COZY MYSTERY AUTHOR CHERYL HOLLON ON SUMMER READING

Our guest today is cozy mystery author Cheryl Hollon, retired from a career designing and installing military flight simulators around the world, she's now living the dream of combining a love of writing with a passion for creating art in St. Petersburg, Florida. Learn more about Cheryl and her books at her website.

Summertime, and the reading is easy!

 

I always read more in the summer than in the winter down here in Florida. This is because I’m spending more time indoors in lovely, air-conditioned comfort. The reason? It’s HOT here. It’s too hot to walk downtown in the noon-day sun. In fact, we call it the 90/90 season. That’s a temperature above 90 degrees and more than 90 percent humidity. I do spend a bit of time around the pool – after all my writing is done, of course.

 

Some of that is habit. As a schoolgirl I always enrolled in the library’s summer reading program. My dad encouraged each of us four siblings to read widely. Not just adventure tales, but also nonfiction books in astronomy, wood-working, photography, gardening, and anything else that caught our fancy.

 

Summer is also my chance to tackle that TBR (To Be Read) pile of books that threatens to topple over and send me or my husband scrambling to gather up his, mine, and our next-to-read books. Summer is my chance to catch up.

 

On vacation, I only take about two paperbacks, but I load my Kindle up with more than 50 books. I’m getting fussier about the type of books I’m willing to spend time with. These days. I’ve been known to read the first few pages and abandon the book before the next in line. I know I’m not the only one.

 

I’ve also started reading series books out of sequence. Right! OUT OF SEQUENCE! I’ve discovered that if I like the current one, I’m happy to get the rest of the series. If it’s well-written, then I’m in good hands.

 

How many books do you plan to read this summer?

The Paint & Shine Mysteries

The Paint & Shine Mysteries (Still Knife Painting, Draw and Order, and Death a Sketch) are set in the Daniel Boone National Forest. My parents were born and raised in the area, and now they rest in peace in the JJ Adams Family Cemetery in Wolfe County, Kentucky. The characters spend considerable time preparing traditional southern meals and creating moonshine cocktails. Please consider buying locally. Independent bookstores need your help. 

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COZY AUTUMN BOOK PARTY WITH GIVEAWAYS

Some of you may be aware that my author Lois Winston is one of the bloggers at Booklover's Bench. The Benchers are holding a party with lots of giveaways this evening over on Facebook, and although Lois isn't on Facebook, she's vicariously taking part in the festivities by offering two copies of A Stitch to Die For, the fifth Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. Why that book? Given the theme of the party, the cover says it all. The fun begins at 7pm EST. Stop by tonight for a chance to win one of the books about me or any of the other books by the Booklover's Bench authors.

MEGA-COZY MYSTERY BOOK GIVEAWAY

In February 2013, a group of cozy mystery authors got together to form Booklover’s Bench as a way of supporting each other with cross-promotion. Over time, membership changed as both writing lives and personal lives changed, but the group is still going strong. Today, it consists of authors Terry Ambrose, Nancy J. Cohen, Debra H. Goldstein, Cheryl Hollon, Diane A.S. Stuckart, Maggie Toussaint, and Lois Winston. 

The Booklover’s Bench “Let’s Talk” features a blog every Thursday by one of our authors. The fourth Monday of each month features either “Authors on the Bench” or “Characters on the Bench,” where we all respond to one question.

 

We promote each other through our blogs, websites, newsletters, contests, and social media posts. Our goal is to increase the readership of all our members. We do this by offering interesting content, contests, and book giveaways.

 

Each month we hold a Rafflecopter book giveaway where the winner can choose one of seven books offered that month. However, every February in celebration of the anniversary of our founding, the lucky winner receives all seven books offered for the month. 

 

Want a chance to win? Click on over to Booklover’s Bench to enter between now and February 18^th and while you’re there, check out the beautiful new redesign of the website.

MYSTERY AUTHOR CHERYL HOLLON ON AN AUTHOR'S LIFE IN THE TIME OF COVID

Author Cheryl Hollon writes the Webb’s Glass Shop Mysteries and the Paint & Shine Mysteries. She writes full-time after an engineering career designing and installing military flight simulators in England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Living her dream, she combines a love of writing with a passion for creating art. Learn more about Cheryl and her books at her website.

Peeking Out from Under the Covers

What a wild and crazy year for mystery readers and writers. The publishing world is beginning a new swirl of both virtual and in-person events. Conferences are returning to familiar venues but keeping some of the online features as well. Through it all, I’m attending a combination of event types that no one could have predicted even a few months ago. 

 

Nevertheless, I have the second book in a new series that releases on June 29, 2021. Unfortunately, my supportive, fan-favorite, local independent bookstore will still be closed. I genuinely support the owner’s decision to remain closed until they’re sure of a sustainable business plan. So many of our local St. Petersburg businesses haven’t been able to survive the whiplash changes in direction. 

 

This book will be out in the world trying to find readers who enjoy a bit of painting, some fabulous southern food, and homebrewed moonshine, accompanied by a puzzling mystery. It seems trivial to be concerned with how my little books reach an audience, but many readers have told me that these books provide a much-needed distraction during challenging times.

 

I’ve arranged for both virtual and traditional book events for Draw and Order with my local independent bookstores. 

 

The first is a virtual Zoom event with Tombolo Books on June 29th, at 6:30 pm. The next is a traditional in-person event on July 10th from 1-3 pm at Books @ Park Place, with JD Allen and Tara Lush joining the fun. The last event is a Sunday morning with Mimosas on July 11^th from 10 am to Noon at the newest bookstore called Book + Bottle in downtown St. Pete. I hope to see many of you at one or more of them.

Draw and Order

A Paint and Shine Mystery, Book 2

 

Appalachian artist and local guide Miranda Trent opens a new murder investigation after her Paint & Shine tour group discovers the remains of a missing hiker along an ancient trail.

 

For her latest excursion, Miranda is thrilled to take a close-knit group of rock climbers, the Risky Business Adventurers, up the challenging Battleship Rock Trail to paint and sample moonshine. But the outing is cut short when they discover a skeleton near the trailhead. Even more startling, the bones belong to Howard Cable, Miranda’s cousin…and a former classmate of the Risky Business group.

 

The sheriff chalks it up to a hiking accident, but Miranda isn’t convinced that Howard, an experienced woodsman, died within sight of a well-marked trail. So, with the help of Ranger Austin Morgan, Miranda sets out on her own investigation and discovers that the Risky Business group is keeping plenty of secrets. But is one of them hiding the truth about Howard’s death?

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MYSTERY AUTHOR CHERYL HOLLON INTRODUCES A NEW CRAFTING & CULINARY COZY SERIES

Cheryl Hollon is the author of the Webb’s Glass Shop Mysteries and the new Paint & Shine Mysteries. She writes full-time after an engineering career designing and installing military flight simulators in England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Living her dream, she combines a love of writing with a passion for creating art. Learn more about Cheryl and her books at her website. 

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

The publishing world is swirling in a combination of events that no one could have predicted even a few months ago. Nevertheless, I have a new series that released on June 30. Unfortunately, my wonderful local bookstore will be closed. That’s right. Still Knife Painting is the first book in the new Paint & Shine Mystery Series. I truly support the owner’s approach since their primary customers and their experienced staff members are all in the “safer at home” age group. 

This book will be out in the world trying to find readers who enjoy a bit of painting, some fabulous southern food, and homebrewed moonshine, accompanied by a puzzling mystery. It seems trivial to be concerned with this little book, but I have been told by many readers that these books provide a much-needed distraction during challenging times.

From the first, I had always intended to tie in the group painting aspect of these books with an event in our local Painting with a Twist business in St. Petersburg, FL. Website:  https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/studio/stpetersburg/

We’ve created a unique event for my books with a virtual “Twist at Home” group painting class that draws its inspiration from the cover of Still Knife Painting. Exciting? Oh yes! I’ll be giving each participant a signed copy of the book along with some swag. I’ll also appear via ZOOM during the instruction to give a little talk about the mystery and answer questions.

