On My Table and In My Cup July 22nd-29th

I am so very lucky and grateful for the opportunities that I have in life, for the people placed in my path and for the books written by amazing authors who give me a great escape. I am particularly grateful this week after a difficult week. I had some amazing opportunities this week and I am so thankful and thrilled with how my Beyond The Bookmark event went with author Jayne Barnard in celebration of her Maddie Hatter series. Thank you to all who came to the Facebook event on my Beyond The Bookmarks pages.

I did get some reading done this week and shared some reviews of CeeCee James latest cozy Final Check Out. Book Three in her series I can not believe how fast she gets these out!

Library super sleuth and  superhero  in Wrong Side of The Paw had me so excited ! Laurie Cass writes a fantastic series!

Oh and I love the Victoria Hamilton Merry Muffin Series! Muffin To Fear was exceptional and I even made a video about it yesterday!

I am finishing up Assaulted Caramel right now by Amanda Flower and look forward to sharing my review with you all soon.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and 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

Muffin To Fear by Victoria Hamilton

Before I begin let me say this about the Merry Muffin Series, by Victoria Hamilton, this is a wonderful series about finding yourself no matter where you are in life and making changes you never thought possible just with curiosity and leaps of faith. Muffin To Fear's Prologue made me so happy! It was such a nice way to start this book and if you have read the series you will know exactly why. When Merry comes home she is up to her eyeballs in chaos, somehow I can not picture her in any other way. No matter what Merry seems to be right in the middle of Chaos which is likely why I find her so appealing as a main character. This one I found riveting. I loved the entire very busy cast of characters that descend upon the castle. I also love how the recurring characters all have a hand in helping out throughout the latest fiasco at Wynter Castle. This book is very well written and I loved the subject in this cozy mystery and the truly cozy feeling in the end.  

While Merry is distracted by her quickly planned marriage to Virgil Grace and a blissful honeymoon in New York, her friend Pish invites the ghost-hunting crew from the TV show Haunt Hunt to investigate Merry's home, Wynter Castle. Merry soon discovers that not only is the crew out of sync, there are so many feuds and squabbles, it's a miracle they get a show produced at all. It all goes from bad to worse when the show's psychics claim to have contact with people murdered on Merry's property. When two cast members are found dead, Merry and Virgil must figure out who’s picking off the Haunt Hunt team before their hard-earned happily ever after is cut short.

I loved Muffin to fear and I love this series! Muffin to Fear is out now and you can find it on Amazon by clicking here. 
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

On My Table and In My Cup June 10th -17th

I can not believe that it is Saturday already, honestly this is a stupid statement, I know what day it is, I just feel like the week between these posts speeds by and yet Monday-Thursday feel like they take an eternity, but here we are. I am off to a special needs baseball tournament shortly, an event I have come to love and look forward too more and more with each passing year.  I have made some incredible friends on the field, parents who like me have a different path to follow then our typical peers. I don't know what I would do without the support of our Canucks Autism Network community or our Challenger Baseball Families either. They have helped to shape a better then normal childhood for my boys and our community. This week I did a few trips to the local charity/thrift stores and even one slightly further trip to Value Village, where I picked up this lovely book I had been eyeing on line. It is called Tea Culture and I am very much looking forward to soaking in all it has to offer me with in these beautiful pages, more on this $5.99 deal in a later post.

I was thrilled with the buy 4 get one free deal at another thrift store I went to. I was thrilled to find Well Read then Dead by Terrie Farley Moran, I lent my copy out and can not remember who I lent it to. I also got a few I had been wanting to read and one I had never heard of. Not bad finds at all.

I am reading I think my 92 book of the year right now, and Witch Way To Mintwood was a really great suggestion by my friend Lisa and on Wednesday I really needed a paranormal cozy read the way my mother needed Calgon to take her away in the 70's. This was a great book and I am very much wanting to read the series. If you like me love Witch Cozy Mysteries do pick this one up.

For me Leave it to Cleaver by Victoria Hamilton was a first in series for me, this is I think book 5 and a lovely bitter sweet cozy.  I picked up two more in the series this week for my TBR pile and am looking forward to give them a go.

I am very excited that my friends Mary and Lisa K are going to help me promote summer reading with our Three Amigos Summer Reading Club. We hope you will join us on Mondays all throughout the summer and see our  33 picks! 11 weeks, 33 books, endless possibilities for your TBR pile and arm chair adventures. We hope you find your perfect summer read with us!

Sunday my family and I took a walk for the  JDRF with a fundraising walk around Vancouver's Stanley Park, even though I am on Crutches I did walk the entire thing, which is likely why I am back on crutches, but it was worth it. I also brought the book I was reading, A Ghostly Light by Juliet Blackwell. This book is SO GOOD, if you love lighthouses, like I do, great characters and settings as well as a good ghost mystery this is a book for you! Loved it, you should order it!

