Tag Archives: Nancy Robards Thompson

Slay Bells Ring 7-Layer Cookies Recipe from Tess Harrison’s Briar Patch Bakery!

Delicious recipes straight from the kitchens of your favorite Tule authors.

Tess Harrison is a secondary character in my Wedding Bell Mysteries cozy mystery series. She owns the Briar Patch Bakery, which is across the street from (main character) Maddie Bell’s Blissful Beginnings Bridal Boutique. Every morning before Maddie opens the shop, she goes to the Briar Patch Bakery and writes two pages in her Aubrey Christiansen cozy mystery series and then has a cup of coffee with Hemlock, North Carolina’s hunky police chief Jackson Bradley. Maddie claims the chief is helping her with police procedures for her books, but people are starting to suspect that Tess’s Famous Seven Layer Cookies aren’t the only sweet the chief craves.

In real life, my grandma made Seven Layer Cookies every Christmas. I would always look forward to that wax-paper-lined holiday tin that was filled to the brim with these delicious treats. Now, I carry on this tradition and make them for my family during the holidays.

Enjoy!

– Nancy Robards Thompson

 

The Briar Patch’s Famous Seven-Layer Cookies

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 

1/2 cup butter melted 

1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk  (NOT evaporated milk)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1 cup butterscotch-flavored chips 

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut 

1 cup chopped nuts or for a festive look add holiday-colored sprinkles.

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F for glass baking pan). In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press the crumb mixture firmly in the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking pan. 

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the crumb/crust mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with a fork. 

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Cowboys as Part of our #Tule10 Anniversary!

Tule Publishing has hit a milestone 10 years and we’re celebrating all month long with showcasing some of our first 10’s! Learn more about our first 10 authors, meet our first 10 cowboys and cowgirls, watch our first 10 films, and maybe find yourself wrapped up dreaming of the holidays with our first 10 Christmas stories!

We are so thankful for each of you for continuing to put your faith in us to continue bringing you amazing reads. You are a crucial part to our success and we couldn’t have made it to our 10th anniversary without you! We hope you stick around all month for more celebratory blogs and are looking forward to another 10 years – cheers!

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Thanks for stopping by to check out the first 10 Cowboys of Tule Publishing! Here’s to a great year of #Tule10!

Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Cowboys:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Mystery Authors as Part of our #Tule10 Anniversary!

Tule Publishing has hit a milestone 10 years and we’re celebrating all month long with showcasing some of our first 10’s! Learn more about our first 10 authors, meet our first 10 cowboys, and maybe find yourself wrapped up dreaming of the holidays with our first 10 Christmas stories!

We are so thankful for each of you for continuing to put your faith in us to continue bringing you amazing reads. You are a crucial part to our success and we couldn’t have made it to our 10th anniversary without you! We hope you stick around all month for more celebratory blogs and are looking forward to another 10 years – cheers!

Meet Tule Publishing’s First 10 Mystery Authors

Meet CJ Carmichael

CJ Carmichael headshot

USA Today Bestselling author C. J. Carmichael has written over 45 novels in her favorite genres of romance and mystery. She has been nominated twice for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, as well as RT Bookclub’s Career Achievement in Romantic Suspense award, and the Bookseller’s Best honor.

She gave up the thrills of income tax forms and double entry book-keeping in 1998 when she sold her first book to Harlequin Superromance. Since then she has published over 35 novels with Harlequin and is currently working on a series of western romances with Tule Publishing. In addition C. J. Carmichael has published several cozy mystery series as an Indie author.

When not writing C. J. enjoys family time with her grown daughters and her husband. Family dinners are great. Even better are the times they spend hiking in the Rocky Mountains around their home in Calgary, and relaxing at their cottage on Flathead Lake, Montana. Visit C.J.’s website at http://CJCarmichael.com

Meet Jane Graves

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jane Graves has written twenty-two contemporary romance novels. She has received Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award, the romance industry’s highest honor, and is the recipient of two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Booksellers’ Best Award, and the Golden Quill, among others. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Jane lives in the Dallas area with her husband, a highly organized engineer who keeps their lives in order because one of them has to. Her hobbies include daydreaming, avoiding exercise, and drinking cheap wine.

