New Book on the Way: "Museums Can Be Murder"

This summer, look for Book 11 to come out - "Museums Can be Murder." Here's the synopsis:

The Christmas holidays get a morbid start when Jillian Bradley's niece Kaitlin Romero discovers the body of her boss at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. An envelope containing rare Charles Dickens illustrations is missing, and Detective Mickey Wells must reluctantly rely on Jillian's help to solve the crime. 

The case goes international when the vendor of the illustrations is murdered and linked to possible fraud. As always, Jillian's Yorkie companion Teddy helps solve the case by discovering an important clue. Afternoon tea included!

It's true! The life of an author can be full of distractions, mine not withstanding. Thus the reason I'm not writing a new book every six months. But the distractions are the good kind - downsizing to a new cottage size home, doing more traveling to see the kids and grandkids, spending more time with my husband who simply golfs and does whatever he wants to do.

However, this leads to my wanting to relax and play, too. Sigh...I must roll up my sleeves, open my computer and start writing again. And I will, just as soon as I finish the laundry, putter in the garden a bit, and fix a snack to go with a cup of tea.
  
There comes a time when everything has to be just right before the creative juices can flow. I'm looking forward to that moment, just after my 6 month dental checkup, singing with our senior choir for the Thursday Club, shopping for new plants for the yard, and making an appointment with the piano tuner. 

And, oh, yes, I need to call the window cleaners, too.
Wishing you all a Happy Spring!

See you in my books,

~Nancy Jill

In Loving Memory

Today, I pause to reflect on the passing only this morning of my sweet mother-in-law, known to most everyone as Meemaw. She was 92.

When I think of her, it comes to mind that in the South, the practice of afternoon tea is uncommon due mostly to the heat! Instead, sweet tea reigns.

Whenever we visited from California, Meemaw always served sweet tea at meals. Granted it was instant tea, sweetened with the addition of liquid sweet and low, but it was delicious along side brisket, ribs, and whatever wonderful soul food they made. 

And it was not as if afternoon tea did not have a place. Quite the contrary, for you see, my mother-in-law and her mother collected teacups.

The most famous one was a teacup with Queen Elizabeth's picture in the bottom. Once, my mother-in-law even saw fit to give me a pick of her collection, as long as it was not the Queen Elizabeth. I chose the one you see in the photo above. 

Interestingly enough, my mother-in-law's mom and aunt did go in together and buy a tea cart and a silver tea service. Living out-of-state I never joined them if they did actually use these things. Now the cart and service sit in the corner unused. Quite sad, I think.

When a loved one passes, it's nice to have something to remember them by. For my mother-in-law, it will be the beautiful yellow teacup and saucer.

~Nancy Jill

Tea Party Bridal Shower

The Tea Table

What could be better than a tea party for your daughter's bridal shower? In the first photo, our daughter Wendy (far left) flew in from California for the occasion to honor her little sister Holly (second from left). Daughter-in-law Jen (far right) was also on hand to help with the festivities.
It was such fun to serve dainty tea sandwiches, pasta salad, and desserts. And we mustn't forget the sherry. Some had never tasted the quintessential English drink.

For the Guest of Honor

Dessert Bar~French Macarons,  Chocolate Mousse in Demi-tasse cups, Fruit Tartlets, Madeleines, and Cupcakes-Champagne and Chocolate-Chip

Opening Gifts~The Best Part!

I hope you enjoy the photos and will read more about afternoon tea in all of the Jillian Bradley books. See you next time!

Cheers! 

~Nancy Jill 

In A Perfect World

In Texas, many of us are sitting around looking out our windows watching for rain. In a perfect world, it would rain when the forecasters predict.

Not so.

In the world of Jillian Bradley, wardrobes and makeup are perfect and there is always time for tea. In a perfect world our clothes and makeup would match perfectly everyday like hers.

Not so.

At times I feel a little blah because I'm not Jillian. But it is not a perfect world.

Instead, I must remember that as a human there are still meals to cook, laundry to do, and houses to clean. And, lucky for me, a husband to spend time with.

Perhaps these are some of the reasons to enjoy afternoon tea. 

The ritual provides:

#A welcome break in an ordinary day

#A chance to use pretty dishes longing to escape from cupboards

#A reason to enjoy a tasty snack

#An opportunity to share with a friend or loved one

#As close to a perfect world as it gets.

If you enjoy afternoon tea or reading about it try the Jillian Bradley Mystery Series. To get started, Book 1 "Murder in Half Moon Bay" is my free gift to you as an ebook.

