~ FRIDAY FEATURE ILL-FATED FORTUNE ~

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~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~

--  'ILL-FATED FORTUNE'  --

AUTHOR JENNIFER J. CHOW

 

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Ill-Fated Fortune: A Magical Fortune Cookie Novel by Jennifer J. Chow

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About Ill-Fated Fortune

 

Ill-Fated Fortune: A Magical Fortune Cookie  

Cozy Mystery 1st in Series  ~ Setting - California  

Minotaur Books (February 20, 2024) 

Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages  

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250323037 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250323033 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C1X7YG71 

 

Felicity Jin grew up literally hanging onto Mom’s apron strings in their magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Her mother’s enchanted baked goods, including puffy pineapple buns and creamy egg tarts, bring instant joy to all who consume them. Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen herself after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies.

They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now Felicity must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.

REVIEW:

A clean cozy mystery featuring a cast of quirky characters, interesting settings, and a sprinkle of cultural history . . .

The author has created a strong ensemble of characters for this new series. Gold Bakery owners/operators Felicity Jin and her mother and Felicity's best friend, Kelvin, are the heart of the cast in my opinion. The addition of Felicity's Godmother Alma plus some supporting characters draw readers into the mystery involving the death of a Gold Bakery customer.

Several settings were created by the author in the fictional small town of Pixie located near Fresno in the Central Valley of California. The Gold Bakery has an ambience that is unique and appealing. The flower shop owned by Kelvin—Love Blooms—sounds like a place I would love to visit; the mysterious candle shop owned by Alma—Paz Illuminations adds some eccentricity to the story.

Several locales in Fresno are essential to the plot. I liked the fact that a local landmark—Forestiere Underground Gardens—became part of the adventure. (I visited this amazing California Historical Landmark which is also part of the National Register of Historic Sites a few decades ago. It was a very memorable experience.)

The book's back matter includes a recipe for Fated Fortune Cookies, Floral Tips from Love Blooms, and Candle Embellishment from Paz Illuminations. Due to my personal hobbies of cooking and gardening, I enjoyed this bonus content.

The story is completely clean in language and content. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. All of my thoughts and opinions shared here are solely my own.

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About Jennifer J. Chow

Jennifer J. Chow writes cozies filled with hope and heritage. She is an Agatha, Anthony, and Lefty Award-nominated author. Her newest series is the Magical Fortune Cookie mysteries; the first book is Ill-Fated Fortune. Jennifer’s previous series is the L.A. Night Market Mysteries. Death by Bubble Tea was reviewed by the New York Times, featured in Woman’s World, and hit the SoCal Indie Bestseller List. Jennifer currently serves as Immediate Past President on the board of Sisters in Crime and blogs at chicksonthecase.com. She is an active member of Crime Writers of Color and Mystery Writers of America. Connect with her online and sign up for her newsletter at JenniferJChow.com.

Author Links:

Websitewww.jenniferjchow.com 

Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jenjchow/  

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/JenJChow  

BookBubhttps://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-j-chow   

 

Purchase Links - Amazon - Macmillian - Bookshop.org - B&N - Kobo  

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:  

February 16 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – AUTHOR GUEST POST  

February 16 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW  

February 16 – Cassidy's Bookshelves - SPOTLIGHT  

February 17 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT  

February 17 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – REVIEW  

February 18 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT  

February 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy - REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW  

February 18 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT  

February 19 – Boys' Mom Reads! – REVIEW  

February 19 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT  

February 19 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT   

February 20 – Angel's Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT  

February 20 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW 

February 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW 

February 21 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW 

February 22 – The Mystery of Writing – SPOTLIGHT  

February 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – RECIPE 

February 23 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic - REVIEW

February 23 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW  

February 23 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

 

GIVEAWAY:

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~ NEW SEWING PATTERN RELEASE--GARDEN JOURNAL! ~

 --  MY NEW SEWING PATTERN EBOOK RELEASE!  --

 

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Stitch up this rustic/country-style, hand-embroidered garden journal which includes glass beads, buttons, and several different embroidery stitches! I used linen for the cover in my sample, but this project would also be lovely in wool.

 

 

This pattern includes the measurements in Imperial & Metric. Tips on how to stitch the embroidered design and text on the cover along with how to measure for & assemble a journal cover for any size notebook you may choose to use are provided along with detailed cutting & sewing instructions. A downloadable stitching diagram is included in the book.

LINK TO PURCHASE OR DOWNLOAD:

https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Embroidered-Journal-Pattern-Patterns-ebook/dp/B0CVR25WQ1/

 

🌟🌟🌟 --  All of my pattern books are always free with Kindle Unlimited!  --  🌟🌟🌟

 

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Thank you!  😉

~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE NELLIE ~

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~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~

--  'NELLIE'  --

AUTHOR AMY WALSH

 

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Nellie by Amy Walsh, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

 

About the Book

 

Title:   Nellie
Series:   Apron Strings #2
Author:   Amy Walsh
Publisher:   Walsh Mountain Publishing
Release Date:   February 15, 2024
Genre:   Historical Romance

Finances are tight for the O’Dwyer family who live on a mountain outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1931. Life gets even harder when their beloved Dadaí must cease work as a coal miner to become a patient at the West Mountain Sanitarium. 

Nellie is her preferred name, but family and friends have heard Mam shout “Fenella Aileen O’Dwyer!” all too often with the countless predicaments she got herself into throughout childhood. So, it’s not altogether surprising when Nellie impulsively accepts a job as an assistant cook at the Clarinda House in a case of mistaken identity -- though she’s the last person her family would ask to prepare a meal.

Fortunately, along with determination, a talent for acting, and the gift of blarney, Nellie has Mrs. Campbell’s Cookery Book, a treasure she discovered at a Red Cross drought relief sale. 

As her reluctant admiration for her employer grows, Nellie wishes she could be the sort of truthful woman of faith that Mr. Mason Peale esteems. If she confesses all, will she lose her job along with the friendships she’s formed at Clarinda House?  

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EXCERPT:

Gathering her composure, Nellie stood almost at attention, her hands folded in front of her. “Good morning, Mr. Peale. I didn’t see you there.”

“It appears you didn’t wish to be seen either,” he said dryly. He held a small broom and a dust pin in his hand as he backed away from the coupe’s door and closed it. “My sisters had me drive them to deliver potted flowers to patients at West Side Hospital last evening, and one of the pots tipped over,” he explained.

That’s why she hadn’t seen him as she approached the mansion. “You clean your own automobile?” she blurted.

“And sometimes my sisters deliver their own flowers.” His smile was a tad mocking, Nellie decided. “Just because we live in a big house doesn’t mean we are above normal human activities. I even don work clothes and go down into the mines at times.”

“To make sure your underlings are underlinging?” Nellie quipped.  She immediately wished she could breathe her banter back in.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon

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About the Author

 

Amy Walsh writes historical and contemporary romance, mysteries, speculative fiction, and women’s fiction. She is a 5th-grade writing teacher in an urban public school. Amy and her husband, Patrick, have three children. Amy considers herself greatly blessed in the roles God has given her as an earthling, including aspiring wordsmith, teacher of youngsters, nature appreciator, tea aficionado, avid dessert fan, book fanatic, lover of family and friends, and Christ-follower.

Connect with Amy by visiting walshmountainpublishing.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will win a $50 Amazon gift card, print copies of Nellie and Voices in the Sanitorium, and some historical memorabilia from the West Mountain Sanitarium!

 

 

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight February 12, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on February 19, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

 

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~ VINTAGE VALENTINES & GIFTS 2024 ~

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~ LET'S CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S

DAY WITH VINTAGE

VALENTINES & GIFTS ~ 

 

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Valentine's Day is coming up in just a few days . . . 

I've always loved Valentine's Day. When I was a teacher it was my favorite day of the school year because it was a pleasure to watch the students think of others by giving out Valentines, candies, and other treats to their classmates—and to their fortunate teacher.

One of the math activities we participated in during February when I taught first grade was a graphing activity suggested by the 'Math Their Way' program. I had a large envelope filled with many different Valentines I'd saved over the years. As I revealed each Valentine card to my students, they voted on what category to place the card in:  Pretty, Funny, or Handmade.

After we had them all sorted, we made a large graph on poster paper with those three categories listed. Each student wrote his/her name on a heart cut-out and glued it in the column (or row) of the type of Valentine he/she liked best. I always chose 'Handmade' as my favorite because I've been creating cards and gifts with paper, paint, glue, fabric, thread, buttons, etc., since I was a young girl.

Here are photos of a few of the vintage Valentines from my collection along with a handmade fabric card I made a few years ago. The sweet red plastic heart pin was given to me when I was a child by one of my neighborhood friends. The pretty pink wooden box with the flower decal and 'For Mrs. JJ' lettering was made for me by one of my students back in the mid-1990s. {Each year my class called me Mrs. J.J. when they learned that my first name was June and figured out that my initials were J.J.}. 

I hope you enjoy seeing these special vintage items. Enjoy!

 

 

This one is my very

favorite!  🠟

 

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This fabric card is one of the projects 

included in my 'Valentine's Day

Cards & Gifts' sewing pattern book.

 

 

💟💝 ~ Wishing each of you a special Valentine's Day 2024! I truly appreciate your interest in reading my blog posts and for submitting your positive comments about my posts. All my best, June ~ 💝💟

 

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