Blog Tour & Giveaway: Murder, Simply Stitched by Isabella Alan

Today I have Isabella Alan here to talk about her new mystery, Murder Simply Stitched, which is about an Amish Quilt Shop.  I enjoyed this mystery with its great cast of characters and I hope you will too.  Take it away, Isabella.

Publisher’s Punch List

by Isabella Alan

Way back in 2011, I received a call from my literary agent. “Penguin is looking for an established cozy mystery author to write a series about an Amish Quilt Shop.  There are some requirements. They want the author to know Amish people and be from Ohio.  You are the only option.”

It turns out, she was right.  If the publisher wanted to fill its punch list for the perfect author of the series, it was me.  I had already published cozies under my real name “Amanda Flower.” I’m an Ohioana, and I know Amish people.  In 2011, I was the only author who hit all the criteria.  I drafted a writing sample, it passed the muster, and I got the series.

I appreciated the publisher was specific as to what it wanted.  Not just because it gave me another opportunity to write but because it showed me they cared about their books being authentic.  They wanted the author to know Ohio.  I know Ohio.  I’ve lived in the state my entire life and have no intention of moving.  One constant that can be found in all my series–beside someone dying, they are mysteries after all–is they are set in the Buckeye State.  I probably know Ohio better than many of my fellow Ohioans.  I find its history fascinating and even worked at a living history museum one summer.  Part of the job was being well versed in Ohio history.  I had to study it, so I could “convincingly” spout off facts to visitors.  No, I did not wear period dress…all the time.

The publisher wanted the Amish elements in the story to be true, not just to the general Amish culture, but to Ohio’s Amish culture, which is different than the Amish found in different parts of the country.  I could do that.  In addition to being an author, I am a college librarian.  Right after graduate school, I searched and searched for a librarian job.  It wasn’t easy.  Finally, I got one offer.  It was to be a cataloger for a small university library in the middle of Ohio’s Amish country about two hours from where I grew up. I took it. While I lived in the small town, I saw and interacted with Amish on a regular basis, but it never occurred to me that I could write a mystery someday based around Amish characters.

Thankfully, Penguin didn’t include the ability to hand quilt as one of the criteria for the perfect author because I would have failed the test.  I have made a few quilts on a sewing machine but never by hand. However, since I’m a librarian and want to research everything to death, I took hand quilting lessons before I wrote the first book in the series, Murder, Plain and Simple. My teacher said I wasn’t “naturally gifted” in quilting, and a few of my sad attempts at hand quilting are best tucked away in my closet.  Shhh, don’t tell my publisher.

Isabella Alan is celebrating the release of Murder, Simply Stitched with a special giveaway!

Enter to Win an Amish Charm Bracelet from author Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower)! Click here to Enter!

About the Author:

Isabella Alan is the pseudonym for Amanda Flower.  Amanda Flower, an Agatha-nominated mystery author, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel.  She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words.  Her debut mystery, Maid of Murder, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel, and her children’s mystery, Andi Unexpected, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best Children’s/YA.  Amanda is an academic librarian for a small college near Cleveland.

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When Angela Braddock enters her quilts in an Amish auction, she never expects one of her neighbors to end up going, going, gone….

Angie is finding her niche as the new owner of her late aunt’s Amish quilt shop, Running Stitch. But as the summer is winding down, so is business. To bolster support for the shop, Angie decides to sell her quilts in the Rolling Brook Amish Auction, including some of her aunt’s most prized works.

The quilts promise to be a hit—but the gavel comes down on the lively event when Angie stumbles upon the body of township trustee Wanda Hunt behind a canning shed. The cause of death: a poisoned blueberry fry pie from Rachel Miller’s bakery table. Now Angie’s closest friend is a murder suspect. With Angie taking the lead, she and the other women of her aunt’s quilting circle set out to patch together the clues and stop a killer set on shredding the simple peace of Rolling Brook.

Amazon/B&N

Jennifer’s Review of Murder, Simply Stitched

Review (4.5 Stars):  I have been a big fan of this author’s India Hayes mystery series for quite some time and I was very excited to read her new Amish Quilt Shop series.  I instantly connected with the main character, Angie, and enjoyed her experiences living in an Amish community while trying to run her quilt shop, Running Stitch.  It was very interesting learning about the Amish community and I loved how the mystery took off right from the very beginning.  Ms. Alan has created an absolute gem with Murder, Simply Stitched and I know that other readers will enjoy this series just as much as I have.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Murder, Simply Stitched. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by June 6th, please leave a comment or question for Ms. Alan: