Aloha to Misty Simon and CREMAINS OF THE DAY (Tallie Graver Mystery Book 1)

During the New Jersey Romance Writers (NJRW) conference, I had the privilege to meet the vivacious Misty Simon.  From her bio,

Misty Simon loves a good story and decided one day that she would try her hand at it. Eventually she got it right. There’s nothing better in the world than making someone laugh, and she hopes everyone at least snickers in the right places when reading her books. She lives with her husband, daughter and three insane dogs in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three. She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at misty@mistysimon.com.

We enjoyed dinner with a group of friends ... I learned over pasta that Misty has a Hawaiian connection. I'll invite her back to chat about that.  Meanwhile, Misty has a new book in a new series - CREMAINS OF THE DAY was released October 31.  What a title for Halloween!

There's no reverse on the hearse . . .

For Tallulah Graver, marrying wealthy Waldo Phillips seemed like the best way out of the family business, the Graver Funeral Home. But when her marriage falls apart and Tallie is left with next to nothing, she turns to cleaning houses to make ends meet. As humbling as it is to tidy the mansions of the snobby socialites she used to call friends, at least she doesn't have to be around dead bodies. Until . . . 

She discovers one of her employers lying in a closet with a knife sticking out of her chest. This unpleasant shock seems to be part of a web of weird experiences: Tallie's friend Gina's shop is broken into, her ex is stun-gunned where it hurts the most, and now she's receiving flowers from the dead woman. Granted the deliveryman is handsome, but seriously, that's enough to cast a pall over anyone's day. Now Tallie needs to dig deep to clean up this mess--before she finds herself in a grave situation.

Surf Hearse from Pinterest

Misty send me a copy of CREMAINS OF THE DAY .... review to come!  For November, I continue to giveaway RWA swag to four randomly selected winners from all the comments posted. Plus a bonus prize - a leather bookmark for each winner from one of Scotland's castles in honor of St. Andrew's Day on November 30. To enter the giveaway,

1.  In the opening chapter of CREMAINS OF THE DAY, Tallie visits Gina's coffee shop and enjoys Whoopie Pie - a New England treat that looks like an oversized oreo cookie.  Have you tried Whoopie Pie?  Or do you have a favorite local sweet treat?  

I have not enjoyed Whoopie Pie ... yet.  But I have devoured Berger Cookies - a Baltimore favorite!

2. Comments are open through Thursday, November 30, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Friday, December 1.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

bergercookies.com