The Eighteenth Day of Christmas
Dominique Daoust

Amazon.com: Dominique Daoust: books, biography, latest update

A Prob-Llama of a Holiday (A Cozy Mystery Tribe Anthology) – Kindle edition by Cafe, Aconite, Joy, Patty, Landish, Daisy, Daoust, Dominique, Bisset, Ana, Rueter, Cathy, Stroud, Rune, Bator, Diane. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Why is Christmas special to your main character?
The town of Starlinghaven adores Christmas and as the new supervisor of the Recreation and Tourism Department, Penny wants to ensure the town’s holiday traditions are honored while adding her own touch of magic to the festivities.

Share a holiday scene from your book with us:
This was one of Starlinghaven’s biggest events, and Penny Coolidge was now in charge of it.  She had moved to this small Ontario town a few years ago and had finally worked her way up to the role of Supervisor of the Recreation and Tourism Department, which meant the first event she was fully responsible for was the annual Christmas Extravaganza.Starlinghaven’s residents went nuts for every holiday, but their love for Christmas rivalled Whoville—minus the weird hairstyles and impromptu songs in the town square.  They expected month-long activities and celebrations, and the Recreation and Tourism Department had to deliver.  There was a town-wide cookie challenge, a house lights display competition, an elves scavenger hunt, a snowman maze, and a reindeer race (with humans instead of actual reindeer, for logistical reasons).  But the Christmas Extravaganza was on another level.

Is your book part of a series?
It isn’t officially part of an existing series but it might be the starting point for a new series!

Do you have a special Christmas memory to share?
I grew up in Quebec, Canada and once it started snowing that’s when my anticipation for the holidays would kick in. When I still lived with my parents and younger sister, we made it a tradition to decorate the Christmas tree together every early December. We would make festive drinks, put on Christmas music (specifically the Hanson brothers, N*SYNC and Celine Dion albums), have a cozy fire all set up and put up all our nostalgic 90s decorations in the tree. It feels like a warm hug thinking about this memory 🙂

Victoria LK Williams
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KATE DARROCH

https://www.facebook.com/MairiMaguireCozies

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22133773.Kate_Darroch

Màiri Maguire is a Scots Irish school teacher who works at top schools all over the world, encountering crime everywhere she goes. Fortunately, she solves murders as efficiently as she teaches. In this series, Màiri solves crimes in Paris (France), Istanbul (Turkey), Brussels (Belgium), San Francisco and Las Vegas. In between bringing baddies to justice Màiri frequently returns to her home in Glasgow, Scotland, to eat brandy snaps with her sisters Morag and Katriona, eat ‘talie ice cream with her friends, and play with her nephew Niall

Who is your protagonist’s sidekick?

Màiri Maguire is a mid-30s Glaswegian schoolteacher living in the 1970s. She lives in Glasgow with her widowed sister Katriona and Kat’s son Niall; and teaches in boarding schools abroad. Her adventures are in glamorous cities: Paris, Rome, Istanbul, Brussels and many others.

Her sidekicks are her BFF Lianna and her secret service contact/slow-burn love interest Major Ellis Peverel.
The villains are, according to Writers Digest “an intense ride but funny” and Discovery calls the FIS Death in Paris “dark and light-hearted at the same time”.

Màiri cannot have an “official” fury sidekick in the Capital Cities stories because she is not permitted; but fury sidekicks keep on appearing – Destroyer, a part-collie, her live-in nephew’s dog (there’s a whole free story about how Destroyer got his name) Ebony, a chow (a tribute to my own dog, now passed, much loved) Glesgae, a Scottie dog, and others.

What role does the animal play in the story?

HILLARI DeSCHANE

https://www.facebook.com/HillariDeSchaneAuthorPage
https://www.hillarideschane.com/
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Hillari-DeSchane/author/B07H228PV4

Hillari DeSchane writes the delightful Cats of Christmas Regency Holiday Mysteries series. She also writes the Grim Haven Canine Cozy Mysteries, and the first book is now available. CWA Muse Medallion winner for best mystery, Hillari DeSchane’s fatally fun, family friendly cozies combine her favorite things: mystery, humor, and animals. Hillari lives in California with her ‘FurRensics Team:’ her Black Labrador Jocko and her Siamese Ambrose.

Other Books by Hillari

The Cats of Christmas Series;
Christmas in Regency England—tis the season for making merry—and murder!
The fur really flies as these curious cats hunt down who’s been nice, who’s been naughty—and who’s been positively deadly. Curl up with the Cats of Christmas series’ fatally fun, family friendly tales of mystery, told with warmth and humor, celebrating the human-animal bond that brings out the hero in both.

