Undead by Morning by Joyce and Jim Lavene

I am continuing to wait somewhat impatiently for the mail man and have been dying to get my hands on some long awaited cozy mysteries I ordered to arrive and found myself with nothing to read yesterday. My wonderful Facebook  Friend Joyce came to the rescue with her short story Undead by Morning.
I knew nothing about this new series of theirs and went into it not knowing the premiss or even an idea of what I was going to be getting myself into.

 

Look inside and read the first chapter by clicking here

What I got was a surprisingly good mystery to wet my appetite for the first novel of the Taxi for the Dead series which is available for  order now on amazon you can view it by clicking here.
I do like a paranormal mystery from time to time and I prefer witches normally, but zombies are new for me and I actually felt like I need to know what happens next!
To order the short story Undead by Morning Click Here
Thank you to Joyce for sending me this short story to read and opening my mind to accepting that Zombies may actually have a great place amongst the paranormal cozies I currently read.
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

I Am Already Missing Lotus Bay. With Baited Breath by Lorraine Bartlett

Okay it is Saturday afternoon and my weekend plans were to read and do little else this weekend. Yesterday I was again disappointed by the lack of mail and fear I am loosing faith in my postal system. I have had several books and packages now go missing and as I faced the weekend again with nothing to read I finally broke down and bought With Baited Breath for my Kindle App. Truth be told I made my husband do it, I have not got the faintest idea how. I really prefer the paper books that sit like trophies on my shelf then reading the electronic versions. I know I need to get over it but it is taking me some time. I guess I am a bit set in my ways. Lorraine Bartlett is one of my most favorite authors. Her other books (often under her other pen names) are some of my most favorite cozies. The Lotus Bay Mystery series I can happily say is one of her best yet. Lorraine knows how to write strong and wonderful female characters and this book is no exception.

I truly found I could not put the book down and as I had expected it would take the entire weekend to read I am again going to have to go back to stalking the mail man.  Picturing the area of Lotus Bay and the surrounding area made this book so intriguing. I was so busy "getting to know everyone and wandering around town" in my head I forgot temporarily that there was a mystery to solve! I honestly was taken a back by the stories turns and plot twists and held my breath in a couple of places.

I can not wait to read the next in this series and I may still order the paper back for bragging rights! My only regret from this book is that there was no egg salad sandwich recipe at the end! I truly am having a craving for one now and you will have to read this wonderful book to find out why!
To order With Baited Breath for your Kindle please click here.
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

By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates Was Worth Waiting For!

 

 I pre ordered Eva Gate's new first in series By Book Or By Crook based on the cover art alone. I stalked our mail man for more then a week waiting for it to arrive, it was so worth it. I am I will admit a sucker for a book cover with a light house and a cat.  I was so very thrilled with this first in series and felt like I could not put it down.

The main character Lucy impressed me right away, I loved that she was perfect and flawed at the same time. Confident and yet vulnerable and  this "who done it mystery" did keep me guessing until the end. The idea of a library housed in a light house with an apartment at the top was delightful to picture and imagine visiting.

There are so many characters in this book. From the Mayors office to the bakery back to the library it's self, colorful and intriguing so many characters to enjoy.  I hope their introduction in this first in series means that there are more juicy small town gossip and mishaps on the way. Eva Gate's Second book in the series Booked For Trouble is due out in September and I am definitely going to order it! Check out By Book or By Crook by clicking here. 
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

A Cozy Tea Candle Craft by Karen Mom of Three

Today I thought I would show you how to make A Cozy Tea Candle Craft for your own Cozy Corner.
Using a recycled jar candle and some lace I purchased at Walmart I created something I think is cozy and romantic!
To make your own you will need:
-A Jar or vase
-Ribbon Lace
-Something Sparkly such as  broach or a piece of costume jewelery (gem stickers would also work.)
-Scissors
-Glue Gun with Glue
-A tea light candle 

Step 1- Assemble all your supplies and plug in your glue gun.
Step 2- Unwrap lace from your spool and wrap it around the jar where you would like it to sit. Make sure to over lap it by 1/2 inch.  Use your scissors to cut the lace.

Step 3- Add a dab of glue where you want the ribbon to sit. Press one end of your lace into place.
Step 4- Fold the other end of your lace and then add another dab of glue on top of the lace on the vase. Press into place.

Step 5- Turn the vase/candle holder around and find the center. Add another dab of glue and press your embellishment into place, if you are using a broach you can just pin it into place. Allow it to dry and then pop in a tea light candle.

