Jenn McKinlay: Today's guest knows her beesiness. Sorry, couldn't resist! But seriously, with the hum of bumble bees in the summer air, what better time to have a visit from a mystery series that has gone to the bee keepers? Here's Jennie to tell us more about it!
Jennie Marts: Thanks so much to the Jungle Red Writers for inviting me to spend a day on their blog. I’m really thrilled to be here! I’m Jennie Marts, and I write small town stories with humor and heart. My books range from cozy mystery to romantic comedies to western romance.
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My new book, TAKE THE HONEY AND RUN, is the first in a fun new Bee Keeping Cozy Mystery series. And after having over thirty books published, I’m so excited that this will be my first hardback. Yay!
TAKE THE HONEY AND RUN is the story of Bailey Briggs, a single mom mystery author, who returns home to her small mountain town of Humble Hills, Colorado. She and her twelve-year-old daughter, Daisy, arrive to hear her grandmother, Granny Bee, threatening to kill the town mayor. The next morning, Bailey discovers the mayor’s dead body, and Granny Bee’s Honey I’m Home Hot Spiced Honey turns out to bee the murder weapon. Now Granny’s got herself into a sticky situation, and Bailey has to use her fictional detective skills to solve a real murder and keep her grandmother from ending up bee-hind bars.
Oh, and did I mention that upon arriving in town, she runs into Sawyer Dunn, the love of her life, whom she hasn’t seen in thirteen years, not since he got shipped off to his uncle’s farm in Montana the night they stole a tractor and accidentally drove it into a pond? And did I also mention that Sawyer now happens to be the town sheriff?
I had so much fun writing this book! My husband is a certified beekeeper, and he has always told such fascinating stories about the life and habits of bees, that I knew I had to incorporate them into a story somehow. Granny Bee is the beekeeper in this book, and her book club, affectionately known as The Hive, consists of her two spinster sisters (who live in an old purple Victorian called Lavender Manor), Rosa Delgado, and town librarian, Dottie Duffield.
Bailey and her sidekick bestie, Evie Delgado Espinoza (Rosa’s granddaughter), have been described as a mashup of Lucy & Ethel and Thelma & Louise trying to solve a murder.
Granny Bee loves to bake and is always offering up honey-inspired dishes, so I knew I had to add recipes to this book. When I told my mom, who is a fabulous cook, this, she insisted we spend the day in the kitchen testing out all the recipes and finding the best ones for the book.
What a day we had! Mom came over around ten that morning, and I finally finished cleaning everything up around midnight. Whew! There were different variations of several of the recipes, and we wanted to make sure we picked the best ones, so our plan was to bake all day and create several recipes then have the family over for dinner to be our guinea pigs…um…I mean, our taste testers.
I think we made sixteen recipes in all. We tried two variations of whipped ricotta cheese drizzled in honey, and the citrus flavor won over the cinnamon. We made honey banana bread and honey pound cake. We tried three versions of honey butter. We made honey lemonade and two versions of the specialty danish from Evie and Rosa’s bakery, Cream-Cheese Quesitos. We made a honey cake with marshmallow frosting and crispy honey cookies. And of course, we had to find our favorite of three versions of the murder weapon, Granny Bee’s Honey I’m Home Hot Spiced Honey.
I love this picture of my mom in her apron! And I love it even more because you can see my golden retriever, Cooper, who is the inspiration for the golden retriever in the book, peeking out from behind my mom, keeping a watchful eye on things and hoping a cookie falls on the floor.
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I will admit, we had a few duds…nobody liked the honey lemonade, except for the characters in the book, of course. They loved it.
But overall, we made some delicious creations, and I think our favorite was the cream-cheese quesitos drizzled in honey. Sooo good! They were almost to die for! …But maybe not to kill for!
I’d love for you to check out all the recipes and find out who used the hot spiced honey to murder the mayor in Take the Honey and Run. Humble Hills and Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch are full of fun and quirky characters, and I hope you love them as much as I do.
Do you have any favorite recipes that you use honey in? I’d love to hear about them! I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration for the next book in the series, Kill Or Bee Killed, coming out next spring. Tell me about your favorite use for honey in the comments.
Thanks for hosting me today! I so enjoy the blog and was thrilled to be part of it today!
You can find TAKE THE HONEY AND RUN here:
Author Bio:
Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet who loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books range from western romance to cozy mysteries, but they all have the charm and appeal of quirky small-town life. She loves genre-mashups like adding romance to her Page Turners cozy mysteries and creating the hockey-playing cowboys in the Cowboys of Creedence. The same small-town community comes to life with more animal antics in her latest Creedence Horse Rescue series. And her sassy heroines and hunky heroes carry over in her heartwarming, feel good romances from Hallmark Publishing. Her newest cozy mystery, Take the Honey and Run: A Bee Keeping Mystery, debuts this July.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, Twitter at @JennieMarts, and at @jenniemartswriter on Instagram. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.
