Please join me in welcoming author Brenda Whiteside. Today, Brenda is sharing a guest post from the perspective of her amateur sleuth, Nicole Earp. Enjoy this up close and personal introduction to a delightful character and her story.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Title: Reading, Writing, and Murder (Chocolate Martini Sisters Book 2)
Author: Brenda Whiteside and Joyce Proell
Genre: Cozy Mystery
BLURB:
At the writers’ conference, murder tops the program.
Aspiring mystery author Emma Banefield and travel writer Nicole Earp are excited to attend a writers’ conference during their latest sisters’ getaway. Nic’s birthday should be all about relaxation, writing, and a chocolate martini to toast another trip around the sun, but the climate at the gathering rumbles like a sudden desert thunderstorm.
When sparks fly between the keynote speaker and her timid assistant over a handsome mystery author, the subtitle on this anticipated tranquil weekend spells drama. If a heated love triangle, bruised egos, and betrayal aren’t enough to upset the atmosphere, the conference banquet erupts into a drunken brawl and sends the place spinning. After a body is discovered, Nic and Em do what they do best—snoop—and become embroiled in a mystery that jumps off the pages of a true-crime bestseller.
With more than enough suspects and little time, the amateur sleuths have their hands full finding the killer. But can the competitive Chocolate Martini Sisters solve the crime before the prickly chief detective does, or will a murderer outwit them all?
GUEST POST:
An Invitation from Nicole Earp as told to Brenda Whiteside
My name is Nicole Earp, but everyone calls me Nic. And everyone, on first meeting, asks if I’m related to the infamous brothers. Well, I’m not, but my second husband claimed he was a distant cousin of Wyatt Earp. I’ve kept the name and have fun with the connection, especially since I live in Wyatt, Arizona. I’m a freelance travel writer so my days can be different from month to month depending on the assignment I’ve picked up. When home, I dabble in candle making. But it’s the relaxing weekends I spend twice a year at the Dulce Inn in Wyatt that I’m sure you’ll find much more interesting.
My birthday is in the spring and my sister Em’s is six months later in the fall. What perfect timing for our twice-a-year getaways and at least one celebratory chocolate martini in the Azul Saloon inside the inn. Our tradition has earned us a nickname from the staff—The Chocolate Martini Sisters.
A typical day at the inn finds Em on an early morning run while I sleep in after having stayed up late reading a mystery. I rise, practice a short yoga session, and shower. On this visit, our schedule includes a writers’ conference. I’m hoping to perfect my craft while Em is excited to pitch her first mystery novel to an agent. Regardless of what we’re doing on our birthday weekends, we always have fun.
And then there’s the dead body we’re prone to discover.
Em and I do love sharing a good murder mystery. Solving the crime will put us in the faces of two detectives who might deserve some credit for helping us crack the caper. The Chief Homicide Detective Bennett Guthrie is particularly fun…for me anyway. He really gets under my sister’s skin. She’s analytical and compassionate which seems to rub him wrong. He’s tenacious, determined, and focused, but really hates admitting how much we help him. I operate on gut instincts, coming to conclusions a bit too fast at times. Gah! I have fun anyway. Guthrie takes himself far too seriously, so I enjoy a good jab at him now and then.
I hope you’ll join us on one of our weekends at the inn. You’ll love Wyatt, Arizona, located at the base of the Bradshaw Mountains, two hours north of Phoenix. Wyatt Earp frequented the historical Dulce Inn and the Azul Restaurant and Saloon located inside the hotel. The town has a slight old west feel with turn of the century buildings. See you there!
AUTHOR BIO:
Joyce Proell is the award-winning author of Amaryllis, Eliza and the Cady Delafield mysteries: A Deadly Truth, A Burning Truth and A Wicked Truth. Along with her husband and little dog, Nellie, she lives in Minnesota in her very own little house on the prairie. She loves to hear from readers.
Visit her website at http://www.joyceproell.com or
https://www.facebook.com/JoyceProellAuthor.
Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart and won’t discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS for BRENDA:
Blog (she blogs and has guests)
PURCHASE LINKS:
Jill Piscitello 
Jill, thanks for having Nic amd me on your lovely blog!
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I love guest posts and interviews from the character’s pov!
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Love sister stories having six of my own! Adding to my TBR. Happy sales! Nic is my kind of person. I’d love to have a martini with her!
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Hi Kim. Oh my, six. That sounds like so much fun. These books are result of real chocolate martini birthdays with my one and only sister.
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