Blog Hop Mystery!

The authors of the Ever After Mysteries are celebrating today’s release of my newest book! Enjoy a little mystery this week and be sure to get your copy of A TROLL FALLS on Amazon at this link!

“I just found it on the porch,” I told my daughter as we put up the groceries.

“Well, it’s a lovely rose.” My daughter collected the bags and put them in our storage bin.

“Not such a lovely message, though.” I tugged the ribbon that held the card in place and pulled it through the hole in the card, untangling it from the leaves of the flower. Leaving the flower on the counter, I squatted and dug through the lower cabinet to find the heart-shaped bud vase that had belonged to my mother. “And it was rather strange to just find it laying on the doorstep.”

“No one rang the bell,” my daughter said. “The dogs would have thrown a fit, and I never left my office. I would have heard it too.”

“Strange.” I shut the cabinet and paused. “You didn’t leave it there did you?”

She halted and tilted her head. “Really, Mom? If I’m going to spend the big bucks to get flowers for you, then I’m sure as heck gonna take credit for them.”

I chuckled. “True enough.” I filled the vase and picked up the bud. “Ouch.”

I dropped it immediately and stuck my finger in my mouth. One of the ugly thorns that covered the stem caught my finger just above the knuckle.

“You’re bleeding.” She trotted to the bathroom and came back with an antiseptic and a bandage. “Who leaves so many thorns on a flower, especially when it’s a gift?”

I stuck my finger under the faucet. “Someone who uses a rose to camouflage a threat.”

“You think it’s a threat?” She dabbed my finger with a kitchen towel and then sprayed it with an antiseptic.

“I do.” I flinched as the burn connected with my exposed nerve endings. “What else could it be?” I smoothed the bandage around my finger.

“Maybe we’re missing something.” She collected the trash and tossed it in the wastebasket. “Maybe one of the other authors like Chautana Having wanted to congratulate you about your coming release.”

“That could be.” I slipped an oven mitt on my injured hand and snipped several of the thorns and most of the leaves from the stem before dropping it into the vase. “I should give Chautona a call just to see. If she did send the flower, then I want to thank her.”

“Even with the thorns?” My daughter laughed, picked up her coffee, and went back to her office.

I reached for the card that had come with it. I should probably just toss it in the trash and not think about it again, but the message bugged me. How else could it be taken except as a threat? Surely, Chautona wouldn’t have been threatening me, though.

What type of wicked troll would send a note like this?

Your day has come.

I hope you enjoyed the first part of our little mystery. You’ll find the next part of the story at Chautona Havig’s blog at this link tomorrow: https://chautona.com/a-troll-falls-release

Don’t miss out on a special giveaway to celebrate the release of A TROLL FALLS! Sign up at the link below: https://promosimple.com/ps/24b03/a-troll-falls-marji

You can order A TROLL FALLS right now from Amazon at this link: https://amzn.to/3Kb9XbN

And when you order, send your receipt and US shipping address to ATROLLFALLS@gmail.com for a special gift with purchase while supplies last!

Fashion Sense

Now I’m no expert, and my blue jeans and tee shirt testify to that fact. (And it’s a toss-up whether I’m wearing the blue tee shirt that says, “Grandma, established 2022,” the red one that says, “I’m a mystery writer. I know 101 ways how to hide a body,” or the long-sleeved black one from “Canceling Christmas,” the musical that I was in last December.)

My characters in A TROLL FALLS, though, know a thing or two about the fashion of the late 1940s. After all, even though they were merely workers in the house, they were treated as part of the family by some very high-standing citizens of Dallas. I showed you the Dior dress that I chose for Ruby to wear on her date at the Adolphus hotel earlier. You can see that post HERE, and it is quite a dress!

Ruby has another date, though, on Elm Street that is shown in THIS POST. She attends a movie premiere of Red River, starring John Wayne, and the block party that the city of Dallas sponsored on that evening (August 26, 1948). At this date, she wore a beautiful sundress. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sunny.

Nope, not a bit. Just as the party was stirring up, a thunderstorm soaked everything and everyone from the haybales to the square dancers and the trick ropers.

And Ruby might have been soaked as well, except she wore one of those plastic raincoats – the kind that were translucent. At least, her dress was seen, right?

As I was researching for this book, I even picked out pajamas for my characters. They are rather prone to wander around and investigate in the middle of the night, so they had to have pajamas. I was surprised to find that the pajama top that I chose is actually a normal daytime top nowadays. Go figure. LOL!

But I have to admit, I wish that the housecoats of 1948 were still popular. These are not mere robes. These are thick and quilted dresses that ushered in the 1950s poofy skirts. I love the ones that I chose for my characters. I would guess the shoulder pads and hemline came straight out of the 1980s, right?

Which do you like best? Which would you wear?

There is something to be said for vintage clothing. I don’t have the figure or the guts to wear clothes from the 1940s, but it sure is pretty!

A TROLL FALLS is now available in paperback HERE.

It will release as an e-book tomorrow (Tuesday).

And in celebration of the release tomorrow, I’m doing a Facebook Takeover at THIS LINK. I’ll be there all day, giving away prizes and sharing more about my story and the Dallas history that sparked my imagination. I hope you will join me!

Oh, and when you purchase your book, don’t forget to send your receipt to ATROLLFALLS@gmail.com along with your US shipping address, and I’ll send you a special gift with your purchase!