The Most Wonderful Time of the Year -- #giveaway

Christmas in the Village -- the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
By Francesca “Fresca” Conti Murphy Schmidt from AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES, Food Lovers’ Village Mystery #5, by Leslie Budewitz

It’s Christmas in the Village, that most wonderful time of the year. And this year, it’s doubly, triply special. All my children live in Jewel Bay now – Chiara and her growing family, and Nick, who I think is finally going to stay put, though with regular trips into the wilderness to check on his wolves and other critters.

And Erin. Oh, Erin. My baby is getting married. It’s about time – she’s 33 and so is Adam. I could not ask for a better future son-in-law than Adam. The way he looks at her makes me want to faint, and I’m no shy violet, as you well know.

I will admit to some nerves about meeting his family, who are flying out from Minnesota. Erin hasn’t said much about them – even she hasn’t met them yet – but I gather Adam didn’t have the easiest childhood. My own children played some pretty pranks on each other, but what must those older twin brothers have done to Adam to earn the nicknames Cain and Abel? But I’m looking forward to meeting his mother – we’re getting pedicures together, along with my daughters and the twins’ wives.

The menus are all planned. I’ve got Christmas gifts for the children and Santa lined up to hand them out. My brothers and their wives will be here for the wedding, and Bill’s daughter will join us for the holidays, too – she’s flying in from Brazil. And of course, the Murphys.

Will there be a new baby for Christmas? I hope so! Chiara’s ready to pop any day. I keep asking her “boy or girl?” and all she’ll say is “yes.”

It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

The holiday season has come and gone, but we're all looking forward to something, right? What are you most looking forward to this summer? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES. (US and Canadian addresses only, please.) The winner will be chosen Monday, July 30. 

"Budewitz's finely drawn characters, sharp ear for dialogue, and well-paced puzzle make Jewel Bay a destination for every cozy fan." - Kirkus Reviews

From the cover of AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES, Food Lovers' Village Mystery #5 (Midnight Ink, June 2018, available in trade paper, e-book, and audio): 

Jewel Bay---Montana's Christmas Village---all is merry and bright. At Murphy’s Mercantile, AKA the Merc, manager Erin Murphy is ringing in the holiday season with food, drink, and a new friend: Merrily Thornton. A local girl gone wrong, Merrily’s turned her life around. But her parents have publicly shunned her, and they nurse a bitterness that chills Erin.

When Merrily goes missing and her boss discovers he’s been robbed, fingers point to Merrily—until she’s found dead, a string of lights around her neck. The clues and danger snowball from there. Can Erin nab the killer—and keep herself in one piece—in time for a special Christmas Eve?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. A past president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.