Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Blog Tour- Fit to be Dead by Nancy G. West

I am excited to have with us today Nancy G. West. Nancy is the author of Fit to be Dead! It was released on July 24, 2014 and I enjoyed it! Welcome Nancy, so great to have you here today.
fit to be dead  large banner 640

Fit To Be Dead
by Nancy G. West

I enjoyed Fit to be Dead. It’s a quick and easy read that keeps the reader engaged from for the first page. There is humor, sadness, suspense, and tragedy – a little something for everyone who loves a good cozy mystery.
~Sapphyria’s Book Reviews
22844297Fit To Be Dead
(An Aggie Mundeen Mystery Book 1)

E-Book File Size: 477 KB
Publisher: Henery Press (July 24, 2014)
ASIN: B00M4KIX44
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Henery Press(July 29, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-1940976372
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Synopsis
Aggie Mundeen, single and pushing forty, fears nothing but middle age. When she moves from Chicago to San Antonio, she decides she better shape up before anybody discovers she writes the column, “Stay Young with Aggie.” She takes Aspects of Aging at University of the Holy Trinity and plunges into exercise at Fit and Firm.
Rusty at flirting and mechanically inept, she irritates a slew of male exercisers, then stumbles into murder. She’d like to impress the attractive detective with her sleuthing skills. But when the killer comes after her, the health club evacuates semi-clad patrons, and the detective has to stall his investigation to save Aggie’s derriere.
My review: 
This whodunit will get you up and moving to the beat! With great characters and a story line that will keep you wanting to know what happens next. Aggie brings the humor and wit and you will work up a sweat trying to find out who the killer is before they strike again! What a great read, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next one!
My interview with Nancy:

S.G. Tell us about your self?
N.G.W. I’m a writer who should have studied journalism and literature. Being practical, I studied Business Administration instead. Fortunately, my brain survived accounting and statistics.
S.G. What or who inspired you to start writing?
N.G.W. My mother wrote a poem to me when I was seven and asked me to write one for her. She seemed impressed by my silly poem, and we continued to write poems to each other on special occasions.  I decided that if you write something, people pay attention.
S.G. How did Fit to be Dead come about?
N.G.W.I was writing Nine Days to Evil, my serious novel of  psychological suspense. My twenty-something character, Meredith, in the midst of her dilemma,  met a somewhat-older student who popped up in her class and had a wry sense of humor. That was Aggie Mundeen. Aggie took over my consciousness and declared she would not let me finish Meredith’s book unless I promised to write a book about her . . . or maybe a series.
After Meredith solved her predicament, I wrote about Aggie. She was klutzy, like me, and trying to get into shape, like me. A health club was the ideal setting for quirky characters, Aggie’s antics and murder. (Fit to Be Dead was Lefty Award Finalist for Best Humorous Mystery. http://tinyurl.com/bgl4zbc)
S.G. What was the hardest part and the easiest part about writing this story?
N.G.W.The hardest part was sticking to the plot when I was eager to write scenes where Aggie plunged into trouble. As I described what Aggie was doing, I’d sit in front of my computer and laugh—not good when you share your office with your husband. He might have you committed.
S.G. Who are your three favorite authors?
N.G.W. Shakespeare, Harper Lee, William Kent Kruger (There are so many; see the TBR pile below.)
S,G.. What three things do you want your readers to know?
N.G.W.1.I’d rather write than do anything else. Well, almost anything.
2. There is humor in the most serious situation.
3. Aggie and love interest, Detective Sam, have a dicey relationship because of her determination, curiosity and antics. Therefore, there will be more Aggie Mundeen mysteries while she attempts to snag him.
S.G. If you could throw a holiday party and invite 5 author living or dead who would they be and what would be on the menu?
N.G.W. William Shakespeare. Dave Barry. Malcolm Gladwell. Ken Follett. Oliver Sacks.
I’d have each one bring his favorite dish with a written explanation of why they are favorites, which I would frame and cherish until I was ready to donate them to a library at a minimum value of two million dollars each.
S.G. What are the 5 books in your TBR pile?
N.G.W. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt; Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett; Wayfaring Stranger, James Lee Burke; Thankless in Death, J.D. Robb; America, Dinesh D. Souza.


