Living as a Blind Person in 1889, a guest post by Edith Maxwell

Julia Spencer-Fleming: It's no secret that I love historical mysteries (and historical fiction in general) and it's been a great delight to dig into our own Edith Maxwell's Quaker Midwife books. Now, one of the several things that keep me from trying my hand at the genre is laziness - getting history right takes a lot of work. And it's not all reading documents in libraries and archives - today Edith tells us about the sort of real-life research necessary to create, not just n authentic historical world, but authentic characters.

Living as a Blind Person in 1889

Thanks for having me back on the Reds, Julia! I’m happy to send a copy of Judge Thee Not to one commenter here today.

In my latest Quaker MidwifeMystery, I wanted to include a blind character (and I love that Leslie Karst’s recent post on Jungle Reds addressed the same topic). I have a good friend here in Amesbury who has been blind her entire life. Jeanne Papka Smith raised two children, recently retired from a full-time career as a social worker, plays fiddle and guitar beautifully, and is a fellow Quaker and international traveler with whom I not only share a natal state (California) but a birthday!

Jeanne was the model for Jeanette Papka in Judge Thee Not. In this book, the fifth in the series, Jeanette is pregnant with her second child, so midwife Rose is watching over her pregnancy. Jeanette is trilingual and interprets French and Polish in the courts. Her parents had sent her to the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, and she is well educated.

Besides Helen Keller, the only real blind person from the late nineteenth century I knew of was Mary Ingalls, the oldest sister of Laura. And what I knew came from reading children’s books. So I set myself to learning about the past, as we historical novelists do.

I was able to find Mary Ingalls: the College Years by Marie Tschopp, an account of Mary’s school years and picked up a few good tidbits. I also read a reproduction of The World as I Hear It by Lansing V. Hall, published in 1878. From these books and elsewhere I learned that the blind and deaf were generally considered morons in that period.

My main historical research source was a field trip I made to the Perkins School, which is still operating today. A wonderful research librarian let me into the files. She gave me a tour of the museum. She sent me home with Braille samples and so much more.

Check out how kids learned the shapes of countries and states. They could feel life-sized relief amphibians.

 

I noticed how they used different kinds of tiles in the floor to mark out pathways.

The librarian said the genders were segregated as teenagers. Boy scouts were brought in to socialize with the girls, and girl scouts with the boys. Despite Perkins being an enlightened school devoted to educating the blind, the thinking was that the students shouldn’t be allowed to fall in love with each other because they then might intermarry and, heaven forbid, reproduce. She also said that of course the kids found ways to get around the segregation, making holes in the cafeteria dividing wall, for example, so they could talk and touch.

I also learned that American braille lagged behind French braille. By 1889 not that many books were yet published in American braille, so I put a scene in my book where Jeanette is sitting outside reading Jane Austen in French.

Photo by antonioxalonso, Wikimedia Commons

Modern-day Jeanne kindly read (well, listened to) my manuscript twice over before I submitted it. She set me straight in several spots, one being where Rose had commented that of naturally the blind have better hearing. Jeanne told me, “No, our hearing isn’t any better than anyone else’s. But we don’t have sight to distract us from listening.” Off I went to fix the passage, with 1889 Jeannette correcting Rose.

In my story, because of the prevailing beliefs, people around town and in court say things in Jeanette’s hearing that they wouldn’t otherwise in public. They don’t think she can make sense of them. She gladly relays important bits of information about the murder to Rose. Rose’s lesbian pal Bertie is also subject to a great deal of judgment. Justice-minded Rose stands up for both her friends.

I loved writing this book, as I do all the Quaker Midwife mysteries, and bringing the past to life for readers.

Readers: what have you learned from differently-abled people you have known or admired from a distance? One lucky commentor will win a copy of JUDGE THEE NOT!

No stranger to judgmental attitudes in her small town, 1880s Quaker midwife Rose Carroll is nonetheless stunned when society matron Mayme Settle publicly snubs Rose’s good friend Bertie for her nontraditional ways. When Mrs. Settle is later found murdered—and a supposed witness insists Bertie was spotted near the scene of the crime—the police blame her. Rose is certain her friend is innocent, and she enlists the help of a blind pregnant client—who’s endured her own share of prejudice—to help her sift through the clues. As the two uncover a slew of suspects tied to financial intrigues, illicit love, and an age-old grudge over perceived wrongs, circumstantial evidence looms large in small minds, and Rose fears her friend will soon become the victim of a grave injustice—or worse. 

EdithMaxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell, with nineteen novels in print and four more completed, has been nominated for an Agatha Award six times. She lives north of Boston with her beau and an elderly cat, and gardens and cooks when she isn’t killing people on the page or wasting time on Facebook. Please find her at edithmaxwell.com, on Instagram, and at the Wicked Authors blog.

Midwifery in the 1890s - CHARITY'S BURDEN #bookgiveaway

HALLIE EPHRON:  Today we're welcoming back one of our favorite authors along with the great news that she's out with her newest Quaker Midwife Mystery. She's an Amazon bestselling and Agatha Award nominated author with FIVE(!) series under notched on her belt. She writes pitch-perfect historical with strong, complex female characters. Today she's here to talk about what lit a fire under her to write Charity's Burden.

 

EDITH MAXWELL: Thank you for having me back on Jungle Reds! It’s always a delight to be on the front side of the blog. I will happily send a signed copy of Charity’s Burden, my newest Quaker Midwife Mystery, to one commenter here today.

It was pure chance that I picked 1888 to set a series in. I read a newspaper article about the Great Fire of 1888 in my town of Amesbury, Massachusetts, and a story popped into my head about the Quaker mill girl who solves the mystery of the arson. I wrote that short story, and “Breaking the Silence” was published in Best New England Crime Stories 2014: Stone Cold (Level Best Books, November 2013).

As happens with writers, the setting and characters refused to go away, so I invented the girl’s midwife aunt Rose Carroll, wrote Delivering the Truth, and sold the series to Midnight Ink! The first three books have been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel, including Turning the Tide this year. I’m honored to be again sharing the slate with Rhys.

The last decade of the nineteenth century turns out to be a fascinating era to write about. So many cultural changes were going on. The germ theory of infection is known, so Rose washes her hands and keeps her instruments clean, but there are no lung surfactants for premature babies or antibiotics, and Cesarean section births are quite dangerous. Most babies are still delivered at home by midwives even though lying-in hospitals are starting to spring up. Electricity and telephones are starting to be used but aren’t widespread. Some well-off folks have running water and indoor toilets, although not modest homes like the one Rose lives in. The police don’t yet have fingerprinting or blood typing at their disposal. Train tracks have connected coast to coast and the women’s suffrage movement is gaining momentum. Women’s hems are starting to come up, because it was theorized they were sweeping tuberculosis germs indoors with their long skirts.

Charity’s Burden treats the topic of birth control, which was hugely controversial at the time. Midwife Rose Carroll’s clients come to her with pregnancies, but they also seek her help when they don’t want to have another baby – whether before or after they have conceived yet again.

The highly restrictive Comstock Laws were passed in the 1870s, which made even speaking about preventing pregnancy a crime. Herbalists and others turned to evasive wording in the advertisements for their products, calling them products to regularize women’s cycles and improve their health. Certain practitioners also offered abortions, which of course were life-threatening at the time. I wanted to explore these issues – in the context of a murder mystery, of course. Here’s the book blurb:

The winter of 1889 is harsh in Amesbury, Massachusetts, but it doesn’t stop Quaker midwife Rose Carroll from making her rounds of her pregnant and postpartum mothers. But when Charity Skells dies from an apparent early miscarriage, Rose wonders about the copious amount of blood. She learns that Charity’s husband appears to be up to no good with a young woman. The woman’s mother, who goes by the mysterious name of Madame Restante, appears to offer illegal abortions and herbal birth control. A disgraced physician in town does the same. Charity’s cousin mistakenly thinks he will take control of his father’s estate, part of which was to go to Charity. Rose, who suspects Charity’s death was from an abortion either incompetently or maliciously performed, once again works with police detective Kevin Donovan to solve the case before another life is taken.

I love writing about Rose Carroll, a Quaker in her mid-twenties. She’s an independent business owner and a good listener. She cares very much for her women, and lives out the Quaker values of non-violence, equality, simplicity, and integrity. Her ability to go places the detectives can’t – women’s bedchambers – lets her hear secrets that help her solve crimes.

I’m excited Quaker Midwife Mystery #4 is out, and I am happy to announce the series is moving over to Beyond the Page Publishing with book five. Look for Judge Thee Not to release this fall! There will be at least two more in the series after that. My next Country Store mystery, Strangled Eggs and Ham (written as Maddie Day) comes out June 25.