A Christmas Tail: A mute child’s bond with a unique Siamese cat uncovers an old tragedy–and rouses a murderous ghost. Can young Thomas and his feline friends stop the ghost of the Tarn Widow from taking her murderous revenge and prevent an innocent man from hanging?

Christmas Stalkings: Coming Soon!

Who is my protagonist’s sidekick?
Quincy is the large-hearted and lavishly-fluffy black and white tuxedo cat who came out of the cold and into Damaris Trent’s hospice for old soldiers. Quincy has a talent for healing broken hearts, an outsize appetite for his favorite foods—which are pretty much anything he can get his paws on—and—a nose for sniffing out murder. But can he also scratch up the clues to lead Damaris and his other human friends to the killer, before his feline curiosity proves fatal to them all?

What role does the animal play in the story?
Quincy is a major mover in both the mystery plot and the character arcs. Using his natural animal senses and abilities, especially the innate feline gifts of curiosity, persistence, hunting, and stalking, he locates evidence, brings clues to light, assesses human moods and motives, and guides, pushes, and pesters his humans toward the solution of the murder—and the restoration of their broken relationships.
Damaris and the secondary protagonist, Owen Vaughan, are animal lovers, and are uniquely sensitive and attentive to Quincy’s charm, his therapeutic presence—and his proclivity for sleuthing. Other people in the household also respond strongly to Quincy, but not always positively, because of his talent for seeking out hurting, grieving, desperate people. The murderer and his accomplice each react with alarm to Quincy’s instinctive knowing of their negative motives, and fear his ability to communicate with
those who pay attention to him.
Quincy’s loving, patient personality makes him an instant favorite and informal feline confessor
to the lonely, hurting people at the hospice: Damaris, raising a fatherless child and guarding a tragic secret at the cost of her own happiness; Lionel Trent, Damaris’s brother, hiding an old guilt that’s slowly killing him; Owen Vaughan, Damaris’s fiancé long presumed dead, now returned only to discover his dreams of a happy-ever-after have been dashed; Lydia Trent Crowley, Damaris’s and Lionel’s sister, who seems to have everything she wants—except happiness; Rosemary Trent, Damaris’s two-year-old
daughter, innocent of the private sin and the public scandal she represents.
Just a few days before Christmas, Quincy arrives on Damaris’s doorstep in the company of Owen In the teeth of a rising blizzard, the rest of Damaris and Lionel’s estranged family arrives, called together by their father, General Fredric Trent, the man who manipulated and mangled their dreams on another Christmas five years ago.
Then General Trent is found murdered, with Quincy the only witness. Now they’re snowed in with the killer—and each other. Quincy is quickly on the hunt, with Damaris right on his tail, determined to unmask the killer before he—or she—kills again. But as clever Quincy digs deep and the evidence brings fresh heartbreak, Damaris finds there’s something even more frightening than knowing there’s a murderer in their midst. It’s discovering the murderer might be someone she loves.
Old lies and deadly secrets changed their lives on another Christmas long ago. Now they’re reunited for one last Christmas that will either resurrect their hopes, or bring them to a deadly end.

Does my animal help or hinder my sleuth?
Quincy is usually an active help to Damaris, and the secondary protagonist Owen. Quincy is intuitive and clever, and highly attuned to the humans and their emotions.
However, he is still a cat through-and-through, with his own motives, including an endless appetite (all foods are his ‘favorite’ foods) and complete confidence he knows what is best for everyone in the house. He also operates on his own catly schedule, which includes normal feline activities like napping and mouse hunting. And while he is gifted at communicating with his human friends, (especially his needs and orders) he can also be frustratingly enigmatic when he chooses to be.

Is the book part of a series, if so, tell us about the series:
Christmas Stalkings is the second of five cat-themed, family-friendly, thrilling and heartwarming Regency Holiday Mystery novellas. The series began with 2018’s award-winning A Christmas Tail. Each novella centers around a different intriguing crime, entangling a fresh cast of compelling characters, against the background of some of Regency-era England’s most historic and atmospheric cities.

Give the readers a hint of what’s to come for characters in future books:
2024/Christmas Holly Buries:
At Brighton, the Prince Regent’s favorite seaside resort, the fashionable patients are suddenly flocking to Clarabelle Calvert’s discreetly unfashionable hotel—but they don’t seem to be checking out. Then the first body is found, in most indiscreet circumstances.
Now the Prince Regent is booked for a stay, and Clarabelle and her Angora cat Constance must sniff out the killer before their royal guest arrives, or face execution for treason if anything happens to the heir to the throne.
2025/Christmas Slay Bells:
Newly widowed herbalist Nessa MacTeague arrives from the highlands as Edinburgh is recovering from the Burke and Hare serial murders. Encouraged by her surgeon employer, Nessa throws herself into her work, even taking her Scottish Fold cat Magnus along on house calls as companion and comforter to her patients in the grim tenements.
But when she follows Magnus down a forbidden alley and finds a body, it appears another killer has begun stalking Edinburgh’s streets. Then Magnus begins stalking her employer, and Nessa must wonder: did Burke and Hare have an accomplice—and is she working for him?

Victoria LK Williams

ANNA ST. JOHN

Website: Anna-StJohn.com
Facebook: CozyAuthor
Twitter: @AuthorStJohn

Anna St. John is a lifelong writer. She began her career as editor of her college newspaper and held positions as a professional journalist, political consultant, and advertising copywriter before she established her own advertising agency — which she ran for forty years. 
Today, Anna writes cozy mysteries from her home office in a small Kansas town where she is within walking distance of a working blacksmith shop like the one in her Josie Posey series. Her Old English Sheepdog, Oliver, serves as an inspiration for the fluffy pooch in her first novel, Doomed by Blooms, now available in paperback, ebook or audiobook.

From Anna’s Website… Josie Posey, a mature yet ever-feisty big city crime reporter turned crime solver, has officially retired to a small, touristy town in middle America. In DOOMED BY BLOOMS, Josie agrees to interview a local ballerina for a story that quickly turns into a murder investigation. The ballerina’s husband is found dead in the couple’s field of flowers, and Josie was the last to see him alive. With her loyal Old English Sheepdog, Moe, by her side, Josie and her posse of mahjong-playing friends are determined to ID the murderer before anyone else gets hurt.

Who is your protagonist’s sidekick?
Josie’s Old English Sheepdog, Moe, is her constant companion. He is modeled after my own dog, Oliver, who bravely guards our property each day–chasing cats, rabbits, squirrels, birds, raccoons and skunks who dare to enter his realm.

What role does the animal play in the story?
Moe is by Josie’s side nearly everywhere she goes. When she gets behind the wheel of her little red VW convertible, Moe jumps into the back seat to ride along. Together they cruise the quaint streets of the village – Josie’s hair and Moe’s ears flying in the wind.

Does your animal help or hinder your sleuth?
Generally, Moe is a helper. He listens to her theories, alerts her when he senses danger, and comforts her when she is injured. He has also been wrong on occasion – like the time he raced into the back garden to chase an intruder and returned saturated with skunk spray.

Give us 1 example of the interaction between your main character and the Fury Sidekick.
Late one night, Moe wakes Josie with whines and nudges, directing her to the back door of her cottage. The two peek through the window to see the shadow of an unfamiliar object on the back deck. Moe is by her side as Josie turns the lock and opens the door, aiming her flashlight at the object. An odor assails Josie’s nose, Moe scrambles out the door, barking with his “big dog” voice, and they tackle the object together. Feathers fly as they pounce on a crate of flapping hens and discover a warning note attached to the top of the crate.|
The book also includes a hint of romance, as Josie’s matchmaking friends encourage her to date again – particularly to pursue an attraction toward a certain local blacksmith, with whom sparks fly.

Give the readers a hint of what’s coming for your character in future books.
In future books, Josie’s sheepdog, Moe, demonstrates his ability to sniff out the bad-guys. Josie and the police chief form a closer working alliance. The mahjong friends take a more active role in some of the investigations. And Josie’s relationship with the blacksmith “heats up.”

Victoria LK Williams

Sorry for the shameless promo, but I wanted to let you know two things that are going on…

1. I have started publishing the chapters to Gift of Murder in my Ream Stories Subscription. If you would like to become a member of the Cozy Gossip Sleuth tier, you can read as I write. Higher levels let you become part of the process, and comment on the stories as I write. And if you can’t become a paid subscriber, could you please follow me? This will give you access to my public postings.

1. I have published three New Box sets on my website: http://www.Victoria LK Williams.com They are only available in my Payhip Book store. Click here for more information.

Victoria LK Williams

T. THORN COYLE

https://www.thorncoyle.com
https://www.facebook.com/tthorncoyle/
https://tthorncoyle.substack.com

Thorn Coyle writes The Seashell Cove Paranormal Mysteries, The Witches of Portland, The Panther Chronicles and the Steel Clan Saga and the Pride Street Cozy Paranormal Mysteries. She also writes non-fiction, has several short story collections, and has released four albums of chants and songs. Thorn has also taught magical practices all over the world. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and loves the city wildlife. You know those squirrels and crows (such smart animals!)

