Duffy Brown's Blog: New Cozy Series - Posts Tagged "pets"
Pets in books
Bruce Wills here. The other Bruce Willis with ears, wagging tail and daily yard-waterer in Iced Chiffon.
Have you ever noticed all the pets running around in cozies mysteries? And most of them are cats! What the heck? How did that happen? Does a cat greet you at the door, get your slippers, clean the kitchen floor after you spill the bacon and eggs? No! Cats sniff, turn up their nose and prance off. Dogs have owners, Cats have staff!
Once upon a time I didn’t have such a great life so I ran away and took up living under Reagan Summerside’s front porch. Don’t know why I chose her. Maybe because at the time Reagan’s life in Savannah sucked almost as much as mine.
But she’s an okay gal, even shared her McNuggets and fries with me but kept the martinis all to herself. I mean to tell you I could do with a martini or two on these hot summer nights.
Reagan has a consignment shop on the first floor of her half-restored Victorian. She and her Auntie KiKi who lives next door were going to name me Calvin Klein to fit in with the upscale clothes she takes in. One look at my mangled left ear, crooked tail and scared snout not to mention my questionable linage and they knew I was much better suited as Bruce Willis.
Life is good right now. Reagan says I’m the worse watchdog on the planet but I sure do make a lot of friends. If I fake a limp I can usually finesse a cookie or two from the customers and if I sit in front of the fridge long enough I get my daily dog…hot dog that is. The warm fall days here in Savannah are just made for me snoozing on the porch and one day I can get a slurp of Reagan’s peach martini.
So what is your opinion on pets in mysteries? Paw up or down? Do they distract too much from the mystery? Do you like it when they have a point of view? Do you like cats or dogs best in a book? (That’s spelled d-o-g)
Have you ever noticed all the pets running around in cozies mysteries? And most of them are cats! What the heck? How did that happen? Does a cat greet you at the door, get your slippers, clean the kitchen floor after you spill the bacon and eggs? No! Cats sniff, turn up their nose and prance off. Dogs have owners, Cats have staff!
Once upon a time I didn’t have such a great life so I ran away and took up living under Reagan Summerside’s front porch. Don’t know why I chose her. Maybe because at the time Reagan’s life in Savannah sucked almost as much as mine.
But she’s an okay gal, even shared her McNuggets and fries with me but kept the martinis all to herself. I mean to tell you I could do with a martini or two on these hot summer nights.
Reagan has a consignment shop on the first floor of her half-restored Victorian. She and her Auntie KiKi who lives next door were going to name me Calvin Klein to fit in with the upscale clothes she takes in. One look at my mangled left ear, crooked tail and scared snout not to mention my questionable linage and they knew I was much better suited as Bruce Willis.
Life is good right now. Reagan says I’m the worse watchdog on the planet but I sure do make a lot of friends. If I fake a limp I can usually finesse a cookie or two from the customers and if I sit in front of the fridge long enough I get my daily dog…hot dog that is. The warm fall days here in Savannah are just made for me snoozing on the porch and one day I can get a slurp of Reagan’s peach martini.
So what is your opinion on pets in mysteries? Paw up or down? Do they distract too much from the mystery? Do you like it when they have a point of view? Do you like cats or dogs best in a book? (That’s spelled d-o-g)
Pets In Books Are the Best!
Pets are the best! They are our constant companions, love us when we’re bitchy and in our sloppy PJs with no hair combed and when we have the flu. And they train us really well.
And here I thought we were supposed to train them! Ha!
Pet joke: What side of the door does the cat like to be on? The other side. That’s why I jump up and down the whole blasted night while trying to watch TV to let my cat in and out of the porch. Am I a well trained owner or what!
And then there’s the food issue. Every three days I bake my cat chicken thighs. Not breasts or legs or wings...but thighs. Then cut into small pieces and served room temp. Not cold and not hot.
And then we have the water glass issue. Know that snotty white cat on TV who eats his kibble out of a crystal glass...that’s my cat’s water bowl. Good grief.
I have two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson. Dr. Watson was supposed to be for my son, a gift from my daughter. Yeah, right. We all know how the pet for the kid thing works...parents get the pet! And I got Spooky out of the grocery store parking lot. He was living in the cart area. I herd this pitiful meow and suddenly had a new cat in my life.
If I didn’t have cats I’d have a dog. I know they are more work but they are always happy. Something about a wagging tail will cure any depression, a gift from the pet gods.
In the Consignment Shop Mysteries I have Bruce Willis...the canine Bruce Willis. In Demise in Denim out in April BW and Reagan have an anniversary. Here’s an excerpt to give you a feel of how they feel about each other.
“I have a prezzie for you,” I sing-songed to BW now wagging his tail as we crossed KiKi’s front yard that butted up to mine. I opened the backdoor of Cherry House, went to the fridge and pulled out a little white box and headed for the front porch, BW’s nail tapping across the hardwood floor as he followed me. We sat together on the top step and I opened the box.
“Do you remember what today is?” I took a chicken McNugget from the box and split it in two. I popped half in my mouth and fed the other to BW.
“One year ago you and I became BFFs. I was in a bad way and you weren’t any better. We’d both been abandoned. You were hiding under this very porch though then there wasn’t a hole the roof. I shared my McNuggets with you.”
I broke another one in half. “I’d just opened the Prissy Fox. I needed money to keep the house going and I had a closet full of designer clothes I didn’t need since my ex kicked me to the curb.”
BW only seemed marginally interested in my sentimental walk down memory lane. I kissed him on the snout and he gobbled a McNugget right from the box. “So here we are, just the two of us, one year later. Any chance you’ll start doing the laundry any time soon?”
I got an eye roll I swear I really did.
“Vacuum maybe?”
BW chomped two nuggets.
“Are you happy?”
This time I got a burp and doggy head in my lap. I took that as a yes.
In Geared for the Grave there are two cats, Bambino and Cleveland who help me figure out who-done-it on a regular basis. Cats have amazing instincts...or maybe they’re just good listeners.
Tell me about your pet and I’ll give away two Demise in Denim lunch totes from the answers.
Have a barking-good day.
Duffy
And here I thought we were supposed to train them! Ha!
Pet joke: What side of the door does the cat like to be on? The other side. That’s why I jump up and down the whole blasted night while trying to watch TV to let my cat in and out of the porch. Am I a well trained owner or what!
And then there’s the food issue. Every three days I bake my cat chicken thighs. Not breasts or legs or wings...but thighs. Then cut into small pieces and served room temp. Not cold and not hot.
And then we have the water glass issue. Know that snotty white cat on TV who eats his kibble out of a crystal glass...that’s my cat’s water bowl. Good grief.
I have two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson. Dr. Watson was supposed to be for my son, a gift from my daughter. Yeah, right. We all know how the pet for the kid thing works...parents get the pet! And I got Spooky out of the grocery store parking lot. He was living in the cart area. I herd this pitiful meow and suddenly had a new cat in my life.
If I didn’t have cats I’d have a dog. I know they are more work but they are always happy. Something about a wagging tail will cure any depression, a gift from the pet gods.
In the Consignment Shop Mysteries I have Bruce Willis...the canine Bruce Willis. In Demise in Denim out in April BW and Reagan have an anniversary. Here’s an excerpt to give you a feel of how they feel about each other.
“I have a prezzie for you,” I sing-songed to BW now wagging his tail as we crossed KiKi’s front yard that butted up to mine. I opened the backdoor of Cherry House, went to the fridge and pulled out a little white box and headed for the front porch, BW’s nail tapping across the hardwood floor as he followed me. We sat together on the top step and I opened the box.
“Do you remember what today is?” I took a chicken McNugget from the box and split it in two. I popped half in my mouth and fed the other to BW.
“One year ago you and I became BFFs. I was in a bad way and you weren’t any better. We’d both been abandoned. You were hiding under this very porch though then there wasn’t a hole the roof. I shared my McNuggets with you.”
I broke another one in half. “I’d just opened the Prissy Fox. I needed money to keep the house going and I had a closet full of designer clothes I didn’t need since my ex kicked me to the curb.”
BW only seemed marginally interested in my sentimental walk down memory lane. I kissed him on the snout and he gobbled a McNugget right from the box. “So here we are, just the two of us, one year later. Any chance you’ll start doing the laundry any time soon?”
I got an eye roll I swear I really did.
“Vacuum maybe?”
BW chomped two nuggets.
“Are you happy?”
This time I got a burp and doggy head in my lap. I took that as a yes.
In Geared for the Grave there are two cats, Bambino and Cleveland who help me figure out who-done-it on a regular basis. Cats have amazing instincts...or maybe they’re just good listeners.
Tell me about your pet and I’ll give away two Demise in Denim lunch totes from the answers.
Have a barking-good day.
Duffy
If Pets Could Talk...