 

 

Meet Leslie Marshman

Award-winning suspense author Leslie Marshman is (finally) putting her psychology degree to good use, getting inside the heads of her characters and figuring out what makes them tick. She writes novels that feature kick-ass heroines, the heroes who love them, and the bad guys who fear them.

Leslie called Denver home until she married a Texan without reading the fine print. Now she lives halfway between Houston and Galveston and has learned to embrace the humidity. Her household includes two miniature poodles named Harley and Davidson, and a three-legged box turtle named Stumpy.

If she’s not at her computer making things up, you’ll probably find her camping at a lake, a fishing pole in one hand and a book in the other.

Meet Nancy Robards Thompson

Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold 30 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing romance and women’s fiction full-time.

 

 

 

Meet Candace Havens

Bestselling and award-winning author Candace Havens has had more than thirty novels published. She is one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. She does film reviews on Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS.

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Katherine Cowley

Katherine Cowley’s debut novel, The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her Mary Bennet spy series continues with the novels The True Confessions of a London Spy and The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception.

Katherine loves history, chocolate, traveling, and playing the piano, and she has taught writing classes at Western Michigan University. She lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her husband and three daughters.

 

 

 

 

 

Meet H L Marsay

H L Marsay always loved detective stories and promised herself that one day, she would write one too. She is lucky enough to live in York, a city full of history and mystery. When not writing, the five men in her life keep her busy – two sons, two dogs and one husband.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Winter Austin

Winter Austin perpetually answers the question: “were you born in the winter?” with a flat “nope,” but believe her, there is a story behind her name.

A lifelong Mid-West gal with strong ties to the agriculture world, Winter grew up listening to the captivating stories told by relatives around a table or a campfire. As a published author, she learned her glass half-empty personality makes for a perfect suspense/thriller writer. Taking her ability to verbally spin a vivid and detailed story, Winter translated that into writing deadly romantic suspense, mysteries, and thrillers.

When she’s not slaving away at the computer, you can find Winter supporting her daughter in cattle shows, seeing her three sons off into the wide-wide world, loving on her fur babies, prodding her teacher husband, and nagging at her flock of hens to stay in the coop or the dogs will get them. She is the author of multiple novels.

Meet Melinda Di Lorenzo

Melinda is an Amazon bestselling author, whose additional work includes titles for The Wild Rose Press, Amazon Encore, and Harlequin. She writes in a range of romance genres, from heart pounding heat, to nail biting suspense, to gutsy adventure.

Melinda lives on the beautiful coast of British Columbia, Canada, with her amazing and quirky daughters and her handsome hero of a husband. When she’s not writing, she can be found curled up with (someone else’s) good book, on the running trail, or at the soccer pitch.

 

 

 

Meet Kaz Delaney

Headshot of Kaz Delaney

Award winning YA & children’s author, Kaz Delaney, and her alter ego, have currently sold 73 titles between them over a 26 year career.

Her books have won many awards, among them the prestigious Aurealis Award for best paranormal and ARRA (Australian Romance Readers Association) awards. Her novel ‘Dead, Actually’ (Allen & Unwin) was nominated for a Davitt Award, (Best crime novel, Sisters In Crime) in the YA section.   Dividing her time between teaching and writing, Kaz formerly tutored Creative Writing for CSU’s Enrichment Program as well as teaching and creating courses for the Australian College of Journalism.

Having always had a love of cozy mysteries, Kaz is having so much fun writing her Hart of Texas Mystery Series for Tule Publishing, that she worries it’s not legal!

With their family grown and gone, Kaz lives with her wonderful husband at beautiful Lake Macquarie, Australia, a place she describes as a strip of land between the ocean and lake.  Like Rosie, Kaz loves to bake and grow vegetables and unlike Rosie, manages to make a mess of every crochet task she undertakes.

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Thanks for stopping by to meet the first 10 mystery authors of Tule Publishing! Here’s to a great year of #Tule10!

Tule Author Q&A: Nancy Robards Thompson’s daughter helped her brainstorm!

