#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--PAPER BAG SNOWFLAKE AND A CHRISTMAS NOVELLA FROM AUTHOR BETHANY MAINES

Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer, working on her next novel or screenplay. Learn more about Bethany and her books at her website where you’ll also find links to other social media accounts.

Holiday Cheer

This month as I geared up for the release of my Christmas mystery novella, Winter Wonderland, I found myself moving straight past Thanksgiving at the speed of Santa’s sleigh. I am more than ready for some holiday cheer, and I’m relieved that the calendar is about to hit December and I can officially fly the holiday flag AKA don my Nakatomi Towers Christmas Party shirt. I’m not always so Yule inclined but this year, like my heroine Larissa Frost, I want ALL the Christmas. I want cookies, crafts, and enough candy canes to build a fence. Unfortunately, my family are more in the category of my hero, Marcus Winters, and have forbidden decorating until December first.

 

I have lured my daughter onto my side with crafts, but my husband is unswayed by glitter. He knows that decorating means that at some point there will be the struggle to have an upright Christmas tree and sees no reason to rush into such things.

 

I can’t blame him. Verticality is both the hallmark and bane of a Christmas tree. If we wanted them to remain upright, we really should stop chopping them down. In the past, we've had two trees that decided to lodge complaints with management and went for a more recumbent position. They have a right to protest, of course, but it seemed unfair to take the lights and ornaments with them. 

 

I also understand the hesitation to launch into the extra work that the holidays take. Some years I don’t have the energy to invest in the full holiday extravaganza. (See pandemic years 2019-2021.) But this year I feel like I've got a few extra bars of battery life and I could manage a gingerbread house and an extra batch or six of cookies. 

 

If all you're up for is a soothing re-watch of Die Hard and White Christmas, then I salute you and wish you a warm couch, a good beverage, and a toasty dog for your feet. However, if you are also ready for some holiday cheer and would like a quick and easy craft, see below for instructions on how to turn paper sandwich bags into an oversized snowflake. This one is fun and good for kids who are of glue gun handling age. Younger kiddos can participate by pre-decorating the bags and letting their big people handle the gluing. 

 

Note from Anastasia: Using a low-temp glue gun or tacky glue will allow full participation by the young ones. Just make sure to allow the tacky glue to dry completely before cutting out the shapes.

Paper Snowflake

Materials: 9 paper lunch sacks with flaps, hot glue, scissors, twine, hole punch. (optional ruler, pencil, Xacto knife)

 

1. Glue the bags together, one on top of another, with the bottom fold flap side facing down. Make a T-Shape with the glue across the bottom fold and then 3/4 of the way up the seam toward the top of the bag.

 

2. After all the bags are glued together, cut out simple geometric shapes along each long side above the folded bottom portion of the bags the way you would have when creating snowflakes out of folded paper. You can first draw the shapes before cutting if you choose. 

 

3. Unfold and glue the final edges together. Sometimes it helps to stick your hands all the way into the bag, but be careful. Hot glue is…hot!

 

4. Use a hole punch to make a hole. Thread with twine or ribbon and knot ends together for hanging.

 

Additional ideas: Add glitter or spray paint or have the kids color on the bags ahead of time.

 

Winter Wonderland

A Rom-Com Mystery

 

Marcus "Bag Humbug" Winters is hiding from Christmas, and the rest of his life, when he gets an offer he can't refuse—the chance to photograph a top model with the enormous 70-karat Hartford Diamond. The Hartford Diamond shoot is also an answered prayer for set designer Larissa "I Love Christmas" Frost. But while she needs the job to pay for her brother's unexpected hospital bills, she does not need the headache of a demanding photographer who keeps calling her Larry. But when they finally meet on set, Larissa is unprepared for Marcus to be a hunk, for him to apologize profusely, or for the Hartford Diamond to be stolen. Now Marcus may be the only one who can keep Larissa from going to jail for a crime she didn't commit. For Larissa and Marcus, this Christmas is anything but a Winter Wonderland.

