Category: 4 Star

Guest Blog Post

by Jennifer McAndrews

Making notes is not my best skill.  Even when I jot down quick, daily messages to myself like “pick up milk, return library books, mail packages, PUT GAS IN CAR” I often leave the list behind as I head out on my errands — which, as you can imagine, becomes problematic when I run out of gas. It’s no surprise, then, that I keep horrible notes when writing a book.  I’m forever leaving that task until after the book is complete.  This means that while I would enjoy sharing the history of how I created Friday, I have no clear memory.

This is not to say I created Friday the day – I think we all know better – but Friday the kitten. She’s just right there on the cover of Ill-Gotten Panes.  A little white ball of fluff with a smudge of gray between her ears.  That’s Friday.  My main character, Georgia Kelly, finds her early on in the story – minutes after her beloved grandfather is picked up for questioning in relation to a murder.

I knew early on that Georgia would have at least one pet and she had to start somewhere.  And because she’s only recently returned to her childhood home and doesn’t have plans to remain there, maybe I thought a cat would be the best addition.  Should Georgia leave the community town of Wenwood (should she manage to clear her grandfather’s name), Friday would be able to go with her, cats being generally easier than dogs to convince a landlord to allow.

But what about the apparent risk of having a cat tiptoeing around when Georgia creates stained glass boxes/windows/lamps? All those sharp edges and colorful shards might tempt a playful feline.

To answer that concern, I had to look to my own life.  Of the five (yes, five) cats sharing my home, only one has any interest in my glasswork.  Though three years old, she has lost none of her kitten-like curiosity.  When I am working with glass – cutting, breaking, soldering in much the same way (but with nowhere near the skill) my main character Georgia would – Anya takes up residence at the end of the table, eyes wide, tail circling her seated form, and watches my every move.  During this time the senior cats are sleeping, Anya’s litter mat is no doubt plotting a coup, and the youngest is stalking doorways to the outside world, hoping a bug (aka protein snack) might crawl through.  Anya never reaches for the glass, never walks across a work surface or tries to steal any of the pattern pieces or lighter-weight tools.  She merely watches as though learning, and shares her comforting company with me.

So while I don’t have any notes to tell me exactly why I thought Georgia should have a cat, I suspect my own Anya is much of the reason.

About the Author:

Jennifer McAndrews has been writing since the seventh grade and totally refuses to divulge how many years have passed since then. After serving on the newspaper and dabbling in spectacularly bad poetry during high school, she took creative writing classes at Nassau Community College and studied the art of the essay under the tutelage of the incomparable June Jordan while at SUNY Stony Brook. In her professional life, Jennifer has worked in legal, medical, and scientific publishing, but is dedicated to fiction in her private life. She lives in the greater New York Metro area with three dogs, four cats, kids, husband, and dumbo rat called Owen.

How I’m Spending My Summer Vacation

by Laurie Cass

Not so very long ago, I sent my editor the manuscript for the third bookmobile cat book, Borrowed Crime, a full three hours before the deadline.  Hooray!

I celebrated in style by checking some books out of the library and settling in with a healthy quantity of dark chocolate.  After a few days I resurfaced, blinked at the bright shiny world, and said “Hey, I don’t have a book due any time soon.”

Matter of fact, I have months and months until the next one is scheduled for delivery.  For the rest of the summer, I can be a normal person! There will be no need for me to write in the morning before starting the day job.  For a few weeks I won’t have to write during my lunch hour, and I won’t have to spend the summer inside writing when my family and friends are outside playing in the sunshine!

After that blinding realization, I started thinking about all the things that I could do to fill my summer.  There will, of course, be a lot of reading, specifically reading outside.  Reading on the porch, reading in the hammock, reading on the patio, reading on the swing, reading at the beach, etc.

And gardening.  I want to do lots of gardening. Last summer I was so busy writing that I never caught up with either the weeds, the plant-moving, or the trimming and I’m loving a chance to roll up my sleeves, pull on the gardening gloves, and get down to the wonderfully dirty work of gardening.

Plus, not far away, there’s an outstanding new mountain biking trail system that I’ve been wanting to explore.  And there’s waterskiing to do – maybe this will be the summer that I learn to do one-handed turns.  And there are a number of new restaurants in the area whose menus look extremely interesting.  And, once I get the piano tuned, the Maple Leaf Rag is still waiting for me.

Then again, if I don’t have to work on a book for a few weeks, I’ll have time to do all that promotional stuff I’ve wanted to do but never had time.  Last winter, a reader suggested that I create an Eddie bookmark and put it up on my website so people can download and print it at home.  Wonderful idea! And now I have time!

