Author: Jackie Layton

I love God the creator of all things. I live on the coast of South Carolina and write cozy mysteries. I'm a wife, mother, and Gigi.
Cozy mystery

Red, White, and Blue? Wait, it’s Dead, White and Blue

Jackie Layton

Congratulations to my friend Annie McEwen on the second book in the Northwoods Mystery series.

It’s the 4th of July in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and no one is more excited than Emmy Cooper. She’s happy to be back in her hometown, settling once again into small-town living and helping her family run Cooper’s Cove, their lake cottage resort. Emmy and her teen crush, police officer Dean Erickson, are enjoying getting reacquainted, while she and bestie Whitney are closer than ever.

Lake Covington and its quaint namesake town are bustling with visitors celebrating during the annual three-day Independence Day Freedom Fest. Everything is Yankee Doodle Dandy until a local man with a reputation for trouble starts fireworks of his own. And the explosions just keep on coming when Emmy stumbles over a dead body at the celebrations!

The dead man is Jordan James, and as Emmy soon finds out, there are no shortage of people who might want him dead. From a jealous jerk to a conniving cousin and even a former friend from his past, suspects are more plentiful than ants at a July picnic! Despite promises to stay out of the investigation, Emmy finds herself smack in the middle of it. Can she and Whitney figure out the truth and find liberty and justice for all?

You can pre-order now, and the book releases on July 2. That’s tomorrow. Congratulations, Annie!

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Jackie Layton

Korina Moss and I became friends a few years ago, and I’m thankful she took time to share with us today.

Here’s what she shared with me.

I’m thankful for the connection I get to have with my readers. They invite me to know them on a personal level, even beyond our shared love of cozy mysteries. I feel grateful when they share their excitement about my series with others, and humbled when I receive messages of how my books have provided comfort during a difficult time. I love how books can bring people together!

Korina is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series, and if you want to get to know her better, here’s her website http://korinamossauthor.com

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Spotlight on the Queen

Jackie Layton

That’s right. My friend Connie Queen is the author of heart throbbing suspense, and her new book will release tomorrow, June 25.

Pursued in the wilderness…

Can they survive criminals and nature?

A camping trip turns into a search and rescue mission when investigator Josie Hunt’s adopted daughter goes missing. And as the only witness to her father’s murder, eight-year-old Everly is the killer’s next target. Now Josie has no choice but to accept help from her ex-boyfriend, wrongly accused fugitive Dane Haggerty, to stay alive. With threats closing in, can they outrun a killer who’ll stop at nothing to keep his crimes hidden?

Friends, I’m excited about Connie’s new book. I think you’ll enjoy it. Here’s the buying link: 

Wilderness Witness Survival (Love Inspired Suspense): Queen, Connie: 9781335598196: Amazon.com: Books

Cozy mystery

Summer Kick Off

Jackie Layton

It’s time for a giveaway.

There are so many good books in this giveaway, and Clutter Free is included. https://promosimple.com/ps/2ad83/2024-summer-kick-off-giveaway-share

Clutter Free is the first book in An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series.

Returning to Fox Island where she grew up, Kate Sloan begins her career as a professional organizer. When a woman accuses Kate’s police chief brother of having an affair, Kate’s priority shifts from organizing to proving her brother’s innocence. Kate visits the woman, hoping for a confession. The woman won’t admit she lied, and to make the situation worse, the accuser is found dead the next day by Kate and her business partner.

Kate has an eye for seeing what’s out of place, and she knows how to fix problems. Can she utilize her organizational skills to toss red herrings and focus on legitimate clues? Emma’s business is at risk as well as her brother’s career. The clock is ticking, and this could be the deadliest deadline of Kate’s life. She must discover the truth behind the victim’s vicious lies, but most of all, she needs to solve the murder before she becomes the next victim.

This promo is only good until June 23, so hurry and enter.

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The Story is Spreading

Jackie Layton

Yes, my friends. Clover Covered Corpse is now available in paperback and other eBook platforms.

If you want to know more about the second book in A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery series, join me on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour.

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/upcoming-great-escapes-book-tours/clover-covered-corpse-a-texas-flower-farmer-cozy-mystery-by-jackie-layton

Today there are two tour stops with spotlights on Clover Covered Corpse.

 Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

 Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

And if you want the links to buy Clover Covered Corpse, here they are.

Amazon paperback: https://amzn.to/3Rz9tyT

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/4c2ezfd

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3z1XvaG

Kobo Canada: https://bit.ly/3KK5FXJ

B&N paperback: https://bit.ly/4c2s3b0

B&N Nook: https://bit.ly/3RvkJML

Thank you for your time and support. I always appreciate you!

Thankful Thursday

Jamie’s Thankful

Jackie Layton

My friend, Jamie Adams, is here today to share what she’s thankful for.

I’m thankful for miracles.

In my late thirties, I developed health problems and was advised that the worst thing I could do was become pregnant. But there was no cause for concern; after all, it had taken two years of fertility treatments to conceive my only child.

Then, two months later, my life took an unexpected turn. I embarked on a month-by-month journey filled with more hairpin turns than a mountainous highway. First came the news: “You’re pregnant.” Then, the shock: “They’re twins!” Shortly after, the fear: “One has a heart problem.” And then, the devastating prognosis: “No dividing membrane – they won’t survive past twenty-five weeks.”

At twenty weeks, I was placed on bed rest. In the third trimester, I suffered a mild stroke. My twins were born five weeks early and sent to the NICU in a hospital three hours away from home.

Yet, against all odds, my beautiful girls turn 23 on the fifteenth of this month. They have no health problems and have become two of my dearest friends.

Thanks so much for sharing, Jamie! I’m crying happy tears, reading your miracle.

Friends, if you’d like to connect with Jamie, here’s a link to her website. https://jamieladams.com/

Cozy mystery

It’s a Book Tour

Jackie Layton

Today is the first day of my Great Escapes Book Tour, and I hope you can join me. Here’s a list of places where you can find me.

CLOVER COVERED CORPSE TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 10 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

June 10 – eBook addicts – SPOTLIGHT

June 11 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW

June 11 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 12 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 12 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

June 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST 

June 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

June 15 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

June 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 16 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

June 18 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

June 19 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read! – REVIEW

And for anything related to my tour and information on the giveaway, go to my landing page. https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/upcoming-great-escapes-book-tours/clover-covered-corpse-a-texas-flower-farmer-cozy-mystery-by-jackie-layton/

Life

Packing Up

Jackie Layton

I can’t think of a time when I packed up my house that I didn’t move to another house or apartment.

There’s a defect with the flooring in our home, and the company is going to replace them. Yay.

BUT I have to pack up everything like I’m moving. Sigh. Still, I’m thankful they are being replaced because they have buckled, cracked, and splintered away. Why am I sharing this? Because I’m either going to be on social media a lot, trying to forget about the mess, or I will disappear. I’m not sure how I will deal with stress.

In case you enjoy before and after pictures, I’ll share the after when it’s all over.

Stay tuned for some exciting news.

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday at Paula’s Cozy Cottage

Jackie Layton

I recently spent time with Paula Charles at Malice, but we’ve been friends longer than a few weeks.

I asked Paula to share something she’s thankful for, and here’s her response.

“Just having gotten back from the last of several back-to-back trips, I am so very thankful for our cozy and comfortable cottage. And I’m doubly thankful for friends like you!”

I’m thankful for friends like Paula too.

Here’s one way to connect with Paula. https://www.paulacharles.com/

 

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German Immigrants in Texas

Jackie Layton

In the early 1900s, many German immigrants settled in the Hill Country of Texas. Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, Schulenburg, Boerne and more towns have a strong German heritage.

In A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery Series, one of the characters is from Germany and runs the town bakery, Sophie’s Bakery. You might also have noticed the fictional setting is Lutz, Texas. This small town has some connections to Germany.

At Sophie’s Bakery a customer can find healthy foods, but they can also buy German treats.

I’ve never baked a kuchen, but I have helped make Springerle cookies. We have antique molds there were brought to America from Germany many generations ago.

The molds are works of art themselves.

May 28 was the release of Clover Covered Corpse, and I’ll share more about it next week.