From LISE McCLENDON

I ❤️ February! For lots of reasons: special birthdays, Valentine’s Day, it’s short and sweet and chocolate is usually involved… plus JANUARY IS OVER! Woo hoo.

This winter I’m trying a new book strategy. I’m an independent writer so I can basically do whatever, right? Well, the pressure is on, always, to publish. Publish or perish, as the academics say. So to keep things lively I decided to take a secondary character out of my Bennett Sisters Mystery series and do a trilogy of novellas about him. He is a popular character, the love interest of the main sister, Merle. Pascal d’Onscon investigates wine fraud for the Police Nationale in France. The three novellas, or short parts of one whole, start out dealing with a scam label on a bottle of wine. It’s supposed to be from a champagne-only vintner but it is not bubbly, it is flat. DEAD FLAT, you could say.

So that gets the party started in the department of Champagne, in northeastern France. Much of the series takes place either in Paris or in the Dordogne region, but this trilogy moves around, from Champagne, to the Dordogne, to Brittany, and back to Champagne. We learn about Pascal’s two sisters (so many sisters!) who live far apart. And more about wine and champagne as that’s Pascal’s business.

Part One of DEAD FLAT came out in December. Part Two was released in mid-January, and the final part, three, publishes in late February. All are on Amazon.

Happy  February!

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I’m with Lise in celebrating the joys of February. The light is growing stronger every day, which makes our little hearts so happy! If you’re in western Montana and you get happy meeting authors, come visit with me at the North Valley Public Library in Stevensville, at 11 am on Saturday, February 8. We’ll be chatting about mysteries and much more, and yes, of course, I’ll have books with me to refresh your rapidly-dwindling TBR pile!

Come chat — I love meeting readers, and a Saturday morning visit will help make February scurry by!