#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MYSTERY AUTHOR AMY M. READE ON COZY HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS AND ECO-FRIENDLY GIFT WRAPPINGS

Amy M. Reade is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of cozy, historical, and Gothic mysteries. A former practicing attorney, Amy discovered a passion for fiction writing and has never looked back. She has so far penned fourteen novels, including three standalone Gothic mysteries. In addition to writing, she loves to read, cook, and travel. Learn more about Amy and her books at her website.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. When I was little, it was the excitement of Santa Claus and presents and school vacation. Now that I’m, erm, of a certain age, the reasons are different. My kids are grown and the fun of looking for Santa’s reindeer in the sky on Christmas Eve before bed just isn’t the same (that doesn’t stop us, though). For a long time now, it’s been a combination of lots of things that makes Christmas a magical time for me.

 

First, it’s the music. From lofty hymns to secular ditties, I start listening to Christmas music once the Thanksgiving dishes are done and I don’t listen to anything else until the new year begins. In case you’re wondering, I can’t choose a favorite.

 

Second, it’s the décor. I love understated, but it’s hard not to use a heavy hand with Christmas stuff. I love it all: fairy lights, garland, Christmas trees, ornaments, wreaths, nativity scenes, snowmen, and tomtes (Nordic gnomes). Did I forget anything? Add it to the list.

 

Third, it’s the food. There’s a whole list of foods that I only make at Christmastime, and Party Mix tops that list. My recipe is made with 2 pounds of butter and comes from my grandmother. Christmas Crack is another one, as well as Russian Teacakes, Linzer Tarts, and Millionaire Shortbread, to name a few.

 

Fourth, it’s the movies. My favorite movies are The Bishop’s Wife, Holiday Inn, and White Christmas. With the exceptions of Nestor the Long-Eared Donkey and The Little Drummer Boy, I will watch literally anything animated or in claymation.

 

And finally, it’s the gifts—giving them, not getting them. I love to make things for loved ones, whether it’s bourbon-soaked cherries or a counted cross-stitch piece or something I’ve quilled.

  

My love of Christmas spawned my mystery series, too. The Juniper Junction Holiday Cozy Mystery Series started with The Worst Noel, a Christmas mystery, which I dedicated to my late grandmother because of her deep love for all things Christmas.

 

So by now you’re probably wondering where the crafts come in. Several years ago I made a decision to be more price- and eco-conscious about the gift wrap and tags I use on gifts. As a result, I started wrapping most of my gifts in recyclable kraft paper and decorating packages with sprigs of holly, ribbons, cedar twigs, artificial snow, and my own (pitiful) drawings. I started making my own tags, too, with kraft paper stock, inkpads, my own fingerprints, pens, buttons, and little bits of bling, as seen in the photo at the top of this post.

 

What about you? Do you make gifts? Do you make tags or have a unique and earth-friendly way of wrapping gifts? What kinds of crafty things do you do around holiday time?

 

One final note: I am keenly aware that the holidays are a hard time for a lot of people. Loneliness is one of the big reasons, and I try to reach out to people who might be struggling with loneliness during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and continuing through New Year’s. It’s easy to call someone, text them, meet them somewhere for coffee, or invite them for a meal. I take goodies to friends who have lost loved ones and/or who are just not looking forward to the holidays. It’s really nice to just meet a friend to go for a walk and chat, too.

 

So remember your friends and loved ones who might not be looking forward to the holidays this year, and give them grace as well as an ear to listen.

 

All my best to you and your family this holiday season.

The Worst Noel

A Juniper Junction Holiday Cozy Mystery, Book 1

 

The holiday season should be a time for peace and joy, but for Lilly Carlsen, this Christmas is murder.

 

On the busiest shopping day of the year, Lilly opens her jewelry shop only to discover that it's been burglarized. And then … she trips over the body. Talk about a Black Friday.

 

When a second victim turns up, Lilly finds herself squarely in the crosshairs of suspicion. The clock is ticking as Lilly tries to unwrap the mystery of the real killer’s identity.

 

Can she figure out who killed the victims before she’s arrested—or becomes a victim herself?

