Book Review - We Wish You a Messy Christmas: A Holiday Novella by Melody Carlson

My Review

As the holidays near, Olivia Bradshaw is dating her childhood neighbor Malcolm McEntire.  This should be a joyful time of year, but their families are not close because Olivia's mother is a judgmental perfectionist.  Then one thing after another happens that brings their families together, like it or not - and things start to change.  But will they change enough for Olivia and Malcolm to contemplate a life together?

I wanted to read We Wish You a Messy Christmas because I found the Christmas theme appealing.  I enjoy Melody Carlson's Christmas novellas and try to read them each year.  (You will find a number of reviews of her books here at my blog.)

This was a fun read.  There are some sweet rom-com moments, some laugh out loud moments, and some gentle faith moments as well.

I enjoyed the book and wish it had been longer.  I would have enjoyed more time with the Bradshaws and the McEntires.  (Or even a sequel about what happens next!)

I recommend We Wish You a Messy Christmas for readers who enjoy light Christmas fiction with a heartwarming message.

Thanks to Revell and Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book.

Book Review and Giveaway - Deck the Halls With Homicide: Killer Chocolate Mysteries by Christina Romeril

My Review

Alex co-owns the Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop with her sister Hanna.  She agrees to judge the annual Deck the Halls holiday decorating contest in her little town.  When a meddlesome and unpleasant neighbor turns up dead, Alex's boyfriend is a suspect.  Alex works as an amateur detective to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because the Christmas setting and book/chocolate shop locale were very appealing.

This is my first book in the Killer Chocolate Mysteries series.  I was able to jump in comfortably and enjoy this book as a standalone read (although I now want to read the rest of the series!).

As anticipated, I loved the holiday setting.  I also enjoyed the picturesque little town and the mystery bookstore/chocolate shop.  (Their specialty is Killer Chocolates, all with deadly names!)

I like Alex as a protagonist.  She is bright and resourceful with her detecting.  I enjoyed sleuthing right along with her!

I recommend Deck the Halls with Homicide for other cozy mystery fans, and especially for anyone who enjoys holiday theme mysteries.  This is a fun one!

Book Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Frost and Vicki Delany, when a holiday decorating contest turns deadly, twin sisters Alex and Hanna trade tinsel and twinkle lights for tracking the twists and turns of a cunning killer.

Alex and Hanna, owners of Murder and Mayhem book and chocolate shop, are hoping for a quiet holiday. That is, after Alex is finished judging the Deck the Halls contest organized by Vanessa, nicknamed “The Dragon.” The whole experience has turned Alex’s usual festive spirit a little grinchy. Instead of inspiring holiday cheer with fun lawn displays, the contest has turned cutthroat and decorations have started disappearing. After Alex’s beau, Tom, is seen in a heated argument with the Dragon about his stolen trimmings, Alex finds him dressed as Santa, kneeling over Vanessa’s dead body…with one of his missing candy cane decorations buried in her chest. It’s no surprise he becomes the sheriff’s top suspect.

Alex and Hanna quickly amass a cast of suspects deeper than Santa’s reindeer roster, including an old family friend tasked by their mother with romantic interference; a nosy reporter eager to reveal Alex’s previous murder-y exploits; and the victim’s psychologist-to-the-stars husband with a spicy secret. But as they try to catch a crafty killer, Alex also grapples with the escalating wrath of Tom’s daughter, and a mysterious psychic dropping cryptic clues, while Hanna deals with her own Christmas crisis.

Murder puts a bitter spin on the twins’ sweet confections and they must find the killer and wrap up the case to keep Santa off the naughty list.

Author Bio

Christina Romeril grew up in Kitchener, Ontario, and has been devouring stacks of books since third grade when the Trixie Belden series sparked a love of mysteries. She has lived on both coasts of Canada as a former member of the Canadian military. As an Alberta transplant, she is fascinated by mountains and loves to spend time with her husband and two Chihuahuas, Nacho and Paco, exploring Waterton National Park in the Canadian Rockies.

Author Links

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/christinaromerilwriter

Website https://christinaromeril.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/christinaromerilwriter

Purchase Links – Amazon   Bookshop.org    B&N    Kobo    Apple Books

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Book Review - Once Upon a Christmas Carol by Melody Carlson

My Review

Carol Langstrom has her holidays planned.  Although she does professional Christmas staging and designs, having grown up in an unhappy family, she is not a fan of the holiday.  She plans to fly to the Bahamas for Christmas.  A snowstorm strands her plane in Michigan.   Carol remembers that she has an aunt - whom she doesn't really know - nearby and goes to meet her.  Her Aunt Maria is delightful and they have an instant connection.  As Carol stays and visits with Maria, she also enjoys small town life - and getting to know handsome neighbor Victor.  Carol starts to find real joy in the holidays - and begins questioning her life direction.

I wanted to read Once Upon a Christmas Carol because I love Melody Carlson's Christmas novellas.  I rarely miss one!  (You will find several reviews of her previous books at my blog.)

This is a charming read with all the ingredients of a Hallmark movie - charming small town, family connections, a surprising romance, and a sweet, heartfelt Christmas.

This is a short read, perfect for a few nights or a weekend.   I felt the last few chapters had a lot of story development, and I wish the book had been just a few chapters longer.  (Plus, I was enjoying the read and it would have been great to have a slightly longer book!)

I recommend Once Upon a Christmas Carol for fans of Christmas books, Hallmark movies, and heartwarming fiction.

Author Bio

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Book Review and Giveaway - Mistletoe, Mutts, and Murder (Samantha Davies Mysteries) by S.A. Kazlo

My Review

Samantha Davies is planning a wonderful Christmas with her boyfriend, Hank, and her dachshund Porkchop in her hometown in New York.  Her parents visit from Florida, an over-the-top neighbor dressed as Santa turns up dead, and her father and his best friend are under suspicion.  Sam works to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because I love cozy mysteries and dachshunds!  I am currently owned by a lovable (and mischievous!) corgi, but I had dachshunds for many years and they have a special place in my heart.

This is such a fun, fast moving mystery.  There is a great deal of warmth and some humor too.  The author does a great job at capturing small town life during the holidays.  I have not read the other books in the series, but enjoyed Mistletoe, Mutts, and Murder as a standalone read.  I would like to read the other books now too!

Sam is a good amateur detective and I enjoyed seeing her deductive process.  I liked Hank, her parents, and of course all scenes with Porkchop the dachshund!

I recommend Mistletoe, Mutts, and Murder for other fans of cozy mysteries, holiday reads - and of course for fellow dachshund lovers.

Book Synopsis

Christmas is coming and children’s book author, Samantha Davies, and her lovable dachshund, Porkchop, are caught up in the holiday festivities in beautiful upstate New York. Sam’s parents, Chuck and Barbara, who have been enjoying their retired life in sunny Florida, have flown into Wings Falls to spend the holidays with Sam and meet her new boyfriend, Detective Hank Johnson. Sam is also busy hosting this year’s Christmas party for the Loopy Ladies, Sam’s rug hooking group.

The Loopy Ladies know how to party and are enjoying an evening eating, drinking, and making merry… until Santa crashes the party. Unfortunately, this Santa is Sam’s next-door neighbor who her parents have had a long-running feud with. When not playing the local mall’s not-so-jolly old St. Nick, Leo Sayers is a newspaper reporter, and he announces to the group that he’s written a damning article accusing Sam’s dad and his close friend, Herb Feinstein, of some very shady dealings in their past. To preserve peace on earth—and among the Loopy Ladies—Chuck and Herb escort Leo from the party.

Only, not long after being sent on his way, Santa is found dead—lying in the snow, run over by a plastic reindeer, with a string of Christmas lights around his neck! Are Sam’s father and Herb now on the naughty list? If Sam can’t prove them innocent of murdering Santa, she’s afraid their stockings will contain handcuffs and a one-way ticket to prison this year!