Where to find us:
I love to hear readers’ opinions about the books, characters, plots and writing. We can talk through “Contact Me” on my website: www.nancygwest.com ,

To see what I’m up to and what’s happening with Aggie’s books, click

Shelley,
Aggie and I thank you for the wonderful questions!!
And thanks to Dollycas Tours for getting us together!!

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About This Author
I’ve been writing since age seven: poems back and forth with my mom. I had a real poem published in the Library Journal, Pegasus, at age fifteen. At eighteen, I wanted to study journalism and English literature, but friends who chose that college route were making minimum wage or selling lingerie. Being practical, I earned a business degree. After marriage and two children, I decided I HAD to study literature and write. I wrote non-fiction articles, a biography, and a suspense novel in 2004. That’s when whimsical Aggie Mundeen cut through the suspense, popped into my head and demanded her own series. The Aggie Mundeen mystery capers were born. Aggie must have been right:FIT TO BE DEAD is a LEFTY FINALIST 2013 for best humorous mystery, nominated by Left Coast Crime.
Author Links:

Chat with Aggie and Nancy on their blog: www.stayyoungwithaggie@wordress.com.
Author’s Webpage: http://www.nancygwest.com/
Purchase Links

Amazon  

B&N Nook   |   Kobo   |   iTunes   |   Google Play



Monday, September 29, 2014

Interview with author Kathy Aarons

I am so thrilled to have Kathy Aarons joining us  today! It was great getting to know her a little more and I hope you all will enjoy this interview!! Welcome Kathy!! Thanks for being here with us. Kathy is the author of Death is Like a Box of Chocolates. I read this book and  it is fantastic!


Tell us about yourself.

I’m Kathy Aarons, author of Death is Like a Box of Chocolates, the first in the Chocolate Covered Mystery series by Berkley Prime Crime. I live in San Diego with my husband and, now that our two daughters are in college, we’re new empty nesters. Good time for my first book to come out!

I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and moved to New York City to build a career in public relations. Fast forward several years through getting married and becoming a stay at home mom – one of those crazy moms who becomes PTA president and gets involved in everything my girls were into. Fast forward again to when my youngest started preschool and I started writing as a hobby (anything to avoid housework!) and then even more years to when I got serious about trying to get published.

How did Death is like a Box of Chocolates come about? I love the title by the way.

Thanks! I think the title is perfect and I’m so glad that my editor liked it. I couldn’t resist the idea of a chocolate shop and bookstore combination and wrote a proposal that my amazing agent sold to Berkley. I had one year to write the book, which was quite a challenge for me. It was very fun to learn about chocolate making (especially sampling chocolates!) and also how to run a successful chocolate shop and bookstore.

Can you give us a sneak peek on what you are working on now?

Right now I’m editing the second book in the series – Truffled to Death – which involves the theft of Maya antiquities. And I’m also writing the yet-to-be-named third book, which involves catfishing – pretending to be someone else online to pursue deceptive romances or worse.

Who or what inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always been good at writing but never thought of writing fiction as a career until I met published authors at Romance Writers of America – San Diego meetings and realized that they were normal people like me! RWASD is an amazingly supportive group of writers who work hard to help other writers along the path to publication.

What do you love most about writing?

I absolutely love that moment when you find the words to put on the page exactly what you envision in your head.

Do you have a favorite author?

I have so many! Of course Janet Evanovich, J.K. Rowling, Maggie Stiefvater, and John Green. Also Marisa de los Santos, Michael Chabon, Harley Jane Kozak, Michael Connelly and Hank Phillippi Ryan.  I have too many favorite cozy authors to list here but I’ll try: Daryl Wood Gerber, Krista Davis, Jenn McKinlay, Victoria Hamilton, Meg London, Sheila Connolly, and my newly found fav, Terrie Farley Moran. I know I’m missing a few!

What 5 books are in your TBR pile?

Only 5? It’s huge right now! Blond Faith by Jayne Ormerod; Pampered to Death by Laura Levine; Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay; Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams; and The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly.

If you could throw a holiday dinner party and invite five authors living or dead who would they be, what holiday would it be and what would be on the menu?

This is the most fun question I’ve ever seen!

I’m going to go eclectic with my authors.

First, I’d choose John Green – so I could convince him to speak at a high school writers’ conference I volunteer with. (Check out CCA Writers Conference on Facebook – it’s the only free high school writing conference in the country!) And also because I’d be a hero to my girls who have followed him since he started on YouTube years ago.

