Blog Tour & Giveaway: Thread End by Amanda Lee

I’m so excited to welcome Amanda Lee to Books-n-Kisses today.  I love her Embroidery Mystery series and I am excited that she is here to talk about her new release, Thread End.

1. Tell me about your new release.

In Thread End, Marcy is about to have the rug pulled out from under her,  She can’t wait to see the new exhibit at the Tallulah Falls museum on antique tapestries and textiles, including the beautiful kilim rugs.  But her enthusiasm quickly turns to alarm when, the day after the exhibition opens, she discovers a dead body behind her store, the Seven-Year Stitch, wrapped in a most unusual fashion.  Also, readers will get to meet Ted’s mother for the first time! 🙂

2. Where did you come up with the idea for the series?

Actually, the idea for the series was my editor Jessica Wade’s.  She said she’d love an embroidery series set on the Oregon Coast and gave me some of the details she wanted in place, and I went with it.  From there, the series has pretty much taken on a life of its own!

3. What inspired you to write mysteries?

I’ve always loved mysteries.  I read the Secret Seven, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden series when I was young, and then I graduated to many of today’s greats (too many faves to mention them all by name). I think it’s such fun to put all the pieces of the puzzle into place and to come up with various scenarios that would lead more than one person to want the victim out of the way.  “What if…?” and “Why..?” are some of the juiciest questions to answer.

4. What is the most interesting/strange thing you had to research for your book?

For this particular book, I was researching the types of museum exhibits I might find in an Oregon coast museum.  Since I’m on the east coast, I started out with online galleries from actual museums.  Then I searched for prominent Oregonians who might’ve lived near our fictional Tallulah Falls.  I found a toymaker named A.C. Gilbert who was most famous for inventing the erector set.  However, he also invented and sold (very briefly) the U-238 Atomic Energy Lab in the early 1950s.  It came with three low-level radioactive sources, a Geiger counter, and a book that explained uranium prospecting.  The government offered kids a ten-thousand-dollar-prize if they could successfully mine uranium!  And we think some of our kids’ toys are dangerous!

5. What are you working on now?

I’ve just sent the first draft of Wicked Stitch, the next book in the embroidery mystery series, to my editor.  In Wicked Stitch, Marcy and the gang participate in a Renaissance Faire.  I’m also working on a new novella in the Myrtle Crumb mystery series written under the name Gayle Trent.  The novella is titled Soup..er…Myrtle and the story focuses on Myrtle’s attempt to discover who’s stealing people’s identities at the soup kitchen where she’s volunteering.

6. Are there any authors or books that have influenced you to become a writer?

I would say Victoria Holt and Mary Higgins Clark.  I read them both growing up, and they simply enchanted me with the stories they wove.

7. Favorite TV show guilty pleasure?

I have to admit to having more than one.  I enjoy Rizzoli and Isles, Justified, Bates Motel, Psych, Perception, Reign, Once Upon a Time, Grimm…

8. Last book that you read?

I’m currently reading Bare it All by Lori Foster, Upstairs at the White House, by J.B. West, and Welcome to Your Brain, by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang.

9. Favorite food/drink while writing?

Diet Coke! 🙂

About the Author:

Amanda Lee, also writing as Gayle Trent, is a full-time writer living with her family in Southwest Virginia. She writes the embroidery mystery series as Amanda Lee and writes the cake decorating series and the Myrtle Crumb series as Gayle Trent.

Website/Twitter/Facebook

Jennifer’s Review of Thread End

Review (4.5): This is a delightful mystery series that will keep you entertained by all its plot twists and snappy dialogue.  Thread End is the seventh book in the series and each new book seems to be better than its predecessor. In this one, Marcy is excited to see the new textile exhibit at the Tallulah Falls Museum and after the grand opening, she finds a body behind her shop wrapped in a textile rug from the exhibit.  Now, she must investigate the clues and find the killer before they take another victim.

I love this series because each mystery is well-written and fast-paced which makes it easy to follow along even if you haven’t read the rest of the series.  Marcy is a great character that you can instantly connect to and I enjoyed following her on this textile mystery.  Thread End is a great addition to a wonderful cozy series and I’m looking forward to reading Wicked Stitch.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Thread End. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by June 10th, leave a question or comment below for Amanda: