Guest Post: Laura Childs – LEMON CURD KILLER

Good day, book people. Do you find yourself reading books that are set in real cities or towns and reminiscing about the locations mentioned? If I’m reading a book set in Toronto Canada, Atlanta GA, Boston MA, Savannah GA, or Charleston WV and SC, I count the number of places I’ve been to and try to picture the action and setting in my head. I’ve got to admit, I even do this for cities I only have a passing acquaintance with like San Francisco CA, Detroit MI, New York NY, Washington DC, etc. I don’t know why, but reading descriptions of places I’ve been to and can vividly picture just brings something extra to the story. I’m pleased to welcome back to the blog, Laura Childs, author of Lemon Curd Killer, the latest release in one of my favorite series, the Tea Shop Mysteries. Ms. Childs will be sharing with us her thoughts on using location as a character. I hope you’ll enjoy what she has to share, add Lemon Curd Killer to your TBR list, follow the blog tour to learn more about this book and author, and don’t forget to enter the tour giveaway. Thank you, Ms. Childs, for taking time away from your writing to join us today. I’ll now turn the blog over to you.

Location as Character
by Laura Childs

When I first began writing my Tea Shop Mysteries, one of the things I immediately realized was that location can actually serve as its own unique character. Let me explain. Setting my Tea Shop Mysteries in Charleston, South Carolina gave me a lot to work with. First off, it’s an old city established way before the Revolutionary War. So that in itself means historic buildings, twisty narrow lanes, a lovely Historic District, and a genteel Southern pace. Really, the perfect setting for a Tea Shop Mystery.

Then, describing key elements such as the secretive Gateway Walk, the haunted St. Philips Cemetery, or the narrow and very private Stolls Alley ratchets up the suspense and helps my readers visualize where my characters exist in the story.

Setting can also elicit an emotional response. When I describe the Indigo Tea Shop using such terms as Rembrandt lighting, a quasi-British setting with a touch of country French, or pegged heart pine floors covered in faded Aubusson rugs, my readers tell me they can feel the relaxing and restorative nature of the setting.

Location as a character also adds greatly to the plot. It gives readers context on place, mood, and environment. This can be as simple as describing the fog rolling in off the Atlantic Ocean and giving Charleston’s antique streetlights a warm hazy glow. Or it could be more intricate, such as describing a wild chase down Gateway Walk where my protagonist rushes through the Governor Aiken Gates, hurries past the Gibbes Museum of Art, then dodges around statuary, stands of palmettos, and pattering fountains, finally ending up in a moss-shrouded cemetery complete with tilting tombstones right behind a centuries-old church.

Location also connects story elements. Dialogue is great for expressing conflict and other emotions, while plot is critical too. But when you feel as if you can actually see and touch something, when you can walk in my characters’ footsteps down a cobblestone alley and smell the fragrant magnolias, that’s the point where everything gets pulled together and a book becomes so much more real.

Thank you so much for reading this. And if you’re at all intrigued, my brand new Tea Shop Mystery, Lemon Curd Killer, has just been released. ♦

Lemon Curd Killer (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs

About Lemon Curd Killer

Lemon Curd Killer (A Tea Shop Mystery)

High tea and high fashion turn deadly in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning has been tapped to host a fancy Limón Tea in a genuine lemon orchard as a rousing kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and the scent of lemon wafts among the tea tables, the deadly murder of a fashion designer puts the squeeze on things.

