Blueberry Cobbler Blackmail (The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series)
by Jodi Rath
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Blueberry Cobbler Blackmail (The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
3rd In Series
Publisher: MYS ED LLC; 1 edition (February 28, 2020)
Print Length ~140 Pages
Welcome to Leaven—oh wait—Santo Domingo, where DEATH takes a DELICIOUS turn!
Family bombshells, sibling rivalries, blackmail, and a trip that could be deadly…and the new year has only just begun! After a disastrous Thanksgiving, Jolie Tucker is beside herself and feeling the walls closing in around her. She feels like she needs to escape Leavensport before she loses her mind. She unexpectedly gets her wish when her best friend and co-owner of Cast Iron Creations, Ava Martinez, gets a terrifying email revealing that her papa, Thiago, is in danger in Santo Domingo. The girls are off on a dangerous adventure in new territory. Will they be able to save the day before danger finds them?
Guest Post: The Frazzled Mind of an Author at Work
Thanks to author Jodi Rath for this guest post. I can totally relate to going down rabbit holes!
“Take a Latin dance hold,” the dance instructor said.
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“Hold your arm out, so it makes an L shape at shoulder level.
The man’s left-hand holds the lady’s right hand.
The man puts his right hand on the lady’s shoulder blade, and the lady puts her left hand on the man’s shoulder blade; their arms should touch (with a bit of pressure) with the man’s arm below the lady’s. There should be no gap between the two arms at any point.
Be close but not too close — about a foot apart,” said my patient instructor.
Ever want to know how the mind of an author works? While writing Blueberry Cobbler Blackmail, I had to do more research than normal since the story was taking place in Santo Domingo. Not only did I do some research, but my editor, Rebecca Grubb of Sterling Words, helped research as well as my husband, Mike—who is now officially my research assistant since he retired. That’s a tad tongue in cheek. He is living the leisure, I-get-to-slow-down-because-I-don’t-have-to-be-anywhere-anytime-soon lifestyle—which basically means I use him to do things I don’t always have time for.
One thing I love to write more than anything are humorous scenes. I’ve never done the Merengue dance, but I wanted Jolie and Ava to try it out. Mike and I had a blast watching a ton of YouTube videos of professional, real-deal Merengue dancers. I took countless notes on the outfits worn, the sound and type of music playing in the background, and the speed of movement in the dance—not to mention the hip action! I knew Jolie and Ava would not look anything like the professionals, though.
So, while it was fun watching the professionals at work, it was more fun looking for non-professionals to Merengue the night away. Then, Mike and I took it a step farther by trying our hand (or I should say our feet) at the Merengue. We may have proven to be as bad if not worse than Jolie and Ava in action. But there was lots of laughter and pulled muscles when we were done.
All the while, I’m taking notes in my journal and voice notes on my recorder to work as hard as I can to make the scene as visual and real as possible to the reader. In the end, that’s the most important thing. The thing about research is that I often find myself going down the rabbit hole. I’ll have a deadline and a planned amount of time for research. I’ll see a topic I need to research like ‘The Merengue Dance’ and then off I go—down the rabbit hole.
I had set a goal to spend no more than two hours researching this one topic because this book is set in Santo Domingo—I’ve never been. I had to do a ton of research. While my plan of two hours was a lofty goal, I ended up spending more like fourteen hours watching multiple types of dances, studying clothing and shoes, looking up the history of the dance and the competitions, comparing to those who are trying to Merengue (like me and my husband) against those who actually know what they are doing. Not to mention noting it all—then deciding to learn ourselves to really get a realistic feel of the movement and the difficulty of trying to lift someone and the spinning and swirling. While it was a blast, itwas time-consuming and set me back on my deadline—which, in turn, made my wandering, move-to-fast mind even more frazzled.
About the author
Moving into her second decade working in education, Jodi Rath has decided to begin a life of crime in her The 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 seven cats.
Author Links
Webpage: https://www.jodirath.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/jodirath
Twitter @jodirath
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jodi-rath
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jodirath/
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Gloria Browning says
We haven’t cooked cobbler in cast iron, but we love cornbread in it.
Jodi Rath says
It’s REALLY good. I’m biased as I think everything is better in cast iron. I had NEVER cooked in it until I was 43 years old–now barely a day goes by that I’m not using it! I think I have close to 10 cast irons I use regularly now! Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits–the cobbler is amazing! There’s a wonderful recipe in the back of the book I found–I normally alter any recipe I use slightly. Add a squeeze of lemon and a tad of cinnamon to the fruit mix to really give it a BAM of flavor!
Kay Garrett says
Thank you for being part of the book tour for “Blueberry Cobbler Blackmail” by Jodi Rath.
Enjoyed reading the fun guest post from Jodi. Sounds like the Merengue research was a blast and some great memories made.
Sounds like a wonderful book and one that I would greatly enjoy reading. Can’t wait for the opportunity to read this book which is now on my TBR list.
Jodi Rath says
Thanks, it was a lot of fun to research it. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent watching both professional dancers and searching for bloopers and just plain bad dancers who were having fun (which I fall in the latter category). I hope you enjoy the book! It was a lot of fun to write!
Dianne Casey says
Sounds like a fun read. Adding to my TBR list.
Jodi Rath says
Thanks! Is your TBR list as long as mine? I keep saying I hope I get to keep reading after death–b/c I don’t think I’ll finish my list before then. LOL Happy reading!
Jodi Rath says
Thanks so much for having me on your blog! I see you are from Ohio too! Where abouts? I live in Carroll, OH which is about 30 miles south of Columbus–it’s a tiny little farm village. This blog was really fun for me to write! Have a wonderful day!
Christy Maurer says
I am in Massillon which is about an hour south of Cleveland. It looks like you’re a little over 2 hours from me! Do you go to Columbus often? I like to go to Cleveland, but I don’t get there nearly enough. There are so many cool things to see in the bigger cities! I haven’t been to Columbus in a few years!
Jodi Rath says
I go to Columbus all the time. My two cousins live in Cleveland. Kacy just (like two weeks ago) started her own dental practice in Cleveland and her brother works for Cleveland Clinic as a Physician’s Assistant! So we go there sometimes too! We are actually meeting in Mansfield in April since it’s a half-way point!
Christy Maurer says
That’s awesome! I have a couple of friends in Mansfield and lots of cousins in the Cleveland area!
Taylor R Williams says
Just discovered your blog thanks to Jodi Rath – such fun, thanks for the contest. My TBR list is huge, but had to add her books.
Jodi Rath says
Thanks for swinging over here to hang, Taylor❤️
NANCY says
Cute cover
NANCY says
Very cute cover
Leela says
It looks like a good read.
Sandy Klocinski says
Made me hungry for blueberry cobbler. I enjoyed the guest post. My husband and I lived in the Toledo Ohio area for many years. I grew up in Northern Kentucky, right across the river from Cincinnati. We moved to South Carolina when we retired and after my husband passed away in 2016 I moved back to Northern Kentucky