During these uncertain times, we’re all trying to make lemonade—or maybe moonshine?—out of lemons.

Still Knife Painting

A Paint & Shine Mystery, Book 1

Miranda Trent has set up a sweet life in a scenic corner of Appalachia—until she stumbles across the trail of a killer . . .

After inheriting her uncle’s Red River Gorge homestead in Eastern Kentucky—smack dab in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest—Miranda comes up with a perfect business plan for summer tourists: pairing outdoor painting classes with sips of local moonshine, followed by a mouthwatering sampler of the best in southern cooking.

To Miranda’s delight, Paint & Shine is a total success—until someone kills the cook. As the town’s outsider, suspicion naturally falls on Miranda. Murdering the best biscuit baker of Red River Gorge is a high crime in these parts. Miranda will have to prove her innocence before she’s moved from farmhouse to jail cell faster than she can say “white lightning” . . .

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ANASTASIA WELCOMES BOOKLOVER'S BENCH

No craft-themed post today. Instead, I want to tell all of you about some exciting news—especially for those of you who love receiving free books. (Is there anyone reading this who doesn’t?)

Author Lois Winston, my doppelganger and she who writes about me, has been invited to join the wonderful mystery authors over at Booklover’s Bench, where she’ll blog once every six weeks about all things book-related. Booklover’s Bench is not just another book blog, though. Their tagline is “Where readers are winners” because once a month they hold a drawing to give away a free book from their Book Vault, a place where their authors deposit a book each month. Blog visitors can enter the monthly Rafflecopter, and the winner gets to choose one of the books in that month’s vault. Cool, huh?

Lois will be posting her introductory blog at Booklover’s Bench on May 23rd.  Today I thought I’d take the opportunity (at Lois’s suggestion) to introduce you to the other Booklover’s Bench authors. Some of the names may be familiar to those of you who are frequent visitors to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers because they’ve often appeared as our guests.

Maggie Toussaint 

Southern author Maggie Toussaint writes mystery and suspense. She’s won two Silver Falchion Awards, the Readers’ Choice Award, and the EPIC Award. She has been a finalist twice for Georgia Author of the Year. Her series include the Dreamwalker Mystery Series, the Lindsey & Ike Series, the Cleopatra Jones Series, the Guardian of Earth Series, and the Mossy Bog Series. Maggie is on the board of Southeast Mystery Writers of America and is Vice-President for Low Country Sisters In Crime.

She lives in coastal Georgia, where secrets, heritage, and ancient oaks cast long shadows. Yoga, beachcombing, and music are a few of her favorite things.

Nancy J. Cohen 

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have made the IMBA bestseller list, been selected by Suspense Magazine as best cozy mystery, won a Readers’ Favorite gold medal, and earned third place in the Arizona Literary Awards. Nancy’s instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery, is an Agatha Award finalist. A featured speaker at libraries, conferences, and community events, she is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets. When not busy writing, she enjoys fine dining, visiting Disney World, cruising, and shopping.

Diane A.S.Stuckart 

Diane A.S. Stuckart is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series (written as Ali Brandon). She’s also the author of the award-winning Leonardo da Vinci historical mysteries, as well as several historical romances and numerous short stories. Her upcoming new cozy mystery series are the Tarot Cat Mysteries from Midnight Ink (November 2018 launch) and the Georgia B&B Mysteries from Crooked Lane (May 2019 launch—writing as Anna Gerard).

Diane is a member of Mystery Writers of America and has served as the 2018 Chapter President of the MWA Florida chapter. In addition to her mystery writing affiliations, she’s a member of the Cat Writers’ Association and belongs to the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association. She’s a native Texan with a degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma, but has been living in the West Palm Beach FL area for the past dozen or so years. She shares her “almost in the Everglades” home with her husband, dogs, cats, and a few beehives.

