Roast Mortem by Cleo Coyle Release Party Mega Giveaway

LRC's Roast Mortem Publication Release Party Mega Giveaway

WHAT:  A Party To Celebrate the Release of Roast Mortem by Cleo Coyle

HOSTED BY:  Lori's Reading Corner

WHERE:  Book Blogs Across The U.S.A 

      WHEN:  August 3 - 16, 2010

Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

Clare Cosi, manager and head barista of the landmark Village Blend coffeehouse, has perfected the pulling of steaming hot espressos. But can she keep New York’s Bravest from getting burned?

After the firefighters of Ladder Company 189 pull Clare’s friends out of a blazing café, she happily comes to their rescue. As a favor to the men, Clare visits their firehouse kitchen to teach them the finer points of operating their newly donated espresso machine. But as she gets to know these fearless few, more than their coffee turns out to be hot. Somebody’s torching cafés around the city, and firefighters are beginning to die in suspicious ways.


Believing the two events are related, Clare investigates, staking out a five-borough bake sale and sniffing out clues in the pizza joints of Brooklyn. Then her detective boyfriend, Mike Quinn, is pulled into the fire of a false accusation and Clare is desperate to put out the flames. But will she be able to come to Mike’s rescue before someone tries to extinguish her?

"Coyle's strong 9th Coffeehouse Mystery pays tribute to New York City firefighters." ~ Publishers Weekly

A Note from Cleo Coyle

My husband and I have been living and working in New York City for over twenty years. Our Coffeehouse Mysteries—a unique blend of crime, romance, humor, and action—are set here, too, around a landmark Greenwich Village coffee shop called the Village Blend.

Through eight books now, our quirky town has fueled us with strange-but-true ideas for characters and plotlines from criminal to culinary. For the ninth entry in our series, we drew inspiration from yet another local source: New York’s Bravest.

It’s hard not to admire New York firefighters (and I’m not even going to flash you with the annual hunks in hardhats calendar). Oh, sure, they can be as cranky and crazy as the rest of us. After all, most of them actually like running into burning buildings. But I think of them more as knights in bunker gear.

Every day, these men and women beat back a new fire monster, rescuing citizens from the jaws of its wreckage. Their firehouses look like castle strongholds. Even their symbol is a knightly one—the Maltese Cross. “Every firefighter works in courage,” states the FDNY, “a ladder rung away from death, willing to lay down his life for you.”

Now that’s the stuff of heroes and (crazy or not) heroes inspire writers. In fact, the very idea of running into a burning building to save an innocent victim struck me as the perfect analogy for what Clare Cosi does in our Coffeehouse Mysteries.


A divorced single-mom in her forties, Clare is a coffee shop manager by day, an irrepressible snoop by night. When something is wrong, she considers it her mission to right it—and arson that leads to murder is as wrong as it gets.

At the start of Roast Mortem, an unknown arsonist begins torching cafés around the city. When an FDNY ladder company comes to the rescue of Clare and her co-workers, she returns the favor by rescuing these fearless few from some seriously bad coffee. Then her new firemen friends begin dying in suspicious ways, and Clare finds reason to believe their deaths are connected to the “Coffee Shop Arsonist.” Unfortunately, an overly-flirtatious member of the FDNY stands in her way. This strapping captain clearly has something to hide. But as Clare starts to dig deeper, someone threatens to extinguish her.

If you've never read a Coffehouse Mystery, don't let that stop you from picking up a copy of Roast Mortem. You can certainly enjoy it as a stand-alone novel. If you’ve been a fan of the series, this is one you won't want to miss because this is more than just another murder mystery for Clare Cosi. The events of the story trigger highly personal consequences that keep her reeling until the very end.

Read with joy!
~ Cleo



CLEO’S TASTY RECIPES

Like Cleo’s previous Coffeehouse Mysteries, Roast Mortem has a culinary theme and includes delicious recipes of foods mentioned in the story. CLICK HERE to get a sneak peek at the book’s recipe section, partly inspired by some firehouse kitchen favorites.

And speaking of firehouse kitchens, Cleo invites you to meet some real FDNY firefighters as they prepare the most important meal of the year—Thanksgiving Dinner. (Video courtesy of YouTube)


WIN FREE COFFEE!