Congratulations on your new series, Jennie . . . .
ReplyDeleteRecipes with honey? Honey glazed carrots are a favorite here . . . simply cook baby carrots until tender crisp; glaze with butter and honey [one tablespoon or two of each, depending on how many carrots you have], garnish with parsley or rosemary or thyme . . . .
Hi Joan! Love the carrots recipe! What a great idea! And thanks for the congrats!
DeleteCongratulations on your upcoming book release, Jennie. Looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteAww- thanks Dru Ann! I hope you love it!
DeleteCongratulations on this new series.
ReplyDeleteMy niece used to keep bees in Alabama years ago before her blues career took off. She gave us some very nice honey at the time.
I don't really have any honey recipes, although my husband and I prefer honey to maple syrrup on hotcakes and waffles.
Honey on waffles- yum! Thanks for the congrats, Elizabeth. How exciting that your niece's blues career took off! That sounds amazing for her!
DeleteWhat a fun premise, Jennie - congratulations! My sister was a professional beekeeper in Quebec for many years, and my bestie has bees in her back yard, so I know the practice. Aren't those little ladies fascinating?
ReplyDeleteI love that honey is a natural healer, even on external cuts, and definitely for one's insides. All the flavors and colors of honey depending on where the bees collected pollen is also so interesting. I think orange blossom honey is my favorite, but wildflower is also delicate. And avocado honey is green!
Edith- I've never even heard of avocado honey- how fun that it's green! I love all the yellows and golds too! And yes, bees are fascinating little creatures! How neat that you sister and bestie both love them.
DeleteJENNIE: Your mystery series sounds deliciously fun! How did your husband become a beekeeper?
ReplyDeleteI love buying local honey from our Farmers Market in Ottawa. The company is called Gees Bees. I like their Canadian wildflower honey.
I love that Gees Bees! Too funny! My husband started out as a park ranger then worked his way up to Executive Director of Parks in our county, but for years, he ran a nature center and wanted to have a live bee hive that the public could see. So they have a glassed in hive with a tube that lets the bees go outside and visitors get to see the bees at work. It's really neat. He became certified in beekeeping to be able to manage that hive. And he can always spot the queen! :)
DeleteWhen I was in 6th grade, I got to take a once-a-week class over at the middle school (which was 7th and 8th grade). One of the teachers had a glassed-in hive on the window of the classroom. It was fascinating!! — Pat S.
DeleteWelcome Jennie--I love bees so this sounds fascinating. How lucky to have your mom help with recipe testing! I remember reading when Queen Elizabeth died that the beekeeper had an obligation to to tell the bees...
ReplyDeleteOh I love reading that. How cool!
DeleteThat is so interesting Lucy.
DeleteYes- my mom and I had such a fun day! I'm blessed to have her in town! And I love the Queen Elizabeth story--that is kind of wonderful that she cared about her bees so much! She was definitely the Queen Bee! lol- I couldn't resist!
DeleteCongratulations on your new book Jennie. I love the cover and it seems to be great fun. I’m looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI love honey and there are a couple of bees keepers and honey producers not too far from home.
I can’t say that I cook with it, I simply put a dollop in some herbal teas and I spread some on toasts or waffles but if your recipes aren’t too complicated, I might try some.
Danielle
Thanks for the congrats! I love the cover too! The dog on the front looks so much like my dog, it makes me happy every time I see it!
DeleteJennie, congratulations. The book sounds delightful and I love the premise. I also love the the idea that the sheriff is an old beau. It's a good one.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, honey is the one and only food I am allergic to eating. It is very popular to use it in all types of foods, more and more all the time. All I ask is that people know exactly what is in the food they serve so that people like me can decline a taste. The smallest amount of honey can make me sick for weeks. I substitute maple syrup in all recipes calling for honey and that works out fine.
Judy- thanks for the congratulations! And yes, I've had so much fun with the sheriff and my heroine! Especially since she keeps trying to solve his case! And the mayor in the story is allergic to honey too! It turned out to be the death of him....lol!
DeleteCongrats! The new book sounds like it will BEE a lot of fun to read! It's getting a lot of BUZZ here! ( I know - but I couldn't resist!)
ReplyDeleteI'm off to the library today to check out some of your other books.
Love the bee puns! And I love that you are heading to the library to check out some of my other books-yay!! That's so fun! And thanks for supporting your local library...and me! Libraries are my happy place!
DeleteThe new series sounds delightful! I love honey. Toasted wheat bread with butter, slathered with honey--Yum! Actually a finger slathered with honey: Yum! I've heard that honey tastes different depending on what the bees have been hanging around in and wondered if that's true.
ReplyDeleteIt is Hallie. From producers, I’ve tasted honey made from different kind of flowers and even from flowers in bloom in different seasons and they really are different. The last I bought was a fall honey: a little darker and very tasty.
