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I appreciate quiet, and I don’t need to have music playing when I’m doing anything especially writing. But I discovered the notion of ‘white noise’ some years ago to mask the noise that disturbs a sound sleep. You know, the distant train whistle, dogs barking, people snoring and a very old chest of drawers that insists on sending out periodic creaks.(We used to have an antique chest that a neighbor’s family had stored in our living room after the woman passed away. Each night as we watched television, the chest—or the departed woman—would make itself know by creaking and groaning. Finally, the family retrieved the piece of furniture and we never did follow up with them about the racket.) But back to white noise. I just purchased a new clock/radio/white noise gizmo and was shocked to see how the manufacturers define the term. There are the usual soothing sounds of ‘summer night,’ ‘brook’ or crickets on ‘summer night.’ I suppose you might consider ‘tide’ comforting, but ‘thunderstorm?’ On the creepy side, there is the ‘heartbeat.’ I know it is something that is suggested for babies and puppies but I’m sure I’ve heard it as background in some suspense movie. And then there is ‘city’ which sounds like traffic—exactly what I wouldn’t like to hear. The silliest one is ‘foghorns.’ The sound of a distant foghorn in my first visit to San Francisco was kind of charming. But this sound soother white noise machine foghorn is really loud!End of rant. On the positive side of life, I’d like to acquaint you with some fellow authors and a whole lot of cozy reads for the cold evenings. Happy Reading,Andrea

Give yourself a present! SO MANY TO CHOSE FROM HERE

So many to chose from!TAKE A LOOK

So many to chose from! TAKE A LOOK

GREAT SELECTION AUTHORS AND BOOKS.  TAKE A LOOK

THREE CHRISTMAS COZIES FOR YOU JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS, COZY ALL THE WAY! Are you ready for three holiday themed cozy mysteries?You know: the isolated mansion, the unexpected storm and of course, a murder. And the amateur sleuth who figures out whodunit. SEE THEM HERE

BERKSHIRES COZY MYSTERIES 9 books that take Aggie Burnside from New York to West Adams, MA, to Vermont, Maine, Boston and back home again. Follow her insatiable curiosity as she exercises her powers as an amateur sleuth.  SEE THEM HERE

MASSACHUSETTS COZY MYSTERIES Amanda Burnside, Aggie’s cousin, has a similar gift for sleuthing. But her hunting grounds are the greater Boston area in the 1930’s. Four books in the series and more to come! CHECK THEM OUT

COMING IN DECEMBER A new contemporary cozy series with sleuth Gemma Farnese, a Northern transplant to North Carolina. She’s sharp, observant and finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery in an academic lab. Plenty of suspects and motives!Four books are in the queue taking her from the Piedmont, to the coast, to the Blue Ridge mountains and back again. (DON’T WORRY – THERE WILL ALSO BE MORE OF THE BURNSIDE COUSINS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, TOO.) PRE-ORDER HERE

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As a youngster, I used to watch those cheesy 1950s horror films on Saturday afternoons. I don’t like scary movies, and these are so ridiculous that you can’t be frightened. Since it is October, let me share my strange obsession with them. The Wolfman, released in 1941 has a great cast and an improbable story line. Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) is somehow the next in line to inherit Claude Rains’ title and castle in Wales although he is distinctly American in accent and attitude. While Lon Chaney Sr. was the “Man of a Thousand Faces,” his son was a fairly one-note actor. The under-rated Ralph Bellamy plays the slightly befuddled inspector and Bela Lugosi is the wolfman who bites Lawrence Talbot and starts the murder spree.  Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein (1948) takes a popular comedy duo and thrusts them into an implausible but hysterically funny situation. Somehow, Dracula (Bela Lugosi) works with a mad scientist to find a simple-minded brain (Lou Costello’s, of course) to reanimate Frankenstein (played by Glenn Strange, not Boris Karloff). Chaos ensues at a laboratory on an isolated island and somehow the Wolfman gets involved. A great silly movie that spawned several sequels.  What has to be the most absurd horror movie is The Tingler with Vincent Price (1959) noted for the post-production audience manipulation. The plot is simple: a pathologist discovers that the spine-tingling sensation that humans experience is due to a parasite. Too much fear and the spine is damaged. But, if you don’t scream, you may die. The movie involves solving a murder of a mute woman, but the real fun is what the director, William Castle did with the release. In many theaters, he used ‘Percepto,’ a buzzer installed in some seats. Naturally, the audience was encouraged to scream (or else they would die) and Vincent Price (on screen) would interrupt the movie to warn people what was coming. Castle even hired screamers and fainters to heighten the pandemonium. Goofy movie but great marketing!Take a look at my newest release, books by my colleagues and promotions that offer many choices. HAPPY READING, ANDREA This just came out last week. An historical cozy set in 1930s Boston and Cape Cod: GET IT HERE And have you read the first three in the series? CATCH UP NOW OCTOBER COZY MYSTERIES CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALL CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALLBUT WAIT – THERE’S MORE! CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALLTHERE’S ANOTHER SERIES YOU CAN’T MISS A small town in Western Massachusetts and a curious young nurse turned amateur sleuth. Read all nine! Take a closer look .Unsubscribe

