"A Cup of Cozy 3" is Out!

Amazon.com

And now there are three, with the first book as our free gift. So excited to announce the launch of  "A Cup of Cozy 3"  in this cozy mystery anthology series filled with short mysteries and holiday recipes.

This issue introduces Janice Hanna Thompson, a popular award-winning and well-loved author familiar to many in the Christian literary world.

Linda P. Kozar writes a story taking place in Turkey, while Cynthia Hickey's story revels in a masquerade mystery. My story "Final Performance" takes place in San Francisco when Jillian and her garden club friends attend "The Nutcracker" in the heart of downtown.

I hope you enjoy the stories as well as the yummy recipes at the end. Happy Holidays! And reviews would be simply lovely. Thank you, dear readers.

~Nancy Jill 

NANCY JILL THAMES

   I suppose the most logical explanation of where imagination for writing my books comes from would be the fact I was an Air Force brat who moved around constantly until I was in the sixth grade. We lived in interesting places, too. Casablanca, French Morocco, where camels and gendarmes (French policemen) passed our house on a daily basis and Las Vegas, Nevada - boy, was it hot! Valdosta, Georgia,  Albuquerque, New Mexico....One night I lay awake counting the number of places I've lived and it came to fourteen!

   My mother was always off playing bridge or bowling with the other officers' wives while my three brothers and I entertained ourselves, making up adventures and getting into mischief. We had servants or baby-sitters, of course, but as long as we were busy, they left us alone.

   Coupled with the fact that I never saw a TV until I was eight and having two type-A parents, I guess it was inevitable I would be a writer someday. 

   I became a believer when I was almost nine thanks to my parents who were devout Christians. They made sure we attended Sunday school and church every week. It was at that time I was given piano lessons. I went on to playing in church, singing in a Madrigal group in high school, and getting a music degree from UT Austin. 

   God has blessed me beyond even my wildest imagination, always guiding my life, giving me a loving husband, four wonderful children, and a number of precious grandchildren. 

   I hope you enjoy the Jillian Bradley mysteries - they are works of love.

To stay in touch please visit these sites.

Twitter - @mystriterdva

Blog - Author Nancy Jill Thames, Queen of Afternoon Tea
Pinterest - mystriterdva
Blog - Cozy Mystery Magazine
Goodreads - Nancy Jill Thames
Facebook
Linkedin
Google +
jillthames@gmail.com

AWARDS

                 

                           

Tea Party Tuesday ~ Celebrating Our Veterans

Welcome to Tea Party Tuesday! Let me pour you a nice cup of tea and we'll begin our chat. Milk? Sugars?

Today is a great opportunity to thank those men and women in uniform for their service to our country and in our communities.
Thank you to those in the military, police, and firefighters, We appreciate your protection and watch care over us - day and night.

Cranberry Apricot Cheesecake Bread

My father was a command pilot of B-52's in the Air Force. How well I remember him being on alert for days on end, staying by the red phone in case our country was attacked.

Please have some cake - I especially love the cheesecake part.

My brother Hank flew RF 4 fighter jets in the Air Force, while my brother Tom served as a country sheriff until his retirement. Our son Mark served in the Air Force as well. Our niece Mi Chelle also serves as a police officer. Our family thanks you all!

Speaking of recipes, our new anthology "A Cup of Cozy 2" has all sorts of delicious recipes from our Holiday Menu selections. Included are my recipes for Beef  Bourguignon and Chocolate Cinnamon Torte featured in my New Years Ever Buffet menu.

In the anthology, I've written a debut story called "Lawrence Buys a Gift." Here's an excerpt from a recent review:

"Lawrence Buys a Gift" 5 stars. The title for my review is "Tea Anyone?". A couple has an amateur detective in for tea and the husband recounts his part in the solving of a murder. The housekeeper, Louise, is run ragged bringing in the goodies for the tea and keeping an eye on the menagerie of pets!

Available on Amazon Kindle only $2.99

Hope you enjoy the new book.
Have a wonderful week - Cheers!

~Nancy Jill 

Tea Party Tuesday

Welcome to afternoon Tea Party Tuesday, dear readers. Please let me pour you a nice hot cup of tea (or coffee if you prefer).

Milk?

Sugars?

The photo is from Travel PR's site celebrating 10,000 Twitter followers. I love the yellow china, don't you?

Jasmine tea is one of my favorites, but I also love Lemon Lift, Lady Grey, and English Breakfast. My all time favorite, however, is a combo of Darjeeling and Earl Grey. It reminds me of the tea served in England when my husband and I visited as part of a trip celebrating our 15th anniversary.

What kind of tea do you like to drink?

Yes, please have another sandwich.

If wore a hat today it would be something like this from Mary Ann Koch Courture Creations. Is it still a tradition a lady doesn't wear Spring hats or white until Easter Sunday?

I think it's time for a scone.

Please help yourself.

Are you brave enough like me to wear hats? Where do you wear them? I always wear a sunhat, even if I'm only going to WalMart. 

And men, if you're like my husband, you may wear a hat so you won't have to comb your hair!

Let me refill your tea.

To me, the ritual of afternoon tea is a lovely way to share a visit with friends. I'm so glad you that you joined me today. If you'd like more afternoon tea experiences, you may enjoy The Jillian Bradley Mystery Series. The first book is my gift to you as an ebook.

Please let me know if you liked Tea Party Tuesday. I'd like to make it a weekly event. Thank you.

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill

Love the Long Weekends - I Think...

By Nancy Jill Thames

Yes, we're having fun this long holiday weekend... entertaining family with home cooked food, watching fireworks, and having a reason for cleaning the house are good things. Except I think I like reading about how Jillian Bradley goes about having fun better. Here's the reason: I leave out most of the physical pain in my stories - in real life, I feel the repercussions of actually doing the work preparing for the fun. I look at it this way, if you're like me, I want to get away from aches and pains, not read about them. However, in order to create realism an author must write about pain.

Excerpt from Book 3 FROM THE CLUTCHES OF EVIL

Taking out a book from her large tote, along with a small thermos, which I assumed was filled with coffee, Nurse Evans set them on the table. Smiling, she put her purse on the floor beside her medical bag.

Paperback $7.19
Kindle $3.99
Nook Book $3.99
Smashwords $3.99
Kobo $3.99

     “Now, please don’t worry about anything,” she reassured me. “I’ll peek in on him every thirty minutes to make sure he’s all right. Doctor Peters briefed me on his condition. I know what to do, so you run along to your party and leave him to me. I have a grandson his age.”

     Relieved, I took a deep breath and descended the stairs. One minute left before the first guest was to arrive. Okay, think festive…excited. This would be difficult.

     What was I doing getting involved like this? No, Jillian, helping this boy is the right thing to do. Right thing... right thing? I silently prayed to get through this evening calmly. Breathe. Exhaustion set in. The calmness didn’t come so easily. 

Notice how I only mention: Exhaustion set in. I don't elaborate because I believe most people reading the book have experienced exhaustion. More importantly is the sentence that follows: The calmness didn't come so easily. This sentence creates tension for the heroine trying to solve Luke's identity.

To read more, you may want to get out the book. 

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend celebrating the birthday of our amazing country.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild, the American Christian Fiction Writers, CenTex Chapter of ACFW and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY as an ebook for free!

Amazon Paperback $8.09
Barnes & Nobel Paperback $8.99
 Kindle FREE!
Nook Book FREE!
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