 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR LYNN-STEVEN JOHANSON'S DETECTIVE JOE ERICKSON COOKS UP SOME RAGU TO KILL FOR

Today we’re joined by Detective Joe Erickson, the creation of author Lynn-Steven Johanson. Lynn is an award-winning playwright and novelist who holds an MFA degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is retired from Western Illinois University and lives in Illinois with his wife and has three adult children. Learn more about him and his books at his website. 

Greetings. I’m Detective Joe Erickson, and I work with Chicago PD. You can read all about me in Lynn-Steven Johanson’s new novel, Havana Brown. At age thirty-nine, I decided it was time to get into good physical condition again. When hangovers started lasting two days, and I had to start loosening my belt another notch, I realized I needed to start taking better care of myself. And to do that, I not only needed to go to the gym and work out, but also needed to start eating right. So, I bought some cookbooks and taught myself to cook. And you know what?  I liked it. And I got good at it, too. 

 

I won’t go into details because you can read all about it in Havana Brown, along with how I apprehended a vile serial killer, met the love of my life, and how I drove myself into a nervous breakdown. Yeah, I did that to myself. Spoiler alert: Since Havana Brown is a prequel to Rose’s Thorn, some of you may know I’m feeling better but still on medical leave.

 

Since I love to cook, I’m going to treat you to one of my favorite recipes, one I call, “Ragu to Kill For.” Not literally, of course. But once you try it, you’ll understand the name. It takes some time to prepare, but let me tell you, it’s well worth it. And once you make it, you’ll make it again.

 

Ragu to Kill For

 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces of chorizo sausage

3 cups chopped onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

2 tablespoons of smoked paprika

2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper—about 1/8 tsp

3 cups dry white wine

4 cups canned diced tomatoes drained

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped parsley

 

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat and add sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes. Add onion and garlic. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.

 

Sprinkle smoked paprika over the onion mixture; stir to coat. Cook for 1 minute. Add chicken, salt, and pepper; stir to coat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add wine and increase heat to high; cook until the wine is reduced by about a third, approximately 8 minutes.

 

Stir in tomatoes, broth, and parsley; reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the chicken is tender, and the sauce is beginning to thicken, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

 

Serve it over your choice of pasta.

 

A few of my detective colleagues at Area 3 detective headquarters in Chicago like to give me a hard time about my culinary expertise. “What did you bring today, Joe?” or “When you going to start sharing it?” I’m used to it, and it doesn’t bother me. When I see one of my colleagues sitting at his desk munching on a ham sandwich, I’m tickling my taste buds with leftover Ragu to Kill For over mostaccioli or a salmon arugula salad. I know some of them are envious, but so far, no one has dared to steal my lunch!

 

Havana Brown

A Joe Erickson Mystery

 

In this prequel to Rose’s Thorn, Detective Joe Erickson discovers a clever and vile serial killer preying on women in Chicago. Only a few cat hairs provide a clue to the perpetrator of six mutilation murders. Joe’s razor-sharp intuition and unorthodox methods ultimately lead him on a trail fraught with twists, turns, and dead ends. But pushing himself day and night begins taking its toll, and his obsession with apprehending the killer could be his undoing.

 

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR KASSANDRA LAMB

Kassandra Lamb is a retired psychotherapist/college professor turned mystery writer. She spends most of her time with her characters in an alternate universe, the magic portal to which (i.e., her computer) is located in Florida, where her husband and dog catch occasional glimpses of her. Learn more about Kassandra and her books at her website. 

An Ice-Skating Rink in Florida for the Holidays... What Could Go Wrong?

I love holiday-themed stories! So around Book 3 of my Marcia Banks and Buddy series, cozies about a service dog trainer and her sidekick mentor dog, I decided to incorporate some holiday novellas into the series.

Most of the books focus on the military veterans for whom Marcia trains her service dogs, but I decided the holiday stories would focus on the tiny fictitious town in which she lives, Mayfair, Florida.

I had so much fun writing this story! It features some of Mayfair’s quirkiest residents, especially the two elderly matriarchs—Edna Mayfair, the sister of the now deceased founder of the town, and Sherie Wells, Marcia’s next door neighbor and head of the only African-American family still living in what is barely more than a ghost town.

The story opens as these women, with Marcia’s later-regretted encouragement, are establishing a local Chamber of Commerce, in order to plan a Christmas extravaganza for the purpose of attracting tourists to the town.

