I am so excited to have Caroline Fardig here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Guest Post.
Thanks Caroline and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Southern Discomfort Blog Tour!
Please take it away, Caroline!
Guest Post
Trading Strong Coffee for Southern Charm
It’s not easy to let a series and its beloved characters go. I broke down and cried the day I realized I was doing my final read-through of MURDER OVER MOCHAS, the fifth and final book in my Java Jive series. I didn’t want to leave Juliet and the gang to their own devices, out there alone in Fictional Character Land without me to guide them. Would they make good choices? Or more interestingly, would some of them (okay, all of them) continue to make not-so-good choices that would keep them on their toes throughout their fictional lives? As much as I would have liked to hold onto them (especially Ryder — shh, don’t tell Pete I said that), I had a new series to bring to life.
Enter Quinn Bellandini and her gang. Quinn is no Juliet, I’ll tell you that. She’s polite and sweet and gracious — never once letting any kind of angry alter-ego show. She’s surrounded and supported by family instead of choosing to strike out on her own and scrape by all by herself. So the heroine of SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT, not in keeping with the name, is a lot more, well comfortable with her life. That is, until her mean puppet master (yours truly) makes her stumble upon a body and turns her into a murder suspect. Oh, wait. I did that to Juliet, too.
A similarity the two do share, though, is their love of and success at baking. I’ve received multiple pleas from readers for recipes for the pastry masterpieces Juliet was always cooking up in the Java Jive series. (I’ve shared some of them in previous blog posts.) So, in the Southern B&B series, I’ve decided to include recipes right in the book! Look at the end for a couple of scone recipes and even one for macarons — a culinary feat a bit outside the comfort zone of the basic baker, but so worth it. One other thing that Juliet and Quinn share is their love for music. Both are guitarists, although Quinn doesn’t deal with any stage fright issues — she and her girlfriends are in a band that plays regular gigs around town. That’s where the similarities end, though. Other than their hobbies, those two ladies are polar opposites.
I’ve also traded the big, sparkly city of Nashville for the quaint charm of Savannah, Georgia. Both are some of my favorite places to visit, and they each have a vibe all their own. I think the lowcountry setting fits our new heroine perfectly. Aside from her performances with her band, Quinn isn’t much for big city nightlife (although there’s no shortage of that in Savannah). Plus, she couldn’t get away with driving her cute little Vespa down the crazy crowded streets of Nashville!
Starting a new series has been a big change for me, but I think I have a handle on it. We’ve still got the requisite quirky characters (Papa Sal and Dixie/Suncloud, I’m looking at you) and steadfast sidekicks for this series, but it’s decidedly a much cozier mystery than anything in the Java Jive series. I hope you like the new series and enjoy getting to know Quinn and her gang!
Southern Discomfort: A Southern B&B Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1s in Series
Alibi (March 6, 2018)
ASIN: B071K4DV7W
Will be up on GoodReads soon.
Southern hospitality meets deadly deception in the start of a charming new mystery series from the USA Today bestselling author of the Java Jive novels.
Quinn Bellandini loves her life in Savannah, Georgia, where she runs her grandfather’s B&B with her sister, Delilah. From baking fresh scones and serving up grits every morning to ensuring the guests see the best of their historic city, Quinn can’t imagine doing anything else — even if it means dealing with nuisances like the occasional malfunctioning commode. But when Quinn drops by the local restaurant owned by her friend Drew Green, and stumbles upon a murder, her whole world comes crashing down.
Drew’s brother was always a little surly, but Quinn can’t imagine that someone disliked the prickly chef enough to kill him. The police, on the other hand, don’t believe that Quinn was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Before her guests can even digest the next morning’s gourmet breakfast, Quinn learns that she and Drew are suspects.
Drew thinks they should do some investigating of their own. Quinn is pretty sure she’s better suited to playing hostess than amateur sleuth. But with Delilah as her cynical sidekick, Quinn starts looking for the real killer — before she gets put away faster than you can say “sugar.”
About the Author
CAROLINE FARDIG is the USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the Java Jive Mysteries series and the Lizzie Hart Mysteries series. Fardig’s BAD MEDICINE was named one of the “Best Books of 2015” by Suspense Magazine. She worked as a schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.
Social Media
Website: www.carolinefardig.com
Blog: http://www.carolinefardig.com/blog/
Twitter: @carolinefardig
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolinefardigbooks
Purchase Links
Amazon B and N Kobo Google Play
Don’t miss Caroline Fardig’s thrilling Java Jive mysteries, which can be read together or separately:
DEATH BEFORE DECAF | MUG SHOT | A WHOLE LATTE MURDER | BREW OR DIE | MURDER OVER MOCHAS
Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:
https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/southern-discomfort-southern-bb-mystery-caroline-fardig
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