Author Bio

Syrl, a retired teacher, lives in upstate New York with her husband and two lively dachshunds. She writes the Samantha Davies Mystery series, featuring Samantha Davies and her loveable dachshund, Porkchop. When not writing she is busy hooking, rug hooking that is, and enjoying her family. Her newest book, number six in the series is, Mistletoe, Mutts and Murder. 

Author Links

Website – https://www.sakazlo.com/

Blog – https://www.sakazlo.com/blog

Twitter-@sakazlo

Instagram- sakazlo

Facebook- sakazlo

Linkedin- sakazlo

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Smashwords – Kobo – 

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Review and Giveaway - Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher & Terrie Farley Moran

My Review

When a wealthy business tycoon wants to buy an old Cabot Cove homestead, things spiral out of control.  First one of the owners who was presumed dead shows up alive.  Then the tycoon's wife is murdered.  Jessica Fletcher steps in to solve the case.

I wanted to read Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas because I love the Murder She Wrote series of cozy mysteries.  This book has the plus of having a Christmas setting!

I have read several recent Murder, She Wrote books set in different locales but the books set in Cabot Cove are always my favorites.  This series is a true comfort read for me;  I love the town, the townspeople, and, of course, Jessica Fletcher's detective skills.

This was a well written, quick paced mystery, and such an enjoyable read.  I recommend Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas for other fans of cozy mysteries, Christmas mysteries, and of course for anyone who loves the Murder, She Wrote series.

Book Synopsis

It’s Christmastime in Cabot Cove, but there’s more homicide than ho-ho-ho in the newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series.

Christmas is not an easy time to sell a house, but in Boston tycoon John Bragdon, Cabot Cove Realtor Eve Simpson has found a buyer for the old Jarvis homestead. Unfortunately, Eve gets a lump of coal in her stocking in the form of Kenny Jarvis, who has been missing for years and presumed dead but has now come back to stop his sister from selling their childhood home.

Eve presses on, organizing a welcome dinner for Bragdon and his wife, Rose Marie, to meet the leading citizens of the town, including Jessica Fletcher. Dinner is interrupted by an uninvited guest—not Santa but Kenny, who threateningly promises Rose Marie she will never live in his house.

When Rose Marie is found dead a few days later, Kenny is the natural suspect. But Jessica isn′t so sure he′s on the naughty list . . .

Author Bio

Along with Jessica Fletcher, Terrie Farley Moran co-writes the Murder She Wrote mystery series including  Murder, She Wrote: Killer on the Court. She is the author of the Read ‘Em and Eat cozy mystery series and also co-writes the Scrapbooking Mysteries with Laura Childs. Recipient of both the Agatha and the Derringer Awards, Moran has published numerous mystery short stories. The only thing Terrie enjoys more than wrangling mystery plots into submission is hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren.

Author Links – Webpage   Facebook 

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – PenguinRandomHouse – 

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Book Review - The Christmas Tree Farm, A Christmas Novella by Melody Carlson

My Review

Madison McDowell comes home from teaching abroad to work on her family's Christmas tree farm in Oregon. She is part owner of the farm with her sister Addie.  She doesn't count on Addie wanting to sell the farm, or her first love, Gavin, being widowed and living next door with his youngest daughter.

I wanted to read The Christmas Tree Farm because I love Melody Carlson's Christmas novels.  I try to read them each year.

This novel was one of my favorite of Ms. Carlson's recent Christmas books.  I loved the setting of the Christmas tree farm and the old fashioned house there.  

I also really liked the cast of characters - especially Madison, who loves working outdoors and is determined to make the Christmas tree farm a community fixture again.  I also liked Gavin, who is sweet and a bit eccentric (he lives in a trailer by the lake while building a house).  His daughter Lily, an 11 year old dirt bike enthusiast, is delightful.  Part of the conflict early on is based on Gavin and Lily building a dirt bike track on their property - right next door to the Christmas tree farm.

I highly recommend The Christmas Tree Farm for fans of Christmas reads, picturesque holiday settings, and heartwarming storytelling!

Book Synopsis

Christmas is the perfect time for old memories, new beginnings, and second chances

When Madison McDowell returns from teaching overseas, she has high hopes of picking up where she left off at her family's Christmas tree farm in Oregon. But between damage from a recent wildfire and the neglect due to her sister Addie's unwillingness to invest, the farm is in sad shape. In fact, Addie is intent on selling the property. And to top it off, Madison's former high school flame, the now-widowed Gavin Thompson, has plans to break her heart again by turning his neighboring property into a dusty, noisy dirt bike track for his daughter.

With the odds stacked against her, Madison decides there's only one thing to do: double down on her dreams. It will require a ton of hard work--and some help from an unlikely ally--to save the farm she so dearly loves. But it may take a Christmas miracle to restore her relationship with her sister.

Author Bio

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of more than 250 books with sales of more than 7.5 million, including many bestselling Christmas novellas, young adult titles, and contemporary romances. She received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, her novel All Summer Long has been made into a Hallmark movie, and the movie based on her novel The Happy Camper premiered on UPtv in 2023. She and her husband live in central Oregon. Learn more at MelodyCarlson.com.

Book Review - Meddling with Mistletoe A Red Door Inn Christmas Romance by Liz Johnson

My Review

Meddling With Mistletoe is the story of Whitney Garrett, who is baking homemade pies to fund her culinary school tuition.  When her oven breaks, she works out a deal with the owners of the local bed and breakfast to bake pies there in exchange for babysitting and cooking breakfasts daily.  While working at the inn she meets a guest named Daniel, who is in town to visit his aunt -- who is an eccentric antique shop owner determined to make a match between Daniel and Ruby, the woman buying his aunt's antique store.  Whitney is convinced, though, that Daniel and Ruby are not an ideal match . . . and she has an idea of a better match for him.

I wanted to read this novel because it sounded like a Hallmark movie in book form.  It is!   It is a delightful Christmas story, with lots of holiday atmosphere.

I liked Whitney as a protagonist and admire her determination to pursue her dream.  I also like Daniel and I thought from early on that they would be an interesting match.  Their story is very heartwarming with some light faith references.

I recommend Meddling for Mistletoe for readers who enjoy Christmas reads, heartwarming love stories, and cozy settings.

Book Synopsis

The recipe for romance is simple: sweets, treats, and mistletoe meets

Whitney Garrett is preparing to enter culinary school in the spring, but first she has to sell enough homemade pies at the local Christmas markets to pay her tuition. When her oven breaks, Whitney asks Marie Sloan, proprietor of the Red Door Inn, if she can use the inn's kitchen to keep up with her orders. Marie agrees, with a catch: Whitney has to watch the three Sloan children and cook breakfasts for the Red Door in return.

The inn is busy with holiday guests--including Aretha Franklin Sloan's perpetually single nephew Daniel and Ruby, a businesswoman in town to purchase Aretha's antiques store. Intent on making a Christmas match for the two, Aretha enlists Whitney's help in her schemes. But the deeper Whitney gets, the more she realizes that Ruby is not the right woman for Daniel--and the more she thinks that she just might be his perfect match.

Author Bio

Liz Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels, including Beyond the Tides, The Last Way Home, and Summer in the Spotlight, as well as the Georgia Coast Romance and Prince Edward Island Dreams series. She works in marketing, makes her home in Phoenix, Arizona, and daydreams of summer days on PEI's shores. Learn more at LizJohnsonBooks.com.

Book Review and Giveaway - A Christmas Conundrum: A Liz Adams Mystery by Stacy Wilder

My Review

Liz Adams is preparing for Christmas in Charleston with her husband Brad when she becomes involved in solving a mystery.  Her friend Lou, an event planner, is having an issue with missing Christmas decorations - first in one area and then all over town!  

I wanted to read A Christmas Conundrum because I love cozy mysteries and like Christmas settings.

This was a fun short read (novella length).  The mystery is very light - missing decorations, not murder or an act of violence.  The Charleston setting is charming.  

