Happy Friday everyone!

It's an overcast, blustery fall day here in Delaware and I couldn't be happier! I'll be heading out to do errands, and other than when it snows, this is my favorite errand/shopping weather.

How was your week? 

Do you have any plans for this weekend? Shopping? Errands? A play/musical? Skydiving? Mountain climbing? Cleaning house? Snoodeling up with a comfy blanket and a good book?

Inquiring, okay, nosey minds want to know!

Whatever it is, enjoy, stay safe, and love yourself.

 

Hello my friends!

Boy, I have had a couple of upside down couple of days! As you all know by now, I didn't get anything posted yesterday. I'm sorry to have left you hanging. I haven't felt myself the last couple of days, but I'm back and moving! (Mostly 😉) 

My question today is . . . 

What you do to stay calm in times of stress?

I have had so much fun reading all of your comments! Head back over to Wednesday's blog and check the comments for my answers to your questions!

Make sure to come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th

NOTE: Please remember, comments are moderated. They will not be posted until I have read and approved them. I don't do this to stop any of my readers from posting, I do it to weed out Spam.

Thank you for coming back today!

I hope you've been enjoying my questions. I was wondering, is there a question you'd like to ask me? I'd be happy to answer!

Today I'm going thrifting for items that are fun, unique, vintage, and more, to sell on eBay and in my Etsy store! I'm tired already! LOL

Make sure to come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th.

NOTE: Please remember, comments are moderated. They will not be posted until I have read and approved them. I don't do this to stop any of my readers from posting, I do it to weed out Spam. 

Hello everyone!

I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed reading all of your comments! It helps me to get to know you so much better. And please, don't go back to being shy once the blog is back to normal. I love to hear from you every day!

We'll be off on the road again today. My one sister has to get back to work tomorrow, so we're going to make the most of it today! 

What many of you don't know is, I'm a picky eater. Most people don't look at overweight people and think of us as picky eaters. But I really am. Of course, most of the food I don't like is food that is good for me. So, today, I'm going to be trying a new food. Healthy or not, I'm going to try something I might normally not try. I'll let you know how it goes. 😉

Make sure to come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th.

NOTE: Please remember, comments are moderated. They will not be posted until I have read and approved them. I don't do this to stop any of my readers from posting, I do it to weed out Spam.  

I have been having a great time off. My sisters are great a planning activities. We're taking a couple day trips today and tomorrow. Not sure where we're going, but I know it will be fun!

What about you?

Do you like taking day trips? If so, do you always plan them out or do you sometime just get in the car go with no real destination in mind?

Make sure to come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th.

NOTE: I have allowed my sisters to talk me into taking another week of down time. So, I'll be back on Tuesday November 8.

Did I hear someone say, Come in?

Thank you! I think I will. 

Today's questions.

Do you believe in ghosts? Ever see or hear one?

While I have never seen a ghost face to face, I did live in a haunted house while I was a kid, age 10 - 15 years old. I named the ghost Franklin. 

I saw things he caused, like turning the light on and off while I was in the shower. No faulty lights. I can hear the light switch click each time. I thought it was one of my siblings teasing me. I started yelling and my mom came it. She heard and saw it too.  

Another time I saw the full shadow of a man hanging from a rope on our living room ceiling.

At this point I know you're thinking I have finally lost my mind. And that's okay. But My entire family has stories about the house. And none of us will forget the things that happened.

Would I go back into that house again?

 In case, after my ramble, you forgot today's questions . . . here you go. 

Today's questions.

Do you believe in ghosts? Ever see or hear one?

 

It's a question free day today. 

However, I'd like to ask you all to give me a gift.

Do something nice for yourself today. It doesn't matter what it is, just do something for you. You celebrating you, that's a gift I'll cherish. 

Friday already? Wow!

Just dropping in to ask you today's question!

I think we've all heard a scary urban legend or two. Even local legends that may have sent 

shivers up your spine.

Growing up I remember a story about a house full of children that burned down. They say if you drive past where the old house stood, you can hear the babies crying. My older siblings and their friends all drove out there one time or another when they were in high school. Did they hear the babies? I've been told yes. But then, it could have just been the wind. Right?

Did your area have a scary legend? 

If not, what is the scariest story you've ever heard?

It's Thursday already? Wow!

Have you been having a good week?

I'm here with another question!

My sister and I love Halloween. She's almost 10 years younger than me, but I've had her watching scary movies since she was a kid. 

Every October we watch movies that are about or makes us think of Halloween. One of our go to movies is HOCUS POCUS. Last night I got her to watch YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

Do you have a favorite Halloween movie or one that makes you think of the season?

We've also watched the new Halloween movie HALLOWEEN KILLS. We have both turned wussy as we've gotten older. Tammie doesn't look when the gross parts happen, and I peek through my fingers.

Others we've watched are GHOSTBUSTERS (the most current with the female cast), HAUNTED MANSION with Eddie Murphy, and MUPPET HAUNTED MANSION. 

Make sure to come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th.

 

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday!

I'm stopping by with today's question.

Do you read Halloween themed cozies? 

If yes, do you have a favorite?

(Doesn't have to be from the books below.)

Make sure to come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th.

 

Hello all!

So, do you remember when I said . . .

Please do come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th.

Here's your first question.

Did you dress in costume for Halloween? 

If so, do you have a favorite?

I have no photos from when I was a child, but I do have this one from when I was about 21 years old.

I managed a bookstore in our local mall. My sister managed the other bookstore in the mall.

