Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!!
Those Southern Sewing Circle ladies are back and this edition is awesome. I have loved each and every book in this series. This women have become friends I can't wait to see again and again. They are always getting into some kind of trouble. I have always wondered where Elizabeth comes up with her ideas. I am thrilled she is here today to shed a little light on the subject. Please get a glass of sweet tea and help me welcome Elizabeth Lynn Casey.
Hi Elizabeth!!
Hi Everyone!
The Happy Place
By Elizabeth Lynn Casey
Readers often ask where I get my ideas. And, in many cases, my answer is fairly simple—a snippet from a newsbyte on the radio, or a news item on my computer's splash screen. When this happens, it's because something about that particular news item caught my attention and sent me off to my happy place.
Now, while I love the ocean and hiking through the woods, the happy place to which I'm writing about at the moment is inside my head.
Strange, I know.
When a snippet finds its way into my happy place, I'm pretty much done. I don't hear another word the radio personality says, I don't read another word of the blurb on my screen. Instead, I retreat and let my mind start putting its own spin on things.
I'll give you an example from yesterday's release of Reap What You Sew
(the sixth book in my Southern Sewing Circle mystery series).
This book was born from a simple "how was your day" discussion with a woman I see from time to time. She's a special education teacher with some of the best "how was your day" answers, I've ever heard. Anyway, she was talking about a young man in her class who is a Kleptomaniac Hoarder—which means he has a tendency to swipe things (in quantity) and hang onto them.
What, if anything, this woman said about the rest of her day, I don't know. Because I wasn't there, anymore.
Well, technically I was there—still sitting in the same chair—but I wasn't there.
Yup, that's right. I was in my happy place. 
Before I left that night, I knew a) how I was going to use that Kleptomaniac Hoarder thing, b) who was going to enter the canvas of characters with that condition and c) how it was going to play out.
The result? A super fun story that has; a famous movie director coming to Sweet Briar to film a few scenes for an upcoming film, the introduction of (fan favorites) Leona and Margaret Louise's elderly mother, and a murder that puts three of the sewing Circle's members on the suspect list.
If you're already a fan of the series, I hope you enjoy this latest installment (the cover is spectacular, isn't it?). If you're new to the series, you've got some catching up to do.
Next up? Let It Sew,
the seventh book in the series coming November 6th.
Happy Reading!
~Elizabeth
Thank you so much Elizabeth for stopping by. I know you are super busy with this book release and another in June. You continue to amaze me and create characters and stories for all of us to enjoy! You keep writing and we'll keep reading!!
About This Author
Elizabeth Lynn Casey is the author of the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries with Berkley Prime Crime. Reap What You Sew, the latest title in the series, debuted yesterday. In addition to this series, Elizabeth will also be writing the upcoming Amish Mysteries (also with Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin) under her real name, Laura Bradford. Hearse and Buggy,
the first book in the series, will release on June 5th. For more information about Elizabeth, visit: www.elizabethlynncasey.com
Reap What You Sew
(A Southern Sewing Circle Mystery)
6th in Series
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Mary Ann Lasher(It's Amazing!)
Cover Design by Judith Lagerman
Quaint, cozy, Sweet Briar is about to get full of drama, lots of drama! Warren Shoemaker has chosen Sweet Briar to be the setting for his next movie. Everyone in Sweet Briar, including every member of the Southern Sewing Circle is dreaming of stardom hoping to be cast as an extra in the movie. One of the members even plans to snag a leading role. Tori Sinclair is the lucky one to actual earn a part as an extra. She is very excited to step out of the library and into a movie based on one of her favorite books.
The cameras stop rolling very early as everyone waits for the leading actress to arrive on the set, but we soon learn she is not just late or being the diva the whole crew knows her to be. She is found dead in her trailer, murdered and more than one of the sewing circle members turns out to be prime suspects in her death. The show most definitely will not go on until Tori can uncover the truth and catch the real killer. The set is anything but quiet as she pieces together the clues that will sew up all the drama plaguing the lovely town of Sweet Briar.
Dollycas's Thoughts
Everyone needs a group of friends like the ladies of the Southern Sewing Circle. These ladies have each others back whether they are trying to survive a break up with a boyfriend, dealing with their kids, facing the task of what to do with an aging parent or keeping someone's butt out of jail. A certain lady in the group gets herself in a bunch of hot water in this installment and at times can be exasperating at her thoughts that even though she may not have committed the crime, she is still happy "that woman" is out of the "picture". As I have said before these friendships are the core of this series. Each of their different outlooks and personalities bring the perfect contrast to this group of characters. Each character is brilliantly written.
The movie plot touches home with me as my little hometown here in Wisconsin was used as a backdrop for a bit of Johnny Depp's movie Public Enemy. The scenes rang true to everything I heard and observed during that time. Little towns just go crazy when there movie stars walking about.
The victim and I share something too. I can't tell you what but you will see when you read this wonderful story.
There are the surprises and twists that Elizabeth Lynn Casey stitches in each of her mysteries. She says snippets (ideas) find the way to her "happy place" and stories are born. She has done amazing things with these snippets. I hope her "happy place" overflows with these ideas and lead to many more fun stories like this one. You cannot go wrong with an Elizabeth Lynn Casey mystery. They are fun, entertaining and definitely "must reads"!!
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Thanks to the wonderful people
at Berkley Prime Crime
I have 2 copies of
and one copy of the fifth book in the series
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
