BLOG TOUR – Bearly Departed

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THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF Seeking Summer Reads Week!

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Bearly Departed
by Meg Macy

Bearly Departed (A Teddy Bear Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
New Series
Kensington (May 30, 2017)
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1496709639
E-Book ASIN: B01LJKQI7I

The Silver Bear Shop and Factory might be the cutest place around, but there’s nothing warm and fuzzy about murder . . .
As manager of the family teddy bear shop and factory, thirty-one-year-old Sasha Silverman leads a charmed life. Well, except for the part about being a single divorcée with a ticking biological clock in small-town Silver Hollow. And that’s just kid’s stuff compared to Will Taylor, the sales rep who’s set on making drastic changes to the business her parents built from scratch—with or without Sasha’s approval . . .
But before Will digs his claws in, someone pulls the stuffing out of his plan . . . and leaves his dead body inside the factory. Reeling from shock, Sasha’s hit with more bad news—police suspect her hot-tempered Uncle Ross may have murdered him. Sasha knows her uncle would never do such a thing, and she’s launching her own little investigation to expose the truth. As she tracks Will’s biggest rivals and enemies for clues, Sasha can’t get too comfy—or she’ll become the next plaything for a killer . . .

Interview With The Author

What initially got you interested in writing?

All writers are, by nature, readers first. As Richard Peck once said, “We write by the light of every story we have ever read.” After visiting bookstores and dreaming of my name on the spine of a book, I decided to take the first step – to write a scene. That led to a whole chapter, and then a book – plus five more before I became published. Learning the craft is the toughest part of the journey, of course.

What genres do you write in?

A friend once said a writer can write anything. I prefer reading genre fiction to literary fiction – those vague endings or runaround plots annoy me at times. And while I have dabbled in sf/f, YA, and children’s stories, I prefer writing historical and cozy mystery.

What drew you to writing these specific genres?

Reading Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes plus Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. I love Christie’s mystery plots. When I decided to earn a Masters in the Writing Popular Fiction program at Seton Hill University, I chose to study historical mystery and hone my skills in plotting, characterizations, etc. The real world may not deliver, but readers absolutely want that sense of justice in the mystery genre.

How did you break into the field?

I wrote a historical western mystery – my version of Charles Portis’s True Grit but set on the 1869 transcontinental railroad. Double Crossing won the Western Writer’s of America Spur Award for Best First Novel in 2012. Quite a surprise for me, since I knew the contest would be tough – and I feel honored to be included among the best.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

A sense of place and a satisfying story. My writing partner, Sharon Farrow, and I have a wonderful time re-creating G.B. Shaw’s Pygmalion witty characters Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins and bringing them to life in historical mysteries. For my teddy bear cozy mysteries, I hope readers identify and laugh with my amateur sleuth while she works to restore order to her small town after tracking down the murderer.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

Creating a believable place, I think – I’d love to visit my setting of Silver Hollow!

What do you find most challenging about writing?

Keeping to the discipline of writing every day. Life gets in the way at times, but deadlines happen! It’s always tough to know if people will enjoy a story, too.

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

Take the time to learn the craft. Write, revise, revise, revise again. Proofread. Hire an editor or learn to edit your own work, and thoroughly proofread again. Keep reading.

What type of books do you enjoy reading?

I love mysteries, but also biographies, science fiction and fantasy, YA and a well written children’s picture book that makes me laugh!

Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

I’m an artist – with little time to paint or do crafts, but I try to squeeze that in whenever possible and visit artist markets. Creativity in any form helps writing. I’m a classic music fan, and love movies with Audrey Hepburn or Cary Grant, plus most Alfred Hitchcock movies. But I’m a also a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter.

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

Facebook and Twitter – like my author pages and follow my tweets! I’m also on Pinterest, which is like a visual corkboard, a feast for the eyes.

About The Author

Award-winning mystery author Meg Macy lives in Southeast Michigan, close to Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and Dexter — the area she chose for the setting of her new “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mystery series for Kensington. She is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery series; two books have been named Agatha Award finalists. Meg’s first published book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from Western Writers of America. She’s a graduate of Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program. Meg loves reading mysteries, historicals, and other genre fiction, and also enjoys gardening, crafts, and watercolor painting.

Author Links: www.megmacy.com Meg Macy – Teddy Bear Cozy Mysteries Meg Macy on Twitter

Purchase Links: Amazon B&N Apple iTunes Kobo Google Play

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Tour Participants

June 1 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW

June 1 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 1 – A Cozy Experience – REVIEW

June 2 – Bookworm Cafe – REVIEW

June 2 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW
June 3 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT

June 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

June 4 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW

June 5 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW