FASHION WITH TESSA--WHAT THE WELL-DRESSED MOP DOLL IS WEARING

While the Olympics are going on in Sochi, Fashion Week has been in full swing in New York. And speaking of fashion and the Olympics, have you seen the Norwegian curling team’s uniforms? Quel fashion faux pas! 

 But I digress. We’re here today to discuss fashion of another sort—one that resulted in a mop doll travesty. Unless you’re new to reading this blog, you’re aware that Death by Killer Mop Doll was the second book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series. It was also the first book in which I, Tessa Lisbon, first appeared as the new fashion editor.

Lois Winston, the series author, Anastasia, and all the characters from the book (with the exception of Anastasia’s communist mother-in-law Lucille who doesn’t have a good word for anyone or anything) loved the cover of Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the series. We were all hoping for another great cover with the release of Death by Killer Mop Doll. We didn’t get it.

Although Lois had supplied photos of mop dolls she’d designed and from craft books she’d edited, the cover artist chose to ignore them. The mop doll he came up with was out of proportion, not constructed correctly, and had a goofy expression plastered on her face—not to mention a knitting needle through the head, reminiscent of the old Steve Martin arrow routine. We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But it got worse. The doll was also “naked” except for angel wings and a halo. Why? Because the cover artist had found lots of angel mop dolls online. However, the doll in the story is a Valentine’s Day doll. Lots of complaining got the angel wings and halo removed but none of the other problems resolved.

Fast forward a couple of years…Lois has received the print rights back to the first two books in the series, and both are now once again available as trade paperback editions.

Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, it seemed a good time to introduce the new and improved cover for Death by Killer Mop Doll. How do you think it compares to the old cover (on the sidebar.) Which do you like better?

Death by Killer Mop Doll

Overdue bills and constant mother vs. mother-in-law battles at home are bad enough. But crafts editor Anastasia Pollack's stress level is maxed out when she and her fellow American Woman editors get roped into unpaid gigs for a revamped morning TV show. Before the glue is dry on Anastasia's mop dolls, morning TV turns crime drama when the studio is trashed and the producer is murdered. Former co-hosts Vince and Monica—sleazy D-list celebrities—stand out among a lengthy lineup of suspects, all furious over the show's new format. And Anastasia has no clue her snooping has landed her directly in the killer's unforgiving  spotlight.

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook