Hello, my fellow book lovers. I’m always honored when an author is willing to take time out of their busy schedules and stop by The Book Diva’s Reads. Today I’m pleased to announce a visit by Holly Quinn, author of the Handcrafted Mystery Series featuring the debut book A Crafter Knits A Clue. This series combines a cozy mystery with a love of handcrafts. Ms. Quinn will be providing us with a little background into the inspiration for this series. Ladies and Gents, I give you Ms. Holly Quinn.
How I was inspired to write Community Craft, as the local hangout in the new Handcrafted Mystery series.
A Crafter Knits a Clue, the first book in the new Handcrafted Mystery series features Samantha “Sammy” Kane who manages Community Craft, a store on Main Street in a small Wisconsin town after her best friend — the original owner, has an untimely death.
I had been artistically creating and selling painted glasses in a local gift shop for a few years before I began writing this series. I always thought in the back of my mind, someday, I would open a shop where I could rent space to other local artists who would want to sell their handcrafted treasures. This is a photo of the shop below where I continue to sell handmade items and my latest book releases to this day. This photo also was the inspiration for the cover of A Crafter Knits a Clue. Seriously! Check it out! 😊
Anyhow, one Saturday night, a few weeks before Christmas, my husband and I were asked to be “mannequins in the window” for a display contest. The snow was falling, people crowded the streets, and a feeling of jubilation was in the air. The gift store was so packed that night, one could hardly move; it was as if the entire community gathered in one store. I looked at my husband in the window and said, “I have to write about this!” He replied, “Stop talking, we’re supposed to be mannequins!” That only made me laugh harder as between the two of us, he behaved as the better stiff model! Of course, I had to wind an intriguing mystery into the mix. And yes, the third book in the Handcrafted series will be based on that moment. A moment in our lives that changed everything…
A funny thing happened after the first manuscript in this series went into production. Someone opened a craft shop in the downtown area where I reside. It’s as if the words lifted from the page and became a reality. Imagine that.
Thanks for letting me visit!Â
Author Holly Quinn
A Crafter Knits a Clue: A Handcrafted Mystery
by Holly Quinn
About the Book
NEW COZY MYSTERY SERIES
SET IN WISCONSIN
Crooked Lane Books (October 9, 2018)
Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1683317718
ISBN-13: 978-1683317715
Digital ASIN: B078LZ5ZM5
For fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton, the latest craft frenzy is Holly Quinn’s Handcrafted series debut.
Sammy Kane just moved back to her hometown to run a craft store. But when the owner of a nearby yarn shop is murdered, Sammy will needle little help finding the killer.
When a heartbroken Samantha “Sammy” Kane returns to her hometown of Heartsford, WI, for her best friend Kate’s funeral, she learns that Kate’s much-loved craft store is in danger of perishing with its owner. Confounding all her expectations of the life she would live, Sammy moves back home with her golden retriever and takes over Community Craft. A few doors down Main Street, fellow new arrival Ingrid Wilson has just opened the Yarn Barn, a real “purl” of a shop. But when Sammy strolls over to see if Ingrid could use a little help, she finds Ingrid’s dead body—with a green aluminum knitting needle lodged in her throat.
Detective Liam Nash is thrown for a loop as every single citizen of Heartsford seems to have a theory about Ingrid’s murder. And nearly everyone in town seems to be a suspect. But the last time Sammy did any sleuthing was as a little moppet. And this is not fun and games. Sammy is eager to help the handsome Liam—who seems to be endlessly inventive in finding reasons to talk with her—and when Liam arrests affable woodworker Miles Danbury, Sammy puts everything on the line to help clear Miles.
As the case comes dangerously close to unraveling, Sammy must stitch the clues together. But the killer has other plans—and if Sammy’s not careful, she may wind up in a perilous knot in A Crafter Knits a Clue, the first warm and woolly yarn of Holly Quinn’s new Handcrafted mysteries.
About the Author
Holly Quinn is both an avid reader and crafter. Holly sells her artistic creations locally and dreamed of one day opening a gift shop to sell local artist’s handiwork. Instead, she began writing about it and thus her journey of the Handcrafted Mystery series was born. Visit her @ www.authorhollyquinn.com
Author Links –
Website – www.authorhollyquinn.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HollyQuinnbooks/
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7940795.Holly_Quinn
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Purchase Links
Amazon     B&N    IndieBound      BAM   Powell’s    Walmart    BookBub
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
October 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
October 8 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT
October 9 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
October 9 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 10 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
October 10 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
October 11 – Jane Reads – GUEST POST
October 11 – A Cozy Experience – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 12 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW
October 12 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
October 12 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – RECIPE POST
October 13 – A Blue Million Books – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
October 13 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
October 14 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 14 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
October 15 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW
October 15 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
October 16 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
October 16 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – REVIEW
October 17 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
October 17 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
October 17 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW
October 18 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW
October 18 – Readeropolis – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
October 18 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
October 19 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
October 19 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
October 20 – The Book Diva’s Reads – GUEST POST
October 20 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
October 21 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
October 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
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Thanks for letting me share behind the scenes and touring with me! 🙂
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I loved learning more about the development of the series!
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