Laughing and A Mystery

I wanted to catch your attention today as I’m sharing reviews on two completely different genres again and I hope you’ll want to add both to the TBR stack on your nightstands. First the laughing part.

MY NEST ISN’T EMPTY, IT JUST HAS MORE CLOSET SPACE 

by Lisa Scottoline and 

Francesa Scottoline Serriteela

I’ve been a fan of bestselling author Lisa Scottoline’s suspense thrillers for sometime. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that she can not only keep me in suspense with her thrillers, but have me laughing until I cried with her 'other writing,’ but it did.

I thought I’d find it humorous, but I never imaged I would see myself in some of the things she wrote about. I have no children so how could I relate to the ’empty nest’ syndrome?

But I found out this book is oh, so much more. I’ve finally found someone else whose TV is shrinking and who believes a box fan should blow in, not out. LOL

If you need a break from the crazy pace we call life, pickup a copy of MY NEST ISN’T EMPTY and prepare to be entertained. This book will draw you in and make you forget all your troubles and worries giving you renewed energy to face day-to-day challenges, while making you realize other people have crazy days too.

This is a collection of some 70 essays inspired by the author’s column 'Chick Wit’ published Sundays in the Philadelphia Inquirer. In addition to Scottoline’s take on life, you get insights from Daughter Francesa.

This is a book about the quirky activities involving three generations of strong, independent, wise and funny women - Mother Mary (Lisa’s feisty octogenarian mother); Lisa; and her daughter, Francesa whose age she seems to have problems remembering, now is she 24 or 26? 

MY NEST ISN’T EMPTY is a life-affirming look at how we all face similar problems, it just depends on how we decide to deal with them that matters. The sub-title sums it up, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF AN ORDINARY WOMAN.

The first book featuring true-life stories from Scottoline’s column, WHY MY THIRD HUSABND WILL BE A DOG, has just been released in paperback. This is also a great humorous read.

Author Lisa Scottoline's website is www.lisascottoline.com

My Nest Isn‘t Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space, The Amazing Adventures of An Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline and Francesa Scottoline Serritella, St. Martin‘s Press, @2010, ISBN: 978-0-312-66229-5, Hardcover, 256 pages

FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

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KEY LIME PIE, A CULINARY MYSTERY by Josi S. Kilpack

Amateur sleuth Sadie Hoffmiller is getting involved in other people’s problems once again. She just can't help herself.

Having to do community service work for an earlier incident, Sadie has been working along side Eric Burton. Sadie finds herself being drawn to Eric’s charms. Not really knowing where her relationship is going with Detective Pete Cunningham, Sadie breaks it off with him.

Meanwhile, Eric gets a call from the police in Florida informing him they may have found the body of his missing daughter. He asks Sadie to go with him, but she declines - what would people say? Later Eric calls Sadie asking if she will send him a box from the closet in his bedroom.

Sadie agrees, but she can’t help herself and peeks inside the mysterious box. The contents lead Sadie to believe Eric is hiding something and is in more trouble than he’s letting on.

Before she has a chance to talk herself out of it, Sadie boards a plane to carry the box to Eric and help him find his daughter. In Miami, Sadie finds herself among a group of colorful characters as she tries to put all the pieces of the mystery together.

The twists and turns of KEY LIME PIE will keep you guessing what is next. The payoff is an intriguing journey with Sadie as her heart leads her to a peaceful solution. Readers are also rewarded with a number of great recipes throughout the book. In addition, readers get a sneak peek at the next installment in the culinary series, BLACKBERRY CRUMBLE, coming in the Spring of 2011.

KEY LIME PIE is the fourth installment in the Culinary Mystery series, but is a stand alone book. Author Josi S. Kilpack gives readers just a taste of prior adventures Sadie has been part of, but not too much to leave you in the dark. This is a delicious cozy murder mystery to curl with up.

Author Josi S. Kilpack’s website is www.josiskilpack.com

Key Lime Pie, A Culinary Mystery by Josi S. Kilpack, Deseret Book Company, @2010, ISBN: 978-1-60641-813-0, Paperback,  320 pages

FTC Full Disclosure - I requested this book and it was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

Guest Blogger: Josi S. Kilpack

I’d like to welcome author Josi S. Kilpack as the special guest blogger here at Thoughts in Progress today.

Josi’s current release is Key Lime Pie, her twelfth novel and the fourth book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. Josi stopped by today to talk about being as wise as your age.