And second, I’d choose Maureen Johnson, who’s hilarious on Twitter and on various YA panels I’ve seen.

Third would be J. K. Rowling. I’d love to learn how she planned the whole Harry Potter series.

Fourth would be Harley Jane Kozak, author of Dating Dead Men and more, who is the kindest person I’ve ever met and extremely funny to boot!

And rounding out the dinner party would be Michael Chabon whose writing is brilliant – he’d have to be brilliant in person.

I would choose New Year’s Day – everyone is recovering from their parties and looking forward to the new year.

I’m not the best cook, but my husband is! He’d bbq steak and sauté salmon, and I’d make strawberry spinach salad and roast potatoes, broccoli and Brussel sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper. And I’d serve Dallmann’s Chocolates (www.dallmannconfections.com) for dessert – especially their Fleur de Sel Caramels.


Death is Like a Box of Chocolates

Whether it’s to satisfy a craving for chocolate or pick up the hottest new bestseller, the locals in charming West Riverdale, Maryland, are heading to Chocolates and Chapters, where everything sold is to die for…
Best friends Michelle Serrano and Erica Russell are celebrating the sweet rewards of their combined bookstore and chocolate shop by hosting the Great Fudge Cook-off during the town’s Memorial Day weekend Arts Festival. But success turns bittersweet when Main Street’s portrait photographer is found dead in their store, poisoned by Michelle’s signature truffles.
As suspicion mounts against Michelle, her sales begin to crumble and her career seems whipped. With Erica by her side, Michelle must pick through an assortment of suspects before the future of their dream store melts away…

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES

Includes Scrumptious Chocolate-Making Recipes!

BIO:
Kathy Aarons is the author of Death is Like a Box of Chocolates, the first in the Chocolate Covered Mystery series by Berkley Prime Crime.

Research for the series was such a hardship: sampling chocolate, making chocolate, sampling more chocolate, and hanging out in bookstores.

After growing up in rural Pennsylvania and attending Carnegie Mellon University, Kathy built a career in public relations in New York City. She now lives in San Diego with her husband and two daughters where she wakes up far too early, and is currently obsessed with the Broadway Idiot documentary, finding the perfect cup of coffee, and Dallmann’s Sea Salt Caramels.

You can follow Kathy on Facebook or Twitter or visit her at: www.kathyaarons.com.






Sunday, September 28, 2014

Weekly Wrap Up #38

It has been a fun week on my blog. Here is what happened in case you missed it!

Sept 22nd- Guest Post- Victoria Abbott
Sept 23rd- Book Event- Bridge of Deaths
Sept 24th- Author Spotlight- Mary Anne Edwards
Sept 25th- First in a New Series- Caught Dead Handed
Sept 26th- Blog Tour Wouldn't it be Deadly by Meg Mims
Sept 27th- Book Trivia- Cathy Ace

Book's I've Read:

Festive in Death by J.D. Robb
The Blood  of an Englishman by M.C.Beaton

Coming this week:

Sept 29th- Interview with Kathy Aarons
Sept 30th- Blog Tour- Fit to be Dead
Oct 1st- Author Spotlight- Nancy Martin
Oct 2nd- First in a New Series- Murder of a Small Town Honey
Oct 3rd- Blog Tour- Embellished to Death
Oct 4th Book Trivia- Larissa Reinhart

You won't want to miss this week!


Saturday, September 27, 2014

Book Trivia- hosted by Cathy Ace

It's time for book trivia today and our lovely host is Cathy Ace!! I love having Cathy on my blog and hope you will enjoy today's trivia! Leave a comment and email for a chance to win! The winner will be announced Sunday Night!



Thanks for having me along to talk trivia! I adore trivia, indeed, I seem to have one of those brains that thrives on it. With that in mind, I’ve posed some questions that folks who haven’t read my Cait Morgan Mysteries might be able to guess, but those who have read some or all four of them should really be able to answer. There are also quite a few “clues” to the right answers on my website, www.cathyace.com
The prize is a signed book – any one of the four mysteries already published (The Corpse with the Silver Tongue, The Corpse with the Golden Nose, The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb, The Corpse with the Platinum Hair). If more than one person gets all the right answers, a hat will be magically produced and a name will be selected from all the successful entrants. GOOD LUCK!


