Collecting can be murder — two weeks of fun — #bookgiveaway

Posted on May 15, 2015 by admin

Collections. We’ve all got ’em, whether we realize it or not. When I was writing the third Food Lovers’ Village Mystery, BUTTER OFF DEAD (July 7, 2015, available for pre-order now), I realized that one of the book’s themes is collections—and what happens when one becomes an obsession. Collecting can be murder.

So I thought it would be fun to ask other writers to share pictures of their collections and tell you how they came about. Starting soon, for the next couple of weeks, I’ll post a new collection and the cover of the author’s latest book on my blog, www.LeslieBudewitz.com/blog; the posts will also appear on FB. Leave a comment on the blog or on FB—tell me about your collections, if you’d like—for a chance to win a copy of the featured author’s latest book, many of them signed. Ruff the Cat will pick a winner the next morning, so check back to claim your prize!

As the shelf shows, you’ll have a chance to win books by Catriona McPherson, Cathy Ace, Connie Archer, Kate Carlisle, Sheila Connolly, Kathy Aarons, Vicki Thompson, Susanna Hardy, Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames, Roberta Islieb, and me—and maybe a few more.

We’ll wrap up with a few pictures of my collections and some special Food Lovers’ Village giveaways.

(Hint: if you subscribe to the blog, you’ll receive the posts by email and you won’t have to hunt for them on FB.)

(This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by Facebook.)

Congratulations, BJ Marley! Best First prize package winner!

Posted on April 30, 2015 by admin

C IMGP2797 ongratulations to BJ Marley! Ruff the Cat pushed the button on the random number generator and chose you the winner of the Best First prize package! Send your mailing address to me at leslie AT lesliebudewitz DOT com, and the package will go in the mail next week — after I come back from Malice Domestic, where the Agatha Award winners will be chosen!

Remember your first? A #bookgiveaway

Posted on April 26, 2015 by admin

First crush.
First puppy.
First kiss.
First novel.

Okay, so maybe they don’t all stand out in the same way, but the fun of discovery never gets old. To celebrate the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, which will be awarded next week at the Malice Domestic Mystery Convention—and the anniversary of my win last year, for Death al Dente—I’m giving away copies of three of this year’s nominated books:

Tagged for Death, by Sherry Harris,
Well Read, Then Dead, by Terrie Farley Moran, and Murder Strikes a Pose, by Tracy Weber (signed copy).
(The other nominees are Circle of Influence, by Annette Dashofy and Finding Sky, by Susan O’Brien, but I’m still reading!)

And as a bonus, I’m adding Kilmoon by Lisa Alber, a nominee for the Rosebud Best First award at this year’s Left Coast Crime, held in Portland, the Rose City, and the fun convention bookbag.

To enter, leave a comment on my blog or my Facebook Author page mentioning some memorable first—your first love, your first house, the first mystery you read, a favorite first novel, any “first” that still gives you a smile—by midnight Wednesday, April 29. Ruff—the first Burmese cat I ever met—will punch the random number generator on Thursday morning, April 30.

(U.S. addresses only)

Summer in the sun with a good book!

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Leslie Budewitz

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Jewel Bay — oops, I mean Bigfork Festival of the Arts this weekend! I’m still there today, Sunday August 3, so if you’re in the Flathead Valley, come down to the Village for arts and food fun!

Celebration! Readers of the Bigfork Eagle, the local paper, named me “Best Local Author”! Thank you!

And both Crime Rib and Death al Dente made the Seattle Mystery Bookshop‘s July bestseller list! Smoocheroos to everyone who helped.

A fun interview: This week, I’ll be interviewed at Cozy Up with Kathy, who asks a few questions I haven’t been asked before.

The giveaway at Escape with Dollycas continues until August 6. If you haven’t read my essay on why I write about Montana, the Last Best Place to Hide, stop by — and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Crime Rib. There’s also a wonderful review of the book.

You know how Erin and I love huckleberries! So if you didn’t get a chance to join us — well, me — this weekend, pop up to Whitefish anytime this Fri, Sat, or Sun and visit me at Huckleberry Days in Depot Park. I’ll be chatting mysteries and signing copies of Crime Rib and Death al Dente. And if it’s made with hucks, you’ll find it at the Festival, so come on down!

Pictured: my Huckleberry Chocolate Mousse. Here’s the recipe.

Thanks so much for sharing in the fun of launching Crime Rib into the world!

Fact, fiction, and festivals

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Leslie Budewitz

Launch fun continues! But if you subscribed to this blog for info on using the law in your fiction, don’t despair! The launch is winding down, and I will continue to post here on developments in the law, legal terms, Stupid Criminal Tricks, and other legal news you can use even as my focus on fiction continues!

Blogs and book giveaways! Today, July 27, the painter Christine Vandeberg speaks on Killer Characters: Where the Characters Do the Talking. She’s a fixture in Jewel Bay, based on a colorful real-life artist friend, and will also have a major role in the third Village book, out in July 2015. She’s dishing on festival life, and giving away a signed copy of Crime Rib!

And the giveaway continues until August 6 at Escape with Dollycas, where I talk about setting stories in Montana, the Last Best Place (to escape). There’s also a wonderful review of the new book.

Life imitates art — at the Festivals! Fitting that a book set at the Jewel Bay Summer Art and Food Festival will be available at local festivals! I’ll be at the Bigfork Festival of the Arts in the village of Bigfork Sat-Sun, August 2-3, and at Huckleberry Days in Depot Park in Whitefish, Fri-Sun, August 8-10. Come by for a visit and signed copies of Crime Rib and Death al Dente. (That’s me at the Funny Face Kool-Aid Stand I won in a coloring contest in 1967.)

In addition to this blog, I also send out a quarterly newsletter with book news, more photos, recipes, and more. The next issue will go out August 1. If you’d like a copy, please join the mailing list on my websites, www.LeslieBudewitz.com and www.LawandFiction.com

Summertime, and the books are blooming!

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Leslie Budewitz

Cheers! And thank you!

huckleberry martinis

Thanks to you, Crime Rib joins its older sister Death al Dente as a national bestseller, reaching #22 on the Barnes & Noble mystery list.

We’re toasting you with huckleberry martinis!

You can be a winner! The big giveaway on Goodreads is over — congratulations to all 25 winners! — but other contests are continuing or starting this week. The contest at Dru’s Book Musing continues until Tuesday, July 22. At Lori’s Reading Corner, I’m confessing my obsession with my home state and why this vast and sometimes jagged corner of the world is a great place for cozies. Fill out a short entry form for a chance to win a free copy of Crime Rib — open till July 26. Thanks to my publisher, Berkley Prime Crime, for the generous giveaways!

The Last Best Place? The wonderful Lori Dollycas at Dollycas Escapes celebrates escaping into a great book. On Wednesday, July 23, I’m teeing off on Montana’s slogan as “the last best place,” talking about Montana as a great place to escape—and to hide, as some of my characters have done. Join us!

And a preview: Next Sunday, July 27th, at Killer Characters: Where the Characters Do the Talking, painter Christine Vandeberg takes the stage, “feasting on summer.”

This past week, I visited the Crow’s Nest Gallery in Polson, Montana and the Books n Cuppa book club in Lakeside, Montana. Thanks to my hosts and everyone who joined me to talk books and food and other things we love.