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DIAL M FOR MUD CAKE – Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Kaz Delaney! (Plus Giveaway!)

Tule Publishing — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 12:00:47 +0000

A belated Happy 4th to all my U.S. friends and readers! There’s a reason for mentioning that a month too late – you see, my latest Rosie Hart adventure was set with July 4th as a background. And as I created a fun celebration, I once more so envied that little town of Airlie Falls and their close-knit community. How much fun would it be to live there… Sigh…

So, about this story: I was quite young when I first saw Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder – maybe too young – because it terrified me. Few would argue over Hitchcock’s ability to provide suspense – certainly not me, the proof being the fact that the story has stayed with me for all those years. I can still see Grace Kelly in that low-lit bedroom…

Suspense and terror aside, as I grew older, I came to appreciate the story-line, and it was basically from that idea my own story was born. My series, the Hart of Texas Murder Mysteries, is way more light-hearted than anything Hitch would present, yet right from the start I had a title in my head, my spoof of the original – Dial M for Mud Cake – hoping I could find the story it represented.

It took six books, but in this last, the 6th, I found it – and was enormous fun to create. And every day I opened that manuscript it made me smile. Of course, in the way things should go, my story bears little resemblance to Hitchcock’s story other than a telephone call and an order for murder. Basically, that’s where Hitch and I parted ways. However, it was those two things that led to the creation of a scene I had so much fun with – and will share in a moment.

Despite the fun, it wasn’t all straightforward. I knew I wanted my poor heroine Rosie, to be confused by the strange order for the mud cake. After all, as a baker, that would usually be a straightforward event for her. But that’s also when my usual modus operandi went off script. You see, normally, Rosie would be hunting down a murderer, often trying to clear the name of someone close to her.

This time there was no body, just someone who mistakenly thought Rosie to be a professional assassin who required the words Mud Cake as code for the hit. So, for Rosie – and myself – everything was upside down. Rosie wasn’t, at first, searching for a murderer, but a potential victim. A stranger. Not seeking justice for a dead person but trying to keep someone alive! To make it worse, I added a ticking clock. The deed had to be completed by the 4th of July, or matters would be taken into other hands. Rosie couldn’t let that happen. While ever that customer thought she was the assassin, the victim had a chance of survival.

And all this while helping to plan and execute the town’s extravagant plans for the Independence Day celebrations, try to curb the wild and ridiculous spending of the Fab Four who have discovered the home shopping channels (because surely nonagenarians wouldn’t really need a three-man tent and a bucking bronco – and that was just for starters!), as well as – you guessed it, also trying to prove her suspicion that the murder of an elderly heiress is connected to her own misguided cake order.

But let’s go back to that first phone call. Keep in mind that Rosie thinks this is a regular—if slightly odd—order for a mud cake.

Waving away Miz Lipskie’s warning whisper, I strode into the airy study just off the foyer. The voice on the other end wasn’t what I’d expected. It was low and muffled, and I’d barely said hello before the order came through—just as Miz Lipskie had said.

“I want to order a mud cake.”

“Yes sir, we’d be delighted to help you.” Actually, I was taking Miz Lipskie’s word for it that it was a male because the voice was so stifled it was hard for me to tell the exact gender. Still, she’d spoken to him several times and apparently been barked at, so obviously she knew.

There was a long pause before he replied. “We? I thought you worked alone?”

“Well, I do, but I have an assistant who helps me in the day-to-day running of the business.”

“Sheesh! Everyone’s a corporation these days! Even you people!” I was about to let that pass when he threw in his next comment. “Your number was passed on. What? You got a club or something? What’s with two of you working the same area? I thought you guys were pretty hard to find!”

I accepted the guy’s reference as a gender inclusive description, but frowned over the comment. “Two of us? Two bakers?”

The response was a low chuckle. “Sure, if that’s what you want to call yourselves. No skin off my nose. I just want the job done.”

He had a funny way of expressing himself that I found confusing but I did understand he wanted cake and that was something I could deliver. “I can do that. Now if I could just have some details? I ne—”

“Just the basics, right? I was told you’d only require the basics.”

“Well, I guess if you consider name and address, and your requirements to be basics, then I guess that’s what we do.” What was with this man? “But how about we start with the cake. Like, do you want chocolate mud? Caramel mud? Strawberry mud? White chocolate mud?”

“I thought you’d just do the job! What’s with the twenty questions?” He sighed. “So what? What’s your most popular? Simplest? I want that.”

“Chocolate. Now sir, what about cream? Do you want fresh or—?”