As the lemon curd begins to sour, the murdered woman’s daughter begs Theodosia to help find the killer. Tea events and fashion shows must go on, however, which puts Theodosia and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, right in the thick of squabbling business partners, crazed clothing designers, irate film producers, drug deals, and a disastrous Tea Trolley Tour.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

Cozy Mystery
25th in Series
Setting – South Carolina
Berkley (March 7, 2023)
Hardcover: ‎ 320 pages
ISBN10: ‎ 0593200926
ISBN13: ‎ 9780593200926 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780593200933 (eBook)
ISBN: 9781705082508 (Digital audiobook)
ASIN: B0BP9Y5L9Z (Audible audiobook)
ASIN: ‎ B0B3HQFB3N (Kindle edition)
Purchase Links #CommissionEarned: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Audible Audiobook | Audiobooks.com | Barnes and Noble | B&N eBook | B&N Audiobook | BookDepository.com | Downpour Audiobook | Kobo Audiobook | Kobo eBook | PenguinRandomHouse 

About Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links: Website | Facebook

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 6 – The Book Diva’s Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 6 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW
March 7 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
March 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – The Mystery of Writing – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
March 9 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 9 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
March 10 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
March 10 – Nadaness In Motion – SPOTLIGHT (REVIEW)
March 11 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 11 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
March 12 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
March 13 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
March 13 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
March 14 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
March 14 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
March 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 16 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 16 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
March 17 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT
March 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 17 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
March 18 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
March 19 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

Tour Giveaway:

This is a giveaway for two (2) hardcover print copies of Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Please see the widget for specifics and restrictions. Void where prohibited.

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Book Showcase: A GAME OF CONES by Abby Collette

A Game of Cones (An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery) by Abby Collette

About A Game of Scones

A Game of Cones (An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery)

Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series

Publisher: Berkley (March 2, 2021)

Paperback: 352 pages

ISBN-10: 0593099680

ISBN-13: 978-0593099681

Digital ASIN: B089S6SPKB

In this charming mystery series set in an ice cream shop, no case is too cold to crack!

Bronwyn Crewse is delighted that Crewse Creamery, the ice cream shop her family has owned for decades, is restored to its former glory and serving sweet frozen treats to happy customers in the picturesque small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. But when a big city developer comes to town intent on building a mall, a killer with a frozen heart takes him out.

After literally stumbling across the body, one of Win’s closest friends becomes the prime suspect, and to make things worse, Win’s aunt has come to town with the intention of taking command of Crewse Creamery. Even though Win has a rocky road ahead to help her friend and keep her ice cream shop, it’ll take more than a sprinkle of murder to stop her from solving the crime and saving the day.

About Abby Collette

Abby L. Vandiver, also writing as Abby Collette, is a hybrid author who has penned more than twenty-five books and short stories. She has hit both the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller list. Books one and two, A Deadly Inside Scoop and A Game of Cones, from her latest cozy series, An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery, published by Penguin Berkley, is out now.

Author Links
Website: www.authorabby.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorabbyl.vandiver
Twitter: www.twitter.com/abbyvandiver
Instagram: www.instagram.com/abbylvandiver

Purchase Links:
AmazonB&NKoboGoogle PlayIndieBound

Giveaway
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TOUR PARTICIPANTS
March 1 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 1 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
March 1 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
March 2 – Reading Is My SuperPower =- REVIEW
March 2 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT
March 2 –My Journey Back the Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 3 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW
March 3 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 3 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 4 – Mysteries with Character– GUEST POST
March 4 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
March 5 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 5 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
March 6 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 6 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 7 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
March 7 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT
March 9 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
March 9 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE
March 9 – Dee-Scoveries – SPOTLIGHT
March 10 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW
March 10 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST
March 11 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
March 11 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 12 – Literary Gold – REVIEW
March 12 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 12 – Ms. Cat’s Honest World – REVIEW
March 13 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT
March 13 – Brianne’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
March 14 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW
March 14 – I Read What You Write – CHARACTER GUEST POST

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Guest Post: LAVENDER BLUE MURDER by Laura Childs



Good day, book people. I’m always excited to welcome guests to The Book Diva’s Reads, especially when it’s an author that has graciously taken time away from their busy writing or touring schedule. When it’s the author of a series that I read and admire, I go total fangirl, so reader beware. I’m a huge fan of the Laura Childs Tea Shop Mystery series, probably because it’s tea (I used to own a tea business) and I began reading it when I lived in Georgia (it’s a Southern thang). To say that I’m pleased to welcome Ms. Childs here today is a massive understatement, but close enough. I’m incredibly pleased and honored to welcome and introduce you to Ms. Laura Childs, author of the Tea Shop Mystery Series, including the latest addition Lavender Blue Murder, as today’s guest. Ms. Childs will be sharing with us some of the joys of writing an amateur sleuth and more. Without further adieu, ladies and gents, I give you Laura Childs.




Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author of Lavender Blue Murder, writes about the Free-Wheeling Amateur Sleuth



If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries, then you know that most main characters tend to be curious, heroic, and highly intelligent amateur sleuths. They’re not afraid to ask questions, go undercover, figure out clues, and occasionally tiptoe into situations where they probably shouldn’t. 

What I love most about Theodosia Browning, my main character and tea shop owner in Lavender Blue Murder, is that she’s not bound by the normal constraints that law enforcement is. She doesn’t have to Mirandize suspects, obtain search warrants from judges, follow procedure, call in a Crime Scene team, or deal with bureaucrats and police politics.   

Along with her dog, Earl Grey, Theodosia is a dynamic character who gets involved in very personal ways. When solving a murder, she has the smarts to make logical deductions and sniff out clues (often to the consternation of the police), as well as run her own shadow investigation to help winnow out who’s merely a suspect and who’s the real killer. 

It’s this free-wheeling manner that allows my tea shop owner’s fun personality to shine through. Yes, she’s solving crimes, but she’s also an entrepreneur who runs the Indigo Tea Shop in the heart of Charleston, SC. She’s socially active, has a boyfriend, is surrounded by a cast of characters that are often larger than life, and has a real sense of fair play and justice.

Here’s a synopsis of Lavender Blue Murder to show you how Theodosia gets embroiled in a nasty murder:


On a Sunday afternoon in autumn, tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier Drayton Conneley are guests at Reginald Doyle’s Creekmore Plantation. Because Doyle and his wife Meredith are rabid anglophiles, they’re treating their dozen or so guests to a bird hunt styled in the precise manner of an English shooting party. 

But as gunshots explode like Black Cat firecrackers, another shot sounds too close for comfort. It’s a sharp pop, like the distinctive sound of a handgun. Worried now, Theodosia wanders into the neighbor’s lavender field where she discovers Reginald Doyle bleeding to death. Help is summoned, first responders arrive, but it’s too late for Reginald.

Doyle’s wife Meredith is beside herself with grief and begs Theodosia and Drayton to stay the night. But Theodosia awakens at 2:00A.M. to find smoke in her room and the plantation house on fire. As the fire department screams in and the investigating sheriff returns, Theodosia wonders who wanted Reginald dead and out of the way, and maybe even torched the house to destroy evidence? Could it be the surly caretaker Jack Grimes, Reginald’s business partner Guy Thorne, neighboring land owner Carl Clewis, the so-called “lavender lady” Susan Monday, or even Reginald’s son Alex or even his wife Meredith?


So you see, an amateur sleuth is a curious breed, succumbing to the pleas of others, often putting her own interests aside and herself in danger. Sound like fun? It kind of is!

Thanks to the Book Diva’s Reads for inviting me here today, and many thanks to all you wonderful readers.


Love,

Laura Childs



Lavender Blue Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery)

by Laura Childs

About Lavender Blue Murder

Lavender Blue Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
21th in Series
Publisher: Berkley (March 3, 2020)
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0451489667
ISBN-13: 978-0451489661
Digital ASIN: B07SSQ1X4R



Tea-Maven Theodosia Browning brews up trouble in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!


Purchase Links

Amazon   B&N  Kobo   Google Play IndieBound


About Laura Childs




Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.


Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Website – http://www.laurachilds.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31



Giveaway

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 2 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

March 2 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW

March 3 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW

March 4 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

March 4 – My Journey Back – REVIEW

March 5 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – GUEST POST

March 5 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW

March 6 – I’m All About Books-SPOTLIGHT

March 6 – Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT

March 7 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW

March 8 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

March 9 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

March 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

March 10 – The Editing Pen – REVIEW

March 10 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLGHT

March 11 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

March 12 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 13 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT

March 13 – The Book Diva’s Reads – GUEST POST

March 14 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW

March 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 15 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW

March 16 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST

March 16 – This Is My Truth Now – SPOTLIGHT

March 17 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW


March 18 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 19 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

March 19 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT


March 21 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW



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2019 Book 325: THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB by Lyssa Kay Adams

The Bromance Book Club, Bromance Book Club #1, by Lyssa Kay Adams 
ISBN: 9781984806093 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781984806109 (ebook)
ISBN: 9780593151235 (audiobook)
ASIN: B07NKMZVCT  (Kindle edition)
Publication date: November 5, 2019 
Publisher: Berkley Publishing


The first rule of this book club: You don’t talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major-league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him. 

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it’ll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner-hero and win back the trust of his wife. 






Purchase Links (#CommissionsEarned)  IndieBound  |  Amazon  |  Amazon Kindle  |  Audible  |  Barnes and Noble  |  B&N Nook  |  BookDepository  |  Books-A-Million  |  Downpour Audiobook  |  eBooks  |  !ndigo  |  Kobo eBook  |  Kobo Audiobook 




Gavin and Thea Scott met in college, had a whirlwind romance, got pregnant, and married in less than three months after meeting. They love one another and their twin daughters, but their marriage is floundering and has been for some time. It doesn’t help that Gavin was recruited to play professional baseball early in their marriage and was absent during Thea’s delivery of the twins, during most of the twin’s early development, etc. Now that Gavin has learned that Thea has been “faking” her orgasms for most of their marriage, he does what most red-blooded, alpha-males do, he gets upset with her and leaves the marital bed. When Thea has had enough, she asks for a divorce and for him to leave their home. It is only then that Gavin realizes he’s done something monumentally stupid and he’s not quite sure how, or even if, he can fix things. Enter his good friends and a few of his teammates, aka the “bromance book club.” Their advice to him is read romance fiction and they start him off with a regency romance. Why this particular book? Primarily because the male character is also having difficulties in his marriage and made a monumentally stupid mistake. Gavin must learn how to court his wife, how to flirt with her, how to romance her, and more importantly, what is important to her, how to listen to her, talk to her, and, if necessary, allow her the space she may need and crave. Can Gavin learn the lessons he needs from romantic fiction in time to save his marriage, especially since Thea has only given him six weeks to do so? Can either of them trust their emotions with one another or will they fall back into their bad habits?

Let me start by saying this one thing, grab yourself a copy of The Bromance Book Club ASAP! I loved this book. I read it in one afternoon and only got up when I received a tornado alert on my phone and had to remove some chairs from my mother’s front porch (darn you high winds for interfering with my reading!!). I enjoyed the friendship between Gavin and his teammates, not to mention the somewhat antagonistic relationship he has with the “Russian” and Mack (fellow members of the Bromance Book Club). Thea has an important backstory that is gradually revealed throughout the book and no, I’m not going to tell you what it is, read the book. Then there’s the antagonistic, mean girl atmosphere between Thea and some of the other team wives. Thea and Gavin have some serious issues and it was interesting to read about how they worked on overcoming them. They are a young couple with small children and seemingly insurmountable problems caused by a lack of communication. Gavin doesn’t want to talk about his problems with his male friends or even with Thea. Thea doesn’t want to talk about their problems with her sister or with Gavin. They are both receiving kindly advice from friends and family but none of these peole are fully aware of the situation between Thea and Gavin or Thea’s backstory. I truly wondered if this couple was ever going to be able to achieve their HEA. If you enjoy reading smart, sassy, steamy romances with a bit of humor and lots of drama then I highly recommend you get a copy of The Bromance Book Club. If you’ve never read a romance written from the perspective of the male suitor, then again I encourage you to grab a copy of The Bromance Book Club. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series as well as much more from this author in the future.


Disclaimer: I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss+. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”.