FREE STUFF!

JENN McKINLAY: As you can see, we are giving away SEVEN books to one lucky reader! Click this link – GIVEAWAY – to enter to win the six books shown plus one mystery book! FREE BOOKS, ya’ll, does it get any better? No, it does not!

Now being a thrifty sort, I LOVE free stuff. When I was younger (read poorer), I took everything that was offered to me that had the right price of FREE. This is why I have an upright piano in my house that, once the Hooligans stopped taking lessons, no one has played except Hooligan 1’s Plus 1 when she visits and I adore her for that! Now that I am older and more discerning, I curate the freebies that I accept such as my in-laws gorgeous dining set from Copenhagen – yes, please, and thank you! Other stuff, not so much.

How about you, Reds, how do you feel about free stuff?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It’s like, gift with purchase. SO irresistible, even if we know i’;s not a gift!  Or the points we get at CVS. I know they make the stuff more expensive (my opinion at least) so it’s a wash for them, but oooh, free points so I can get free stuff.  Airline miles, too, so fabulous.  (I cannot bring myself to use them, though, and have no idea what I’m saving them FOR, which is annoying. ) And all those little bookish trinkets we get at conferences–I have so many canvas bags! And pens.  But..they were FREE! 

Anyway! We are so happy with all of you that we decided to have some summertime fun and offer YOU free stuff!  And we’re thinking we’ll do this again.That’s why you’ll see on the entry form that we’re calling it a quarterly giveaway.

LUCY BURDETTE:  Hank, I do not get those CVS points, do not understand how to use those at all. So I just throw the receipts in the trash. Airline points are tricky because it’s very seldom you can actually use them. I encourage John to use them when he’s going somewhere with multiple flights like skiing from Key West. One thing I do adore is free books! Particularly something I desperately want to read anyway. We hope you will feel that way about this giveaway! And by the way, come to the Reds and readers Facebook page and chat about Jenn’s Hallmark debut, Thursday, July 30! I can’t wait…

HANK: Lucy, you throw those receipts in the trash? Even if they say Extra Bucks? Nooooooo.. And yes, free books. The total scourge. How can anyone resist?

HALLIE EPHRON, who is still trying to give away an upright piano (no takers) that my kids learned to play on. No takers.

CVS coupon deals? Meh. Every time I go to CVS I try to use one of those deals (25% OFF ON YOUR NEXT PURCHASE!!) and it turns out whatever I’m shopping for doesn’t qualify. 

Having said that, I love it when the grocery store offers two avocados or mangos or cucumbers for the price of one. But two 5-pound bags of potatoes? They’ll sprout before go through them. Still, I take that “free” extra bag and drop it in the food donation bin on my way out of the store. 

RHYS BOWEN : The one I don’t get. But one pair of shoes get the second free. Who needs two pairs of identical shoes? In my early marriage/ raising a family days I loved  free stuff. Who  else collected Green Stamps? They paid for kids Christmas presents. These days I’m happy to pay. I do get and use airline miles. I’ve books trips to Europe for several family members on my miles. I currently have 249,0000 miles on AA. 

 

I don’t claim most freebies. I feel other people need free stuff more than me  But I do love a bargain!

JENN: I am also a flyer miles collector. Love upgrading my seat to one with legroom every chance I get!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Ditto here on the CVS points. I am just annoyed by all the extra paper added to my receipt. Airline miles, on the other hand, have made trips to London and back much more comfortable over the years. I will take those upgrades, although they're not exactly "free" these days, even with mileage.

Otherwise, I'm not so big on free stuff these days. I'm trying to get rid of stuff, not add to it!

 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I adore free stuff (well, except for the $15,000 cat.) I occasionally have dreams where I get to go through some sort of thrift shop and take anything I want. Seriously, I don't know what that says about me, but I do. My first time at the American Booksellers Conference in NY, I took EVERY advance reader copy I thought I might be remotely interested in - and then had to stagger back to my hotel from the Javits Center carrying approximately 500 pounds of books, sine there wasn't a cab to be had anywhere.

 

I have learned since then. Like the rest of you, I've gotten a lot more picky as the count-of-items-owned has increased but my storage space has not. It's still a delight, but it has to 1) actually be worth it (do I want to spend the money on the skin are to get the "free" gift-with-purchase) and something I need (buy-one-get-one-free is my trip-up here.) 

 

I'm still a sucker for free books, though... 

Your turn, Readers, where do you stand on free stuff?

Celia Anne Constable Wakefield 1943-2026

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Dear readers, this is a post I never wanted to write. After a valiant 17-month fight with a particularly aggressive form of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, our dear Celia passed away. Her family had been with her, and friends had been visiting up until the last, sudden five days.

