If I was Dr. Seuss, I’d write a poem about this past weekend at the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival. I saw old friends, and I made new friends. I met a elementary school boy who has written four books! I know he’s going places. But, I’m nor Dr. Seuss, so I’ll share a few pictures.
I did not get enough pictures, but here are a few.
Heather Weidner, Rosalie Spielman, Eleanor Kuhns, and Amy M. Reade were some of the authors featured.
Victoria Gilbert, Kristin Kisska, and Renee from The Book Adventurer were a few I had my picture taken with. There were so many more wonderful people I had the pleasure to meet, and next time I hope to do better taking pictures.
On another note, a friend recently asked about my audio books. They are available on EverAnd. You can sign up for a 30 day trial membership. https://www.everand.com/
To listen to Bite the Dust, you can follow this link.
I first met Annie McEwen at Malice 2023. She was always smiling, and she’s as nice a person as you’ll ever want to meet.
Annie’s book, Resort to Murder, will release March 26, and she took time to answer some questions. Welcome, Annie.
You and I are both authors featuring small towns. Do you live, or have you ever lived in a small town? Like do you have an IGA? Do you know how many stop lights you have?
Thank you so much for having me, Jackie! Yes! Most of my childhood was spent on a small farm in rural central Indiana. Our closest town had one stoplight, an IGA, the best library, a liquor store with a giant pink elephant in front of it, and about twenty churches. LOL. My husband and I lived in Colorado Springs for the first two years of our marriage while he served in the USAF. He’s been on the Indianapolis Metro Police Department for twenty-five years, so we lived in the ‘burbs until our kids graduated. Now, we live outside of a tiny town with no stoplights…but we have a post office, volunteer fire department, a new pizza and ice cream place, and a Dollar General. We’re living large now! Honestly, if we could, we’d live even farther out in the boonies!
Share with us about your earliest days writing. Have you always wanted to write, or did you get derailed in your desire to become a published author?
I was obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books from around age four, so I used to write stories about pioneers all the time. My parents have bunches of stories I wrote as a kid and half-written historical romances/inspirational romances I typed out as a teenager. (And I do mean typed!) Of course, I’ve always loved mysteries, especially cozies, but I was too afraid to write them. I didn’t have the confidence. Fast-forward several years through life with family, having an interior decorating business for a little bit, going back to college to be a radiological technologist, working in that field for ten years now…I pushed my writing dreams to the side.
How did you get back to writing?
I’ve been a huge Ellie Alexander fan for years. She so engaging with her fans and we’d actually DM’d several times. I told my husband if I ever got the nerve to actually attempt my dream of writing, I’d love to be a cozy mystery writer like Ellie. Lo and behold, Ellie started a Masterclass for mystery writing. Well, my hubby, Brian, and our kids put together a big Christmas gift for me. My son, Caleb, does amazing woodworking and built me a desk that I designed. My daughter, Maddy, had been in contact with Ellie for months putting together this big box of Ellie’s items and arranged a Zoom with her to discuss my writing goals! And Brian got the Masterclass for me! Do I have the best family, or what? So, I took the amazing course, and every doubt I had just disappeared. Ellie is a fabulous mentor, and I met my writing bestie, Paula Charles/Janna Rollins, as well as so many other wonderful people. The rest is history!
Does your main character, Emmy Cooper, share any of your characteristics? Would you be friends in real life?
Oh my goodness, yes! We both love interior design and trash-to-treasure projects. Thrift stores and Emmy and I are old souls; put on an old Doris Day or Hayley Mills movie, and we’re happy. We’re also clumsy, a bit sarcastic with our friends, and sometimes we forget to act our ages (Emmy’s 26, and I’m so not 26.). Even though we have a hard time standing up for ourselves, we’ll do whatever we have to do for our loved ones! A lot of Emmy’s quirks and insecurities are drawn from my own. Writing is great therapy! We’d definitely be friends.
What inspired Resort to Murder? Tell us a little about your story.
My family’s vacations were spent on Lake Namekagon in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. We camped in a three-room tent at the Chequamegon National Forest Campgrounds. There were four of us kids, Mom, Dad, and our collie. Mogasheen Resort, a cute cabin resort, was next to the campgrounds. We became great friends with the family, and year after year, the friendship grew. Our families are still very close. I based my Cooper’s Cove Resort on Mogasheen’s, and they’ve shared their knowledge as part of my research.
