(This is a copy of my newsletter from March 1, 2023.  If you want to subscribe and get a free cozy mystery novelette, click here!)

imageHi! Who else is >exceedingly< glad March is here? I know, I know, it’s still technically winter (in the northern hemisphere anyway), but the trees are budding out here in Dallas, and the daffodils just opened. The garden catalogs have arrived. And it’ll be time to shop for seed packets soon, too.

What are you looking forward to this spring? For me, it’s definitely getting out into the backyard with my family and planting cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, and my absolute favorite, sunflowers!

I’m also looking forward to the bluebonnets. For Amy Morrison, the small town librarian aboard a British ocean liner in my cozy mystery Venus Rising , there’s nothing more “Texas” than iced tea and a field of bluebonnets. I’ll admit I’m partial to both too 🙂

Another spring project I’m looking forward to is growing my ARC team. If you’re interested, please reply to this message and let me know!

Here are more cozy mysteries to check out:

Free March 1st and 2nd: Murder Takes the Train: Belle Sisters Cozy Mysteries by Katherine H. Brown

image The quaint, mountain town of Riverbend Junction has only one train in and one train out for transportation. The town hasn’t been home for Zadie Belle and Darla Belle, two of the three Belle sisters, since they moved away several years ago, but when they return this year for Christmas a theft and a murder derails the train and all of their plans for getting back to their regular lives. Especially when Darla Belle disappears and is accused of the crimes. Stuck in the small town in more ways than one, the sisters must put their heads together to figure out the murderer or else find themselves railroaded into a murder charge themselves.

 

The second book in the Belle Sisters Cozy Mysteries series, Murder Takes a Swim , is available for pre-order!

imageZadie Belle Sanders has barely recovered from her last discovery of a body when she grabs hold of another one, literally. With the death of the only law enforcement officer in Riverbend Junction, it is up to Zadie Belle and May Belle to fetch help from down the mountain. With the main suspect on the loose, one sister swooning over the new deputy in town, and the other sister keeping secrets, Zadie Belle finds herself searching for both a murderer and patience. She isn’t sure which will be harder to find. Join Zadie Belle, Darla Belle, and May Belle, affectionately known in town as the Belle sisters, as they track down clues in their snowy mountain town with the help of Doctor Radley Carver, former high school nemesis, and Deputy Hofferman, the new law in town.

 

The Flower Arraignment by Ashleigh Quinn

imageA florist, a fire, and a socialite’s murder. . .

Emma Collins, the owner of the local flower shop, is a green thumb extraordinaire with a bit of a perfectionist quirk and an insatiable desire to solve mysteries. Once she sets her mind to something, she doesn’t stop until she figures it out.

When Emma reads about a seemingly innocent house fire in the local newspaper, she immediately suspects that there is more to the story. With the help of her best friend, she uncovers some clues and finds a body. Was the fire really an accident?

With the green light from the local sheriff’s office, she sets out on her own investigation. Turns out their quiet little town has more going on than she could have guessed. Can she and her best friend solve the murder before more bodies hit the ground?

 

72 Hours in Savannah by Jeff Stanger

imageJonathan Quick is in Savannah, just trying to find love and Twinkies. But the police have a different agenda. A body found at the local ballpark has a trophy sticking out of it. Not only is Quick the expert in identifying baseball relics, but he’s also connected to the suspected killer. The police think revenge is the motive. Quick is sure it’s greed. And now he has 72 hours to find the killer and the most valuable artifact in baseball history. It’s a treasure hunt like no other in the land where pirates routinely buried gold and people who got too close to the truth.