A Bad Hair Day Cookbook by Nancy J. Cohen - Spotlight

Today, I'm featuring a different kind of book as part of blog tour.

Meet:

A Bad Hair Day Cookbook: Recipes from Nancy J. Cohen's Cozy Mystery Series
Cozy Cookbook
Publisher: Orange Grove Press
Publication Date: 19 November 2019
Paperback: 324 pages
ISBN-10: 099979325X
ISBN-13: 978-0999793251
Digital ASIN: B07XSH6C7B

About the Book:

Are you having a bad hair day? Whip out your whisk, snatch up your spoon, and prepare your palate. Inside the pages of this cookbook are recipes that will bring you good cheer.

Enjoy 160+ tasty recipes from Nancy J. Cohen’s popular Bad Hair Day cozy mystery series. Included in this cookbook are excerpts, cooking tips, and anecdotes written by hairstylist and savvy sleuth Marla Vail. From appetizers to desserts, Marla offers cooking tips and tricks along with commentary about the dishes she prepares for her family. Whether you’re a skilled cook or an eager novice, this cookbook will unravel the mystery of cooking. Put on your apron and plan to make some killer recipes. Bonuses Include:

•Meet the Sleuth
•Introduction by Marla Vail
•Cooking Tips
•Excerpts from Series Titles
•Themed Menu Suggestions
•“A Sabbath Dinner” by Nancy’s Mother

For Home Cooks, Food Lovers, Mystery Fans and Cookbook Collectors

Recipes are listed in these categories:

APPETIZERS
BEVERAGES
BREADS
SAUCES
SOUPS
ENTREES – BEEF
ENTREES – LAMB
ENTREES – POULTRY
ENTREES – FISH
ENTREES – VEGETARIAN
SIDE DISHES
DESSERTS

“Reading through this cookbook has revived my interest in getting back in the kitchen.” Rhonda Gilliland, Author and Editor of the Cooked to Death Series

“Designed for busy cooks who may not be out solving crimes, but whose time is equally challenged.” Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Mysteries and cookbooks belong side by side on readers’ shelves. A Bad Hair Day Cookbook serves up both food and justice.” Christine A. Jackson, Ph.D., Author of Myth and Ritual in Women’s Detective Fiction

About the Author:

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won a Readers' Favorite gold medal, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Nancy’s instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery, was nominated for an Agatha Award and won a gold medal at the President’s Book Awards from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping.

Connect with author Nancy J. Cohen via her Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, BookBub, Goodreads, and LinkedIn.

Purchase Links -  Amazon Kindle   Amazon Print    Nook    Kobo    Books2Read  BookBub   

As part of the blog tour there is a giveaway, enter using the link below 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Learn more about A Bad Hair Day Cookbook: Recipes from Nancy J. Cohen's Cozy Mystery Series by keeping up with the rest of the blog tour, including spotlights, book reviews, guest posts, and author interviews.

November 20 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – Guest Post & Island Confidential – Spotlight

November 21 – MJB Reviewers & View from the Birdhouse – Spotlights

November 22 – Baroness' Book Trove – Book Review & Hearts & Scribbles & The Book Diva's Reads – Spotlights

November 23 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – Author Interview & Cassidy's Bookshelves – Spotlight &  Ruff Drafts – Recipe & Spotlight

November 24 – I Read What You Write – Guest Post & Nadaness In Motion – Spotlight

November 25 – Laura's Interests – Spotlight & This Is My Truth Now – Author Interview

November 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – Book Review & Recipe & Reading Is My SuperPower & A Chick Who Reads – Book Reviews

November 27 – Literary Gold – Character Guest Post &

eBook addicts & Diary of a Book Fiend - Book Reviews

November 28 – THANKSGIVING - OFF

November 29 – My Reading Journeys – Book Review & Recipe &  Celticlady's Reviews – Book Review

November 30 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – Character Interview & fundinmental – Spotlight

Broken Bone China - Interview with Laura Childs

Broken Bone China
(A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs

Broken Bone China (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
20th in Series
Publisher: Berkley 

Publication date: 5 March 2019
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0451489632
ISBN-13: 978-0451489630
Digital ASIN: B07DMZPLWY

Theodosia Browning serves tea and solves crimes in Charleston, a city steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally. The view aloft is not only stunning, they are also surrounded by a dozen other colorful hot-air balloons. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out.