Readers: What’s your favorite tidbit of history from the second half of the nineteenth century? Favorite historical character, fictional or real? I’m happy to answer questions, too, and I’ll give away a signed copy of Charity’s Burden to one lucky reader.

Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell, with seventeen novels in print and four more completed, has been nominated for an Agatha Award six times. She lives north of Boston with her beau and two elderly cats, and gardens and cooks when she isn’t killing people on the page or wasting time on Facebook. Please find her at edithmaxwell.com, on Instagram, and at the Wicked Authors blog.

What’s a Quaker, Anyway? by Edith Maxwell

LUCY BURDETTE: Our incredibly prolific writer friend Edith Maxwell has a new Quaker midwife mystery out, called Turning the Tide. When she was mulling over what to write about here, she wondered if we'd be interested in the backstory--that is her character's faith as a Quaker. I thought we would. So welcome Edith!

EDITH MAXWELL: First, thanks to Roberta/Lucy for hosting me. I’m delighted to be back, and I’ll give away a signed copy of the newest Quaker Midwife mystery, Turning the Tide, to one commenter here today.

My protagonist in the series, Rose Carroll, is a Quaker, a member of the Religious Society of Friends. I happen to be one, too.

I’ve found over the years that there’s a certain lack of common knowledge about who Quakers are. No, we're not the celibate Shakers, nor the Ludditely Amish or Mennonites. Or a guy who markets oatmeal in an old-fashioned hat. Most modern Friends don’t wear “plain dress” or speak in thees and thys.

Friends have a long history - over 350 years - and much has been written about them. George Fox and Margaret Fell Fox founded the Society of Friends in England, and it soon spread to America.

The branch of Friends that I belong to and the Meetings I attend feature unprogrammed worship. This means that we sit in silence together on pews in a beautiful and simple Meetinghouse built more than 150 years ago. We sit in expectant waiting, listening for a message from the Light. It’s the same Meetinghouse that John Greenleaf Whittier advised the building of and worshiped in, and I love writing scenes with Friend John and Rose Carroll in the Meetinghouse. The wide windows on the sides are ten feet tall, with most of the panes still being original to 1851.

Friends are a tolerant bunch and, while it is at base a Christian faith, no one is quizzed on their individual belief system. One might be listening for a message from God, another for a message from Spirit, another for a message from within, and another might be mindfully meditating. All are welcome. If someone feels moved to share a message, she or he stands, speaks, and then sits. Once in a while a musical member stands and delivers her message in song. Weddings and memorial services are similar, except usually with many non-Friends in attendance.

That's it. We have First Day School for the children, fellowship and refreshments, and a monthly business meeting. We hold peace vigils as well as social potlucks.

The five Testimonies guide our lives: 

ñSimplicity

ñEquality

ñIntegrity

ñPeace

ñCommunity

Quakers believe there is that of God in each person, which leads to the core and strength of the Testimonies. We have no minister because we all minister to each other. We believe in peace and non-violence because we are all equal. Living simply frees us to help others. In earlier times Quakers wore plain dress – muted colors, simple designs, and usually the fashion of ten years prior. Rose wears simple dresses without flounces, feathers, or frippery, and a bonnet instead of a boater.
Historically, Friends have been rabble-rousers in the name of peace and equality. Mary Dyer was hung on the Boston Common in 1660 for preaching Quakerism. John Woolman traveled the American colonies urging people to give up their slaves. Poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier was a lifelong Friend. Quaker women from Lucretia Mott to Susan B. Anthony to Alice Paul were leaders in the women’s suffrage movement. In my series, Rose’s mother is an ardent suffragist. Many modern Quakers have been conscientious objectors in time of war.

I came to Friends as an adult, so I am a “convinced” Friend. I find that quiet worship in community suits me, as do the Testimonies. Being a Quaker suits midwife Rose, too. It's not for everyone, though. I knew someone raised as a high Episcopalian and he couldn't handle all the silence. When I visited his church, I couldn't take all the busyness.

You can read more about Quakers and Amesbury meeting at our fabulous new web site. (Digital strategist Christine Green attends our Meeting, and she recently created the site. She also worked magic on my own web site.)

Readers: What did you think Quakerism meant? If you have ever sat in silent Meeting for Worship, how was it for you? I will give away a signed copy of Turning the Tide to one commenter here today.