Cheryl Hollon 

Cheryl Hollon writes full-time after an engineering career designing and installing military flight simulators in England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Living the dream, she combines a love of writing with a passion for creating glass art in the small studio behind her house in St. Petersburg, Florida. Cheryl is President of the Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime, a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Novelists, Inc.

Debra H.Goldstein 

Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of One Taste Too Many, the first of Kensington’s new Sarah Blair cozy mystery series. She also wrote Should Have Played Poker and 2012 IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her short stories, including Anthony and Agatha nominated “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies including Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and Mystery Weekly. Debra serves on the national boards of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and is president of SinC’s Guppy Chapter and the Southeast Chapter of MWA.

And of course, our very own…

Lois Winston 

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes the critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries and the Empty Nest Mysteries. She’s also published in romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. A Book-of-the-Year nominee from ForeWord Reviews, Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in her ongoing Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, also received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews dubbed Anastasia, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” Lois would like the quote etched on her headstone, although she hopes the need for such a monument will be decades in the future. Lois is also a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

We hope you’ll add Booklover’s Bench to your weekly blog-reading list for a chance to get to know these wonderful authors and their books. And don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter each month for a chance to win a free book. 

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST CRAFTER AND AUTHOR CHERYL HOLLON ON BEER BOTTLE CRAFTING

Cheryl Hollon now writes full time after leaving an engineering career designing and building military flight simulators in various countries around the world. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind the house, Cheryl and her husband George design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass, and painted glass artworks. Learn more about Cheryl and her books at her website.

Making a Spoon Rest from a Beer Bottle

The cover art for Cracked to Death (Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery #3) is filled with wonderful items made from recycled bottles that have been fired in a kiln. After that they can be used to make cheese trays, clocks, wind chimes, or wall hangings. My favorite reuse trick with a beer bottle is to make a spoon rest (pictured above). I have several in the kitchen and they definitely help keep drips off the stove and countertops. The beer bottles are easily cleaned in the dishwasher, so I have several.

My husband, George and I have a glass studio in a freestanding cottage behind our house, and we enjoy making promotional gifts for my book tours. For this book, I will be giving away all sorts of bottles.

First, I have to say my favorite part of the process is selecting the beer bottles. I like to retain the design on the bottles so I only select the ones that have a screen-printed image. If they have paper labels, those have to be removed along with the glue. On my last forage to the specialty beer shop, I came home with these lovely bottles.

I think THE MUSE by Angry Orchard is my favorite so far. It’s a sparkling cider with an amazingly fresh and crisp flavor with a hint of apple that will make a perfect cheese tray. I’m also happy with the ROGUE Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout – absolutely delicious and a perfectly literary gift.

The preparation is fairly simple. We just rinse them off and place them in the kiln so that they don’t touch or roll over on each other. Here’s a kiln load ready to be fired overnight.

The most fun is opening the kiln the next morning and taking them out and washing them to reveal a bottle that has flattened out perfectly. For example, it didn’t break, roll, or burn away the lovely design.

I’m using these in auction baskets for the upcoming Bouchercon conference in New Orleans this September, along with SleuthFest in Florida, and definitely for Malice Domestic in the Spring. I’m thinking that I’ll need more beer.

Cracked to Death

When a treasure hunt leads to deadly plunder, it’s up to glass shop owner Savannah Webb and her trusty investigative posse to map out the true motives of a killer . . .

It's the dog days of summer in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Webb's Glass Shop proprietor Savannah Webb has an eco-friendly plan to help locals escape the heat—a recyclable bottle-crafting workshop taught by reticent store manager Amanda Blake. Turns out, the class is a bigger smash than expected, thanks in part to a pair of staggeringly old bottles brought in by snorkeler Martin Lane.

Linked to a storied pirate shipwreck, the relics definitely pique Savannah's interest. But intrigue turns to shock when Martin's lifeless body washes ashore the next morning, another glass artifact tucked in his dive bag. With cell phone records connecting Amanda to the drowning, Savannah must voyage through uncharted territory to exonerate her colleague and capture the twisted criminal behind Martin's death.

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