And I’ve also wanted to come up with a paper version of my fictional bookmobile.  Thanks to the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, I have a blank version of the cutest little bookmobile ever – all I have to do is work the graphics onto it.

And I can’t forget the author events I have lined up this summer, which can be great fun.  And I should get going on setting up a template for my e-newsletter.

Plus, there’s some research I’d like to do for future book ideas.  I have a couple of potential plots in mind, but to make sure they’ll actually, you know, make sense, I have to do some delving.

But, hang on.  Maybe it would make more sense to get a head start on the next bookmobile cat book, the books that my husband calls “the Eddie books.” Or…should I try to be more normal this summer?

Such a dilemma. I think there are three conclusions to this:

1. All that stuff is never going to get done. (And I didn’t even mention painting the house.)
2. I’m a writer and should, by now, be used to the idea that I’m never going to be a normal person.
3. I’m okay with both 1) and 2).

About the Author:

Laurie Cass grew up in Michigan and graduated from Eastern Michigan University in the 80’s with a (mostly unused) Bachelor of Science degree in geology. Currently, Laurie and her husband share their house with two cats, the inestimable Eddie, and the adorably cute Sinii. When Laurie isn’t writing, she’s working at her day job, reading, yanking weeds out of her garden, or doing some variety of skiing.

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Jennifer’s Review of Tailing a Tabby

Review (4 Stars):  Tailing a Tabby is an enjoyable fun mystery and I love that Minnie’s job is to drive the bookmobile all around the community.  Libraries mean a lot to me and I remember visiting our bookmobile as a child because the local library was too far for us to go to on a regular basis. Minnie is an adorable character that is sweet and spunky and I love her cat, Eddie.  Some of the scenes with Eddie are so cute and I can understand why he is such a hit with the bookmobile patrons.

Tailing a Tabby is the second book in the Bookmobile Cat mystery series and Ms. Cass has a delightful writing style that makes it easy for you to become involved in the story and you don’t have to read them in order to follow along. I’m looking forward to reading more of Minnie’s adventures with her adorable cat in the future and this reminds me that I need to thank a librarian for helping me discover the joys of reading at an early age.

Another Weekend, Another Festival – and Another Body

by Leslie Budewitz

“Gourmet food market owner Erin Murphy is determined to get Jewel Bay, Montana’s scrumptious local fare some national attention.  But her scheme for culinary celebrity goes up in flames when the town’s big break is interrupted by murder…”

Thanks to the Books-n-Kisses crew for welcoming me here today, to share a bit about Crime Rib, the second book in my Food Lover’s Village Mysteries.

Out here in western Montana, summers are short and intense–and in every corner of the state, we celebrate.  The Festival of Nations. Mule Days, Homesteader Days, Buzzard Days–honoring ‘nature’s cleaners’. The Strawberry Festival. Rendezvous Days.  Pow Wows.  Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts.  Dog and Grog, celebrating hot dogs and cold beer.  Lewis & Clark Reenactments.  Music festivals: jazz, bluegrass, Celtic, guitar, Mozart, and more.  And on and on–not to mention Huckleberry Days in half a dozen towns, celebrating the tart, purple jewels Montanans fight the bears for every August.

As if there weren’t enough festivals, in Death al Dente, the first book in the series, Erin Murphy invents another, the Festa di Pasta.  After a decade in Seattle, she returns to her hometown, Jewel Bay, Montana, to take over the Merc, her family’s century-old general store, and turn it into a market filled with local foods and treats.  A weekend celebrating Italian food, with music in the streets and fun and games for all ages, seems like the perfect summer kickoff.  But when the former manager is found dead in the alley on opening night and her mother is accused of murder, Erin dives in to save both her family and the store.  She succeeds, but not before confronting a chef bent on keeping his past a secret, challenging her old friend, now the local sheriff’s detective, and rescuing her new boyfriend and her shop assistant from permanent cold storage.

So in Crime Rib, she’s not going to take charge of anything.  She’ll help–the tiny, unincorporated town would be nothing without its volunteers, and the Murphys have always been among the first to raise their hands.  But she’s just going to enjoy the 35th Annual Summer Art and Food Festival.  Sure, she’ll be scouting for new vendors for the Merc.  She’ll drool over the paintings and pottery–maybe even pick up a piece or two.  She’ll be glad to assist the crew of the TV show Food Preneurs, in town to film the event and give the local fare some national attention.  And she’ll eat her fill at the Grill-off, the friendly competition to see which village chef serves up the best steak.

But when the show’s producer is killed in a hit-and-run, Erin is drafted to step in.  Then one of the contestants is attacked and dies.  To keep the town’s reputation from crashing and burning on national TV, Erin must grill a few suspects to smoke out the killer.