Even though my Lake Covington and the town of Covington are fictional, they’re inspired by Lake Namekagon and some of my favorite quaint small towns. My characters do visit several real-life places in the area my book is set in, Bayfield County. In fact, my sister and her family live about five minutes from Lake Superior! She and her husband met as little kids when we visited a little church while we were on vacation all those years ago. That’s a story I need to write!
I don’t want to give too much away, but Emmy’s story is inspired by something I went through several years ago. It was soul-crushing and unjustified. I went into a depression and lost trust in people. But, it turned out to be a gigantic blessing in disguise that eventually led to opening the door for me to pursue my writing dream.
So in Resort to Murder, Emmy Cooper’s life in Chicago is turned upside down, so the young interior designer retreats to her family’s lake cottage resort in the beautiful Wisconsin Northwoods for a much-needed break. Hoping to clear her mind and gain a fresh perspective, she looks forward to enjoying a slower pace and the crisp, clean pine air at her beloved Cooper’s Cove Resort with her family, dogs, and her best friend, Whitney.
Unfortunately, Emmy finds out a ruthless development company is relentlessly pressuring Lake Covington property owners, including her family, to sell their land so they can build an extravagant, modern resort that would ruin the quaint esthetic of the area. Things only get worse when Emmy finds the dead body of one of the developers floating in the lake—murdered!
Since Emmy’s father was leading the fight to stop the shady development from getting approval, he’s quickly painted as the prime suspect. Now it’s up to Emmy to prove her father’s innocence, save the reputation of Cooper’s Cove, and find out who would resort to murder.
I read an Advanced Readers Copy of Hammers and Homicide this fall and loved it. Paula’s book is out in the world now, she graciously stopped by to chat.
Welcome, Paula!
Hi Jackie!
I’m so glad you liked Hammers and Homicide! It’s such a relief to hear people are enjoying it and it’s not just rubbish!
Thank you for having me on your blog. Here’s my answers to your questions.
You and I both write mysteries set in small towns. Most of my life, I’ve lived in small towns. What about you? Do you live in a small town?
I’m definitely happiest in a small town! I grew up in a town with a population of right around twelve hundred people. In fact, it’s the town Pine Bluff is based off of in Hammers and Homicide. Not only was the town small but the area is fairly remote. The closest “big town” nearby was only about ten thousand people. Since then, I’ve mostly lived in towns of about ten-thousand, still small town, though I lived in Redding, California for a handful of years. Our current little town doesn’t even have a stoplight, though it’s growing really fast around here and I’m not sure that’s going to last much longer.
Tell us some of your favorite parts of living in a small town.
While small towns can be a hotbed of gossip, they’re normally quieter and a slower pace of life than the city. You can hear yourself think. People look out for each other. One of my favorite things about our little town is the concerts in the park series in the summer. We have a gorgeous little park with a gazebo and coliseum seating. Half the town turns out to sit on the grass, chat with their neighbors, and have picnics during the concerts. Kids run around and play and it’s just a good time. There’s a similar scene in Hammers and Homicide. I couldn’t resist adding it!
Do you have a favorite store? Would it be fair to guess a hardware store?
That’s another thing to love about small towns. Usually, there’s fun and unique shops. Bookstores are always my favorite, and a nearby town has a whole row of vintage shops with tons of refurbished furniture and decor. I like to take a day every few months and wander through those shops! So, no, none of those are hardware stores. The hardware store in my book is based on the hardware store my grandparents owned in my hometown. It was fabulous but no longer exists. When I see an old-fashioned hardware store, I do always pop in and wander around!
Are you handy with a hammer?
Somewhat! I can build small things, like a birdhouse, and pound nails into a fence or help put up walls on the chicken coop. Anything bigger would probably not stand up for very long!
I think that’s impressive. What are some of your hobbies?
I’m a voracious reader, but aren’t all writers? A few years ago I was doing quite a bit of furniture restoration and repurposing, though it’s been a while since I tackled anything. All my tools and paints are waiting for the next project! I like to knit in the evenings while watching television with my husband, but even that has slowed down a lot. My hands tend to be tired after a day of tapping away at the keyboard. In the spring and summer, we grow a veggie garden and I have scads of flower beds. It’s restorative to dig your hands in the dirt!
