Tuesday, December 22, 2020


Hello, all my favorite people!
How are your holiday plans going?
I still have gifts to wrap, and if I'm completely honest, I still have a couple I need to buy.


I promised myself I wasn't going to take a long Christmas break from the blog, but I have added a few days. Seriously, if I didn't, I can't guarantee anything I posted would make sense. Remembering my own name some days is a trick. 


So, I'll be taking a break from today
December 22 - 29.
I'll be back on the 30th with some great new books, reviews, and all around cozy fun!


Happy Holidays to all!


Merry Christmas to all!


Stay safe my friends!
Love, Lisa K

Monday, December 21, 2020

Check out these giveaways at GoodReads!

There could be a mix of print and eBooks, so make sure to check before you enter.

Use the link below each book for a chance to enter.


 



📚🕮📚🕮📚


GOOD LUCK!

PS . . . While you're there, I'd love for you to friend me and check out my reviews! If you enjoy them, please make sure to Like them. Thanks!



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Sunday, December 20, 2020



I've been posting a lot lately about Christmas reads, but what are we going to read after the holiday?

Well, author Abigail Keam has a new book coming out the day after Christmas that's may be just what you're looking for. 


Available December 26!

Josiah goes to a fundraiser for abandoned Thoroughbred horses and meets Rudy Lee; whereupon, he tells her a fortune teller at the event prophesied he will be murdered. But while Josiah tells Rudy the fortune is utter nonsense, she can’t help shake the notion the fortune teller might be right. Join Josiah in her search for the truth in the “dark and bloody” ground of "Caintuck" where secrets are held tight to one’s heart and deep within the dark, foamy soil of its ancient hunting grounds.

 DEATH BY MAGIC
is book 14 in the 
Josiah Renyolds Mysteries!

The first 13 books are as follows

Death By A HoneyBee
Death By Drowning
Death By Bridle
Death By Bourbon
Death By Lotto
Death by Chocolate
Death by Haunting
Death By Derby
Death By Design
Death By Malice
Death By Drama
Death By Stalking
Death By Deceit


Award-winning author Abigail Keam writes the Mona Moon Mystery Series--a rags-to-riches 1930s mystery series which includes real people and events into the story line. The series is about a cartographer who is broke and counting her pennies when there is a knock at her door. A lawyer, representing her deceased uncle, announces Mona has inherited her uncle's fortune and a horse farm in the Bluegrass. Mona can't believe it. She is now one of the richest women in the country and in the middle of the Great Depression!

Abigail Keam is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author who writes the Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series about a Southern beekeeper turned amateur female sleuth. The Last Chance For Love Series tells of strangers who come from all walks of life to the magical Last Chance Motel in Key Largo and get a second chance at rebuilding their lives, and The Princess Maura Fantasy Series.

One thing Miss Abigail loves to do as an author is to write real people and events into her stories. "I am a student of history and love to insert historical information into my mysteries. My goal is to entertain my readers, but if they learn a little something along the way--well, then we are both happy. I certainly learn a lot from my research, and I hope my readers come away with a new appreciation of beekeeping from my Josiah Reynolds Mysteries."

AWARDS

2010 Gold Medal Award from Readers' Favorite for Death By A HoneyBee
2011 Gold Medal Award from Readers' Favorite for Death By Drowning
2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By Drowning
2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By A HoneyBee
2017 Finalist from Readers' Favorite for Death By Design
2019 Honorable Mention from Readers' Favorite for Death By Stalking
2019 Murder Under A Blue Moon voted top ten mystery reads by Kings River Life Magazine
2020 Finalist from Readers' Favorite for Murder Under A Blue Moon
2020 Imadjinn Award for Best Mystery for Death By Stalking

PASSIONS

Besides loving history, Kentucky bourbon and chocolate, Abigail loves honeybees and for many years made her living by selling honey at a farmers' market. She is an award-winning beekeeper who has won 16 honey awards at the Kentucky State Fair including the Barbara Horn Award, which is given to beekeepers who rate a perfect 100 in a honey competition.

A strong supporter of farmers' markets and local food economy, Miss Abigail has taken her knowledge of beekeeping to create a fictional beekeeping protagonist, Josiah Reynolds, who solves mysteries in the Bluegrass. While Miss Abigail's novels are for enjoyment, she discusses the importance of a local sustainable food economy and land management for honeybees and other creatures.

She currently lives on the Kentucky River in a metal house with her husband and various critters. She still has honeybees.

Miss Abigail would love to hear from you!

For New Releases/Newsletter
https://www.abigailkeam.com

You can visit her at
https://www.abigailkeam.com

You can email her at
abigailshoney@windstream.net

For Twitter
https://twitter.com/AbigailKeam

For Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AbigailKeam

For Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/abigailkeam/

For Instagram
http://instagram.com/abigailkeam


Available December 26

As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by submitting your email in 
upper right hand corner of this page (on the side bar).

Reading from your phone? Scroll to the bottom of your page and click "View web version". Then follow the above directions.

Saturday, December 19, 2020


In today's author spotlight, I shine my light on the 
incomparable author
Carolyn Hart.

Carolyn's newest book is
GHOST UP HER GAME
Book 9 in the Baily Ruth Mysteries


New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Hart's warm-hearted sleuth returns in the ninth Bailey Ruth Ghost Novel, with a case that will test even her Heavenly powers

After a busy morning dispatching emissaries from Heaven's Department of Good Intentions to those in need, Bailey Ruth Raeburn is feeling flush with success. So when an urgent call for help comes through from her old hometown, she can't resist taking on the mission herself. After all, what could go wrong?

With the shouted warning of her boss, Wiggins - "Irregular! Problematic!" - ringing in her ears, she arrives to face a shocking scene: Professor Iris Gallagher leaning over the corpse of her colleague Matt Lambert, the murder weapon clutched in her hand.

Bailey Ruth is only sent to help the innocent, but things are looking very black for Iris. With Wiggins breathing down her neck, and her old friend Police Chief Sam Cobb casting doubt on her every theory, Bailey Ruth must uncover the truth - or this could be the last trip to earth she's ever allowed to make.

#######

Carolyn Hart is the author of 60 novels (Now 61). After GHOST UPS HER GAME, her most recent titles are GHOST ON THE CASE and WALKING ON MY GRAVE. 

  

Her works include mysteries and suspense novels ranging from first century Rome to World War II to the current digital world. She is the author of the Death on DemandHenrie O, and Bailey Ruth series as well as a number of stand-alones.  

LETTER FROM HOME 
a WWII stand-alone novel set in Oklahoma, was published by Berkley in 2003. Gretchen Gilman is 13 in the summer of 1944 and working on the small town newspaper. Murder occurs on the street where she lives, changing her life forever.


  LETTER FROM HOME was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers at Oklahoma State University Tulsa. LETTER FROM HOME won the Agatha for Best Mystery Novel of 2003 and was a New York Times notable book.

DEAD MAN’S ISLAND, the first in the Henrie O series, was a 1996 CBS TV movie starring Barbara Eden, William Shatner, Morgan Fairchild, and Roddy McDowall.


Hart was one of ten mystery authors featured at the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington D.C. in 2003 and again in 2007. In March 2004 she received the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book. She has twice won the annual Oklahoma Book Award for best novel. In April 2004 she spoke at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. on mysteries in American culture. She received the Ridley Pearson Award at Murder in Grove, Boise, Idaho, in 2005 for significant contributions to the mystery field. She has received the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Amelia Award from Malice Domestic. In 2014, she was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.


Hart is a native of Oklahoma City, a Phi Beta Kappa journalism graduate of the University of Oklahoma, and a former president of Sisters in Crime. She is also a member of Authors Guild, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the International Crime Writers Association, the International Thrillers Association, and the American Crime Writers League. She taught professional writing in the University of Oklahoma School of Journalism from 1982-85. She is the author of 60 (61) novels, winner of three Agatha Awards for Best Novel, two Anthonys and two Macavitys.



DEATH ON DEMAND series

Death on Demand, 1987
Design for Murder, 1988
Something Wicked, 1988
Honeymoon With Murder, 1989
A Little Class on Murder, 1989
Deadly Valentine, 1990
The Christie Caper, 1991
Southern Ghost, 1992
Mint Julep Murder, 1995
Yankee Doodle Dead, 1998
White Elephant Dead, 1999
Sugarplum Dead, 2000
April Fool Dead, 2002
Engaged to Die, 2003
Murder Walks the Plank, 2004
Death of the Party, 2005
Dead Days of Summer, 2006
Death Walked In, 2008
Dare to Die, 2009
Laughed ’til He Died, 2010
Dead by Midnight, 2011
Death Comes Silently, 2012
Dead, White and Blue, May 2013
Death at the Door, May 2014
Don't Go Home,  May 2015
Walking on My Grave, May 2017
#######

BAILEY RUTH RAEBURN series

Ghost at Work, 2008
Merry, Merry Ghost, 2009
Ghost in Trouble, 2010
Ghost Gone Wild, October 2013
Ghost Wanted, October 2014
Ghost to the Rescue, October 2015
Ghost Times Two, October 2016
 Ghost on the Case, October 2017
Ghost Ups Her Game, August 2020
#######

HENRIE O series

Titles in the Henrie O series
Dead Man’s Island, 1993
Scandal in Fair Haven, 1994
Death in Lovers’ Lane, 1997
Death in Paradise, 1998
Death on the River Walk, 1999
Resort to Murder, 2001
Set Sail for Murder, 2007
#######

I could keep going on about this wonderful author, but I'll have you head to Carolyn's blog to learn more about her. 
Click here for CarolynHart.com


As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by submitting your email in 
upper right hand corner of this page (on the side bar).

Reading from your phone? Scroll to the bottom of your page and click "View web version". Then follow the above directions.

Carolyn Hart - Home

Friday, December 18, 2020


It's
Cozy Food Friday!

That means it's time to share a recipe from 
another great cozy mystery!

This week's recipe is from
IT CANNOLI BE MURDER
Book 2 in the Italian Chef Mysteries


A delicious new title in a new series from USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns! Tessa's biscotti have always been killer, but never as deadly as in this addition to the Italian Chef mystery books!

It's time to serve some just desserts...

For fans of Joanne Fluke and Susan Furlong
For readers of cozy mysteries and food mysteries
Includes delicious recipes!

Six months after her husband's death, Tessa Esposito is hoping to drum up reservations for her restaurant's grand opening. And since a signing with bestselling author, Preston Rigotta, is sure to draw a crowd, Tessa agrees to cater her cousin's bookstore event―whipping up some of her famous Italian desserts. But the event soon takes a sour turn when Preston's publicist, an old high school rival, arrives and begins to whisk up their old grudges.

That night, a fight breaks out in front of the crowd, and it becomes clear there's bad blood in Harvest Park. And when the publicist is found dead on the bookstore floor the next morning, a stray cannolo at her side, Tessa knows who will be framed as the prime suspect.

To clear both her cousin's and her own name, Tessa must investigate the murder. But Preston's publicist has many secrets to hide, and in the end, the truth is bittersweet...

The second book in the Italian Chef Cozy Mystery series! As Italian Chef Tessa plays the role of a female detective in this murder mystery, she'll have to follow a string of clues before the case boils over.

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

CINNAMON CHIP BISCOTTI

Biscotti photos property of Kim Davis ~ Cinnamon & Sugar

Ingredients
Biscotti:
  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2-1/2 cups (11 ounces) all-purpose flour (use the lightly spoon & level method)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cinnamon chips
Optional Drizzle:
  • 1/2 cup cinnamon chips*
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening


Instructions
Biscotti:
  1. In the bowl of a standing mixer beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly blended. Add vanilla and blend.

  2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder together. Slowly add to butter mixture and mix on low speed until thoroughly incorporated.
  3. Stir in the cinnamon chips.
  4. Leaving the dough in the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
  6. Divide dough into four equal pieces and shape into logs about 8 – 10 inches long. Long & skinny logs are better than short & wide logs since the dough spreads while baking. If needed, spritz your hands with non-stick cooking spray while handling the dough.
  7. Place on parchment lined baking sheets, 2 logs per sheet approx. 8 inches apart. Slightly flatten the logs then bake 25 – 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Be aware if you prick a cinnamon chip it won’t give you an accurate read. Try to get the dough only.
  8. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet at least 30 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut logs crosswise into 1/2 inch wide slices. A serrated bread knife works best.
  9. Place slices, cut side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Return to oven and bake 6 minutes at 325 degrees (F). Turn each slice over and bake an addition 7 to 9 minutes, until slightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet then remove and let completely cool on wire rack. Biscotti will harden as they cool.


Optional Drizzle:
  1. Be sure to use cinnamon chips for this. Cinnamon Sweet Bits* won't work.

  2. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt cinnamon chips with 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. If necessary, heat in additional 10 second increments, stirring well each time. (Be careful not to overheat.) Pour the cinnamon chip mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small circle tip (or use a small zipper seal bag with the corner cut off). Drizzle over the biscotti. Allow the drizzle to set before storing in an airtight container.

  3. Without drizzle, biscotti will last for 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container away from heat. If drizzle is added, consume within 3 days. 

Note:
  1. *Hershey’s makes cinnamon chips but I typically only find them during the holidays at my local grocery store. King Arthur Flour carries Cinnamon Sweet Bits and can be mail ordered year-round. 

  2. These sturdy cookies are excellent for shipping to family and friends! 



I'm not a big coffee drinker, but I suddenly wish I had a cup full and one of these amazing biscottis.


As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by submitting your email in 
upper right hand corner of this page (on the side bar).

Reading from your phone? Scroll to the bottom of your page and click "View web version". Then follow the above directions.