SECOND CHANCES

By Nancy Jill Thames

Have you ever been given a second chance? A double entendre in this post, since Book 3 deals with the subject, and this recently happened to me. Let me start at the beginning.
About a week ago, I received a critical review of Book 2 "The Ghost Orchid Murder." The criticism was focused on grammar and punctuation (thus the reason for the graphic) with a few other issues thrown in. Okay, my spirit plummeted and I wanted to quit writing. Did any good come from this critic?
You bet it did!
First, I decided to check the manuscript for errors. Found a few, and did some revisions. After receiving a couple of good reviews on my other books, I picked my chin up off the floor, and started back to work. 
Yesterday, this same critical reviewer gave me a review on Book 3. This time it was five stars! But that's not the good part. She brought my attention to the fact that I had submitted the wrong file containing Chapter 19 twice! Oh, no! I immediately edited the file and sent it off to the most tolerating formatter in Canada (right at his bedtime no less) Rik Hall, and he graciously sent me the edited version.
Reviews can be tough. However, I choose to learn from each and every one. Now, back to the double entendre.
In Book 3, "From the Clutches of Evil," Jillian Bradley helps her main characters get a second chance. You'll have to read the book to understand how this happens. Here's the review I mentioned. I hope you'll agree with what she wrote. (Well, the good parts anyway!)

Exciting Book, June 5, 2013

By 

Pat Peregrin - 

This review is from: From the Clutches of Evil (A Jillian Bradley Mystery, No. 3) (Kindle Edition)

Paperback $7.99
Kindle $3.99
Nook Book $3.99
Smashwords $3.99
Kobo $3.99

After being disappointed with her second novel in this series, I was hesitant about buying this book. I am glad that I did. It was Jillian at her best. She has a lot of heart and cares about others.

She is not afraid to go where she needs in order to find the answer to a mystery. Her dog "Teddy is a remarkable animal and for a Yorkie very fearless. Even her friend Ann (from the first book) was back.

I thought they had the proofreading thing straightened out until the end. The last chapter was repeated. Oh well, at least it wasn't throughout the entire book. 

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

 Nancy Jill is busy working on Book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

Enjoy Book 1 MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY for free! (Or buy it on Barnes and Nobel)

Amazon Paperback $8.09
 Kindle FREE!
Barnes and Nobel $8.99/Nook Book $2.99
FREE on Smashwords and Kobo!

4 Ways to Preserve Memories

By Nancy Jill Thames

How many of you still make jam? When I was a young housewife, my garden club friends and I enjoyed making peach or strawberry preserves - especially in the summertime. We'd tie on handmade aprons and spend the day sterilizing jars and cooking up batches of sweet fruit with a little sugar and pectin. After the fruit was thick, we ladled it into the jars and sealed them in hot water baths. What a triumph to divvy up the days work and take our share home. Making homemade ice-cream was a lot of fun, too. 

Now those days are only a memory. How to hold on to such wonderful times? I figure there are four ways.

 





1. Think about them once in a while and smile to yourself.

2. Put photos of memories in a scrapbook to peruse now and then.

3.Talk to your family and friends about the good 'ol days. Or,

4. Write a book.

Paperback $8.99 Kindle $3.99
 Nook Book $3.99 Smashwords $3.99 Kobo $3.99  

Our family enjoys wonderful holidays together - especially Christmas. "Waiting for Santa" was written with fond memories of our family traditions that continue to this day. Not only does the book preserve memories for me, now others who enjoyed those traditions can hold on to them as well. 

After five books in the series, I felt it was time for Jillian Bradley to fall in love in "Waiting for Santa," which she does, only with two different men. And, as the ending suggests, the story isn't over yet! 

I hope you enjoy reading about our traditions. Maybe it will inspire you to preserve a few of your own in some special way. Have a wonderful week, dear readers.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren in two states, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales.

nd. Nancy Jill is busy working on book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London.

CONTACT INFORMATION

jillthames@gmail.com

Meet Goliath the Cat in "The Mark of Eden"

GOLIATH

Teddy, Jillian's Yorkie, is an important character in the series. Having friends for Jillian's pet is a good way to add to the story, especially for all the pet lovers out there. In "The Mark of Eden" Goliath appears as an adopted stray in the home of Chief Frank Viscuglia. Margaret, his wife, invites Jillian and Teddy to stay with them in Half Moon Bay as the two investigate the disappearance of a dear friend. Teddy must co-exist with the huge cat as a house guest. Read the book to find out how they get along.