“Fresh? Hey, hey, stop right there! I don’t want the details, right? That other broad told me you were the best, so I figured you’d just get on with it. Geez—I got a weak stomach.”

This was the craziest order I’d ever taken. He was upset by cream? “Lactose problem?”

The response was a roar of laughter. “Hey, you got a sense of humor! I like that!” The laughter turned into a coughing fit and I waited it through, wondering why I had the feeling it wasn’t genuine. “Just no mess, okay? I don’t like mess. Now, I was told you’d do it for ten. Is that right?”

“Um, I’d usually charge fifteen for a layered cake, there’s a—”

“Fifteen! Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”

I didn’t actually hear a phone slam down, but I kind of sensed it. One moment he was there, and the next he wasn’t and I was left with a dead line. What in heavens…?

When I turned, Miz Lipskie stood in the doorway, arms folded and wearing an I-told-you-so expression. “Tell me I’m not the only one who thinks that man is a bit strange!”

“No, Miz Lipskie,” I began slowly, my mind whirling, “I don’t think you are.”

I had such fun with this and subsequent scenes with this mysterious caller. And imagine Rosie’s shock when she, later, finally understands that he’s not just quibbling over $5, he thinks it’s an extra $5000. $15,000 for a mud cake? Even she concedes she’s not that good.

I so hope you grab a copy and have fun with this story. It’s a nice tangly mystery coupled with all the fun and color of a fun July 4th celebration.

Now, I began this chat talking about movies – and mystery. Do you have a favorite mystery movie – or even a favorite mystery television series? I’m a sucker for all those wonderful 80s series – Murder She Wrote (I still watch them!) Columbo, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock – and adore all the slightly more current UK series – Vera, Foyle’s War, Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders, Mrs Bradley Mysteries etc. Share with us your favorite – or if you’re not a mystery fan – your fave movie or TV show, and go in the draw for a randomly drawn $10 Amazon gift card and a free ebook from the Hart of Texas Murder Mystery Series.

About the author.

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.

Tule Publishing August 2023 Releases (and Giveaway!)

Tule Publishing — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 07:00:34 +0000

Read more about our new releases for August!

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the August 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 Cowboy’s Redemption by Paula Altenburg (Montana Born)

Release Date: August 1, 2023

The Endeavour Ranch of Grand, Montana, Book 5

She’s done with cowboys for good…

Cowboy Levi Harrington oversees the innovative breeding program at the Endeavour Ranch. He knows how to read aggression, personality, and mood in bulls and horses better than anyone in Grand, Montana. When he sees the fiancée of his best friend, who died during a rodeo several years ago, struggling to control her horse, he wants to help. He’s loved Dana from afar for years, but she’s always been off-limits—even now.

Barrel racer Dana Barrett’s relationship with a popular bull rider killed in the arena was complicated, messy, and not at all the fairy tale love story rodeo fans chose to see. She’s ready to step out of the tragedy’s limelight and move on, starting with taking her career to the next level. That’s hard to do when everyone still sees her as a tragic heroine and when her beloved champion horse is at the end of her career.

Dana needs a fresh start, starting with a new horse. When a twist of fate throws Levi and Dana together again, can they move beyond the past and forge a future together?

Dial M for Mud Cake by Kaz Delaney (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: August 3, 2023

Hart of Texas Murder Mysteries, Book 6

This wrong number is turning out to be deadly…

As summer settles over Airlie Falls, Texas, baker Rosie Hart is gearing up for the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations. Orders are coming in fast, but when someone calls in an order for a mud cake, Rosie feels uneasy. After a series of confusing phone calls, she comes to the chilling conclusion that the term ‘mud cake’ is in fact code for a ‘hit’—someone is ordering a murder!

As the dough for her Apple Custard Brioche Bread rises, so does Rosie’s anxiety. This isn’t like any of the cases she’s solved before. This time she has to save someone, but first she has to discover exactly who she’s supposed to be saving—and more importantly, who wants that person dead.

With her commitment to the town’s week-long festivities, trying to control her nonagenarian friends who’ve just discovered the home shopping network, determining if a long-lost child has indeed resurfaced, and not to mention an Elvis impersonator on every corner, Rosie’s wondering if she can really unmask the person with murderous intent before they take matters into their own hands.

A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy by Kris Bock (Texas Born)

Release Date: August 8, 2023

The Accidental Billionaire Cowboys, Book 4

This runaway bride needs a fresh start.

