And

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

!!!Congratulations Lisa Brown!!!

Every Monday I will spotlight a different series that I have loved from the very first book. 

This week my series spotlight is on the

Glass Bead Mysteries

by author

Janice Peacock

Janice Peacock Interview

LKBR:  Thank you for being here today!

JP: Hi Lisa!  Thanks for the invitation.  And speaking—typing, actually—of invitations, I want to invite you and your readers to join me this Wednesday 12/14 at 6PM Pacific Time for a short Facebook party.  Here’s the link.

http://tinyurl.com/JanPeacDecParty

I’ve got loads of prizes to give away, plus some exciting announcements about the books in the Glass Bead Mystery Series.

LKBR: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?

JP: I don’t think I ever made a conscious decision to be an author. I started writing books a few years ago and someone told me that made me an author. I still consider myself more of a glass artist than a writer.  I’m also a mom, a cat-mom, a wife, and a chicken-tender (I realized as I wrote this that it made me sound like a snack from McDonald’s, so perhaps I should say chicken-mom.)

LKBR: What was your inspiration for your series?

JP: I was taking a glass beadmaking class in a studio in upstate New York and there were people in the class with me who reminded me of characters in a cozy mystery—all a bit quirky. Many of them had their own agendas and petty jealousies and that caused some friction in the class. As workshop continued, I started thinking up ways people could kill each other in a glass studio. By the end of the class I’d cooked up the plot to a murder mystery novel.

LKBR: Do you ever get writer’s block? If you do, how do you work through it?

JP: I do get writer’s block, but usually it’s more like editor’s block.  The initial writing of the story comes easily for me.  But when I get feedback from my editor and beta readers, who point out all of my silly flights of fancy, that’s when the work gets more difficult.  There are times when I need to write my way out of problem—like when I need to get the characters somewhere to drive the plot forward.  In my mind, I can see two of my characters, Jax and Tessa, standing around saying to each other:

“What do you want to do?” then, “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” 

Eventually, they’ll decide it’s time for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.  Sometimes if feels like they sit around for days waiting for me to figure out where they need to go.  Recently, I sent them off to a glass blowing studio, and I really wasn’t sure why they were going, but they needed to do something.  Sure enough, once they got there, Jax saw something that helped break up the log jam in my head so the story could get moving again. 

LKBR: Do you have a favorite place to do your writing?

JP: I must write at my desk.  If I write anywhere else, I’m apt to wander off into the interwebs in search of cat videos and beading tutorials, Facebook posts, and Twitter rants.  When I’m at my desk, its business only, and that means writing. 

LKBR: What is your writing schedule like? Do you write a certain number of hours a day, or go by word count?

JP: Every November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  During that month I commit to writing 50,000 words, and I spend the month barfing out a rough draft of a book.  I wrote To Bead or Not to Bead, Book Four in the Glass Bead Mystery Series last month, and I’m happy to report that the book looked better than most of my books have after I spent the month typing as fast as my little fingers could carry the words to the page…er…monitor.

I’ve done NaNoWriMo for several years, and basically after the month is over, I rest in December. Then I start editing in January and spend the next year editing the book for publication.  I’m a little behind this year, but will be caught up when Off the Beadin’ Path, Book Three in the Glass Bead Mystery Series is published in March. 

LKBR: Do you have plans for a new series?

JP: I have a couple of other series rattling around in my head, but I think my next writing project is a book of haiku poems called A Year of Haiku that I started a few years ago and would like to finish. I wrote a haiku every day for a year during a rough time in my life. Sitting down to write my daily poem was healing and cathartic.  I’ve had many requests to collect those haikus into a book, so I want to accomplish that this year, if possible.  I also want to write an instructional book about glass sand casting.  It’s a wonderful process for creating large-scale glass sculptures in a glass blowing studio environment.  Readers who are interested in seeing what glass casting is can visit my glass website at www.janicepeacockglass.com for a video of me pouring several pounds of molten glass from a giant ladle.

LKBR: What book are you reading?

JP: I’m currently reading Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d by Alan Bradley.  This is the latest Flavia De Luce mystery, and it is just wonderful.  Set in post-WWII England, the main character is a twelve year old girl who loves chemistry and poison.  I had to fight my husband for who got to read it first, when he brought it home from the library.  He won this time around, but next time, I’m going to insist I get first dibs.

LKBR: What are three things you want your readers to know about you?

JP: (1) I am a glass beadmaker.  What the heck is that?  I use a very snazzy oxygen/propane torch that is mounted to a table to melt glass, which I form into beads with various tools. It is a good balance for me with writing—I love getting out into my studio and playing with fire, and leaving words and computers behind.  I adore all the glass colors, the fluidity of glass in its molten state, and the lovely little pieces of wearable art that I can create with the process of lampworking. 

(2) I love the colors lime green and purple—especially together.  That’s just one of the reasons I love the new cover of Off the Beadin’ Path.

(3) I love to sew.  I’ve completed a few quilts, and I recently made a swirly skirt from batik fabrics in blues and teals that fits me and is comfortable.  Now I’m obsessed and want to make more, more, more.

LKBR: Thank you so much for letting us get to know you better!

JP: Thanks very much!  One last plug: The second book in the Glass Bead Mystery Series, A Bead in the Hand, is 99 cents in the ebook edition on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.  The discount continues through 12/19. 

Happy Holidays!

~*~*~*~

!!!!!GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Janice makes amazingly beautiful beads. 

