Another week has come and gone and it is midway through July. I blink and feel like I have traveled through time at hyperspeed! I found this block at Michael's and it practically yelled to me, so I bought it and placed it on my table. " Let it Flow" it can be a battle cry or a whisper but it called to me nonetheless. Simple beauty in this one nestled beneath the flowers of friendship that grow in my friend Jen's yard. We used to be neighbors and it broke my heart when we had to move but she still makes a point of making me feel like she is still just a few doors down.
I recently launched my new business Beyond the Bookmarks and I am thrilled my cards came this week! I am getting ready to host the Maddie Hatter party this July 26th as you may know and I have really enjoyed working with a few authors this week in finding the right items for their giveaways and book launches as well as designing their Facebook Banners and Social Media ads.
My cards for this blog came in too and just in time for me to prep for the upcoming conference I am attending in Calgary When Words Collide.
( The purple cabinet is new this week too, I just love it!)
I am currently reading a book that is out now called Death Plays A Part it is a UK cozy and I hope to share the review with you early next week.
One of my most favorite series on my table this week and a spectacular read! Carol J. Perry has book 5 out the end of August and I am tickled I got to read it early! Great series! I highly recommend, it was a complete fluke that book one was my Three Amigos' pick this week too!
Not a cozy but very honored to be asked to read K.A. Davis new book A Game of Deceit, a debut for her and a good mystery too.
Doom with a View by Kate Kingsbury was another great read I had on my table this week, 2nd in the series out later this summer and one to watch for.
I shared my review as well for Jayne Barnards Maddie Hatter and the Gilded Gauge earlier this week and I have been working on so many fun and inspired items as a result of this wonderful read.
Just arrived on Thursday and to my delight, I have a new video for you to watch you can watch it above or click here
I hope you are enjoying your weekend and thank you for taking time out of your busy life to spend sometime with me and enjoy a cup of tea & a week in review.
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
Over the weekend I read Kate Kingsbury's Doom with a View, the second in the Merry Ghost Inn Mystery series from Crooked Lane Books. This cozy was off to a good start with book one and I was really looking forward to reading book two. I enjoyed the mystery but was pleased to get to know the main characters a little bit better. The main character Melanie is in herself a complex character you can not help but feel for, her grandmother who insists on being called by her first name is a bit quirky and the young girl working for them has me intrigued and hoping for more with their stories in addition to the murder mystery. I think that the mystery of Melanie's missing mom, the laughing mysterious ghost in the house and Melanie's tragic past are far more interesting as a reader and then as a bonus you get a complicated mystery. All in all I think this was a good second in series and I look forward to seeing what lies ahead with the next set of guests who arrive at the Merry Ghost Inn. This book is out in September and can be ordered in advance now.
Another week has flown by in the blink of an eye. I am more busy now than ever before and I am so thankful for the time to do what I do! I get up much earlier then my family so that I may have time to share my passion for reading and enjoy a pot of tea or two before my full day of work begins. Dragging myself to bed when the sun is still high in the sky and the boys are unwilling to drift off to sleep makes for long days but I love it. This weekend i am starting to read Kate Kingsbury's Doom with a View, this one is out in several weeks time and one I have been looking forward to reading. With summer, ghost stories go hand in hand.
I announced earlier this week a collaborative project with author Jayne Barnard! I am so excited about this cup coming Facebook event and I have so many fun things planned to share during the party. I would be so honored to have you join us for a few hours on Wednesday July 26th. The Maddie Hatter series is one I discovered in May with the purchase of my first book in the series, and I just finished book two (will be sharing the review tomorrow) and it is a series I am so excited about. I am dreaming of clockwork birds, chickens and zeppelins! My creative brain has been spinning and I have some fun crafts to share. If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt or special friend of a young reader (I am 42 and this series I personally love) I recommend the adventure mystery series of Maddie Hatter !
I have exciting crafts, fun facts, prizes and more to share at the party don't miss it!
Paranormal cozy mysteries have a special place in my heart as many of you know. I read Ghost of a Chance by Cate Dean this week and absolutely loved it, it was exactly the story I needed at the time and lovely as well as light. I could love to read the series!
Out of my comfort zone I read a suspense thriller that is up coming by Kathleen Valenti, this one is a very good mystery and will keep you on the edge of your seat, not a cozy to be sure but it does have a happy ending.
Sunday I reviewed Cat About Town by Cate Conte, this one is out in September and has a lovely feel to it, a great cat, small town and new business, this is a series I hope that will be long running, who doesn't love a cat cafe?
I also shared a bit on Monday in our Three Amigos Book Club post my choice for this weeks book or series and I chose Janice J. Richardson's series. Set in Niagara Falls and centered around a funeral home, this series amazed me with how calm and serene I felt while reading it even though the trauma of death and funerals is something that I struggle with, I came away from reading both books with an undeniable sense of comfort. I hope you will too!
I discovered something I had no idea about when I was picking up my supply of Murchie's tea this week, they offer something called Purple Majesty, a PURPLE TEA that steeps purple! I must get this tea to try! It is a rare one but stay tuned as I give this one a try!
A special thank you to Author Laura Bradford for spending some time with us yesterday, I am quite honored she could spend some time with us this week during her busy tour!
Below is my Friday Spotlight Youtube video, I would love to have you pop over and watch under a minute! I have 9 subscribers and would love to make it a dozen as I build my new channel and step out of my comfort zone of being on camera!
Thank you all for joining me here this week for a look back at what I have had on my table this week!
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
What a wonderful week, hoping you did too. I have made lots of time for reading this week, finishing 4 books and was so thrilled to get Healing Herbal Tea's a book I ordered several months ago when I previewed it and reviewed it. I knew that I had to have this in my collection and spent most of last night reading through it planning blends to try.
I had the true luck of the Irish having two Irish Cozies on my table this week. Friday night I finished Cruel Winter, by Sheila Connolly. I really did not want this one to end. Perfect read for this cold and icy week, this is book 5 and being published by Crooked Lane Books this March 14th. My review will be posted early next week.
Charlene O'Connor's Murder at an Irish Wedding was like a breath of fresh air. This is book two and takes place shortly after book one ends. I so admire the heart in this story, the strong family ties and cozy Irish hospitality the way that Carlene writes.
Witchy paranormal cozy Headless in Nevermore spent a bit of time on my table, this is a cozy I purchased from Amazon. Violet Merriweather spins a great fable and cozy mystery in this the second in series.
A wonderful surprise awaits in Kate Kingsbury's Dead and Breakfast a Merry Ghost Inn mystery. This is book one in a series I am really looking forward too. I love the granddaughter and grandmother duo, who sink everything into a haunted Oregon coast Victorian that they are renovating for a bed and breakfast when they stumble upon a skeleton behind the wall they are removing. Good mystery in this one!
She Stopped for Death was more of a psychological thriller cozy which I had on my table this week. I was very surprised with how this cozy turned out. Love the ideas of the Little Library Mystery series and was excited to have book two to review.
A lovely little book also on my table was the Little Big Book of White Spells, this is a book that would make a great gift and one I appreciated as a reference for an aspiring paranormal cozy mystery writer.
In my cup this week I have lots of black tea, Double Cream Earl Grey from Thay Tea and Vanilla Black tea from Murchies.
I am so glad to have you join me here for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery week in review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
Sunday night I finished and loved Dead and Breakfast a new cozy by Kate Kingsbury that is based on the Oregon Coast. I love a West Coast mystery, and this one made me feel right at home. Great start in this series, an accident, end of a marriage but from loss an opportunity. Couple that with a missing mother, a grandmother and granddaughter team, small town, Victorian reno and a very brave dog, so much to love in this mystery. Kept me guessing until the end. I loved it.