 

And as if dealing with all this isn't hard enough, Lilly’s deadbeat ex-husband resurfaces, her mother’s mental health is declining, and her two teenagers are acting just like … teenagers.

 

Find out whether her family's Christmas will be merry or scary in this cozy, small-town mystery perfect for fans of Kathi Daley and Jacqueline Frost.

 

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AROMAS OF AUTUMN AND PARANORMAL ROMANTIC MYSTERY FROM AUTHOR KAREN McCULLOUGH

Karen's daughter's cranberry pie,
which won a contest for most beautiful pie.

Today we’re joined by award-winning author Karen McCullough, here to talk about the aromas of Fall. Karen has written more than two dozen novels, novellas, and short stories in the mystery, romance, paranormal, romantic suspense, and fantasy genres. Learn more about Karen and her books at her website. 

The Aromas of Fall

Fall is a feast for the senses. People generally concentrate on the sights and sounds and tastes of fall – brilliant yellow and orange chrysanthemums everywhere, ghouls and goblin decorations to celebrate Halloween, spooky noises, tastes galore: chocolate, candy corn, and pumpkin spice everything – but fall offers some very distinctive aromas as well. Those fragrances are among the reasons Fall is my favorite season of the year.

Wood fires – I love walking around the neighborhood on a fall evening and smelling the aroma of wood fires in the neighbors’ fireplaces. It’s a pleasant smell, but it also reminds me of my childhood in a New York City suburb. In the fall my parents (and most of the neighbors) would rake the leaves into piles out in the street and burn them. It’s no longer legal in most urban and suburban areas, but it did make the neighborhood smell wonderful.

Flowers – After the long, hot, humid summer, when the shorter days of autumn arrive, the flowers in my garden, especially the roses, experience a short but welcome revival, blooming abundantly for a while, until the first frost finally ends it usually in late October or early November. There’s something especially sweet about the scent of a late season rose.

Baking – I’m not much of a cook, but I love baking. I bake many batches of cookies for Christmas and I usually start early and freeze bags of them. I also use my Halloween pumpkin for baking fall goodies. On the day after Halloween, I bring the carved pumpkin inside, wash it thoroughly, then cook it in the microwave until soft. I mash it in a blender and use that to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and other fall goodies. No pumpkin coffee, though.

Fruit – This is apple season! In North Carolina people trek to the mountains in the western part of the state to view glorious fall foliage and pick up buckets of fresh-picked apples or pick some themselves. There’s almost nothing as good as the aroma of cooking apples, whether they’re candied, baked, boiled for applesauce or made into pies. It’s also the time when those lovely little Mandarin oranges flood into the grocery stores.

Spice – This is the real scent of fall, and it goes along with the baking smell. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, etc. Add these to almost anything, and aromas improve along with the flavor. They’re essential to all the great fall foods – cookies, cakes, applesauce, pies, and everything pumpkin, even those pumpkin spice lattes.

What’s your favorite fall aroma?

Guardian of the Grimoire

Magic, mystery, and romance combine in a gothic story that sees a peaceful, small-town library turned into a supernatural battleground. In the library’s basement a dangerous book lies hidden somewhere in stacks of old crates, and librarian Jess O’Rourke is caught in the middle of a battle between a demon and the book’s mysterious guardian for possession of it....

Librarian Jess O’Rourke already has her hands full with her father’s declining health and the under-staffed, under-funded library she runs. A new preacher in town waging war on her books is just an annoyance at first, but an attractive mysterious stranger warns her that there’s more behind the reverend’s campaign than she can guess. The new preacher is a human possessed by a demon and he’s searching for an old grimoire that’s part of an uncatalogued collection of books stored in the library’s basement.

Gabriel Sutton has been the guardian of the book for a long time, a very long time, he claims, since that has been his penance for crimes he committed as a soldier during the Civil War. He convinces Jess that she needs to find the grimoire and use it to return the demon to where he belongs. 

Their time gets short when the reverend realizes she’s searching for the book and resorts to desperate measures to either retrieve or destroy it.

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