An Idyllic Chocolate Shop. An island with endangered species. And a murder.
Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is bringing in plenty of customers – in part due to the notoriety of the recent murder of one of her assistants, which she managed to solve. Things seem to be taking a turn for the better. Her new assistant, Mateo, even gets along with Carmen, the shop’s barista turned pastry chef. Felicity thinks she’s learning to cope with change – right up until one of her friends gets engaged. Everyone’s expecting her to ask Logan, her former bodyguard, to be her plus one. But even the thought of asking out someone else still makes her feel disloyal to her late husband’s memory -- so maybe she hasn’t moved on from her husband’s death as much as she thought. Felicity isn’t planning to contact Logan any time soon. Only, Felicity finds ANOTHER body right outside her shop – making it two murders at Greetings and Felicitations in as many months. That night, Mateo disappears, leaving Felicity to take care of his pet octopus. The police believe that Mateo committed the murder, but Felicity is convinced that, despite the mounting evidence, something more is going on, and Mateo may actually be in trouble. When Logan assumes that he’s going to help Felicity investigate, she realizes she’s going to have to spend time with him – whether she’s ready to really talk to him or not. Can Felicity find out what happened to Mateo, unmask a killer, and throw an engagement party all at the same time?
PRAISE FOR 70% DARK INTENTIONS:
“Royer has concocted a sweetly dark confection with 70% DARK INTENSIONS, the second serving in her Bean to Bar Mysteries series...You’ll read this yummy treat late into the night.” –Amy Shojai, author of September Day & Shadow pet-centric thrillers
Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com. She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.
Felicity Koerber has had a rough year. She's moving back to Galveston Island and opening a bean to bar chocolate factory, fulfilling a dream she and her late husband, Kevin, had shared. Craft chocolate means a chance to travel the world, meeting with farmers and bringing back beans she can turn into little blocks of happiness, right close to home and family. She thinks trouble has walked into her carefully re-built world when puddle-jump pilot Logan Hanlon shows up at her grand opening to order custom chocolates. Then one of her employees drops dead at the party, and Felicity's one-who-got-away ex-boyfriend - who's now a cop - thinks Felicity is a suspect.
As the murder victim's life becomes more and more of a mystery, Felicity realizes that if she's going to clear her name in time to save her business, she might need Logan's help. Though she's not sure if she's ready to let anyone into her life - even if it is to protect her from being the killer's next victim. For Felicity, Galveston is all about history, and a love-hate relationship with the ocean, which keeps threatening to deliver another hurricane - right into the middle of her investigation. Can she figure it out before all the clues get washed away? FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!
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.
But don’t worry –
Jake eventually got to tour the Elissa – and even go down belowdecks.It was right after the ship reopened – you
can still see repair materials in the cabin picture.Because repair and renewal are just a part of
living on the coast.
Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com. She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.