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I typically plan trips a few months in advance, but the recent trip to Alaska was more like a ten-month process. It was a short cruise and never having done one before, I had no idea there was so much paperwork. I get it, but it was a far cry from usual vacations where you book air and hotel on your own and that’s it.  It was a National Geographic tour of 6 days leaving from Juneau and it was my first trip to that state. My surprise was that Juneau was a small and hilly city, so from my hotel I could see the giant cruise ships looming in the harbor. A few blocks up the hill and there was the State Capitol and my friend Ruth and I took an informative hour-long tour.  Late in the afternoon, we were shuttled to the boat, met the other guests and crew and settled in with the boat cruising south. The next day, we boarded Zodiaks (Jacques Cousteau’s favorite sea transport) and observed an iceberg calving in the rain. Subsequent days featured a hike in the temperate rainforest (yes, it really rains a lot), a shore trip to Wrangell where we had a Tlingit welcome ceremony and got to view petroglyphs on the beach. Next was a Zodiak excursion into the misty fjords with—you guessed it—more rain but spectacular waterfalls coursing down the rock formations. The last day of the trip took us into Ketchikan and a visit to a park where totem poles are made with many on display. Our guide told us that where human figures were represented with red nose and cheeks it meant that there was some factor of shame associated. So, the totem of Seward, the Secretary of State who negotiated the sale of Alaska from Russia, expressed the locals’ displeasure that they had provided many potlatches (feasts) when he visited and he never reciprocated. Great trip and I even got some writing done—longhand since I didn’t have internet. That’s a totally different thought process. A replica of a petroglyph that is down at the beach being eroded by waves and time.  Totem of William Seward, negotiator of Alaska purchase, recipient of many honors but shamed for lack of reciprocity. Raven clan totem. As a recovering anthropologist, it was a treat to visit  Saxman Totem Park in Ketchikan, our last stop.  HAPPY READING, ANDREA

A BRAND NEW SERIES!It’s live today! 1930s Boston, a socialite sleuth, bootleggers, speakeasies, wily politicians and a handsome detective.  Dive in. MURDER ON BOSTON COMMON: A Plot Twist Cozy Mystery GET IT HERE And it’s not too late to catch up with my previous Berkshires Cozy Mystery series that starts with MURDER AT HIGHFIELDS.It’s here along with other great books.Click on the photo and just keep scrolling.  GET IT HERE Funny, quirky, just a little scary. See Karen McSpade’s paranormal cozy mystery. GET IT TODAY Don’t forget to buy  MURDER ON BOSTON COMMON,  the start of a fast-paced historical cozy mystery series.  E-book, paperback and Kindle Unlimited GET IT TODAY

2022 was busy for me writing six books in the Berkshires Cozy Mystery Series for a total of nine volumes. I hope you enjoyed Aggie Burnside on her adventures in West Adams, Vermont, Boston and New York. She’ll be taking a bit of rest, but it’s not the last we’ll hear of our intrepid young nurse and her doctor husband.  In January I’ll launch a new series featuring Amanda Burnside, Aggie’s cousin, who we met in two of the Berkshires books. Amanda is a young socialite in 1930s Boston trying to find herself and coming face to face with a murder. Of course. A persistent suitor, an intriguing detective, a wayward sister, bootleggers and speak-easies round out her world in MURDER ON BOSTON COMMON. She’ll spend the remainder of 2023 finding adventures and solving murders in the many neighborhoods of Beantown.  As a self-confessed list maker, I’m winding down the year by scheduling out her life and mine for the next twelve months. Hang on for the ride! Meet my good friend NEENA ROTH I’ve read this fantastic, fast-paced, first in the Treasures of the Ark thriller series. It takes you around the world in a complex plot if you can catch your breath.  GET IT HERE Introducing  Audrey Clementine On a lighter note, here’s a holiday cozy that you’ll be sure to enjoy. The holidays aren’t over until they’re over.  GET IT HERE If you think the holidays are all about family, love and good cheer, you haven’t read any seasonal cozy mysteries! Don’t forget to buy CHRISTMAS MURDER OF A MISER   And here’s COUNTRY HOUSE CHRISTMAS MURDER There are more books in the Berkshires Cozy Mystery Series   SEE THEM ALL HERE

November 30 Newsletter

When I was growing up and many mothers were of the stay-at-home kind, December was the time to bake a variety of cookies. And luckily, we got to help. 