Nancy Robards Thompson stopped by the Tule blog to discuss the third book in the Wedding Bell Mysteries series, Ending on a Die Note!

 

Where did you get the inspiration for Ending on a Die Note?

Hi! Thanks so much for having me on the Tule blog to celebrate the release of ENDING ON A DIE NOTE. It’s the third book in the Wedding Bell Mysteries. My daughter helped me brainstorm this book. We were having lunch at Panera one day (pre-Covid) and I was telling her about my bare-bone ideas and before I knew it, she’d helped me flesh out the story. It was such fun!

 

How do you feel Maddie and Jenna have grown and changed throughout the Wedding Bell Mysteries series? 

Well, they’ve certainly become more adept at solving murders. LOL! They’ve both experienced a lot of personal growth over the three books…especially in the romance arena. To avoid spoilers, I can’t be too specific, but let’s just say the mystery about Maddie’s husband, the navy pilot who has been missing in action since the start of the series, is finally solved in this book. That, in itself, allows for a lot of growth in both characters.  

 

If you could spend the day with Maddie or Jenna, who would you choose and what would you do? 

I love both of them, but I’d love to talk cozy mysteries and motherhood with Maddie.

 

Books on Brown Wooden ShelfWhere and when do you get most of your writing done?

I have a cozy office with lots of bookcases and a great big antique desk that my father and step-mother gave me. My office is my sanctuary. I work Monday – Thursday and usually get settled in around 10 a.m. and work until around 5 or 6 p.m. I always have a strict schedule and page quota mapped out so that I know I’m on track to meet my deadlines. 

 

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER by Linda Holmes. It’s a funny and poignant story about a woman who is starting over after her life falls apart. 

 

About the Author

Award-winning author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold 30 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing romance and women’s fiction full-time.

Tule Publishing October 2021 Releases

Read more about our new releases for October!

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the October releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month.

 

The Witch’s Reckoning by Leigh Ann Edwards (Muse)

Release Date: October 4, 2021

The Witches of Time, Book 4

They’ve prevailed against the greatest of odds, but will the ultimate battle lead to their reckoning?

The beautiful Irish witch Alainn O’Brien and her husband Killian, a handsome warrior chieftain, have been in love most of their lives. While danger has followed the gifted witch and her sovereign guardian ruthlessly and relentlessly, their love and commitment have always saved them. But now, finally returned to their castle, they and the other witches and guardians must face what may be their greatest challenge yet—the long-predicted battle between light and dark magic.

With death in the air, secrets revealed, others concealed and a spell of discontent placed upon the chiefdom, threatening even the strongest relationships, Alainn and Killian’s troubles grow exponentially. When they receive an ominous invitation to meet with the infamous Dark Lord Odhran, they must decide if it’s worth the risk.

To defeat Odhran, they’ll need to band together and combine their powers, crossing the realms of time and pushing the boundaries of magic. Who’ll live to see the battle and who’ll live through it?


Christmas Ever After by Clare Connelly (American Heart)

Release Date: October 6, 2021

Cape Hope, Book 2

He once chose her happiness over his. Can this Christmas be their second chance?

Cassidy Hanna never felt like she belonged in Cape Hope, so she fled town and heartbreak ten years ago for a new life in Manhattan and everything she ever dreamed of—a great job and the perfect boyfriend. Only she’s never felt emptier and more alone. When her beloved grandfather falls ill, she knows she must push aside the past and return home to help.

Letting Cassidy go without a fight was the hardest thing Cape Hope doctor Phoenix Walker had ever done. Even as his own life fell apart, he lied and encouraged her to fly far from home to live out her dreams. Now Cassidy’s back—just for Christmas—and Phoenix wonders if they can have a second chance at a happy ever after…even if it’s just for the holiday.


Ending on a Die Note by Nancy Robards Thompson (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: October 7, 2021

The Wedding Bell Mysteries, Book 3

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely killers…

Everybody’s talking about Hemlock’s annual fall festival’s headliner band, ShakesPierre. Everyone but Tess Harrison, whose breakup with Pierre, the lead singer, left them both singing the blues years ago. And now that Pierre is back, he’s publicly putting his feelings for Tess in the spotlight.