We always came to work in costume for Halloween.

Please remember to leave you answer in the comments for a chance to when a prize!

Happy Monday my friends!

It's that time again.

Birthday break!

I'm taking some time off to sleep in, read, play, sleep in, watch tv and movies, just get in the car and drive, sleep in . . . you get it.

But I will be back because . . .

 . . . to me!

I'm taking 2 weeks. 

Today, Oct 18 thru Oct 31.

I'm be back Nov ready to go!

Remember, you all are my

Please do come back each day while I'm gone. I'm going to have question waiting for you everyday. Every day leave a comment with your answer to that day's question. When I get back, I'll read all the responses, and randomly pick a winner for a surprise gift. 

Winner will be chosen by

November 14th.

That's it my friends! 

I'll be "officially" back on Nov 1! 

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay strong.

Oh yeah . . . And read!

 

Today I'm joining Berkley Mystery 

in celebrating the release of

NO MEMES OF ESCAPE

Book 2 in the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries

by Olivia Blacke

Amateur sleuth Odessa Dean is about to discover the only thing harder than finding her way out of an escape room is finding an affordable apartment in Brooklyn in this sequel to Killer Content.

Odessa Dean has made a home of Brooklyn. She has a fun job waiting tables at Untapped Books & Café and a new friend, Izzy, to explore the city with. When she's invited on a girls' day out escape room adventure, she jumps at the chance. It's all fun and games until the lights come on and they discover one of the girls bludgeoned to death...

The only possible suspects are Odessa and the four other players that were locked in the escape room with the victim. She refuses to believe that one of them is responsible for the murder, despite what the clues indicate. In between shifts at the café, Odessa splits her time interviewing the murder suspects, updating the bookstore's social media accounts, and searching for the impossible--an affordable apartment in Brooklyn.

But crime--and criminally high rent--waits for no woman. Can Odessa clear her and Izzy’s names before the police decide they're guilty?

Pets in Cozy Mysteries

Cozy mysteries usually fall into a category such as food and drink, hobbies, or pets. My Brooklyn Murder Mysteries best fits food and drink, since both NO MEMES OF ESCAPE and KILLER CONTENT revolve around Untapped Books & Café in Williamsburg, where waitress—and amateur sleuth—Odessa Dean serves artisanal dishes and craft beer.

However, pets play a huge part in the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries. Huckleberry, who looks “like a cross between a golden retriever and a couch cushion that had been left out in the rain,” is the resident shop dog at Untapped. Always underfoot, he has a critical role in solving the mysteries. Rufus the cat is why Odessa is in Brooklyn, or at least he’s the excuse her aunt uses to convince her to leave Louisiana. He causes his share of trouble, but is always around when Odessa needs a friend.

As you might have guessed by now, I love animals. I’ve had dogs, cats, lizards, ferrets, birds, fish, pet rats, hamsters, and even a wolf. At one time, between me and roomies, my household consisted of three dogs, a cat, several kittens, ten ratties, a couple fish tanks, an iguana, and a hedgehog. One of my first jobs was working at a zoo, where I was an animal ambassador—the person who carried small primates and enormous snakes around to meet with visitors, and I got to spend my free time making friends with gorillas and giraffes. I’ve always had a dog in my life and am currently claimed by an adorable rescue puggle called Baileycakes.

Because of my—can we be honest and call it an obsession?—with animals, I’m drawn to cozies that feature pets. No discussion about cozy mysteries or pets can be complete without mention of The Cat Who… Series by Lilian Jackson Braun, but my enthusiasm doesn’t end there. Mia P. Manansala’s ARSENIC AND ADOBO features an adorable dachshund named Longganisa, who is so cute that I had to crochet my interpretation of the little sausage dog to gift the author, and now she is often spotted on Mia’s Instagram @mpmthewriter. I also adore talking pets, like the Persian cat, Marshmallow, from Jennifer J. Chow’s Sassy Cat Mysteries and Oliver, the chatty corgi, from Jennifer Hawkins’s TO FETCH A FELON.

Whatever animals you’re a fan of, you’re bound to find a cozy to read with your favorite furred, scaled, or feathered friend. I especially love cats in cozies, because I’m not allergic to them in books! Kate Lansing’s Colorado Wine Mysteries feature multiple cats from Parker’s cat, Zin (short for Zinfandel, of course), to Madeline the lodge cat in her latest novel, MULLED TO DEATH. Laurie Cass’s Bookmobile Cat Mysteries have Eddie, the crafty rescue cat. Dorothy St. James’s Beloved Bookroom Mysteries always include what is, in my opinion, the most cleverly named cat in cozies—Dewey Decimal.

Do you have a favorite cozy mystery series with a central pet?

                                                                                     ~ Olivia Blacke

  

About Olivia Blacke

Brooklyn Murder Mysteries author Olivia Blacke writes quirky, unconventional, character-driven Cozy Mysteries. After shuffling around the U.S.A. from Hawaii to Maine, she currently resides with her husband and their roly-poly rescue puggle, but is forever homesick for NYC. In addition to writing, disappearing into a good book, and spending way too much time on social media, she enjoys SCUBA diving, crocheting, collecting tattoos, and baking dog cookies.

Links:

·         Website: https://oliviablacke.com/

·         Twitter: https://twitter.com/oliviablacke

·         Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviablackeauthor/

·         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorOliviaBlacke

·         Newsletter: http://oliviablacke.com/newsletter/

Book Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/634147

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