Tag Archive for: happy thanksgiving

Welcome to the Holidays!

We here at the Stiletto Gang love our readers and hope that you’re all healthy and happy this holiday season. We’ve put together a list of our recent works to inspire you during the gift shopping free-for-all of Black Friday. Aside from some fantastic sales many of the gang are offering giveaways and free books. So do a little shopping, but don’t feel guilty if you snag a few presents for yourself as well!

Many thanks from all your friends at The Stiletto Gang!

 

 

Mary Lee Ashford

 

CONNECT AT: www.maryleeashford.com

 

GAME OF SCONES

After losing her job as food editor at a glossy magazine, Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway—aka “Sugar” to friends—isn’t sweet on accepting defeat and crawling back to her gossipy southern hometown. So when she has an opportunity to launch a community cookbook business with blue-ribbon baker Dixie Spicer in peaceful St. Ignatius, Iowa, she jumps at the chance to start over from scratch. But as Sugar assembles recipes for the local centennial celebration, it’s not long before she’s up to her oven mitts in explosive threats, too-hot-to-handle scandals, and a dead body belonging to the moody matriarch of the town’s first family. With suspicions running wild, Sugar and Spice must solve the murder before someone innocent takes the heat—and the real culprit gathers enough ingredients to strike again.

BUY NOW: https://books2read.com/u/ml2rkY

GIVEAWAY:

Win a signed copy of Game of Scones! To enter simply comment on The Stiletto Gang post on my Facebook Author Page at: https://www.facebook.com/maryleeashfordbooks

Debra Goldstein

CONNECT AT: https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com

 

THREE TREATS TOO MANY

When a romantic rival opens a competing restaurant in small-town Wheaton, Alabama, Sarah Blair discovers murder is the specialty of the house . . . 
For someone whose greatest culinary skill is ordering takeout, Sarah never expected to be co-owner of a restaurant. Even her Siamese cat, RahRah, seems to be looking at her differently. But while Sarah and her twin sister, Chef Emily, are tangled up in red tape waiting for the building inspector to get around to them, an attention-stealing new establishment—run by none other than Sarah’s late ex-husband’s mistress, Jane—is having its grand opening across the street.  When Jane’s new sous chef, the talk of Wheaton with her delicious vegan specialties, is found dead outside the restaurant with Sarah’s friend, Jacob, kneeling over her, Sarah must turn up the heat on the real culprit, who has no reservations about committing cold-blooded murder . . .
Includes quick and easy recipes!

BUY NOW: https://books2read.com/u/boD76L

GIVEAWAY:

Sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win a free print copy of Three Treats Too Many (U.S. only) https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com 

Kathryn Lane

CONNECT AT: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15096935.Kathryn_Lane

 

WAKING UP IN MEDELLIN

Nikki Garcia, the sexy protagonist in this woman sleuth series, is an unlikely Sam Spade. Nikki’s multinational corporation sends her to Medellin on assignment. Grappling with her own ghosts, she embarks upon an unexpected adventure investigating a high stakes, mega-money corruption scheme at the local affiliate. She also meets a seductive and charming doctor in this foreign country. As her relationship with him deepens, so does the danger she finds herself in. Nikki realizes she’ll have one shot at surviving. 

BUY NOW: https://www.amazon.com/dp/173328270X/

Bethany Maines

CONNECT AT: https://bethanymaines.com/

 

AN UNSEEN CURRENT

You never know what’s beneath the surface.

When Seattle native Tish Yearly finds herself fired and evicted all in one afternoon, she knows she’s in deep water. Unemployed and desperate, the 26 year old ex-actress heads for the one place she knows she’ll be welcome – the house of her cantankerous ex-CIA agent grandfather, Tobias Yearly, in the San Juan Islands. And when she discovers the strangled corpse of Tobias’s best friend, she knows she’s in over her head. Tish is thrown head-long into a mystery that pits her against a handsome but straight-laced Sheriff’s Deputy, a group of eccentric and clannish local residents, and a killer who knows the island far better than she does. Now Tish must swim against the current, depending on her nearly forgotten acting skills and her grandfather’s spy craft, to con a killer and keep them alive.

