New book from Mary Ellis ~ leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy!

 

Authors are often asked, “Where did you get the idea for your new book series?” For me the answer is almost always: from travel. And the funny part is you never know when and where inspiration will hit.

Almost three years ago I was driving south on one of the major highways when hunger pangs grabbed my attention. Tired of fast food, my husband and I took the next exit in search of local cuisine. What we found was a bourbon distillery just outside of Lexington that served lunch on the patio. After truly delicious sandwiches, I talked the manager into giving me a peek behind-the-scenes. Although their normal bourbon tours had been suspended for the season, my enthusiasm for the product won over the bartender/tour guide’s heart and she gave me a thorough step-by-step explanation of how they make their bourbon. I even got to meet the Master Distiller and ask him a few questions, which is no small feat. And I was allowed to photograph areas normally off-limits to tourists. During the process, corn and rye are mixed with limestone well water, then malted (fermented) barley is added to begin new fermentation. The mash is distilled twice to create a smoother bourbon and aged in new oak barrels with annual taste-testing after the first two years. Once the master distiller decides it’s ready, the bourbon is filtered and bottled. What’s my secret for getting insider info? No secret—I was simply in the right place at the right time among distillers who love their craft.

That evening, while sipping my purchase in a hotel room, ideas for murder mysteries popped into my head. Who should be my central character to solve these heinous crimes? Where to find the body? Who wants to kill whom? And so the Bourbon Tour Murder series was born wherein a syndicated travel writer, who drinks nothing but wine from a box, becomes my reluctant sleuth. I had fun taking these tours and writing these books. (Although absolutely no murders took place during my tours.)

In the first of the series, One for the Road, my travel writer, Jill Curtis, becomes a suspect after she lands in the middle of a century-old family feud between bourbon makers. And in my current book, One Hundred Proof Murder, Jill hopes to land a job promotion, get better acquainted with her new detective boyfriend, and keep her relatives out of trouble. She’s not looking for a best friend, unless that friend’s father is a Louisville distiller. And she certainly doesn’t wish to involve herself in another murder. But you know how good intentions go…

So grab your beverage of choice, then pour yourself a shot of rivalry, romance and murder with One Hundred Proof Murder.  Available on Kindle now and in print 8-3-2021.

Book one, One for the Road, now $3.99 in Kindle!! Amazon.com: One for the Road (A Bourbon Tour mystery Book 1) eBook: Ellis, Mary: Kindle Store

Leave me a comment regarding your favorite "tourist" destination for a chance to win a print copy of One Hundred Proof Murder. You must leave your email address to win. Drawing in one week. 

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Win a free copy of One for the Road on CDs

Happy Spring, Readers! Mary Ellis here. Ever wonder what could go wrong while researching/writing a book? Covid, that's what!

Readers familiar with my writing know I do a lot of research before, during and after the book is finished. My first visit to an area is to envision the basic storyline and flesh out the characters. I accomplish this by asking questions of everyone I meet connected to a certain vocation, B&B or sect of people. My second and third visits are during the writing to pull together subplots or flesh out secondary characters. My final visit is to answer the multitude of questions that come up during the writing. For One for the Road, book one of the Bourbon Tour Mysteries, I chose Kentucky, the bluegrass state, for my setting. Although I'm not a bourbon drinker, I heard from several friends that bourbon tours have grown very popular. Hordes of tourists arrive weekly to tour the distilleries. Some tours offer overnight stays with paring dinners. There’s even a train you can take with bourbon tasting along the way. Sounded like a fun getaway weekend with friends. And a distillery sounds like a great place for murder…speaking as a mystery writer, of course.

I planned two trips to Kentucky to research the small (craft) distilleries and interview the master distillers. Then I made plans for an extended visit to the Louisville area to tour eight major production plants. My friends and I planned to take tours, ride the train, go to paring dinners and of course, at least taste the bourbon. Reservations had been made and tickets purchased, then the Covid pandemic hit and everything was cancelled. No more tours. Luckily, most of my book, One for the Road, takes place in a small craft distillery and I had finished that research and was thus able to write the story. But things better open back up before I put the finishing touches on One Hundred Proof Murder, book two of the series, or this writer will be creating a lot more fiction than usual.

Please leave me comment about how the pandemic changed your life for a chance to One for the Road on audio (CD's) Winner drawn in one week. You must leave your email address. Sorry, US readers only.

Links: www.maryellis.net or
www.facebook.com/Mary.Ellis.Author

Buy link: Amazon.com: One for the Road (A Bourbon Tour mystery Book 1) eBook: Ellis, Mary: Kindle Store

A Day in the Life of My New Character ~ Drawing to win a free book too!

Happy New Year, lovers of mystery and suspense! Today I invite you to get into the head of my favorite character from One From the Road, book one of Bourbon Tour Mysteries.  Leave me a comment and you could win a book from my previous series...your choice! 

My name is Jill Curtis and I’m a travel writer for a syndicated Chicago news service. What I’m I looking for? A break—one big, attention-grabbing story that will move me into my dream job of investigative reporter. And where is the boss sending me and my videographer? Certainly not London, Paris or Rome. No, Michael and I are headed to some small town in Kentucky to discover why thousands of tourists line up to tour their famous distilleries.  Maybe we’ll find some delicious vittles to eat and some tasty spirits to sip, but I don’t smell a Pulitzer Prize in the making.

What the boss and Michael don’t know is that my grandmother’s cousin lives in Roseville, home to two bourbon distilleries, and the woman owns a charming B&B. Who wouldn’t rather stay in a rambling Victorian mansion rather than a low-end chain motel on the outskirts of town? Although Granny hasn’t spoken to Dot Clark, the innkeeper, in years due to a teenage argument, I plan to mend fences between the two old ladies while I’m there. After all, what else do I have to do in rural America after the sun goes down?

Turns out the innkeeper’s husband is the master distiller of Black Creek, the smaller of the two distilleries we had planned to tour. With any luck Michael can shoot behind-the-scenes video, while I might be able to interview the head honcho of Black Creek in person. That would be so much better than the canned tour available to the general public. After all, who can turn down a long-lost relative who’s also your houseguest?

What I didn’t bargain for is meeting the handsome son of the master distiller at Founder’s Reserve…or tripping over a dead body during tour number-two.

Back cover of One for the Road: Travel writer Jill Curtis loves her job, but she desperately needs a break if she’s to achieve her dream of becoming an investigative reporter. Sent to Kentucky by her boss to find out why thousands of tourists flock to Bourbon Country every year, Jill’s dream seems to be slipping further away. After all, nothing interesting ever happens in rural America . . . does it? Staying at an estranged relative’s B&B, Jill’s plan to uncover what makes the state’s bourbon tours so popular goes awry when she discovers a body at one of the distilleries and quickly becomes a suspect in a brutal murder. Can she navigate high-stakes bourbon rivalries, centuries-old family feuds and ill-fated romance to catch a killer?

Buy it here

Now...leave me a comment about your new year's plans for a chance to win a copy of Hiding in Plain Sight, Sweet Taste of Revenge or Island of Last Resorts. Have a great 2021!!!