WE HAVE SOME WINNERS!!!
Pat S, you are the winner of Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day's MURDER UNCORKED. Please send an email to edith@edithmaxwell.com
Alice, you are the winner of Kate Carlisle's $25 gift card to the Poisoned Pen Bookstore. Please email her assistant at jenel@jenellooney.com
JENN McKINLAY: Every time I think there is no way the art department can come up with a cover for my book, they prove me wrong. Yesterday, I shared the Vegas cover from the cupcake bakery mysteries and I think we can all agree, it is fabulous. Then, of course there was the time I was into Zombies...
And then there was a rodeo...
A wedding...
Another wedding...
And a holiday mystery (which was just released)...
FOOTBALL! Naturally.
Or as I like to say, "Are you ready for some cupcakes?"
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This is a sneak peek as the book won't be listed with retailers until Nov 9th but I just couldn't resist sharing! How fun is this? It will be available in July 2024!
Now truthfully, I am out of ideas. Hit me, Reds and Readers (not literally), where/how/why/what should happen in the next cupcake bakery mystery?
This cover is so clever, Jenn . . . .
ReplyDeleteHow about one of those gender reveal events?
DeleteAh!!! That's brilliant. I will add it to my list.
DeleteIsn't there a huge hot air balloon festival out there?
ReplyDeleteGenius!!! I've been to it! So fun!
DeleteThese are all such great covers! What's next? Hmmm. How about a theater event?
ReplyDeleteI like it - keep going! Touring broadway? Murder mystery theater. Hmm.
DeleteYes a murder mystery theater!
DeleteOoh, I like murder mystery theater.
DeleteThe covers are all great and so very recognizable. I just love the subject of the next book! Two football players opening a Cupcake Bakery is such a good storyline! You are just amazing, Jenn.
ReplyDeleteNot really. I'm a hack. LOL. Two football players opened a Gigi's cupcake franchise in TX so I ran with it. :)
DeleteJenn, great cover.
ReplyDeleteAs for suggested storylines for the next book, you could go meta and have a "murder at a book convention" themes tied in with the cupcakes. The cupcakes could have little deerstalker caps on them.
Or go a music festival plot route and have guitars on the cupcakes.
I like both of those!!! Deer stalker caps. Love! Guitar picks - Hub would be giddy. Coachella, here I come.
DeleteLove the cover.
ReplyDeleteMe, too!
DeleteJenn, it's amazing--they keep outdoing themselves!
ReplyDeleteI know. I'm always amazed.
DeleteYour publisher's art department is pretty awesome, Jenn. Such imaginative cupcakes!
ReplyDeleteTwo football players wanting to open a cupcake shop? That idea, er, takes the cake!
LOL - I see what you did there!
DeleteGreat covers and great titles too!
ReplyDeleteHow about graduation party cupcakes for a valedictorian who cheating her way into college and nefarious things are happening to cover it up
Oooooh, I like it! Lots of potential suspects there!
DeleteI also like the rock band festival idea. Some diva making outrageous demands about everything including the food in their dressing room gets electrocuted onstage only it wasn’t an accident.
ReplyDeleteElectrocution! I'm using that right now but this could work!
DeleteJENN: Love the cover reveal! Ooh, I have some ideas for future cupcake bakery stories...Any chance you have been watching the British Baking Show with many wonderful bakers, including the first Deaf baker on the show?
ReplyDeletePerhaps a future story with a Deaf baker? Maybe a friend's teenager is Deaf and wants to become a baker?
Love Brenda's idea about a graduation party for a valedictorian who cheated his / her way into college and nefarious things are happening? And Jay's idea about a music festival with guitars on the cupcakes.
A theater event sounds great too. Perhaps a fundraiser to save a theater?
Diana
I do watch GBBO - love it - but I get so attached and then sad. Yes, so many great ideas and I love the suggestion to work in a deaf character.
DeleteJENN: Feel free to ask me or other deaf people you know.
DeleteYou can DM me on Instagram.