BUY NOW – ¢.99: https://books2read.com/AnUnseenCurrent 

Lynn McPherson

CONNECT AT: https://lynnmcpherson.net/

 

THE GIRLS DRESSED FOR MURDER

It’s 1958 in the cozy coastal town of Twin Oaks and amateur sleuth Isabelle Walsh is armed with a fresh perspective, two years after tragedy strikes. The first stop on her journey back to joy is the best little dress shop in town—introduced to her by best friend and fashion fiend, Ava Russell. Izzy falls in love with the store and its style. So, when the boutique is marred by murder, Izzy wants to help. But with more suspects to choose from than a spring collection, she isn’t sure where to start. Can Izzy unravel the twisted truth or will she become the victim of a deadly trend? Find out in the third book in the Izzy Walsh Mystery Series…  

BUY NOW: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1626949875 

Julie Mulhern

CONNECT AT: https://www.juliemulhernauthor.com/

 

THE DEEP END

Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.

It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.

As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?

BUY NOW: https://books2read.com/u/m2Zpak

Cathy Perkins

CONNECT AT: https://cperkinswrites.com/

 

DOUBLE DOWN

Busted takes on a new meaning for blackjack dealer Maddie Larsson when her favorite customer, a Poker World Tour champion, is murdered. His family claims—loudly
and often—she’s the gold-digging murderer. She better prove she’s on the level before the real killer cashes in her chips.

BUY NOW: ebook – http://bit.ly/DoubleDown_Amazon

                      paperback – https://bit.ly/DoubleDownPaper

Double Down will be free on Nov 27 & 28!

Shari Randall

Connect for fun and upcoming giveaways: https://www.facebook.com/sharirandallauthor

 

THE QUEEN OF CHRISTMAS

Dagmar Smith’s Festival of Trees is the highlight of Mystic Bay’s holiday season. This year Dagmar has added a spectacularly decorated Nutcracker tree to her display and she’s asked dancer Allie Larkin to help unveil it. But when Dagmar’s priceless diamond necklace is stolen in the middle of the festivities, Allie turns detective to unmask the thief. 

Grab a warm drink and curl up with this festive short story starring the characters from the beloved Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack mystery series. Recipe for hot toddy included!

BUY NOW:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081J7WDT8/ 

Saralyn Richard

CONNECT AT: http://saralynrichard.com

 

PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER

Back from his honeymoon, Detective Parrott investigates the theft of two valuable paintings from the artist’s studio in Brandywine Valley. Through a series of twists that become more and more personal, theft turns into murder, and murder leads to a treasure hunt for a lost masterpiece. Everyone, it seems, is hiding dark secrets, and Parrott learns there is more on an artist’s palette than globs of paint.

BUY NOW: https://books2read.com/u/4XnzxL

GIVEAWAY:

Sign up for Saralyn Richard newsletter and receive a free pdf of Epicurean Feasts, including the menu and recipes from the elegant nine-course meal in MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT. Subscribe at: http://saralynrichard.com 

Linda Rodriguez

CONNECT AT: http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com

 

PLOTTING THE CHARACTER-DRIVEN NOVEL

Great plot springs from character and the motivations each character has for taking or not taking action. In Plotting the Character-Driven Novel, Linda Rodriguez turns her sought-after writing course on using depth of character as a springboard to a strong plot into a book designed to help the aspiring writer who wants to tell a story made compelling by the truth and complexity of its characters. She provides examples of actual documents she has used in creating her own award- winning books to demonstrate the methods she teaches.

BUY NOW: https://books2read.com/u/bprKal

Debra Sennefelder

CONNECT AT: http://debrasennefelder.com/

 

THE CORPSE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH

Food blogger Hope Early takes on a cold case that’s heating up fast . . .

