Coming Soon: No Mallets Intended Blog tour

Hello, all...

Must apologize for my long silence on this blog, but I've been super busy.

I will be updating next week, since I am doing a blog tour for No Mallets Intended, which comes out on November 4th.

We're working on a whole new Victoria Hamilton Mysteries website, as well, and I will update here on EVERYTHING. I will also let you know which blogs will be giving a way a copy of No Mallets Intended.

In other news, I'm extremely excited that I have received a contract renewal for Books 4 & 5 of the Merry Muffin Mysteries.

So... tally-ho, and I'll have more to say very soon now!

Blog Tour Alert!

For the next little while I will be doing a blog tour to support Bowled Over... I have had so much fun writing guest posts. Thank you to all the wonderful bloggers who do so much to support writers! I may also spill a secret or two along the way, and stuff about my upcoming books!!


Also... check out the info at the bottom for a cool giveaway in conjunction with the tour!


So here's the schedule. Drop in, and if you have any questions, I'll be checking the blogs out throughout the days, so ask away!!


 April 29th - A Blue Million Books - Read a Q&A with me, but also with Jaymie! Find out what she wishes I'd let her do... wink, wink!
 
April 30th - Melina the Reader Did a fun little interview today... thanks so much, Melina!

May 1st - Bea’s Book Nook Bea has some awesome questions, a real in depth interview!

May 2nd - Book Of Secrets Interested in some of the characters from Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and their secrets? Check it out as I spill some!

May 3rd - Omnimystery What a fun Q&A this was to do! I got to talk about my writing process... or processes!! 
 
May 4th - Shelley Reads & Reviews

May 5th - Cozy Up with Kathy I had such fun at Kathy's blog! She asked great questions, such as WHY my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries are set where they are.

May 6th – Socrates Book Review A bit about setting in the cozy!

May 7th - A Year of Jubilee Reviews  Why vintage and why kitchen when it comes to collecting? Read on to find out. Second stop today: Read Your Writes Come on down to the Idea Factory and check out where a mystery writer gets her ideas!

May 8th – A Chick Who Reads Today read an excerpt, that moment when everything starts to go wrong for Jaymie in Bowled Over!

May 9th -  Off

May 10th – Books-N-Kisses Where I get to say what kind of pizza I like!
 

May 11th - Brooke Blogs  My top 9 vintage buys ever! &  Mochas, Mysteries & More A fun interview with Melissa!

May 12th - Chloe Gets a Clue Chloe chats with Jaymie about everything that's going on in Queensville, Michigan!

This tour was expertly organized by Cozy Mystery Marketing, and I can't believe what a fantastic job Bella and the gang do!! 

I'm at Mystery Lovers Kitchen!

Today is the day I am featured at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. Drop in and comment, and you will be entered for a chance to win a copy of Bowled Over!

I also give you a wonderful recipe to use for your fmaily... cheap, easy and delicious Arroz Con Pollo, which is a fancy way of saying Spanish Rice and Chicken.

Thank you to the folks at Mystery Lovers Kitchen for having me!!

Victoria Hamilton at Mystery Lovers Kitchen

Where Did I Go?

Wow... the last post on here was August 2nd. I've been away a long, long time. Where did I go? Well, not too far... glued to my computer.

But I'm back, for now, and ready to update.

In the coming weeks I will have news on...

• A month of giveaways on Killer Characters!
• My new cover for Bowled Over, Book 2 of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries.
• More about my two new cozy series with Berkley Prime Crime.

See you all soon!!

The Book Day Cometh...

I haven't blogged much lately, but that's just because I've been busy busy busy! My release day is fast approaching and I've been very very busy (with secret projects, too, but I'll talk about those soon!!) with organizing my release month activities. So far I've got a few blogs lined up.

I know there will be more, so this list will be amended and improved, with links and information, as I go along.

Here's the beginning...

April 29^th, 2012 - Mystery Lover’s Kitchen blog with recipe and giveaway.

May 1^st, 2012 – Release Day! I'll be at Dru Ann Love’s Blog "A Day in the Life of Jaymie Leighton" with book and bookmark giveaway.

May 10^th, 2012 - Lesa Holstine’s blog... Jaymie's junk obsession from her sister, Becca’s, viewpoint.
May 16^th, 2012 - Escape with Dollycas blog... subject to be announced!

See you all around... 

Surprise!!

Okay, so this photo may not mean a lot to some, but to me it is the beginning of a new 'chapter' (ahem - pun intended) in my life. I have been a romance novelist for many years, but I am now 'reinvented' and have finally stepped up into the life I always, since I was twelve, wanted. I am - ta-da - a mystery novelist!

These are review copies, or galleys, or ARCs (whatever you want to call them) of the first Vintage Kitchen Mystery, A Deadly Grind, coming to a store - online and in the real world - near you! I was so excited I did a happy dance right there in the kitchen.

BTW, the table the box is on is in the front window, and is actually where the cats sit to look out on their domain. They let me borrow it... LOL. I gave it right back to them.

Anyone want to review a mystery??

It's Online!!

I'm so excited to be able to announce that at long last my Victoria Hamilton Mysteries webpage is done and online!


I would love for folks to click through and tell me what you think. Obviously, I love it. I like the lightheartedness of it, and the simplicity, and that Hoppy the Yorkie-Poo and Denver the Crabby Tabby are in residence. I also am excited that folks will get their first - albeit brief - taste of A Deadly Grind, Book One of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries. Chapter One is online.


Better still, concerning the website, I think my designer has captured the essence of A Deadly Grind, because ultimately, while my book has what I believe is a compelling mystery at the heart of it, it is also about life and love and growing up, while holding on to joy and standing up for what you want in life.

Whoo, that seems like a lot! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that readers like it as much as I loved writing it!


So, check it out, and PLEASE tell me what you think!

Victoria Hamilton Mysteries

My Cover!!

Finally, finally, I can share my lovely, beautiful cover, with the Hoosier cabinet, and Hoppy the Yorkie-Poo, and the broken china... ta-da!!

2012

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a safe and happy New Year's Eve celebration.

It is only the 2nd of January, but my anticipation is already growing. After many years of writing romances, this is the year my first cozy mystery will be published. In May, I will be proudly flogging A Deadly Grind, Book 1 of my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries. Before Christmas I did the second round of copyedits on it, and in another week or so, I will have the finished cover to show around. I am in the midst of writing Book 3, Picked for Murder or Picked to Death... not sure of the title yet.

I'm so excited!

Real-Time Blogging

For me, reading a new mystery series is often as much about the people as the mystery... I like to follow them from book to book and learn about their lives as well as try to solve mysteries with them.

So, in light of that, I'm experimenting at Killer Characters over the next few months... follow Jaymie Leighton in real time as she lives her life in the months leading up to the launch of my first Vintage Kitchen Mysteries book, A Deadly Grind, in May of 2012.

My characters blog on the 21st of every month... find out what happens next on December 21st! I'm not sure if she'll be blogging, or if someone else will step in and blog for her.
Killer Characters: http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/11/winds-of-november.html

Building a Mystery

I have been thinking a lot, lately, about what goes into a successful mystery series. Some of the questions I've asked myself have to do with character, plots, setting, complications, conflict, etc. As the title of this entry says, ultimately, I've been considering what goes into building a mystery. (That's also the title of a Sarah McLachlan song, FYI!)

So I thought I'd do a 'miniseries' of blog entries on my own particular approach to planning and writing a mystery series. This is as much for my own benefit, as for anyone else's. I think it helps to pause every once and a while to look at how you do things and figure out if the approach is working for you.

I'll say right up front, for real advice on how to write a mystery, go to one of the fabulous books or sites for help. I'll do a little research and come up with a list for you. This is more my own, weird, eclectic, peripatetic, wandering, willful way of going about building a mystery series.

Some topics will be:
1 - Where Do I Begin? How I start when I'm planning a series.
2 - Character. How do I decide who my protagonist will be, as well as peopling the world.
3 - Place. Where to set the series?
4 - Will It Fit? Do all of the aforementioned things work for the kind of mystery I'm planning?

And anything else I think of as I'm going along.

If you have any questions, chime in!!

Happy Fourth!

Enjoy the day, my friends. I will be spending it reflecting on two countries, alike in wealth (relative to the rest of the world) and freedom and both blessed with a strong and diverse populace.

On this Fourth of July weekend, I celebrate the unique bond between the United States of America and Canada, friends with the longest unprotected border in the world.

Today in Queensville, MI, hometown of Vintage Kitchen Mysteries: Jaymie Leighton and her sister Becca are gathering with their friends at Boardwalk Park to watch the annual sail race from Heartbreak Island, in the middle of the St. Clair river, down to Fawn Island and back. They'll talk, picnic, laugh and later watch the fireworks over the river and sing the Star Spangled Banner.

Planning for the Glorious Fourth: http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/06/planning-for-glorious-fourth.html

New Killer Characters post: The Glorious Fourth!