Here is your chance to win the one below!

"The bead was handmade by me and is made of Italian glass and is the form of a vessel with handles. The handles give some great opportunities to add dangles and make a pendant out of this bead. The bead has special dichroic glass and enamels embedded into it, and has a sandy surface, like it’s been recently uncovered from an archaeological dig." ~ Janice

Enter to win:

Head over to Janice's website   www.janicepeacock.com/

and sign up for Janice's newsletter.

You have until Tuesday the 13th at midnight EST to signup for your chance to win this beautiful one of a kind bead! 

Already signed up for Janice's newsletter?

Just leave the word

Signed

in the comments section here on my blog.

Janice will pick a name by random draw. 

The winner will be announced 

Thursday the 15th

on Janice's FB author page

Facebook.com/JanPeac

and 

here on my blog!

Book One

After inheriting a house in Seattle, Jax O'Connell is living the life of her dreams as a glass beadmaker and jewelry designer. When she gets an offer to display her work during a bead shop’s opening festivities, it's an opportunity Jax can't resist—even though the store's owner is the surliest person Jax has ever met. 

The weekend’s events become a tangled mess when a young beadmaker is found dead nearby and several oddball bead enthusiasts are suspects. Jax must string together the clues to clear her friend Tessa's name—and do it before the killer strikes again.

MY REVIEW

HIGH STRUNG is a fun, fast mystery that I couldn’t put down!

I really like books where I am not only entertained, but where I can learn new things as well. My time spent reading HIGH STRUNG contained both.

Author Janice Peacock has created a series and protagonist that really captured my imagination. Jacqueline “Jax” O’Connell is a strong, intelligent character who is a pleasure to read. From her passion for making glass beads, to the way she handled investigating a murder, I enjoyed getting to know her. The rest of the cast of characters were fun to get to know. Such varying personalities, and all so multilayered. 

This first installment in the Glass Bead mysteries was a wonderfully written mystery that I really loved. A great storyline that flowed at just the perfect pace. The reveal wasn’t exactly an action packed one, but it did surprise me when I read who the killer was.

I had book two, A BEAD IN THE HAND out and ready to read after this one and I was just as pleased!

Give HIGH STRUNG a try. You’re going to be happy you did!

~*~*~*~

Book Two

A bead bazaar turns bizarre when jewelry designer and glass beadmaker Jax O'Connell discovers a dead body beneath her sales table. Suspected of murder, Jax and her friend Tessa scramble to find the killer among the fanatic shoppers and eccentric vendors. They have their hands full dealing with a scumbag show promoter, hipsters in love, and a security guard who wants to do more than protect Jax from harm. Adding to the chaos, Jax's quirky neighbor Val arrives unexpectedly with trouble in tow. Can Jax untangle the clues before she's arrested for murder? A Bead in the Hand is the second book in the Glass Bead Mystery series.

MY REVIEW

Even better than the first book in this series, HIGH STRUNG, A BEAD IN THE HAND was a fun, entertaining page turner!

Really upping her game from the first installment of the Glass Bead mysteries, author Janice Peacock topped herself when I wouldn’t have thought it possible.

It was great to spend more time with Jax, Tess, and the rest of the great characters in this series. I so much enjoy the wit and intelligence in the way they are written.

The story was page after page of great reading. I flew through A BEAD IN THE HAND in one setting. A fantastic plot with an exciting reveal, I didn’t want the story to end!

I sure hope author Peacock has a third book coming out soon! 

~*~*~*~

 A Mini Mystery

Takes place between Book 1 HIGH STRUNG and Book 2 A BEAD IN THE HAND

It's Valentine's Day and Jax O'Connell's red VW bug is missing. Did she forget where she parked the Ladybug as she rushed to deliver her handmade glass beads, or has the beloved car been stolen? Searching the streets of Seattle, Jax and her best friend, Tessa, face some unsavory characters. Jax regrets not having a date on the most romantic day of the year after spotting Ryan, Seattle's newest--and hottest--cop and running into Zachary, the stern yet sexy detective. She must take matters into her own hands to find the Ladybug and salvage her love life, and do it before the day is over.

MY REVIEW

I love when authors know we need a small fix into the worlds they have created for us. Author Janice Peacock does just that in BE STILL MY BEADING HEART.

What happened to protagonist Jax’s car, and will she have a date for Valentine’s Day are the biggest questions in this delightful mini read. Set between, book one, HIGH STRUNG, and book two, A BEAD IN THE HAND, you won’t find a dead body in this mini tale in the Glass Bead Mystery series, but you will find a little mayhem, action, and romance.

With the same superb writing found in her other books, author Peacock makes BE STILL MY BEADING HEART a wonderful story to satisfy her fans appetites as we wait for her next full length book.

Gift yourself the Glass Bead Mystery series. It will be one of the nicest things you’ve done for yourself. Pick up a set for a friend too! They’ll thank you for it!  

~*~*~*~

Learn more about Janice Peacock and her Glass Bead Mysteries . . .

Links for A Bead in the Hand:

https://www.amazon.com/Bead-Hand-Glass-Mystery/dp/0990570568

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-bead-in-the-hand-janice-peacock/1123025263?ean=2940153087320

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/bead-in-hand-glass-bead-mystery/id1126133847?mt=11

Connect with Janice Online:

Facebook.com/JanPeac

@JanPeac on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest

www.janicepeacock.com

www.janicepeacockglass.com

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 

clicking on the link in the 

upper right hand corner of this page.