Advanced Readers for cozy mystery, Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree, sought.

Three of my books on sale Friday through Monday

Nov 30, 2024

The third book in my cozy mystery series will release in early 2025 and I am looking for a few people who would like to read an advanced copy and provide some reviews around the time it releases, or even a while after it comes out.

This is the third book in the series, and it can be read alone. There will be some secondary plots that continue from the first two books so if you want to read those two before you read this third one, you can find the books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paperback and in ebook on Amazon, where you can read it in Kindle Unlimited if you have a membership.

My characters are Christian, they will talk about God some, but there is not a strong Christian message because the emphasis is more on the mystery than the Christian message. You do not need to read the other books to be able to follow the plot of this one.

The cozy mystery genre simply focuses more on the mystery of the story than other story arcs. It’s for fun and escape so there will not be too many heavy-hitting messages in these books. And there are never open-door sex, violence, obscenities or graphic descriptions.

Once you sign up, I will provide you with a complimentary digital (ebook) copy of the novel for you to read.

What is an ARC reader?

ARC stands for Advanced Reader Copy.

The idea of an ARC reader is to read a book and review it before it is released. This is different from being on a launch team, which is a bit more time consuming. For an ARC you just read it and review it and you are done. On a launch team an author may ask you to share certain graphics on your social media or share other teasers for the book.

This is also different than beta readers. Beta readers are readers who read the book early and give the author a private review to let them know how they can improve the book. I already have a few beta readers this time around.

ARC readers read an ebook form of the book and give a public review.

I don’t overload my launch team members, but I still am sure that some people would rather just agree to read the book and then leave a review to help out.

I ask that ARC readers read and review the book any time before or after it’s release, as close to the release date as possible, but I am very aware of how life can get in the way, so if you read the book and review it much further in the future, that’s good too!

*I also ask that if you read the book and absolutely do not like it, that you privately message me about your concerns before you publish your review, but your opinion is your opinion so please post your honest opinion, even it is negative.

Thank you to all those who agree to sign up and read an advanced copy of the book!

For more information about the book, here is a description:

Working as a small-town newspaper reporter and trying to keep up with her grandmother, Lucinda, has kept Gladwynn Grant busy, but, otherwise, life has been quiet.

Everything changes, though, when her older, aloof sister, Sheena, shows up unannounced at the front door.

As if that isn’t enough to deal with, she finds one of her interview subjects dead.

Once again, she’ll have to deal with State Police Detective Tanner Kinney and his stiff-upper-lip-attitude while doing her best to avoid Pastor Luke Callahan who she accused of murder the year before.

When it looks like Sheena is somehow mixed up with a suspect in the murder, Gladwynn’s stress levels rise to an all time high.

Will Gladwynn be able to help solve the murder and find out why her sister has shown up after not visiting for the last six years? And who wrote a stack of love letters stashed in a storage area under her grandmother’s stairs?

Join Gladwynn, Lucinda, Tanner, and Luke Callahan for another modern mystery with a vintage feel.

If you want to be an ARC reader you can sign up here: https://forms.gle/LXAPHqnsFwqWzwTk8

If you want to read the first two books, even if you don’t want to be an early reader for this one, you can find the books here (they are both on sale from November 29 through December 2)

Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1KSQJXP

Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB74L7TQ

My book, Cassie, is also on sale for 99 cents on Amazon today through Monday.

Now that Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree is done, I’m already brainstorming ideas for the fourth book, Gladwynn Grant Goes Back to School. That book will be released in late Summer or early fall of 2025.

Would you like a sneak peek of Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree? Here is a small excerpt I also shared on my main blog yesterday.

“Who caters this event is a decision to be made by the board, Richard, not you.”

Gladwynn Grant tried her best to focus on the task at hand – setting up food for a taste testing for the Harksdale Chamber of Commerce’s fundraiser – but the sharpness of the woman’s tone startled her, causing her to turn around quickly.

Gladwynn had offered to help her friend Abbie Mendoza for the afternoon, with them both hoping that Brewed Awakening, Gladwynn’s favorite coffee shop and Abbie’s place of employment, would be able to land the catering job for the upcoming event.

Neither of them had expected a verbal argument to break out between two of the board members before the tasting had even begun. Gladwynn cast Abbie a questioning look and received a brief wince and shrug in return.

An awkward hush fell over the small gathering in the sunroom at the Harksdale Country Club. Gladwynn turned away again, deciding to keep her back to the drama and instead focus on the job of setting out homemade eclairs on silver trays.

A man’s voice, deep and clearly irritated, responded to the woman’s comment. “That’s all well and good but the board isn’t making the decisions it needs to and this event is right around the corner.”

“We’re here to make a decision today, aren’t we?”

“Yes, with a business I didn’t even recommend.”

Another deep voice: “Richard, don’t be rude to our guests. We are hosting tastings with the businesses you recommended as well.”

“And those businesses can offer us much more than this mom-and-pop coffee shop ever could,” Richard spat.

“It’s actually just a mom coffee shop now.” Abbie offered. A quick glance from Gladwynn showed that Abbie, with her red-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, was timidly smiling. “Marylou’s husband passed away four years ago.”

Gladwynn turned in time to see the man, who must be Richard, whipping his head around to look at Abbie, staring her down with wide, dark brown eyes as if he wasn’t sure who she was or why she had been speaking to him.

Gladwynn coughed gently. “I don’t want to interrupt, but we do have some samples set up here for you all so if nothing else comes of this meeting today, at least you can enjoy some refreshments.”

The woman who had introduced herself earlier as Beatrice Baxter, the director of the chamber, lifted her chin and turned away from Richard. Her previously tense expression relaxed, and a forced smile replaced it. “Yes, of course. Thank you so much. We can continue our conversation later," she shot Richard a quick look that Gladwynn could only describe as a warning, “In private.”

A small huff came from Richard as he pulled his shoulders back sharply and straightened them into a tense posture. Beatrice walked quickly past him to the front of the room.

Serving food samples to potential clients wasn’t Gladwynn’s regular job or forte. Her regular job was as a newspaper reporter for the Brookstone Beacon – the newspaper of the small town she now lived in. She was here on this day as a favor to Abbie after Abbie’s co-worker had come down with a cold.

The owner of Brewed Awakening, Marylou Landry, had stayed behind to watch the shop. She’d been nervous about even applying to cater for the event since Harksdale’s residents were usually accustomed to more fine dining than what Brewed Awakening - a laid back, down to earth café and coffee shop – offered.

Harksdale was a small village made up mainly of expensive cabins, inns, and resorts. Located near state game lands, it was nestled in the middle of trees and hills in the proverbial middle of nowhere. Many of its wealthy residents traveled from more urban areas and cities and then lived in Harksdale only on weekends or during the summer.

For more than 100 years Harksdale had been known by locals as a haven to the more “well-to-do folks”.

Gladwynn offered her broadest smile to each person as they approached the table. Glancing to her right she saw Abbie doing the same, though a little more tentatively. Richard’s outburst and biting comment about Brewed Awakening had clearly shaken her.

Gladwynn knew that landing the catering job would be a huge boon to Marylou. She also knew that Abbie wanted to do the best she could for her beloved employer. Gladwynn couldn’t blame her. Brewed Awakening had become one of her favorite places to visit since she’d moved to Brookstone to live with her grandmother almost a year and a half ago. A cozy, down-to-earth coffee shop with a bookstore attached to it? Yes, please, and thank you.

There were seven board members, and five volunteers present at the event, but Beatrice has explained it would be the board who would make the final decision on who would cater the event. The volunteers were simply there for input.

Conversations blended together among the people in the room, creating a soft hum.

Gladwynn noticed Richard and Beatrice sat as far away from each other as possible. Richard was scowling more and more with each bite he took.

Richard had arrived late, after the introductions of the other board members had been made, his face flushed. By then, Abbie had been detailing what food the group would be sampling and offering each of the attendants’ sheets to not only show the menu but to allow them to mark down any potential substitutes they might want later.

It was during the final set up that Richard had begun the aggressive conversation with Beatrice. Gladwynn hadn’t heard his question or comment, only Beatrice’s response.

Speaking of my regular blog, I post a lot of book related content there as well. That’s where I first started blogging and where I try to keep the conversation less self-promo and more conversational. In 2025, I hope to do that on Substack as well by posting a weekly post that will offer more stories and thoughts, than promotion.

In case you are curious, here are some of the posts I have recently shared on my main blog, Boondock Ramblings:

I will be back next week with a list of suggested Christmas books to read in December.

A Good Book and A Cup of Tea

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