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JENN MCKINLAY: Usually, the cupcake bakery mysteries drop every April or May, as reliably as the tide coming in...except this year. Because when I decided to write a holiday mystery a spring release just seemed silly.
I mean I know some stores like to put up Christmas and Halloween displays at the same time (the SHAME!!!) and some places even start plugging the holidays in August (there should be laws against this, I'm just sayin') but to be honest having the cupcake mystery book come out in October after fifteen years of always releasing in May...it has me all kinds of messed up! I have no idea what day or month it is. I'm a hot mess, I tell ya.
And, of course, publishing being publishing, my Christmas themed cozy mystery is out NOW weeks BEFORE Halloween. Every bit of me recoils in horror at this. Because I love Halloween and I do not like having my holidays get all mashed up. Santa riding a broomstick is just wrong. Okay, end of rant.
It did get me to pondering which of these holidays do I prefer? I figured it would be Halloween hands down. I mean CANDY and dressing up, and CANDY and, frankly, less work and CANDY -- LOL. But I wanted to be certain so I took a Buzzfeed quiz (they have a quiz for everything) and it said...well, I'm not going to tell you...yet. Take it for yourself: QUIZ: Halloween vs. Christmas
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All that being said, I suppose readers can buy their copy of SUGAR PLUM POISONED and wait until December to read it. I just know myself and when a new book in a series drops, I have to read it RIGHT NOW!
How about you, Red and Readers? Do you devour books in a series as they drop or can you wait? And which do you prefer Halloween or Christmas or a different holiday all together?
My quiz result said I enjoy both holidays equally. Hmm. I think this depends upon whether I've been naughty or nice ;-)
More about the book:
It’s Christmastime, and this holiday season, things are heating up for the bakers at Fairy Tale Cupcakes, in the newest Cupcake Bakery Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.
When up-and-coming singing sensation Shelby Vaughn arrives in town for two weeks of concert dates, she hires her old friend Angie and the rest of the bakery crew to supply cupcakes for the VIP guest lounge every night.
After overhearing Shelby in a heated argument with her manager, Mel is concerned, but she and the crew decide to make the best of their time working with the star. Just as the bakers fall into the rhythm of the job, Shelby’s manager is found dead, clutching a bit of fabric from a Santa suit and a cupcake. With the bakery crew and Shelby’s backup dancers all dressed in similar Santa costumes, it’s impossible to say who is the killer. When all suspicions lead back to Shelby, Mel and Angie stand up for their friend, determined to prove her innocence before she’s frosted for a crime she didn’t commit.
Congratulations, Jenn, on your newest book . . . I'll probably read it the second I get it because I'm not much for waiting, especially when I have a really good book to read; usually I read the newest book in a series right away.
ReplyDeleteAs for the holidays, my preference is definitely Christmas . . . .
Thank you, Joan. I am the same way!
DeleteJENN: Congratulations on the newest Cupcake Bakery mystery! Yes, I can see how an October release can mess you up, but I also think it was hard to write a Christmas-themed mystery in the hot AZ weather, right?
ReplyDeleteAs for the quiz, I am more a Christmas lover. My Halloween costume & bad candy days are long over.
Yes, 115 degrees does feel very Ho Ho Ho - Ha ha ha! :)
DeleteCongrats on the newest Cupcake Bakery book!! I usually read series in order unless I need to read a book for a challenge on GoodReads. For the quiz, I was equally for Halloween and Christmas. I don't think that is true. I enjoy Halloween much more unless I'm lucky enough to get invited to visit my granddaughters up in NH for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI thought I would skew Halloween, too, but I think I jusy love all holidays.
DeleteHappy book birthday, Jen! And thanks for the laugh this AM. Personally? I prefer Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI'm hosting Gobble Day this year - and I'm already stressed out! Thank goodness Hub is in charge of the bird.
DeleteJenn, I'm laughing. My Hub the turkey too - I think he doesn't trust anyone else. Only problem is he thinks it's the only thing that matters...when all I want is for him to leave the (small) kitchen so I can do the rest!