This book is part of a series but it worked fine as a standalone.

I liked Liz, her family, and her friend Lou.  She also has a lovable lab dog named Duke.  Liz is a professional private investigator, with a specially equipped van and a white board at home where she sorts out mysteries.  I found her process of detection fascinating.

Fans of cozy mysteries who are looking for a short holiday read will enjoy A Christmas Conundrum.

Book Synopsis

Nancy Drew meets How the Grinch Stole Christmas in this delightful cozy mystery set in Charleston, SC.

Who’s stealing the holiday decorations? They’re disappearing like Christmas cookies from PeggyLou Designs, and Lou’s newly launched event planning service is in trouble. He implores his neighbor and friend, Private Investigator Liz Adams, to bring the thief to justice.

The clock is ticking. It’s only ten days until the mayor’s big holiday celebration. The party that will make or break Lou’s business.

Liz’s mom, Babs, steps in to help, and the investigation becomes complicated. Suddenly the holidays are not all mistletoe and merriment when Bab’s life is threatened. Will Liz and her lie-detecting Labrador retriever, Duke, discover the perpetrator before it’s too late?

Experience Charleston in the city’s full Christmas glory in this fun fast-paced holiday story.

Author Bio

Stacy Wilder has traveled to six out of seven continents Books have shaped her life and her travels. Her love of mysteries began with Nancy Drew.

A Christmas Conundrum is the third book in the riveting Liz Adams Mystery series. In addition to mysteries, Stacy writes children’s stories, short stories, and poetry. She and her husband live in Houston, Texas, with a totally spoiled Labrador retriever, Eve.

Author Links

Website www.storystacy.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wilderstacy

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorstacywilder/

YouTube https://youtu.be/VR7kKOxAsjU?si=_jaX1EuELeFKEMqQ

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/stacy-wilder

Purchase Links – Amazon E-book –  Amazon Paperback – Amazon Hardback – Barnes and Noble – Bookshop.org –

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Book Review - Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

My Review

Kerry Tolliver travels from her family's Christmas tree farm in North Carolina to New York, along with her brother Murphy and his dog Queenie - all to sell trees in a holiday tree lot.  Kerry, Murphy, and Queenie stay in a vintage camper they have nicknamed Spammy.  Murphy, who does this each year, knows many people in the tree lot neighborhood.  Kerry gets to know them too, and is especially drawn to single dad Patrick and his son Austin. She also meets an older man with a mysterious past, an artist, and when he goes missing, the search for him changes lives.

I wanted to read Bright Lights, Big Christmas because I love Mary Kay Andrews' books.  Mentions of Christmas in New York City, a vintage travel trailer, and a dog all sweetened the read!

This is a delightful holiday read, with a heartwarming community in the big city, a sweet love story, and a light mystery as well.  There is even a brief mention of characters from Mary Kay Andrews' The Santa Suit.

I really enjoyed this read, and recommend Bright Lights, Big Christmas for fans of women's fiction, Christmas in New York, and heartwarming holiday stories.  Five enthusiastic stars for this novel!

Book Synopsis

When fall rolls around, it’s time for Kerry Tolliver to leave her family’s Christmas tree farm in the mountains of North Carolina for the wilds of New York City to help her gruff older brother & his dog, Queenie, sell the trees at the family stand on a corner in Greenwich Village. Sharing a tiny vintage camper and experiencing Manhattan for the first time, Kerry’s ready to try to carve out a new corner for herself.

In the weeks leading into Christmas, Kerry quickly becomes close with the charming neighbors who live near their stand. When an elderly neighbor goes missing, Kerry will need to combine her country know-how with her newly acquired New York knowledge to protect the new friends she’s come to think of as family,

And complicating everything is Patrick, a single dad raising his adorable, dragon-loving son Austin on this quirky block. Kerry and Patrick’s chemistry is undeniable, but what chance does this holiday romance really have?

Filled with family ties, both rekindled and new, and sparkling with Christmas magic, Bright Lights, Big Christmas delivers everything Mary Kay Andrews fans adore, all tied up in a hilarious, romantic gem of a novel.