Long In The Sleuth by Carol Novis was a refreshing and entertaining cozy where I learn a lot about Jewish culture and had a fantastic time with some funny characters and surprising twists!

 This week also marks the second anniversary of the passing of a very special young lady. An extraordinary set of circumstances lead me to come to know and champion a young lady facing insurmountable odds. In memory of that precious child and her courageous fight with cancer, I set my table. In support of her mother, family, friends and survivors, I lifted my cup in remembrance. If you feel moved, have the ability to donate too or help families like my friend Ahmie I encourage you to do so. Special prayers to the families just like hers who fight just as hard along side them. #noonefightsalone #teawithahmie #noonegrivesalone .

I thank you so much for taking the time to join me here today. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com  

Leave It To Cleaver by Victoria Hamilton

I was very pleased to be asked to read and review Victoria Hamilton's Leave it To Cleaver, a Vintage Kitchen Mystery that is out later this month by Beyond The Page Publishing.  This is the first book in the series I have read. Even though Victoria Hamilton is one of my most favorite cozy mystery authors this series I had not read. This one has so much emotion in it. I did not realize what a great sister cozy this would be. The drama and the reflection of the past tied with the present day made for a very full and all encompassing read. I love the cover and the cozy feeling you get at the end of this book. Spoiler Alert!  It is a bitter sweet but happy ending as cozies go!  

Vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has agreed to help her sister clear out the house of a deceased older neighbor, and she’s thrilled at the prospect of discovering antique kitchenware and other treasures—until she opens a vintage trunk in the cellar and finds the remains of a teenage girl with a cleaver buried in her skull. When the body of a second girl is found just days later in a nearby river, the clues all indicate that the crimes are connected—and that the culprit’s motives are hidden in the past.Jaymie just wants to cut and run, but the victims were both high school classmates of her sister when they disappeared, and that makes Jaymie the perfect person to help the local police investigate the killings. As she dredges up old memories and even older rivalries and jealousies, her list of suspects grows. But Jaymie knows she’ll have to whittle it down to just one, and fast, because someone has decided to cut their ties to Jaymie—in the most fatal of ways . . .

You can pre order Leave it to Cleaver on Amazon.com by clicking here.

Visit Author Victoria Hamilton's Website by clicking here.

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Buy A Friend A Book Day Suggestions!

August 31st is fast approaching and I have some cozy suggestions for you of books you can purchase and give to friends! I love this new-ish holiday. I have participated the last three years and I have joined a swap with friends this year on Elfster which lets the friends create a wish list of books. When you have friends like I do who read constantly it is often hard to choose a book for them that they may not have already read so this year Elftster is a God Send!

For those of you who may not be familiar with Buy A Friend A Book Day this is a fun day where you simply buy a book you think a friend would like on August 31st and give or send it to them. This holiday event is meant as a fun way to share a love of books and reading with others. You can purchase on line (with free shipping) from The Book Depository to send to friends far away or you can purchase a book at a small independent book store (Which is also a very good idea!) and then give it to your friends.

If you are stuck on ideas of great cozy mysteries to purchase for friends I have more then a few suggestions here on my blog and you can find reviews and photos of all the books I have read and reviewed in the tabs at the top of my blog!

To get you started here are a few of my favorite suggestions of series I hope you will not only read yourself but perhaps gift a friend:

Duffy Brown's Cycle Path Mystery Series 
Terrie Farley Moran's Read Em' and Eat Mystery Series (with recipes from yours truly in the back!) 
Victoria Hamilton's A Teapot Collector Mystery Series (notes and information about the enjoyment of tea from yours truly can also be found inside!)
Ellery Adam's Book Retreat Series 
Lucy Arlington A Novel Idea Series
Lorna Barrett's A Booktown Mystery Series 
Krista Davis A Domestic Diva Mystery  or her Paws and Claws Mystery Series
Victoria Hamilton's Merry Muffin Mystery Series 
Susan Furlong's Georgia Peach Mystery Series
Miranda Jame's Cat in The Stacks Mystery Series 
Kathi Daley Zoe Donovan Mystery Series, Whales and Tales Mystery Series and Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery Series
Vicki Vass (Anything this lady writes I love!)
Auralee Wallace- Otter Lake Mystery Series 
Kathleen Bridge A Hamptons Home & Garden Mystery 

Paranormal Series Recommendations:

Heather Blake's Wishcraft Series 

Joyce and Jim Lavene (ANY THING THEY HAVE EVER WRITTEN I highly recommend) 

Juliet Blackwell Witchcraft Mystery Series 
Carol J Perry Witch City Mystery Series
Victoria Laurie A Psychic Eye Mystery 

