I'm happy to have Ellen Jacobson join us today. I met her through the fabulous Insecure Writers Support Group. Because she lives on a boat, when I had a question about sailing, I asked her. Not only did she answer my questions, she even contacted other sailors. That was a great help.
Ellen's blogs are hilarious, so I was sure her book would be, too. It is. Cozy mysteries are great reads, and Ellen's is no exception. Loved her character Mollie whose droll observations made me laugh. Here she is to tell us about her new release.
Thanks for
hosting me on your site today to celebrate the release of my cozy mystery, Murder
at the Marina. This is the first book in the lighthearted and humorous Mollie
McGhie Sailing Mystery series, featuring a reluctant sailor turned amateur
sleuth.
My own sailing
adventures and misadventures inspired me to write this series. My husband and I
bought our first sailboat in New Zealand in 2012. After a couple of years
cruising in those beautiful waters, we returned to the States and bought a
bigger boat which we moved onto in 2015. We've since cruised in Florida and the
Bahamas, labored over endless boat projects, and worked to keep our cruising
kitty (savings) topped up.
I wanted to
reflect my experiences learning to sail, cruising and living aboard a boat, and
being part of the boating community in my cozy mysteries. You could say that
there's a little bit of me in my main character, Mollie.
I thought I'd share one of the boating tidbits which I wrote about in Murder
at the Marina—namely,
buying a boat. Mollie wasn't actually involved in the boat buying process.
Instead, her husband worked with a boat broker (kind of like a marine real
estate agent) on the deal and “surprised” Mollie with it later. If she had been
involved upfront, things might have turned out differently.
Buying a
new-to-you boat can be stressful. First, you figure out what type of boat you
want, how much you can afford to spend, pore over a zillion listings, and
finally identify a few prospects. Then you go check them out in person.
Sometimes, you find that the boat you're looking at bears no resemblance to the
photos and description online. Eventually, you find your dream boat and
arrange for a survey and sea trial. The surveyor presents you with a list of
everything that's wrong and you either walk away or start negotiations with the
seller. If you do close the deal, inevitably you discover more issues with the
boat later. It will be interesting to see how Mollie copes with the long
project list that they'll have to tackle to get their boat ship-shape.
If you'd like to learn more about Mollie and her sailing adventures, you
can find details about Murder at the Marina below.
Blurb
A dilapidated sailboat for your
anniversary—not very romantic. A dead body on board—even worse.
Mollie McGhie is hoping for diamonds for
her tenth wedding anniversary. Instead, her husband presents her with a
dilapidated sailboat. Just one problem—she doesn’t know anything about boats,
nor does she want to.
When Mollie discovers someone murdered
on board, she hopes it will convince her husband that owning a boat is a bad
idea. Unfortunately, he’s more determined than ever to fix the boat up and set
out to sea.
Mollie finds herself drawn into the
tight-knit community living at Palm Tree Marina in Coconut Cove, a small town
on the Florida coast. She uncovers a crime ring dealing in stolen marine
equipment, investigates an alien abduction, eats way too many chocolate bars,
adopts a cat, and learns far more about sailing than she ever wanted to.
Can Mollie discover who the murderer is
before her nosiness gets her killed?
Buy Links
Murder at the
Marina—A Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery #1
Print ISBN
978-1-7321602-1-7
eBook ISBN 978-1-7321602-0-0
Mystery
eBook ISBN 978-1-7321602-0-0
Mystery
Author Bio
Ellen Jacobson
writes mystery and scifi/fantasy stories. She is the author of the “Mollie
McGhie Sailing Mystery” series. She lives on a sailboat with her husband,
exploring the world from the water. When she isn't working on boat projects or
seeking out deserted islands, she blogs about their adventures at The Cynical
Sailor.
You can connect
with Ellen on:
Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog and all of your support, Diane!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Ellen. I'm waiting for the next Molly MdGhie book to come out.
DeleteYou get a list of everything that's wrong? I don't think that would go over well if one was buying a house.
ReplyDeleteI think home sellers have to disclose things that are wrong, like foundations, appliances, furnace/AC, etc. Honest people do. We've bought homes from some people who were less than honest. Oh, well. Buyer beware.
DeleteIt's kind of similar to having a home survey done. It's definitely buyer beware when it comes to boats.
DeleteWhere I live a home inspection that lists problems is always part of the deal, unless the buyer waives it.
DeleteI have never sailed in my life. Speed boats, yes. But sailing, nope! I have a fear of water. Luckily, I don't fear reading about it. LOL! Good luck to you.
ReplyDeleteKara - That's one of the things I love about books - you can experience things from the comfort of your living room that you wouldn't want to experience in real life :-)
ReplyDeleteLiving on the water has never appealed to me (motion sickness!) but this sounds like a really fun read.
ReplyDeleteI have friends who suffer from sea sickness and it just sounds awful. So far, it hasn't happened to me - knock on wood :-)
DeleteCheers - Ellen
Sounds like a great story!
ReplyDeleteGood luck and God's blessings
PamT
Thanks so much, Pam :-)
DeleteCheers - Ellen
I live on a lake and have multiple boats (sold the sailboat, however, as we just kept turtling it), so I find your theme appealing! Best wishes for success.
ReplyDeleteOoh...turtling a sailboat - yikes! If you do check out Murder at the Marina, I hope you enjoy it. :-)
DeleteMy kind of read! I don't know the first thing about boats, but I love the idea of them. :) And, of course, murder! Best wishes.
ReplyDelete