The festive cookie cutters were hauled out from the recesses of a kitchen cabinet to make the shapes of bells, santas and ornaments. Icing was applied after baking which was colorful but not terribly tasty. 

My mother also had a metal cookie press where a die could be changed out to make three dimensional shapes of wreaths and Christmas trees to be decorated with dragees, those little round decorative balls. 

Other treats were fried strips sprinkled with powdered sugar and pecan shortbread but my favorite were acorn cookies because the preparation involved—chocolate! And you can guess who had that smeared on her face and fingers by the time they were finished. 

Here’s the simple recipe for ACORN COOKIES

1 cup melted butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 ¾ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla. Add flour and baking powder. Shape the dough into a tablespoon and flatten the top surface. Slide out onto a cookie tray, flat side down. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. When cool, dip the rounded end of each cookie in chocolate and then sprinkle with chopped nuts. Lick fingers.

Sadly, the days of massive baking seem to have waned, although my niece, Michelle, does her part to keep the tradition going and sends me some each year. Years ago, when more women got into the work force, someone brilliantly invented the cookie exchange party, so you only had to create one type of treat. You brought a large tin and took a sample of everyone else’s thereby having an assortment. The last exchange I attended lost its sparkle when—the horror—someone appeared with store bought cookies. 

Here’s to a sweet holiday, however you celebrate. 

And Happy Reading, 

Andrea

                       

It is hard after getting through a difficult loss to feel gratitude. But I think I’m there. 

When I was in the going to the office work world, I made it a habit to sincerely thank at least one of my employees every day. I hope it made them feel better and it made me realize the valuable work they and we were doing helping people find housing.

Now, in the world of independent publishing, I want to thank you readers for diving into the fictional world that I have created. When I am in the midst of writing, I am in that world entirely, and I am grateful for that release. 

I am also grateful for the fellow indie authors I have met in the past two years as I continue to learn how to publish and market books. What a learning curve it has been! They have been so helpful and supportive, and I still have much to learn. 

And just to be random, here’s a photo of wild turkeys two Thanksgivings ago. No, we didn’t eat them, just let them browse and fly up into the sycamores in the evening to nest. 

It’s a busy week for me spending time in North Carolina with a cousin only recently discovered in 2016 after years of searching on both sides. But that’s a fascinating story for another, much longer post. 

Fall seems to rank high as a favorite season but for me, growing up in New York, it meant that things were soon going to be cold and dreary for months to come. Luckily, I live in the desert Southwest and get to enjoy the sun almost every day. Even we have some deciduous trees that lose their leaves but check out that sky!

I wrote two cozy mystery books that take place in December in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. It was interesting to recall the sensation of being bundled up in woolens, as people in the 1930s through to the 1960s were, turning a corner and getting a blast of cold air in the face. Much more fun to write about than having experienced. 

So, bundle up somewhere with a hot beverage of your choice and enjoy some cozies. Mine and those of my author friends. 

Happy reading,

Andrea

Yes, you read that correctly. If you’re using a fireplace, make sure the damper is open, so the smoke goes up the flue. Duh, right?

One of the hazards of creating fiction is that even when you are not sitting down and writing, the characters may still be chattering in your head impatiently waiting for you to get back to work. 

But daily life—mine, not theirs—must go on, and I need to take breaks to do routine chores. One of the least usual is lighting a fire although I had the kindling all set up the other night. Then I became distracted by one of my fictitious friends and couldn’t remember if I had opened or closed the damper. Of course, it’s open, I told myself. 

A few minutes later the haze in the room told me otherwise. Then the screeching of the smoke alarm confirmed it. The dog’s howling and the security company’s urgent call were unnecessary reminders that I had not been paying attention. 

All is well now. The house smells as if some neighbor is burning leaves even if we don’t intentionally do that in Arizona. I’m reminded to do a better job of being present. And telling my characters to give me a break from time to time. 

Be well, happy reading. And don’t forget to get your flu shot!