Yes, I’m love to garden too.
How did you decide to make Dawna Carpenter a sexagenarian? Tell us a little about what inspired you to write Hammers and Homicide.
I’m combining these two questions because they go hand-in-hand. I had taken a workshop about writing family stories not long before I sat down to write Hammers and Homicide. Because I was in the family story telling mode, my thoughts went right to my grandmother when I started thinking about my protagonist. My grandfather was a contractor and my grandmother ran the hardware store they owned in our hometown. I began to wonder how Grandma would have done if she was Jessica Fletcher, and Dawna bloomed out of those initial thoughts. I didn’t give any specific thought to Dawna’s age other than basing her off of my grandmother when I was a young teenager. I drew on my own childhood memories a lot as the setting for the book, the hardware store, and Dawna’s house developed on the page.
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Jackie! It was a lot of fun to be here!
It’s been fun, Paula. I discovered we have a lot in common. My grandmothers and my mom all loved gardening, and I have have some iris bulbs I’ve moved from home to home from over twenty years. Not all survived, but some did.
I’m so excited to announce it’s the official release day for A Suspicious Breed.
Low Country dog walker Andi Grace Scott is about to get married, but she’ll have to get a killer to say “I did it” before she can say “I do” . . .
With her wedding fast approaching and her plans to open a dog shelter underway, Andi Grace can barely find a free moment. Then she learns that her favorite local vet may have been roped into a crooked fundraising scheme meant to help animals, and worse still, her wedding photographer—a good friend who may have had firsthand knowledge of the scheme—is murdered. Determined to find justice for the victim and root out whoever is behind the scam, Andi Grace puts her nose to the ground to sniff out the clues.
No sooner does she begin compiling a list of suspects than she uncovers an unscrupulous music producer pressuring a friend’s talented daughter, and a haphazard dog breeding operation that may be endangering animals. With so many unsavory characters cropping up at every turn, Andi Grace enlists the help of some equally clever friends to ensnare them. But just as she finds the evidence that ties everything together, the culprit finds it’s time to kill her before she can tie the knot . . .
A Suspicious Breed is available today wherever you like to shop for books.
Over the weekend, My Sister’s Books held a pre-launch party. It was so fun. We had a fabulous cake designed to look like my book. We also had food and prizes. I saw friends and made new friends. There was a lot of laughter, and it was a fun party.
Here are some of the pictures.
Thanks for allowing me to share the fun. I hope you have a fabulous week.
I’m excited to welcome my friend Ruth Hartman back to the blog.
Hi Ruth, thanks for joining us.
Thank you, Jackie, for hosting me on your blog today!
My newest book, Murder She Meowed, is book #2 in my Bookshop Kitties Mysteries, and will release on February 6th. The title, Murder She Meowed, is a play on words from the old TV show, Murder She Wrote, while Book 1, Dial M for Meow, is a takeoff on the 1950’s movie, Dial M for Murder.
Green Meadow, Indiana, the fictional town in the book, isn’t a real place, but since I live in rural Indiana, it has the small town flavor and types of down-to-earth people I’m used to sharing a town with. I love to write about characters who are funny and quirky. One of the highest compliments I receive from readers is that my books make them laugh!
On the two book covers of the Bookshop Kitties Mysteries, the cats—one, all white, the other a black-and-white tuxedo—perfectly capture the cat characters in the stories. And, like a picture within a picture, in my books, the two cats, Milton and Pearl, appear in my protagonist’s children’s mysteries that she writes and sells in her aunt’s bookstore, Words to Read By.
Mostly, I write cozy mysteries, but several years ago, I wrote my own children’s book, Murphy in thePaw-Paw Patch. In the book the cat Murphy is born without paws on his pads and makes a journey to find some, meeting a new friend along the way. I wrote the words and did the drawings. It was so much fun to do!
In Murder She Meowed, my main character’s (Christy Bailey) children’s stories are fun mysteries, where her cats actually find clues and solve murders. Come along on their journey as they prowl for clues and pounce on the killers!
