Lisa Ks Book Reviews

BOOK TOUR

I'm so happy to be hosting one of my favorite authors during her book tour.

Jenny Kales!

Her book

SECRETS AND PIES

is book 3 in the Callie's Kitchen Mysteries

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of Callie’s Kitchen! Greek-American restaurateur Callie Costas faces down another killer in picturesque Crystal Bay, Wisconsin.

Summertime in Crystal Bay means tourist season for Calliope “Callie” Costas, owner of Callie’s Kitchen, a Greek-meets-Midwest from-scratch eatery. Business is booming but so is the stress. Callie can barely keep up with the demand for her famous summer fruit pies and savory Greek delicacies, plus she’s agreed to bake dozens of “pitas” for the annual Greek Fest. When Callie is asked to deliver cast party treats for a Murder Mystery Night at the historic Harris House, it seems like a welcome break from her hot stove. That is, until she finds herself an unwilling player in yet another suspicious death. Worse yet, the victim is a family friend and graduate student working on a project involving Crystal Bay’s colorful past. Before long, a motley crew of suspects makes things as juicy as the succulent berries strewn around Callie’s Kitchen. And that’s not all Callie’s got on her plate. Add family obligations, a deepening romance with a local detective and unexpected personnel problems to the mix. One thing’s for sure: Callie’s got the recipe for a long, hot summer!

📕📖📘📖📗📖📙

*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****

Winners will be chosen after October 27

at the end of the tour

Five lucky readers will win an E-copy of

SECRETS AND PIES

Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.

www.escapewithdollycas.com

AN INTERVIEW WITH JENNY KALES

LKBR: Thank you for being here today!

JK: Thank you for having me! It’s always nice to be on your blog, Lisa.

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

JK: Probably from about the time I was five or six. I’ve always loved the feeling I get from reading a really good book. When I was a kid, I was always writing stories. However, it took me years to get around to fiction as an adult. I started as an ad copywriter and I wrote for non-fiction for years, things like marketing brochures, web site copy, magazine articles, a parenting blog, etc. I’m glad I finally made it back to fiction.

LKBR: What was your inspiration for this series? Where did the name come from?

JK: My inspiration is two-fold. It all started in 2013. I wanted to write a cozy mystery series featuring a Greek-American heroine. I married into a Greek family and I felt like the culture could be woven into a cozy in a fun and instructive way. I always wanted to write a culinary cozy mystery, and I thought Greek food would be a great addition to the culinary cozy genre. Secondly, I got a lot of inspiration for the setting from the Geneva Lakes region of Wisconsin. It’s a beautiful small town, on the waterfront with history, lots of shops and businesses, historic homes and lots of potential to create interesting mystery stories. “The Callie’s Kitchen Mysteries” refer to the name of my amateur sleuth’s eatery: Callie’s Kitchen.

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

JK: I don’t really get writer’s block, but there are days I may get a little stuck on some aspect of my novel. I will take a short break and do something totally unrelated, like exercising or baking. Sometimes I’ll work on a blog post or some other form of writing to loosen up the writing “muscles.” That usually works.

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

JK: If I’m writing the first draft of a novel and I require a lot of concentration, it has to be in the Quiet Room at a library. I have several beautiful libraries in my area and I go to them and write for hours. I think being surrounded by books is a good inspiration, too, and I don’t have the distractions of home.

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

JK: When I’m writing a novel, I will try to write every day. I don’t really go by word count. I may go by chapter. Two chapters is a good day’s work. It takes longer than you think to write one chapter, especially in a mystery where you’re creating a puzzle.

LKBR: What is the hardest part of writing? What is the easiest part?

JK: The hardest part of writing is the discipline. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The easiest part is that it’s fun and rewarding. When you create a novel you are proud of and that readers enjoy, there is nothing like it!

LKBR: Do you have plans for a new series?

JK: As a matter of fact, I do. I have an idea that I think could be a series and am about 5 chapters into the first book. It’s a traditional mystery with cozy elements and it features an older female protagonist.

LKBR: What book are you reading?

JK: I’m reading Linda Reilly’s first book in her upcoming Cat Lady Mystery Series, “Escape Claws.” It’s fantastic.

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

JK: I love to cook and bake as much as Callie, my heroine, does.

Despite my fondness for cozies, I don’t shy away from the gory and you can often find me watching “Forensic Files.”

I appreciate my readers so much! When you comment on my Facebook author page or write a good review, it just makes my whole day.

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

JK: Thank you, Lisa, and thanks to all of your readers! I hope you enjoy the Callie’s Kitchen Mysteries and I hope you’ll stop by to say hello on my Facebook author page or my blog.

MY REVIEW

The two things you can be sure of when you read SECRETS AND PIES by author Jenny Kales? A clever mystery, and a growling stomach.

Every word of this delicious mystery was a delight to read. I just couldn’t get enough. I was swiping the pages of my Kindle so fast, I’m surprised the screen doesn’t have an indent from my finger!

SECRETS AND PIES was a fast paced tale blessed with some of the most eclectic characters I’ve read in a cozy. The way author Kales describes her characters made me feel as though I was in the story with them. I could hear their voices as I read their lines. When I finished, I was left with the feeling that I had just paid a visit to good friends.

The mystery is this book was wonderful. It’s clear the author really thought everything through. She had me looking this way and that, suspecting every new character that was introduced to the story. It was to no avail. I never guessed whodunit. When I read the reveal, I was so shocked. Once again I had been outsmarted by a first class writer. Brava, Ms, Kales!

It’s no secret. You’re going to be flakey for, SECRETS AND PIES.

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

October 19 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW

October 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

October 19 – Blogger Nicole Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

October 20 – The Power of Words – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY

October 20 – A Holland Reads – GUEST POST, GIVEAWAY

October 20 – 3 Partners in Shopping Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

October 21 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, GIVEAWAY

October 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

October 21 – A Blue Million Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

October 22 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY