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Books I Read

Before joining Goodreads, I didn’t have a great way to track books I’ve read. It’s fun to see what I’ve read and chat with other readers.

My goal for 2021 was to read 40 books, and I read 42 books. Yay! Here are a few fun facts gathered by Goodreads.

The most popular book I read was aslo shelved by 117,163people.

Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers was the highest rated book I read on Goodreads.
This was the least popular book I read in 2021, but it had a lot of fun information.

I mostly read mysteries, and that didn’t surprise me. It was fun to be reminded what I read last year. I encourage you to join Goodreads if you haven’t already. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s the link if you’re curious to see what all I read last year. https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2021/18377205?utm_source=twitter

Happy 2022! I hope you have a great year, and I hope you read lots of good books!

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Magical Gingerbread

Who could possibly do magical gingerbread better than Disney.

My sweet daughter-in-law, Amanda Sturdevant, is here to share a little about Disney and gingerbread.

Amanda Sturdevant aka magicalmemoriesky on Instagram
Walt Disney World has a display on Constructing and decorating gingerbread houses at The Grand Floridian.

Amanda said that there are life size houses and they smelled delicious.

Lifesize gingerbread houses? Can there be anything more magical? Well, yes! Because it’s Disney World.

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Gilbert’s Gingerbread Cookies

Some of you may know Gilbert’s is my favorite ice cream shop. We stopped by and discovered they have gingerbread cookies too.

I bought a soft one with powder sugar sprinkled on top. Not only is it pretty, it tastes great!

I also ordered another cookie that’s firmer and decorated like a turtle dove (I think). It’s also pretty and tasty.

After my trip to Gilbert’s, I’m excited about my great gingerbread cookie hunt.

Have a great day!

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Gingerbread Cookies

One of the many things I love about Christmas is being able to find gingerbread cookies. I began looking for cookies the week before Christmas. It turns out the bakeries I tried before Thanksgiving have not started baking gingerbread cookies. I looked in South Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma. No luck.

The first place I thought I had luck was a trick.

Aren’t they adorable?

Instead of chocolate covered cookies, these are solid chocolate. Delicious? Yes. But they were not gingerbread cookies.

Next attempt was at a botique grocery store.

Again, it’s cute. Unfortunately it was dry and there was no flavor of gingerbread.

So, the hunt continues. I’d love to for you to share you Christmas cookie stories and pictures.

Until next time, happy holidays.

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#12DaysofCozies

Happy December. There’s a lot to celebrate this month, and we’re starting with the 12 Days of Cozies.

Today I’m co-hosting reading sprints on Twitter at 5:00 EST. You can find me @joyfuljel .

Then at 8:00 it’s time for a live chat. I’d love to see you there. Plus, there are opportunities to win prizes! Different authors host each day, and it’ll be a lot of fun. Hope to see you there!

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Fun November News

I’m excited to share with you I’m part of a cookbook coming out Tuesday, November 16. I share a family favorite recipe that Andi Grace makes in the upcoming fourth book of A Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series.

I’ll share links as they become available.

Also on November 16, I’m part of a Facebook party. It takes place from 8:00-9:00 PM EST. We’ll be celebrating new books by Sarah Burr and Carol Ayer. I’ll be there as well as other authors, and we’ll be giving away prizes! If you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll be able to stop by.

I appreciate all of you. Happy November!

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Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers

Congratulations to Heather Weidner on Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers. The title is so cute, and the story is great.

Here’s my quick review of Heather’s newest book.

Jules Keene is focused on her vintage trailer camping resort. Her priorites shift when a dead guest is discovered in the woods and her aunt is questioned by the authorities. Jules decides to help catch the killer, but she already has a full plate. Now Jules must stop the culprit, keep her guests satisfied, grow her business, run for president of the town’s business council, and stay alive when the bad guys come after her. This book is a joy to read.

Here’s the blurb:

There is nothing like finding a dead body, clad only in a red satin thong, on your property to jolt you from a quiet routine. Jules Keene, owner of the posh Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is thrust into the world of the Dark Web when one of her guests, Ira Perkins, is found murdered in the woods near her vintage trailers. Jules quickly discovers that the man who claimed to be on a writing retreat was not what he seemed, and someone will go to any length to find what he left at her resort. Jules, along with her Jack Russell Terrier sidekick Bijou, has to put the rest of the missing pieces of a blackmailing scheme together before her business is ruined.