This cover is so cute. Here’s the blurb:
From author Ruth J. Hartman comes the next purrrrfectly fun Bookshop Kitties Mystery…
Children’s book author Christy Bailey is thrilled that her aunt Betty is finally marrying the man of her dreams! The small wedding is a family event, right down to Christy’s cats and subjects of her books, Milton and Pearl, who are dressed in wedding attire and pulled down the aisle in a wagon. After the reception, Christy and her boyfriend-hopeful, Micah, agree to help her friend and wedding caterer, Janie, clean up at her pastry shop. But when they arrive at the shop, they’re not greeted by Janie but Janie’s ex-husband—who’s dead on the floor, cold as a frozen muffin!
Suddenly the murder is all anyone is talking about in the small town of Green Meadow, Indiana, and it’s clear the local police detectives have Janie squarely in their sights. But Christy believes in her friend’s innocence and with Milton and Pearl pawing for answers, Christy will stop at nothing to give Janie a happy ending.
“Meow-velous! Ruth Hartman has penned an engaging mystery. Compelling & Clever!”
~ Kings River Life Magazine
“Readers will wish Green Meadow and the people and animals were real so that you could visit!”
~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews
Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.
Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.
Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them. See updates about her cozy mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.
How many hours will people spend watching football between now and February 11?
What questions will they ponder in the next few weeks? What recipes will the create? What books will they read in the pre-Superbowl days?
Let’s have a little fun from a reading point of view. 1992 was the last year the Detroit Lions were in a playoff game. Where were you in 1992? Were you alive in 1992?
Here’s a list of best sellers from 1992.
1992
One of the delightful books for children was The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.
Adults had books like Dolores Claiborne or Gerald’s Game to choose from. Both are by Stephen King.
In the 1990s I read anything by John Grisham, Diane Mott Davidson, and Mary Higgins Clark. Who could resist titles like Catering to Nobody and Dying for Chocolate, both by Diane Mott Davidson.
I’d love to hear what you remember reading in 1992. What are you reading now? Will you watch the Superbowl, and if yes, who will you cheer for?
Thanks for spending time with me. Leave answers in the comment section or tag me on social media. Thanks!
Welcome, Teresa. We’d love to hear your thoughts on your Swinging Sixties Mystery Series.
Part of the fun of writing books that took place in the Sixties is the research. I think different writers have different methods of research, but mine is pretty organic.
For example: My main character Dot is a secretary, and I might write a scene where she begrudgingly gets coffee for her boss. She walks over to the coffee maker….screech….stop. There were no Coffee Makers in the early sixties. There were coffee pots and percolators. Next thing I know, I find myself looking at pictures of percolators and recalling my own mother filling the metal basket with the long silver pole on the bottom. I even recall the sound of the coffee perking. Good to the last drop.
So many things were different back then. Three network channels, hamburger that had to thaw on the counter because there were no microwaves…or slow cookers. Kids played board games or went (dare I say it) outside to play games generating around their own imaginations.
All of this is a part of Dot’s world. Each book that I’ve written in The Swinging Sixties Series have had their own path in research. In Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret, I spent a lot of time listening to music from the year 1964 and trying to create a radio station in a small town. I went into it basing most of my knowledge on watching WKRP in Cincinnati, a sitcom from the 1980s. When I found a retired DJ in my church congregation, I overwhelmed him with questions, not only in general but things going on in the scenes to make them more realistic.
In the first book in the series, The Twist and Shout Murder, Dot is in secretarial school and spends time around her father, a clerk in the courthouse. This was easy for me because I attended secretarial school (and yes, I hated making coffee for the boss) and my father was a bailiff in a small courthouse and played poker with clerk of court at lunch time. I knew about the environment and the relationships with the lawyers who frequented the court.
In the second book, If I Had a Hammer, Dot works for a contractor. That was pretty easy too, because we have family connections for that. Construction equipment during that time was not able to do what it can today, so for the demolition of the rental houses, it was more knocking it down than scooping it up.
All the book titles come out of the top ten list of hit songs for each year. Which means, yes, I pick the title and then write the story.
What was the hit song the year and month you were born? The week I was born, The Drifters were sailing along with “Save the Last Dance for Me.”
In the news, my birth month included the Kennedy/Nixon debates. Pretty appropriate, seeing as I used to judge debates.
How about you, Jackie?
On the day I was born, February 15, 1961, “Calcutta” was the number one song in the United States. However, in the UK, the number one song was “Are You Lonesome Tonight” by Elvis Presley, which is way cooler in my opinion.
In the news, John F. Kennedy was president in 1961, and the Peace Corps was established.
