baking I will probably never want to leave. Plus is sounds like in Autumn Vale you never what is going to happen next.

~There are yummy recipes included too!

a perfect escape

5 STARFISH

Dollycas
Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

Victoria Hamilton, nationally bestselling author of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series, is the pseudonym of Donna Lea Simpson, bestselling author of romance and historical mystery novels.

Victoria starting reading mystery novels at the age of 12 and devoured Agatha Christie mysteries, as well as those of Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh. She still adores mysteries, especially the cozy mysteries of Janet Bolin, Krista Davis, and others.

She loves to cook, and collects teapots and teacups, as well as vintage kitchen utensils and bowls. She also enjoys crafts, especially cross-stitching and crocheting, and spends summer days in the garden, drinking tea or wine. Besides the Merry Muffin Mystery series (Bran New Death – September 3rd) Victoria writes two other mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series (Book 3, Freezer I’ll Shoot debuts November 5th) and the Teapot Collector Mystery series which debuts with Tempest in a Teapot, out June 3rd, 2014.

Author Links:

Victoria Hamilton Mysteries

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaHamilton

Merry Muffin Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MerrysMuffinsMysterySeries

Twitter: @MysteryVictoria

 

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 Victoria for 5 Bonus Entries !

What about you? As a reader, do you have any guidelines as to what YOU think a cozy is or should be?

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

Contest Will End September 18, 2013 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.”

Cozy Wednesday, Giveaways, Guest Posts, Reviews 2013

Cozy Wednesday with Author Dawn Eastman (Giveaway too!)

Posted on By Dollycas 62 Comments on Cozy Wednesday with Author Dawn Eastman (Giveaway too!)

cozy wednesday 2013 640Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!

I am thrilled to Welcome Dawn Eastman here today!!

What’s in a name?

headshot dawn eastmanThank you, Lori, for inviting me to Cozy Wednesday! I’m glad to be here.

PALL IN THE FAMILYMy debut novel, Pall in the Family, was released on August 6.  Because I use my maiden name as my pen name, I get a lot of questions about why I chose to use something other than my “real” name. The short answer is that my married name is hard to spell and pronounce. But the questions got me thinking about names, and how they are chosen.

When I was eight years old, I wanted a different first name. Dawn was too simple and too plain for me. I wanted something substantial like Samantha or Alexandra. Something with more syllables. However, I planned to shorten the name to Sam or Alex as a nickname. There’s no nickname for Dawn. It’s probably the same desire to pretend to be a fireman or a princess. What would life be like with a different name?

Now that I am a writer, I get to be all sorts of people with different names – at least in my head. I can be a pet psychic who longs for adventure when I blog as Violet Greer. I have adventures and live in a lovely small town when I write as Clyde.

Reflecting my childhood name-changing desires, many of my characters have changed their own names. Clytemnestra Fortune shortened her name to Clyde, much to her mother’s dismay. Mac McKenzie is actually named Phillip McKenzie. And Clyde’s sister married a man named Proffit after she discovered her talent for predicting the stock market.

Then there’s Diana. A few years ago, when I was working on Pall in the Family, a writer friend sent me a link to a website where you can enter your name (or any phrase) and it will kick out an anagram. Since there’s nothing a writer likes more than a distraction that can be called “work,” I quickly clicked on the link. (Try it for yourself here: http://www.arrak.fi/en/ag – I’ll wait) My married name produced a whole list, but one of them jumped out at me: Diana Moonward.

I loved the way it tied the name Diana to the moon, since Diana is the moon goddess. Moonward, as if she is leaning toward the moon. At the time, Clyde didn’t have a best friend who was a Wiccan and owned a witch supply store. But what else would a person name Diana Moonward do?

One of my favorite authors is JK Rowling. The names she uses in her Harry Potter series are so fantastic and they are like a little treasure hunt. Sirius is the dog star and her character Sirius Black changes into a large black dog. If someone is lupine, they are wolf-like and Professor Lupin turns into a werewolf. Luna Lovegood is a little on the crazy side but loyal to her friends.

What do you think? Do you notice character names and look for deeper meanings? Do you have any favorite character names? Are you happy with your name, or do you wish for something different? I’d love to discuss it in the comments!