I am thirty-six years old. Wow. I could be termed in my 'late thirties' although I'll hang out in the mid-thirties for another couple of years. I think I've stated before that I don't mind aging. I mean, I don't like to LOOK old, but I'm happy with how I look so that isn't an issue and I still feel like I'm catching up with myself due to the fact that I have simply always felt old.

The whole process is helped by the fact that there is no one time in my life I can look back on and say "Gosh, I wish I were able to do that again." Maybe a day here and there, but I can't think of a single block of time (meaning months) that I want to repeat. However, I'm a firm believer in age equating with wisdom and therefore I get smarter every year! And, seeing as how I am so very wise I am going to impart 36 of my best advice:

1--Do not leave laundry in the washer for a week.
2--Peanut Butter should have child proof lids.
3--I will always hate my hair no matter how good I think it looks that particular day.
4--You can learn from your mistakes or make them again--you choose.
5--Most talents are discovered after the age of 20.
6--Everyone has demons.
7--Some people's demons hate you.
8--People with demons who hate you are better avoided.
9--Prayer is your opportunity to try to help people with demons who hate you and are better avoided.
10--My demons hate some people and have caused them lots of pain.
11--Sometimes it feels impossible to make things better.
12--Prayer is good.
13--Cheesecake is also good.
14--Prayer and cheesecake together is practically celestial.
15--Philosophies are much easier to think about then to execute.
16--Most of my philosophies rise up to bite me in the butt.
17--Some people just are not happy for other people's success.
18--Kids really do come with their own personalities.
19--Sometimes complaining about something really does make you feel better.
20--There is no sin in leaving the kids home when you go on couple vacations.
21--The future is far more interesting than the past.22--Family is awesome, but just because they are family doesn't mean that their demons don't hate you.
23--It is possible to love someone and yet want nothing to do with them. Healthy sometimes even.
24--Time really does move faster as you get older.
25--Metabolisms really do slow down as you get older.
26--Typically it's easier to remember the stupid things you do than the cool stuff.
27--Didactic pontification is of the gods.
28--For every person who's impressed when you use big words there's someone else rolling their eyes.
29--Forgiveness doesn't really make sense until someone forgives you when they didn't have to.
30--Looking for ways to deal with your own demons is a worthy pursuit that might take a lifetime.
31--Parenthood is a priceless look into the heart of God.
32--There will always be someone smarter, prettier, funnier, more talented, and more generous than you.
33--Just because someone else might be better, doesn't mean that YOU won't be a better self for working toward the same goal.
34--Nothing feels as good as being kind.
35--It's fun to be a girl.
36--Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people but good things also happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people and there really isn't anyone out to get us, just trying to teach us a thing or twelve.

Josi, thanks for guest blogging today. I so agree with #24 and #25 on your list and every year those get worse. LOL

Now for a little background on Josi. She grew up hating to read until her mother handed her a copy of THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and accredits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998, while on bedrest with a pregnancy, and never stopped.

The other novels in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series are: LEMON TART (Book 1), ENGLISH TRIFLE (Book 2), and DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE (Book 3). While the books all feature Sadie Hoffmiller as the main character, they stand alone in regard to plot and can be read as a set or as individual titles. Josi currently lives in Utah with her husband, four children, one dog and varying number of chickens. For more information about Josi, you can visit her website at www.josiskilpack.com or her blog at www.josikilpack.blogspot.com

Here’s a brief synopsis of KEY LIME PIE: When Sadie Hoffmiller’s new friend, Eric Burton, receives word that his missing daughter’s body may have been found in Florida, he immediately packs his bags, but Sadie is determined to stay home and prove to everyone that she is not a busybody.

But when she senses Eric is hiding something, Sadie is compelled to take action. Before she knows it, she’s in the heart of Miami, trying to piece together a trail littered with broken relationships, mysterious strangers, and forged documents that might just provide Eric the answers he’s been desperately searching for—or reveal a truth he may not be ready to face.

Sadie must also face a difficult question: Where is her heart leading her? Onward into Eric’s adventurous arms? Or back home to the stable and steady Pete Cunningham? If only love was as easy as following a recipe.

Once again, Sadie finds herself in the company of some colorful characters and on the hunt for some good old-fashioned southern cooking. But despite the drama and intrigue, all Sadie really wants is to go home . . . as soon as she does just one more thing.