Breaking news: Cupcake58 was the winner on Tuesday of the MWA Cookbook--enjoy! Now back to our regularly scheduled business...
LUCY BURDETTE: I'm sure you've met Laura DiSilverio--she burst onto the mystery scene several years ago and has written more books than I can count! Plus she served as president of Sisters in Crime and raised two teenage girls. Impressive right? Now she's launching a brand new cozy mystery series which should be right up our alley. Tell it Laura!
LUCY BURDETTE: I'm sure you've met Laura DiSilverio--she burst onto the mystery scene several years ago and has written more books than I can count! Plus she served as president of Sisters in Crime and raised two teenage girls. Impressive right? Now she's launching a brand new cozy mystery series which should be right up our alley. Tell it Laura!
LAURA DISILVERIO: Okay, Jungle Red readers, I'm going to let you in on a
secret.
No, not the kind of secret that would make Jerry Springer
salivate. It doesn't involve nudity, felonies, alcohol or gross stupidity and
there are no embarrassing photos. Yeah, I know most of you just quit reading.
For those of you still with me, it's this: If I weren't
enjoying my second act career as a novelist so much, I'd be an event organizer.
Really. I get a kick out of making lists, being creative, and dealing with
people, all of which are key skills for event organizers. Before you can gasp
"What about the bridezillas?" I will admit that I wouldn't choose to
do weddings. Emotions run too high. I'd be more inclined to concentrate on
corporate events where no one would have a coronary if the ballpoint pens had
sapphire blue ink rather than royal blue ink, and where no one would expect me
to ride herd on cute toddlers strewing flowers and carrying ten thou worth of
rings.
So, it's easy to see why my new Book Club Mysteries feature
an event organizer, Amy-Faye Johnson, as the protagonist. It is just too much
fun coming up with events for her to organize and ways in which they can go
wrong. I've found that strippers, animals, roller skates, wardrobe malfunctions
and fisticuffs are great in that regard. Leave a comment telling us about the
most embarrassing, scary or hysterical thing you ever witnessed at an event.
(I'll reveal the most embarrassing thing that happened to me, at my brother's
wedding no less, in the comments . . . )
Set in the fictional town of Heaven, Colorado (renamed from
Walter's Ford when the town council set out to woo destination wedding
business), the series focuses on the five women who belong to the Readaholics
book club: Amy-Faye, Maud Bell (a 60-something hunting/fishing guide and
conspiracy theorist with a blog called www.outtogetyou.com), Kerry Washington
(a Realtor and Heaven's part-time mayor), Brooke Widefield (former beauty queen
and Amy-Faye's best friend who married into the town's richest family) and Lola
Paget (owner of a plant nursery and guardian of her 15-year-old sister).
In each book, the club is reading a different classic
mystery. In The Readaholics and the
Falcon Fiasco, they're reading--you guessed it--The Maltese Falcon. In the second book, The Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle (Sep 2015), they're reading Murder
on the Orient Express. And in the third book . . . Well, I don't want to
give away too many secrets. (I'll give you a hint: think Gothic.) Something
from the book they're reading ties into the solution of each mystery they
solve. Fun, huh?,
Pre-order The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasconow for release this coming Tuesday. Yay! And leave a comment (about an event,
or the classic mystery you think the Readaholics should read next, or anything
you want) for a chance to win a signed copy of the book!
