Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am so excited to have Shelley visit today!!
The Making of a Destination Town
By Shelley Freydont
I’m not really a knitter, or a crocheter, baker, or quilter. I make a decent cup of coffee, and I can throw a casserole together if company calls. I can manage a little bit of all these activities, but what I really am is a holidayer.
Give me a holiday and I’ll celebrate it, I’ll even knit, quilt, cook or scrapbook for it. But mainly I’ll enjoy it. With friends and strangers. With bells on.
So when I started my new series I decided it would be about holidays. Holidays and small town living. That way it could incorporate all those arts and crafts that I dabble in but rarely finish and my favorite kind of people, opinionated, energetic and fiercely loyal.
And where could you find a better place to live than a town dedicated to the celebration of holidays? Celebration Bay is a destination town on the New York side of Lake Champlain. I decided on that location because it has snow in winter, I’m dreaming of that White Christmas, and water sports and parade weather for the Fourth of July. Can’t you smell the hot dogs and see the fireworks display over the lake?
Being a destination town, Celebration Bay has it all, the baker, the bookstore owner, the barista, the diner, a great little Italian cafe, a fabric store and a quilting club. And a big town square. All geared to making holidays fun and profitable.
Of course as with any town, Celebration Bay has its share of grinches and bah humbugs, but that just makes writing about it more fun.
But who could be the sleuth? An amateur in sleuthing but competent and industrious in her daily activities. The baker? The quilter? Someone who had lived in Celebration Bay all his or her life? Whose family had lived there for generations? That’s the kind of town it is. Proud of their history and their way of life.
Well, that would be fine, but what if the sleuth was an outsider? An outsider, an event planner from Manhattan, hired to coordinate the town’s holidays. Someone the town needs but doesn’t quite trust since, after all, she’s an outsider. And from New York City. Even the barista who has lived in town for twelve years is still considered a newcomer.
So Celebration Bay become a town that welcomes throngs of tourists year round, but closes ranks and sticks together when the going gets rough, as it sometimes does in small towns, especially when there is a murder to solve.
And where is this town? Somewhere up north. Made up of pieces of my favorite real towns. With a pinch of imagination thrown in. And always celebrating something.
And so I created my mystery setting. I wouldn’t try to cook it or knit it, but writing it is lots of fun. Like having a holiday everyday.
~Shelley
To find out more about Shelley and her books visit her webpage here.
Independence Slay
(A Celebration Bay Mystery)
3rd Book in The Series
Cozy Mystery
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (June 3, 2014)
The Berkley Publishing Group
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Art by Robert Crawford
Cover Design by Lesley Worrell
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425252567
E-Book File Size: 2297 KB
ASIN: B00EOARZFU
On the Fourth of July, Old Glory is flying high in Celebration Bay—until someone raises a red flag…
With Independence Day fast approaching, Liv Montgomery is swamped coordinating one of the town’s biggest festivals. In addition to the traditional July fourth events, the town stages a spooky Revolutionary War reenactment that can’t be missed. Every year, the ghost of local war hero Henry Gallantine—played by his eccentric descendant of the same name—appears at the top of the family mansion, kicking off the night’s revelries.
But Henry’s annual cameo goes awry after the ghost signals SOS instead of his traditional cue. When Liv rushes to the rescue, she finds Henry missing and a real dead body instead of a fake haunt. Now she will have to hunt down both a murderer and a missing person quickly before unwanted political fireworks ignite and someone else winds up as local history…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
What a great story! Released at the perfect time of year. Celebration Bay plays a bit with the historical facts but they throw quite a party. If it wasn’t for that pesky murder the celebration would have been prefect.
Again Liv has her hands full pulling things together for this huge festival but she has Ted by her side and he knows all the details by rote. This festival has been going on for years and new event coordinator Liv just needs to add a few of her touches plus some additional security. But even with the top-notch security team A.K. has put together not every incident can be averted.
Shelley Freydont has created another great mystery and all of out favorite characters are back including Whiskey and his wonderful Ah-Roo-Roos. I thought I had the guilty party pegged but those darn twists stumped me again. Hildy was my favorite new character this time. Her cleaning skills may be waning but she is sharp as a tack and isn’t afraid to pull out her shotgun to protect her employer or his treasures. Chaz, the wayward journalist, also returns but he clearly isn’t himself and Liv tries her best to find out what is wrong. The interplay between these two is a real treat to read.
I have really enjoyed this entire series. I can’t wait to gather with the gang in Celebration Bay again soon!
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 Shelley 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 July 9, 2014 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.”
