Interview with cozy mystery author Annabelle Hunter

Today, I'm excited to feature an author whom I've only just discovered and read one of their books recently and boy did I enjoy that hilarious cozy mystery!

So naturally when I got a chance to interview them, I seized the chance. Allow me to introduce *drum roll* Annabelle Hunter, author of the Lark Davies Mystery Series and the Barrow Bay Mystery Series.

I recently read Leg Up, book 1 in the Lark Davies Mystery Series and enjoyed every bit of it! Gave it 5 stars on the spot!

From my Book Review:

"There was a severed leg on my porch."

That's how cozy mystery novel Leg Up by Annabelle Hunter opens. From the first lines, we notice that Larklyn "Lark" Davis is one of the most sarcastic characters ever. And a hilarious one too.

There are tons of quotable parts in the book. Even when dealing with problems, Lark's sarcasm makes way for humor and comic relief.

Read my full book review for Leg Up by Annabelle Hunter.

So back to Numbers Up, what's it about? Here's the synopsis:

Number's Up (Barrow Bay Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Independently Published
Publication date: 13 August 2019)
ASIN: B07TW8Y9HH

Jennifer Ward’s To Do List:
1) Turn in my business partner and his lying, cheating, law-breaking client to the SEC for insider trading.
2)Cooperate with the FBI. Do not kiss - scratch that. Do not yell at Special Agent Nicholas Kelly, the FBI agent leading said investigation.
3) Discover a dead body...

Jennifer Ward, MBA, CPA, and business consultant, likes a nice, orderly lifestyle. Schedules and To Do Lists are what gets her through the day. So when the by-the-numbers fashionista finds her business partner was breaking the law, she turned him in to the SEC. Which brought the FBI to her door, and her ordered world to an end.

But that was three weeks ago. Things couldn’t possibly get worse. Right?

Until Jen discovers her business partner dead in his hotel room. With Nic the handsome FBI agent dogging her every step, Jen must use her skills to discover the truth. Who killed Henry? And will she be next?

About the author:

Annabelle Hunter is a stay-at-home mom and an avid fan of classic mystery shows and dressage. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, and too many animals.

On to the exclusive INTERVIEW with Nadaness In Motion

Q: What got you into writing cozy mysteries? Can you name any authors and/or movies that inspired you?

Annabelle Hunter: I got into cozys as an exercise to improve the mystery element in my writing and found that I really loved them, more than the fantasy that I was trying to write. 

Q: If you were to experiment with genres away from cozies and mysteries, what would you try your hand at?

Annabelle Hunter: I have tried fantasy, urban fantasy and romance but so far nothing has been as much fun to write. 

Q: Your bio says you have "too many animals," can you tell us about that? And which of them have you included in your books (most likely with a different name)?

Annabelle Hunter: I have not included any of my animals, although I have other horses that I’ve known that have inspired some of the horses in my books. I have a horse, who is really a Disney Princess in horse clothing. She’s sweet as pie and a master of the passive aggressive, probably because she’s used her sweet, loving personality and good looks to get away with far too much. I also have a small, black ball of fluff in the shape of a dog. He really is just sweet and loving, and for some reason that defies logic, loves my youngest more than she deserves. 

 Q: So, you're a stay-at-home mom and author but Jennifer Ward, the main character in Numbers' Up, has an MBA, CPA, and is a business consultant. Can you tell us how you researched all that?

Annabelle Hunter: Well, before staying home with my kids, I had many jobs, a few of them working closely with all kinds of different people, including CPA’s and accountants. I also have several close friends who are CPA’s or work in the financial field. So Jen is kind of a combination of my own experiences and listening to others. 

Q: What was the toughest thing for you when you started writing?

Annabelle Hunter: Tenses. I love switching tenses when I shouldn’t. Past tense, present tense, I had (have) it all. I owe everything to my editors, Casey and Josh, because without them, my work would be a mess. 

Q: Humor is a bit hard to manage sometimes in a book, and yet your novella Leg Up was hilarious, are you always this funny or did you get help writing it? (The problem is that some people think they're funny but the truth is.. they're not, so how did you manage the humor in the book?)

Annabelle Hunter: I have no clue! Seriously, I am the last person that anyone would say is hilarious, but it’s different when I write. I’m a lot funnier when I control both sides of the conversation, I guess? 

Q: Your Barrow Bay Mysteries and your Lark Davis Mystery Series are both set in Barrow Bay, doesn't it get confusing for you when you're working on mystery books set in the same place and at the same time?

Annabelle Hunter: If I’m working backwards, yes. Sometimes I have to go back in my timeline to make sure I’m not referencing something that hasn’t occurred yet. But Number’s Up was written because I got near the end of Stir Up and Jen demanded that I finish her story, so, not as much as it might if they weren’t so interconnected. 

Q: You're independently published, can you tell us a bit about that? How are you going about with the cover design, publication schedule, e-books and hard-copies...etc?

Annabelle Hunter: It was a tough decision, but in the end, I wanted to get as many books out to the readers as possible. I have a wonderful graphic design artist, Melody Simmons, who babysat me through the cover design process and now seems to just read my mind. I also work a lot with my editors. Josh Stabiles, from Scrivere Editing, has spent hours trying to get me to understand what grammar rules are and Casey, from Heart Full of Ink, never lets me by without pushing my novels to the next level. I can’t tell you how lucky I am that I have found them. Seriously. If you are looking for an editor, they are amazing. 

Q: You've recently released two books, Number's Up and Leg Up, what are you currently working on and when can readers expect more of your work?

Annabelle Hunter: Well, I released the first two in Lark’s series, Leg Up and Stir Up, last month, and Numbers Up in August. We’re working on getting Load Up out to the readers in late September or early October depending on our schedule. Load Up will be another Lark book and I can’t wait to start telling people more about it. 

Q: Last but not least, what is your best writing advice for new and/unpublished authors?

Annabelle Hunter: Find an editor you trust. Someone who pushes you to the next level. Who returns a book saying, “it’s fine, but you can do better. Try…” Can you do it by yourself? Maybe, if you have much better grammar than I do (not hard!) but a good editor will do so much more for you. Every time I hand my editors the document, I think ‘this is the best thing I have ever written’. And every time they tear it apart and it gets even better than I thought it could be. 

Buy Annabelle Hunter's books via Amazon 

Connect with Annabelle Hunter on social media via Facebook, Twitter: @cozycrazyfun, Instagram, and her Website. 

Keep up with the rest of the blog tour including Book Reviews, more interviews and guest posts, including character interviews and guest posts, which means they're written from the perspective of the main character in Numbers Up.

August 28 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT & Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

August 29 – I'm All About Books & Babs Book Bistro SPOTLIGHT  

August 30 – Christa Reads and Writes & Reading Is My SuperPower BOOK REVIEW

August 31 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT & A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 1 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW

September 2 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – CHARACTER GUEST POST & Nadaness In Motion – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 3 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT & LibriAmoriMiei - REVIEW

September 4 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 5 – Ascroft, eh? – GUEST POST

September 6 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW & MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – Literary Gold – REVIEW

September 8 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

September 9 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT & eBook Addicts - REVIEW

September 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

Takhayyal writing prompt 99: Philae

New month, new writing prompt!

Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen, Artists, Poets, Writers, Authors, Dreamers, Friends and Family; Welcome EVERYONE to Nadaness In Motion's MONTHLY picture-prompt writing challenge Takhayyal or Imagine.

Arabic for Imagine, Takhayyal is a challenge for writers of all ages and genres; a place to spark creativity and explore new genres.

For this month's image, I'm sharing a picture I took in December 2018 of a place I hold dear. It's ancient and it's beautiful.

Welcome to the several thousand-year-old temple of Philae! (no editing was done to this image)

Look at the image below and let it inspire you...

Your post can be in English or Arabic, prose, poetry, short story, flash fiction, an imaginary situation, an artistic thought; you name it and write it.

General rules:

·        No nudity, violence, and/or abuse.

·        Leave the link to your post in comments below OR post your piece as REPLY to this post

·        Your piece MUST be inspired in some way or other by the above picture

·        Multiple entries allowed

·        It is not required but it is a nice and encouraging gesture to comment on others' pieces.

·        Feel free to add your Twitter handle (@....) so I can tag you in my tweets!

Let's IMAGINE!

The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan - Book Review

Book: The Financial Diet

Author: Chelsea Fagan

Publication date: 26 September 2017

Publisher: Regan Arts

No. of pages: 208

The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan is an interesting and fun book about the basics of personal finance.

Fagan learnt the hard way what it means to have a credit card, why you can't just spend, spend, spend, and why you should have a credit score. In her book, which is divided into and introduction followed by seven chapters, she highlights financial basics for every aspect of a person's life. 

Fagan begins The Financial Diet with an important note and reminder about spending: "Saving money isn't about depriving yourself. It's about deciding you love Future You as much as you love Today You."

In the intro, she shares her nine tips on how to get good with money in a year.

One of the things I liked about The Financial Diet is Fagan's sense of humor, which appears in every chapter, like when she shares one of her experiences when she learnt about retirement plans.

"Did I have any other plans for retirement besides "die before my bad money choice catch up to me?" Of course not."

The Financial Diet, which shares the name and is inspired by a blog Fagan started a while back, is meant to deal with finance in a fun and educational way.

One of the things that surprised me was the occasional use of profanity and in chapter one, though needed and funny, Fagan has a section she called the "Don't You F***ing Dares" or DYFDs.

Again, it stresses an idea that these are BIG no-no's but I was surprised to find some "shit" and "damn" scattered around as well.

The DYFDs can be summarized into:

1.     NEVER surpass your ability to repay your debt within a month because the day you start spending more than you can repay is the day you fall into financial ruin

2.     NEVER allow yourself into the lifestyle of a CEO or the life you think you should be living.

3.     NEVER skip checking your account balance; in fact, you should do that at least twice a week. You have to confront your spending habits, no matter how bad they are. You have to look at the history of your transactions.

4.     NEVER expect your savings to create themselves. (If you keep postponing saving money till you suddenly get rich suddenly, you’ll never save.)

An important to point to remember, which Fagan and the experts she interviews in the book constantly reiterate is that Your current and future selves are the same person. Your future self will never be financially stable unless your current self starts saving money.

"Giving a shit about money doesn't seem fun, but ultimately it's the most liberating thing you can do with your otherwise chaotic young adult life."

Since Fagan is American, The Financial Diet is geared towards Americans more but as an Egyptian, I found several useful tips and ideas to consider in there. There are things I may disagree with and others, like pension funds, that are not applicable where I am but they do give food for thought.

A highlight for me while reading this book was chapter 2, which focuses on investing and making money on the side, whether by investing in a business or stock market or doing another job besides your own.

"Be patient. Investing will test you, wear you out, make you grow, and change you. Trust in the process, and make your big decisions based on the long term. You'll need to stay true to your vision in order to realize it." – Jane Hwangbo, a woman Fagan interviews in The Financial Diet.

Although some points seemed obvious to me, you can never know who has problems with what.

Basically, you should read The Financial Diet with an open mind and see what works for you. You can try different things until you reach a solution that helps you save money without being austere.

Financial issues are universal - we all have difficulty saving money - which makes The Financial Diet a useful guide and rescue boat to your finances.

"Unless you have an iron grip on your budget, know what you're spending and why, and have explored every possible avenue to diversify your revenue and money growth, you can't expect to have much professional freedom."

"Embodying your professional selves outside the office means forcing yourself to take your habits as seriously as you do your deadlines."

"We should all strive to find multiple streams of fulfillment, challenges, and income."

Overall rating: 4 of 5 stars via Goodreads

Apples and Alibis by Gayle Leeson - Book Blast

Apples and Alibis 

(A Down South Cafe Mystery Book)

Cozy Mystery

4th in Series

Grace Abraham Publishing (August 13, 2019)

Print Length: 188 pages

ASIN: B07V1X8SW3

That's the last time Amy agrees to do a favor for a stranger...

Down South Cafe owner, Amy Flowers is in over her head. Operating a cafe while hosting the first Farmers' Market in Winter Garden has her swimming in apples. And when an elderly woman calls the cafe, pleading for a delivery for her upcoming party, Amy relents, feeling compelled to help the desperate customer.

But when she arrives, the woman is slumped over her kitchen table, and Amy is catapulted into the middle of a small town crime. Guilt-ridden for not arriving earlier to save the woman, she sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding the woman. Now, between running the cafe and dealing with the chaos of the farmers' market, Amy is squeezing in a murder investigation, a run-in with her boyfriend's mom, and her own mother's quirky life decisions. Life can't get any worse...or can it? This cafe owner needs a break--in the case.

This is not the first time I've featured Gayle Leeson or Gayle Trent on Nadaness In Motion. I recently had the privilege of reading the first book in her new paranormal cozy mystery series. Check my five-star book review of Designs on Murder.

Kerry Vincent, Hall of Fame Sugar Artist, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director, and Television Personality says the series is “a must read for cake bakers and anyone who has ever spent creative time in the kitchen!”

 
About the Author: 

Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent, who also writes as Amanda Lee. As Gayle Trent, I write the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. As Amanda Lee, I write the Embroidery Mystery series.

The cake decorating series features a heroine who is starting her life over in Southwest Virginia after a nasty divorce. The heroine, Daphne, has returned to her hometown of Brea Ridge to open a cake baking and decorating business and is wrestling with the question of whether or not one can go home again. She enjoys spending time with her sister, nephew, and niece, but she and her mother have a complicated relationship that isn’t always pleasant. Daphne has also reconnected with her high school sweetheart and is pursuing a rekindled romance while desperately trying to put her past behind her.

Says Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times bestselling author, “One day I found myself happily reading . . . mysteries by Gayle Trent. If she can win me over . . . she’s got a great future.”

The Embroidery Mystery series features a heroine who recently moved to the Oregon coast to open an embroidery specialty shop. Marcy Singer left her home in San Francisco, along with the humiliation of being left at the altar, in order to move to Tallulah Falls and realize her dream of owning her own shop. She takes along her faithful companion, a one-year-old Irish wolfhound named Angus O’Ruff. She makes many new friends in Tallulah Falls, but she also makes a few enemies. Thankfully, her best friend Sadie MacKenzie and her husband Blake run the coffeehouse right down the street from Marcy’s shop, the Seven-Year Stitch; and Detective Ted Nash always has her back.

Publishers Weekly says, “Fans of the genre will take kindly to Marcy, her Irish wolfhound, Angus O’Ruff, and Tallulah Falls. This is a fast, pleasant read with prose full of pop culture references and, of course, sharp needlework puns.”

Pat Cooper of RT Book Reviews says, “If her debut here is any indication, Lee’s new series is going to be fun, spunky and educational. She smoothly interweaves plot with her character’s personality and charm, while dropping tantalizing hints of stitching projects and their history. Marcy Singer is young, fun, sharp and likable. Readers will be looking forward to her future adventures.” (RT Book Reviews nominated The Quick and the Thread for a 2010 Book Reviewers’ Choice Award in the Amateur Sleuth category)

I live in Virginia with my family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff. I’m having a blast writing this new series!

Connect with the author via her Websites for Gayle Leeson and Gayle Trent, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram

Purchase Gayle Leeson's books via Amazon, B&N, and Kobo

Money Is Murder by Carolyn Arnold - Book Review

Today, I'm featuring an author, I've read and reviewed several times on Nadaness In Motion. This is my third read in her cozy mystery series, I've also read one in her historical fiction adventure novels and one of her police procedural thrillers. Today, I'm doing a book review as part of a blog tour :) 

Join me in welcoming…. *drum roll* CAROLYN ARNOLD

Book: Money Is Murder

(McKinley Mystery Series book 3)

Author: Carolyn Arnold

Publisher: Hibbert & Stiles  

"So, this guy's asking you from the grave to solve his daughter's murder?"

Money Is Murder by Carolyn Arnold is the third book in the McKinley Murder Mysteries. The books are connected by the characters but can easily be read as standalones. My first read in the series was book 6, Coffee Is Murder and my second was book 8, Halloween Is Murder.

The book opens with the star couple Sara and Sean McKinley coming back from their honeymoon, which wasn't mystery-free. We learn that they were murder detectives but Sean inherited billions, which allowed him and Sara to quit their jobs and get married.

In Money Is Murder, we are told more about the benefactor who left Sean his wealth, a Mr. Douglas Quinn. Quinn leaves Sean a secret key and later a note asking him to look into his late daughter's death, which had been ruled a suicide.

"Situations around her death are intriguing and we don’t' even know a lot yet."

Alternate cover for Money Is Murder

Now Sean and Sara are set to meet up with employees and management from Quinn's mega-company Universal Acquisitions Corporation. From there they begin to take notes and share their intuitions about the people they meet.

There's a bit of romance in Money Is Murder, considering the couple just married and returned from their honeymoon. A little surprising, especially at the beginning, since I'm not used to that in cozy mysteries. But it's not over the top.

I loved how Sean and Sara would always sit together, bounce ideas, and discuss their findings and how they feel about the people they meet. Sara is sweet and astute; her mind picks up details quickly and easily lays them out when it's time to talk about the murder.

I felt like I needed to know why Quinn left Sean his money a little early on in the novel. It was a missing piece for me.

"No, I think she was murdered and it's likely someone from within these walls is behind it. And, if you ask me, I think it's her death that killed Mr. Quinn."

On the other hand, one of the things I liked about Money Is Murder is the quick pace made even more so by the short chapters. I enjoyed the mystery and the overall read. I liked getting into Sara's head.

Another thing was the action, there was a lot of it in Money Is Murder and I loved the thrill!

Overall, I think Carolyn Arnold's Money Is Murder is a fun and exciting read. I liked the financial aspect and how each book in the series comes with a theme.

Note: I received a free copy of Money Is Murder by Carolyn Arnold as part of a blog tour by Escape with Dollycas Virtual Book Tours.

Other books reviewed by Nadaness In Motion from the McKinley Mysteries are Coffee Is Murder, which features an excerpt and Halloween Is Murder.

Other books by Carolyn Arnold, reviewed by and on Nadaness In Motion:

Mystery, thriller On the Count of Three and Past Deeds from The Brandon Fisher mystery series and What We Bury from the Detective Madison Knight Mystery series

Adventure, historical fiction, and mystery in The Secret of the Lost Pharaoh

Note 2: Money is Murder also includes the first 3 chapters from the subsequent book in the series, Politics Is Murder.

Note 3: Keep up with the rest of the blog tour including more reviews as well as guest posts and interviews here.

Book Overview (in published order)

1.     The Day Job is Murder (2014)

2.     Vacation is Murder (2014)

3.     Money is Murder (2014)

4.     Politics is Murder (2014)

5.     Family is Murder (2014)

6.     Shopping is Murder (2014)

7.     Christmas is Murder (2014)

8.     Valentine’s Day is Murder (2015)

9.     Coffee is Murder (2015)

10.  Skiing is Murder (2016)

11. Halloween Is Murder (2017)

Buy Money Is Murder by Carolyn via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, or Google Play

About the Author:

CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.

Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives just west of Toronto with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada.

Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online via her website, Twitter, Facebook, and don't forget to sign-up for her newsletter, which includes updates on new releases and special offers.

The Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint – Book Review

The Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint: How to Get Started for Free and Earn Your First $10,000 in Commissions Fast by Alex M. is a GEM I came across by chance while browsing through Amazon's free books on marketing.

The book opens with an honest Introduction about what this book will cover, what you, as a reader and future affiliate marketer, need to do, the right and wrong ways to do affiliate marketing, and finally "an in-depth explanation of the tools needed to grow you affiliate marketing business fast."

The author is a bit talkative and repetitive in the intro and first chapter but bearable. The whole book is about 70 pages long, so not a big deal, I just don't like repetition.

You should remember that even though you can read The Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint in a sitting or two, once you start applying the lessons, you'll need to refer to the book several times.

I loved the author's honesty throughout. In the introduction he addresses his readers saying: "My gut feeling told me that putting a big number in the title would only help to attract more of those looking [for] push-button solutions, the types of people who want to relax at the beach and magically make money fall into their lap. If you are such a person, I personally encourage you to stop reading this guide and move on to something else; this is definitely not the right guide for you."

I like how The Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint is divided into short chapters with sub-headings and parts that are in bullet-points. The book is very easy to navigate with lots of tips and tricks. It's obvious that Alex M. has done their research and tested out what he's talking about.

"If you want to make good money with affiliate marketing you need to treat it like a business, not a get rich quick scheme."

The author also explains the free and paid methods of affiliate marketing, that is how to market yourself and your business. In the part on the tools you need to keep track of your business, Alex M. offers a list and mentions what he uses for his business.

"You can have the best product in the world but if no one knows that it exists, you will not make any sales."

Overall I think The Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint by Alex M. is an excellent reference and introduction to the world of affiliate marketing. The author is realistic and down to earth. He even offers a link to a free course he's created on affiliate marketing at the end of the book.

Note: You can download The Beginner's Affiliate Marketing Blueprint: How to Get Started for Free and Earn Your First $10,000 in Commissions Fast by Alex M. for FREE via Amazon!