Last week, I met some wonderful people on a quick trip to St. Simons, Georgia. I’ve been there before, and it was just as special. Maybe because I lived in Georgia for ten years, it kinda feels like home. The azaleas were blooming, and it was beautiful.
We climbed the lighthouse and visited the World II Home Front Museum. It was fascinating, and I wish we’d had more time there.
For years, the lighthouse keepers lived in the house and kept the light shining. It was a lonely job, and reading books was one thing that helped fight the boredom.
Back in Pawleys Island, I participated in the Local Authors Fair at the Waccamaw Library. I met so many nice authors, readers, and volunteers. I also had some friends stop by, which made it even more fun. Thank you to all the organizers and volunteers for making this a great event.
One more fun note, Tim got so many comments on the shirt we had made. One lady started calling him, “I’m with Jackie,” instead of Tim.
Today, I’m welcoming Penny Frost McGinnis to the blog. Welcome, Penny.
Hi, Jackie. You’ve been a great inspiration and encouragement to me. Thank you for having me on your blog.
I’m Penny Frost McGinnis, and I’m excited to share with you that I published my first cozy mystery. I grew to love cozies after reading Lilian Jackson Braun’s Cat Who books. The genre’s close community, quirky characters, critters, and of course crime-solving drew me in. I appreciate that the stories keep the violence off the page and an amateur sleuth solves the mystery.
As an author, I have had three romance/mystery novels published, but I had a desire to write what I loved most—the cozy mystery. Lyndie Lavender stepped onto my computer screen and took me to Seldom Seen, South Carolina, to her Aunt Cordy’s homestead. Lyndie and her family were setting up the annual Apple Fest, where Cordy invited vendors from town to celebrate her apple harvest.
Unfortunately, a character loses their life, and Lyndie, who wanted nothing more than peace and quiet, must get on board to help solve the mystery. Lyndie brings some unique skills with her after spending twenty years as a war photographer/correspondent. She’s traveled the world, seen war-torn countries, experienced the beauty of arts and crafts, visited with many people, but she wants to lie low at home instead of winding up in the middle of an investigation.
One thing I enjoyed researching for One Rotten Apple was the pets Lyndie receives as a gift. I don’t want to give too much away, but they are some of the cutest animals I’ve ever seen.
The small town of Seldom Seen has plenty of quirky characters, and it was fun to create a town I’d like to live in. Although the town isn’t just like Travelers Rest, South Carolina, I used it as a model. If you ever get down that way, Travelers Rest is a lovely place to spend the day.
I hope you’ll check out One Rotten Apple: Lyndie Lavender Cozy Mystery 1.
Thanks again, Jackie, for having me today. Happy Reading!
One Rotten Apple back cover blurb:
Small town charm, a fall festival… and one uninvited corpse.
After twenty years of photographing war zones, Lyndie Lavender longs for peace. She finds it—at least at first—when she moves to her Aunt Cordy’s homestead near the quiet town of Seldom Seen, South Carolina. The gentle rhythm of her new life is upended when Lyndie stumbles across a dead body on the opening day of her aunt’s beloved Apple Fest.
Determined to uncover who killed one of the locals—and marred her aunt’s festival—Lyndie dusts off her camera and natural curiosity. With her sister Laurel at her side and Aunt Cordy’s charming new tenant, Zach Hudson, lending a hand, Lyndie finds herself snooping, spying, and untangling secrets the town folks didn’t even know.
Finding a killer isn’t on Lyndie Lavender’s calendar. But neither is walking away.
Dog-Gone Dead was originally released in June 2020. The original publisher retired and returned the rights to me for the first three books in A Low Country Dog Walker series.
Today is the release of the revised version of Dog-Gone Dead.
If you enjoy small-town coastal life, come back to Heyward Beach, South Carolina for the second book in this cozy mystery series.
Who’d have thought mulch could cause such a stink?
Low Country dog walker Andi Grace Scott is happy to score some free mulch from one of her brother’s landscaping jobs—until she discovers the dead body buried beneath the bark.
Worse, her brother’s landscaping tools were used to commit the murder. Once the police arrest her brother and seem happy to have “caught their man,” Andi Grace has no choice but to track down the real killer. She’ll risk everything to prove her brother’s innocence. Even if it means turning over every rock in town.
One reviewer, jetangen said, “The characters are wonderful, the world building is great, and the dogs are really special.”
Thanks, jetangen! Thanks everybody who has been kind enough to leave a review of my books!
In the six years since this book was originally published, I have learned how important book reviews are. Good reviews increase book sales, get more book contracts, TV deals, and audio offers. Reviews are huge!
The story of Rober Smalls stopped me in my tracks. I never heard his name before this month.
His is a story of bravery, courage, defiance, and determination. I admire what he did with his life, and I’m convinced that I can push myself to do more.
Robert Smalls was a slave in America, and he dared to dream big. His mother was enslaved, and his father was an unknown white man. In 1851, Smalls was taken by his master to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was hired out to work as a waiter in a hotel, a hack driver, and a rigger. In 1861, he was forced to work aboard the CSS Planter, an armed transport and dispatch vessel that carried guns and ammunition for the Confederate army. On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls and other enslaved people on board took charge of the ship in Charleston Harbor; he picked up his wife and children and others, succeeded in passing through Confederate checkpoints, and turned the ship, the weapons, and many important documents over to a Union naval squadron blockading the city. Smalls and the others on the steamship earned their freedom, and Robert Smalls became famous as a war hero throughout the North. Before the war was over, he became the first Black captain of a vessel in U.S. service.