After falling unexpectedly pregnant, Daisy Taylor barely had a moment to think. The baby’s father proposed, her parents rushed the wedding, and Daisy fled the altar. She runs away to Last Stand, Texas, to stay with her aunt and arrives in time for a fundraising ball—where her wedding dress blends in—and dances with a handsome stranger. He seems sweet and kind, and when Daisy later secures employment as an assistant at a nearby ranch, she’s pleased to see the man again. But she’s humiliated that he doesn’t recognize her.

The youngest of his siblings, Xander Tomlinson is still uncomfortable with his family’s unexpected lottery win. He prefers a quiet and peaceful life on the ranch caring for creatures in need. When his mother hires an office assistant, Xander is immediately protective of Daisy and her ever-growing belly.

Daisy won’t take charity and Xander struggles to fight his attraction to Daisy who, as an employee, is off-limits. As their friendship teeters on the edge of becoming more and the baby’s father starts making demands, will Xander learn that some things are worth fighting for?

Once Upon a Beast by Kyra Jacobs (American Heart)

Release Date: August 10, 2023

Bourbon Falls, Book 1

It’s a fairy tale as old as time…

Everyone in Bourbon Falls knows Delaney Brooks doesn’t need a man—including Delaney. So when a storm sends her niece’s car hydroplaning into the town hermit’s bushes, it’s nothing Del can’t handle herself. But the winds also cause costly damage to the roof of her family’s beloved bookstore, and Del accepts it’s time to seek help.

Isaac Manning never intended to be the bad guy. But a slanderous post went viral, and he’s forced to take cover in Bourbon Falls, Indiana, hiding to protect his tech company until the online storm blows over. The strategy goes smoothly until a teenage girl destroys his lawn. Now two locals have seen his face, and one is tugging at his heartstrings.

Del’s fundraiser can save her family’s bookstore but she’ll need an amazing website built to draw the crowds in. Isaac, wanting a break from his loneliness, is happy to trade his skills for Del’s landscape panache. But can the two truly work together to support the town’s biggest event of the year without jeopardizing their hearts and reputations too?

Love and Order by Stella Holt (American Heart)

Release Date: August 14, 2023

Legacy of the Maguires, Book 4

She’s keeping secrets—and he has the answers she doesn’t know she needs.

Finn Maguire may be the baby of his close-knit family, but this former Navy SEAL has never shied away from a challenge. Now a lawyer with a plan to practice business law, he’s ready for a normal life. The coveted junior partner position is his next goal—but he’s pitted against the enigmatic woman he’s spent two years admiring from afar, and he can’t resist his desire to learn more.

Hailey Adams grew up in foster care, where she learned how to avoid danger. Her intense self-discipline and vow to never let anyone make her feel vulnerable again have landed her one case away from the security of partnership at a prestigious D.C. firm. But teaming with the charming Finn tests her well-honed ability to keep people at a distance.

Finn finally breaks through Hailey’s walls just in time for her to find out he kept the biggest secret of all. Will this be a case Finn loses, or can Hailey learn to trust the first person who’s made her feel safe?

The Remarkable Rise of Amanda Appleby by Trish Morey (Holiday)

Release Date: August 15, 2023

With Love, Cornwall, Book 2

Before Amanda Appleby’s rise comes the fall…

When Amanda Appleby catches her husband messing with the belly dancer hired for his fiftieth birthday party, her once-perfectly curated life crashes down. With her marriage in ruins and little money from the property settlement, Amanda finds herself fifty, divorced, and broke.

Amanda retreats to her family’s charming cottage in Cornwall to regroup and hits on a way to make money. She writes a book about how to renovate and sell a house. Peppered with cynical tips from Amanda’s own failed marriage, the book goes viral. Hailed as the “Marie Kondo for the Unhappily Married Woman,” Amanda is thrust into stardom. Invited as a contestant on a dating show, she meets Jack Walker, the show’s crabby—but surprisingly kind-hearted—scriptwriter and Amanda discovers that maybe romance isn’t dead after all.

But when she’s enlisted as the public face of a man-hating site, suddenly Amanda’s success turns toxic, threatening to derail both her career and her newfound relationship. But Amanda is no longer the dutiful wife she once was. Can the woman Amanda has become find it in herself to keep her star rising?

Meet Me in River’s Edge by Nan Reinhardt (American Heart)

Release Date: August 17, 2023

The Weaver Sisters, Book 2

He ticks every one of her “never again” boxes…

Jo Weaver loves her job as a boat mechanic for her family’s marina in River’s Edge, Indiana. But when she’s pulled away from her high school reunion with her sisters to fix a stranded yacht, she can’t restrain her irritation. Jo doesn’t like wealthy men who think they can have whatever they want, and she has no intention of falling for rich and charming again.