DeleteCongratulations on your new release! I’m like Queen above. I read book series in order, one of the few things I’m that disciplined about. I already knew I am a Christmas over Halloween person and the quiz confirmed that. (Though what was up with the hairstyles question? Doesn’t that depend a whole lot more on your own hair than what season it is?!) Looking forward to Sugar Plum Poisoned! — Pat S
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat. Yes, the hair was a curveball.
DeleteCongratulations! I totally agree about not rushing the holidays or combining them - but Christmas books always come out in October.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to split the difference and say Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Halloween isn't as fun without little kids around, and Christmas, while lovely and nostalgic, is too complicated and sometimes fraught to be totally fun (and also not as nice without offspring around, no matter how old they are). Thanksgiving? Great food, family and friends, and no gifts. Perfection.
I'm going to have to reconsider Thanksgiving, Edith. Hub is cooking the bird this year, so...I should enjoy it.
DeleteI'm all about the three kinds of pies, my mom's bread stuffing, the spatchcocked turkey (which Hugh and I do together), the garlic-smashed potatoes, making gravy with my best friend, and having the grand-godkids running around. The vegetarians in the crowd love all the non-meat sides. And I host every year, so I can have all the wine I want, LOL.
DeleteEdith, having celebrated Christmas, both by choice and by chance on my own many times, it has always been my most wonderful holiday. My mother and her mother loved the holiday and infused me with the spirit. Keeping Christmas in my heart. Elisabeth
DeleteJenn, congratulations on your new Cupcake Bakery Mystery. I love your books and usually read them as soon as they come out. Sometimes I have to clear out the pile of library books first;>) I must confess that I do have favorites and that when your women's fiction book arrives in the Spring, all the books in my TBR pile, library or owned, will have to wait!!
ReplyDeleteHalloween 🎃 is my birthday. I won't need a quiz.
Judy, Halloween is the coolest birthday! My granddaughter is a Halloween baby too.
DeleteCongrats Jenn!
Happy Early Birthday, Judy! You are so lucky!!!
DeleteJenn, congrats on the new book!
ReplyDeleteUnless a book is one I'm reading for a review, I don't always get to read new ones right away. This would be due to having a lot of books to read and trying to keep them in order. There are exceptions of course but they are rare.
I didn't take the quiz. I would say I prefer Christmas because there is usually a big meal involved and I like getting books or book gift cards. However, I do like Halloween because I give out so much candy, comics and prizes at the door.
Sounds like it's a tie, Jay. Love that you give out comics!
DeleteCongratulations Jenn! It's a stunning cover and I can't wait to read it! xox
ReplyDeleteThanks, Roberta!
DeleteCongratulations Jenn! I don't need a quiz to confirm that I despise Halloween! For a lot of the reasons given above I, too, will have to say that Thanksgiving is my preferred holiday. But as far as a new book goes, especially one of yours, it doesn't matter one bit to me if it is a Christmas-themed book out of season, so to speak. It will be grand to read it whenever!
ReplyDeleteI do love visiting characters that have become old friends whenever they arrive.
DeleteCongratulations, Jenn! Sometimes I can put the new book off, sometimes I can't. Depends on the book and my mood.
ReplyDeleteChristmas, hands down. I am the Grinch Who Stole Halloween. LOL
LOL - my Hub is the same. Not a fan.
DeleteJENN: Congratulations on your new Christmas novel SUGAR PLUM POISONED!
ReplyDeleteJust took the Quiz and it looks like I enjoy both Halloween and Christmas Equally!
Usually I devour a novel in the series as soon as it is published. However, in this case, I need to catch up on the Cupcake Bakery mystery series before reading SUGAR PLUM POISONED, which I look forward to reading during the Christmas season. And I look forward to reading Kate Carlisle's new Christmas novel from the Brooklyn Wainwright series during the Christmas season.
