MUSE MONDAY
The holidays are coming at us lightspeed. So, this Muse Monday is fun and will get us in the mood. And in the spirit of giving, Donna has a giveaway, so read on, have fun, and maybe win!
I
decided a historical would be good, because I had just finished a contemporary,
and I like to keep things fresh. That said, what time period? Setting? Plot?
I
love writing in the late 1800s, so I did some research on what was going on in
Colorado, and found an article about apples in Boulder. Sounded good, but not
Christmas-y. More research led me to Christmas Tree farms, and I had my setting
and period—1883.
Since
this was meant to be a fun mystery and not too serious, I named my
heroine—actually, I have two—Holly and Ivy. Christmas. They own a tree farm.
And when their trees are sabotaged, they blame the brothers who live next door
and also have a tree farm.
Turns
out they have history—from grade school—with these boys. Stolen kisses, it
seems. Once I sat to write, their stories came alive for me. And wouldn’t you
know it? Each character has hopes and dreams that collide with their sibling’s
but matches with another character. The set-up for a Happily Ever After.
What
follows is a typical mystery in that the four band together and follow the
clues, ask questions, narrow down the list to a few suspects, and trigger a
meeting of the bad guys by putting pressure on a weak link.
While
they’re doing this, they’re also spending time with each other. Figuring out
they like how the other person has turned out. Wonder why they ever stopped
talking to each other. And—well—love blossoms, as it should, in any good
romantic mystery.
You can purchase the ebook or print book at: https://mybook.to/MerryLittleMysteries
Giveaway: Leave a comment and we will randomly choose one lucky winner to win an ebook copy of “Merry Little Mysteries” anthology. Cleverly disguise your email address so the bots don’t find you. For example: donna AT livebytheword DOT com
A
Sneak Peek:
Holly & Ivy Christmas Tree Farm, Boulder, Colorado
Chapter 1
December 3rd, 1883
Holly Christmas froze in
her tracks. Not because the temperature hovered around ten degrees—although it
did. Not because she’d tromped around her thousand-acre Norway Spruce tree farm
for almost three hours—although she had. And not because the sun only now cast
a blush on the Rocky Mountains as it peeked over the horizon—although it was.
No, Miss Holly emulated a statue because of what
hung from the branches of the prime specimen before her. A tree destined to
decorate the grand ballroom of the governor’s mansion in six days’ time.
Already paid for. Already marked with a red flag for cutting and shipping
tomorrow.
She tore her gaze from that monster of a spruce
and scanned the next in line. This one, a foot shorter than its neighbor’s
fourteen feet, for the mayor of Kansas City. Again, due for cutting next week.
Holly pushed her spectacles higher on her nose.
Didn’t change what she saw.
Her heart pounded in her ears at the sight before
her. And at its ramifications.
Mistletoe.
Dwarf, to be exact, if she knew her botany.
Native to Colorado. Usually found in stands of
spruce and pine that suffered from disease, or overpopulation, or overgrowth.
Never in her tree farm.
Not before today, that is.
About
A Mistletoe Mystery in “Merry Little Mysteries”:
Boulder Colorado 1883: Two sisters living next door to two brothers. When bad stuff starts happening, who is behind it? If not a neighbor, then who? Can the two ranches, competing in the Christmas Tree Market, cooperate enough to save their land? Or are they doomed to lose all?
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This sounds like so much fun! Don't enter me--I got the book on KU and can't wait to get started.
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