First in series this year that I thought were outstanding:
Laura Bradford's Elcair and Present Danger 
Julia Buckley A Dark and Stormy Murder
Vicki Vass Gem Hunter
Amanda Flower Crime and Poetry
Nikki LeClair Haunting Me
Judy Volt  Asiago and the Accomplice 
Jenny Kales On The Chopping Block 

Poetry, may I recommend the southern styling's of Patricia Neeley-Dorsey 

I hope you enjoyed just some of my favorite books and series suggestions and that you may consider joining me in celebrating Buy A Friend A Book Day this August 31st!
Thank you for joining me here for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery suggestion for buy a friend a book day! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Cup Of Tea With Victoria Hamilton Author of The Merry Muffin Series

Today I am so thrilled to have Victoria Hamilton with us today to share a cup of tea and talk about her Merry Muffin series.

KMOT: When you are writing what sustains you coffee, tea or something else?

VH – "I’d say vodka, but some might not know I’m joking. For me it’s a time of day thing. Coffee in the morning. Tea in the afternoon if it’s a cold day. Tetley, please! And water if it’s hot outside!"

KMOT: How long was the writing process for Much Ado About Muffin?

VH – "I can’t tell you specifically for that book… I don’t really keep track. But my usual process is this: at some point long before I start writing a book, I write a synopsis for my editor to approve. Then, when I’m ready to start writing, I flesh it out, and begin. From that point on it takes, usually, 3 – 4 months. I will revisit twice more after my final draft; when I get a page edit from a copy editor I can change things and add some, though I don’t like to add a whole lot. Then, once it has been formatted, I get a typeset edit. At that point I can only address typos, misspellings, and occasionally mistakes that have been added in during the typeset phase."

KMOT: Where did the inspiration for Hannah the town librarian come from?

VH – "Well, actually, the inspiration was a wheelchair-bound reader on Facebook. The two aren’t really similar in any way except for being wheelchair-bound and loving books. I thought of how reading and libraries are great equalizers, in a way. Books, via public libraries, are there for almost everyone. Hannah is passionate about books, libraries, accessibility and reading. That’s why she tutors folks like Zeke who have a tough time reading because of learning barriers.

 But this touches on something that is really important to me. Life is filled with all kinds of people, able bodied and disabled, all races, religions, gay and straight, easy-going and troubled. If  a writer doesn’t populate their books with all kinds of people, they aren’t reflecting real life. Hannah may be in a wheelchair, but she is just one character in a cast of many, and that’s how I think it should be."

KMOT - I love that muffins and the tea pots are mentioned in this book, what is your favorite type of muffin and do you have a favorite style of tea pot?

VH – "Favorite muffin… what is this ‘favorite’ of which you speak? Hmm. Well, I do love the Fit For The King muffins I made for Muffin But Murder (Book 2 of the Merry Muffin Mysteries). They are banana and peanut butter (a favorite combo of Elvis Presley’s aka the King) with chocolate chips. How can you beat that combination? As for teapots, I do have a favorite among mine that I bought in a shop in a town where I went to a tearoom for lunch. It is a red transferware, and I just love the shape of it.  My aim is to find a couple of different colors of transferware teacups and saucers."

KMOT: Autumn Vale is such a picturesque setting, is Wynter castle based on any particular castle and is Autumn Vale based on any actual town you have been to?

VH – "For some reason, the idea of inheriting a castle just popped into my head, fully formed. But when I went researching New York State castles, I was inspired by Beardslee Castle. It is an awesome venue that they use for weddings and fine dining. It’s so Gothic looking I love it! But as for Autumn Vale, no, it isn’t based on any town in particular. I think it probably owes its existence to an idea in my head of a village in the middle of nowhere that is a kind of caught in a mist, where nothing really seems to happen… and yet it does. There are undercurrents from the beginning, of things that have been going on, and yet they have never bubbled to the surface until Merry takes possession of her inheritance."

 Thank you Victoria, it has been a pleasure having you stop by for tea today. To learn more about Victoria Hamilton's Merry Muffin Series and all of her writing please visit her website by clicking here. 

Much A Do About Muffin is out now and you can order it and the three other Merry Muffin Mystery Series with Free shipping from The Book Depository by clicking here. 

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a visit with author Victoria Hamilton today. As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table and In My Cup July 23-30th

Saturday morning has arrived again bringing another opportunity to share this weeks books. I have been thrilled to have been able to read these books this past week and am in awe of the talented authors who's books have spent time with me this week.  Ellery Adam's Murder in the Secret Garden which is out August 2nd is the third book in the series and just as outstanding as the first.  In my cup this week I tried a new to me tea from www,primulatea,com. This blooming tea was very refreshing and indulgent to drink this tea all by myself.

Leann Sweeney writes a wonderful mystery in The Cat, The Collector and the Killer. I know many of you are fans and you will not be disappointed with this one!