As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.

Sirens scream, first responders arrive, and Theodosia is interviewed by the police. During the interview she learns that one of the downed occupants was Don Kingsley, the CEO of a local software company, SyncSoft. Not only do the police suspect Kingsley as the primary target, they learn that he possessed a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag that several people were rabidly bidding on.

Intrigued, Theodosia begins her own investigation. Was it the CEO's soon-to-be ex-wife, who is restoring an enormous mansion at no expense? The CEO's personal assistant, who also functioned as curator of his prized collection of Americana? Two rival antiques' dealers known for dirty dealing? Or was the killer the fiancée of one of Theodosia's dear friends, who turns out to be an employee—and whistle-blower—at SyncSoft?

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

Exclusive Interview with Laura Childs by Nadaness In Motion

Nadaness In Motion: Having written 20 books in the Tea Shop Mystery series, what has been your favorite thing about the books and/or writing process?

Laura Childs: The absolute coolest thing is that I’ve never run out of ideas. There are so many delicious ways to kill someone that I’m always anxious to start the next book. I also love developing a “theme” I can carry through the entire book. It can be something like wine tasting or Halloween or a hurricane – a kind of hook that weaves its way through your storyline.

Nadaness In Motion: How many years have elapsed between book 1 and book 20?

Laura Childs: It’s been 19 years and book 20 has just come out. I’m also halfway finished with book 21 and have notes for book 22.

Nadaness In Motion: How many books do you write per year?

Laura Childs: It varies between 1 and 4 books. Last year was a super busy writing year with 4 books, this year I’m slacking off and writing 2 books.

  

Nadaness In Motion: Has your writing process changed over the years? For example, have you picked up new hacks that have helped you write better or faster?

Laura Childs: I think I write better and faster because I’m doing it constantly. The imagination is a powerful muscle and the more you bend and stretch it, the more flexible and responsive it becomes. The other thing I do is read constantly – sometimes 3 books a week. It’s amazing what you can learn (plotting, pacing, twists, etc.) by studying other writers!

Nadaness In Motion: Has your former role as CEO and Creative Director of a marketing firm helped you with your books? How so?

Laura Childs: I’m lucky in that I developed the skill to be creative on demand, despite the pressure of tight deadlines. I also have a distinct knack for knowing what appeals to an audience. And I’m pretty darn good at figuring out how to market a product – even when it is my own.

Nadaness In Motion: Since your books can be read as standalones, what aspects do you have to remind your readers of between books?

Laura Childs: Actually, not that much. I do a bit of backgrounding on the main characters, of course. Then I re-introduce some of the secondary characters and then quickly move on to following up with hints or suspicious that I planted in the previous book.

Nadaness In Motion: When you’re not writing or researching something for your books, what would you be doing?

Laura Childs: Traveling, shopping, having lunch with friends. But please realize, I usually write six days a week.

Nadaness In Motion: If you could pick up only one of your series to be made into a TV series, which would it be – and why?

Laura Childs: My Tea Shop Mysteries have already been optioned twice for TV (I’m still waiting), so I think the Scrapbooking Mysteries would be perfect. Since they’re set in New Orleans, the plots could be quite exciting (Mardi Gras, bayous, vampires!) and I’m positive the camera would love the city’s spooky, ethereal atmosphere.

Nadaness In Motion: Apart from book tours, what else do you do to market your books?

Laura Childs: My rule of thumb is that an author needs to do at least 50 different things to publicize a book. My publisher handles about a dozen things (ARCs, contests, press releases, Book Bub, interviews, etc.), so that leaves me doing blog tours, guest posts, Q&A’s, library visits, bookstore visits, book club talks, presentations to librarian groups, web contests, public relations, media relations, industry book show appearances, running print ads and radio spots, promos on Shelf-Awareness.com, Bookclubbing, Facebook posts, Facebook ads, Bookmovement, DearReader, Kindle Nation, and a whole bunch of other things. It’s exhausting – it almost kills you – but it works.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes on Laura Childs’s newest mystery Broken Bone China.

After catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally, tea shop maven Theodosia and her tea sommelier Drayton bask in a hot air balloon ride. But as the skies darken, a rogue drone buzzes in and strikes a nearby balloon, causing an enormous, fiery explosion. People are dead and one of them is Don Kingsley, software bigwig and owner of a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag.

As Kingsley’s widow presses Theodosia for help, suspects abound in the form of rival antiques dealers, museum representatives, and private collectors. Five million dollars is also missing from the software firm and the fiancé of Angie Congdon (Theodosia’s dear friend and B and B owner) also becomes a prime suspect.

In the midst of all this drama, Theodosia still has to charm her tea shop guests, manage the photo shoot at Drayton’s historic home, and pull off a Beaux Arts Tea, her most elaborate tea party yet. In the tradition of all Laura Childs’s previous New York Times bestselling thriller-cozies (thrillzies!), Broken Bone China delivers a breakneck pace, heart-warming moments, and recipes that include Eggnog Scones, Strawberry Butter, Banana Pudding Pie, Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms, and Sea Scallops with Brown Butter.

2020 Update:

In March 2020, I had the pleasure of - finally - reading one of Laura Childs' books, namely book 21 in the Tea Shop Mystery Series, Lavender Blue Murder.

About the Author:

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Connect with Laura Childs via her Website and Facebook.

Purchase Links

Amazon B&N Kobo Google Play

Keep up with the rest of the tour, including reviews, more interviews, guest posts, and spotlights!

5 March - The Avid Reader – Book Review & Mysteries with Character – Author Interview 
6 March - Reading Authors – Book Review & fundinmental – Spotlight
7 March - A Holland Reads – Book Review & Babs Book Bistro – Spotlight 
8 March– My Journey Back-The Journey Back & A Wytch's Book Review Blog – Book Reviews
9 March – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Book Review & Celticlady's Reviews – Spotlight
10 March - Cozy Up With Kathy - Book Review & StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlight
11 March – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – Spotlight & A Chick Who Reads – Book Review
12 March – Nadaness In Motion – Author Interview & I'm Into Books – Spotlight
13 March – The Book Diva's Reads – Spotlight & Valerie's Musings – Book Review
14 March – The Book's the Thing – Book Review + Guest Post  & Ruff Drafts – Spotlight
15 March Community Bookstop – Book Review & View from the Birdhouse – Spotlight
16 March– Here's How It Happened - Book Review & Brooke Blogs – Guest Post 
17 March - A Blue Million Books – Author Interview & Laura’s Interests – Book Review
18 March – Melina's Book Blog & Lisa Ks Book Review –Book Reviews & The Montana Bookaholic – Guest Post 

Winter's Perfect Remedy – Poem by Nada Adel Sobhi

The scent of hot

Vanilla-flavoured coffee

Enters my nostrils

Fills my mind

Awakening my sleepy senses

Reminds me

Of freshly-baked cakes,

Mouth-watering delights:

Chocolate, caramel, strawberries

Yes winter is coming

And I yearn for the sweet warmth

Of my mint hot chocolate,

Caramel cappuccino

And strawberries

Dipped in chocolate sauce

I take the cup to my lips

It's warm; energising,

Smooth and kind,

A balm

To my early-stage migraine

I breathe the scent, the flavour

Over and over

It eases my throbbing brain,

Wraps me in a cocoon of warmth

And holds me tight

I gaze up at the stars

And call it a night

By: Nada Adel Sobhi

Note: This poem was writing on Friday, 27 October 2017 – a little before winter fully materialised.

One reader told me: "I've never read a more satisfying poem in my entire life!"

Hummus and Homicide by Tina Kashian - Cover Reveal

When Lucy Berberian quits her Philadelphia law firm and heads home to Ocean Crest, she knows what she’s getting—the scent of funnel cake, the sight of the wooden roller coaster, and the tastes of her family’s Mediterranean restaurant. But murder wasn’t on the menu . . .

Things are slow in the off-season in this Jersey Shore town, but Lucy doesn’t mind. She doesn’t even mind waitressing at the Kebab Kitchen. Her parents have put in a new hummus bar, with every flavor from lemon to roasted red pepper. It’s fun to see their calico cat again, and to catch up with her old BFF, who’s married to a cop now.

She could do without Heather Banks, though. The Gucci-toting ex-cheerleader is still as nasty as she was back in high school . . . and unfortunately, she’s just taken over as the local health inspector. Just minutes after eating at the Kebab Kitchen—where she’s tallied up a whole list of bogus violations—she falls down dead in the street. Word on the grapevine is it’s homicide, and Lucy’s the number one suspect . . .

Recipes included!

Ready…..

Set…..

Reveal!!

Coming February 27, 2018 from Kensington Books!!

You can pre-order your copy today!!

Amazon B&N kobo Google Play INDIEBOUND

Big Hair and Buttermilk Pie - Book review & tour

Book: Big Hair & Buttermilk Pie

)A Rose Cottage Cafe Mystery(

Author: Lori Stacy

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Superlative Media

Publication date: 18 April, 2016

Print Length: 116 pages

ASIN: B01DL3XZGI

Synopsis:

Mandy Hemphill is living her dream, running the successful Rose Cottage Cafe in Orchardville, Texas, from the ground floor of a converted, old—and possibly haunted—downtown home. She even had plans to grow her business with a new outdoor patio…if only the mayor wouldn’t have turned her down.

So when the beloved mayor is found murdered, Mandy finds herself among the suspects. And now business at the cafe is dropping faster than a fallen soufflé. How can she prove her innocence and save the Rose Cottage Cafe?

Thankfully Ben, the new owner of The Orchardville Gazette, doesn’t believe she’s guilty. As the two of them set out to find the real killer, they uncover one small-town lie after the next. But the closer they get to learning the truth about who killed the mayor, the more in danger they find themselves.

Book Review

Big Hair and Buttermilk Pie by Lori Stacy is the first instalment in the Rose Cottage Café Mysteries.

The book is cozy to the point where you feel like you're part of the setting and the characters are your friends and I particularly enjoyed that about the novella.

The story opens with a prologue of a small-town Mayor and his wife and we're given the idea that he may be unfaithful. The first chapter opens at the Rose Cottage Café owned and run by Mandy Hemphill and we, along with the Mayor's wife, are informed that the Mayor has been killed and likely murdered.

From here, the novel begins to cover various angles of who could have killed the Mayor, while it is implied that the murder weapon may have come from Mandy's kitchen.

"Solve a murder? I don't solve crimes, I…I bake muffins."

As Mandy tries to clear her name and find out who would want to frame her, her customer numbers keep dwindling. We learn that Mandy had submitted a request for a patio to be added to her café but the late Mayor had turned down her request.

Mandy, along with the new tenant in her building, Ben, who is resurrecting a local newspaper, begin to snoop around and ask questions, while the police continue to be anywhere but near the real culprit.

There isn't much imagery in the novel, but the sweet treats and other foods made at the Rose Cottage Café make up for that. Moreover, the writing and the characters are very realistic, which makes the reader feel as though they are part of the novel.

"It was hardly a secret to her staff that Mandy found baking therapeutic. It was a big part of why had chosen to go into this business in the first place. Of everything she did in her life, nothing made her feel happier and more at peace than baking."

The chapters are short and the pace is quick, prompting the reader to carry on without thinking.

There were a few repetitions in the novella that bugged me a bit, but overall it was a fun read.

I also liked that Mandy did not get the guy at the end but that after the crime was solved, all the good characters were rewarded in some way or other, like justice being served but in different ways.

Cozy and with many sweet treats, Big Hair and Buttermilk Pie is a quick read, that can easily be read in a day or sitting. There are also two recipes at the end of the book to complement the reader's appetite for the Rose Cottage confectioneries.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

Keep up with the rest of the tour here.

Giveaway

As part of the tour with Lori Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, there is a giveaway. Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

After her twenty-year career in magazine publishing came to a screeching halt faster than you can say “print is dead,” Lori Stacy decided it was time to finally turn the many stories she had been crafting in her head over the years into books.

Lori has authored a number of fiction and nonfiction books for young adults, has written articles for both print and online publications, and has written about hotels for one of the world’s leading search engines.

She lives in Texas with her husband and three children. When she is not writing, you can usually find her in the kitchen baking treats (which she says are for her children) or trying to train their hundred-pound golden retriever, an obedience school dropout.

You can find out more about Lori and her latest books at www.loristacy.com, provided she didn’t forget to pay her web hosting bill.

Purchase via Amazon 

Note: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review via Lori's Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.