In the third Quaker Midwife Mystery, Turning the Tide, the Amesbury Woman Suffrage Association plans a demonstration for presidential election day of 1888 and Quaker midwife Rose Carroll joins the protest. Elizabeth Cady Stanton comes to town to help the cuase. When Rose finds a lead suffragist dead the next morning, she must deliver more than babies. Her own life is repeatedly threatened as she sorts out killer from innocent in a New England mill town.

Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. Called to Justice, Maxwell’s second Quaker Midwife mystery, is nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel. Turning the Tide releases April 8.

As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Biscuits and Slashed Browns came out January 30. 

Maxwell is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau, two elderly cats, and an impressive array of garden statuary. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, KillerCharacters.com, and Under Cover of Midnight. Read about all her personalities and her work at edithmaxwell.com.

EVENTS OF 1888 by Edith Maxwell.

RHYS BOWEN: Edith Maxwell is one of our favorite and loyal Reds, so I was delighted when she

asked me to read this book, several months before it came out. And what it treat it was to have a chance to experience a small New England town seen through the eyes of a Quaker midwife, as told by another Quaker in the same town over one hundred years later.

So when the book came out, I asked Edith to become a Red instead of a commenter and tell us about it. Welcome Edith!

EDITH MAXWELL:

I’m delighted to be back on the front side of Jungle Reds. Thanks for inviting me, Rhys!

You did a post recently about the real events that happened while fictional Molly is alive, and I 

thought I’d echo that.

My Quaker Midwife Mysteries are set in 1888, which came about from a simple news story 

I read in our local paper in 2013. It described the Great Fire of 1888 in the mill town of 

Amesbury, Massachusetts, where I live. The fire, on the night before Good Friday, burned down 

many of the carriage factories – and Amesbury was world famous for producing graceful well- 

built carriages

 The town and neighboring Salisbury had been tussling about who was going to 

annex whom, so the municipal fire-fighting equipment hadn’t been updated. The fire raged,

spreading to the telegraph and post offices, so they couldn’t send for help to other larger towns.

Only an overnight rain helped reduce some of the damage.

I was walking to Quaker Meeting one Sunday morning after reading that article and a short 

story about a Quaker mill girl who solves the mystery of the Carriage Fire arson popped into my 

head. Poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier had a bit part in the story, too. And now I 

have a three-book contract for a series featuring Whittier, that mill girl, and her aunt Rose 

Carroll, our midwife-sleuth protagonist (ooh, and an Agatha-nominated story with the same 

setting and characters!).

It turns out 1888 is a really interesting time in which to set stories, even though I came upon 

it by accident. The germ theory of infection was beginning to be known, so Rose washes her 

hands a lot, and most babies were still born at home with midwives. There’s a recently built 

hospital across the river where Rose’s beau David Dodge practices medicine, and it even has the 

new chain-pull toilets.

Electricity was around, although it wouldn’t have been used in my midwife’s modest home. 

The first successful electric street railway was opened in Richmond, Virginia in 1888 by Frank 

Sprague, but the horse-drawn trolley in Amesbury didn’t get electrified until 1890.

Similarly, some of Rose’s more well-off clients had telephones in their homes – but not

Rose. She relies on the twice-daily mail service to communicate, or pays a passing boy to deliver 

a note for her.

George Eastman perfected the Kodak box camera in 1888, the first camera designed to use 

roll film. I wonder if George might not pay a visit to Amesbury in my next book! And speaking 

of pictures, Thomas Edison filed a patent for the first motion picture camera that same year. 

It’s been interesting researching police procedure of the era. Fingerprinting wasn’t yet used, 

nor was the technology to identify the exact weapon a bullet had been fired from. They didn’t 

know about blood typing yet, either.

The International Council of Women met for the first time in Washington, DC in 1888. 

Women leaders representing 53 women's organizations from 9 countries gathered to advocate for 

human rights for women. Susan B. Anthony presided over half the sessions, and Rose Carroll’s 

mother, a women’s suffrage activist, attended.

The Great Blizzard of 1888 had raged just a few weeks before Delivering the Truth opens in 

early April. The storm paralyzed the east coast from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine, shut down 

the railroads, and kept people confined to their homes for a week. Rose needed to strap on 

snowshoes to attend a birth after the storm ebbed.

What else happened in 1888? Jack the Ripper was leaving bodies around London, and 

Brazil abolished the last remnants of slavery. In America, the National Geographic Society was 

founded, the Washington Monument was opened to the public, a 91-centimeter telescope was 

first used at Lick Observatory in California, and Grover Cleveland won the popular vote for 

President but lost the electoral college vote to Benjamin Harrison. Of those events, the last is the 

only one that would have affected Rose’s life. Her irreverent friend, postmistress Bertie 

Winslow, rides a horse named Grover around town, and I’m sure Bertie’s not going rename him 

Benjamin.

Readers: What do you know about the late-1800s? Do you have a favorite historic event of 

the era, or invention? I’ll give away a copy of  Delivering the Truth to one commenter!

Delivering the Truth, Quaker midwife Rose Carroll becomes a suspect when a difficult 

carriage factory manager is killed after the factory itself is hit by an arsonist. Struggling with 

being less than a perfect Friend, Rose delivers the baby of the factory owner’s mistress even 

while the owner’s wife is also seven months pregnant. After another murder, Rose calls on her 

strengths as a counselor and problem solver to help bring the killers to justice before they destroy 

the town’s carriage industry and the people who run it.

Bio:

Agatha-nominated and Amazon best-selling author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker 

Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries (as Maddie 

Day), and the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries (as Tace Baker), as well as award-winning short crime 

fiction. Her story, “A Questionable Death,” which features the same 1888 setting and characters 

as Delivering the Truth, is nominated for a 2016 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. 

Edith is Vice-President of Sisters in Crime New England and Clerk of Amesbury Friends 

Meeting. She lives north of Boston with her beau and three cats, and blogs with the other Wicked 

Cozy Authors. You can find her on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, and at her web site, 

www.edithmaxwell.com.

Edith Maxwell--Breaking a Rule for her Mom

DEBORAH CROMBIE: There's no bigger treat for us here on Jungle Red than to welcome one of our faithful regular readers and commenters! We have the pleasure of Edith's company almost every day on the blog, but perhaps some of our readers don't know that Edith writes not one, but THREE mystery series! The latest in her Local Foods series, FARMED AND DANGEROUS, featuring organic farmer Cameron Flaherty is just out, and it is a treat. Having just finished the book, I was so pleased to gain a little insight on the inspiration for the characters. I have more to say on that, but first, here's Edith:

Edith Maxwell:  

On Breaking a Rule for My Mom

I’m so delighted to be back on my favorite blog again – thanks, Debs!

I wanted to talk about breaking a rule, and why. You know that “rule” about not using real people in your stories, except for real historical characters? I’ve always thought it made sense, because as authors we need to give our fictional characters the freedom to do anything the story requires.

But I did just that, in my new book. I wanted my organic farmer’s Great Uncle Albert to have a girlfriend in the assisted living residence where he now lives. My mother died three years ago before getting a chance to read any of my books, and she spent her last decade in assisted living. So I decided Marilyn Muller was going to be Albert’s new lady friend. And today I’m going to tell you a bit about who the real Marilyn was.

Marilyn Flaherty was a shy girl who grew up near San Francisco. Already a third-generation Californian, she went sailing in the bay and in the Pacific with her father, roller-skated down steep hills, and put on gloves and a hat to go shopping in the city with her mother and younger sister. As an undergraduate at the UC Berkeley, she met Allan Maxwell at a sorority dance, a shy WW II Army recruit. After he returned from the far reaches of India, they were married.

She gave birth to four children, all less than two years apart (I'm #3). Mommy participated in a playgroup cooperative associated with a local college. She was home with us until we were in high school, and was a devoted Girl Scout leader (Leader of the Year in 1963) and Cub Scout den mother for my younger brother.

Our home was filled with books of all kinds. Mommy loved to read mysteries and my first Agatha Christie reads were her books. As a child when I couldn't sleep, I would sometimes make my way back into the living room where she sat reading, and if I was lucky (or if she chose to let me, more likely) I'd get some cherished time reading my own book next to her. She also gave me my first boost as a writer. When I was in third grade, she said, “Edie, you’re a good writer.” I thought, “Oh! I guess I am.” And look where I ended up.

My mother was always creative. She made a puppet theater for us by painting a refrigerator box, sewing and mounting a curtain, and fabricating puppets out of old socks, buttons, paint, and fabric. She sewed intricate ballet costumes for my two older

sisters and me every spring, four per girl, and taught the other mothers the patterns. She took a cake-decorating class and made roses (roses!) out of frosting. She sewed most of our clothes and knit us sweaters.

She also paid attention to our nutrition. Although she never really enjoyed cooking apart from baking – and boy, could she bake - we always had balanced meals. She read Adele Davis and tossed things like dried milk into the Bisquik to give it more protein.

