And the winners are...

I haven't heard from the winners in my contest at Mystery Lovers Kitchen yet. If you commented to enter to win, check out the page to see if you're one of the lucky two!!

http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2013/03/and-winners-are.html

Another chance to win Bowled Over...

Hey, all... today I am at Dru Ann's blog. Come on over and read a day in the life of Valetta Nibley, pharmacist, then comment for a chance to win a copy of Bowled Over!

http://notesfromme.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/valetta-nibley/

BTW, so far the reviews have been so great!

Here are a few:

Michelle at Michelle's Romantic Tangle: http://mychellem.blogspot.ca/2013/03/whatcha-reading-bowled-over-by-victoria.html

Laura Hinds at MyShelf: http://www.myshelf.com/mystery/13/bowledover.html

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

Bowled Over - March 5th

It's been such a busy year, and I've neglected blogging, though I have certainly been present on Facebook enough.

But with Bowled Over coming out next Tuesday, March 5th, I thought I had better update a whole lot of things! I have had my website updated, and the links are up to pre-order Bowled Over! Readers may not know this, but you can help your favorite book series continue by ordering books in advance, or buying them during their first week of publication, as bestseller lists, etc., do help get contracts!

I know it can get expensive, especially considering how many great books are coming out on the same day, so I suppose as readers we need to prioritize! I do believe that the fact that A Deadly Grind became a national bestseller has helped with my next bit of news...

I have been contracted for two more Vintage Kitchen Mystery books! WooHoo!! So there will be books 4 & 5.


So now... in Bowled Over Jaymie comes face to face with a killer so devious, I hope you will be mystified until the reveal! Does that sound like I'm trying to be a magician, and hope to abracadabra, presto, surprise and amaze you with the denouement?? I guess I am. Just call me the Amazing Victoria! LOL!

For the record, here are the Amazon and B&N links for Bowled Over:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bowled-Over-Berkley-Prime-Crime/dp/0425251926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360610419&sr=8-1&keywords=bowled+Over

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bowled-over-victoria-hamilton/1111306823?ean=9780425251928


I'm making all kinds of blog appearances for the next few weeks. I'll update here as I get live links. Today,I am at Joyce and Jim Lavene's blog taking about romance in mysteries... are you for or against? Let me know! http://romanceofmystery.blogspot.ca/2013/02/to-romance-or-not-by-victoria-hamilton.html

See you soon!!

The Next Big Thing

Hey, all,

I was tagged by Erika Chase to participate in The Next Big Thing, a fun, interesting kind of blog chain!

Have a look at Erika Chase's blog, for an idea of what I mean: http://www.mysterymavencdn.blogspot.ca/2012/11/wicked-wednesdays_28.html

So, in The Next Big Thing, I'm supposed to answer ten questions about my WIP, or Work In Progress!

First, an explanation: I am, of course, the author of Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, and last year I was thrilled to sign a contract for a new series, Merry's Muffins and Mysteries! Then I heard that Berkley was looking for an author to write a series based on an idea they had for a Teapot Collector cozy mystery series.

Well!!

I collect teapots (a few, I don't have room for many!) and teacups. I would collect more if I had the room, but I photograph teapots wherever I go, too!! I was thrilled when I got the job, and that is the book I am working on right now, Book 1 in that series, which I will be writing under the pseudonym Amanda Cooper. By the way, those names have a family connection I'll probably talk about some day.

So... on to the ten questions!

1 - What is the working title of the book?

Tempest in a Teapot. After I thought of it I heard about Kari Lee Townsend's Tempest in the Tea Leaves, (more about her later!) but the titles are similar but not identical so I figure it's okay!!

2 - Where did the idea for the book come from?

Well, actually, this is MUCH different than my usual way of working in that the idea came from someone else, my editor at Berkley, the wonderful Michelle Vega. I only hope I take her vision and make her proud! Of course, I have lots of latitude, so the book truly is being shaped by me.

3 - What genre does the book fall under?

Cozy Mystery of course!!

4 - Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Hmm... tough one. Sophie Freemont Taylor should be played by Michelle Monaghan, (she was in Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey, among other things) I think. She's a little older than 27 year old Sophie, but she's beautiful, dark haired, with an intelligent good girl aura that would suit Sophie well. Nana would be perfectly played by Betty White, and Thelma Mae Earnshaw, one of the more colorful characters in the book, (she's a quirky senior) could be handled marvelously by Cloris Leachman.

5 - What is a one sentence synopsis of your book.

Sophie Freemont Taylor, back in Gracious Grove, New York to help her Nana with her tearoom, worries that a fatal poisoning at the tearoom next door is going to be pinned on cantankerous Thelma Mae Earnshaw, so she and her Nana and friends try to figure out who wanted influential matriarch (and Sophie's best friends future mother-in-law) dead. 

