Praise for 50 Shades of Cabernet:
“A comfortable armchair, a glass of Cabernet, and this sparkling collection of mystery short stories from a group of talented writers . . . total bliss!”
--Ellen Crosby, author of The Champagne Conspiracy
“Ah, Cabernet Sauvignon! Each bottle tells a story, much like those fermented by the authors in 50 Shades of Cabernet. Pleasing all palates, this collection has a wide range of 'tasting notes, ' from light bodied and easy on the palate, to heavily oaked and aged; from fruit forward and jammy, to essences of earth, pepper, and spice. “
-- Cathy and Arthur Allen, Owners, Artisans Wine & Homebrew, Midlothian, Virginia,
“A beautiful blend of wine and mysteries, with Virginia as the perfect backdrop.”
--Nancy Bauer, Co-owner and Blogger, Virginia Wine in My Pocket
“Fascinating assembly of stories that won't let you put this one down.”
-- Hal Bell, Owner and Oenologist, Bacchus Winery, Fredericksburg, Virginia
These are just a few of the many wonderful reviews for 50 Shades of Cabernet, an anthology of wine-themed mysteries created by 17 authors. The stories range from light-hearted puzzles to darker, heavier tales of deceit and murder.
My contribution to 50 Shades of Cabernet is “Wine, Women, and Wrong”:
Tommy Bradshaw has two items on his bucket list: to solve a murder mystery and to marry Camille Pettit. Fat chance of either happening. Then, when Camille attends a wine-tasting fundraiser and the wine merchant is found in the parking lot, impaled by a hunting knife, Tommy gets his chance to play one of the Hardy Boys. In the process of finding the stabber, Tommy is besieged by women: the glamorous and sexy oenophile who’s hell-bent on seducing him; and the cop who would love to woo him away from Camille. In addition, Tommy finds that detecting isn’t as easy as it is in books.
“Wine, Women, and Wrong” is inspired by an annual wine tasting fundraiser I attend in Richmond, Virginia. I can’t recall any attempted murders on the premises of St. Matthias Episcopal Church. Or even at the event’s new location at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church. But I can’t let reality stand in the way of a good story—after all, I’m a writer and I “see” crimes in my head.
Besides never witnessing a crime, I don’t even drink wine and know little about it except that it’s either red or white. My ignorance made me wonder if I should even submit a story. But when the wonderful Teresa Inge and Jayne Ormerod invited me to contribute to the anthology, their requirements for story submission were few: “The only requirements are that your story includes a mystery of some sort (not necessarily a murder), and that there is at least one mention of Cabernet wine somewhere in the story.”
So drinking the stuff was optional. And that’s how “Wine, Women, and Wrong” came to be. Ironically, I talk more about wine than my fellow authors do! Read more about how a teetotaler ended up in a wine anthology here.
Joining me in 50 Shades of Cabernet are these talented authors (Rosemary Shomaker and Heather Weidner are also Lethal Ladies):
Betsy Ashton
Lyn Brittan
Barb Goffman
Debbiann Holmes
Maria Hudgins
Teresa Inge
Jim Jackson
Kristin Kisska
Douglas Lutz
Nancy Naigle
Alan Orloff
Jayne Ormerod
Rosemary Shomaker
Jenny Sparks
Heather Weidner
Tina Whittle
Ken Wingate
50 Shades of Cabernet is available from your favorite bookseller or from Amazon.
Visit the 50 Shades of Cabernet web site here.
50 Shades of Cabernet is on Facebook!
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Enjoy the stories! And please . . . write a review.
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