Blog Tour & Giveaway: Hot Fudge Frame-Up by Christine DeSmet

Guest blogger: Christine DeSmet, author of Hot Fudge Frame-Up, the second book in the new Fudge Shop Mystery series.

Ava is gearing up for the First Annual Fudge Festival –a huge celebration that could draw national attention to her old-fashioned fudge shop in Door County, Wisconsin–known at the “Cape Cod of the Midwest.” She’s invited two celebrity chefs to go head-t0-head with her in a fudge contest.  Everyone is having a tasty time…until a judge for the festival is found dead.

Ava Oosterling and her grandfather, Gil, run Oosterlings’ Live Bait, Bobbers & Belgian Fudge & Beer on the docks of Lake Michigan in fictional Fisher’s Harbor, Wisconsin.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Ava and “Gilpa,” as she calls her grandpa Gil.

Kisses definitely get Ava in trouble in her life.

Ava has returned to this tourist area and her home territory after a stint working for a TV show in Los Angeles for eight years.  Her self-imposed exile in LA followed her embarrassing mistake of eloping with a man who was married to two other women at the same time.  Oops! She’s determined to become a new person by creating her quaint Fairy Tale line of fudge.  But men keep coming out of the woodwork, as the saying goes, wanting to take this Cinderella to the fudge festival ball.

In Hot Fudge Frame-Up, Ava and her grandmother discover the secret to attracting men and kisses.  It starts with cherry-vanilla fudge, of course, but then proceeds with a few other tricks my readers may have found worked with men, too.  I can’t give it all away, of course, but I believe you’ll find a tickle or two as you read about the connections among love, fudge, hugs, and kisses.

Door County is a unique and intriguing setting for a cozy mystery series.  Like Cape Cod, the county is a peninsula jutting out into a large body of water.  There are picturesque beaches and beautiful vistas overlooking the water and much to do, including hiking, swimming, golf, outdoor theater, music venues, art shops and retreats, dining vineyards to visit and more.  The county is also known as the playground for Chicago’s rich, since it’s only about a three-hour drive away along the Lake Michigan coastline.

Door County has 11 lighthouses and shipping lights, and the real Eagle Bluff Lighthouse plays prominently in this new book.  Coinciding with the publication of Hot Fudge Frame-Up, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival Association chose the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse as “Lighthouse of the Year.”  The structure is open to the public and retains many of the furnishings from one of the lighthouse keepers, and is definitely worth the small fee to take the tour.

One more unique thing about Door County is that it and the nearby counties have the largest rural population of Belgians in the country.  Ava and her family are Belgians; her parents run the farm where Ava gets her organic cream and butter to make her luscious fudge.

Belgians  settled into the county in the 1850s, back when the United States advertised in Europe for farmers, fisherman, and forestry workers.  Land sold for $1.25 an acre.  Belgians are known for their yummy pies and love of pets, gardens with loads of flowers, neat lawns, and community gatherings.  And of course they also deal in the world’s finest lace, diamonds, beer, and chocolate.

You’ll get to taste Ava’s scrumptious Cinderella Pink Fairy Tale Fudge and many other flavors developed in her copper kettles as you read the pages of my series.  Each book contains a new fairy tale recipe plus other recipes, and tips about fudge making.

In addition, Hot Fudge Frame-Up contains a Belgian booyah recipe I got on my Door County travels.  I stopped at a kermis–a Belgian harvest festival–and the delectable chicken stew was being stirred over an outdoor fire in a pot that fed 100 people.  My book also gives you a version for 12.

Another thing to know about Belgians–they can be stubborn as well as good problem solvers, which makes Ava a perfect new “Hercule Poirot” (another Belgian!) for our contemporary times.

And what about those kisses? Who among the many men vying for her attention will end up getting the first dance with Ava at the upcoming First Fishers’ Harbor Fudge Festival?

Thank you for visiting this blog.  I hope you enjoy my latest mystery book.

About the Author:

Christine DeSmet is the author of the Fudge Shop Mystery Series.  Book 1, First-Degree Fudge, spent 10 weeks on the Barnes & Noble mystery bestseller list when it debuted in September 2013.  Christine is a past winner of the Golden Heart Award from Romance Writers of America, and a past winner of the Slamdance Film Festival writing contest with a screenplay that optioned to New Line Cinema.  Her other publications include short stories, and the novel Spirit Lake, a romantic suspense from Hard Shell Word Factory.  Christine is a writing teacher at University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies where she directs the “Write-by-the-Lake Writer’s Retreat” every June in Madison.  She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America, Writers Guild of America, and Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum.  Find out more at www.christinedesmet.com

Candy shop owner Ava Oosterling mixes it up with a fudge judge with a grudge—who loses his life before he can pick a winner….

Ava is gearing up for the First Annual Arts Festival—a huge celebration that could draw national attention to her old-fashioned fudge shop in Door County, Wisconsin. She’s invited two celebrity chefs to go head-to-head with her in a fudge contest. Everyone is having a tasty time…until a judge for the festival is found dead.

To her shock, he’d been complaining around town that her Fairy Tale fudge flavors were…well, fudged. Now the sheriff is wondering if Ava fits the mold for a murder suspect. As Ava tries to square her reputation and find the real killer, she’s in for a whole batch of trouble….

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Jennifer’s Review of Hot Fudge Frame-Up

Review (4.25 Stars): Ava is getting ready for the First Annual Arts Festival in Door County which will feature her and two other contestants in a not so friendly fudge contest.  Ava soon finds that her other competitors are at each others’ throats and someone is threatening the judges to throw the contest.  When one of the judges is found dead, everyone becomes a suspect and Ava finds herself in the middle of another mystery where she may be the killer’s next target.

I love culinary mysteries and this book seems to have everything.  A deliciously light-hearted mystery, a love triangle with hot guys and of course, yummy fudge.  Ava was a great character because she admits that she has made mistakes in her life in regards to love and isn’t actively “pursuing” a relationship with anyone.  She just wants to focus on making her fudge business a success and get her life back on track.  I also love the small town atmosphere in these books with Ava and the other characters in her life.

I definitely liked this book better than the first one, First Degree Fudge, because I felt that I could actually connect with Ava compared to the first one. The mystery had quite a few plot twists and I had a difficult time trying to figure out who was the killer among this crazy group.   Hot Fudge Frame-Up is a delightfully decadent addition to the series and I’m looking forward to reading more about Ava and her adventures in Door County, Wisconsin in the near future.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Hot Fudge Frame-Up. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by June 5th, answer me this question in the comments:

What is your favorite candy?