It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Reads) GIVEAWAY: Roast Date (+ guest post)

Roast Date

Welcome back to our annual blog series spotlighting (over 60 again this year) new and recently-released Christmas reads!

Less than a week to go – only SIX DAYS until Christmas!

We’re in the home stretch in our spotlights of several Christmasy releases from 2022. Most days will have more than one post, just FYI. So… snuggle in, grab your fave hot beverage and comfiest blanket, turn on some Christmas tunes and start your bookish Christmas list! Oh… and did I mention there are GIVEAWAYS with EACH POST in this series??!! (Because authors are awesome!)

ROAST DATE by Heather Day Gilbert
SERIES: Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #7
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: WoodHaven Press
RELEASE DATE: December 20, 2022
PAGES: 160

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

After much cajoling, Macy gives in to her neighbor, Vera, and agrees to come to her book club’s Christmas party so she can share about the cafe. While public speaking isn’t Macy’s thing, she wants to brighten Vera’s lonely holiday season…and she can sell a little house blend on the side.

When a lively book discussion spirals into a public roast of the mayor—who happens to be sitting in their midst—things get uncomfortable. Soon afterward, the mayor shows up dead in Vera’s bathroom, and no amount of gingerbread cookies or eggnog can restore Vera to the club’s good graces. ‘Tis the season for Macy to find the murderer, or else Vera might be taking a long winter’s nap in a jail cell.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown…with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

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TOP TEN HOLIDAY DELIGHTS

by Heather Day Gilbert, author of Roast Date

I’m so pleased to be able to visit your lovely blog today! Since we’re coming up on the holiday season, I thought I’d share my TOP TEN HOLIDAY DELIGHTS you’ll see popping up in my latest cozy mystery release, ROAST DATE (Book 7 in the Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series).

1. Getting your Christmas tree from a tree farm. My family and I do this every year, and so do the brother/sister duo who run the Barks & Beans Cafe.
2. Gingerbread cookies. The main character’s neighbor, Vera, makes these for her Christmas book club party, and my mother-in-law always made the best ones, too.
3. Elvis Christmas music. Yes, I’m a big fan, and it plays into the book (but not his tear-jerker, “Mama Liked the Roses!”).
4. Coffee shops. Because we always get a holiday flavored coffee sometime in the season!
5. Coffee gifts. Because I’m an author and I’m obsessed with coffee, and the mystery series is set at a cafe.
6. Meals with family. Whether it’s gathering around the Thanksgiving turkey or stuffing myself on my mom’s deviled eggs, I love all the holiday foods! My amateur sleuth Macy does too.
7. Snuggling up under quilts when it’s snowing. Macy does this all the time, and I grew up in a room with a cold wood floor—there’s just nothing better than sleeping late under the warm blankets (except getting up way too early on Christmas morning as kids).
8. The smell of wood smoke. We have an outdoor wood-burner, and I love it when the weather turns chilly enough to smell it in the air. You’ll notice it shows up in many of my fall/winter set books.
9. Reading a good book. I’m always searching for my new fave reads, and I’m delighted to find new authors. Macy, too, reads quite a bit, and for the book club featured in ROAST DATE, she’s read Vanity Fair by Thackerey.
10. Giving the perfect gift. There’s nothing better than knowing you found just the right gift for the one you love. There’s a very special Christmas gift given at the end of ROAST DATE, but you’ll have to read it to find out what it is!

Thanks for letting me visit today, and I wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Two-time ECPA Christy Award finalist Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing mysteries and Viking historicals. She brings authentic family relationships to the page, and she particularly delights in heroines who take a stand to protect those they love. Avid readers say Heather’s realistic characters—no matter what century—feel like best friends. When she’s not plotting stories, this native West Virginian can often be found hanging out with her husband and four children, playing video games, or reading Agatha Christie novels. Connect with her at her website.

Heather Day Gilbert is offering a print copy of Roast Date to one of my readers! (US only for print. Ebook available instead if winner is outside the US. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Roast Date by Heather Day Gilbert?