Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for It Came upon a Midnight Shear (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery) by Allie Pleiter. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
It Came upon a Midnight Shear (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery)
by Allie Pleiter
It Came upon a Midnight Shear (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Maryland
Berkley (November 1, 2022)
Mass Market Paperback : 304 pages
A murder in her yarn shop’s backyard puts Libby Beckett’s holiday plans on thin ice.…
The holiday season looks merry and bright for Libby and her friends at Y.A.R.N. The store is expanding for a holiday boom, and she’s gathered Collinstown’s businesses to decorate a community Christmas tree. Dashing “Gallant Herdsman” Vincenzo Marani arrives to showcase the rare vicuña, whose coat produces the world’s most luxurious yarn. It’s a perfect yuletide—until Libby’s ex-husband, Sterling, turns up in town…and then turns up dead.
The murder unravels Libby’s life faster than a hand-knit Christmas stocking. The luxe yarn goes missing, Sterling’s domineering family comes to town, and the vicuña attempt an escape. If Libby can’t stitch up a solution to the case, she may be trading in her knitting needles for a set of handcuffs.
Guest Post from Allie Pleiter: Real or imagined?
“How much of this stuff do you make up?”
As a fiction author, I get asked this all the time. Everyone wants to know how much of what goes into a novel is real-world fact, and how much is a product of my imagination? Where do I get my ideas?
The truthful answer is that I’m not really sure where my ideas come from. And honestly, I hesitate to analyze the process—I like the wonder of it just the way it is. Still, were you to ask me how much is fact and how much is fiction, my answer would be “a bit of both.” Hopefully, a really entertaining mix of both. That’s certainly true of my latest Riverbank Knitting Mystery, It Came upon A Midnight Shear.
What’s fact…
First, the real stuff: vicuña. No, I did not dream up these adorable South American animals who produce the world’s most luxurious fiber. Vicuña live in the Andes mountains and can only be shorn for their exquisite coat every three years. The community-wide effort that brings in the animals for shearing is one of the most unique and heartwarming stories in the fiber world. The alarming story of their rescue from the brink of extinction, however, is just as compelling and drawn from real life.
The resulting fabric and yarn is nothing short of spectacular—soft, lush and warm. Ultra-exclusive and likely on many knitters’ bucket list. Libby, my sleuth who runs a knitting shop in the charming and quirky Maryland of Collinsville, refers to it as “the knitters Lamborghini.” It comes at a steep price, but is worth every penny. The minute I discovered this ultra-posh fiber, I knew I was onto the makings of a great plot.
Did I spring for some vicuña? You betcha. For scientific research and all. Authorial integrity. Knitting authenticity. Yeah, that sort of thing.
What’s fiction…
So what about the fictional elements of It Came Upon a Midnight Shear? Naturally, I embellished the real-life story of the vicuna fiber. I created an oh-so-suave champion for these creatures in Vincenzo Marani, otherwise known as The Gallant Herdsman. Vincenzo accomplishes some things in showcasing these beautiful animals that would probably never happen in real life. And just happens to look exceedingly handsome while doing it.
One of the books most unique creative challenges was the wonder drug from the fictional pharmaceutical company run by Libby’s ex husband, Sterling. I did consult with a pharmacist so that my wonder drug might someday stand a practical chance of being developed, but I feel compelled to remind you no such drug currently exists. It’s properties—medical and…ahem…homicidal—are all figments of my highly active imagination. I needed Sonesta’s wonder drug to have very specific side effects to suit my plot and make some very ambitious claims to fashion a viable motive for murder. So while it was freeing not to have to base its properties in reality, I did have to make sure everything was medically plausible, if not currently medically possible. A fine line, to be sure, but one I think adds to the vibrancy of the story.
What’s fun…
Most readers tell me the real appeal of the Riverbank Knitting Mysteries is the cast of characters that make up Libby’s world. Collinstown is filled with people readers love—or love to hate. And no, I don’t base any of them on real people, even though my son gave me a coffee mug recently that says “Please do not annoy the writer. She may put you in a book and kill you.”
What shows up, then, are fragments of people—both friends and total strangers. If you see writers looking fascinated in airports or other crowded places, it’s because we’re collecting. Gestures, personality traits, the way someone walks, how they growl or pout when they’re upset—it’s all material to us authors. Sure, some things like family dynamics, revenge, jealousy, or the slow burn of a growing romance are true-to-life and universal. We want to recognize ourselves and our world as much as we want to escape it inside a book. Creating complex, multi-dimmentional people who feel real is a marvelous sort of alchemy. To me—and hopefully to you—they are real in all the ways that matter. I have enormous affection for Libby, her outrageous mother Rhonda, her loyal best friend (and talented pie chef) Margo, and all the other people who live in Collinstown. Even the town itself is a carefully chosen mixture of several real places.
It’s my hope that the weaving of fact, fiction, and fun come together for you in It Came Upon a Midnight Shear. If this book is your first visit to Collinstown, don’t hesitate to come find the series’ earlier installments in On Skein of Death and Knit or Dye Trying. I believe it’s a fact that you’ll find my fiction a good dose of fun.
About Allie Pleiter
The bestselling author of over fifty titles, Allie Pleiter‘s twenty-year career has sold 1.6 million books. Allie also coaches on writing productivity and speaks nationally on time management for creatives. Allie is an avid knitter, confirmed coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better.” She lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and the world’s most adorable dog.
Author Links
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Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/alliepleiter
Facebook group (books): https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesidewithallie/
Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/alliepleiterauthor/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/allie-pleiter
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Allie-Pleiter/e/B001H6IEUO/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
To subscribe to Allie’s newsletter: http://www.alliepleiter.com/subscribe/
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Author – IndieBound
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It Came Upon a Midnight Shear TOUR PARTICIPANTS
November 1 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
November 1 – Just One More Paragraph – SPOTLIGHT
November 2 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
November 2 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
November 3 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 3 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 5 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
November 6 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
November 7 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
November 7 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
November 8 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 8 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT
November 10 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 10 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
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Thanks so much for introducing readers to IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT SHEAR!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping today!
It Came upon a Midnight Shear (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery) sounds like a fun and entertaining holiday read.
This sounds like a great read and one I would love to read.
Just love the book’s title!
This sounds like a fun book to read this holiday season!