I’ve always loved the annual Festival of the Arts in my community.  It’s a feast for the eyes, a chance to soak up art and music in the warm sunshine by the lake, to see old friends and meet new ones.  To find a shiny bracelet, sparkling earrings, a hand-carved gourd, or a cattail basket with an antler handle, decorated with tiny seed pods and bits of pale green moss plucked from old growth spruce.  To pick up braided sweetgrass, used as ceremonial incense by the local tribes, and soaps scented with wild-crafted herbs.  To discover new taste treats–there are no calories on Festival days.  And like Erin, I think there’s little better than strolling down the main street crammed with art and artists, licking a cone filled with Chocolate Heaven ice cream.

Last summer, I participated in the Festival as an artist for the first time.  What a treat to share a glorious summer day with hundreds of art lovers.  To tell them the origins of the book, why I set it here and what I had to change.  To inscribe their names in my books and wish them a great visit to Jewel Bay, a place that exists only on the page–and in the heart.  To see the smiles on their faces as they carried off their souvenirs, and to wave at them when they strolled past at the end of the day, already fast friends.  To chat with other artists, see their wares, and hear their stories.  It’s hot and exhausting.  My hand hurt from signing and my cheeks ached from grinning.  And I can hardly wait to go back this August.

Turns out, Erin’s right. The best part of a festival is not the art or the ice cream, but the people.  The smiles on their faces and the spark in their eyes.  I hope you’ll join me at this year’s festival–on the village streets, and on the pages of Crime Rib.

About the Author:

Leslie Budewitz is the national best-selling author of Death al Dente, first in the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries set in northwest Montana, and winner of the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Crime Rib, the second in the series, was published by Berkley Prime Crime on July 1, 2014. Also a lawyer, Leslie won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction for Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure (Quill Driver Books), making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. For more stories of life in the wilds of northwest Montana, and bonus recipes, visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter.

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Gourmet food market owner Erin Murphy is determined to get Jewel Bay, Montana’s, scrumptious local fare some national attention. But her scheme for culinary celebrity goes up in flames when the town’s big break is interrupted by murder . . .

Food Preneurs, one of the hottest cooking shows on TV, has decided to feature Jewel Bay in an upcoming episode, and everyone in town is preparing for their close-ups, including the crew at the Glacier Mercantile, aka the Merc. Not only is Erin busy remodeling her courtyard into a relaxing dining area, she’s organizing a steak-cooking competition between three of Jewel Bay’s hottest chefs to be featured on the program.

But Erin’s plans get scorched when one of the contending cooks is found dead. With all the drama going on behind the scenes, it’s hard to figure out who didn’t have a motive to off the saucy contestant. Now, to keep the town’s reputation from crashing and burning on national television, Erin will have to grill some suspects to smoke out the killer . . .

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Jennifer’s Review of Crime Rib

Review (4.5 Stars): The little town of Jewel Bay, Montana is preparing for the 35th Annual Summer Art and Food Festival and enjoying the national attention by the TV show, Food Preneurs, who is filming a cooking competition for a future episode.  During the planning stages of the competition, the producer of the show becomes a victim of a hit and run and it is up to Erin to take over as her replacement.  Determined to keep everything running smoothly while balancing the duties of the Merc, Erin does her best to organize the cooking competition but a killer has other ideas for this event.  Erin must now try to find the killer before Jewel Bay becomes known for something other than its great gourmet food.

This is the second book in the Food Lovers’ Village Mystery series and I have come to love the town and inhabitants of Jewel Bay, Montana.  Erin is a sweet character that always seems to find a dead body after moving back home to help run her family’s market.  I like her personality and she is someone that you can instantly connect with.  I also love that she has a great relationship with her family and the rest of this lovely community.  The mystery is well-written and will keeping you guessing until the final reveal.  I love culinary mysteries and Crime Rib talked so much about wonderful food that it made me hungry all the time that I was reading it. 🙂  Crime Rib is a savory addition to a great series that will have you craving more from this talented author.  I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see what Erin is up to next.

Muffins: the Cupcake’s Underappreciated Sister

by Victoria Hamilton

If muffins and cupcakes were characters in a book, they would be the Misses Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  For those who are not Janeites, a brief explanation is in order.  Elinor Dashwood is the ‘Sense’ of the title, while Marianne Dashwood, her younger sister, is the ‘Sensibility’, a word out of favor now but meant to describe someone who is all feeling and showy emotion.

