PRAISE FOR GRAND OPENINGS CAN BE MURDER:
"With as many unpredictable twists and turns as the hurricane approaching Galveston, Grand Openings Can Be Murder is an intriguing cozy mystery set in a new chocolate shop along the island’s historic Strand. Readers will love learning about the bean-to-bar chocolate-making process while the store’s owner, Felicity, pursues truth, justice, and the perfect chocolate bar."-- Diane Kelly, Award-winning author of the Death & Taxes, Paw Enforcement, House Flipper, and Busted mystery series.
I hope you enjoyed the book trailer. I made it during COVID, which made getting
the shots that are actually from Galveston a challenge, but we did it safely
social distancing.
The weather becomes a large part of this book, and even
while we were in Galveston, the sky got stormy and windy. We were there not long after my parents, who
still live in Southeast Texas, evacuated up to Dallas from Hurricane
Laura. In Grand Openings Can Be
Murder, there’s a hurricane coming in as the story events progress. While my parents were here, watching the
storm radar and checking what their electricity provider had to say about power
in their neighborhood, I realized that while the technology may have changed,
that impending sense of worry hasn’t.
And I feel even more certain I captured it well in my book.
When I was a kid, I remember using paper hurricane tracking
maps, with red and white grids for drawing in dots. Anybody else remember those? And I remember tough decisions on whether or
not to evacuate, because once you get on the highway on an evacuation route,
you are committed – even if the storm changes course while you are
traveling. I remember one time being
stuck for six hours in my brother’s Toyota Celica with him – and his German
Shepherd – only to find out that the storm had turned towards Louisiana, where
we were headed.
That sense of waiting can just about drive you crazy. One year, my husband and I had planned a trip
to Galveston for our anniversary and had stopped off at my parent’s house on
our way there. They were planning to go
across with us and stay on the island for a couple of days. Only, the week of the trip, a storm showed up
in the Gulf, and we spent the whole time at their house, because the storm was
threatening to make landfall while we were scheduled to be there. My husband had never toured the Tall Ship
Elissa, and we had plans to go during our trip.
Only, by the next time we were able to visit Galveston, the Elissa had
been closed off for repairs. Damage
sustained during Hurricane Ike had sent a power surge through the ship,
accelerating a process called electrolysis, which ate away at the hull of the
ship, which rusted out without anyone noticing until the ship was inspected
much later.
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2/9/21 |
Excerpt |
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2/9/21 |
BONUS Guest Post |
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2/9/21 |
BONUS Promo |
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2/10/21 |
Top Ten |
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2/11/21 |
Review |
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2/12/21 |
Playlist |
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2/13/21 |
Review |
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2/14/21 |
Author Interview |
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2/15/21 |
Review |
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2/16/21 |
Scrapbook Page |
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2/17/21 |
Review |
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2/18/21 |
Review |
Thank you for featuring me! It was fun to get to share pictures of Galveston's tall ship!
ReplyDeleteThis book & tour is going to be so much fun! Happy you shared it with us.
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