LET'S GET COZY! THE PICKLED PIPER: A PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE PICKLED PIPER

FIRST in A Pickled and Preserved Mysteries

BY MARY ELLEN HUGHES

ABOUT THE BOOK:

After her dreams of romance are crushed, Piper Lamb decides to pursue her dream of opening her own shop of pickles and preserves, called Piper’s Picklings, in the idyllic small town of Cloverdale. But she isn’t in town long before she encounters a barrelful of trouble...

The Cloverdale fair offers Piper a sweet opportunity to promote her business. With her new assistant, Amy, she sets up a booth centered around an eye-catching display of the ever-popular dills in an old-fashioned barrel of brine.

But things soon turn sour when fairgoers witness a fight between Amy’s boyfriend, Nate, and town council blowhard—and bagpipe player—Alan Rosemont. When Rosemont is found floating in Piper’s barrel, Nate becomes the prime murder suspect. With Amy’s boyfriend in a pretty pickle, there’s no time to dillydally. But as Piper searches for the real killer, she needs to be careful to preserve her own life...or she may end up a pickled Piper herself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I’ve always loved to write, working on my school newspapers (in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) as well as writing stories for my own enjoyment. But it took a while for me to believe I could turn it into a profession. Along the way I got a degree in Medical Technology at Alverno College, worked in Clinical Chemistry at the National Institutes of Health, married and settled in Maryland to raise two children. But writing continued to tug at me, and one day I sent a 12-line humorous verse (with little hope) to The Saturday Evening Post. To my surprise, they bought it! Seeing my work in print with my name next to it in a national magazine was a huge boost and encouraged me to start sending out short stories. Before too long, some of them were actually published, too!

The next step was to write a full length novel, but I still had much to learn. Joining writers groups like the Maryland Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime, helped immensely, along with participating in critique groups. After a few false starts and much re-writing, my first novel, Resort to Murder, was accepted and published by Avalon. Avalon then published my second novel, A Taste of Death, which featured the same protagonist, a young teacher whose vacations tended to become dangerous.

Having two published books to my name caught the interest of an agent, who encouraged me to create the Craft Corner mystery series. Wreath of Deception, String of Lies, and Paper-Thin Alibi were soon published by Berkley Prime Crime. Berkley is also publishing my next series, the Pickled and Preserved mysteries, which begins with The Pickled Piper.

All of this happened, of course, over several years. A 12-line verse is a long way from a 70,000 word novel but it was my first big step towards earning the title of “mystery author.” My journey continues, with ups and downs and the occasional side step, but with plenty of enjoyment and wonderful companions along the way. I’m looking forward with great eagerness to what still lies ahead.

SOME OTHER BOOKS BY MARY ELLEN HUGHES:

                  

                    

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO KAYLEIGH AND THE GOOD FOLKS

AT BERKLEY PRIME CRIME AND PENGUIN BOOKS,

I HAVE ONE COPY OF THE PICKLED PIPER,

TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY READER

 
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GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, MAY 30

  GOOD LUCK!