Building on her recipe for success with her food blog, Hope at Home, Hope is teaching her first blogging class at the local library in Jefferson, Connecticut. She’s also learning about podcasts, including a true-crime one called Search for the Missing, hosted by Hope’s childhood friend, Devon Markham. Twenty years ago on Valentine’s Day, right here in Jefferson, Devon’s mom disappeared and was never found. Finally Devon has returned to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother—and she asks Hope to help.

The next day Hope discovers Devon’s apartment has been ransacked. Her laptop with the research on her mother’s cold case is missing, and Devon is nowhere to be found. When her friend’s body is later discovered in a car wreck, Hope is convinced it’s no accident. Clearly, Devon was too close to the truth, and the cold-blooded killer is still at large in Jefferson. Now it’s up to Hope to find the guilty party—before the food blogger herself becomes the next subject of another true-crime podcast . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

BUY NOW: http://debrasennefelder.com/work

T.K. Thorne

CONNECT AT: TKThorne.com

 

HOUSE OF ROSE

When rookie patrol officer Rose Brighton chases a suspect down an alley, she finds herself in the middle of every cop’s nightmare—staring down at a dead body with two bullet holes from her gun . . . in his back.

He’s dead and now she has to explain it, which is going to be a problem because what happened was so strange, she doesn’t understand it herself. Rose must unravel the mystery of what happened and who she really is—a witch of the House of Rose. If she doesn’t figure it out fast, there will be more bodies, including her own.

“Thorne delivers a spellbinding thriller, an enthralling blend of real-world policing and other-world magic. It’s a wild ride of high stakes that pits the warm humanity of Rose and her friends against chilling powers of darkness in a battle that is both ages old and totally of today.”

BUY NOW:

All ebook locations –  https://books2read.com/HouseofRose

Print – Amazon

Lois Winston

CONNECT AT: http://www.loiswinston.com

 

A SEW DEADLY CRUISE
An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 9

Life is looking up for magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack. Newly engaged, she and photojournalist fiancé Zack Barnes are on a winter cruise with her family, compliments of a Christmas gift from her half-brother-in-law. Son Alex’s girlfriend and her father have also joined them. Shortly after boarding the ship, Anastasia is approached by a man with an unusual interest in her engagement ring. When she tells Zack of her encounter, he suggests the man might be a jewel thief scouting for his next mark. But before Anastasia can point the man out to Zack, the would-be thief approaches him, revealing his true motivation. Long-buried secrets now threaten the well-being of everyone Anastasia holds dear. And that’s before the first dead body turns up.

Craft projects included.

BUY NOW: https://books2read.com/u/4DWLkd 

Gay Yellen

CONNECT AT:  https://GayYellen.com/

 

THE BODY BUSINESS

A missing friend. . . A jealous rival. . . An investigator with motives of his own.
Samantha Newman has a great job. But when her best friend at work vanishes, doubt creeps in. When she turns to the FBI for help, they send Carter Chapman, a man with secrets of his own. His mission wasn’t supposed to include the problems of a beautiful corporate executive. When the two of them wrangle over how to proceed, Samantha risks everything to solve the case alone. Fast-paced and full of surprises, the story bounces from big-city bustle to the serene rolling hills of a Texas ranch and back again. Book 1 in the Samantha Newman Mystery Series.

FREE GIVEAWAY:

Free with Kindle Unlimited  https://www.amazon.com/Body-Business-Samantha-Newman-Mystery-ebook/dp/B08C8WDYRW

Or download with BookFunnel – Get your free copy of The Body Business, Book1 of The Samantha Newman Mysteries. Subscribe today! https://bookhip.com/QFFXTT

Sometimes I Wonder if I’m Crazy

The day after Thanksgiving I jumped on a virtual tour bus with 13 other mystery authors on a 14 day book tour. Of course we started long before the tour began by sending each other information about what we wanted to be sent for each blog post, and then of course we had to comply with the requests. Some of the writers took much longer to get their information sent off. Once it was received, in my case I immediately posted it to my blog with the correct date and time for it to appear.

Once the tour began it was important to promote the blogs as much as each author had time to do it. So far I’ve been promoting my blog with the guest author and whatever blog I’m appearing on that particular day. I’ve also made an effort to visit each of the other blogs and leave a comment.

Many books are being offered as prizes on this tour and some folks who love books, especially those that are free, have begun to catch on and there names and comments are appearing on the different blogs.
For my blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/ I asked the authors to write a post about setting. If you read each of their posts, you’ll see that none of them are alike at all. Some spoke about setting itself, others described the settings of their books. I found it fascinating.

Today I’m appearing on Timothy Hallinan’s blog http://www.timothyhallinan.com/blog/ he’s the author of The Queen of Patpong, a wonderful book.

We have authors of all genres within the mystery field, I think you’ll recognize most if not all of these names:
Beth Anderson, Ron Benrey, Pat Browning, John M. Daniel, Alice Duncan, W. W. (Wendy) Gager, M. M. (Madeline) Gornell, Timothy Hallinan, Jackie King, Jean Henry Mead, Mike Orenduff, Jinx Schwartz, Earl Staggs, and Anne K. Albert who organized this whole tour.

It’s been a bit of work, but I do think it’s paid off. I kept checking my numbers on Amazon for the e-book and they’ve been going down, which is a good thing.

Being with a small press (two, actually), I’ve had to work very hard to promote any of my books. The one I’ve been focusing on for this tour is Bears With Us.

Of course I’ve also been busy with in-person events, some of which I’ve written about on this blog.

All that’s left for this year is spending two days, December 9 and 10 at the Christmas Boutique at the Porterville Art Gallery from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I’ve done this several years and it’s a lot of fun. The artists who have their jewelry, cards, pottery, and of course paintings on sale are fun to chat with and their work is wonderful. It’s like going to a Christmas party that lasts for two days.

And in the mean time, I had 13 for Thanksgiving dinner, then the next day hauled the leftovers to may daughter’s so we could do it all again. (Daughter and granddaughters and great-grand daughter had spent the whole night and most of the day shopping for bargains. I was not crazy enough to do that.)

Hubby and have put up all the Christmas decorations we felt like and it doesn’t amount to much.

My collection of moose–not a collection I planned, people just kept giving them to me.

And sort of an Indian display. Oh, we have a small tree with lights that you just have to plug in and the stockings are hung on the mantel, and few other decorations here and there. But with no kids to help me decorate a big tree, not bothering with that this year.

Oh, and about being crazy? This virtual blog tour has taken up a lot of my writing time, but as I tell other authors, if you don’t let people know about your book, how will they know to buy it?

And I think I’ll take this time to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season no matter what you might celebrate, as for me it’ll be a Merry Christmas.

Marilyn

Thanksgiving!

by Maria Geraci

Happy Turkey Day everyone! I hope your day is filled with good food, good company and many blessings. I’ll be spending today with my family in central Florida right here. Yep, just a hop, skip and jump from Disney World, shopping, and lots of golf (for the guys), so everyone will be happy.

Despite the fact that I won’t be home, I’ll still start out my Thanksgiving morning the same way I have for decades. By watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV!

Now, I love parades, but there is no finer parade than the Macy’s parade and Thanksgiving without it would be like… well, like a Thanksgiving day without turkey. So I thought it would be fun to dig up a few parade stats.

For example, did you know that:

The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade was in 1924 and was actually called the Macy’s Christmas Day parade (although it was on Thanksgiving Day).

The first parade featured real live animals from the Central Park Zoo (no big animal balloons!)

The parade was cancelled in 1942, 1943 and 1944 due to WWII.

In 1927, Macy’s introduced their world famous giant helium balloons. The first balloons were of Felix the cat and the toy soldier.

