BOOK TOUR

I'm so honored to be a stop on the blog tour for

MURDER IN HER STOCKING

Book 1 in the Granny Reid Mysteries

by G. A. McKevett

As the Moonlight Magnolia Agency revisits old memories on Christmas Eve, Granny Reid takes the reins back thirty years to the 1980s—back when she went by Stella, everyone’s hair was bigger, and sweaters were colorful disasters. But murder never went out of style . . .
 
Christmas has arrived in sleepy McGill, Georgia, but holiday cheer can’t keep temperamental Stella Reid from swinging a rolling pin at anyone who crosses her bad side—and this season, there are plenty. First an anonymous grinch vandalizes a celebrated nativity display. Far worse, the scandalous Prissy Carr is found dead in an alley behind a tavern. With police puzzled over the murder, Stella decides to stir the local gossip pot for clues on the culprit’s identity . . . 
 
Turns out Prissy held a prominent spot on the naughty list, and suspects pile up like presents on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, the more progress Stella makes, the more fears she must confront. With a neighbor in peril and the futures of her beloved grandchildren at risk, Stella must somehow set everything straight and bring a cunning criminal to justice before December 25th . . .

📚📖📚📖📚

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

Winners will be chosen after November 12

at the end of the tour

3 lucky readers will win a print hardcover copy of

MURDER IN HER STOCKING

USA only

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

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

LKBR:  Thank you for being here today, G.A.!

GM: It’s my pleasure. Thank you for having me!

LKBR: Please tell us a bit about your new Granny Reid Mysteries.

GM: After writing the Savannah Reid Mysteries for 25 years and receiving so many fan letters about Savannah’s grandmother, Granny Reid, I thought my readers might enjoy a book with Granny as the heroine. Most of the Savannah books mention the fact that Savannah and her eight siblings were taken away from their negligent parents and given to their grandmother to raise. But the story of how this actually happened had never been fully explained.

This backstory was clear in my mind and had held a special place in my heart for years. When my editor, John Scognamiglio, from Kensington, asked if I’d like to write a second series as well as the Savannah mysteries, I jumped at the chance and told him about the prequel I had been wanting to write for so long.  Fortunately, John saw the potential and supported the idea all the way. I’m most grateful.

LKBR: How did you come up with the concept?

GM: The story grew out of the deep affection that Savannah and Granny share in the Savannah series. The love, the gratitude, the respect that Savannah has for her 80-something grandmother was always one of her more endearing qualities. I wanted to show the events in Savannah’s childhood that provided the rich soil for that love to grow and bloom. The Granny Reid Mysteries have murders to solve and the usual who-done-it elements, peculiar to the genre. But the books are about life, people and the bonds they form, during good times and periods that try the soul.

LKBR: What are your future plans for this series? Any hints or spoilers you can give us about the next book?

GM: At the moment, I’m working on the second book of the Granny series, Murder in the Corn Maze.  Fans will discover that Savannah and her siblings aren’t the only ones on the family tree with a difficult upbringing. Granny will uncover disturbing information about the disappearance of her best friend’s mother. This troubling news sets Gran on yet another mission – to uncover the truth about the death of her own Native American mother.

LKBR: Is writing an energizing experience, or does it take a lot out of you? 

GM: Personally, I find writing exhausting. I’d rather organize closets, scrub the oven, do a favor (absolutely any favor imaginable, whether they want/need it or not) for a neighbor, build a west wing on the garage, have a root canal – absolutely anything other than write. BUT…I simply love having written. When I finally finish, wipe the sweat from my brow, bind my wounds, walk away, and let the “trash” that I just wrote sit and chill overnight, a miracle occurs! Not unlike Santa or the Easter Bunny, some kindhearted, book fairy comes along, waves her wand over my manuscript (well, my computer) and turns the swill I produced the day before into stuff that doesn’t exactly stink! The next morning, I trudge over to my desk, dreading what I’ll find. I read the previous day’s efforts, grin, nod, and go, “Hey! Did I write that? Cool! Ain’t half-bad, ol’ girl.” Then, I’m energized; I love having written. Until I start writing again. Then I wish I’d followed my original dream to become a cowgirl and marry Little Joe Cartwright.

LKBR: Once you knew you wanted to be a published writer, who was the first person you reached out to for help? (Such as a publisher, or author)

GM: When I was 33, I decided to go back to school, get a degree, and become a marriage/family therapist. But I caught the writing bug in a creative writing class. On the last day of the semester, I collected my A, and asked the professor, Dr. Gordon Cheesewright, “You told me several times I write well. Do you think I’m…you know…good enough to, like, be published?” He replied, “Unfortunately, writing well and being published have little to do with each other, but to answer your question, yes.  You absolutely write well enough to be published.”

I happily danced my way to a Barnes and Noble and bought every book they sold on how to write a novel. Not knowing any better, I studied the books, followed their directions, wrote a romance, and sent it off to a dozen publishers. (Oops! It didn’t take long for me to find out what an industry faux pas THAT is!)

