Blarney, Luck, & a Giveaway

If you're lucky enough to be reading this blog post, (you are!!) then you might have heard the good news. Today, January 23, 2024 is the release day of my 5th Beacon Bakeshop Mystery, Murder at the Blarney Bash. Wow! I can't believe how lucky I am to have 5 books in this series, with more on the way! I might even say I have the luck of the Irish, now that I've learned, no thanks to my mother, but thanks to 23andMe, that I am, in fact, 7 percent British and Irish. Although, since the UK is lumped together for the sake of their little pie chart thingy, it's more like 2 percent Irish. But who's counting? My point is, which ever distant, distant, distant relative I had who wiggled their toe on the Emerald Isle, I've embraced that heritage, purely for the sake of this novel. You're welcome.

Murder at the Blarney Bash

I confess, I know very little about Ireland other than traditional cuisine and folklore. And boy do I love Irish folklore. I'm embarrassed to think that when I was asked to write a St. Patrick's Day mystery, the first thing to pop into my head was a leprechaun. Unfortunately, the most recognizable leprechaun to me is the one on the box of Lucky Charms cereal. For the record, I don't eat Lucky Charms... anymore. They're bad for you. But I couldn't stop thinking of that tricky, dried marshmallow-loving leprechaun. The second thing to pop into my head was a pot of gold, followed by a rainbow. Basically, everything I had learned about St. Patrick's Day in kindergarten came flooding back to me, and it made me believe that I could write an entertaining St. Paddy's Day cozy mystery. I even bought one last box of Lucky Charms for further inspiration. Why are those dried marshmallows so good?

Kissing the Blarney Stone

Now, before you click off this post, convinced that Murder at the Blarney Bash isn't for you, let me just say that I'm pretty good at research, and I'm pretty good at baking, so there's that. Also, if I did have an ancestor in Ireland, I'm nearly convinced (after doing my research) that they kissed the Blarney Stone at least once. Doing so gives one the gift of gab. I've inherited that gene. In fact, I love the legend of the Blarney Stone so much that it's in the title of this book.

All joking aside, I really hope you love this next addition to the Beacon Bakeshop mysteries. I had so much fun writing it, and I'm more than thrilled to be able to share it with you.

I'd also like to share one of my favorite St. Patrick's Day recipes that didn't make it into the back of the book. It's for delicious Grasshopper Brownies. Click here for the recipe!

If you're able to celebrate the launch of Murder at the Blarney Bash with me today (January 23), click the graphic for more details.

I'll be with 9 other awesome Kensington authors for Cozy Con Midwest. This is a free event, but you must register. Click on the graphic for more details!

I'll be signing more books in March, so please stay tuned to my home page and social media for the details!

Talk about luck of the Irish, I'm so lucky to announce that I have a new series coming out August 20, 2024! This is the first book in my new Food & Spirits mystery, which follows the adventures of up-and-coming celebrity chef, Bridget "Bunny" MacBride who catches her big break only to find she's one of the hosts on a food-centric ghost hunting show. It's a wild ride, but I know you're going to love it. It's available for preorder. Click on the book to preorder your copy today!

Did you know that I host a podcast with two of my sons? I do. (Crazy, right?) It used to be called the Motherboy Podcast, but over the holidays we took a break to regroup and plan our 2024 interviews. That's when the they told me they wanted to change the name of our podcast... and they had picked Motherboy! They had picked it as a joke to irk me! Sons! Well, we're now in the process of rebranding. Welcome to the Nearly Literate Podcast. Why Nearly Literate? Because my sons don't read fiction, and I only feel nearly literate everytime I sit at my computer to write. Just ask my spell check. It's a funny podcast that's not cozy-mystery friendly all the time. In fact, it can get a little spicy due to the boys, but we have a lot of laughs. We also do a lot of author interviews, so please stay tuned. Our first podcast comes out January 29th. We're going to be on Youtube this year as well. So, If you need a laugh give it a try. My talented and hilarious son Matt made this trailer for us. It's our show in a nutshell! Oh, and that picture of us? It's terrible. We'll be changing that in the future. It's on our very long todo list.

Thank you so very much for all your support!! I hope you know that I appreciate every one of you. Writing has always been my passion, but to know readers like you enjoy my books is truly a gift to me. Thank you!

Now to my giveaway!

I'm giving away 3 copies of Murder at the Blarney Bash with swag! I really want you to read this festive mystery. It'll get you in the mood for St. Patrick's Day and might even have you dancing a jig! I hope it does.

To enter my giveaway, please tell me what your favorite St. Patrick's Day treat is in the comments below. Winners will be chosen at random. US only, please.

Thank you, and Good Luck!