1. What’s Cait Morgan’s full first name?
a) Caitlyn
b) Caitlin
c) Caitwen
d) Cait


2. What is Bud Anderson’s full name?
a) Bud Anderson
b) Buddy Anderson
c) Bartholomew Uriah Daniel Anderson
d) Börje Ulf Dyggve Anderson


3. Where was Cait Morgan born and raised?
a) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
b) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
c) Swansea, Wales, UK
d) Dumfries, Scotland, UK


4. What is Cait Morgan’s profession?
a) Housewife, mother, home-maker: it’s a full-time job!
b) Professor of Criminology: she specializes in profiling victims
c) Practicing psychologist: she works with couples who need help
d) Owns and runs an organic restaurant: a foodie with a chance to eat all she wants!



5. Cait makes it very clear in The Corpse with the Golden Nose (when she meets a fellow fan) that she is a big fan of which fictional character?
a) Sherlock Holmes
b) Doctor Who
c) Snoopy
d) Lord Peter Wimsey


6. Cait has what sort of memory?
a) Poor: she tries hard, but has to write everything down
b) Good with numbers, but not much else
c) Good with smells, but hopeless with faces, names, and time!
d) Eidetic: her photographic memory operates in all her senses


7. Cait is in her late forties, is five-four on a tall day, and has decided to allow her brown hair to gray naturally. She likes to wear all-purpose bouncy black pants-suits when she has to get dressed up, though she often ends up in circumstances where she gets into quite a mess! Like everyone, Cait’s weight varies from time to time, but what does she count as her “normal” weight?
a) 120-125 pounds:  it’s hard work, but she does it
b) 130-140 pounds: she likes her little indulgences
c) 150 pounds: if she goes over she panics, fasts, and exercises more
d) 180 pounds-ish:  she’s always on a diet, but there’s usually a good reason to indulge, and she hates exercise


8. There’s a classic way of finishing up a closed-circle murder mystery, where the detective/sleuth gathers all the suspects into one place to work through the explanation of their solution, and unmask the killer/killers.  Cait always seems to be able to manage this. What’s that called?
a) Finale
b) Denouement
c) Epilogue
d) Prologue


Here is your choice of prize:



Friday, September 26, 2014

Blog Tour and giveaway , Wouldn't it be Deadly by D.E. Ireland


Happy Friday to you all! I'm thrilled to have with us today the lovely D.E. Ireland!! Wouldn't it be Deadly is out now! I got to read this book and I must say it was so good!

Two Lucky people will win a hard cover copy of this book! (leave a comment with email to be entered for a chance)




My Review:
I enjoyed this book and once I started there was so putting it down, the wit and humor were fantastic. The characters Eliza and Henry are so strong and memorable and with the witty banner you will be hooked from the start. With a great story line this whodunit will sweep you away to London where you will be involved in their lives and and a sleuth right along with them as they try to find out who the killer is.


WE OWE IT ALL TO TRIXIE

Like many Baby Boomers, we were introduced to the Trixie Belden mystery series at around the same age Trixie was in her first book The Secret of the Mansion. Certainly 13-year-old Trixie made a fine role model for those of us going through puberty and faced with the daunting prospect of middle school. Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta, the writing team of D.E. Ireland, are proud to count themselves long-time Trixie fans. And who knows? We might never have fallen in love with the mystery genre if we hadn’t been immersed for years in the adventures of Trixie and the Bob-White Club.

The series ran from 1948 to 1986, and includes thirty-nine books. Like a Boomer version of Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden was an intrepid amateur detective who taught us to be brave even if we were quaking with fear. Above all, she showed that it was important to uncover the truth – despite everyone else trying to convince you otherwise. Both of us briefly discuss our personal Trixie Belden favorites. Keep our Trixie recommendations in mind if you have young readers in the family. And for our fellow Trixie fans, check out the Trixie Belden Convention page on Facebook. There are annual summer camps too!