Often re-read the Holiday novels like Rhys' Twelve Clues of Christmas (Lady Georgie mystery) among several Christmas novels during the Christmas season. And I LOVE the "Book flood" which is an Icelandic tradition when people give books as Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve.
Diana
I do love revisiting fave holiday mysteries, too. It's almost a tradition.
DeleteThat cover, Jenn! It's so delicious, it makes me salivate. I hear you about being out of sync with the calendar. When I was a retail buyer we were always looking at holiday styles in early summer. It took me awhile to adjust to that, especially since it was the 1970s, when Christmas stayed firmly in the month after Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to have confirmation, but anyone who knows me knows that Halloween is my jam. We have a big, blowout Halloween party every two years. My kids have started asking when it is so they can be sure to be in town, and one asked if she can invite her friends to the "septuagenarian" Halloween. The stinker.
Christmas has become so commercialized and crass that it just makes me sad. At least Halloween has no pretensions of holiness.
One of these years I'm coming to your Halloween party, Karen!
DeletePut it on your calendar for next year!
DeleteI can do a midwestern book junket, which I am overdue for. Will seriously consider!
DeleteOh, that sounds like so much fun, Karen!
DeleteHalloween or Thanksgiving or Christmas, it's ALWAYS a good time to celebrate a new novel from Jenn. And what a spectacular cover this one has.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbors are big into decorating for Halloween and Christmas. Over the top. Exuberance. (and Scroogey me, thinking about the landfill (or ocean) where all that plastic will end up) - I guess Christmas my number 1, especially since I pile Hanukah on top of it. A great excuse to make potato pancakes and the candle lighting is pretty magical.
Hallie, I'm in West Falmouth writing my brains out this week. Have not seen a SINGLE home decorated for Halloween. Maybe they're too..."tasteful" for that? Seems odd.
DeleteReally? There is an explosion of giant skeletons around here!
DeleteYesterday I walked my dog in a different neighborhood than mine (gives him new things to sniff) and they were going all out with the Halloween decorations! It was impressive in daylight; can’t imagine what it’s like after dark!
DeleteWonder what the difference between potato latkes for Hanukah and potato pancakes (Ireland) are?
DeleteDiana
We have giant skeletons down the street, Hallie! And I can see a dragon out my kitchen window.
DeleteI do love the decorations - especially if they use them year after year. I donated out old skeleton to Goodwill :) Recycle, reuse, etc!
DeleteHi Jenn, I just received SUGAR PLUM POISONED and can't wait to read it. I'm looking forward to talking to you about it on our panel at Crime Bake.
ReplyDeleteJENN is going to be at Crime Bake, too? Wow. A Reds reunion of sorts.
DeleteWow and yay, I meant to write.
DeleteLooking for ward to it, Ang!
DeleteCongratulations Jenn! The book looks sweet and delicious. I took the quiz and got the result that I like both holidays equally. If the Christmas pictures had been even a little spiritual, I would have ended up on the Christmas end, because it is the holiday I prefer.
ReplyDeleteAs a library user, I am used to waiting for books and reading them a year or two after publication. I don't mind, as there is always something good to read.
That is so smart Gillian. I try to get books from the library too.
DeleteThe librarian in me thanks you!
DeleteLove this, Jenn , and what a terrific idea! Very Taylor Swift, right? Congratulations… You are amazing.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Very Swiftie.
DeleteJenn, the cover is delicious! Congratulations! No little kids for Halloween, so not much fun--none in our rural neighborhood to come to the door! I enjoy Christmas, but my favorite holiday is Easter. Spring is coming, winter is in retreat, it's just about being together and enjoying a special meal. (Flora)
ReplyDeleteI love Easter, too. It's always so optimistic.
DeleteJenn, I’m so happy about the newest mystery!
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoy Halloween, I prefer Christmas! I read a series book as soon as I can get my hands on it; the time of year doesn’t matter. I can happily read and reread series books set around Christmas, no matter what time of year it is. I really enjoy them, although I do need to wrap up in an afghan and drink hot drinks as I
read them if it’s winter.
