Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner (Buttercup Bend Mysteries) by Debbie De Louise. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner (Buttercup Bend Mysteries)
by Debbie De Louise
The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner (Buttercup Bend Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – New York
Publisher : Next Chapter (April 10, 2024)
Paperback : 266 pages
Cathy, Nancy, and Mildred are on their way to Long Island to plan a triple wedding. When they try to meet with Georgia Hampton, a wedding planner who leads whale-watching tours, they discover her body upon her boat.
Teaming up again, the trio investigate the crime. Suspects include Georgia’s sister who is a partner in their wedding planning business, an artist who is a naturalist and conducts whale-watching tours, several couples whose relationships ended after consulting with Georgia, and employees of the tour company.
Reuniting with her great aunt after many years, Cathy learns that another suspicious death has occurred at Captain Sharp’s Whale Watching Tours. Can they solve the mystery, or will their efforts sail out to sea?
Guest Post
Researching my Whale Watching Mystery
By Debbie De Louise
When I decided to write about whales, I thought it would be fun to go on a whale-watching cruise and also an effective way to research my novel. Previously, I’d visited a llama farm for my third Buttercup Bend cozy mystery, The Case of the Llama Raising Librarian (https://books2read.com/u/bPLBJJ). I’d enjoyed this very much, had gathered material for the book, and even added an interesting element that I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t gone to the farm. Thinking I would have the same experience on the whale-watching tour, I booked it with my daughter and her boyfriend. We planned to have a fun summer day watching whales.
The author preparing to board the whale-watching cruise wearing her whale top and hat.
To prepare for what I thought would be an interesting and productive adventure, I purchased a t-shirt with a description of several types of whales, made sure to apply sunscreen beforehand, and wore a hat to protect against the heat. I even brought along seasickness pills just in case. However, I didn’t take them as directed on the whale-watching tour’s website that advised taking them prior to boarding. I figured I could take them if I felt sick. Unlike Holly’s friend, I hadn’t done a lot of boating. I’d been on two prior cruises in my life. On my honeymoon in Bermuda, I wore a seasickness band on my wrist and had been fine until we stopped in one of the ports. I attributed the upset to something I’d eaten. The other cruise was a short one to Canada. I’d worn something behind my ear to prevent motion sickness and was also fine aboard the ship but got sick once on land. Nevertheless, I felt confident that I’d do okay on the whale-watching tour. But besides the pills I kept handy, I also decided to stay mid-ship throughout the cruise because that’s where the least amount of motion is felt. Lastly, I brought along glasses touted to prevent seasickness if you looked through them as soon as you began to feel queasy.
The cruise started out fine. I even ran into a friend who, ironically, had booked the cruise separately. I took out my binoculars and enjoyed watching the boat take off from the dock, all from the safety of the enclosed mid-ship room. In my new Buttercup Bend mystery, The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner, I included a scene where some of the characters lacking sea legs also chose to stay in the mid-ship room.
The author wearing the “seasickness googles” after experiencing rough seas.
During the cruise, after our boat entered the ocean and before any sightings of whales were seen, I got bored sitting inside and decided to venture to the front of the boat to obtain a better view. I found my daughter and her boyfriend there, laughing at the waves that had begun to hit the ship and splash them. Feeling the swaying and rockiness beneath my feet, I scrambled to get back inside. Just as I made it through the door, I had a bout of seasickness. Searching for my pills and my seasick googles, I used both. Neither helped. I was sick the rest of the trip. Even worse, my daughter ended up joining me. The only one of our group who kept their cookies was my daughter’s boyfriend. He was so worried about us that he called my husband at home. Luckily, we both felt better once we got off the boat. Unfortunately, we missed seeing the whales and dolphins that were announced by the captain as they were spotted. My daughter’s boyfriend took photos and shared them with us later.
As far as my research, I’d been too sick to learn much, so most of the information I provided in the book was found online. Not wanting my characters to experience what happened to me, I didn’t allow any of them to get ill on their whale-watching tour. I created Raff, the artist who sketched aboard the boat and sold his work as souvenirs, purely from my imagination. While these tours often include naturalists, I don’t believe any are artists who create artwork during their cruises. Raff also became a central character and murder suspect.
In my book, Cathy and her five friends are the only participants on the whale-watching cruise, while most cruises, unless they’re private, can include one-hundred or more people. Nancy, Cathy’s best friend and fellow detective, requests to ride shotgun with the captain, Tommy Mueller. She does this hoping to gather information about the murder of the wedding planner who also conducted whale-watching tours. Riding shotgun, or upfront with the captain, is often an option on cruises for an additional cost.
While whale-watching is featured in the book, it’s not the only activity the characters engage in on the water. In fact, while Cathy and her friends had planned a triple wedding at a garden, they end up having their ceremony on the high seas. This is part of a twist after a second murder occurs and the person or persons behind them are discovered.
I hope you enjoy this read and if you decide to try whale-watching yourself, you’ll take some precautions against seasickness in advance. Bon Voyage.
About Debbie De Louise
Debbie De Louise is a retired librarian. She’s the author of 16 novels including the six books of the Cobble Cove cozy mystery series featuring Alicia the librarian and Sneaky, the library cat, and the Buttercup Bend cozy mysteries featuring Cathy Carter, the owner of a pet cemetery and rescue center. Debbie’s other books include standalone mysteries, a paranormal romance, a time-travel novel, and a collection of cat poems. She also writes articles for Catster.com and has published dozens of short stories and poems in anthologies. She’s a member of the Cat Writers’ Association, Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, and the Long Island Authors Group. She’s recently moved from Long Island to South Carolina with her husband, daughter, and two cats. Learn more about her and her books by visiting https://debbiedelouise.com.
Author Links
Website/Blog/Newsletter Sign-Up: https://debbiedelouise.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.delouise.author/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Deblibrarian
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2750133.Debbie_De_Louise
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2bIHdaQ
All Author: https://allauthor.com/author/debbiedelouise/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbie_writer/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiedelouise/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debbie-de-louise
Debbie’s Character’s Chat Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/748912598599469/\
Sneaky the Library Cat’s blog: https://Sneakylibrarycat.wordpress.com
Purchase Links – Amazon B&N Kobo Apple Books
Enter the Giveaway
The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner TOUR PARTICIPANTS
May 30 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
May 30 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
May 31 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
May 31 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
June 2 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 3 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 5 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
June 6 – Baroness’ Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
June 7 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
June 7 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read! – REVEW
June 8 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 8 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
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Thank you so much for featuring my guest post and hosting a stop on my blog tour.
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping!
This looks like a fun read. Thanks for sharing and hosting this tour.
Sounds like a cozy I will enjoy reading.
This sounds like a fun book that would be entertaining to read!
Looks like a fun read
This sounds like the perfect summer read.
This sounds like a really fun read!
I also got violently seasick when I went out on a sailboat. It ruined the entire experience.