All Jillian Bradley wants is to spend a quiet weekend by the ocean and enjoy her afternoon tea. But a startling discovery draws Jillian and her garden club friends into solving a mystery that threatens her life and changes her future.

"Murder in Half Moon Bay" Book 1 in the Jillian Bradley Mystery Series, introduces Jillian's little companion Teddy, a Yorkie who falls prey to danger but rises to become a sleuth dog in the next book.

#Kindle http://ow.ly/3oCxMY 

#Nook http://ow.ly/3xFOGj 

#Kobo http://ow.ly/3xIO1a 

#SW http://ow.ly/3xG30B   

Amazon International Links: http://authl.it/b3 

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill

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Tea for One

   Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in an assisted living place? This past week, I had the opportunity of spending the day in one with my mom and her friends.

   It was a delightful experience. In spite of the aged residents, often in wheelchairs and walkers, there was such a wonderful spark of life about them as we laughed and shared during a meal together, or as we sat and listened to the news, or played a game of bingo.

   One lady in particular by the name of Jackie brought her blue and white teapot to the dinner table in the dining room. The attendant filled the pot with hot water and Jackie placed the teabag inside. 

   At 93, Jackie had suffered a stroke and needed to wear an adult size bib for meals.

   It was an inspiration to watch someone continuing to enjoy their teatime in spite of transitioning to assisted-living.

   Hopefully, we'll all continue to enjoy the niceties of life such as afternoon tea no matter where our lives may lead.

   As I left to return home I turned to Jackie and said, "I hope we'll meet again." She replied, "If I'm still here."

Cheers! ~Nancy Jill

Tea Party Tuesday ~ Birds of a Feather

Welcome to Tea Party Tuesday. Please enjoy a nice cup of tea as we share a little time together.

Tea etiquette suggests talking of only positive things. So even though some of us (including myself) have faced challenges this week, things have a way of working out. That's the sage advice my mom has given me. The mere words "working out" gives hope for solutions.

I pray whatever situations you find yourself in - good or bad - you'll know that celebrating or working on the solutions with the help and support of family and friends brings us all together as frail humans.

Thank you for all your prayers and support dealing with my mom this past few weeks. Today, she's getting a pacemaker - working on a solution to her heart stopping.

Love and hugs to all you dear readers.

~Nancy Jill 

My dear mom and me.

Tea Party Tuesday ~ A New Year Begins!

Welcome to Tea Party Tuesday! Today, I'm featuring morning coffee instead of afternoon tea simply because today it's where I am on my journey into the new year. 

Every so often my friend Laurel and I meet at her house for coffee and chit chat. She provides the coffee and I provide the goodie. We both then provide the chit chat! These mini raspberry coffee cakes from Walmart were perfect for us weight conscious gals.

After telling my friend about the tumultuous experience moving my mother into assisted living (never easy), she shared about her new life for the next two years house and dog sitting for her son while he and his family move to Singapore. Wonderful how things work out. Although they'll be missed, the little family won't have to worry about things back home with Laurel in charge.

And that's the way things go. My father had a saying - "There's nothing more certain than change." How true in my life and Laurel's too. What about you this year? Will you be doing the same things in 2015 as you did in 2014? I hope you will have enough to do to keep busy, but still have time for a little fun. One thing I've decided to do for sure after moving my mom - I'm going to start collecting things I love on Pinterest boards instead of buying them and trying to find a place to store them. Like this teapot to my china - it's only $1,099.00 on Replacements Limited! 

Thanks for joining me today on Tea Party Tuesday. Happy New Year!

~Nancy Jill

Tea Party Tuesday ~ Voting Day

Welcome! On this lovely fall day we have the privilege to exercise our rights as Americans to vote for the candidates and issues important to our communities and nation. I hope you'll find a moment to cast your ballot.

May I pour you a nice cup of tea? Please help yourself to some delectable (and calorie free) tea fare. I'll take the eclair - and just think - you can take one too since it's virtual.

When I was standing in line to vote this morning, one woman turned to a gentleman in line behind her and told him she didn't care if she was late to work. It was important she voted!

Do you like the tea? It's decaffeinated Green tea. It's supposed to be healthy so I'm trying to get used to it. Not too bad, really.

It was so much fun to do my first event on Facebook last weekend. I celebrated three publishing events called Triple X with over 120 participants who won books and Go Jillian and Teddy! mugs as thank you prizes. So much fun!

Amazon Kindle Only $2.99!

Don't be shy - please have more tea and help me eat these lovely snacks. (I almost typed snakes!)

