Welcome to the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Cast Iron Stake Through the Heart (The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series). Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, spotlights, reviews and more!
Cast Iron Stake Through the Heart (The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series)
by Jodi Rath & Rebecca Grubb
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Cast Iron Stake Through the Heart (The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Publisher: MYS ED LLC; 1 edition (May 29, 2020)
270 Pages
On again, off again, ON AGAIN–Jolie Tucker and Mick Meiser are giving their relationship another try. Things seem to be working out for them so far, and love is on the menu all over Leavensport! An unexpected pregnancy with a surprising partner, a therapist pairs off with the chief of police, and the mayor of Leavensport falls for Jolie’s Aunt Fern!
Although Leavensport is serving up affairs of the heart, there are a lot of mysterious activities lurking in the air. The townspeople awake to find freshly dug empty holes throughout the fields that were recently up for sale under suspicious circumstances. Jolie and Ava believe they are taking a break from solving murders when they start teaching an online cooking course–until they witness one of their students take a stake through the heart!
Welcome to Leavensport, OH, where DEATH takes a DELICIOUS turn!
Guest post “Co-Writing a Book Within an Established Series”
“I think we should co-write book four together.”
“Wait. What?”
I’m a pretty rabid fan girl of The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series. Plus, I’m the editor. When Jodi Rath approached me, I was both delighted and nervous. Writing with a more seasoned writer within an established series has advantages and challenges.
Co-writing with a more seasoned writer means you have a built-in mentor.
I learned so much about outlining, research, characterization, the balance of dialogue and exposition, managing the timeline in a story, not to mention marketing and publicity! Jodi has a relationship with her readers that is truly something to behold.
Co-writing within an established series means the setting, characters, and over-arching plotlines are already created for you.
A lot of the start-up work was taken off of my shoulders. I (metaphorically) walked into the full village of Leavensport, peopled by well-rounded characters with lives that were already written into the series. We picked up the threads, and the two of us carried the story from there.
You must be consistent with the rest of the series.
Writing within an established series requires an intimate familiarity with the series. To prevent inconsistency in the story, you need to know every inch of the setting, every physical description of every character, every element of their past experiences. Or, you need to be willing to look up those details. I had the advantage of reading the series several times, as well as editing several of the books. Still, I relied heavily on our style sheet and took pages of notes.
The writing style must be consistent with the series.
When co-writing, the writer must step back from the writing and analyze its style, tone, and voice of the rest of the series. This must be consistent. Readers will notice if the writing suddenly shifts. When I wrote dialogue, I looked at examples of dialogue from other spots in the series. When I wrote action, I looked at examples of action in the series.
Co-writing includes built-in collaboration.
Co-writing means you always have a sounding board. Collaboration enriches a process so much. We were able to run ideas by one another and make the book the best it could be by talking to one another. Two heads are better than one!
If I do say so myself, Cast Iron Stake Through the Heart turned out better than I ever thought possible, and writing it with the incredible Jodi Rath was the experience of a lifetime! Check out Cast Iron Stake Through the Heart and the rest of The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series on Amazon and at other booksellers!
About Jodi Rath
Moving into her second decade working in education, Jodi Rath has decided to begin a life of crime in her Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series. Her passion for both mysteries and education led her to combine the two to create her business MYS ED, where she splits her time between working as an adjunct for Ohio teachers and creating mischief in her fictional writing. She currently resides in a small, cozy village in Ohio with her husband and her nine cats.
Author Links:
Webpage: https://www.jodirath.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/jodirath
FB Author Page: Author Jodi Rath
Twitter @jodirath
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jodi-rath
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jodirath/
- Monthly Newsletter Link: http://eepurl.com/dIfXdb Get Short Story “Sweet Retreat” for free by subscribing to my monthly newsletter. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive free flash fiction, A Mystery a Month, serial scenes from series, and deleted scenes).
About Rebecca Grubb
Rebecca Grubb utilizes her experience in the high school English classroom and her decades as a bookworm to coach writers and edit fiction and creative non-fiction. She enjoys reading and writing books, particularly mysteries and science fiction. She lives in a small town in Ohio with her husband and the three mischievous children.
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo
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Cast Iron Stake Through the Heart Tour Participants
June 22
A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW
Diane Reviews Books – GUEST POST
June 23
Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
June 24
Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE
June 25
MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 26
eBook Addicts – REVIEW
Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
June 27
Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 28
Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
June 29
Thoughts in Progress – CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 30
Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
July 1
Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST
The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 2
Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
Christy’s Cozy Corners – GUEST POST
July 3
Cassidy’s Bookshelves – GUEST POST
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Thanks for having us! This was tons of fun! We hope you enjoy the book!
-Rebecca Grubb
Thanks for stopping!
I think that your book cover is both cute and colorful!
Thanks so much! I LOVE color–so I try and make sure every cover is full of colors! I hope you like it! Jodi Rath
This book looks very interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for having us here today. BTW, I LOVED that pix of you with that large blown-up ball! You are adorable! Jodi Rath
Aww thank you! Thank you for stopping by today!