Feline Bambino and Cleveland here…I’m the adorable black fur ball and Cleveland is the one on the pillow. We are here on Mackinac Island in a bike shop owned by Rudy and now that chick Evie Bloomfield.
Mackinac Island is one of those places stuck in time. Fact is it’s like the 1800s with no cars. Everything is horses and bikes. And there are parades for the tourists we call fudgies ‘caue they eat so much fudge. Oink!
The parades have bands and music and famous people like George Washington, Betsy Ross…you get the picture. Well, Rudy takes on the character of Mark Twain and Twain had cats named Cleveland and Bambino. Of course the two of us are much cuter than the original Cleveland and Bambino.
We hang out a lot on the pool table in the bike shop. I know, what is a pool table doing with bikes well it’s only here in the summer months when the fudgies are in town crowding up the place.
In the winter the table is at the Mustang Lounge the watering hole for locals. When the snow’s falling…and it sure does fall here on the island…the locals who stay all winter congregate at the Stang, drink beer, eat fried green beans and shoot pool. When the fudgies come back in the summer the Stang is so busy they have to move the pool table up here to Rudy’s Rides to make room. We have a parade moving the pool table with crossed cue sticks, a band and lots of beer.
There’s always something going on at Rudy’s Rides and this time it’s Evie Bloomfield helping Rudy run the place ‘cause Rudy broke his leg. She’s trying to hide the fact that she can’t even ride a bike but the scrapes on her knees and elbows are a dead give away.
And speaking of dead...yeah we got that too. Bunny the pain in the tail busybody around town wound up dead as a mackerel. At first it looked like a biking accident but I got a bad feeling in my whiskers about that. Something looks fishy…did someone say fish?
I got to go. It’s dinner time or maybe lunch time. It’s some time to eat and if I don’t hurry that fat-butt Cleveland will gobble everything up. Come visit sometime. It’s shaping up to be another crazy summer on Mackinac Island.
Mackinac Island is one of those places stuck in time. Fact is it’s like the 1800s with no cars. Everything is horses and bikes. And there are parades for the tourists we call fudgies ‘caue they eat so much fudge. Oink!
The parades have bands and music and famous people like George Washington, Betsy Ross…you get the picture. Well, Rudy takes on the character of Mark Twain and Twain had cats named Cleveland and Bambino. Of course the two of us are much cuter than the original Cleveland and Bambino.
We hang out a lot on the pool table in the bike shop. I know, what is a pool table doing with bikes well it’s only here in the summer months when the fudgies are in town crowding up the place.
In the winter the table is at the Mustang Lounge the watering hole for locals. When the snow’s falling…and it sure does fall here on the island…the locals who stay all winter congregate at the Stang, drink beer, eat fried green beans and shoot pool. When the fudgies come back in the summer the Stang is so busy they have to move the pool table up here to Rudy’s Rides to make room. We have a parade moving the pool table with crossed cue sticks, a band and lots of beer.
There’s always something going on at Rudy’s Rides and this time it’s Evie Bloomfield helping Rudy run the place ‘cause Rudy broke his leg. She’s trying to hide the fact that she can’t even ride a bike but the scrapes on her knees and elbows are a dead give away.
And speaking of dead...yeah we got that too. Bunny the pain in the tail busybody around town wound up dead as a mackerel. At first it looked like a biking accident but I got a bad feeling in my whiskers about that. Something looks fishy…did someone say fish?
I got to go. It’s dinner time or maybe lunch time. It’s some time to eat and if I don’t hurry that fat-butt Cleveland will gobble everything up. Come visit sometime. It’s shaping up to be another crazy summer on Mackinac Island.
If Pets Could Talk...
Feline Bambino and Cleveland here…I’m the adorable black fur ball and Cleveland is the one on the pillow. We are here on Mackinac Island in a bike shop owned by Rudy and now that chick Evie Bloomfield.
Mackinac Island is one of those places stuck in time. Fact is it’s like the 1800s with no cars. Everything is horses and bikes. And there are parades for the tourists we call fudgies ‘caue they eat so much fudge. Oink!
The parades have bands and music and famous people like George Washington, Betsy Ross…you get the picture. Well, Rudy takes on the character of Mark Twain and Twain had cats named Cleveland and Bambino. Of course the two of us are much cuter than the original Cleveland and Bambino.
We hang out a lot on the pool table in the bike shop. I know, what is a pool table doing with bikes well it’s only here in the summer months when the fudgies are in town crowding up the place.
