#and today is the email about my professor’s cat Tea Cake

[throughthewwods]

100 Days of Productivity

Day 37

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yesterday I was successfully 5 people 😆

❤️ Had a cheerful, belated Valentine’s Day.

⭐️ Got my balsamic potroast in the crockpot early enough in the day.

Came out fall-apart-y, tangy tasty as hoped

📚 did some research on college loneliness / health outcomes for my paper and even multitasked by read a couple of them

📚wrote professor an email, which became a helpful conference

❤️ Made time to get cute

❤️ Gave RB his present (a sturdy, comfortable bag for his camera gear)

⭐️ Baked a pound cake with Kiddo and boyfriend

❤️ Got to enjoy time with my boyfriend before dinner time,

which is surprisingly a legit accomplishment given our schedules and responsibilities

⭐️ Baked biscuits to go with the pot roast

⭐️ Timed all the cooking right so everything was ready evenly

❤️ Gave everyone a food coma

————————————-

Monday was one of those busy bee days where I had to be several people simultaneously. Multitasking doesn’t produce ‘the best results’, but i’ve learned to be OK with that because once I get something in my head I’m unwilling to quit on any of it. 😬😅  yesterday that looked like me hunting for some research articles > while waiting for Kidfo to unload the dishwasher and > the onions to sauté then > listening to the health ramifications of student loneliness while > I get the dishwasher running because > I need the kitchen clean to get the potroast slow cooking before > 11 so it’s ready at a reasonable hour, but also so > there’s hot water for my shower by 1. > I switch between dry rub/searing the potroast and > washing my hands > to stop my text reader do I can highlighting statistics I’ll need later for my paper. > While I do this I’m checking in with Kiddo to confirm she’s restarted the towels in the wash that didn’t dry fully last night for whatever reason. > I’m still listening to articles when I make us a quick lunch then > sit down long enough to eat together and enjoy a bit of our show > when my professor replies to my email. Kiddo wants to go back to playing which is fine. > I asked her to tidy up her room a bit first and > hop into an impromptu meeting with my professor about the paper > then call RB to update him 2:30 instead if 2. > I then hop in the shower and get cute while > still listening to articles and as > I’m done dabbing makeup the door bell rings.

All that sounds neatly packaged. I wish I had it in me to juggle like that all the time, but I’ve learned the hard way I am not an A Type Personality, and I can only keep that pace in spurts before I crash. Today needs to move slower and mainly focus on one objective: schoolwork.

After RB arrived the rest of the night was snuggles and easypeezy. We exchanged gifts. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Gold stars for having the self-control to not peaking at mine early. It’s cute we both ended up getting each other bags of some sort. He surprised me with a very nice purse set that now hides safely in my closet with expensive china awaiting the Queen to visit. 😆 RB is a tough nut to crack when it comes to gifts so I already ran the camera satchel by him. It’s a nice bag though that I hope will help him get back into his photography. Really, if I could gift him anything it would be supporting him in reconnecting with his passions again after rough years tarnished the joy in it.

I really hope the vaccine is fruitful. I, we all deeply miss life outside my apartment. Iotony.. Seems forever I pined for a travel companion. He’s been on many adventures, but was married to a house cat. Upon reflection, I think we both gave each other IOUs for Valentine’s Day.

The three of us maneuver my small kitchen smoothly as RB shows us how to bake pound cake. Kiddo hovers at RB’s elbows sneaking tastes of sweet almond batter. She’s giddy for the treat, but also that we are all trying something new and beamsxwhen RB passes her the mixer. I am somewhere in the background making tea for everyone , filling in the gaps grabbing bowls and fussing with stubborn butter that does not want to be room temperature. Ran and I sneak kisses and lean in for snuggles as we shift between tasks. My milk has expired and I’m relieved RB doesn’t mind. I’m usually pretty adaptive, but freeze in up in moments like this unsure how to proceed when I was already uncertain. I am still healing from tiptoeing on eggshells for so long. His calm, unphased tone reminds me that everything is OK regardless how our expimrnt pans out. LIGHTBULB As my perfectionist nervousness subsides I then remember I don’t have milk, but do have cream. I am also starting to theorize that adding cream just might improve upon every recipe. Kiddo puts away the dishes and RB helps me clean up our delicious project.

We play a couple rounds of Othello while the cakes bake. Kiddo sometimes appears, buzzes about us hinting at moves , peeking at the oven window, then vanishes back to her cave. The house is heating with a blend of caramelizing sugar, almond, and tangy balsamic wisps. We tease, wind each other up then pull back giggling, checking the strawberries on the stove, checking the cakes, checking the roast, checking the biscuits, checking to make sure my 10 year old doesn’t walk in on anything she’ll talk about with a therapist someday. 😆

Movie night was a bust (thank you Microsoft for all of your updates to improve my system 🙄), but dinner and dessert came out delicious. Got most of everything cleaned up. Tucked Kiddo in. Tackled my boyfriend. I’d say it was a successful extended Valentine’s Day 🥰



[mysteryshelf]

BLOG TOUR - Pekoe Most Poison

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs

Pekoe Most Poison (A Tea Shop Mystery) Cozy Mystery 18th in Series A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (March 7, 2017) An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC Hardcover: 320 pages ISBN-13: 978-0425281680 Kindle – ASIN: B01KGZVXTK

Synopsis

In the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs, Theodosia Browning attends a “Rat Tea,” where the mice will play…at murder.

When Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is invited by Doreen Briggs, one of Charleston’s most prominent hostesses, to a “Rat Tea,” she is understandably intrigued. As servers dressed in rodent costumes and wearing white gloves offer elegant finger sandwiches and fine teas, Theo learns these parties date back to early twentieth-century Charleston, where the cream of society would sponsor so-called rat teas to promote city rodent control and better public health.

But this party goes from odd to chaotic when a fire starts at one of the tables and Doreen’s entrepreneur husband suddenly goes into convulsions and drops dead. Has his favorite orange pekoe tea been poisoned? Theo smells a rat.

The distraught Doreen soon engages Theo to pursue a discreet inquiry into who might have murdered her husband. As Theo and her tea sommelier review the guest list for suspects, they soon find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse…

INCLUDES RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS

Interview With The Author

What initially got you interested in writing?

  Thanks for inviting me today to celebrate the release of Pekoe Most Poison. I’d have to say that I always loved story telling. As a kid I wrote poems and short stories, and when I graduated from college I was immediately drawn into advertising where I wrote radio and TV copy. At the tender age of 28 I started my own advertising agency and ran that for 25 very successful years. Of course, along the way I wrote 3 screenplays and 2 thrillers. That piqued my interest in fiction writing and, lucky me, I was able to sell my business and launch a full-time transition.

  What genres do you write in?

  My Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries are a hybrid between a cozy and a thriller – what I call a thrillzy. In other words, there’s no bad language or gratuitous violence, but they do have a distinctive edge that incorporates fast pacing, multiple plot lines, and other thriller characteristics. And readers who like pure thrillers might enjoy one of the Afton Tangler Thrillers, Little Girl Gone, or the soon to be released Shadow Girl, both written under my name Gerry Schmitt.

  What drew you to writing these specific genres?

  I was the kid who was always reading Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton under the covers with a flashlight. I told ghost stories around the campfire, ventured into haunted houses, and loved The Twilight Zone. So becoming a mystery-thiller writer seemed a natural fit.

  How did you break into the field?

  Once I decided to change careers and write mysteries, I recognized that writing and publishing is a serious business and I treated it as such. I made contacts, researched the craft, and attended a few writing classes. A friend introduced me to mystery great Mary Higgins Clark and she not only gave me some pointers, she introduced me to her agent!

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

  I’m always thrilled when I get an email or Facebook post from a reader who enjoys my books and finds them a fun, exciting getaway. I’m also touched by the many readers who tell me that my books helped get them through a particularly stressful time in their life, such as surgery or family illness.

  What do you find most rewarding about writing?

  I love hearing from readers who refer to my characters as if they are close friends. That’s exactly what I want the takeaway to be – that readers feel like they’re right there in the story, sorting out suspects along with Theodosia, Drayton, and the gang.

  What do you find most challenging about writing?

  Time. It seems there’s never enough time to write every story that’s buzzing around inside my head. They’re good ideas (really!) but since I’m writing 4 different series, I just don’t know how I’ll ever get to them.

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

  I love the old Nike war cry – “Just Do It.” If you want to write a short story or novel, you need to come up with an idea, write an outline, and then bang out your product. Persistence is the key. Every word and story you write helps make you a better writer.

  What type of books do you enjoy reading?

  I’m a huge fan of John Sandford. He tells a whopping good story wrapped in superb plot lines. His Prey novels feature the dashing Lucas Davenport, a tough detective who drives a Porsche. Who could resist?

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

  I’m married to a professor of art history, so we do lots of foreign travel and art collecting. I’ve also served on the boards of two service dog organizations.

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

  I keep my website current with information about all my series. For example, I am delighted that Devonshire Scream has just been released in paperback, so for those who haven’t read it, now is a terrific time to scoop it up.

http://www.laurchilds.com/

  I love to comment back and forth with friends and readers on Facebook, so please feel free to link with me there.

https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

  About The Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 6 – Michelle’s Romantic Tangle – REVIEW

March 6 – Sleuth Cafe – SPOTLIGHT

March 7 – MysteriesEtc – REVIEW

March 7 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST

March 8 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

March 8 – Readsalot – SPOTLIGHT

March 8 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 9 – Maureen’s Musings – REVIEW

March 9 – Babs Book Bistro – REVIEW

March 9 – My Journey Back – REVIEW

March 10 – Texas Book-aholic – REVIEW

March 11 – Rainy Day Reviews – REVIEW

March 11 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

March 12 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW

March 12 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

March 13 – Queen of All She Reads – SPOTLIGHT

March 13 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW

March 14 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW

March 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 15 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW

March 15 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

March 16 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW

March 16 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – INTERVIEW

March 17 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST

March 17 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 18 – The Editing Pen – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

March 18 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW

March 19 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – REVIEW

March 19 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT

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BLOG TOUR – Pekoe Most Poison was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf