Tag Archive for: Dru’s book musings

Setting dates

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Bouchercon convention is fast approaching. This year it is being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it will be my first time in this city. For those that don’t know, Bouchercon is the world’s finest annual crime fiction event, bringing together more than 1,500 authors, fans, publishers, reviewers, booksellers, editors, and every other part of the community for a fantastic four-day event.

As a longtime fan of Prince, I’m hoping, mobility issues will hamper this, to visit Paisley Park. If it does, I was told there is a Prince store at the airport.

So I’ve read and scrutinized the schedule for what panels I hope to attend. It looks like I’ve penciled in two to three panels that I want to attend throughout the four days. There are also publisher’s events where you can get free books and meet the authors. I look forward to this event.

One of the activities I can’t wait to do while attending this convention is seeing my friends and meeting new ones. Some, it’s been two years since I’ve last seen them. Some I saw at one of the last two conventions I went to this year.

But the most important activity is setting dates for meals. Yep, I am almost booked.

What do you look forward to when attending reader/fan convention or writer’s conference?

Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho, I’m seriously relating to a Disney cartoon

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Sing along with me. . . 

Book edits and kitchen remodels don’t mix!

I’ve been working on editing changes, proofreading galore on book two of my cold case series, all 

while engrossed in a kitchen remodel and choking on dust and chaos. To tell you how much I miss my sink, stove, and dishwasher is an understatement. It was supposed to be completed last Thursday. But, in the time of COVID, we all know supply chain is hit and miss–the sink didn’t come in and my contractor can’t do the granite without a sink.  Moreover, I’m constantly stopping my edits to deal with a subcontractor.

This morning, with my blog date utmost in mind, I waded through volumes of email for inspiration and spied something that did my heart proud–fellow Stiletto blogger Dru Ann Love’s review of yet another Stiletto member, Lois Winston. 

Because I couldn’t agree more with Dru’s review of Lois’s Stitch, Bake, Die!, I thought I’d repost Dru’s musings giving full credit that her review ran on Dru’s Book Musing first. I happen to heartily agree.

I also want to go a step further before I post Dru’s opinion and say if you are a crafter interested in baking or stitchery, get thee this book. There’s a baking and stitching competition underfoot in this amateur sleuth mystery and the recipes and instructions in the back of the book are just an added bonus.

With that said, here’s Dru’s review:

Dru’s Short Musing:

In this fast-paced and action-packed whodunit, Anastasia Pollack and BFF Cloris are hosting a workshop when murder interferes in the conference activities. The more they get to know the attendees, the more it becomes apparent that these people are not what they seem. With both on the case, they have some unraveling to do to find a killer hiding in plain sight where everyone is a potential suspect. The mystery was nicely executed, with bits and pieces of clues here and there as well as humorous interludes that enhanced the telling of this tale. This is another great addition to this engagingly entertaining series and I’m patiently waiting for the wedding of the century. 

Stitch, Bake, Die! by Lois Winston

Series Name: Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery #10
Genre: Cozy
Release: October 4, 2021


With massive debt, a communist mother-in-law, a Shakespeare-quoting parrot, and a photojournalist boyfriend who may or may not be a spy, crafts editor Anastasia Pollack already juggles too much in her life. So she’s not thrilled when her magazine volunteers her to present workshops and judge a needlework contest at the inaugural conference of the New Jersey chapter of the Stitch and Bake Society, a national organization of retired professional women. At least her best friend and cooking editor Cloris McWerther has also been roped into similar duties for the culinary side of the 3-day event taking place on the grounds of the exclusive Beckwith Chateau Country Club.

The sweet little old ladies Anastasia is expecting to meet are definitely old, and some of them are little, but all are anything but sweet. She’s stepped into a vipers’ den that starts with bribery and ends with murder. When an ice storm forces Anastasia and Cloris to spend the night at the Chateau, Anastasia discovers evidence of insurance scams, medical fraud, an opioid ring, long-buried family secrets, and a bevy of suspects.

Can she piece together the various clues before she becomes the killer’s next target?

Crafting tips included.

Purchase Link

About the Author:  Donnell Ann Bell is an award-winning
author, including finalist in the 2020 Colorado Book Award, she is the author
of Black Pearl, book one of a series, and is currently editing book two.
You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, or Bookbub. Sign up for her newsletter
at www.donnellannbell.com

 

Rambles from a reader by Dru Ann Love

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I have nothing.

I was going to give you stats from my blog, but decided it wasn’t important for this blog. Check out my blog at drusbookmusing.com. Would you like seeing those stats?

I was going to talk about return to the office – first week in July. Have you returned back to the office?

I was going to talk about my adventure last week – first time back in the city and met a few friends for lunch. Lots of chatting and hugs galore was given. It felt good to eat in a restaurant and laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Have you been in and about lately?

I was going to talk about the struggle with my reading. It still takes me a week and a half to read one book. One. Book. – How is your reading?

I was going to talk about movies – Have you seen “In The Heights?”

I was going to talk about streaming channels – my favorites are Netflix and Amazon Prime. What’s your favorite?

I was going to talk about TV watching – there is nothing on TV these days. My TV viewership is down, down, down. What about you? Are you watching less TV?

I was going to talk about traveling – I’m getting on a plane to visit my mom. What about you, any travel plans?

I was going to talk about virtual conferences – I’m looking forward to attending More Than Malice. Are you going? You can register here.

I was going to talk about reader convention – Bouchercon is in August and I’m going. It’s my celebration for the year I had and also I get to see my friends. Are you going? You can register here.

Thank you for reading my ramblings.