Jules’s resort, set in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville in the quaint town of Fern Valley, offers guests a unique vacation in refurbished and upcycled vintage trailers. Hoping to expand her offerings, she partners with her maintenance/security guy to create a village of tiny houses, the latest home DIY craze, but a second murder of a reporter interrupts Jules’s expansion plans. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she steps up her sleuthing to find out what Ira Perkins was really up to and what he was really hiding at her resort.

If you’re interested in reading Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers, here are the links:

Book Links:

Apple Books: ‎Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers on Apple Books

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GGBFWT5

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Trailers-Blackmailers-Heather-Weidner/dp/1685120369

Barnes and Noble: Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers by Heather Weidner, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)

Booktopia: Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers eBook by Heather Weidner | 9781685120375 | Booktopia

FNAC: Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers – Dernier livre de Heather Weidner – Précommande & date de sortie | fnac

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/vintage-trailers-and-blackmailers

Thalia: Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers von Heather Weidner – eBook | Thalia

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Georgiana Daniels Crumb & Punishment

I’m excited to welcome Georgiana Daniels today.

Georgiana and I became friends in 2020.

Georgiana, tell us something you love about where you live.

Thank you for hosting me today, Jackie! It’s always fun to hang out with you.

If only I lived near the beach, like you! Instead, we live among the brambles and tumbleweeds in Arizona. Ha—okay, it’s not really that bad. We’re in central AZ where we have a nice variety—sunshine, rain, and snow. Still, I’d love to live near the beach where I could bob in the waves on weekends.

As for me, I’m a writer, homeschooling mom, and master of library and information science student. I will finally graduate with my master’s in December! It’s been a wild ride. Thankfully, I have a patient husband, and three daughters who are super understanding while I attempt to spin one too many plates.

Share with us about your book and of course we’d love to see the back cover blurb.

Crumb and Punishment is book 2 in the KC Crumb Mysteries, though you don’t have to read book 1 to have fun with this one. I loved writing about KC and her posse as they try to find the killer! These ladies are a hoot!

KC is a former social media manager who moves back to her hometown when she loses her job and her boyfriend at the same time. In book 1, Crumbs of Passion, she finds the dead body of her ex in her rental and must clear her own name. In book 2, KC and the gang need to clear the name of their friend.

Back Cover:

A granny, a gunshot, and a bingo game gone bad…

After an altercation at the Beaver Bluff Senior Center, a local busybody and philanthropist winds up face first in a hot fudge sundae at Yum Yum’s Ice Cream Shop. Reluctant sleuth and social media maven KC Crumb and her posse are on the scene, ready to clear their friend Walter’s name and save his shop—until they discover a secret link to the victim in the ice cream peddler’s past.

When suspicions mount, the gang from Crumb’s Bakery starts to turn on each other. And when hunky officer Antonio Hamson gets involved, it’s anyone’s guess who will be next behind bars. As the clock counts down, can KC and her pals solve the murder? Or will they find themselves in the ice cream killer’s crosshairs?

Did you do any fun research?

I could stretch the truth and say I needed to research ice cream flavors and cupcake frosting for some of the scenes, but alas, I’m already an expert.

What I’m not an expert in is knives, so that’s where I did a bit of research. Then I took what I’d found out and had the most outspoken person in KC’s posse (Polly) clue the gang in when they found a knife stuck to the door. Polly cracks me up, because she just says what she thinks, constantly shocking her pals (and me!)

What was the most interesting fact you discovered while writing?

Bingo cards have a specific numbering…who knew? LOL!

Every part of the writing and creative process is interesting to me. If someone were to see my browser history, they might just think I’m nutty (or scary, maybe both, ha!) I just had a blast writing this book and introducing some new characters to the crew, including a few new furry friends.

Now I’m working on plotting book 3, A Crummy Way to Die. I’m looking forward to more murder, mystery, and fun!

Thank you for hosting me today! I enjoyed hanging out with you. You can always find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Bookbub!

Bio:

Georgiana Daniels is an author, homeschooling mom, and master’s degree student. “Busy” is her middle name, but if she finds a nugget of free time she enjoys knitting, reading, and fumbling around on the piano to the dismay of others. Though previously published in romance and women’s fiction, she’s dipping an anxious toe into cozy mysteries—because murder and mayhem are so much fun!

Crumb and Punishment link:

Georgiana, thanks so much for taking time to visit with us today.

Friends, I’ve started reading Crumb and Punishment, and it’s a delight.