Jackie Layton

July 11, 2024July 7, 2024 Jackie Layton

I knew about Kara Lacey, but this spring I got to know Kara when we both attended Malice Domestic. She’s become a friend, and she’s here today to share what she’s thankful for. Here’s Kara.

Last month, I sat down to write the acknowledgements for my debut cozy, which will come out in September. As I started listing people I wanted to thank, it hit me how lucky I’ve been. When I started plotting and drafting nearly five years ago, I was under the false impression that writing a book was a solitary endeavor. How wrong I was!

I am so grateful for all the readers, writers, and friends I’ve met along the way. Whether on social media, in writing groups, Sister in Crime forums, or at conventions, I’ve found mystery readers and writers to be a wonderfully inclusive and supportive group. I’m so grateful for all the help and encouragement everyone has offered along the way. And I’m grateful to have met you at Malice Domestic, last spring. I’m already looking forward to next year!

Aw, thanks Kara. I’m excited about us spending time together next year too. And I’m excited about your new release.

https://karalaceyauthor.com/

Cozy mystery, Texas

Paperback release Texas Style

July 7, 2024 Jackie Layton

A few weeks ago, I shared the fun of having Advanced Readers Copies of Clover Covered Corpse. We traipsed around Asheville, NC with the ARC. When I heard the paperback was released, I ordered a copy for myself and had it shipped to Texas. We just spent a week in Waco, and once again, we had fun taking pictures of the paperback.

The week we were there, the temperatures hovered around 100, BUT when you added the heat index it was closer to 106. Even so, we had fun visiting the golf course, Magnolia, Fabled, Spice Village, Heritage, Common Grounds, and many more places.

It was a great week. Texas has become a special place to me, and I always enjoy my time there. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

I would love for you to tag me on social media with one of my books. There might even be a prize involved. Thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/JackieLaytonAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/jackielaytonauthor.com

Thankful Thursday

4th of July and Thankfulness

July 4, 2024June 22, 2024 Jackie Layton

Whether you say Independence Day or the Fourth of July, it’s the day Americans celebrate the Declaration of Independence and our freedom.

Happy Independence Day wherever you are. I get to enjoy golf cart parades, flyovers by military jets, time on the beach, a cookout, and all this will be followed by fireworks. I hope you are free to celebrate your freedom. I’m thankful to be an American, and I’m thankful for all the people who fought to make this a reality.

Cozy mystery

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

July 1, 2024June 18, 2024 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

June 27, 2024May 21, 2024 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

Uncategorized

Spotlight on the Queen

June 24, 2024June 17, 2024 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

June 20, 2024June 17, 2024 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.

Uncategorized

The Story is Spreading

June 17, 2024June 16, 2024 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

June 13, 2024June 8, 2024 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.