So when Pierre ends up stabbed in the alley outside Tess’s bakery, she’s the number one suspect—especially since she’s famously known for her quality kitchen knives. But the evidence strikes a false note with Maddie and Jenna Bell, who are determined to clear their friend’s name and make sure the real murderer plays…uh, pays for his crime.

The clues lead them out of Hemlock and into danger far outside of Sheriff Jackson Bradley’s jurisdiction. Can Maddie save everyone before the real killer strikes back and Tess goes down for a crime she didn’t commit?


The Christmas Fix Up by Barbara Ankrum (American Heart)

Release Date: October 11, 2021

The Guardian Angel Chronicles, Book 2

Heaven made a mistake. Can one clumsy, rebellious angel right a wrong by Christmas Eve without losing her heart?

Angel Elspeth Aloysious is hidden in celestial clerical work to avoid painful memories when her mentor sends her on her first earthly mingle. Her task—open the closed heart of the handsome and busy Sam Wynter so his daughter can have a new mother before she drifts too far from her destiny. Elle has one week and one rule—don’t fall for Sam.

Sam Wynter has no intention of remarrying. Instead, he’s focused on raising his daughter Molly and building his career. But when he meets a captivating and beautiful stranger in town for the holidays, he rediscovers joy and a sense of fun with Elle through donating his time and skills to those in need. Both Sam and Molly quickly bond with the sparkling Elle, and Sam starts to dream of a different future.

The clock is ticking down on Elle’s time on Earth. Can these two mismatched soulmates, who are worlds apart, find their happy ever after?


Love and Latkes by Stacey Agdern (American Heart)

Release Date: October 12, 2021

Friendships and Festivals, Book 3

You can’t make a latke without breaking a few eggs…  

Batya Averman is ecstatic when a latke fry-off committee chooses her as its web designer—until she learns the event is in Rivertown, New York, the hometown she fled years ago. But she’s no longer the girl with an embarrassing history and an unrequited crush on Abe Neumann. This delicious competition is Batya’s chance to further her career, and this time she won’t run.

Abe Neumann can’t pass up the opportunity to enter the town’s latke contest. He dreams of throwing caution to the wind and leaving his accounting firm, opening a Jewish deli, and choosing his own happiness. The prize money would bring him closer to making his dream a reality, but when Batya comes back to town, Abe remembers that a deli isn’t the only thing he’s wished for.

When the fry-off’s celebrity host has to pull out of the competition, Batya is determined to step up to the challenge. This Hanukkah, can Abe fix the past and convince Batya that dreams, like latkes, are better when they’re shared?


A Ghostly Shadow by H L Marsay (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: October 14, 2021

Chief Inspector Shadow Mystery, Book 3

Sometimes the past comes back to haunt you…

This Halloween, the notorious rivalry between York’s iconic ghost walk tour guides spirals out of control when the body of one guide dressed as the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin is found hanging from a tree. A few days later, his partner, who plays Guy Fawkes, is killed by an explosion of gunpowder at their office.

Detective Chief Inspector John Shadow is a man of contradictions. A solitary figure who notices the smallest details about other people, but endeavours to avoid their company. A lover of good food, but whose fridge is almost always empty. Although he would prefer to work alone, he is assisted by his eager and easygoing partner Sergeant Jimmy Chang. Despite a sprained ankle, a stray cat and an impromptu trip to Oxford, the two men investigate the shocking murders that have York on edge. Are the murders the work of a madman or a business feud?

And then the killer strikes again.


Lighting Up Christmas by Sinclair Jayne (American Heart)

Release Date: October 18, 2021

It’s her first Christmas alone…

Spending her first holiday without her large, loud family allows electrician Riley Flanagan more time to find commercial clients for Flanagan & Sons, the third-generation family business she’s taking over. But when the town council nixes her Christmas-themed light garden, she approaches new-to-town entrepreneur and vintner Zhang Shi, hoping to land him and his not yet open winery as a client. He’s not interested, but Riley never gives up that easily.

It’s his first Christmas celebration…

Zhang Shi bought a mountainside property and planted a vineyard to escape his corporate life in the Bay Area and reconnect with his nature-loving grandfather. Fiercely independent and private, Zhang reluctantly calls Riley to rig an emergency electrical fix shortly before he entertains some colleagues. Zhang’s determined to avoid the town’s Christmas celebrations, but Riley is hard to refuse and impossible to ignore. And as she pulls him closer into the tight-knit community, he’s no longer sure he wants to.


A Texas Christmas Miracle by Justine Davis (Texas Born)

Release Date: October 19, 2021

The Raffertys of Last Stand, Book 2

Two people who don’t believe in Christmas or miracles…

Retired from special forces and back on his family’s Texas ranch, Chance Rafferty’s finally found some peace through creating a foundation to rescue and retrain military K-9s thought to be beyond redemption. He prefers to be left alone with his dogs and his work, but when a woman arrives shortly before Christmas looking for the dog that saved her husband’s life, Chance is astonished at the dog’s—and his own—response to her.

Though it’s been years, Ariel Larson still dreads the Christmas season because it marks the anniversary of her deployed husband’s death. When she learns her husband’s K-9 partner survived combat, Ariel feels she’s been given a lifeline to escape her grief. She suddenly has a sense of purpose she’s been desperately missing. But she never expected the man determined to rehabilitate the traumatized animal would have such a stunning impact on her own life.

Can these two wounded hearts come together to create their own Christmas miracle?


Jingle Jammies by Robyn Neeley (American Heart)

Release Date: October 20, 2021

She’ll find her true love in a snowfall…

Or so Charlie Dobbs’s late mother always predicted. But surely that prophecy didn’t apply to towing a famous pajama designer out of a ditch. Besides, Charlie has no time for love—the season always has its share of wrecks, her schedule is packed with Elfcapade festivities, and she’s ditching her mechanic overalls and moving to New York City right after Christmas.

Spencer Carmichael would rather be in the Bahamas, but his famous holiday pajamas have failed for the second year in a row. He’ll need a fresh attitude to overcome this creative block, but the only thing he’s finding in his hometown is a fascination with the woman who saved him from a snowbank. In order to spend more time with Charlie, he offers to take on her never-ending to-do list in exchange for her designing his pajamas.

But partnerships that last beyond Christmas Day require trust. Can Charlie and Spencer put aside the fabric and bows and December trimmings long enough to discover what they really need this Christmas?


Christmas in Full Bloom by Denise N. Wheatley (American Heart)

Release Date: October 21, 2021

This Christmas, can they slow down long enough to smell the roses and fall in love?

When savvy, up-and-coming floral designer Lauren Beal returns home to Maple Valley, Michigan, for her sister’s holiday wedding, she’s determined to be the perfect maid of honor. She didn’t expect the best man to be the college crush she’d reluctantly left behind to pursue her Chicago-based dreams.

Family practice doctor Mel Jennings always knew he’d remain rooted in Maple Valley to work for his father’s clinic. He happily juggles his demanding practice with philanthropic endeavors that connect him to his tight-knit community. Sparks fly when he reunites with Lauren, the one who ran away. As they enjoy Maple Valley’s Christmas festivities, Mel remembers how close they once were. But can they ever have a future?

Lauren finds herself falling for Mel and suspects the feelings are mutual. Yet they’re both pulled in different directions by work and family. Will the pair find a moment alone during the hectic holiday season to figure things out, or will they miss their chance at love once again?


On Christmas Tree Cove by Sarah Vance-Tompkins (American Heart)

Release Date: October 27, 2021

The Adair Family, Book 1

This Christmas calls for a special touch of magic…

December was always a special time for seaplane pilot Morgan Adair, but after losing her parents six years ago, the holiday is a quiet affair. When her siblings announce plans to sell the family home, Morgan longs to experience her favorite, now-forgotten tradition one more time: a lighted tree that, for over a hundred years, has appeared floating on a boat in the harbor every Christmas Eve.