6 - Who represents you and who is publishing the book?

It will be published by Berkley Prime Crime. I am represented by BookEnds Literary Agency.


7 - How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I'll let you know when I'm done!

8 - What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Well, it's by me, so inevitably it will be in a similar tone to A Deadly Grind, my first Vintage Kitchen Mystery! But pick any one of the books by my Killer Characters' compatriots and you'll get the same kind of coziness!!

9 - Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My wonderful editor gave me the basics of the plot and characters, and I'm working on fleshing it out!

10 - What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

A couple of things, I suppose... my editor was very specific about the kind of cat that Sophie's Nana has, a Birman. Now, I had never seen a Birman before, but they are gorgeous, very Persian-like, with with amazing coloring and markings! I can't wait to see if they put her on the cover. But other than that, I hope they like the very cozy elements of the setting, a tearoom, and the plotting is always super important to me!

The Next Big Thing chain is supposed to have five writers linked to it, but at this busy time of year I only found one writer able to commit the time and energy necessary, but what a writer she is! I am pleased to link to Kari Lee Townsend.

Here is the blog she participates in on Wednesdays: http://www.mysteriesandmargaritasblogspot.com/

And here is her website! http://www.karileetownsend.com/index.html

Shout out to you, Kari!

Cozy Christmas Countdown!

It's here, the first day of Killer Characters' Cozy Christmas Countdown!!

Check out the blog every day through Christmas day and you just might win yourself a igft. On my day, December 21st, I'll be giving away a copy of A Deadly Grind (or perhaps an alternate for those who already have it) PLUS a few extra goodies!!

So check out today's post and comment for a chance to win!

http://www.killercharacters.com/2012/11/christmas-memories.html


Also, today I'm featured at Shelley's blog!!

http://shelleyreadsandreviews.blogspot.ca/2012/11/chatting-with-victoria-hamilton.html

Cozy Christmas Giveaway

It's... The Thirty Days of Christmas!!

Wait, but there are only Twelve Days of Christmas, right?

Not at Killer Characters, where we have soooper sized it! Check out our new - temporary - look for our fabulous Cozy Christmas Giveaway... visit and comment everyday from November 26th to December 25th for a chance to win books and more. I say 'more' because I will also have a little somepin' somepin' extra to add to the gift of A Deadly Grind... like special magical pens and notepads! (Just joking... they're regular pens and notpads, but are pretty cool anyway.)

So check out my 'Giving Thanks' post today for more information! (Hint: my giveaway day will be December 21st, 'cause I blog every month on the 21st.)

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!!

Pardon me while I rearrange...

I am determined to do some prettifying, and so things may look strange from time to time in the next while. Pardonez moi, s'il vous plait, as us classy broads say, while I work here...

Cover Story

So I said I would post some of my less than stellar romance covers the next week, and it's been... three weeks?? Time flies when you are laboring over a hot computer. I am hard at work on Book 1 of a new series, about which I will have more to say in future!

Anyway, here are a few samples of my Regency covers.

As Donna Simpson, I wrote Regency romances for Kensington Zebra. Gosh, I loved writing and reading traditional Regency romances! So much fun . But it appeared, sometimes, that cover artists didn't know much about the Regency period, roughly 1810 to 1820. Here is a Christmas cover... can you spot the BIG boo-boo??
Here's a hint... it is on the right, just barely visible.
Did you guess Christmas tree?

You're right! Trees were not commonly a part of English Christmas traditon until the Victorian era. Other than that, it is actually a lovely cover!


Which I can't say about this one. This is my least favorite. Okay... I think it's hideous.




I call it the breast implant cover, or 'Dude, Where's My Bowflex'. The models' development - in both cases - is just so dang over the top.

And the smirky look on his face... augh! My eyes!

I actually laughed out loud when I saw it, and that is not the reaction the poor artist was likely going for.


However, just as the imprint was shutting down in 2005, I had one of the last covers, and it was gorgeous!! Breathtaking! Totally awesomesauce.

So here, without any more gushing or commentary, is the cover for Lady Savage, June 2005.

Okay, a little more gushing... I love the colors, and the back view of the heroine, and the moon, and... well, everything.

Beautiful.


Next, I think I will go through some of my Italian covers by Mondadori... hoo, boy! Interesting take on my werewolf paranormals, I do have to say.

By the way... today I am guest at Poe's Deadly Daughters, with my Love Letter to America. Drop on by!

http://poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.ca/2012/07/canadian-in-us-my-love-letter-to.html