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| The author's daughters |
Hello! I’m Mary Karnes, the author of the Wedding Planner Mystery Series from Level Best Books. The first in the series, Wedding Bride and Doom, was published September 22, 2023. People ask me, ‘Why a cozy mystery about a wedding planner? Well, the answer is an easy one, I am a wedding planner.
The more interesting question might be, ‘Which came first, the career as a wedding planner, or that of a writer?’ Well… the answer to that is a little murkier. I always wanted to be a writer. I was an English major in college and creative writing classes were my favorite. But I also loved to teach so I became a teacher. When my first child was born, I decided to start writing again (that was thirty-five years ago!).
I had three more children, and with four little ones my hands were full, and became fuller still when they became teens. But life moves on. The girls went off to school, got married, began careers. I had time so I decided to try writing again. I had a new love; I could escape the mundane and be creative. I chose as my main character’s profession that of a wedding planner. Everyone knows a little about weddings, right? I had just finished ‘planning’ the weddings of my two oldest girls, so I was an expert, ha ha, or so I thought.
That book never really went anywhere, but I so enjoyed writing about weddings, I thought, why don’t I actually become a wedding planner? What a ride that has been. The people I meet, the situations I find myself in are truly stranger than fiction. But I love it, maybe as much as writing. I had a wealth of stories and scenarios, so I began a new book, and the rest, as they say, is history. Wedding Bride and Doom was born.
Book two in the series, Save the Fate, is due August 2024, and I can’t wait!
A Wedding Planner Mystery, Book 1
California wedding planner, Kate Ludlow, moves back home to New England after her marriage implodes. In tow is her teen daughter Ellis, unhappy and nervous about the move. Suddenly, Kate’s responsible for turning her part-time wedding planner gig into a full-time business. Kate’s off to a good start, too, when she books the society wedding of the year. The prosperity of her business is dependent on the success of Marcy Simpson’s wedding. The joy of an unlimited wedding budget is intoxicating. But when Kate’s best florist is murdered, her focus changes from pulling off the year’s most glamourous wedding, to saving her own skin – for Kate’s suspect number one for the murder. Further complicating her life, Kate’s old high school flame, Brian McAllister, is the police detective assigned to the murder case. The spark is definitely not gone from their connection, as they have unfinished feelings. Throw in a scavenger hunt for an antique missing family ring, the job transfer of Kate’s ex to New England, and quirky and endearing townsfolk, Kate has more than she can handle – almost.
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