And the first thing the new Chamber decides to do is build an ice-skating rink—in Florida. What could go wrong with that?

The titles of the books in this series are all variations on classic book or movie titles, so I tentatively titled this one A Mayfair Christmas Carol. I’m a pantser, as in, I write by the seat of my pants, so I don’t always know where a story is going until it goes there. But as this story unfolded, that turned out to be the perfect title for it.

The ghost of Christmas past definitely gets stirred up for the Mayfair founding family when a thirty-year-old skeleton is unearthed during the excavations for the skating rink.

Marcia’s hunky, almost-live-in boyfriend is the detective assigned to the case, and as usual, Marcia (pronounced Mar-see-a, not Marsha) drives him crazy by butting into the investigation. It wasn’t my initial intention (remember, I’m a pantser), but the story ends up exploring the darker side of the history of Mayfair.

But don’t worry, it has a happy ending, as one of the town’s matriarchs receives a Christmas present beyond her wildest dreams.

A Mayfair Christmas Carol

A Marcia Banks and Buddy Christmas Novella

Mayfair’s newly minted Chamber of Commerce has gone off the rails. They’ve decided to build an ice skating rink—in Florida—for a Christmas Extravaganza. Excavation for the rink is barely started when a decades-old skeleton is uncovered, and its secrets threaten more than the town’s Christmas plans. 

Feeling responsible since the let’s-attract-more-tourists idea was hers initially, service dog trainer Marcia Banks is determined to help her police detective boyfriend solve the mystery, whether he wants her help or not. Maybe she can wheedle more out of the townspeople than he can.

Will she and her Black Lab, Buddy, keep the ghost of Christmas past from destroying what is left of Mayfair’s founding family, or will her meddling make things worse?

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MYSTERY AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON ON THE INSPIRATION BEHIND ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR GERTIE

Ten Commandments, Iowa, where nothing is as it first seems

Today we’re continuing with our series on where authors get their inspiration with our very own Lois Winston (she who writes about me) discussing the origins of a sequel she wrote to her first published novel.

The Inspiration Behind Elementary, My Dear Gertie

Years ago, back when chick lit hadn’t yet become the kiss of death in the publishing world, I was invited to take part in an anthology of chick lit novellas. By then I had already segued from writing romance and chick lit to spending my time wreaking havoc in Anastasia’s life, but I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to take part in this project.

The one thing my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series has in common with my previously published chick lit (now known as humorous women’s fiction) is voice. I had started out writing dark romantic suspense, but when I switched to writing chick lit, I developed a humorous and sometimes snarky voice, especially for Gertie. Anastasia owes quite a bit of her existence to the characters I created in Talk Gertie To Me.

From the time Talk Gertie To Me was published, readers had been asking for a sequel to the novel, wanting to know whether Nori and Mac eventually married. It occurred to me that the anthology project was ideal for this purpose. Sort of. Given the characters I had created, I couldn’t simply write them a traditional happily-ever-after romance ending to their story. That just wouldn’t have been in keeping with who they were and would seem at odds with the story I had created in Talk Gertie To Me.

So I decided the novella would be the perfect vehicle for bridging the genre I had written in the past with the one I was writing in the present. How to do this, though? Inspiration struck! I got them involved in murder in Ten Commandments, Iowa, the town where nothing is like what its name implies. Hence the title of the novella: Elementary, My Dear Gertie.

Unfortunately, the anthology never materialized due to contract negotiations that fell apart. However, by this point I had finished Elementary, My Dear Gertie. So it was published as a stand-alone novella, rather than as part of an anthology.

Elementary, My Dear Gertie

In this novella sequel to the award-winning Talk Gertie To Me, two years have passed since the happily-ever-after that isn’t doing so well. Nori Stedworth has moved in with the love of her life, Mackenzie Randolph, much to her parents’ displeasure. They’re coping as best as parents from Ten Commandments, Iowa can. They want Mac to make an honest woman of their daughter, and that means nothing short of marriage. Mac is all for exchanging I do’s. He’s even bought the ring, but before he can pop the question, an explosion hurls him and Nori right into the middle of a murder investigation. Gertie, Nori's alter-ego, can't help but lend her acerbic wit to the twists and turns as the town is turned upside down in the search for a murderer and arsonist, and yet another scandal envelopes the not-so-pious residents of Ten Commandments.