Author Bio

MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels (including The Homewreckers, The Santa Suit, The Newcomer; Hello, Summer; Sunset Beach; The High Tide Club; The Weekenders; Beach Town; Save the Date; Ladies’ Night; Christmas Bliss; Spring Fever; Summer Rental; The Fixer Upper; Deep Dish; Blue Christmas; Savannah Breeze; Hissy Fit; Little Bitty Lies; and Savannah Blues), and one cookbook, The Beach House Cookbook.

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, she earned a B.A. in journalism from The University of Georgia. After a 14-year career working as a reporter at newspapers including The Savannah Morning News, The Marietta Journal, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she spent the final ten years of her career, she left journalism in 1991 to write fiction.

Her first novel, Every Crooked Nanny, was published in 1992 by HarperCollins. She went on to write ten critically acclaimed mysteries under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck. In 2002, she assumed the pen name Mary Kay Andrews with the publication of Savannah Blues. In 2006, Hissy Fit became her first New York Times bestseller, followed by twelve more New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestsellers. To date, her novels have been published in German, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Hungarian, Dutch, Czech and Japanese.

She and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, GA, where they cook up new recipes in two restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn and Ebbtide—both named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels, and both available to rent through Tybee Vacation Rentals. In between cooking, spoiling her grandkids, and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses.

Guest Post, Book Spotlight, and Giveaway - Slay Bells (A Christmas Village Mystery) by T.C. Wescott

Book Synopsis

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the village, the night settled in over swirling-smoke chimneys; the air was alive with pine and holly, with sugar and cinnamon and cider, by golly!

Along snowy lanes and through shadows it crept, past windows behind which each villager slept, where sleeping dogs lie and cats rest a’purring—

Tonight, in Christmas Village, a killer is stirring.

Welcome to Christmas Village, a magical hamlet where even in December the roses hold their luster and bees buzz among the bluebells. You’re just in time for the week-long Christmas Festival, and nowhere is Christmas celebrated with such unrestrained merriment as the village which bears its name. Mayor Cobblestone and Sheriff Fell will be somewhere nearby, doing all they can to make sure you’re safe during your stay.

Provided you haven’t booked a room at Plum Cottage.

Nestled betwixt an opulent garden with meandering footpaths and an ancient grove of plum trees, Rose Willoughby’s boarding house is plum-full with lodgers. There are no vacancies, but just wait. Soon there will be one…and another…and another.

Presently lodging at the cottage are: the juggler, the acrobat, the magician, the psychic, the strongman, the manager, and the pretty assistant. In town as festival entertainment they’ve each brought their own bag of tricks. And a closetful of skeletons.

When the entertainers begin dying in inexplicable ways, some villagers believe a beast from old village lore is the culprit. The sheriff knows better, but he’s just as helpless to catch the invisible killer as are the town folk with their eyes to the sky in search of a flying creature. But our mysterious murderer hasn’t counted on yet another lodger coming to the cottage: Maribel Claus.

Short as a stump, round as a wheel, sweet as a candy cane, and a sharp as a whip, Maribel loves a good puzzle. But has she finally met her match at Plum Cottage?

Can you figure out whodunit before Maribel does? If you’re up to the challenge, here’s your first clue—the key to unlocking the secret of the murderer’s identity lies in figuring out how the murders were committed. Good luck!

Guest Post:   Why I Started Writing Cozy Mysteries & Why I’ll Keep Writing Them by T.C. Wescott  

Slay Bells, the first of my Christmas Village Mystery series, is being released this month. Last July my first cozy mystery book, Running from Scissors, came out and its sequel, Running from Arrows, will be unleashed in January. These two are part of the Running Store Mystery series. All the books are full-length and were written back to back which means I’ve been very busy this last year. And I wouldn’t change a moment of it!  