In the winter the table is at the Mustang Lounge the watering hole for locals. When the snow’s falling…and it sure does fall here on the island…the locals who stay all winter congregate at the Stang, drink beer, eat fried green beans and shoot pool. When the fudgies come back in the summer the Stang is so busy they have to move the pool table up here to Rudy’s Rides to make room. We have a parade moving the pool table with crossed cue sticks, a band and lots of beer.
There’s always something going on at Rudy’s Rides and this time it’s Evie Bloomfield helping Rudy run the place ‘cause Rudy broke his leg. She’s trying to hide the fact that she can’t even ride a bike but the scrapes on her knees and elbows are a dead give away.
And speaking of dead...yeah we got that too. Bunny the pain in the tail busybody around town wound up dead as a mackerel. At first it looked like a biking accident but I got a bad feeling in my whiskers about that. Something looks fishy…did someone say fish?
I got to go. It’s dinner time or maybe lunch time. It’s some time to eat and if I don’t hurry that fat-butt Cleveland will gobble everything up. Come visit sometime. It’s shaping up to be another crazy summer on Mackinac Island.
More on pets in books...
Pets are the best like I said in my last blog post! They are our constant companions. They love us when we’re bitchy and in our sloppy PJs with no hair combed and when we have the flu. And they train us really well.
Here I thought we were supposed to train them! Ha!
Pet joke: What side of the door does the cat like to be on? The other side. That’s why I jump up and down the whole blasted night while trying to watch TV to let my cat in and out of the porch. Am I a well trained owner or what!
Then there’s the food issue. Every three days I bake my cat chicken thighs. Not breasts or legs or wings...but thighs. Then cut into small pieces and served room temp. Not cold and not hot.
And then we have the water glass issue. Know that snotty white cat on TV who eats his kibble out of a crystal glass...that’s my cat’s water bowl. Good grief.
I have two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson. Dr. Watson was supposed to be for my son, a gift from my daughter. Yeah, right. We all know how the pet for the sibling thing works...parents get the pet! And I got Spooky out of the grocery store parking lot. He was living in the cart area. I herd this pitiful meow and suddenly had a new cat in my life.
If I didn’t have cats I’d have a dog. I know they are more work but they are always happy. Something about a wagging tail will cure any depression, a gift from the pet gods. I have a dog...the other Bruce Willis...in my Consignment Shop mystery series.
In Geared for the Grave there are two cats, Bambino and Cleveland. Here’s a little about Bambino:
I dropped my duffle and snagged a cue, aimed for the far pocket and sailed the yellow-striped ball across the felt till Rudy plucked it right off the table. “Hey, why’d you do that? I nailed that shot.”
Rudy scooped his hand into the pocket, dragging out a sleepy black and white kitten. “Bambino hangs out there, left pocket’s off limits.” Rudy balanced on one crutch--he was a one-crutch kind of guy. “So, Chicago, what brings a pool shark to my doorstep this time of night?”
Tell me about your pet. Where does he hang out? How does he have you trained? I’ll give away two Geared for the Grave totes from the answers.
Have a meowing-good day.
Duffy
Geared for the Grave
book one Cycle Path mysteries
Here I thought we were supposed to train them! Ha!
Pet joke: What side of the door does the cat like to be on? The other side. That’s why I jump up and down the whole blasted night while trying to watch TV to let my cat in and out of the porch. Am I a well trained owner or what!
Then there’s the food issue. Every three days I bake my cat chicken thighs. Not breasts or legs or wings...but thighs. Then cut into small pieces and served room temp. Not cold and not hot.
And then we have the water glass issue. Know that snotty white cat on TV who eats his kibble out of a crystal glass...that’s my cat’s water bowl. Good grief.
I have two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson. Dr. Watson was supposed to be for my son, a gift from my daughter. Yeah, right. We all know how the pet for the sibling thing works...parents get the pet! And I got Spooky out of the grocery store parking lot. He was living in the cart area. I herd this pitiful meow and suddenly had a new cat in my life.
If I didn’t have cats I’d have a dog. I know they are more work but they are always happy. Something about a wagging tail will cure any depression, a gift from the pet gods. I have a dog...the other Bruce Willis...in my Consignment Shop mystery series.
In Geared for the Grave there are two cats, Bambino and Cleveland. Here’s a little about Bambino:
I dropped my duffle and snagged a cue, aimed for the far pocket and sailed the yellow-striped ball across the felt till Rudy plucked it right off the table. “Hey, why’d you do that? I nailed that shot.”