Hi all... I'm deep in final edits for Bowled Over, Book Two of the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries series, and it covers the Fourth of July. I'm looking up vintage potato salad recipes, and my characters are watching fireworks, among other things, soooo... you will understand this next bit!

Come on over to Killer Characters today, where Jaymie Leighton discusses the different way Canadians and Americans celebrate their countries' birth!

http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/06/planning-for-glorious-fourth.html

New Post at Killer Characters! Meet Jaymie Leighton.

Today, over at Killer Characters, check out Jaymie Leighton - star of my upcoming Vintage Kitchen Mysteries series with Berkley - as she talks about her obsession with vintage cookbooks, and shows off a cover of one!

http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/05/old-cookbooks-old-recipes.html

The great teapot hunt continues...

I think I MAY have mentioned that I am hunting for the perfect teapot ever since my big one broke a few months back. I never liked Big Blue anyway, (hated it, actually, but it was a gift from my mom, and I would have kept it 'til the day it died... luckily its life was short) so it falling off of its handle was a godsend. But here's the thing; I can't decide what kind of teapot I want.

I already have one like this one, a Corning Ware 'Cornflower Blue' Six Cup Teapot, (This one is for sale apparently  - not by me: http://tinyurl.com/3fpzs7q) But mine has a metal lid, not the plastic one, so I'm thinking mine may be older. It was given to me by a friend, and I believe it was her late father's.

The problem with it is, while it says it is six cup, it is not truly six cup in the mug sense. Six teacups, maybe, but my guests usually drink from mugs, and it holds a scant two or three mugs. Sometimes I need a lot more tea than that.

My main character, Jaymie Leighton from 'A Deadly Grind' (Vintage Kitchen Mysteries Book 1 - May 2012) has a Brown Betty teapot that was her grandmother's. This Brown Betty image is from Mrs. Bridge's British Bakery online: http://www.bestbritishfoods.com/results.cfm?category=10&secondary=74

In the near future I'm going to do a blog on the fascinating history of the 'Brown Betty', the ultimate English teapot. But I don't really want a Brown Betty.

A china teapot then? Maybe, but they can get pricey. I was looking in a thrift shop the other day and saw a Sadler one that was not too bad, and a Meakin one I liked, but there were condition problems with both.

So, for you fellow tea drinkers out there, what kind of teapot do you use most? Do you like china, glass, pottery... what? I'm looking for advice, here... what makes the best pot of tea? My grandmother never washed her teapot, just rinsed it out. She was English, and her tea was strong enough to corrode a spoon. The build-up of the tannin in the bottom of the pot (the brown staining) is supposed to, some say, make a better tasting tea. True or false?

Cool link: The Teapot Shoppe http://www.theteapotshoppe.com/
The Expert Opinion on 'How to make a Perfect cup of Tea': http://site.theteapotshoppe.com/blog/2009/03/24/how-to-make-the-perfect-cup-of-tea/

Miss Valetta Nibley, Spinster and Town Snoop

Over at Killer Characters today you will meet Valetta Nibley, pharmacist and town snoop with a heart of gold, from the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series.

Valetta is one of those characters that you don't realize, as you're writing away, how much they are sneaking into your heart. I don't think I even noticed at first how she's keeping an eye out on those she cares for. She's a Mama Hen with no chicks, and her 'snoopiness' is really just her way of caring.

Drop in and tell me what you think of small towns!

http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/04/spinsters-small-towns-and-friends.html

Stages and new mystery series...

Book 1 of my shiny new Vintage Kitchen Mystery series, A Deadly Grind, will not be published until May of 2012. For me, ADG is at the stage where I know so much about it (in fact, I'm done the first draft of Book 2 - Bowled Over) that I'm excited for other people to read it, to see if they like it as much as I do! I'm like a parent, I guess... will you all like my special little snowflake? I hope you do.

Writing is all about stages. I'm at a completely different stage with another series that I am planning, a historical mystery series that has me so excited I can't sleep at night. I'm at the very beginning, peering at it through the pearly haze of dawn and hoping it will be all I want it to be. I know some writers don't feel this way, but planning a new series is like... well, it's like seeing a bright, shiny gift under the Christmas tree and wondering what's in it. Do you remember that feeling? Remember dreaming about what's in that gift? Is it all you hoped for, you wonder? Will you unwrap it and gasp in glee? 

As the days go by, I make new discoveries about the series. I haven't rushed it, which is how I approach opening gifts, first untie the ribbon, then remove one maddening piece of tape at a time to preserve the pretty wrapping paper. 