Slay Bells introduces us to Maribel Claus who has lived her whole life in the magical village of Christmas. It’s the week of the annual grand Christmas Festival and all energy is devoted to the village’s legendary week-long celebration. Maribel’s friend, Rose, owns and runs Plum Cottage, a country inn, which is booked up by a circus troupe in town as entertainment. But when the guests start dying in inexplicable ways the village leaders realize that either a diabolical criminal is in their midst or a village legend – the Glockenvogel – has come to life and is terrorizing the village. It’s up to Maribel and her friends to figure out how the murders were committed so they can learn who is behind them. A howdunit and a whodunit!

I’ve been a reader since I was a small child and although I didn’t realize it until I was much older, I’d always been a writer. As a five-year-old I wrote my own version of Dracula, complete with crayon illustration. While I’d like to think I’ve improved as a writer since kindergarten, my drawing skills still look like a blind mind trying to draw with his toes. In my twenties I tried writing again, this time it was young adult horror novels, but it was just for fun. This was the late 1990s and I’d bought into the dictum that it was impossible to break into publishing unless you knew somebody. I knew nobody. But I became interested in studying true crime and began writing articles for specialist journals. This led to the publication of my first history/true crime book in 2014. I self-published the book, expecting it might sell 300 copies over the course of a year or two. It sold that in a month and went on to win three awards and continues to sell steadily, as did the follow-up book I published in 2017. This led me to consider self-publishing fiction.  

I researched the field. This wasn’t hard to do since I was already a die-hard mystery reader. I knew mystery was the field I wanted to publish in. And I love the idea of the cozy mystery. However, I’m a huge fan of the classic mysteries of the Golden Age. I decided to write two different series: The Running Store Mystery series would be a contemporary cozy set in a small town with many of the popular tropes of the cozy genre. There was no series on the market devoted to running, so I decided that would be way to go so as not to be derivative. The Christmas Village Mystery series, which had lived in my head for years, is my attempt to take mysteries to the coziest place they’ve ever been while also offering an added level of mystery by resurrecting the ‘Locked Room’ mysteries made popular in the 1940s and onward by John Dickson Carr and, later, Ed Hoch. The series are also different in that the Running Store books are written in the first person and Christmas Village in third person. I can’t tell you how many paragraphs I’ve had to rewrite because I forgot which tense I was supposed to be writing in!  

It was important to me that my books compete with the big publishers on their own terms. This means good cover art. It turns out there are a lot of talented cover artists out there for independent publishers. It’s an expense, but a necessary one if you take your work seriously and expect readers to as well. I was also blessed to have an English professor in my circle and she agreed to work as copyeditor and proofreader on the books. And believe me, she has her work cut out for her!

I dipped my toe into the audiobook market for Running from Scissors and will again for its sequel, which is a Valentine’s Day book and therefore a mystery cross-pollinated with romance, which I hope will expose me to a new market. Having learned a thing or two through this experience, I’m not diving into an audiobook with Slay Bells. Instead, I’m going to let the Kindle and paperback editions pay for themselves and then put the profits towards an audiobook edition next year or the year after. By then, the series should be three books strong and they can all be recorded and released at once. 

One of the best things that’s come from publishing Running from Scissors is the feedback I’ve received from fellow mystery readers. They totally ‘got’ what I was going for in doing a mash-up between the modern cozy and the more Golden Age style of storytelling. Most not only ‘got’ it but said they wanted more of that, so I know I’m onto something. The publishing label I’ve set up for myself, Better Mousetrap Books, will someday be expanded to find and publish other authors with a similar goal in mind – to elevate and advance the cozy mystery into its next phase. Sometimes to go forward you need to look back. By asking myself what made me fall in love with the mystery genre I’ve learned what elements are important to me to include in my books. To see others reacting in the same way to my material is a dream come true.  

Whether you’re a budding writer like myself or simply someone who loves a good mystery well told, I invite you to stop by Better Mousetrap Books’ Facebook page or head over to Amazon to pick up Slay Bells and Running from Scissors. Then let me know what you think and what YOU’D like to see happen to the cozy mystery genre over the next few years. It’s readers who decide the market, not writers and publishers, so what are things you’d like to see change, improve, or stay exactly as they are?