DebRo
That sounds perfectly cozy!
DeleteI do like to read books during the season or holiday they are set in but there are times I just can't wait, so it will be "read now and then go back another year and read in the correct holiday/season." But since I'm a one book at a time , I can get closer to the holiday, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI do like Christmas more than Halloween but I like it in December not July, August, September, etc.
DeleteExactly! Keep it in December, please!
DeleteI absolutely LOVE this cover -- and I love reading holiday mysteries at the holidays! I'm in and can't wait to read SUGAR PLUM POISONED -- a great title, too!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteCongratulations, Jenn, fabulous cover and intriguing story!
ReplyDeleteI read them as they drop. Why wait? I can always read it again at a seasonally appropriate time, and usually do. As for holidays, in the hands of a master writer, it's all good.
Excellent perspective!
DeleteClearly, the solution is to buy SUGAR PLUM POISON now, and read it once the tree is up!
ReplyDeleteAnd Jenn, you're forgetting the best holiday of them all - the day AFTER Halloween, when all the candy goes on sale for 50% off...
Truly, the most magical day of the year!!!
DeleteI read them as they arrive. Or they may sit a while in my TBR pile. It depends on what all is going on and what happened in a previous book. Looking at that luscious cover I think the nutcracker did it.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! Excellent sleuthing!
DeleteI definitely read books in a series as soon as they come out, especially your Cupcake books, Jenn.
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoy the Fall holidays, we don’t get any trick- or-treaters here so Halloween only exists in some decorations for us. On the other hand, we are Christmas people in a big way. Think 20+ trees, themed decorations for different rooms, etc.
WOW!!!!!!
DeleteDefinitely a Christmas person. Santa, reindeer, trees, YES! Pumpkins, masks, ghosts, NO! Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI love the magic of it :)
DeleteJenn, your cover is absolutely fabulous!! Or maybe that should be "delicious!" And I will read it as soon as I finish the ARC in progress--no waiting for the proper season. But I will reread favorite Christmas books at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI fell on the Christmas side of the quiz, too, although I do like Halloween and more general "autumnal" things a lot!
"General autumnal" is definitely me.
DeleteI've enjoyed this one already. And I reviewed it the same week I reviewed a Halloween cozy.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think there are more Christmas books I read in a year than I could squeeze into December even if I waited until then. But, since I get ARCs, I don't have the choice to wait if I could. There are a few I buy each year that I do save for Christmas, however. Like Donna Andrews. Her yearly Christmas book has become a December tradition for me.
Donna is a tradition for me, too!
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ReplyDeleteKathy Reel here. Of course, the holidays will be largely ignored this year for me. I usually have lots of Halloween decorations out by the middle of September, but I only have a few items this year. But, ordinarily, I love Halloween and Christmas. I think Halloween might have a slight edge on Christmas. I love books set around Christmas though, more than Halloween. I've just ordered Sugar Plum Poisoned through my Audible account. I'm really hoping I can read again by then or listen to books. Congratulations on your new book, Jen.
I'm beginning to think that I might be able to do audio books. One of the things I do almost every night to get to sleep is listen to a sleep story on the Calm app. Eric Braa is my favorite narrator, and the train or nature stories are my favorite stories. Braa has the most soothing voice I've ever heard. I'm usually asleep before the end of the story, which can last from 30 to 40 minutes. So, I'm thinking maybe I could try the audio in books and have some luck.
Kathy, it is wonderful to hear from you. I can imagine the holidays will be a challenge this year. Hugs. I am exactly like you - enjoy Halloween as a holiday but love stories around Christmastime. I, too, love the Calm app. There's a British narrator who reads The Velveteen Rabbit on audio books and I have yet to get to the end of the story as I always fall asleep.
DeleteJenn, I know you’re a baseball fan (from your Eriq LaSalle hysterical story) so congratulations to your Diamondbacks! — Pat S
ReplyDeleteThank you! That was epic!
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