Rudy scooped his hand into the pocket, dragging out a sleepy black and white kitten. “Bambino hangs out there, left pocket’s off limits.” Rudy balanced on one crutch--he was a one-crutch kind of guy. “So, Chicago, what brings a pool shark to my doorstep this time of night?”
Tell me about your pet. Where does he hang out? How does he have you trained? I’ll give away two Geared for the Grave totes from the answers.
Have a meowing-good day.
Duffy
Geared for the Grave
book one Cycle Path mysteries
Fireworks...in or out
Duffy Brown here and its boom time again meaning it’s time for fireworks. They are pretty in how they light up the sky but they sure make a lot of racket getting up there. The 4th of July conjures up the idea of celebrating out freedom and celebrating a lot of times means fireworks.
Do you have fireworks at your house so your 4th of July get-together has fun with sparklers and the like? Is there someone in the family who loves to put on a display for everyone? The designated firework guy or gal who loves to go out every year, spend a ton of money and put on a show for everyone?
Or do you go to a community firework show? Pack up the lawn chairs and bug spray and head out to the park. Often they have you tune to a certain radio station and the fireworks blast off in time to the music. That’s pretty cool!
We have fireworks display here in Cincy over Labor Day that draws 500,000. It is really cool! People sit on the hills overlooking the Ohio River and the fireworks are set off from barges on the river. It is one big bang!
And then there is the pet issue. I know of no pet who likes these things. My cats go nuts, my kid’s dogs hide and cry. This really takes the fun out of fireworks for me. I hate to see my animals so upset. I close the windows and turn on the TV to drown out the noise. Poor babies.
So what about you? Are you a fireworks person? Were as a kid? Love it or hate it?
Have a wonderful 4th of July and God bless everyone who keeps us safe.
Pearls and Poison
Hugs, Duffy
Do you have fireworks at your house so your 4th of July get-together has fun with sparklers and the like? Is there someone in the family who loves to put on a display for everyone? The designated firework guy or gal who loves to go out every year, spend a ton of money and put on a show for everyone?
Or do you go to a community firework show? Pack up the lawn chairs and bug spray and head out to the park. Often they have you tune to a certain radio station and the fireworks blast off in time to the music. That’s pretty cool!
We have fireworks display here in Cincy over Labor Day that draws 500,000. It is really cool! People sit on the hills overlooking the Ohio River and the fireworks are set off from barges on the river. It is one big bang!
And then there is the pet issue. I know of no pet who likes these things. My cats go nuts, my kid’s dogs hide and cry. This really takes the fun out of fireworks for me. I hate to see my animals so upset. I close the windows and turn on the TV to drown out the noise. Poor babies.
So what about you? Are you a fireworks person? Were as a kid? Love it or hate it?
Have a wonderful 4th of July and God bless everyone who keeps us safe.
Pearls and Poison
Hugs, Duffy
Hobbies and Where They Take Us
Hobbies and where they take us...
So what do Iced Chiffon, Killer in Crinolines, and Pearls in Poison have in common? They are all mystery stories set around a consignment shop in Savannah. When I decided to follow my dream and write mysteries I went with the old adage of write what you know and love. I adore Savannah, Georgia and I’ve worked in an upscale consignment shop for fifteen years. That’s how the series Consignment: Murder was born.
Consignment shopping is the fun of wearing designer clothes on the cheap. I could never afford a Coach handbag or an Armani jacket but I do love the expensive look and great quality. Most of all I love bragging to my friends how much I paid! The conversation goes something like, “Oh, isn’t that a great Kate Spade purse.” And my reply is, “I got it at the Snooty Fox for forty bucks!” instead of the usual three-hundred and fifty!
For years I shopped consignment stores then decided I needed to work at the Snoot since I was there all the time looking for deals. My kids were some of the best-dressed on campus and I did it for K-Mart prices.
Don’t you love the name Snooty Fox! The Snoot is an upscale consignment shop. How many times have you bought something, wore it once, decided it wasn’t your color or didn’t fit the way you liked and you were stuck with it? Well, that’s where the Snooty Fox comes in. You can sell your green plaid jacket that you just had to have but then decided you hated at the Snoot because there is a customer out there who will love that jacket and pay you good money for it.
Consignment shopping is a lot like solving a mystery. It’s all about the hunt for the perfect scarf, skirt or shoes. I think that’s why mystery and the Consignment: Murder series seemed like a perfect fit. The hunt is on!