The Taylors were always rivals to the Adairs in the once-thriving fishing village of Christmas Tree Cove, but Jesse Taylor was much more. He wanted to be understanding when Morgan set aside their plans to escape to Chicago in order to hold her family together, but his future as a successful freelance photographer soared on without her.

As Morgan dives deeper into the history of the mysterious holiday appearance, she discovers that true love has always been at the heart of the annual tradition. Can the wonder of Christmas and a few surprises along the way rekindle that love for Morgan and Jesse too?


A Casterglass Christmas by Kate Hewitt (Holiday)

Release Date: October 28, 2021

Keeping Up with the Penryns, Book 1

To save Casterglass, all the Penryn children will need to return home, rebuild their lives among the ruins, and find love that has proved elusive…

The Penryn family have always been eccentric—living in a dilapidated castle in the wilds of Cumbria with an orchid-mad father and a classicist mother who likes to re-enact Greek myths, who wouldn’t be? Penniless and proud, patriarch Walter Penryn resists selling his birthright and family legacy until taxes, bills, and the need for a new roof force him to reconsider.

Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.

This Christmas, amid the renovation and potential heartbreak of losing her family home, can Althea find a new purpose and the happiness that has so long eluded her?

Tule Author Q&A: Nancy Robards Thompson talks mother-daughter relationships!

Nancy Robards Thompson dropped by to talk about the second book in her Wedding Bell Mysteries series,  A Crime of Fashion!

 

Maddie and Jenna are such a fun mother-daughter pair. Where did you get the inspiration for their relationship?

I’m blessed to have a very close relationship with my daughter. Now that she’s an adult, she’s my best friend. Naturally, our relationship had a big influence on my choice of mother/daughter sleuths. Added to that, I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan. I devoured the show when it was on TV. I own the complete collection and watch episodes often. Stars Hollow, with its small-town charm and quirky cast of characters, is my happy place. I wanted to create a similar feeling of community in The Wedding Bell Mysteries. The Wedding Bell Mysteries are set in the fictional town of Hemlock, NC, which, it seems, is experiencing it’s a spike in crime. So, rather than straight Gilmore Girls, I’d say the series is more Gilmore Girls meets Murder She Wrote.

 

A Crime of Fashion is a cozy mystery, but you also write contemporary romance and women’s fiction. What is different about writing cozy mysteries vs contemporary romance and women’s fiction? Which one do you enjoy more?

The plot of a cozy mystery usually revolves around a murder or another crime. Usually, the murder happens “off stage,” so there’s not a lot of blood and gore. The violence is “implied,” if that makes sense. A cozy might have a sweet romantic thread (mine do), but the romance is not central to the plot. In other words, you could remove the romantic bits and still have a story.  Oh, and if there’s a romance in a cozy, it’s usually sweet and chaste.   

In a romance novel, the story revolves around the romance and features two people falling in love. It’s a couple’s journey toward happily ever after. 

Women’s fiction stories chronicle the journey or life experience of at least one woman (sometimes there’s two or three) as she moves toward a goal. Her objective might involve falling in love or it might simply be about learning to love herself and being content with her own company. She might make these changes willingly, but often change is thrust upon her. While women’s fiction novels can have a traditional happy ending, it’s not uncommon for the story to have a “satisfying” ending. The main character might not get what she wants, but she will grow and change as she faces challenges.

You can see, all three are distinctly different. Choosing my favorite is like choosing a favorite child (though, I only have one), or maybe selecting a favorite food is a better example. One day you’re in the mood for a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs, another day you might crave the homey comfort of a chicken dinner, and another you might want a spicy curry. It’s all about variety, and I feel so blessed to write all three genres. Though, I must admit, once I finish a book, I’m eager to write something different and I’m excited for the change of pace the other genres offer.

 

How do you relate to Maddie and Jenna, and how do you hope readers will relate to them?

Maddie and Jenna have a close mother and daughter relationship. Because of my daughter and I are so close, I relate to the pair in that regard. Maddie and I are kindred spirits since we both write cozy mysteries and live in a small town.

I think readers will relate to the Wedding Bell Mysteries heroines for many of the same reasons that I do, and because – solving murders aside – their experiences with love, family, and community are universal.   

 

 What was your favorite scene to write and why?