That first book was dreadful, but I was too green/arrogant to know it, so while I waited a year for those publishers to reject it, I started a second one. It wasn’t as bad (thanks to that beforementioned fairy.) So, by the time I’d heard how unpublishable the first one was, I’d finished number two. Thank goodness, I summoned the courage to put my heart on the line and sent it out, as well. The first publisher nabbed it up, and I’ve been writing ever since. Other than a wedding or two and when my babies and grandbabies were born, getting that call from that New York editor, offering to make me a published writer, was the happiest day of my life. My face was sore for 72 hours from excessive smiling. (Seriously.)

LKBR: What sort of research do you do for your books? Is it more computer based or hands on?

GM: Although I remember the days of taking a long list of questions to the library, dragging heavy, dusty books down from top shelves, and searching for obscure, but oh-so-important trivia to sprinkle throughout whatever book I was working on, I now do it by computer. Ah-h-h! The joys of modern technology! (Although I do miss the helpful librarians. I don’t know if they miss me.)

LKBR: What is your writing process? Place, time of day, by the hour or word count?

GM: I’m worthless in the morning. By noon I have enough coffee in me to achieve a brain wave or two. So, I write in the afternoons, break for an early dinner, then go back to it in the evenings. Often, if I’m on a roll or a tight deadline is looming, I finish around 3:00 a.m. (Reckon this might account for me being worthless in the mornings?)

LKBR: How do you come up with character names?

GM: I used to glance through a telephone book, but we don’t have them anymore. For a while, I’d study the books on a nearby shelf, holding my favorites. Hence, one character’s name of Angela Herriot. (Angela’s Ashes and James Herriot’s books.) Now I ask my husband. He worked with over 1,500 men and women and has a knack for remembering names. He puts the first name or nickname of someone with the surname of another and comes up with goodies like: Cupcakes Catalano and Snorkel Davidson.

LKBR: Is it difficult to write characters of the opposite sex? Do you have someone you use for advice?

GM: I ask the men I love most how the males of the species feel about certain subjects or in particular circumstances. I find their answers unexpected and touching.  I recall, before writing one of my early love scenes, I asked a man what his primary emotion was the first time he, well, how shall we say this…? The first time a young lady allowed him a certain, somewhat intimate, liberty. His gentle, sweet answer was: “I felt grateful.” I was glad I asked, and I might say it worked quite well in the scene.

LKBR: Do you read reviews of your books? If you do, and a review is bad, what effect does it have on you?

GM: I used to be devastated if anyone said anything less than glowing about my writing. I’m a lot tougher now. I don’t cry nearly as long.

LKBR: What are 3 things readers may not know about you?

GM: When I was a kid, I had a pet skunk named Mademoiselle Fifi La Pew. I worked at Disneyland. I was in a garage rock-n-roll band in the ‘80s.

LKBR: Where can readers go to learn more about you and your books?

GM: Gamckevett.com

On the “Contact” page there are pictures of my grandangels.

I’m also on Facebook and welcome new friends at “Gwendolynn Arden McKevett.” I love getting to know my fans personally. It reminds me that I write for human beings—some really nice ones, in fact—not just numbers on a royalty statement.

LKBR: Thank you so much, G.A. for letting us get to know you better!

GM: Thank you for the interview and all you do for authors and readers!

While I’ve wanted to try them for some time, I’ve never read the Savannah Reid Mysteries by author G. A, McKevett. So, when I was given MUDER IN HER STOCKING to read, I wasn’t sure I could follow it.

Stella “Granny” Reid is as formidable as I’ve heard her granddaughter Savannah can be. I’m thinking even more so. When it comes to solving this story’s whodunit, Granny throws herself into it and gets the answers. By the end of the book, I was out of breath trying to keep up with her!

This cozy trip back to the 1980s was well written with just the right balance of mystery and fun. One never distracted from the other. And the fast pace made MURDER IN HER STOCKING a quick read.

For Savannah Reid fans, I think this book is a must read for you.

About the Author

G.A. McKevett is the author of the acclaimed Savannah Reid mystery series. Also writing under the name Sonja Massie, she has authored over 60 books ranging from cozy mysteries to historical romances, to nonfiction works on the history of Ireland. Her earthy humor and fast-paced plots delight her fans, while critics applaud her offbeat characterizations and incisive observations on human nature. Irish by ancestry, she has lived in Toronto, Ireland, and Los Angeles, but now resides in New York.

Author Links 

Website: www.SonjaMassie.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GAMcKevett

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gwendolynnarden.mckevett

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xQwQKz

Purchase Links

Amazon    B&N    Kobo    Google Play    Book Depository

a Rafflecopter giveaway


TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 5 – The Power of Words REVIEW
November 5 – My Reading Journeys – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW
November 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
November 6 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT
November 7 – The Montana Bookaholic - SPOTLIGHT
November 7 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW
November 7 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
November 8 – Brooke Blogs - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 8 – Mallory Heart's Cozies – REVIEW
November 9 – View from the Birdhouse - SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
November 10 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog - REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW November 10 – My Devotional Thoughts – REVIEW
November 10 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews - REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 11 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 11 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
November 12 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW
November 12 – Bibliophile Reviews - REVIEW

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