Well I am off to read! I hope you enjoyed this tea craft and I hope to see you back here again soon for A Cup of Tea and A Cozy Mystery.
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

Yay For Cats, Tea And Kindle Apps! The Mad Catter By Kathi Daley

I spent last week stalking the mail man with no avail, if you are at all stuck with out mail delivery for a week like I was may I recommend down loading a great book on your Kindle App? Kathi Daley came to my rescue with the second installment of the A Whales and Tales Mystery this weekend with the release of her latest publication The Mad Catter.

After waiting on the mail man all week and not even getting a flyer I was starting to loose my mind. If I had to read the cereal box one more time I was going to loose it! Thankfully my husband downloaded Kathi's book onto my Ipad and I gabbed my grandmother blanket a mug of tea and sat on the couch to read. My almost 17 year old cat "baby kitty" joined me in my lap as I read.

This latest installment of The Wales and Tails Mysteries was fantastic. The story was well written, engaging and moves along very quickly. I like books with on going story lines, endearing characters, fantastic friends, a pair of witches and perfect pet companions. Kathi has created a wonderful cozy town set very close to where I live now so picturing everything from the weather to the store fronts came really easy to me. I highly recommend Kathi's series and can not wait for next month and the next adventure with main character Cait and her furry friends.
To order The Mad Catter by Kathi Daley please click here.
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

A Taste Fur Murder By Dixie Lyle. Reading A Book Based On It's Cover!

I am in between orders from The Book Depository. So as I have been desperate to have a real paper book in my hand I went to my local library and spun the racks. Choosing books by their cover is a habit and a great tool of mine when finding new books to read.

To make this work I only choose books based on their cover art, I do not read the backs until I get home and I read the first one I was drawn too. I chose A Taste Fur Murder because of the color and that the cat looked a lot like my own Cat Squirrel.

I knew as soon as I read the dedication in this book I was in for a treat. The first chapter had me in stitches! Seriously laughing out loud!

I actually asked my friend Lisa Kelley to do some back ground checking on this author. As I had not heard of Dixie Lyle!  I was as surprised with what she found as I was with how much I loved this book! The Author, (with out giving too much away) currently resides in the same area I do!

This story is based on the East Coast of the USA and yet it has ties to right near where I grew up. I found that the story line (which was fantastic by the way ) was a plausible as it could be having the main character able to communicate with animal spirits and I really could get into the character, story and theme. I did not think the "paranormal" abilities that the main character aptly named Foxtrot were all that far fetched. Making the story more personal to me was the ties to the First Nations (Canada's First People) legends I grew up with.

This was the right book at the right time for me, I am thrilled that my own method of finding a great book did not let me down!

 To order A Taste Fur Murder, click here for the link to The Book Depository's Listing 

 and I am also thrilled to say that the second book To Die Fur can be viewed and ordered by clicking here 

 

and Pre Orders for Marked Fur Murder due out in March, can be viewed by clicking here

For those of you on my Facebook Fan Page I did promise to share my recipe for the Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake I made and enjoyed while reading this story. So hear is my recipe!
Karen's Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees
3 cups of white flour
1 3/4 cups of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking power
2 coarsely chopped granny smith apples
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon
In a large mixing bowl place all your dry ingredients and then mix them together. Coarsely chop your apples sprinkle them with the cinnamon and mix them together, then pour them into your dry mix.
In a bowl place your milk, vanilla, egg and oil and beat them together, add them to the dry mixture and mix thoroughly. The mixture will be thick and should be fairly elastic like. Grease two loaf pans and spoon in equal amounts of your dough. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool in loaf pans 5 mins before losing and inverting your pan. Cool and sever plain or with butter.
Enjoy!
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

Our Facebook February Tea and Book Mark Give Away Is Now Up!

This month on our Facebook Fan Page Canadian Tea Company Mode & Honey  has donated a 15 grm bag of their Organic Kyoto Cherry Rose Tea to our monthly tea and book mark give away!

Amazing Author and New Tea Lover Ellery Adams has donated a beautiful engrave metal book mark from Mauve Magpie
To enter to win this months prize please visit Mode & Honey's Facebook Page  my Facebook Fan Page by clicking here then leave a comment. Winner will be selected Feb 22nd at random from number of entries received. Open to our North American Readers at this time only. Candle, tea pot, tea cup and saucer, calender and tea timer not included in this give away.
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com