In the first Wedding Bell Mystery, SLAY BELLS RING, Maddie found herself attracted to Hemlock’s new Police chief, Jackson Bradley. Jackson is a widower and Maddie is in limbo because her Navy pilot husband – the only man she’s ever loved – has been missing in action for several years. She can’t bring herself to move on because if she does, it means she’s given up hope and he’s never coming back. However, she can’t deny the fact that she’s attracted to Hemlock’s new chief of police. In book two, A CRIME OF FASHION, Maddie and Jackson have their first date. That scene was not only fun to write, but emotional, too.

 

What are you currently reading?

Currently, I’m enjoying Kristan Higgins’s new book, ALWAYS THE LAST TO KNOW.

 

About the Author

Award-winning author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold 30 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing romance and women’s fiction full-time.

Get to know the Amalfi Night Billionaires Authors!

We’re celebrating the Amalfi Night Billionaires with all five authors in the series! Keep reading to learn more about a few of your favorite writers and the latest stories from Holiday Books.

What’s your favorite place and time to write?

KatherineGarbera-Amalfi-300dpiKatherine Garbera: I love to write first thing in the morning.  When I’m in the middle of a book I usually wake up around 4 or 5, hop out of bed, go downstairs and settle into my recliner.  It’s super comfy and I write on my iPad using an app (Hanxwriter) that makes a typewriter sound.  I love it.

Nancy Robards Thompson: Any place except my office. Unfortunately — no, let me rephrase that, fortunately, that’s where I get the best writing done, but sometimes it feels like a cave. It can feel cozy or like a prison depending on the day. I’m a night owl by nature, but I’m trying to get on a regular work-days and sleep-nights schedule. I just can’t pull the all-nighters like I used to.

Kathleen O’Brien: My back porch, in the rain, late afternoon. Unfortunately, I also have to write inside, when it’s dry, morning and sometimes late into the night.  Deadlines are like that.MimiWells-Amalfi-300dpi

Eve Gaddy: My favorite time is when the words are coming. My favorite place is wherever I am when the words are coming. (Seriously, I’m so erratic I don’t have a favorite place or time!)

Tell us something personal that not many readers know about you?

KG: When I worked at Disney as  VIP tour guide I got to meet Dan Marino (my teenaged crush) and got a picture with him. :)

Mimi Wells: There’s not much people don’t know about me (I’m quite the talker), but I will say that I’m quite good at movie dialogue. And when it comes to movies like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Princess Bride, Raising Arizona, or Better Off Dead, you can listen with the sound off. I’ll be sure you get everything!

NancyRobardsThompson-Amalfi-300dpiNRT: When I was in college, I worked as a stand-in on the New Mickey Mouse Club television show, which filmed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was such fun and I made a nice wage. Also, I met George Burns, Bob Hope, Annette Funicello and Milli Vanilli, among other celebs when I worked on the show. (KG: insert I worked on the New Mickey Mouse Club as well but our paths never crossed!)

KOB: I’ve never lived anywhere but Florida.  Tampa, Miami, Orlando.  I belong here.  I’m not a “bloom where you’re planted” kind of person.  I need to look around and see the trees I love, smell the flowers I’m used to, watch the same old birds.  Vacations, yes.  Relocate, probably not. :)

EG: I’m a sucker for happy endings.

What is your life motto?

KG: My life is full and blessed.  I love those words because they make me take stock every day in all the good things that I have in my life.

MW: Don’t panic, and always know where your towel is.

NRT: The race is long, and, in the end, it is only with yourself.

KOB: The person who enjoys the most stuff wins.  I’m not big into  pooh-poohing anything automatically.  The family I grew up in believed that, if you couldn’t find something to appreciate in a person, style or idea, you weren’t trying hard enough.KathleenOBrien-Amalfi-300dpi

EG: Enjoy your family and friends. They are your rock that will get you through the bad times and make sure you remember the good ones.

Name five items on your desk right now.

KG: 1) My Jane Austen quote mug

2) Sally Hansen Hard As Nails (writing is tough on my nails)

3) Over the Moon candle

4) Framed photo of my hubby & kids

5) Pop Vinyl figures (Wonder Woman and Luminaire) given to me by my kiddos.