On our annual two-week camping vacations in the Sierras, she taught us about birds and plants. We'd lie on our backs at night in an open area with her and learn about the stars. She let us run loose within certain boundaries, and we were free-range kids at home, too. We kids made our own breakfasts and lunches as soon as we went to school. She wasn't into short-order prep for four picky eaters.

She was outwardly sweet with a layer of iron underneath that served her well. Despite never being without her red lipstick and her face powder, my mom didn’t spend money on getting her hair “done,” other makeup, or manicures. As a teenager, I had the scorn of the young for this. As a adult – well, heck, I’m just the same (minus her ever-present powder compact and mirror).

In their fifties my parents divorced and both of them remarried happily. My stepfather, Fred Muller, and my mother moved north out of the LA smog to Ventura, California, where they spent many sweet years together. Mommy took up quilting, making numerous beautiful quilts for her children nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. She won awards at the County Fair and made  good friends in her quilt group, Stitch and Bitch. She and Fred played games every afternoon: Scrabble, cribbage, cards. I didn't beat her at Scrabble until I was 50.

I’m so grateful I had time to tell her over and over how much I loved her and appreciated her as a mother and grandmother, since she lived to be 86. My sisters and I were all at her side as she died. We sang Girl Scout songs, told funny stories, held her hands as her spirit “slipped the surly bonds of earth and sailed away.”

In Farmed and Dangerous, Marilyn Muller is Mommy – right down to the embroidered sweatshirts and velcro tennies. She beats everyone at Scrabble and at word-finding games, likes her sugary desserts, and is sweet to all with a layer of iron underneath. But like any good character, she’s already changed. Unlike my mom, the Marilyn in the book has an iPhone and takes a little wine now and then.

Thanks for letting me share these memories. Who else has put a version of a real person into a book? And what was your mom like?

DEBS: Edith, I can't even begin to list all the reasons I loved this post. I love your characters, and Marilyn especially seemed so real to me, and that was before I read this essay. My mom died two years ago this August. I thought I would miss her less as time went on, but that hasn't turned out to be the case. Just last week I found a wonderful photo of her taken in 2001, and I've been looking at it every day. My mom read Adele Davis, too, and became a middle-aged hippie foodie!!! My daughter still laughs about her grandmother's healthy bran muffins... They were a bit rock-like, I have to admit, but then Mom lived to be ninety-two so you really can't argue.  But enough from me--I want to hear from everyone else.

Edith will give away one of the Local Foods mysteries to a commenter - book one, A TINE TO LIVE, A TINE TO DIE, book two, 'TIL DIRT DO US PART, or the new one. Winner's choice.

 
And here's more about Edith, and FARMED AND DANGEROUS.  Marilyn Muller would be very proud.

Organic farmer Cam Flaherty is struggling to provide the promised amount of food to her customers in her first winter in Westbury, Massachusetts, and her new greenhouse might just collapse from the weight of the snow. Supplying fresh ingredients for a dinner at the local assisted living facility seems like the least of her worries—until a cantankerous resident with a lot of enemies dies after eating the meal.

But while the motives in this case may be plentiful, the trail of poisoned produce leads straight back to Cam. Not even her budding romance with police detective Pete Pappas will keep him from investigating her.

As the suspects gather, a blizzard buries the scene of the crime under a blanket of snow, leaving Cam stranded in the dark with a killer who gives new meaning to the phrase “dead of winter.”

Bio: Agatha-nominated and Amazon-bestselling author Edith Maxwell writes four murder mystery series, most with recipes, as well as award-winning short stories.

Farmed and Dangerous is the latest in Maxwell's Local Foods Mysteries series (Kensington Publishing). The latest book in the Lauren Rousseau mysteries, under the pseudonym Tace Baker (Barking Rain Press), is Bluffing is Murder.

Maxwell’s Country Store Mysteries, written as Maddie Day (also from Kensington), will debut with Flipped for Murder in November, 2015. Her Quaker Midwife Mysteries series features Quaker midwife Rose Carroll solving mysteries in 1888 Amesbury with John Greenleaf Whittier’s help, and will debut in March, 2016 with Delivering the Truth.

A fourth-generation Californian, Maxwell lives in an antique house north of Boston with her beau and three cats. She blogs every weekday with the other Wicked Cozy Authors (http://wickedcozyauthors.com), and you can find her at www.edithmaxwell.com, @edithmaxwell, on Pinterest and Instagram, and at www.facebook.com/EdithMaxwellAuthor.