But then, I tend to do the same with a new mystery series that I am thinking of diving into as a reader. I like to look around, find something I'm interested in, tiptoe toward it and look it over. How about you? Do you look for new series, then be sure to get Book 1, so you'll have the story from the beginning? Or do you dive in wherever you find a book that hooks your interest, then go back and get the others if you like it?

Letting Go

It's funny, but when I started dreaming up the first book in what would become the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, the title came first; Hoosier Dead Guy? I thought it was mildly funny, and it made me smile. That was a year-and-a-half ago. I've turned the first book in (November 30th, 2010) and am about halfway through writing the first draft of the second book, but the process of titling and cover illustration for Book 1 of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series is about to begin.

My lovely editor warned me that they might want to brainstorm a new title, and it was pointed out to me by my fabulous agent (Hi, Jessica!) that when most folks hear the word 'Hoosier', they think of the college basketball team. (I don't; when I hear 'Hoosier' I think of kitchen cabinets) Or they remember the Gene Hackman movie about the college basketball team.

Basketball? Yikes. The last thing I want is for folks to buy my book thinking they are getting a basketball mystery, though I think one would do very well. But that reader, expecting a sporty mystery with a feisty Indiana basketball team, might not want to end up with a vintage kitchenware collecting, tea drinking, girly girl heroine in a mystery centered around a Hoosier kitchen cabinet.

So, what I'm working up to is this bit of publishing world truth; most writers know that the title of their work is always subject to change. It's difficult sometimes, because if they're like me, they get wedded to their title, and find it hard to break free. But this time I surrendered with grace. I'm proud of myself! I have learned this time around that one must let go and trust the process. Think of your title from all angles, listen to input, take advice. And it truly is best to be a part of the process so you'll end up with something that you like.

After some consideration, and some tweaking of the plot, we brainstormed and found a new working title: A Deadly Grind. I won't tell you yet why that is the perfect title--and no, it's not gross--but it is just right. I can't wait to see my cover, which I still hope will have some rendering of a Hoosier-type kitchen cabinet, much like the one pictured above.

This lovely photo is used with the permission of John Lucas: http://www.johnbob.net/hoosier.html

Visit his wonderful and entertaining page today, if you, like me, are interested in the vintage kitchen!

Good news all around!

I have some great news to share.

First and foremost, I suppose, is that I do have a publication date for the first book of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series. But it seems so far away!!! May 2012. Sigh.

But the second piece of news will help me while away the time. I am excited to announce that I have been invited to join the group over at Killer Characters, a great blog with posts from all the characters out of cozy mysteries!! Jaymie Leighton, the star of the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries has already had an entry; I guested at Killer Characters. But now I've been invited as a member, and the first post, from Jaymie's older sister, Becca, is on Monday! I'll post the link when it is up.

I'll be back...

Update: Ooooops!!! My face is red... actually, a shade of cerise. I mispoke on the date for my first blog entry as a 'Killer Characters' member. Becca's post will be up on MARCH 21st, not today!

Back to waiting... and writing! No holiday for cozy writers, you know.

Lady in Waiting

Every business has its share of 'hurry up and wait' times, when you have rushed to complete a project by deadline, only to wait in agony while the project is approved or reviewed. Time, compressed until hours feel like seconds in the first instance while frantically working, now elongates until days feel like years as the 'wait' is on.

Such is life as a novelist. While we can (and do, if we're smart) move on to work on other projects, there is still that nagging sense of looming agony or ecstasy. Will the editor like the book? Will they need massive changes, or none at all, or most likely, some changes, which they'll need by - of course - a tight deadline.

I've been in the game long enough to know how it works. But still... I'm so anxious to know if Book One of the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, 'Hoosier Dead Guy?' is to the editor's taste, if she thinks I'm on track. I've gone on to Book Two, 'Bowled Over', but I'd feel a whole lot better if I knew Book One was how the editor envisioned it.

Sigh.

And then I/we could get on to the fun stuff, like cover design and... sheesh... a publication date.

So, to distract myself from the agony of the wait, here is a list of random musings:

• Why do we always capitalize 'I', but not 'we' in writing; aren't 'we' more important than 'I'?
• Why does my desk always end up in the same disgraceful state no matter what resolutions I make to the contrary?
• How can someone as reasonably intelligent as I am (or pretend to be) love reality TV so much?
• If winter comes, can spring be far behind?

And so I wait... my publication date is the proverbial watched pot that never boils. When I fuggedaboutit and just write on, that's the moment I'll find out my fate/publication date.

Until then, picture me counting paperclips and wondering why I have so many when I use, maybe, five a year. At this point, I have enough paperclips to last me until 2075.

The photos for this entry are used courtesy of Photo 8, a site that offers marvelous photos free!