Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Raffle Winner!


On April 20th, Traci Tyne Hilton announced the winner of our Raffle! 

James Tripp!

Winner of a $200 Amazon gift card!

But

He hasn't stepped up to claim it yet.

so

James--please contact Cozy Mystery Magazine right away by commenting on this post. We want to give you your prize!










Monday, April 20, 2015

Congratulations to our Raffle Winner!

Congrats to James Tripp! You have won our raffle and will receive the $200 Amazon gift card!

Look for an email from author Traci Tyne Hilton confirming the prize and the best way to get the card to you.

And thank you to all of you who participated! Let us know if you enjoyed that and would like to see more contests--we'd love to do it again, if you would!

Blessings,

Traci

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

WHERE I WRITE By Cynthia Hickey

Sometimes, my readers have asked where I write my stories. Here is a picture of my desk and an explanation of the things you see there.


WHERE I WORK
This cute little place holds everything I need, and almost everything means something personal. I have a dry erase board to schedule my next writing project, keep tabs on other writing jobs, and to list what I need to do at home.


The bulletin board holds websites addresses I visit on a regular basis and holds my favorite quote. It’s by Erma Bombeck and says, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.”


There is a silk rose given to me by a student of the elementary school I used to work at. It sits in a mug that says, “What deadline?” Next to that is a frog tape dispenser, which to me means, Fully Rely On God. Holding an assortment of fun pencils and ink pens is a ceramic mug brought to me from Mexico by a cafeteria worker at the same elementary school. I have a pink fuzzy bird holding a plaque that states, “Do not start with me–you will not win” and a fuzzy angel flamingo pen, because who doesn’t want one of those.


On the wall is a framed Life magazine focusing on “Gone With the Wind” and a Newsweek “Elvis” edition. These are the two categories I collect. I love anything Elvis or Gone With the Wind.
To the left of the desk is a glass tank that holds two Sulcata tortoise hatchlings. On the floor at my feet are two dogs. Behind me is a wall of books: fiction, non-fiction, research. This is my world and I love it.



Multi-published and Amazon Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She has several historical romances releasing in 2013, 2014, 2015 through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold more than 300,000 copies of her works. She is active on FB, twitter, and Goodreads, and is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazone blog and Suspense Sisters blog. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs and two cats. She has five grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”. Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com






Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Wedding Bells - #4


by Nancy Jill Thames


This past Saturday our daughter Holly got married. Our last child married Hudson her beloved in a sweet ceremony led by my niece's awesome husband Nate - the only ordained minister I know who changes into his tuxedo T-shirt for the dancing!

For those of you who've happily experienced passing the baton of parenting over to the new spouse, you'll understand my husband and my feelings of joy and relief! Hudson will take good care of her.

I posted in October of 2012, "God has been so gracious to provide wonderful mates for three of our four children. We trust Him to provide for our youngest daughter Holly as well." And in 2015 He did!

The wedding had a few breaks from tradition - one being the guests were served chocolate cream pie instead of wedding cake. It was our daughter's wish so her father and I made 16 pies, transported them 35 minutes away, and served them to 110.

I've included my recipe at the end of this post in case any of you are feeling domestic.



Amazon Kindle, Nook, SW, and Kobo
Amazon Kindle, Nook, SW, and Kobo
At the end of Book 7 
"THE RUBY OF SIAM" Jillian Bradley gets married in London at an upscale hotel across the street from Buckingham Palace. 


But unlike our daughter's picture perfect wedding you'll read in Book 8 "THE LONG TRIP HOME" about a tragedy that occurs at the reception. It all ends happily, though - thanks to the vehicle of fiction.

There's still time to enter the $200 Amazon Gift-card Giveaway contest. Thanks to all of you who've followed our sites and liked our pages. Click here for your chance to win: 
http://cozymysterymagazine.blogspot.com/p/cozy-raffle-200-prize.html

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill    


Nancy Jill's Chocolate Cream Pie  
For the Ganache:

1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
2 T cornstarch
1/4 t Salt
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
3 egg yolks. membranes removed
2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 T butter
2 t vanilla

For Ganache and Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla

1. In a heavy 2 qt saucepan mix sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt together. Add milk and 1 cup of the whipping cream.
With a fork mix the egg yolks together and add to remaining 1/2 c of whipping cream. Mix then add to saucepan combining ingredients well.


2. Cook over high heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted, then add butter and vanilla.


3. Pour mixture into freezer proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressing down until no air remains and sides are sealed.
(Prevents skim from forming.)

 4. When cool, whip heaving whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold in 1 cup of mixture to ganache.


5. Pour ganache into baked pie shell mounding to center.
Cover with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, chocolate shavings or chocolate sprinkles.
Chill for at least 4 hrs before serving.




Nancy Jill Thames was born to write mysteries. From her early days as the neighborhood story-teller to the Amazon Author Watch Bestseller List, she has always had a vivid imagination and loves to solve problems – perfect for plotting whodunits. In 2010, Nancy Jill published her first mystery Murder in Half Moon Bay, introducing her well-loved protagonist Jillian Bradley, and clue-sniffing Yorkie, “Teddy.”

When she isn’t plotting Jillian’s next perilous adventure, Nancy Jill travels between Texas and California finding new ways to spoil her grandchildren, playing classical favorites on her baby grand or having afternoon tea with friends.

She is a member of Leander Writers’ Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW CenTex Chapter), and Central Texas Authors

To learn more about Nancy Jill, visit these sites.




Wednesday, April 1, 2015

You Could Win a $200 Amazon Gift Card!

We are so excited to see almost 1,000 entries in our giveaway! There are still 17 days left to click and follow COZY MYSTERY MAGAZINE AUTHORS and a few friends. Don't be shy! You could win the $200 Amazon Gift Card!
a Rafflecopter giveaway