Sign up for Cleo’s FREE
E-newsletter and you will be entered in all of her weekly coffee drawings. Just send an email to VillageBlend@aol.com that says “Sign me up”

To find out more about Cleo

or download her free bonus recipes, visit her virtual coffeehouse at: Coffee House Mystery

Praise for Cleo Coyle’s
Coffeehouse Mysteries…

“Clare and company are some of the most vibrant characters I've ever read. Coyle is also a master of misdirection and red herrings. I challenge any reader to figure out whodunit before Coyle reveals all”
—Mystery Scene

Starred review. “Coyle's Coffeehouse books are superb examples of the cozy genre because of their intelligent cast of characters, their subtle wit, and their knowledge of the coffee industry used to add depth and flavor to the stories...Highly recommended for all mystery collections.”
—Library Journal

CLICK HERE to read Roast Mortem’s

Prologue and First Chapter.

Bonus excerpt below…

First came the sound, a monumental whoosh followed by a hissing roar. The white-hot concussion rippled through the air, the cafè's front window exploded outward, and the blast washed over me.

My eyes had been at keyhole level while I worked that stupid, stubborn lock, and the force of the firebomb knocked me right through the doorway.

Sprawled on my back on the debris-strewn sidewalk, I turned my head, stared at the carpet of glass shards. Blood was pumping through my system so fast I could barely recognize voices yelling, a car horn beeping.

I was unhurt. Small scratches maybe, a few bruises, a little bleeding—big deal—I was okay otherwise, and I focused on throwing off the shock.

Wheezing and coughing, I got back on my feet. Smoke rolled out of the cafè, the noxious fog billowing upward in a succession of black, misshapen balloons. I scanned the sidewalk for my beer-filled barista.

“Dante!” I shouted, rushing back to the doorway. “Dante!”

Flames painted the cafè’s walls, spilling their colors onto its tables. The searing light in the urban night would have been beautiful if it weren’t so deadly.

“Dante! Answer me!”

Smoke stung my eyes. I gritted my teeth, swiped at my cheeks, peered harder into the chaos.

Up front, the heavy marble espresso bar counter appeared undamaged. But in the rear of the shop, the embroidered fabric that had masked the utility room was a raging curtain of flame. Finally I spotted him—or, rather, his big, black Diesel boots—sticking out amid a cluster of overturned tables. Taking a deep breath (and praying to God it wouldn’t be my last), I went in....

Roast Mortem: A Coffeehouse Mystery

Now Available in Hardcover

from Berkley Prime Crime

How the giveaway will work

I've decided to try this little experiment where we will cross promote this giveaway across the blogosphere while at the same time spreading the word about the release of Roast Mortem. If this is the success I hope it is, I will be be hosting at least one per month and maybe two.

Lori's Reading Corner will be the Grand Hostess for this giveaway.  All U.S.A. book bloggers out there are welcome to join. Each blogger will host the same contest on their site. After your contest is set up you will come back here and place a link to your contest in the Linky below. 

Non-bloggers -- enter each contest from the links below.

You MUST be a follower of both Lori's Reading Corner and of Lori on Twitter - @lorisbookblog to host this contest.   

You MUST use the same promo info in your contest as I have here, including linking to Cleo's site, Coffee House Mystery.  The design lay out is, of course,  up to you. 


You MUST collect the following information from the entrants in your contest ~

         * Name
         * Email address
         * Mailing address (so that the prizes may be sent right out)
         * Mailing to the USA ONLY ** NO PO BOXES
         * 18 years or older

         * You may also include the option for additional entries for such things as ~ following your blog, following my blog, following you and/or me on Twitter, signing up for Cleo's newsletter, or following Cleo on Twitter or Facebook.  (Links must be left to verify tweets,blogs etc. An example of one of my forms with some of these items may be found HERE).

Each person may enter the contest ONE time per blog (although if you add the additional entry options, they could have up to X amount of entries just on your site.)  HOWEVER they may enter the contest on as many blogs as they wish in order to increase their chances of winning.

When the contest is over, each host will choose one person from those that have signed up on their blog and come back here to my blog. I will have a google document set up where each host will then put their name, their blog name, and the email and mailing address of the entrant they chose to be a finalist to win one of six (6) amazing prizes.  AND, don't you hosts worry - there is a GRAND prize,  just for one of you!!  The blog hosts will have 72 hrs to submit their entrants before the winners are chosen.

PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES     

MEGA Prize ~ awarded to one HOST of the giveaway

• $100 gift card to online bookseller of his or her choice
• 1 Personally inscribed copy of Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle   
• 1 Firehouse Cookbook 
• 1 Gimme! Coffee 12 oz Latte cup and saucer
• 1 Bag of Cops coffee (regular or decaf, their choice!)

 Grand Prize ~  awarded to ONE entrant

•  $50 gift card to online bookseller of his or her choice
• 1 Personally inscribed copy of Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle    
• 1 Firehouse Cookbook
• 1 Gimme! Coffee 12 oz Latte cup and saucer
• 1 Bag of Cops coffee (regular or decaf, their choice!)

 Runner-up Prize ~  awarded to five (5) entrants

* 1 Personally inscribed copy of Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle   
* 1 Firehouse Cookbook
* 1 Gimme! Coffee 12 oz Latte cup and saucer
* 1 Bag of Cops coffee (regular or decaf, their choice!)



To enter my giveaway fill out this form.
+1 for following Lori's Reading Corner.
+1 for following my blog.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. Everyone is welcome to join in. Please be kind and link back to us. Sign the Linky widget so that you can peruse other top ten lists from fellow bloggers and comment on others lists!

This week's Top Ten:
What are your top ten favorite book characters?

1. Ron Weasley- Harry Potter- I've always had a thing for redheads.  2 out of the 3 boyfriends I've had had red hair, as did my best friend throughout high school.

2.  Hagrid- Harry Potter- He's a big teddy bear.
3. Scout- To Kill a Mockingbird
4. Gemma Doyle- A Great and Terrible Beauty series
5. Miss Goodpepper- Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
6. Gale- Hunger Games series
7. Eric Northman- Sookie Stackhouse series
8. Aliena- Pillars of the Earth
9. Anna- Those who Save Us
10. Hermoine- Harry Potter

Please vote

I have had epilepsy for about 10 years, so it is something that is near to my heart.  This little girl is trying to get non profit status for her charity. Here's what she is doing.

The Angels4Epilepsy project provides gift bags of items to help epileptic children hospitalized overcome some fears with things to do such as coloring books, toys and more.  This gift bag will show that they are not alone in their battle with epilepsy and that being in the hospital doesn't have to be all bad.

Please go to this link and vote.  

Win $200 cash!

Simply Stacie, My Wee View, Little Yayas, and Kelly's Lucky You are holding a great contest.  They are giving away $200 CASH to one lucky winner.  You can enter here.

I found this article on the livejournal community Society for Librarians who say Motherf***er.  This makes me so mad that a committee of TWO people could decide what was not okay for their library.  And child porn? It's a collection of stories, so it cannot be considered child porn.  Like most librarians (and future librarians) I am very against censorship.  Just because the librarian does not agree with something, does not mean they have the right to remove it completely from the library and not allow others to attain it.  I hope the library is challenged and the book is replaced on shelves.  And the librarians should be disciplined, or at least be forced to take some sort of sensitivity training or something.

NJ library bans GLBT book calling it "child pornography"
I saw this over at ontd_political and thought everyone over here might want to see it.  The "committee" of two members definitely counts as a massive mofo of fail.

A New Jersey public library has ordered the removal of all copies of Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (Alyson, 2000) from its shelves--despite the fact there was no formal book challenge--and its library director has referred to the title as "child pornography," according to emails obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey through a Freedom of Information Act.

Gail Sweet, library director of the Burlington County Library System (BCLS), in April asked Library Commissioners to approve the removal of the book after a member of the conservative group 9.12 Project contacted Sweet requesting that it be taken off shelves.

While direct calls to Sweet were not returned, she did respond to an email request explaining BCLS's decision to take Revolutionary Voices off its shelves.

"Thank you for your interest but I have nothing to say on the topic," Sweet wrote.

Created by American television and radio personality Glenn Beck, the group vows to defend the constitution of the United States-and is the same organization that advocated Revolutionary Voice's removal from New Jersey's Rancocas Valley Regional High School this Spring.

Edited by Amy Sonnie of the Banned Librarian, Revolutionary Voices was named by School Library Journal in 2001 as one of the best adult books for high school students and was celebrated by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) as "the first creative resource by and for queer and questioning youth of every color, class, religion, gender and ability."

Although no formal complaint was filed, BCLS Library Commissioners supported Sweet's recommendation to "remove "Revolutionary Voices" from" library shelves, Sweet wrote in an April 27 email to Beverly Marinelli, a grandmother and member of the 9.12 project, who told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the book is "pervasively vulgar, obscene, and inappropriate."

"As the copies that are checked out return, we will take them out of circulation," explained Sweet in the email to Marinelli.

Then in a May 3 email, Sweet told staffers that they needed to "pull" Revolutionary Voices from library shelves. "How can we grab the books so they never, ever get back into ccirculation (sic)," Sweet wrote to BCLS staffers. "Copies need to totally disappear (as in not a good idea to send copies to the book sale)."

But when Andy Woodworth, a librarian at the Bordentown branch of BCLS, asked Sweet whether a formal challenge had been lodged, she said no. "It was recommended both by Marge and by me that the book be removed," she wrote Woodworth in an email dated May 24, referring to assistant director, Margaret Delaney. "The commissioners supported our decision. There was no official challenge, no actual vote by the commissioners." When Woodworth pressed to find out on what grounds the book was removed, Sweet responded on May 25 with two words: "Child pornography."

A call to Woodworth was referred to Sweet.

BCLS's formal process for handling controversial materials, as found in documents obtained by the ACLU, states that patrons must fill out a Request for Reconsideration form, and then a "committee of staff selectors as designated by the Library Director will review the material in question."

The American Library Association recommends that every library have a written policy in place explaining how books are selected for library circulation. And many public libraries use a formal process when handling challenges.

"It's considered best practice to have a formal process, and a written request," says Lindsey Dunn, a teen librarian for the Eva Perry Regional Library in Wake County, N.C. who sits on a committee that looks into book challenges for its library system. "It allows for not just one person's opinion."

In the case of BCLS's removal of Revolutionary Voices, an informal, rather than formal written request appears to have been made. In addition, Sweet's email indicates that the committee was made up of her and one other person.

Assistant director Margaret Delaney confirmed that she is the "Marge" mentioned in Sweet's email as also recommending the book's removal, but she's not allowed to talk about the situation.

"Gail told me," says Delaney, when questioned about who instructed her not to speak about the book's removal.

Review: The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit

Synopsis from Amazon:
This memoir of an Egyptian Jewish family’s gradual ruin is told without melodrama by its youngest survivor, now a reporter at the Wall Street Journal. Lagnado’s story hinges on her father, "the Captain," who cut a dashing figure in mid-century Cairo, consorting with British officers and Egyptian royalty at French cafés while his family, neglected, stayed home. At first refusing to join the tide of Jews fleeing Egypt under the Nasser regime, the Captain finally yields, in 1963, when the family escapes to Paris and then Brooklyn. Deprived of wealth, status, and any means of coping, Lagnado’s father fades, but he never loses his air of chivalry, manifested in a regular outflow of tiny checks to charitable causes—orphanages, vocational schools, and dowry funds for poor girls—overseas. "As if the Captain were capable of rescuing anyone," his daughter writes.

My review:
I was really excited to read this book when I found it in a used bookstore.  My husband's family moved to Canada from Egypt around the same time as the author's family.  Lagnado, a journalist, tells the story of her father who she was very close to, despite his advanced age and declining health.  While the family had been well off in Egypt, when they moved to America, they were forced to depend on charity to survive.  The book was very well written.  I found the author (one of the main characters) to be somewhat annoying.  Since she was so little, she was used to getting whatever she wanted and did not understand that when they came to the US, her family did not have any money.  I felt most connected to the father.  The part I particularly liked is when the author talked about the fact that her father would send checks to charities despite not having money to spend on the family. 
3.5 stars

July wrap up

I can't believe July is already gone! I start school in exactly one month from today. Here is what I read this month:

1. The Sweet Far Thing     
2. Anthem       
3. First they killed my father      
4. The Sheltering Sky         
5. Atonement           
6. City of Beasts
7. The Daughters of Juarez          
8. Darkness at Noon  
9. The Deep End of the Ocean    
10. The Art Thief   
11. Ruined  
12. I Like You
13. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close  
14. Let the Right One In   
15. Moby Dick
16. The Education of TC Mits
17. The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit 
18. Kidnapped
19. The Virgin Suicides
20. The Age of Innocence
21. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt 
22. Julius Caesar
23. Crocodile on the Sandbank
24. Infinity
25. The Pact

Reviews:
Let the Right One In
Ruined
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Daughters of Juarez
The Art Thief
Atonement
City of Beasts
The Sheltering Sky
First They Killed My Father
Anthem
The Sweet Far Thing

My favorite book I read this month was The Sweet Far Thing.  My least favorite was The Sheltering Sky.

Giveaways:
Alaine of Queen of Happy Endings is having an August competition
Ginger High is giving away Her Fearful Symmetry
Livin and Lovin is giving away a Masterlock prize pack.
Chubby Cheeks Thinks is giving away an Amazon gift card.
Reviewer X is giving away an Amazon gift card.
Deals for Dummies is giving away an Amazon gift card.
Cem's Book Hideout is giving away a gift card to Book Depository
Mommy Minded is giving away a Target gift card.
Sarah's Deals is giving away an Amazon gift card. Go here to enter.