Born into the international Briggs Hotels empire, Alex Briggs has never felt comfortable with his life of privilege. Abandoning his family’s business to pursue medical research, he’s far more at home in his lab. When the yacht he restored himself breaks down on the way to an important conference, Alex begrudgingly goes in search of a boat mechanic and falls, literally, into Jo Weaver’s arms. The fireworks he feels are impossible to ignore.

Jo does her best to keep Alex in the business zone, but he keeps slipping into something more. Can she trust her fragile heart, especially when Alex and his life-altering research are so far from River’s Edge?

Striking Gold by Janine Amesta (American Heart)

Release Date: August 24, 2023

Love in El Dorado, Book 1

Not all that glitters is gold…especially in love.

Mia Russo is well aware that being voted “most likely to succeed” in high school doesn’t guarantee anything, especially after her political career crashes and burns. Without a plan for the first time in her life, Mia moves back home with her dad. After being rejected by the handsome local jewelry store owner who seems way too familiar, she takes a barista job while she determines her next steps.

Orphaned at a young age, Ross Manasse finally finds peace when he inherits his grandfather’s jewelry store. It’s been a tough road, and Ross is looking for quietness and stability. When his former high school tutor—someone Ross once thought of as a friend—barges into his shop looking for a job and doesn’t recognize him, his safest option is keeping her at arm’s length.

Mia’s determined to make something in her life work, but in rekindling a relationship with the grumpy jeweler, she digs up more about their shared history than they expect. Mia and Ross will need to decide what’s more important: finding success or true happiness?

When the Duke Loved Me by Lydia Lloyd (Muse)

Release Date: August 28, 2023

The Rake Chronicles, Book 1

They are both pretending to be someone else for the night…

When Catherine Forster asks a handsome stranger to lead her out of the ballroom and into the Tremberley gardens, she hopes to glimpse its renowned Roman ruins…and maybe steal a kiss. But when she and her delectable escort are discovered in a scandalous embrace, Catherine is horrified to learn that she has been kissing John Breminster, heir to the man who ruined her family.

Given that the Forsters are his sworn enemies, John had no choice but to walk away from Catherine that night. But he has never been able to forget their close encounter—and, even years later, still longs for her touch. Worse, when his father dies, John, now the Duke of Edington, finds himself with a problem that only Catherine can help him solve.

Catherine agrees to aid him in his quest…for a price. On their journey, they soon begin to give into temptation, even as they uncover troubling revelations about the past. Will John and Catherine overcome this shared history? Or will its secrets tear them apart forever?

A Wasp in the Woods by Geri Krotow (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: August 29, 2023

Shop ‘Round the World, Book 3

Retired Navy Pilot Angel Warren’s sleuthing days are behind her. At least, that’s what she tells herself after finding two dead bodies during her first year back in Stonebridge, Pennsylvania. Murders make customers wary and Angel’s sales are suffering. With her daughters back in college and the cases behind her, Angel focuses on attracting more customers into her novelty shop.

Hoping to boost local tourism, Angel researches how to create a walking history tour. During a dry run for her inaugural walk, her brother’s Pomeranian leads her through the woods and to her third body, the apparent victim of multiple stings from a nearby wasp nest. Angel recognizes the deceased as her sister’s cherished employee who was days away from being married.

The scene doesn’t sit right with Angel’s best friend, Detective Trinity Colson, however, who suspects foul play. When the autopsy reveals a different cause of death, Angel dives into her most dangerous case yet. Soon Angel, along with her eclectic crew featuring two dogs and a feisty parrot, are once again on the hunt for a murderer. But is Angel also being hunted?

The Cowboy’s Lost Family by Roxanne Snopek (Montana Born)

Release Date: August 31, 2023

The Malones of Grand, Montana, Book 1

He’s looking for the one thing she’s done with: family.

Brade Oliver arrives in Grand, Montana, looking for blood—and answers. Genetic tests reveal that his biological family may reside in the small, western town, and he’s on a mission to finally discover the one thing his adoptive family couldn’t give him: the truth.

Kendall McKinley craves a normal life, free of the demands, drama, and constraints of her dysfunctional family. Despite being focused on building her career and working on a restoration project, Kendall can’t help herself from noticing a handsome stranger the first night he arrives. But when Brade starts asking uncomfortable questions around town, Kendall is determined to protect her community and friends. The harder she tries to steer Brade away from the answers he seeks, the more he pushes back…and the more irresistible he becomes.

Brade is determined to uncover the truth no matter what, and Kendall finds herself torn between keeping the secrets of people she cares for and finding answers for the man she loves.