After the war, he became a businessman and politician and made it to the U.S. House of Representatives and was elected to several terms.
You don’t usually come here for a history lesson, but I found his story inspiring. Robert was born into slavery, he was later forced to fight for the Confederacy, he became a hero for the Union army, and he was a U.S. Representative during the Reconstruction. He is part of America’s history.
What courageous things can I try to accomplish? What about you?
Thanks for allowing me to share this man’s brave journey during Black History Month.
Two of my good friends had a book release this week.
I’ve read Heather Weidner’s Murder Strikes a Chord already, and it’s a winner.
The Pearly Girls return to solve a high school reunion murder in this sequel to Murder Strikes a Chord.
Event planner Cassidy Jamison and her not-so-helpful sexagenarian staff of Roxie, Kate, Aileen, and Ruthanne are up to their elbows with a high school reunion committee’s constantly changing requirements for an event that must be the most elaborate and memorable at all costs.
When well-known reporter, Darcy Branch, and former cheerleader, Brittany Mahoney, are found dead on her property, Cassidy and the gang have to find the killer before the party’s over. And the more Cassidy and her Chihuahua mix, Elvis, dig for clues, the more deadly secrets they uncover—including one that changes everything she knows about her family’s history.
The Pearly Girls need to solve the case before the Class of 2009 goes down in Ivy Springs history as the deadliest reunion.
The Sasquatch of Hurricane Ridge by my friend, KB Jackson, also released this week.
Cryptids beware . . . Jake, Jasmine, and Lanny, the Sasquatch Hunters of Washington, Inc., are at it again in the fourth book of the ever-popular Sasquatch Hunters series!
Fresh from their adventure in Scotland, the Sasquatch Hunters are headed to the Olympic Peninsula, the place where it all began when Jake’s grandpa first saw a Bigfoot. However, they aren’t the only ones pursuing the legendary cryptids on the peninsula. The crew of Jake’s favorite TV show, Bigfoot Believers, is filming an episode there. Another young team of Sasquatch stalkers also arrives. Will a friendly rivalry turn ugly? And which team will be the first to prove Bigfoot exists and get their TV show shot at fame?
Jake, Jasmine, and Lanny, members of The Sasquatch Hunters of Washington, Inc., are in for their greatest challenge yet as they encounter extreme competition in their quest to locate a Bigfoot. In author K.B. Jackson’s fourth title in the series, readers will dive even further into the adventures of the Sasquatch hunters but also learn more about the characters themselves and how their personal lives come to define their friendships.
Today, I’d like to welcome my friend, Ruth J. Hartman.
Thanks, Jackie, for inviting me today!
Hi, everyone, 😊
I’m Ruth J. Hartman, and I write cozy mysteries with a feline twist. I’m so excited for the upcoming release of my newest book, Wings of Deceit. It’s Book 3 in my Seneca James Mysteries. Books 1 and 2, Butterfly Betrayal and Murder at the Painted Wings Café are available now.
The main character, Seneca, owns a butterfly farm and The Painted Wings Café. Her cousin, Evie, runs the café for her, along with their blustery but caring chef, Murray. And Seneca’s best friend is Cody, the town sheriff, who Seneca sometimes wishes was more than a friend.
Seneca has a secret weapon named Winifred. She’s Seneca’s ginger cat, who insists on wearing a different butterfly costume every day. Not only is Winifred an excellent little advertisement at the farm, she’s also a huge help when Seneca finds herself in the middle of yet another murder in Maple Junction.
In Wings of Deceit, a murder happens at a wedding reception. Once again, Seneca is nearby, since she’s there to do a monarch butterfly release for the bride and groom. She’s involved further when Evie, who’s just reconnected with her old boyfriend, comes to her for help. Evie’s boyfriend seems to be the main suspect!
Watch for the release of Wings of Deceit to see what happens next.
I have several books coming up in the future. My Bookshop Kitties Mysteries will be re-published with three new books added. And a brand new series will also be coming up this year too!
If you like quirky cozy mysteries with sidekick kitties, you might like my books.
Thanks for tuning in today. Looking forward to sharing my new books with you!
It’s always good for me to take a moment to reflect on the reason for Christmas. If you’d ever like to have a conversation about Jesus, please reach out to me.
Sophie Becker owns Sophie’s Bakery on the town square in Lutz, Texas. She’s Emma Justice’s best friend in A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery series.
Springerles are German cookies that require special molds or rolling pins. My ancestors brought these molds to America many years ago, and they have remained in the family.
Here’s one recipe for Springerles.
Ingredients:
cooking spray
1 ½ tablespoons crushed anise seeds
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
Spray 4 cookie sheets with cooking spray; sprinkle with anise seeds and set aside until needed.
Mix flour and baking powder in a large bowl until well blended. Place sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a separate large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and frothy, 5 to 8 minutes. Gradually stir flour mixture into egg mixture to form a thick dough.
Working with handfuls of dough at a time, roll out onto a lightly floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Lightly sift confectioners’ sugar over the dough. Place springerle molds onto dough; press down hard and evenly until the mold’s design registers in dough. Remove the mold. Use a small knife to cut around each cookie, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Repeat, until all dough has been used. Cover cookies with a lightweight cotton cloth, and allow to dry for 8 hours, or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Bake cookies in preheated oven until tops are pale brown and cookies are set, 25 – 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
I hope you and your family have a warm and cozy Christmas.
Jackie Layton 