Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Moving is Murder: A Salem Falls B&B Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Middle Age is Murder Cozy Mysteries) by Nellie H. Steele. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Moving is Murder: A Salem Falls B&B Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Middle Age is Murder Cozy Mysteries)
by Nellie H. Steele
Moving is Murder: A Salem Falls B&B Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Middle Age is Murder Cozy Mysteries)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Fictional town of Salem Falls
Independently Published (December 25, 2022)
Print length : 317 pages
A new hometown. A murdered aunt. Mysterious talking animals. Divorce just turned interesting.
Ellie Byrne’s pending divorce from her cheating husband threatens to leave her broke and homeless. But when she inherits a bed and breakfast in the unique town of Salem Falls, her prayers may be answered.
That is, until she finds out her aunt didn’t just die on the property, she was murdered. And shortly after Ellie arrives, she finds herself the target of threatening messages and hostile attitudes from almost everyone in town. And after someone chucks a rock through her window, she begins to fear for her life.
Can Ellie discover which one of them offed her aunt? Or will the bed and breakfast she’d hoped would provide a fresh start put her in the grave?
If you love middle-aged heroines, talking pets, and quirky small town settings, you’ll love book 1 in this charming paranormal women’s fiction cozy mystery series.
Author guest post: Writing from your pet’s point of view
When I first worked up the idea of the Middle Age is Murder series, I knew I wanted to include pets. Much of my work includes animals, most of which are versions of my current pets. Cate Kensie has two dogs who resemble my Kylo and Finn teddy bear pups (though Cate’s a much better behaved). My one-eyed wonder, Percy, made it into Lily & Cassie by the Sea to become their friendly feline, one-eyed Willy.
But until now, none of my pets have had a voice. They’ve definitely had roles (some of them pretty big at times) in the plots, but I’ve never actually written a voice for them or dialogue. As I began this book, though, I knew I wanted the pets to have a big part. Which meant they needed voices and dialogue.
I realized going in that I’d need to write their voices differently than I wrote humans in the book. And I knew I wanted them to have distinct sounds. What I quickly realized as I began writing, though, was the pets could say and do things none of my other characters could.
It turns out writing from a pet’s perspective ended up being really, really fun. The unique voices I created for each of the two pets that appear in Moving is Murder were similar to any other character I create.
Both Lola and Cleo have their own quirks and traits, just like the human characters. They both have speech patterns that suit their personality and specific sounds that fit their back stories.
One of the most surprising things about the book was how much I enjoyed writing their dialogue and using them to propel the plot. Lola, the miniature bulldog, and Cleo, the cat, hear and see lots of things. No one expects an animal to be a witness, but Ellie uses them to further her investigation since they can easily pick up on tidbits no one else could.
It’s a really fun investigation method to use, especially since Ellie is still getting used to the fact that she can hear and speak to the pets her Aunt Susie left behind.
On top of wondering about trusting the information, Ellie finds it’s not as easy as she anticipated to nail down the details. Just as she starts to make progress, Lola is not quite sure about a detail, or Cleo needs to take a nap before continuing!
But at least she’s not alone as she heads into life in her new town and begins investigating her aunt’s murder.
I had an great fun creating the dog and cat characters for this book (both of which are based on my own pets). And, yes, I really do think both Lola, my miniature bulldog, and Cassandra (who was renamed to Cleo for the book), my cat, would sound exactly like they do in the book based
on their personalities.
I’m really excited for everyone to meet my version of Lola and Cassandra and I hope readers enjoy what they add to the book!
About Nellie H. Steele
Award-winning author Nellie H. Steele writes in as many genres as she reads.
Addicted to books since she could read, Nellie escaped to fictional worlds like the ones created by Carolyn Keene or Victoria Holt long before she decided to put pen to paper and create her own realities.
When she’s not spinning a cozy mystery tale, building a new realm in a contemporary fantasy, or writing another action-adventure car chase, you can find her shuffling through her Noah’s Ark of rescue animals or enjoying a hot cuppa (that’s tea for most Americans.)
Author Links
Check out all Nellie’s offers at www.anovelideapublishing.com/novels or at her blog, Nellie’s Book Nook, available at www.nelliesbooknook.com!
Webpage: http://www.anovelideapublishing.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NellieHSteele/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NellieHSteele
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19769743.Nellie_H_Steele
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nelliehsteele/
Purchase Link – Amazon
Enter the giveaway
Moving is Murder TOUR PARTICIPANTS
January 4 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
January 4 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
January 4 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 5 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 5 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
January 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 6 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 6 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
January 7 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
January 7 – Sneaky the Library cat’s blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
January 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
January 8 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
January 9 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 9 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 10 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 10 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 10 – Girl with Pen – SPOTLIGHT
January 11 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
January 11 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 12 – Diana’s Book Journal – SPOTLIGHT
January 12 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
January 13 – Lady Hawkeye – CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Being long past middle-aged, I still
enjoy books about “older” folks.
This one sounds like a good read.
thanks.
Thanks for featuring my book!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping!
I enjoyed the synopsis. Thanks for the giveaway!
I like the summary!
I really want to read this. I’ve read some other books where the animals have a voice and they are truly entertaining.