To have had Rhys Bowen's books Malice at the Palace and Crowned and Dangerous this week on my table and now in my heart was such a treat. Books 9 and 10 flow wonderfully together and I was left with a feeling of comfort and excitement in the end.

Victor Cantano's Tail & Trouble was a nice change of pace on my table this week, main characters are both male, one human one dog, very good read!

Victoria Hamilton's Much Ado About Muffin was a fantastic way to start the week and I highly recommend this series. It follows life's ups and downs and is a very easy series to fall in love with.
Such a treat to have you join me today for this weeks a cup of tea and a week in review. I can not wait to share more cozy mystery crafts and reviews with you again soon.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Much A Do About Muffin A Merry Muffin Mystery Review

Saturday night I finished Much Ado About Muffin. I so enjoyed it. This wonderful series is written by author Victoria Hamilton and has quickly become a favorite series of mine. Main character Merry has so many qualities that I admire and it has been such a pleasure to read about her journey of self discovery and the friendships she has made along the way. Merry inherited the Wynter Castle in Autumn Vale New York in book one and in Much Ado About Muffin we the struggle continues as to how she will keep and maintain this amazing gift. The theme of this series is about resiliency, family and the people you choose to surround yourself with. How they help you, how they hurt you and how you learn to grow from each experience. I really enjoy this series because I feel like the struggle is real for the main character Merry and that as she deals with each situation in the series she grows leaps and bounds. From book one to book four she goes through metamorphosis in a away that feels natural and very gritty and real. Along the way as she tries to find herself she also happens to find her self tangled up in mysteries. Unexpected friendships and fantastically developed characters await you in this series and some truly delightful recipes too! Much Ado About Muffin is a great read and is one of my most favorite books so far this summer. I think the cover is also outstanding! So much to see, I feel like each time I look at it I find something else that completely fits the story!

In this fresh mystery from the national bestselling author of "Death of an English Muffin," baker Merry Wynter comes to the aid of an innocent woman accused of murder. When muffin baker Merry Wynter sees an innocent woman accused of murder, it s dough or die... Opera singer Roma Toscano may have a crippling case of stage fright, but she certainly is stirring up drama in Autumn Vale, New York, as she prepares for an upcoming performance at Merry s Wynter Castle. With her flamboyant style and flirtatious personality, Roma attracts fans as well as critics, including the town s postmistress and Merry s bitter foe Minnie Urqhart. But Roma and Minnie s heated rivalry goes cold after Merry discovers Minnie dead at the post office. While every clue seems to be another ingredient in the investigation of Roma, Merry thinks the case is half-baked, and she s eager to get her mitts on the real killer..."

To order your own copy of Much Ado About Muffin please click here (Free shipping from The Book Depository)
To learn more about Victoria Hamilton please click here. 
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table and In My Cup July 16-23rd

Saturday morning and my table is full of wonderful August reads. I am currently reading Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton.

Yesterday my table received some wonderful new releases for August and I quickly dove right in. So hard to know what to choose some favorite series here on the table!

New to my Kindle Thursday was CeeCee James The Sweet Taste of Murder, I am looking forward to reading this one and I love the cover art!

I have been so delighted to have such wonderful books on my table this week that I read. The Traveling Tea Shop by Belinda Jones was absolutely fantastic.

A Skelton in the Family was a surprising and fun read. Leigh Perry has three books in this series and I look forward to reading the other two soon.

Also on my table yet Tail & Trouble by Victor Catano I do love a Witchcraft Mystery!

Ghostly Paws by Leighann Dobbs was another first in series I enjoyed this week. A great story with magical cats and more mystery to come.

I have been in a peach mood this week and made some blackberry peach scones which I paired with a poem by Patricia Neely-Dorsey. Click here for the recipe. This paired nicely with my peach black tea as well.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a week in review. As with all my posts I invite you to comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Much Ado About Muffin, Out This August by Victoria Hamilton!

I am really looking forward to reading Much Ado About Muffin from Victoria Hamilton, the Merry Muffin Mystery series is one I highly recommend. The main character Merry is a very dynamic woman, with a flair for fashion, mystery and muffin making! The book is out this August and it feels like I can not wait to go visit an old friend.

The series has delighted me for the last two years and I have so enjoyed having it on my table.

Each title and story is well thought out and simply delicious!

I love making and eating muffins, though I have heard it said that a cupcake with out icing is a muffin and muffins are healthy........

I was even surprised and thrilled to be sent the Castle house tea! 

I love this series and I ordered them all from The Book Depository (due to the free shipping)
and now I anxiously await the arrival of Much Ado About Muffin and hope you will catch up with the entire series and join me in reading it this summer!
Click here to order your own copy and learn more about this wonderful series.
Keep up and connect with Victoria on her website by clicking here.

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery today! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com