Working at a consignment shop and my love for Savanna led me to writing a mystery series and I’m always amazed at where someone’s hobby or special interest led them? Did you meet a best friend? Your mate? Take classes? Visit a place? Get an award for perfecting your hobby or even teach a class on it?
Hobbies enriched our lives and often take us to places we never expected...like a murder mystery series. Who would have thought.
So what do Iced Chiffon, Killer in Crinolines, and Pearls in Poison have in common? They are all mystery stories set around a consignment shop in Savannah. When I decided to follow my dream and write mysteries I went with the old adage of write what you know and love. I adore Savannah, Georgia and I’ve worked in an upscale consignment shop for fifteen years. That’s how the series Consignment: Murder was born.
Consignment shopping is the fun of wearing designer clothes on the cheap. I could never afford a Coach handbag or an Armani jacket but I do love the expensive look and great quality. Most of all I love bragging to my friends how much I paid! The conversation goes something like, “Oh, isn’t that a great Kate Spade purse.” And my reply is, “I got it at the Snooty Fox for forty bucks!” instead of the usual three-hundred and fifty!
For years I shopped consignment stores then decided I needed to work at the Snoot since I was there all the time looking for deals. My kids were some of the best-dressed on campus and I did it for K-Mart prices.
Don’t you love the name Snooty Fox! The Snoot is an upscale consignment shop. How many times have you bought something, wore it once, decided it wasn’t your color or didn’t fit the way you liked and you were stuck with it? Well, that’s where the Snooty Fox comes in. You can sell your green plaid jacket that you just had to have but then decided you hated at the Snoot because there is a customer out there who will love that jacket and pay you good money for it.
Consignment shopping is a lot like solving a mystery. It’s all about the hunt for the perfect scarf, skirt or shoes. I think that’s why mystery and the Consignment: Murder series seemed like a perfect fit. The hunt is on!
Working at a consignment shop and my love for Savanna led me to writing a mystery series and I’m always amazed at where someone’s hobby or special interest led them? Did you meet a best friend? Your mate? Take classes? Visit a place? Get an award for perfecting your hobby or even teach a class on it?
Hobbies enriched our lives and often take us to places we never expected...like a murder mystery series. Who would have thought.
Never judge a book by its cover... Yeah, right
We all do. The first thing you look at is the cover. Have you ever bought a book just because you like the cover? I sure have and I’ve put the book back because I didn’t like the cover. Guilty as charged!
So since covers matter and I sincerely think they do, what kind of cover on a book do you like best? Is there something that you see on the cover of a book that makes it an auto buy even before you read the back blurb? Is there something on the cover you see that will make you not buy the book?
I’m not into syfy or fantasy...except for Game of Thrones...so anything that has a dragon or alien or weird creature from out of space is a turn off for me. Ghosts are okay. Not an auto buy but a well written ghost can be a ton of fun, cause a bunch trouble and know things from the past that add to the book.
If there’s a creepy Victoria house that’s nice. A shack in the woods for me not so much. I don’t like to be scared to pieces and remote shacks sound like where kidnapped people are held. No way!
Anything with kids hurt or missing it out. I’m a mom and this is my worse nightmare. I don’t want to red a nightmare.
I like fun covers. If the book suggests fun and excitement I’m so in! I wanted a coffin sticking out of the back of Walker Boone’s ’57 Chevy red convertible for Lethal in Old Lace. Have Bruce Willis’s...the canine version...head perched over the seat. Trust me, it fits the story and who doesn’t want to ride in a ’57 Chevy dead or alive with our buddy BW.
This suggests fun and excitement and something a little different and totally Reagan and Auntie KiKi. I do have the new cover for Lethal in Old Lace and will do a big reveal in January. I love the new cover but the Chevy would have been nice too.
So the question is...what on the cover sells you on a book? I’ll giveaway a lighted pen and notepad from the answers.
Hugs,
Duffy
So since covers matter and I sincerely think they do, what kind of cover on a book do you like best? Is there something that you see on the cover of a book that makes it an auto buy even before you read the back blurb? Is there something on the cover you see that will make you not buy the book?
I’m not into syfy or fantasy...except for Game of Thrones...so anything that has a dragon or alien or weird creature from out of space is a turn off for me. Ghosts are okay. Not an auto buy but a well written ghost can be a ton of fun, cause a bunch trouble and know things from the past that add to the book.
If there’s a creepy Victoria house that’s nice. A shack in the woods for me not so much. I don’t like to be scared to pieces and remote shacks sound like where kidnapped people are held. No way!