Danger swirls through Seashell Cove like ocean mist. Sarah Braxton is broke, her ex’s partner has disappeared, and the fae spirits are in an uproar. Can one witch and her mouthy cat crack the case, or will everything fall off the cliff?

Who is your protagonist’s sidekick?
Rhiannon is an opinionated black cat who lives in a bookshop in a not-so-sleepy seaside town. She is companion to the Bookshop Witch, Sarah. Rhiannon always thinks she knows best. And that is often true.

What role does the animal play in the story?
Rhiannon helps to uncover vital clues, and as the series continues, grows even more pushy, clawing her way into the middle of the fray, helping to take out magical bad guys in between treats and naps.

Does your animal help or hinder your sleuth?
Sarah often thinks Rhiannon is a hindrance, but really, witch and cat rely on one another to get through life after the death of both Sarah’s parents, and to solve the strange magical cases that bombard this small town on the craggy Oregon Coast.
Both witch and cat are named after Stevie Nicks’ songs, naturally, even though Sarah’s parents spelled her name differently!
With their wacky cohort of gnomes, centaurs, witches, and ghosts—plus a handsome nerdy boyfriend who is sweet as a blueberry muffin and tough as steel—Rhiannon and Sarah build their own crime solving family.

Give us 1 example of the interaction between your main character and the Furry Sidekick.

From Tarot Witch, Book Three in the series:

“Rhiannon, what’s the matter?” I got down my favorite blue-glazed mug from Bart’s shop and started preparing the Brown Betty pot to brew some strong English Breakfast tea.
::We had visitors last night.::
“Visitors,” I repeated. “They the ones that left the footprints outside?”
::I guess so.::
“Did you recognize them?”
::One of them was human. Tall. But I couldn’t see their face very clearly. They wore a hat that shaded their face, even in those obnoxious lights you put up outside. They rattled the doorknob.::
“And the other? I noticed animal prints,” I said, swirling hot water inside the brown glazed teapot to prime it.
::It was largish. I could see its face just fine.::
“What kind of animal?” The last thing I needed was a coyote or some other predator around. We even had the occasional mountain lion come down from the hills, though the prints outside were not cat of any kind.
::It was a rabbit,:: she said. ::It looked like a wererabbit. Teeth, you know. And glowing eyes.:: She bent to crunch some kibble.
I sputtered. “A rabbit? Are you kidding me? We don’t have rabbits around here, and I thought you said it was largish. And a wererabbit? Come on, Rhiannon.”
::I know what I saw.:: Rhiannon sniffed, then bent back to her kibble and wouldn’t say any more.

Is your book part of a series, if so, tell us about the series.
The Seashell Cove Paranormal Cozy Mysteries is an ongoing series with book six on the way in Autumn, 2023!
In Seashell Cove, the waves are treacherous, and the occupants are…strange. Sarah Braxton is a hereditary witch who runs a haunted bookshop which she struggles to keep in the red, while keeping Rhiannon in kibble.
I love writing this series because the Oregon Coast is naturally a magical place and bringing that magic to life is just a joy. Ghouls and ghosts meet centaurs and gnomes and live in the misty spaces that most humans never see. Copious cups of tea are brewed, many muffins are eaten, and as for crime? Sometimes Sarah’s crew cuts it close, but together, they manage to set things to rights in the end.

Give the readers a hint of what’s to come for your character in future books.
The adventures of Sarah and Rhiannon continue through five books—Haunted Witch, Tarot Witch, Running Witch, Hallows Witch—and in Book Six, Solstice Witch, the duo encounter an honest-to-Yule Santa’s elf who has lost his way. Turns out, there’s more to the story, and the misfit crew of friends needs to get to the bottom of it before things get worse!

Victoria LK Williams

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Catnip Caper

by Victoria LK Williams

Giveaway ends June 30, 2023.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Ready, Set, Murder!

Get ready for another purr-fect mystery in “Catnip Caper” – the second book in the cozy mystery series set in the charming south of Florida.

Lizzie Higgins is back and this time she’s determined to solve the murder of Camille, a member of the new film crew hired to document the renovations at Azalea Plantation. But with each of the four crew members having a secret and motive for killing the director, Lizzie’s investigation won’t be easy. Luckily, she has the help of her friends and trusty companion Harry, the fat cat, to unravel the clues. As Lizzie delves deeper into the case, unexpected twists and turns arise, including the appearance of the family ghost, who not only provides protection but also adds to the mystery. Will Lizzie be able to catch the killer before it’s too late? Find out in “Catnip Caper!” – a page-turning cozy mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.