Macy’s is the world’s second largest consumer of helium. The US government is the first (for some strange reason, I find this fascinating).

Originally, the giant balloons were released in the air at the end of the parade. The balloons had a “return label” on them and anyone who found one and returned it to Macy’s, received a prize.
In 1932, an aviator almost crashed his plane after attempting to catch the Cat balloon. As a result of this near disaster, the parade discontinued the practice of releasing the balloons.

Due to a helium shortage in 1958, the balloons were brought down Broadway on cranes.

Santa Claus closes out the parade every year, except in 1933 when he led the parade, but my favorite part of the parade is without doubt, Snoopy!

It’s Raining on My Car

or 
Why I’m Thankful
by Bethany Maines

So it’s the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house…  Yeah, Thanksgiving eve doesn’t quite have the same storied tradition as Christmas, does it? The kids don’t get giggly in excitement waiting for the giant turkey to burst out of the oven and give them the gifts of candied yams. (Although, now that I mention it, how fun would that be?) 
Not that the night before Thanksgiving doesn’t have traditions. There’s the frenzied run to the store.  The scrambling for some sort of dinner because the entire refrigerator is jammed with Thanksgiving food. The eating of the sacrificial pumpkin pie (ok, maybe that one’s just me). And of course, since it’s Thanksgiving in the Pacific Northwest there’s a down pour of rain. And now apparently, at my house, there’s the tradition of re-roofing the carport. Frankly, I was expecting more baking and less hammering with my Thanksgiving. But as my husband and I were discussing the additional strain on the budget, and the seriously lame prospect of roofing in the rain I realized something. While it is a serious inconvenience to be relocating all the cabinetry for our upcoming bathroom remodel to middle of the kitchen, well, we have a kitchen. And a bathroom. And a living room. And bedrooms. None of which are leaking. 
When my husband and I moved into our house, we’d spent a month sprucing it up, painting, and remodeling. Then, the night after we officially moved in, I was, shall we say, “released on my own recognizance,” a victim of our new economic reality. I was more than a bit concerned that we were going to lose the house. And now, a little over two years later, I’m worried about the car-port roof leaking like a colander. You know what? I’ll take it. 
The economy has pushed a lot of people who thought they were safe to the brink and every day more people lose their jobs or visit a food bank that never thought they’d be in that situation. The fact that my husband and I aren’t among them is purely due to the grace of God, unemployment and the unending support of our family and friends. So if the night before Christmas is for hoping for presents, then the night before Thanksgiving must be for counting your blessings. I know I’ve been given a boatload of them, including a great virtual group of friends here on the Stiletto Gang.  So to all of you out there in internet land, thanks for being part of my world. I hope you are all safe, fed, and with your loved ones.

Planning for Thanksgiving

It’s my turn to do Thanksgiving Dinner once again. Last year we traveled to Southern California to our youngest daughter’s big, beautiful house and I didn’t have to do a thing. Plus I got to spend time with grandchildren I don’t have the opportunity to be with very often. When I go down there, I miss out on sharing Thanksgiving with the family that lives nearby.

Everyone who knows me, knows I really enjoy cooking. Turkey is one of the easiest things there is to do and have come out delicious. If everyone comes I’ve invited, we’ll have a crowd, and this year I’m asking everyone to bring something so I don’t have to do it all.

I have much to be thankful for. I’ve had no major health problems and my hubby (and best friend) of 60 years, though he’s slowed down considerably, is doing well health-wise too. I’ve been blessed with a big family, many grandchildren and great grands. No, things don’t always go smoothly, do they ever with a big family? We have drama at times, but I’ve learned not to get too excited, or worried. Praying works far better.

