Tag: Janet Bolin

Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!

I love when Janet Bolin drops by for visit!! Her new book hits stores May 7 and we are going to tell you all about it today!!

Make Believe by Janet Bolin

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved putting on costumes and pretending I’m something I’m not. Never mind the pout on the face of the girl wearing the telephone costume: after my cheerful siblings were pulled aside and I had the limelight to myself, I was all smiles.

Make believe does not always require costumes. Sometimes, it requires only a pencil and paper. Or a computer and word processor. I created a village where I would want to live, chock full of shops where crafty enthusiasts could buy supplies for sewing, quilting, yarn arts, machine embroidery, and nearly everything else they wanted or needed for making clothes, quilts, home dec, and yes, costumes. The village quickly earned a nickname—Threadville. I filled it with citizens. Most of them are people I would like as friends.

Some of them, however, are not quite as pleasant as the others, and are not above committing a little murder and mayhem.

My characters (the nice ones, that is) are adept at putting together clothing and quilts, which means that they can also fit clues together and help solve murders.

I decided they should have the opportunity of solving a mystery related to the sins of fashion. Not surprisingly, my characters fond of wearing costumes and playing make-believe. I would let them be in a fashion show . . .

A few months after I turned in the manuscript for SEVEN THREADLY SINS, my editor sent me a copy of the cover painting—a conservatory with clothes hanging in it and fabrics nearby.

And then I was offered a small part in a mystery dinner theater play, Murder at the Pie Auction. I jumped at the chance. Who knew if I could act, memorize lines, or project my voice beyond the first set of dining tables? I could wear costumes and generally goof around. That was good enough for me.

Other than being handed a paper chef’s hat, told I should wear an apron for part of the play, and that the rest of my outfits should be mostly lime green, I was in charge of creating my own costumes. I haunted consignment shops. I made a long apron and used my embroidery machine to put punny sayings on the bib. I decorated the chef’s hat with stick-on “gems.” I found lime green sneakers that suited my character—and my feet–perfectly.

There were only two performances. They went rather well, I thought. The audience laughed when we hoped they would, anyway.

After having shopped for lime green, I kept seeing it everywhere.

And then I needed the cover for SEVEN THREADLY SINS for a blog. I dug out the photo, took one look at it, and burst out laughing. Wouldn’t you know? A couple of the garments hanging in the conservatory, waiting for someone to wear them in the fashion show, are lime green.

Don’t you love it when make-believe and real life converge?

~Janet

Janet Bolin’s acting career may be really, really short. In addition to goofing around in costumes, Janet likes sewing, machine embroidery, all sorts of other needlecrafts and handcrafts, reading, writing, and walking with her dogs. SEVEN THREADLY SINS, the fifth book in the Threadville Mystery Series, comes out May 5.

Author Links:
Webpage: http://ThreadvilleMysteries.com/

Blog: http://www.KillerCharacters.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Janet-Bolin/267325191115

Twitter: @JanetBolin

Seven Threadly Sins
(A Threadville Mystery)
5th in series
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Pennsylvania
A Berkley Prime Mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group (May 5, 2015)
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Robin Moline
Cover Design by Annette Fiore Defex
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425268001
E-Book ASIN: B00O2BKLAM

 

Fashion turns killer in the latest novel from the national bestselling author of the Threadville mysteries…

Threadville, Pennsylvania, is famous for its fabric, needlecraft, and embroidery, so it’s only natural that it would become the home of the Threadville Academy of Design and Modeling. While Willow Vanderling has certainly never wanted to be a model, here she is, voluntarily strutting her stuff in a charity runway show in outrageous clothing, all to support the Academy’s scholarship fund.

But the lascivious, mean-spirited director of the academy, Antonio, is making the fashion show a less-than-fabulous affair. After Antonio plays a shocking prank on Willow and her friends that doesn’t exactly leave the ladies in stitches, he mysteriously winds up dead—and someone is trying to pin the blame on Willow.

Now, she must do whatever it takes in order to clear her name, even if it means needling around in other people’s secrets…

 

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.

Following the new Google+ Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book Fan Page
will earn you 3 Bonus Entries.

Leave a comment for Janet 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 May 6, 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.”