Diana
Love it! This series is so much fun!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThe covers are fabulous, Jenn! I love that they capture the story so well, yet retain an over-all look as a series. Idea for a story: I think cupcakes for a Dia de los Muertos celebration/fundraiser/celebrity event would make for a gorgeous cupcake cover. I also like a Saint Paddy's day cover--pots of gold, leprechauns, rainbows, shamrocks--and for the plot, a map leading to a long-lost pot of gold and murder, given an Arizona setting.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, so many excellent celebrations to lean into. Brilliant, Flora!!!
DeleteALL the covers are gorgeous and they feel like YOUR brand (for this series.)
ReplyDeleteCupcakes are a sweet brand to have ;)
DeleteJenn, will there be more books in the Library series? The last one I am aware of is The Plot & The Pendulum.
ReplyDeleteFATAL FIRST EDITON - Feb 2024
DeleteHow about a zip lining “accident”, or a snapped cable on a ski lift?
ReplyDeleteIf you’ve already done these, forgive me!
I read so many mysteries that I sometimes mix them up in my head!
DebRo
Nope! Adding to my list!
DeleteMay I ask a question about CrimeBake? I've seen photos of costumes/fancy dress for previous conferences, and wondering if there's a themed event requiring such a thing this year?
ReplyDeleteGetting excited, and starting to pack!
Ack! I have no idea! I’ll see what I can find out.
DeleteNo suggestions, but the covers are all delicious!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSuch great covers, Jenn. And you've come up with so many great ideas and locations. Looking forward to hearing about the next plot and seeing the next great cover.
ReplyDeleteSo FABULOUS! How about animal rescue? You are amazing, I have to say. I am constantly in awe. Xxx
ReplyDeleteI love all of the cover art and the new football players-as-cupcake-bakery-owners is a great idea. How about something related to a comic book convention (aka ComiCon) or any of the “Cons” that have sprung up? — Pat S (And I am very excited about Edith’s book I won! Thank you!!)
ReplyDeleteGreat cover. Of course, I thought about all the team sports, baseball, basketball, soccer, but then I flashed on other sports. Swimming, archery, gymnastics, wrestling, tennis.
ReplyDeleteI just read a cozy mystery by R.W. Green who writes now for M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series. The victim is murdered during an archery event in the Cotswolds.
DeleteYour covers are absolutely fabulous, Jenn! And I have no doubt you'll come up with a great idea for the next one!
ReplyDeleteThe box game Clue will have to add new locations, weapons and people!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful covers! I love the detail. How about a political election night party? I could see all kinds of nefarious goings on.
ReplyDeleteJenn, I love these covers, and I can't help but wonder if your cover artist at Berkley is a frustrated baked goods designer; all of these look like something you might actually see shopping at a high-end bakery.
ReplyDeleteI think the Fairy Tale crew ought to come to Maine for Independence Day! They haven't been there yet, and imagine the cupcake possibilities: little ships and lighthouses and anchors in red, white and blue.
And you have a place where you can stay while researching....
I am in, Julia. You had me at lighthouse.
DeleteJenn, all your covers are fantastic, and this latest one may be the best at covering so many aspects of the theme of football!
ReplyDeleteThank you - he really nailed it!
DeleteThe covers are wonderful. Did you do a Christmas or Thanksgiving theme yet? Little elves or turkeys on the cupcakes? How about pupcakes or kittycakes?
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful cover!
ReplyDeleteI'd say ultimate Frisbee, but you just have a sports book.
What great covers! I like Sally's idea of pupcakes or kittycakes if you haven't done it yet. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteCaptain Jack and Peanut need to get in on the sleuthing act! I love it when pets discover dead bodies and clues. A terrier can sniff out food from a dead sleep. I'm sure Peanut can help Mel find a dead body if there's cupcakes involved. Maybe Mel can partner with a pet shop to provide pupcakes? Pet bakeries are becoming popular. or be asked to cater a pet's birthday party with treats for pets and humans? Ask your furry family members for inspiration.
ReplyDelete