As for my writing, I’ve had over thirty books published and I still enjoy doing it and am thrilled when a new one comes out. I like promoting because I love making new friends–and I’ve made many over the years, other writers and readers. We’ve had the opportunity to travel to places we’d have never thought of going to thanks to mystery conferences. Together we went to Hawaii when I was invited to be an instructor at the Maui Writers Retreat. Alone I went to Alaska twice and made good friends with a Native family that I’m still in touch with. Being a writer has offered me many opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and I’m thankful for that.

Back to the dinner, now it’s time to plan my shopping list and decide exactly what I’ll be cooking and what I’ll ask others to bring. There are certain things I always make–everyone loves dressing, and there are a few including me who want candied sweet potatoes, and there are the kids who think it isn’t Thanksgiving unless we have the green bean casserole. What about you? What has to be on your menu?

Marilyn

The Blessings of the Season

I’m not sure how it can be Thanksgiving already. I haven’t even changed my closet from summer to winter, so how can it be time to roast a turkey?

Time flies when you’re having fun and actually the last few months have indeed been fun. I like what the collective Evelyn David is writing…actually I like that we’re writing at all. It seemed like we hit the pause button over the summer, but then took off at lightspeed with the dawn of Labor Day. Writing the Brianna Sullivan e-books has been, quite simply, a hoot. The Southern half of this writing duo asked me the other day if it was bad form to be laughing uproariously at your own jokes. She had just re-read I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries, originally penned four years ago, and said she laughed long and loud. I know it’s good when you like what you are writing – or for that matter, enjoy whatever your job may be. So I’m truly thankful for this partnership that is also a wonderful friendship.

Oh, what the heck, let me keep on this thankful post, and talk about how lucky I am, blessed indeed, that The Stiletto Gang are my “peeps.” We are a disparate group of women of all ages, sizes, geographic locations, and points in our lives – and yet there is a sense of solidarity and support that is incredibly empowering. I have met in person only one of the Gang, and oddly enough it’s not the woman with whom I write books. Maggie Barbieri lives about a half hour away. But I often get just the email I need from someone in the group who might literally live across the country, but knows I need a pick-me-up. Sometimes, it’s to reassure me that “yes, you will write again,” when I am convinced that my writing career is over (if it should ever have begun). Sometimes, it’s when there’s a personal crisis, and someone has “been there, done that” and knows just will make the difference to get me out of the funk. These women I’ve never met are more than colleagues, they’re friends.

Writing, even with a partner, can be a lonely profession. I’m not sure how Hemingway and Fitzgerald managed to make it through the day without the reassurance I get from knowing that there is a group of writers out there who are no more than a click of a computer screen away. Of course, Ernest and Scott drank a lot so maybe that’s how they managed.

I don’t need turkey and stuffing to know that I have been blessed, in my personal life and professional one too. Before we eat our Thanksgiving feast, we always recite a Shehecheyanu prayer. It’s a Jewish blessing of thanksgiving. I offer it for you.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

Note to Readers: To celebrate the publication of the Wolfmont edition of Murder Takes the Cake, we’re having a drawing each Friday for an autographed copy of Murder Off the Books or Murder Takes the Cake (winner’s choice). To enter the drawing, leave a comment on our website – http://www.evelyndavid.com/

The Sullivan Investigation Series
Murder Drops the Ball (Spring 2011)
Murder Takes the Cake – PaperbackKindle
Murder Off the Books – PaperbackKindle
Riley Come Home – KindleNookSmashwords

Five Things I’m Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at The Stiletto Gang!

On Thanksgiving, do you stop to think about all the things you’re thankful for? I do. There are so many, but most can fit into these five categories.

The top five things I’m thankful for:

5. Health and Happiness (knock on wood; we have obstacles, but overall, we’re good!)

4. Writing for a Living (to earn *a meager* living doing what you love is fantastic)

3. The writing and book loving community (truly, they are an amazing group of people)

2. Good Friends and Family (because what would life be without them?)

and number 1 on my ‘Thankful’ list is…

1. My wonderful kids and husband (because they really do give my life meaning)

Have a wonderful day!!

~Misa