Sharon Pisacreta:  I only got to Book Fifteen in the series before I grew out of the target audience. But I devoured those first fifteen books eagerly, and reread them countless times. My clear favorite is The Mysterious Visitor, which focuses on the impostor in their midst. The impostor is the long-lost uncle of her friend Diana Lynch. Trixie is instantly wary of the unlikable Uncle Monty, who surfaces after the Lynch family has become wealthy. She also resents how he treats his lonely ‘niece’ Diana. There is a Hitchcock feel to this Trixie installment as she tries to prove that he’s not only a liar, but also a sinister and dangerous figure. Halloween, my favorite holiday, plays a role in this book, emphasizing that some people wear masks all year round. And I still recall the satisfaction Trixie and I both felt when she discovers the charred portraits thrown into the fireplace. By the way, the climax is one of the most exciting in the series.

Speaking of climaxes, the Trixie Belden books have some of the best ‘Black Moments’ I’ve ever read. The most memorable climax for me is in The Happy Valley Mystery where Trixie, Honey and Jim are trapped atop a barn roof as a flood rages around them. Night has fallen, the flood waters are rising quickly, and escape appears hopeless. They have been shouting for help, and all three are hoarse from trying to be heard over the storm’s fury. Then they hear a motorboat, along with their friends and fellow Bob-White Club members yelling for them. Unfortunately, the stranded kids are too hoarse to shout or scream back. All seems lost until Trixie takes a deep breath and breaks out in their trademark Bob-White whistle. I think even Agatha Christie would have been proud of this clever girl detective. I’m still proud of her. Good work, Trixie!

Meg Mims: I only lasted until Book 15 of the series too, though, jumping to Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Josephine Tey. But I still remember my best friend gifting me The Secret of the Mansion for my summer birthday. The covers alone – with Trixie creeping along with a flashlight on the front, and the mysterious mansion on the back – made me want to read it right away. I had to wait until after we ate the melted ice cream and cake on our back yard picnic table, roller-skated in the heat until we sweated, tried to find shade for relief, gave up and went home. My siblings and I headed to the basement, where I delved into the book. Trixie was a tomboy, just like me. Check! With a pesky little brother, check! Loved horses and wanted to ride, check, check! And met a rich friend who’d just moved in next door – that’s where fantasy took over, but I didn’t mind. Golly, as Trixie would say, what an adventure, exploring a mansion and meeting a runaway boy. I had to get the next book! It took me months to save up my allowance, however. And by that time (in the days before Amazon), I could only find book 3, The Gatehouse Mystery –just as fabulous and with an amazing twist at the end. I even begged my mom to buy me the plain loafers Trixie and Honey wore instead of the penny or tassel style.

Along with the exciting climaxes mentioned by my writing partner, the Trixie Belden books also contain some great ‘twists and turns’. My favorite occurs in The Mysterious Code, where Trixie and Honey must prove The Bob-White Club is worthwhile and plan an antique show. That attracts criminals, however. Trixie and Honey spend hours crafting dolls, sewing aprons and other things to sell for charity. Since the friendly cop is out front, the girls stay late at night to price items. But they don’t expect the thieves to break through the shop’s back door. Unfortunately, the Bob-White whistle isn’t an option; with guns trained on the girls, they must pretend everything is fine when the boys arrive with the final antiques to display. Trixie uses the stick-figure code (they’d found earlier in the book) to write ‘SOS’ on price tags – and then dumps a bunch of tags in Jim’s coat pocket. All seems lost, with the thieves packing up everything and planning to kill the girls – until the police arrive in the nick of time. What a clever idea! I was delighted it worked, and admired Trixie for her quick thinking. Sherlock and Watson in girl form, around my age, check!

For certain we might never have learned how to plot out an adventurous tale, with plenty of twists and turns, a memorable ‘Black Moment’ and great endings for our Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins mystery series – if we hadn’t immersed ourselves in reading about Trixie Belden and her friends in the Bob-White Club.

D.E. Ireland (Sharon Pisacreta and Meg Mims)









​Our BIO:
D.E. Ireland is a team of award-winning authors, Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta. Long time friends, they decided to collaborate on this unique series based on George Bernard Shaw’s wonderfully witty play, Pygmalion. While they admit the lovely film My Fair Lady and its soundtrack proved to be inspiration, they are careful to stick to Shaw’s vision of the beloved characters from Eliza to Higgins to Pickering, Mrs. Pearce, Freddy Eynsford Hill and his family, while adding a slew of new characters they’ve dreamed up to flesh out their own version of events post-Pygmalion.



BUY LINKS for WOULDN'T IT BE DEADLY

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First in Series- Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross

Happy Monday! This week's First in Series is Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross Released on August 22, 2000. Seri...