MW: 1) My UCF Knights Tervis cup full of iced tea

2) A pile of CDs

3) Pictures of me and my Puffs (Katherine and Nancy)

4) Way too much paper

5) My tiara.

NRT: 1) A stuffed corgi that my daughter gave me.

2) A glass dish from Murano, Italy.

3) A small bag of lavender.

4) A tube of Burt’s Beewax Lip Balm.

5) An acrylic cell phone stand

KOB: 1) A Ferdinand the Bull figurine, to remind me to stop and smell the flowers, just quietly.

2) A wretched mound of papers waiting to be filed. I try not to see this, ever.

3) Winston Graham’s ROSS POLDARK, in paperback, rippling from a recent dousing on my porch, in the rain. :)

4) My fat, furry cat, Purrsia, who thinks she should sleep where my keyboard should go.

5) A Mary Englebreit desk calendar, torn off to today’s date.  Today’s quote is, “It’s just a bad day, not a bad life.”

EveGaddy-Amalfi-300dpiEG: 1) Several medium sized notebooks with notes

2) TV remotes

3) Cell phone

4) Charger cords

5) Nail file

6) Pens! Oops, that’s six! (KG: that’s because EG is a rebel!)

What makes your billionaire different from the others?

KG: Rocco is a man who goes through life determined to conquer all things. His fears, his competition, Steffi! But really he lives for the challenge and as he gets older he finds the challenge isn’t conquering and moving on as much as it used to be.

MW: Shel’s a bit of a tortured artist underneath all that testosterone that makes him take crazy risks and drive too fast. He made his fortune as a writer/producer and composes improvised jazz piano pieces.

NRT: Matteo De Luca is the oldest and probably the most responsible of the five De Luca brothers. He’s also stubborn, laser focused on what he wants and very passionate.

KOB: Declan Muldoon has recently discovered that much of his family’s fortune was built on corruption.  He has no interest in being a part of all that anymore. As he tries to start his own landscape design business, he’s living down-to-earth, literally and figuratively.

EG: Luke is first generation Italian American and lives in Texas. He got out of the family real estate business to become a private investigator.

Thank you for joining us, ladies! Find the Amalfi Night Billionaires series at your favorite  online retailer.

auth_KathyGarberaKatherine Garbera is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 70 books. She’s the mother of two fabulous kids who make her feel blessed every day to be their mom, the wife of one dynamic games producing husband and chief-treat-giver to one demanding miniature dachshund.  The misplaced Florida girl lives in the midlands of the UK.  Find her on the web at www.katherinegarbera.com, FB: KatherineGarberaAuthor, and on Twitter: @katheringarbera.

unnamedMimi Wells worked as a mother’s helper, an aerobics instructor, an arts magazine editor, a project typist, a grammarian, a graphic designer, a waitress, a lingerie saleswoman, and a soda jerk before finding her niche as an award-winning high school English teacher and writer of young adult and Southern women’s fiction and romance. Mimi reigns as Empress of the Barefoot Domain in sunny Central Florida with her husband, two children, and two Brittanys—all of whom are spoiled completely rotten. Visit Mimi online at http://www.mimiwells.com, like her on Facebook (Mimi Wells Author), or follow @mimi_wells on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

auth_NancyRobardsThompsonNational best-selling author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold 30 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing romance and women’s fiction full-time.

auth_KathleenOBrienKathleen O’Brien is the bestselling author of more than forty-five books.  She lives just outside Orlando with her former newspaper-editor husband.  Their two terrific grown children–and their own great spouses–live nearby, which, for her, constitutes the perfect world.  She’s a five-time Rita finalist, and the winner of the Maggie, the Holt and the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence.

auth_EveGaddy3Eve Gaddy is the Bestselling, Award Winning author of more than twenty-three books. She’s the mother of two great children and the grandmother of three absolutely adorable girls. She lives in East Texas with her husband of many years and her Cocker Spaniel, who her husband says is incredibly spoiled and who thinks she is the Queen of the Household.