I appreciate the opportunity to talk about my new mystery, Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret. Every character Dot meets has a secret, but can you figure out which one includes murder?
Here is a little more about the book.
Everyone has a secret, and in 1964, Dot Morgan’s new job at KDUD Radio is filled with them. Her boss, Holden Ramsey, is a terrible flirt, but he’s also engaged to a beautiful socialite. When Dot finds out he’s hiding involvements with other women, the hidden facts lead to a grisly murder. Can Dot figure out who is murdering the women in Holden’s life before she finds herself next on the hit parade?
Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret is available on Amazon.
Teresa, it’s been fun having you on the blog. Thanks for your time, and congratulations on Do You Want to Know a Secret!
We all probably carry similar things in our purses, handbags, or whatever we carry.
Kate Sloan, professional organizer, and amateur sleuth in Fox Island, Georgia carries five items that might be unique to her.
Kate carries normal items in her polka dot handbag.
She also carries a tape measure, zipper pouches to keep organized, an envelope for receipts, hand sanitizer, and tape. She doesn’t want the inside of her purse to be cluttered, and these are the primary items she finds help her stay organized.
I’d love for you to share unique items you carry in your purse. Also, if you have suggestions for Kate, send them my way or tag me on social media.
In case you’d like to get to know Kate better, check out Clutter Free.
BACK COVER COPY:
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.
Who’s ready to start a new year? It’s here, and like always, I’m excited. There’s so much hope and promise on January 1. It’s a clean slate. A fresh page. Or as C. S. Lewis says, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
Research suggests less than 10% of resolutions are kept, and most people give up before the end of the month. That’s so sad. Despite the negative feedback, I usually set goals and pick a word for the year.
My word for 2024 is focus. I hope to be more focused on my writing goals and my health.
Whether you make goals or pick a word, I hope 2024 is an amazing year for you.
Yesterday, I heard people talking about Christmas. They are not ready and don’t know what to do. This got me to thinking. Does Kate Sloan, amateur sleuth in Clutter Free, have any tips?
Yes, she does. I hope you find these tips helpful.
Don’t stress over décor. One year my young son asked if we could do a Beanie Baby Christmas tree instead of the normal ornaments. For some reason, I agreed. We put lights on the tree, then we arranged the Beanie Babies, and it turned out to be a fun tree. If you’re feeling stressed this year, maybe you could decorate your tree with favorite books.
Holiday cards can be sent anytime of the year, and if it simplifies your month, why not? Also, ecards are an option.
For those of you who prefer giving experiences, you might buy gift cards to a movie theater, the zoo, a museum, or somewhere else fun. Gift cards can save time wrapping, and it extends the celebration after the actual holiday.
Sticky notes come in handy to keep yourself organized on what gifts are going to whom.
If it’s a hassle to store wrapping paper, tissue paper, and bows, use gift bags. They are easy to store, and they aren’t as bulky as the rolls of gift paper. (Of course, it is fun to create beautifully wrapped presents.)
When it’s time to decorate, you may need to move furniture to make room for your holiday décor. Before unpacking your decorations, declutter and clean.
If you haven’t already done so, label each tote and container. That will make it easier when you put everything away.
Declutter your kitchen. Toss anything that’s expired or that you don’t use. Then go through your Christmas recipes and make your grocery shopping list, so you’ll have all the ingredients you’ll need, and they’ll be fresh.
If you don’t have storage bins for your decorations, buy some that are the same size. Stack them with the heaviest on the bottom, and be sure to label them to make next year easier.
Are you hosting a big meal? Plan your menu and shop for the items. Decorate your table, and plan what bowls and platters will be used. You can use sticky notes on these dishes so you’ll remember your plan on the day of your big event.
Asking others to pitch in by bringing a dish, should give you some extra time to enjoy the holidays or read a book. Instead of baking a wide variety of cookies, have a cookie exchange. It simplifies life, if you only bake one kind of cookie.
If you want this to be the most enjoyable time of the year, do things that make you happy. If you don’t enjoy some of your family traditions, make new traditions and memories. Make notes of the foods your family and friends raved about. Make notes on the games and activities your family enjoyed the most. Make notes of your successes and failures, and that will start paving the way for your next organized holidays. Just don’t forget where you put your notes.
I hope these tips help you enjoy your holiday celebrations. They are supposed to make your life simpler, not more challenging.
Jackie Layton 