Anything with kids hurt or missing it out. I’m a mom and this is my worse nightmare. I don’t want to red a nightmare.
I like fun covers. If the book suggests fun and excitement I’m so in! I wanted a coffin sticking out of the back of Walker Boone’s ’57 Chevy red convertible for Lethal in Old Lace. Have Bruce Willis’s...the canine version...head perched over the seat. Trust me, it fits the story and who doesn’t want to ride in a ’57 Chevy dead or alive with our buddy BW.
This suggests fun and excitement and something a little different and totally Reagan and Auntie KiKi. I do have the new cover for Lethal in Old Lace and will do a big reveal in January. I love the new cover but the Chevy would have been nice too.
So the question is...what on the cover sells you on a book? I’ll giveaway a lighted pen and notepad from the answers.
Hugs,
Duffy
Find any dead bodies lately
Reagan Summerside here and I think I’m losing my mind...bodies are going missing! How can this happen? I misplace stuff all the time like my keys and where the heck is my purse, I always misplace my purse—Old Yeller, big yellow plether thing that hold my life--but a body takes misplacing stuff to a whole new level.
It all started when I was cutting through a back alley to get to Walker Boone’s house. We just got engaged so I was taking a shortcut to get to his place fast. I would like to say I was in a hurry because I missed him and I did miss him but the fact is I had questions. I needed to know where were we going to live once we got married and who would do the cooking and what kind of toothpaste were we going to use? But that’s another issue and right now there’s a missing body.
When I was cutting thought the alley there was a white Caddy with a body in the back. At first I thought the person in the back was maybe a tired old soul needing a place to take a nap but no one sleeps with eyes open, right?
I would have stuck around to take a closer look but a big rat and bigger roach ganged up on me and I ran for it. When I bought Boone back to the car the body was gone.
Okay, this is all pretty bad but what makes the situation worse is that I know who owns the Caddy. It belongs to the Abbott sisters who live next door to me. They are adorable retired school teachers who supplement their income by being Savannah’s fave professional mourners. No one can get a funeral weeping like the sisters.
So what should I do? Call the cops? What if the sisters are responsible for that body? Then they’d be arrested and I can’t have my neighbors in jail now can I especially if they had a real good reason? Not neighborly at all. Should I just forget the whole thing like Boone suggests? He says I’m on dead-body overload from tripping across them all the time.
Got any suggestions? What would you do if you found a body and then it went missing? Here’s a recipe for one of Auntie KiKi’s martinis to help you find an answer.
Lethal In Old Lace
Consignment Shop Mysteries
Duffy Brown.
Auntie KiKi’s Death by Chocolate Martini
Chocolate martini for when you need both chocolate and a martini
1 1/2 ounces chocolate liqueur
1 1/2 ounces Creme de Cacao
1/2 ounce vanilla vodka
2 1/2 ounces half-and-half
chocolate syrup, for rim
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with chocolate syrup. Add cherry skewered on toothpick. Does that sound delicious or what!
It all started when I was cutting through a back alley to get to Walker Boone’s house. We just got engaged so I was taking a shortcut to get to his place fast. I would like to say I was in a hurry because I missed him and I did miss him but the fact is I had questions. I needed to know where were we going to live once we got married and who would do the cooking and what kind of toothpaste were we going to use? But that’s another issue and right now there’s a missing body.
When I was cutting thought the alley there was a white Caddy with a body in the back. At first I thought the person in the back was maybe a tired old soul needing a place to take a nap but no one sleeps with eyes open, right?
I would have stuck around to take a closer look but a big rat and bigger roach ganged up on me and I ran for it. When I bought Boone back to the car the body was gone.
Okay, this is all pretty bad but what makes the situation worse is that I know who owns the Caddy. It belongs to the Abbott sisters who live next door to me. They are adorable retired school teachers who supplement their income by being Savannah’s fave professional mourners. No one can get a funeral weeping like the sisters.
So what should I do? Call the cops? What if the sisters are responsible for that body? Then they’d be arrested and I can’t have my neighbors in jail now can I especially if they had a real good reason? Not neighborly at all. Should I just forget the whole thing like Boone suggests? He says I’m on dead-body overload from tripping across them all the time.
Got any suggestions? What would you do if you found a body and then it went missing? Here’s a recipe for one of Auntie KiKi’s martinis to help you find an answer.
Lethal In Old Lace
Consignment Shop Mysteries
Duffy Brown.