DeleteDanielle
Hi Hallie! Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog! You get such neat stories on here! And yes, I think that is true that the honey tastes different in different regions. And now I'm off to toast some wheat bread and slather it in butter and honey!
DeleteA first hardcover is such a wonderful feeling! Congrats, Jennie and thanks for joining us today. I can't wait to read Take the Honey and Run!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me, Jenn! I love you all's blog! I'm really thrilled to be here!
DeleteJENNIE: Welcome to JRW! I think I saw the Page Turners cozy mysteries at a mystery conference and read a book? Your beekeeping cozy mysteries sound wonderful! I think Sherlock Holmes was also a beekeeper or was it Hercule Poirot?
ReplyDeleteLove honey like Winnie the Pooh Bear. LOL. My favorite recipes include plain greek yogurt mixed with honey. I saw this on a Rick Steves travel tv programme and decided to try that. And Figs with goat cheese and honey. I saw a foodie post about this on Instagram.
Now that I cannot have dairy anymore, I like honey on a piece of buttered toast.
Diana
Hi Diana! So happy to be here! And Wow! How fun that you might have already read one of my Page Turners mysteries! That made my day! And I can totally see BOTH of those detectives being beekeepers! We love Rick Steves too! We watched a ton of his shows in preparation for a trip we took to Europe several years ago--he's great!
DeleteI love honey in hot tea laced with brandy and a squeeze of either fresh lemon or orange juice. This is my go-to beverage when I have a nasty cough/cold. It is also good on a cold, winter Sunday when I just want to curl up and do nothing but read. I prefer orange honey over clover. Take the Honey and Run sounds like a good read for one of those cold winter afternoons. Congratulations on the new book.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tasty book! I am highly allergic to bees, but love honey and can eat it with no ill effects. My favorite way? I'm a purist - in a biscuit dripping with butter!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like the perfect way! I love warm biscuits with honey!
DeleteI don’t think I’ve read anything you’ve written before, Jennie. This sounds like a fun one! We have a friend who started beekeeping. He recently spotted a bear getting into his hives. It had recently been picked up on cameras in various spots around the city, including the block behind my house, but this was the first eye witness spotting. Adding your book to my good reads list now.
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda- what a surprise to your beekeeper friend! It's always fun to have a bear-spotting! We live in Colorado and see them frequently. They do love honey! Thanks for adding my book to your Goodreads list! Yay!!
DeleteMy parents used to raise bees so we've always had honey for everything. On bread or cereal, in cookies, anything you can think of really. Mom laughs when she sees tiny but expensive pieces of beeswax in stores because she's got dozens of pounds of wax still even though they haven't had bees in probably 40 years. I'll have to get this book for her.
ReplyDeleteAlicia- what a fun idea to grab this book for your mom! I hope she loves it!
DeleteCongrats! This sounds like a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI use honey in my morning oatmeal, but that's about it. Sorry, no real inspiration for future recipes there.
Thanks for the congrats! I had a lot of fun writing it!
DeleteJennie, congrats on your hardcover debut! I'm sure TAKE THE HONEY AND RUN will be swarming with readers. (The puns really do write themselves.)
ReplyDeleteWe got introduced to some area beekeepers back in '20, when a local hive split and a swarm decided a kneehole space in my Guest Son's attic bedroom would be the perfect spot to start a new hive. A lovely young woman came over and safely extracted them (at a very reasonable price) and she gifted us some honey and honey products - so (no pun intended this time) sweet!
And I've actually had a honey lemonade at a local restaurant. The honey was the basis for a simple syrup, and it was infused with lavender, so the drink had a nice sweet/tart/herbal taste. I suspect they went light on the honey, since too much can be cloying, as you undoubtedly found.
Hi Julia- love the puns! And my husband had a swarm in his park one time and called me to bring our boys over to watch the more experienced beekeeper take it. He didn't even wear the suit--just climbed up this ladder with a five gallon bucket and knocked it into it then covered it with a lid! It was fascinating to watch....from a distance...lol! I love that your beekeeper left you with honey and honey products! That's amazing! And I'm glad you've tried some good honey lemonade....because my characters do drink it in the book. The one you describe sounds delicious. But whatever recipe we tried was just....blech! Maybe we used too much!
DeleteBees and beekeeping are so interesting! I hope you weave a lot of it into your new series. My favorite way to eat honey is drizzled on warm biscuits with butter. Yum!
ReplyDeleteWarm biscuits with butter and honey are the best! And yes, I find bees so interesting too.
DeleteCongrats, Jennie, on your first hardcover! TAKE THE HONEY AND RUN sounds like a hoot! I'm a big fan of honey, and buy mine at the farmer's market from local producers.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deborah! I'm a fan of farmer's markets too! You can always find such fun things there!
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