How does that apply to baked goods? Cupcakes are the darling of the media nowadays.  Just look at the TV shows dedicated to them: Cupcake Wars, DC Cupcakes, The Cupcake Girls.  Cupcakes are showy, flamboyant, pretty and much adored.  Muffins…not so much.  Muffins come in sensible flavors like Bran and Banana, and the showiest they get is to be called Morning Glory Muffins, which is a fancy way of saying they have a lot of ingredients that are good for you.  Muffins are wholesome and homely.

But delicious! And simple to make, and bursting with flavor.

I’ve never made cupcakes.  That many empty calories just isn’t my thing.  But muffins…they have always been my go-to baked good.

In Bran New Death, Book #1 of the Merry Muffin Mysteries, my protagonist, Merry Wynter, describing the difference between muffins and cupcakes, has a conversation with Jack McGill, the real estate agent who is trying to help her sell her castle.

Merry says: “It’s easy. Most people think that if it’s frosted or iced, then it’s a cupcake, but that’s not so.  Some muffins can be frosted too.  Instead, think of the difference between a banana cake and a loaf of banana bread.”

“Okay,” he (Jack) said. “I got that.”

“Well, with the batter of a banana cake, you can make cupcakes, and with the batter for banana bread, you can make banana muffins.  You can do the same with any cake batter or quick bread batter.”

“Ah!” he said, his eyes lighting up. “Cakes are to cupcakes as, uh, what did you call it?”

“Quick bread,” Shilo, (Merry’s friend) who had not gone to feed Magic, (her bunny) filled in.

“Right…cakes are to cupcakes as quick breads are to muffins!”

And Merry is right on…of course, I wrote her that way! She manages to carve out a baking niche for herself in Autumn Vale, New York, supplementing her dwindling finances by supplying muffins to the baked good craving population of the town.

So…if you don’t bake, or are intimidated by all those showy frosted cupcakes, give muffin baking a try!  I guarantee, you won’t be disappointed.  Who needs icing when the muffin itself has so much flavor?

And you can start when you get Muffin But Murder, Book #2 of the Merry Muffin Mysteries, because I give you a killer recipe for muffins Fit For The King…I’ll leave you to discover what that means, but they are delicious!

About the Author:

Victoria Hamilton, nationally bestselling author of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series, is the pseudonym of Donna Lea Simpson, bestselling author of romance and historical mystery novels.

Victoria started reading mystery novels at the age of 12 and devoured Agatha Christie mysteries, as well as those of Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh.  She still adores mysteries, especially the cozy mysteries of Janet Bolin, Krista Davis, and others.

She loves to cook, and collects teapots and teacups, as well as vintage kitchen utensils and bowls. She also enjoys crafts, especially cross-stitching and crocheting, and spends summer days in the garden, drinking tea or wine.  Besides the Merry Muffin Mystery series, Victoria writes two other mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series (Book 4, No Mallets Intended debuts November 4th) and the Teapot Collector Mystery series which debuted with Tempest in a Teapot, in June 2014.

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Muffin maker Merry Wynter hopes to find a buyer for the castle she’s recently inherited. But when she throws a party to draw interest, she finds someone who’s bought the farm instead…

Merry’s career as a New York City stylist has crumbled, but her passion for muffins has helped her rise upstate in Autumn Vale. Everyone in town loves the tasty treats. Still, she would like to return to her glamorous life. Besides, the upkeep of Wynter Castle is expensive, and Merry’s cup isn’t exactly overflowing.

So in order to bring some prospective buyers into the mix, Merry whisks together a spooky soiree and decorates the castle with dashes of fabric and a sprinkling of spider webs. Friends new and old are invited, and everyone has a blast. But as the revelers empty out, Merry notices one partygoer who isn’t leaving—or breathing. Now Merry must hurry to unmask a killer before her perfect plans turn into a recipe for disaster…

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Jennifer’s Review of Muffin But Murder

Review (4.5 Stars): This is the second book in the Merry Muffin series and I loved the second installment much better than the first.  This time around, Merry is throwing an extravagent Halloween party to showcase Wynter Castle for prospective buyers.  Everything is going according to plan except for a few uninvited guests and the fact that she finds a dead body in the coffin that she had on display.  Now, Merry must help find the killer to clear a friend’s name and prevent the Wynter Castle from getting a deadly reputation to prospective buyers.

Muffin But Murder had me hooked from the very beginning and I finished this book in one afternoon.  Merry is definitely growing on me as I follow her adventures while she is settling down in Autumn Vale.  I liked her personality and the determination to make things work out in her life even when things were definitely not going the way that she wanted them to.  The mystery aspect was very entertaining and I was having a difficult time putting all the clues together to figure out who was the killer in this one.  Ms. Hamilton has created another delightful mystery with Muffin But Murder and I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen next with Merry and her friends in Autumn Vale.