Last week we talked about the first event - the launch of Book 9 "Murder at Mirror Lake." I always wanted to go on a fall color tour so I wrote a mystery about "leaf peepers."

The second event was the launch of "A Cup of Cozy 2," second edition of  Cozy Mystery Magazine's anthology featuring our authors. In it you'll find six new short holiday stories including one from my new series called "Lawrence Buys a Gift." Lawrence is the amateur sleuth husband of one of Jillian's new friends. The book also includes fabulous holiday menus and recipes that you'll want to check out. I hope you enjoy it.

The third really happy event I'm celebrating is the new cover designs for my series. They're almost ready. Here is a close replica of what they'll look like (with a few changes, of course).

I hope you have a wonderful week. If you're looking for some "Murder She Wrote" kind of books, you may want to give mine a try.

Thanks for sharing our time together.

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill

Tea Party Tuesday ~ A TV Series On the Horizon?

Welcome to Tea Party Tuesday! Let me pour you a nice cup of tea. Milk? Sugars? My heroine and I take three sugars. I know, it's excessive, but it does taste good! 

Excessive is a word I now refer to when describing the voices in my head. They're constantly suggesting new characters and plots. All I can do to quiet them is create a title and register the ISBN numbers. Yesterday, the voices told me to write Book 11 "Murder at the Met," a story about the murder of a virtuoso in New York City.

What I need is a screenwriter!

Do you know of any? Please comment if you do. I think Jillian and Teddy's adventures would be fun to watch!

Please have some refreshments. And let me reheat your tea.

Of course I do have help from my husband and son who whisper plots in our everyday conversation. They're incorrigible! Especially my son, Michael, who will even go so far as to give me a pendant with a key on it for my birthday with a card that says, "Here is a key Jillian finds. What does it unlock?"

I love them. But little do they realize that if and when a screenwriter comes knocking, I'm pointing him or her in the direction of my voices. 

Cheers! 

~Nancy Jill

Tea Party Tuesday * Special Guest Leslie Matthews Stansfield

Welcome to Tea Party Tuesday! We're delighted today to have a special guest, author Leslie Matthews Stansfield, known as Lee by her friends. It's such a delight to have you join us today. Let me pour us some tea and we'll get started. Milk? Sugars? Please help yourself.
Thank you, Nancy Jill. It's a pleasure to be here.
Please have a sandwich. We have several kinds to try.
Thank you. They look delicious.
Please tell us about your new book, which I understand is part of a series.
 My new book, Mr. Tea and the Bobbin’ Body, is the second in the Madeline’s Teahouse series.  The series involves two sisters, Karen and Terry Sutter, who turned their childhood home into a teahouse after the death of their mother Madeline.   
What a wonderful idea!
They have a possibly psychic macaw named Mr. Tea who is prone to make outrageous comments.  
How fun.
 In this book, the sisters are involved in a high school reunion that suddenly turns deadly when one of the guests, a former football player, is found bludgeoned to death in the swimming pool. Terry's boyfriend, Detective Greg Mullins, and his partner, Tom O'Hara, are on the case. 
 Sounds full of mystery.
When another body turns up, Terry and Karen, along with two loveable seniors, Uncle Henry and Aunt Rose, who live next door, put their heads together to try and find the common thread. What they uncover is a terrifying story of brutality, revenge, deceit and old secrets that won't stay buried. 
Oh, my! I'm sure readers will find it fascinating.
Please have a pastry. I have to confess I bought these at a bakery.
They look wonderful!
Lee, it has been a pleasure to have you as our guest today. We look forward to reading your books!
Thank you for the invitation.
And best success with your Madeline's Teahouse series.
Thank you, Nancy Jill.

We'll see you next week! For more information on Lee, please read her bio and follow the links to purchase her books.

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill

LESLIE MATTHEWS STANSFIELD is the author of Mr. Tea and the Traveling Teacup, the first book in the Madeline's Teahouse series, and Mr. Tea and the Bobbin’ Body.  She is also the author of a previous book, Windsor Locks, on the town she lives in. She grew up in Delmar, New York, and credits her friends with developing her imagination. Leslie is a graduate of University of Hartford and received her Masters' degree from the University of Phoenix in Educational Leadership. She is a math tutor in a public school.  She is currently working on her third book in the Madeline's Teahouse series. She has four children and eight grandchildren and lives in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LeslieMatthewsStansfield?ref=hl

Website:  http://lesliematthewsstansfield.weebly.com/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/866190.Leslie_Matthews_Stansfield

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Leslie%20Matthews%20Stansfield&sprefix=Lesli%2Caps

Publisher:  http://cozycatpress.com/