Paperback $8.99
Kindle $3.99
 Nook Book $3.99
Smashwords $3.99
Kobo $3.99 

 

The idea for Goliath came from an incident that happened to my father when I was a teen. Loving cats the way I did, I was always bringing home strays. Unfortunately my dad was allergic so he'd wind up carrying them off and depositing them in the country.

One cat was dropped off not too far from the Air Force base where my dad worked. The next morning the same cat sat on my dad's desk, waiting for him. I believe one of his colleagues took the poor thing and gave it a home. The idea found it's way into "The Mark of Eden" only the cat shows up on Chief Viscuglia's desk. If you like cats, you might enjoy the read. Have any of you ever experienced cats or dogs finding you after you've tried to distance them? I'd love to hear your story. Have a great weekend, dear readers.

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren in two states, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales.

Nancy Jill is busy working on book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London, England. To learn more about the author and check out her books, please visit her blog at  

Cozy Mystery Author, Nancy Jill Thames.

CONTACT INFORMATION

jillthames@gmail.com

To view and purchase her books on this site, please visit the Cozy Book Store.

A SETTING FOR MURDER

HAY GRAPPLER AT THE OLD MERCANTILE

SUNOL JAZZ CAFE

I always found the tiny, tucked away town of Sunol, California mysterious. Sunol's main attraction was and still is its Jazz Cafe, a gathering place for the locals. I renamed the town "Canyon Grove" and then imagined a body, grasped in the clutches of the hay loader, suspended from the old warehouse roof, and concocted the story. Jillian finds herself solving this mystery not at a resort, but very close to her own home. When she gets into dire trouble, Teddy plays the part of the hero. 

Christmas – the busiest time of the year! And on top of everything, Jillian is throwing an engagement party for two dear friends. But on a final errand before the party begins Jillian witnesses a horrific car crash and notices two witnesses leaving the scene of the accident. She and Teddy pull a survivor from the wreckage, and together they attempt to solve the mystery of the amnesia victim, a 17-year-old boy she and Teddy take under their wing. After one of the witnesses is found brutally murdered, 

SCENE OF THE CRIME

Jillian discovers an ominous connection between the boy and a string of heinous murders in a nearby remote farming community. And when Jillian stumbles across a mysterious compound, she is determined to unlock old family secrets to solve the mystery of his identity even though taking the risk creates the ultimate test for her and Teddy's survival. 

Get your copy today! 

"From the Clutches of Evil"

Paperback $7.99

Kindle $3.99

Nook Book $3.99

Smashwords $3.99

Kobo $3.99 

 Thank you for your readership!

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill

Nancy Jill Thames is the author of "Jillian Bradley Mysteries," Christian fiction based on travel adventures with her husband. The stories reflect Nancy Jill's love of art and serving afternoon tea, which has earned her the title of “Queen of Afternoon Tea.” She is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller's List and won awards for her blogs. Nancy Jill is a Texas Longhorn, having earned her degree from The University of Texas in Austin, where she resides. The author donates 10% of book sales to the Central Texas SPCA-a no kill animal shelter.

Nancy Jill is busy working on book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" due out in 2013.

Member of the Leander Writers Guild.

Save $1.99 + tx and Pass It On!

NOW FREE ON AMAZON KINDLE!

Yea! Amazon spiders have finally price-matched Book 1 in the Jillian Bradley Mystery Series. Now, in addition to you KOBO and SMASHWORDS fans,  KINDLE owners can read MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY for free and test drive the series as well. If you like the story, there are five more to read now, one to launch by the end of June, and the final episode will be available in December. So excited about this plan!

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill

Nancy Jill Thames is the author of "Jillian Bradley Mysteries," Christian fiction based on travel adventures with her husband. The stories reflect Nancy Jill's love of art and serving afternoon tea, which has earned her the title of “Queen of Afternoon Tea.” She is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller's List and won awards for her blogs. Nancy Jill is a Texas Longhorn, having earned her degree from The University of Texas in Austin, where she resides. The author donates 10% of book sales to the Central Texas SPCA-a no kill animal shelter.

Nancy Jill is busy working on book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" due out in 2013.
Member of the Leander Writers Guild.