I'm a professional writer, but I can't find the words to say all that her friendship meant to me. I can say during the pandemic and the years afterwards, when she was unable to get out much because she was caring for her beloved Victor, this community was a Godsend. She felt she knew you, and that you knew her, and that broadened her world.  

The fact she was unable to do all the traveling (and mystery conferences) she had planned after Victor's passing leaves me more than a little bitter, and I know we don't swear on this blog, but Fuck. Cancer. It's taken far too many of the best of us.

She did make an appearance at last year's Crime Bake, and I thank everyone who helped plan her get-together, who stopped by, who hugged her and who gave her books or ARCs. (She loved getting ARCs - it made her feel like a mystery insider.) I leave you with her obituary, which I've annotated with links to some of her wonderful blog posts. Pick a recipe, invite friends over, and enjoy a meal together. That was the Celia Wakefield way.

 

 

 Celia Wakefield, of Limerick, Maine, died peacefully on June 27, 2026, at the age of 82. Born in 1943 in London, England, she was the daughter of Douglas and Patricia Constable. 

Celia led an adventurous early life. At six, she left London with her parents for Trinidad, where her father worked as an agronomist. After her sister and brother were born in 1950 and 1951, the family relocated to Ceylon. Celia returned to boarding school in the UK at 12. She rejoined her family in Ghana three years later. At 18, she moved back to London, lived on a houseboat on the Thames, and worked as a secretary at IBM, where she met Victor, her husband of 55 years. 

They married on May 23, 1969, and soon moved to New York City. They relocated to Chappaqua after their daughter, Olivia, was born in 1970 and they became U.S. citizens in 1993. 

Celia was a gifted costume maker, beginning with Olivia’s school productions and later bringing her creative talents to the Revels. She was also an accomplished cook and entrepreneur, founding The British Butler, a catering business, in the 1980s. Her smoked trout pâté was especially beloved. She loved music and dancing, spent happy summer weeks at Pinewoods Camp, and actively supported the Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS). 

In 1999, Celia and Victor retired to their home on Lake Arrowhead in Maine, where they enjoyed entertaining friends and life by the lake.
She is survived by her daughter, Olivia, and son-in-law, Ken Wechsler; grandsons, Aidan and Connor Lee; her sister, Ros Constable, and Ros’ partner, Sandra Jenner. She was predeceased by her brother, Andrew, and is survived by his wife, Tina Redge Constable, and their children, Ella and Luke Constable. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Revels, Pinewoods Camp, Inc., or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  

What's On Your MInd?

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hi everyone! To paraphrase Taylor Swift, hi, it's me, I'm the technical difficulties, it's me. Everyone loved Hank's prompt - bless you, Hank, for leaping to my rescue - so I'm just going to add a few things and throw the question, What's on your mind?, back to you all!

 

The whole Lionel Messi giving a baby bath to Spain's Lamine Yamal event. Is it just me, or does it seem like something out of an ancient Greek drama to you, too? And will ambitious football parents be lining up, begging the soccer superstar to give their kids a wash-up?

 

Heat domes, or whatever they're calling them these days. Right now, it's literally perfect weather in Maine: high of 80°/27°, nights cool enough that I pulled out my duvet again. But then every couple of weeks, it feels like we've been put inside God's E-Z Bake Oven. 

 

I'm going to complain about the wildfire smoke. C'mon, Canadians. We KNOW you have Giant Atmospheric Shield Technology, why aren't you using it to protect us here in the US?!? It's because we beat you in hockey this past winter, isn't it. 

 

I've got to get a cat bubbler because 1) my vet suggests it to encourage my older cat to drink more for her kidney health and 2) the $15,000 cat won't drink until he's tossed enough water around to splatter all over my wooden kitchen floor. Any brand recommendations?

 

 I had a birthday last month, and now I'm enrolled in Medicare. On one hand, ugh, I'm officially a senior citizen. On the other, that sweet, sweet socialized health care! This is why we need Medicare for All in the US, so no one has to experience the moment as "Congratulations! One year closer to death! Here's your new insurance!"

 

This has been a weirdly tick-free summer in my neighborhood. Anyone else getting this?

 

Finally, a call to have a new type of celebration: the Friendaversary. This September will be the 50th anniversary of my high-school friend and I meeting. We've been through boyfriends, marriages, raising kids, widowhood, empty nesting and the above senior citizen thing, and we've decided we're going to do something fancy to celebrate US. What do you think? Do you have any friendaversary candidates in your life?