Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for The Twist and Shout Murder: A Swinging Sixties Mystery by Teresa Trent. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
The Twist and Shout Murder: A Swinging Sixties Mystery
by Teresa Trent
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The Twist and Shout Murder: A Swinging Sixties Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Historia (January 4, 2022)
Paperback : 212 pages
In 1962, Dot Morgan was told the best thing she could do besides being a nurse or teacher was to learn to type. While attending secretarial school, she decides to rub elbows with an elite ladies’ club to help her father with a struggling campaign for city council. Instead of getting the help she sought, Dot is thrown into a world of adultery, deceit, and murder when one of the town’s sons is found dead.
Time to put that 45 on the record player and bring out your best dance moves in The Twist and Shout Murder.
Guest Post: Cover Design and The Twist and Shout Murder by Teresa Trent
When you hear about a book that takes place in the sixties, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Peace signs? Miniskirts? Protesters? You would be correct, but there is another part of the sixties that people tend to forget and that is when The Twist and Shout Murder takes place. In 1962, the world looked more like the fifties than the sixties we picture.
I researched fashions for the sixties but kept coming up with Twiggy and miniskirts. When I switched my search term to 1962, the outfits were vastly different. Instead of a miniskirt, skirts were right at the knee. Instead of free-flowing maxi skirts and hand crocheted vests, women wore a more tailored look with form fitting darts, necklines near the chin, and heels. After spending hours looking at ads, sewing patterns and old catalogs, I decided the clothes didn’t look very comfortable unless a woman was on the thin side. These fashions bring up another thing.
No fast food. Dot discovers McDonalds during the story.
According to the CDC, the average weight for Dot Morgan, my main character, would have been 127.7 pounds. The weight for women in their thirties to forties was 138.8 and over forty 142.8. If a woman was over fifty, she would have come in at 146.5 pounds and 147.3 over sixty. This is also the time when portions started becoming larger, and so did we.
Which brings me to my cover design. When my editor first started sending me covers, I had beautiful renditions of go-go girls dancing away to Twist and Shout. Now that we’ve done some research, we know that will never do. I wrote back and said, think of fashions in The Help, not Goldie Hawn dancing on Laugh In. That was when we focused on Dot’s world and chose the typewriter. She’s a secretarial student and not dancing at the disco! Notice the dots in the background. Somehow, I think all the books I write about Dot ought to have dots, don’t you?
Thank you for letting me visit today and I hope you’ll pick up a copy of The Twist and Shout Murder!
Come on baby, let’s Twist and Shout…
About Teresa Trent
Teresa Trent writes historical mysteries, cozy mysteries, romance, and short stories. She lives in South Texas with her husband and son with Down syndrome and splits her time between writing and caretaking.
Author Links
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/teresatrentmysterywriter
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ttrent_cozymys
BLOG: https://teresatrent.blog/
WEBSITE: http://teresatrent.com
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5219581.Teresa_Trent
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/teresatrent_cozymys/
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo
Enter the giveaway
The Twist and Shout Murder TOUR PARTICIPANTS
February 2
FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 3
Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
Carstairs Considers – REVIEW
February 4
Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 5
Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST
Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
February 7
fundinmental – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 8
Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
February 9
Christy’s Cozy Corners – GUEST POST
February 10
MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 11
BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT
Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW
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Sounds great, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for hosting me today and letting me talk about fashion in the early 60s! I’m glad clothes are a little less form fitting these days.😊
So am I! My mom was in high school in the 60s and her homecoming dresses were tight and tiny! Thanks for stopping by!
I am sure glad things have changed for women in the last 50 years.
I enjoyed the guest post, Teresa, and The Twist and Shout Murder sounds like a mystery I need to solve! Thanks for sharing it with me and have an awesome day!
This sounds very good, thanks for sharing
Looks like a fun book.
Thanks for the contest.
I added to my tbr! Thanks for sharing!
Do you listen to music when you write?
nice cover
Thanks for sharing! Good luck to the author for the book!
Do you have characters living in your head?