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--THE FACELIFT CONTINUES, PART 2

Last week I began a series of posts showcasing the rebranding of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mysteries, beginning with Crewel Intentions. Today I’m featuring the second novella in the series, Mosaic Mayhem. 

A few years ago author Lois Winston spent some time in Barcelona, and I tagged along—at least in my imagination and through her keyboard. However, Lois being Lois, she couldn’t let me enjoy the brief vacation. No, she went and had me kidnapped!

Really, is that any way to treat a protagonist?

At first, I was super excited. This was to be a romantic getaway. Zack has been hired to photograph the various architectural wonders created by Antoni Gaudi, and he invited me along for the three-day photo shoot. At the time my only worries were whether my passport was still valid and arranging care for my semi-invalid Communist mother-in-law.

Parc Guel, Barcelona

Well…so much for a romantic getaway. Lois had other ideas. Within hours of touching down in Barcelona, I found myself in Parc Guel, staring down the barrel of a nasty looking gun. (Then again, any gun pointed at me is nasty looking as far as I’m concerned!) Then after being tossed into the back of a van and whisked off to parts unknown, I had to convince a Spanish crime syndicate they’d kidnapped the wrong person.

Parc Guel Mosaic Terrace

Thanks a lot, Lois!

Why is she so compelled to have people on both sides of the Atlantic try to kill me? Obviously, I made it out of Barcelona alive because you’re reading about it here, but if you’d like to know how I managed to escape, you can read about my adventure in Mosaic Mayhem.

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--THE FACELIFT CONTINUES

Back in November author Lois Winston decided to give me a facelift. No, she didn’t surgically remove all those wrinkles and worry lines I’ve accumulated thanks to all the murder and mayhem she’s subjected me to. If only, right? Instead she decided to update a few of my covers. She began with Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun and Death By Killer Mop Doll, the first two books in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. Click here to see the blog post where we unveiled the results. 

Next, Lois tweaked the cover of Decoupage Can Be Deadly, the fourth book in the series. Check that one out here. 

Lois recently turned her attention to the three Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mysteries, creating new covers to better brand them as a series. Over the next few weeks I’m going to share the new covers with you.

First up is Crewel Intentions, the first mini-mystery. In this novella I receive a desperate phone call from former American Woman fashion editor Erica Milano. Erica played a decisive role in Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun. She’s now in Witness Protection and living under a new identity in Western Pennsylvania. But someone is stalking her, and she has compelling reasons why she can’t go to the police or notify her Witsec handlers.

She’s convinced I’m the only person she can trust to help her, and she knows I won’t let her down. After all, she once saved my life. How can I not return the favor?

But will I be able to unmask the stalker before he strikes? Find out in Crewel Intentions.

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A MIDWEST MYSTERY WITH LOTS OF LAUGHS--HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE, PART 7

Christmas is coming. Are you ready? Need another gift for a mystery lover? Or maybe you need a break from all the holiday frenzy? Heat up some hot cocoa, cuddle up on the couch, and treat yourself to a visit to Ten Commandments, Iowa where nothing is what it first seems. Come for the secrets. Stay for the laughs. And watch out for a killer on the loose.

Elementary, My Dear Gertie is the novella sequel to the award-winning Talk Gertie To Me but can be read and enjoyed on its own.

Two years have passed since the happily-ever-after that isn’t doing so well. Nori Stedworth has moved in with the love of her life, Mackenzie Randolph, much to her parents’ displeasure. They’re coping as best as parents from Ten Commandments, Iowa can. They want Mac to make an honest woman of their daughter, and that means nothing short of marriage. Mac is all for exchanging I do’s. He’s even bought the ring, but before he can pop the question, an explosion hurls him and Nori right into the middle of a murder investigation. Gertie, Nori's alter-ego, can't help but lend her acerbic wit to the twists and turns as the town is turned upside down in the search for a murderer and arsonist, and yet another scandal envelopes the not-so-pious residents of Ten Commandments.

Buy Links

paperback

Kindle

iTunes

Nook

Kobo

Google Play