~Dawn

_____________________________

O.K. Dawn, that site is addicting, :p

 Result:

My married last name produced

slew lac    
lews lac    
well sac    
well sac    
sell caw    
cell was    
cell saw    
calls we    
call sew    This one jumped out at me. Before my accident I loved to sew!!

Result:
First and Last name produced:
scowler lila     willer coals     carlisle low     closer willa     recoil walls
swiller cola     wile collars     solacer will     slier callow     collier slaw
swiller coal     rowel scilla     oracles will     lollies craw     collier laws
wiles collar     rowel lilacs     oracles will     allelic rows     collier laws
lewis collar     rowel lilacs     rallies cowl     oracle wills     collier awls
slower lilac     orwell salic     recoils wall     oracle swill     collier awls
roswell laic     lower scilla     slicer allow     coaler wills     relic sallow
lowers lilac     lower lilacs     relics allow     coaler swill     relic allows
waller coils     lower lilacs     relics allow     locale swirl     cello aswirl
willer socal     carlisle owl     cresol willa     recoil walls     rollie claws
None of these struck me but I do love lilacs.

Result:
Dollycas Produced:
scylla do    slay clod    as coldly    sold clay    
scaly old    sally doc    codys all    sold acyl    
clays old    sally cod    scold lay    dolls cay    
clays old    lays cold    colds lay    dolls cay    
scald loy    lays clod    clods lay    
sac lloyd    days coll    clods lay    
sac dolly    days coll    cods ally    
sadly col    lads cloy    solly cad    
ladys col    sad colly    sly acold    
slay cold    ads colly    sold lacy
Nothing here better than Dollycas~
_______________________
Back to business!! Dawn, THANK YOU! I hope you will come back soon and often!!

About Dawn Eastman

Dawn Eastman lived in Michigan for many years, in a house full of animals, unusual people, and laughter. She now lives in Iowa with her husband, son, daughter, and one extremely bossy small dog. Pall in the Family is her first novel.

Links:

http://www.dawneastman.com/

http://familyfortunemysteries.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @DawnAEastman

 

PALL IN THE FAMILYPall in the Family
(A Family Fortune Mystery)
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (August 6, 2013)
The Berkley Publishing Group
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Daniel Craig  – AWESOME COVER!!
Cover Design by Judith Lagerman
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425264270
E-Book File Size: 662 KB
ASIN: B00A6WV6S2

goodreads-badge-add-plus

 

The aptly named Crystal Haven is the destination for tourists seeking psychics, séances, and the promise of contacting the spirit world. In this small western Michigan town, everyone knows the Fortune family. Rose is gifted with tarot card readings. Her sister, Vi, is a self-proclaimed pet psychic. And Rose’s daughter Clyde is… …

A cop. She has returned home from Ann Arbor on a “leave of absence”. No one really knows the whole story.  Her mom and aunt think she has come home because she is ready to join the family business and use her psychic gift.  Clyde would just like to relax and reflectand is happy walking some of her Aunt Vi’s clients and spending time with her nephew Seth.  But when a local psychic ends up dead Clyde finds herself right in the middle of the investigation and when the killer thinks she may “know” more than it seems her own life is danger.  Her trip home is definitely not a good fortune.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Clytemnestra, oh what a name, (Clyde) is quite a character! Trying to remain “normal” in a family of psychics is tough. It has already cost her one romantic relationship and maybe her job, but she is trying to hold it all together in a town where she is definitely in the minority. Crystal Haven is known for its psychics and is a major tourist destination for that reason.

She wants to let the police handle the investigation but her family wants her to “help””. Her father doesn’t have any “gifts” but he has his police scanner handy and will do almost anything Rose tells him to do. The way he deals with the women in his family just cracked me up.  Clyde, Rose, Vi and even Seth are all using crystals, pendulums, and following suspects around town to try and catch the killer. Hilarity ensues!!

From the first pages when a bat is chased around the house and out an open window until the last page when a question asked long ago is answered, this book will have you fully engaged and captivated. I would classify this as paranormal light. You don’t need to believe  to enjoy this story but you may believe a little by the end.

This is the author’s first novel and she has created a divine cozy. I don’t need a fortune teller to know this series has a promising future.

a perfect escape5 STARFISH

Dollycas
Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

Thanks to the people at Penguin I have my review to give away
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What do you think?
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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.”

Cozy Wednesday, Giveaways, Guest Posts, Reviews 2013
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