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About 'Beyond a Reasonable Donut'
Selling her corn fritters at a carnival, Deputy Donut Café owner Emily Westhill faces off against a murderer who doesn’t play fair . . .
Emily and her assistant, Nina, are looking forward to manning the Deputy Donut tent at the Faker’s Dozen Carnival in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin—a festival held on Friday the thirteenth to celebrate good and bad luck. But Emily has barely dropped the corn fritters in oil when bad luck boils up. First, their bucket of confectioner’s sugar disappears—and then while a mime creates a distraction, a magician robs their cash register.
After the carnival, their misfortune continues. Emily discovers that someone has broken into artist Nina’s loft and vandalized a large painting in progress with the bucket of stolen sugar, which is now on the head of the mime, who seems to have been suffocated. Emily would bet Nina was the intended victim, but the cops think Nina silenced the mime. Now Emily must catch the killer white-handed—before someone else kicks the bucket . . .
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About Ginger Bolton
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BEYOND A REASONABLE DONUT begins with the Faker’s Dozen Festival held on Friday the thirteenth in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin. Emily Westhill and one of her assistants at her café, Deputy Donut, attend the fair to make and sell what they’re calling, in honor of the festival’s jokes and pranks, “corny” fritters.
While at the festival, Emily also tours the Bad and Good Luck tent with her friend, Detective Brent Fyne. (They’re “just friends,” she says . . .)
Before writing that scene and others involving signs and symbols of good and bad luck, I Googled superstitions about luck. Maybe it’s not strange that I found many more for bad luck for good!
Here are some of them:
Serving bread upside down– I agree. Losing butter and jam on the plate sounds like very bad luck.
Toasting with a bottle instead of with a glass or toasting with water instead of alcohol – I’m sure I’ve done both of those, and also (oops) toasting with an already emptied glass!
Cutting bananas instead of breaking them – Guilty!
Opening an umbrella inside – I was given a pretty plaid umbrella for my seventh birthday and immediately opened it inside. Ever since that day, umbrellas have given me so much trouble that I avoid carrying them.
Bringing lilacs inside – Who could help doing that???
Black cat crossing your path – Note from Emily’s cat Dep: If I see any cat, no matter what color, I’ll yowl.
Leaving shoes upside down – Especially bad if you fail to turn them over before trying to put them on.
A hat on a bed – Lots of parties must incur bad luck.
Pointing at a rainbow – Who says, “There’s a rainbow!” without pointing at it? Oops.
Stirring tea with anything other than a spoon – Who comes up with these?
Bringing parsley to a dinner party – I mean, really, who?
Hanging laundry at night – I suppose you could end up with creepy-crawlies in your unmentionables.
Sneezing before you go out – Dogs do not seem to know about this one.
Keeping dead things inside – I see where that could be a problem.
Green paint inside –Especially if the pigment is made, as it used to be, with arsenic.
An axe inside and also, carrying a hoe into the house – These could lead to difficulties, especially in murder mysteries.
Thorny plants in the house – Cacti are hard houseplants to kill. Keep tweezers handy for removing the needles when you touch them, which you will.
Walking in only one shoe – Especially if it has a stiletto heel.
And I’ll add one of my own: Walking around inside when the robotic vacuum (or a dog or a cat) is running around.
This list is not exhaustive. There are lots more, some of which are mentioned in BEYOND A REASONABLE DONUT.
What other superstitions have you heard of? Can you add any from your own experience or some that might be beliefs held only in your family?
The thirteenth of August this year is on a Friday. Good luck!
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Thank you for hosting me!
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