Author Bio

T.C. Wescott was born in Missouri but has lived in Oklahoma most of his life. Like pretty much every author who has ever breathed, he is an avid reader. His favorites are classic mysteries from the Golden Age, as well as just before or just after that period (which is widely considered the period between the two World Wars). His first mystery novel, Running from Scissors, was published in July 2018 and will be the first of at least three books in the Running Store Mystery series.

The Christmas Village Mystery series will launch in November of the same year with the debut title Slay Bells. The formula for his books is simple – mixing the classic, traditional detective fiction standards with all the trappings of the modern cozy mystery.

Wescott is also (under another name) the author of two award-winning non-fiction books as well as a slew of essays and articles.

Follow on GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18176277.T_C_Wescott

Purchase Link – Amazon

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Book Review and Giveaway - Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners by Gretchen Anthony

Book Synopsis


Dearest loved ones, far and near—evergreen tidings from the Baumgartners!

Violet Baumgartner has opened her annual holiday letter the same way for the past three decades. And this year she’s going to throw her husband, Ed, a truly perfect retirement party, one worthy of memorializing in her upcoming letter. But the event becomes a disaster when, in front of two hundred guests, Violet learns her daughter Cerise has been keeping a shocking secret from her, shattering Violet’s carefully constructed world.

In an epic battle of wills, Violet goes to increasing lengths to wrest back control of her family, infuriating Cerise and snaring their family and friends in a very un-Midwestern, un-Baumgartner gyre of dramatics. And there will be no explaining away the consequences in this year’s Baumgartner holiday letter…

Full of humor, emotion and surprises at every turn, Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners brings to life a remarkable cast of quirky, deeply human characters who must learn to adapt to the unconventional, or else risk losing one another. This is the story of a family falling to pieces—and the unexpected way they put it all back together.

 

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

My Review
Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners tells the story of the Baumgartner family through a pivotal year ending, of course, at Christmas time.  There is the formidable matriarch, Violet, her long suffering husband Ed, their daughter Cerise, and Cerise's partner Barb.  But somehow there is much more, and it all adds up to an unusually fun holiday read!

I am in awe of the feat that Gretchen Anthony has pulled off with this novel.   There is a large cast of characters and there are numerous flashbacks to Christmas letters and family moments from previous years.  This is all handled so deftly.  I especially loved how well developed and delineated the characters were in this novel.

I also loved the unique blend of humor and heart in this book.  The humor is sly and sometimes laugh out loud funny.  One of my favorite lines from an earlier Christmas letter by Violet:  "I cannot believe that it was just five short years ago she left home with nothing but a fresh high school diploma, a laptop and a new Laura Ashley comforter (no one should leave for college without good bedding)" (p. 32).  There is a dinner party in this novel that is one of the funniest scenes I can recall reading in a book.  

And the characters!  Violet is imposing and controling -- and yet I came to really like her by the end of the novel.  Her husband Ed is salt of the earth, such a good and decent man.  When their daughter Cerise tells them she and Barb are expecting, Violet is beside herself trying to find the paternity of the baby.  That sets a chain of events into motion that continues through the novel.  I won't say more because I don't want to spoil any of the plot twists.  There was one little surprise after another.

Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners is such a fun holiday read!   I highly recommend it -- you're in for a treat.

Author Bio
Gretchen Anthony is a Minnesota-based writer and humorist whose work has been featured on scarymommy.com, medium.com and thewritelife.com. She’s also spent decades as a ghostwriter and has written for some of the best personal brands in the United States, from CEOs to doctors and start-up superstars to BBQ pros. Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners is her first novel.

Connect with Gretchen

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Giveaway
One lucky winner will receive a print copy of Evergreen Tidings from the Baumgartners.  (U.S. only).  Enter at the Rafflecopter link below.  Winner will be contacted after October 20, and will need to respond within 48 hours or a new name will be drawn.   Good luck to all!

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I received a copy of this book from TLC Book Tours.