Auntie KiKi’s Death by Chocolate Martini
Chocolate martini for when you need both chocolate and a martini
1 1/2 ounces chocolate liqueur
1 1/2 ounces Creme de Cacao
1/2 ounce vanilla vodka
2 1/2 ounces half-and-half
chocolate syrup, for rim
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with chocolate syrup. Add cherry skewered on toothpick. Does that sound delicious or what!
Quirky Mackinac Island
Evie Bloomfield here from Tandem Demise, third book in the Cycle Path Mysteries. Tandem DemiseI’ve come to Mackinac Island from Chicago. Some of my friends say that one place is just like another but they are so wrong. So I gave them instructions. This is how you know you are on Mackinac Island and you are so not in Chicago.
... if you have ever gotten frostbitten and sunburned in the same week. (though truth be told this could be Chicago too)
... if you can identify an Ohio accent.
…if you don’t need car insurance
…if a fender bender is a two-bike crash
... if you learned to pilot a boat before the training wheels were off your bike.
... if you point at the palm of your right hand when telling people where you live
... if "Down South" means Toledo.
... if a Big Mac is something you can drive across.
... if you have no problem spelling Mackinac Island.
... if you have as many Canadian coins in your pockets as American ones.
... if the trees in your backyard have spigots.
... if you know that a place called "Kalamazoo" really exists.
... if you bake with "soda" and drink "pop".
... if you know what a pastie is.
... if you know how to play Euchre.
... if fudge and bicycles remind you of home sweet home.
... if you can name all 5 of the Great Lakes, and point to their locations around your left and right hands.
... if you know that Pontiac and Cadillac are cities.
... if you can actually pronounce Ypsilanti.
... if you own only three spices - salt, pepper and ketchup.
... if you design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit.
... if you keep track of the miles you put on your snow blower.
... if you think everyone from the city has an accent.
... if you think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie.
... if your snow blower gets stuck on the roof.
…if you save your Christmas tree to help mark the path across a frozen lake for the snow mobiles
... if summer takes place the second week of July
... if you find -20F a little chilly.
... if the kids drive to school in a snow mobile.
... if you know the 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Yesterday was summer.
... if you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by.
... you know the day the horses get off the ferry and return to the island
... if you have worn shorts and a coat at the same time.
... if you often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
... if you see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings.)
... if down South to you means Ohio.
... if you go out to a fish fry every Friday.
…if the whole town is 500 people strong
... if you know what a Yooper is.
... if you know that UP is a place, not a direction.
... if you know it's possible to live in a thumb.
... if you have ever gotten frostbitten and sunburned in the same week. (though truth be told this could be Chicago too)
... if you can identify an Ohio accent.
…if you don’t need car insurance
…if a fender bender is a two-bike crash
... if you learned to pilot a boat before the training wheels were off your bike.
... if you point at the palm of your right hand when telling people where you live
... if "Down South" means Toledo.
... if a Big Mac is something you can drive across.
... if you have no problem spelling Mackinac Island.
... if you have as many Canadian coins in your pockets as American ones.
... if the trees in your backyard have spigots.
... if you know that a place called "Kalamazoo" really exists.
... if you bake with "soda" and drink "pop".
... if you know what a pastie is.
... if you know how to play Euchre.
... if fudge and bicycles remind you of home sweet home.
... if you can name all 5 of the Great Lakes, and point to their locations around your left and right hands.
... if you know that Pontiac and Cadillac are cities.
... if you can actually pronounce Ypsilanti.
... if you own only three spices - salt, pepper and ketchup.
... if you design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit.
... if you keep track of the miles you put on your snow blower.
... if you think everyone from the city has an accent.
... if you think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie.
... if your snow blower gets stuck on the roof.
…if you save your Christmas tree to help mark the path across a frozen lake for the snow mobiles
... if summer takes place the second week of July
... if you find -20F a little chilly.
... if the kids drive to school in a snow mobile.
... if you know the 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Yesterday was summer.
... if you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by.
... you know the day the horses get off the ferry and return to the island
... if you have worn shorts and a coat at the same time.
... if you often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
... if you see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings.)
... if down South to you means Ohio.
... if you go out to a fish fry every Friday.
…if the whole town is 500 people strong
... if you know what a Yooper is.
... if you know that UP is a place, not a direction.
... if you know it's possible to live in a thumb.
New Cozy Series
Murder, Mayhem and 4 of a Kind is the first book in my new cozy series, High Cotton Mysteries.
- Duffy Brown's profile
- 729 followers
