Please welcome Janet Bolin to The Qwillery. Night of the Living Thread, the 4th Threadville Mystery, is out today! Please join The Qwillery in wishing Janet a Happy Publication Day!
ZOMBIES KICK BACK
Call me Floyd. Most of the time, I sell cars. But once a year, I meet other like-minded people for our Zombie Retreat. We get to spend most of a week made up, dressed, walking like, and acting like zombies.
This October, the retreat will be at the Elderberry Bay Lodge, in a village on Lake Erie that has earned the nickname of Threadville because of its many stores catering to people who like to sew, quilt, knit, crochet, do machine embroidery, and I’m not sure what all.
So why are a bunch of zombies, about half men and half women, holding our retreat in a crafty village?
First, the inn is just the right size and has extensive grounds where we can entertain the citizens of Threadville with a haunted graveyard. We’ll be popping out of gravestones and scaring them silly, and we have plans to build a replica of the Evans City Cemetery Chapel, which was featured in the beginning of the movie Night of the Living Dead.
Second, Threadville is holding a craft fair the same weekend, and we can sell costumes, make-up and props to each other and to attendees at the craft fair. Halloween will be later that month, after all, and we need to make some money to help pay for next year’s zombie retreat.
Third, the women who own shops in Threadville are famous for wearing costumes and disguises. We should fit right in.
Fourth, there have been a few murders in Threadville in recent years. We’ll be scaring the denizens of Threadville by showing up on their streets and in their shops and chasing them around our Haunted Graveyard.
Maybe they’ll be scaring us a little, too, with their high murder rate.
Who doesn’t like a good fright?
This October, the retreat will be at the Elderberry Bay Lodge, in a village on Lake Erie that has earned the nickname of Threadville because of its many stores catering to people who like to sew, quilt, knit, crochet, do machine embroidery, and I’m not sure what all.
So why are a bunch of zombies, about half men and half women, holding our retreat in a crafty village?
First, the inn is just the right size and has extensive grounds where we can entertain the citizens of Threadville with a haunted graveyard. We’ll be popping out of gravestones and scaring them silly, and we have plans to build a replica of the Evans City Cemetery Chapel, which was featured in the beginning of the movie Night of the Living Dead.
Second, Threadville is holding a craft fair the same weekend, and we can sell costumes, make-up and props to each other and to attendees at the craft fair. Halloween will be later that month, after all, and we need to make some money to help pay for next year’s zombie retreat.
Third, the women who own shops in Threadville are famous for wearing costumes and disguises. We should fit right in.
Fourth, there have been a few murders in Threadville in recent years. We’ll be scaring the denizens of Threadville by showing up on their streets and in their shops and chasing them around our Haunted Graveyard.
Maybe they’ll be scaring us a little, too, with their high murder rate.
Who doesn’t like a good fright?
Night of the Living Thread
A Threadville Mystery 4
Berkley, June 3, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
A Threadville Mystery 4
Berkley, June 3, 2014
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
Zombies, killer dresses, and ancient curses prove that Halloween in Threadville can be sew spooky…
It’s early October, and hordes of visitors have descended on the tiny, celebrated village of Threadville, Pennsylvania, to attend a Halloween crafts fair, a zombie retreat, and the wedding of Edna Battersby—dear friend to Willow Vanderling, owner of the chic machine embroidery boutique, In Stitches.
As a friendly prank for Edna’s wedding, Willow and the rest of the Threadville gang have fashioned an overly extravagant hoopskirt, complete with lights and music. But in a bizarre turn of events, the garish gown is implicated in a mysterious lakeside murder.
Now Willow must follow a trail of glow-in-the-dark thread, delve into ancient Egyptian curses, and creep through a haunted graveyard to unearth a killer—before she becomes the next fashion victim…
Thread and Buried
A Threadville Mystery 3
Berkley, June 4, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
A Threadville Mystery 3
Berkley, June 4, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
In Threadville, Pennsylvania, known for its textile art courses and shops, everyone’s stories are connected by a common thread—even the ones ending in murder…
Every town has a legend. For Threadville, it’s the story of Snoozy Gallagher, the hotel owner who disappeared thirty years ago with a bag full of stolen jewelry, never to be heard from again. That is, until now—when Snoozy’s loot is discovered buried behind Willow Vanderling’s embroidery shop In Stitches.
When villagers mysteriously become ill, and a body shrouded in materials from Threadville shops appears in the exact spot where the treasure was—along with two abandoned kittens—Willow needs answers. The random events are too coincidental to be unrelated, but Willow will have to act quickly to unravel the deadly mystery, or she might get tangled up as the killer’s next victim…
INCLUDES ORIGINAL MACHINE EMBROIDERY PROJECT
Threaded for Trouble
A Threadville Mystery 2
Berkley, June 5, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
A Threadville Mystery 2
Berkley, June 5, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages
Welcome back to Threadville, Pennsylvania, where crafts are king, and a “killer” sewing machine lives up to its name…
Darlene Coddlefield, the winner of a national sewing competition, has come to Willow Vanderling’s embroidery shop, In Stitches, to be presented with a top-of-the-line Chandler Champion sewing and embroidery machine as her prize. But Darlene’s triumph is short-lived after she’s found dead under her sewing table, apparently crushed by the heavy machine.
It soon becomes clear that this was no freak accident. Who had it in for Darlene Coddlefield? The long string of suspects includes Darlene’s fire chief husband. So Willow and her best friend, Haylee, become volunteer firefighters to uncover the truth. But when a second sewing machine sparks trouble, the friends realize they may have jumped from the frying pan into the fire…
Dire Threads
A Threadville Mystery 1
Berkley, June 7, 2011
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
A Threadville Mystery 1
Berkley, June 7, 2011
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
Willow Vanderling’s quaint new embroidery shop is not a hit with the local zoning commissioner. When he’s murdered, the evidence is stacked against Willow.
About Janet
I was about seven, and for years (!), I'd been offering really helpful suggestions about the clothes my mother designed and sewed. Now I was going to make my own skirt.
At the fabric shop, I ran my fingers along each bolt of cloth, probably about sixteen times. My mother didn’t mind. She was doing the same thing. Finally, after much indecision and heavy consultation, I chose a navy blue cotton broadcloth with a red pin stripe.
Back home, under my mother’s close supervision, I cut out a couple of large rectangles and a strip for the waistband. Using my mother’s old black Singer, I carefully stitched the rectangles into a tube, then gathered the tube to the waistband. I made a buttonhole and sewed on a big red button. We folded a deep hem, and my mother, whose ability to stitch a straight line was far superior to mine, sewed the hem with her machine. For the finishing touch, she showed me how to wind red embroidery floss under one machine stitch and over the next.
I had made my own skirt and embroidered it, too. I was hooked.
I also loved reading. I asked where books came from. People wrote them? Wow! I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up.
Whether I grew up or not is debatable, but now I’m writing books in which my main character solves crimes. She also embroiders the way I do now, with sewing and embroidery machines.
What could be better?
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter @JanetBolin
At the fabric shop, I ran my fingers along each bolt of cloth, probably about sixteen times. My mother didn’t mind. She was doing the same thing. Finally, after much indecision and heavy consultation, I chose a navy blue cotton broadcloth with a red pin stripe.
Back home, under my mother’s close supervision, I cut out a couple of large rectangles and a strip for the waistband. Using my mother’s old black Singer, I carefully stitched the rectangles into a tube, then gathered the tube to the waistband. I made a buttonhole and sewed on a big red button. We folded a deep hem, and my mother, whose ability to stitch a straight line was far superior to mine, sewed the hem with her machine. For the finishing touch, she showed me how to wind red embroidery floss under one machine stitch and over the next.
I had made my own skirt and embroidered it, too. I was hooked.
I also loved reading. I asked where books came from. People wrote them? Wow! I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up.
Whether I grew up or not is debatable, but now I’m writing books in which my main character solves crimes. She also embroiders the way I do now, with sewing and embroidery machines.
What could be better?
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter @JanetBolin
The Giveaway
What: One entrant will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of Night of the Living Thread by Janet Bolin from the publisher. US ONLY
How: Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.
Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a US mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59PM US Eastern Time on June 12, 2014. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.
*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change without any notice.*
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Your covers are different and very striking. I hope to read your books.
ReplyDeleteI love a good mystery. Trying to solve it while reading is so much fun or me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into sewing at all--but I still really enjoy this series. Thanks for the contest.
ReplyDeletesuefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Love mysteries! Looks like a great series!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your series.
ReplyDeleteI love your books and have waited a year for this new one! I can't wait to read Night of the Living Thread! Keep on writing please! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful series! Thanks for a chance to win Night of the Living Thread--it looks fabulous!
ReplyDeletemichstjame at gmail dot com
This is definitely going on my must read list. Looks like a fun read. :D
ReplyDeleteYour series is captivating and special.Thanks for this lovely giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteAll the covers on your books are just relaxing to look at. That is probably why I like reading your books.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover; thank you for the chance to win this wonderful book :)
ReplyDeleteI am happy to of found this series. I am adding it to my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteNice covers
ReplyDeleteOooh, these books look so good! I love finding a new series :) Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating series! I have added it to my TBR list. Since I am a quilter and crafter, I would love to win a copy of Night of the Living Thread. Thanks for the great giveaway.
ReplyDelete