GUEST BLOG: Where to Live? By Lena Gregory Plus Giveaway!

Whole Latte Murder BannerI’ve lived most of my life in a small town on the south shore of Eastern Long Island, along with four generations of my family. My grandfather owned a deli in town, where I started working stocking shelves and sweeping floors when I was twelve years old. When I was a little older, I started working the breakfast shift, the inspiration for the All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series.

I’ve always loved the small-town feel, the way everyone knows everyone, especially the families who have lived here for generation after generation as mine has. When I married a man from the neighboring town, it seemed natural to settle down where we’d grown up and start our family.

Then my husband got a job offer in Florida, and he accepted. We moved down right after my daughter finished kindergarten. I had only ever been to Florida once, when my daughter was three and we spent three days in Disney World, so I had no clue what to expect.

Just like Gia Morelli in Scone Cold Killer, I was in for a few surprises.

I was used to deer crossing signs, since Long Island is home to a large deer population, but the first time I drove my daughter to school and saw a bear crossing sign, I actually turned around and went back to see it again. I thought I was mistaken, but nope, it was a bear crossing sign. Until that moment, I had no clue there were bears in Florida.

Then there were the love bugs, and they were everywhere. And lizards, which I’d never even seen in real life before I moved, and snakes, sometimes poisonous ones.

Aside from the critters, the weather brought a few surprises as well. On the rare occasions Long Island gets tornadoes, they are small F-1s that do very little damage. One night, about six months after we moved to Florida, I had just gotten into bed and turned on the TV, and the weather report came on. A line of damaging storms were coming through. The reporter said if you live on my road, “take cover now,” and I freaked out, to put it mildly, woke my daughter and stuffed her and my dog into the tub, even tried to wrestle a mattress into the tiny bathroom. (That was so not happening.)

Like Gia, whenever I got homesick, I spent a lot of time checking off the positives and negatives of living in Florida and New York.

Because there were also amazing things about living in Florida. The natural springs, with their crystal-clear water, gorgeous blue skies—even in the winter when the skies in New York are permanently gray. And who could complain when everyone in New York was shoveling out from under a foot of snow, and I was lying by the pool?

In the end, my decision was made for me when my husband and I both got job opportunities in New York. We ended up moving back to New York and visiting Florida every year, because we missed it so much. And now, here we are again, finally living back in Central Florida and loving every minute of it.

About The Book

All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery: Book 5
Publication Date: April 27, 2021

Whole Latte MurderEx-New Yorker and local diner owner Gia Morelli is still getting used to the sweltering Florida sun. But this summer she’ll have to deal with a more dangerous kind of heat—when she’s hot on the trail of another murderer . . .

Summer in Boggy Creek has arrived, and Gia’s best friend, successful real estate agent Savannah, is getting hitched. Now she’s enlisted Gia’s sleuthing talents in a desperate search for the perfect wedding dress. But when Savannah mysteriously vanishes after showing a mansion to a bigwig client, Gia investigates the house Savannah was trying to sell. The first clue she finds is Savannah’s car in the driveway. Inside the house, they stumble on Savannah’s potential buyer—dead. Someone had apparently closed the deal—with a two by four full of nails to the client’s head. Soon afterward, a woman’s body is fished from the lake near the same house. The townsfolk are now sweating bullets over the murders, and the heat comes down on poor Gia to find her missing friend, and track down the killer . . .

Buy Links

Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks KoboGoogle Play
Add to Goodreads

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About The Author

Lena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, which take place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, and the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, which are set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest.

Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

WebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitterPinterestGoodreadsAmazon-SocialBookbub

Blog Tour Schedule

April 26 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

April 26 – Literary Gold – REVIEW

April 26 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW

April 27 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

April 27 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 28 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 28 – Tea Book Blanket – SPOTLIGHT

April 28 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

April 29 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

April 29 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

April 30 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

April 30 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 30 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

May 1 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

May 1 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

May 1 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – SPOTLIGHT

May 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 2 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 2 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 2 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT

May 3 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

May 3 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 4 – Baroness’ Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

May 4 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

May 4 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

May 5 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

May 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

May 6 – Ascroft. eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 6 – My Journey Back the Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 7 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

May 7 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW 

May 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

May 8 – Ms. Cat’s Honest World – REVIEW

May 8 – Brianne’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

May 8 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

May 9 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

May 9 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW

May 9 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT

Dayna Linton
Dayna Lintonhttp://dayagency.com
Dayna is the owner of not only Novels Alive but of Day Agency, a full-service self-publishing agency for independent authors. She has been assisting independent authors to achieve their dreams of becoming published authors for over 15 years. From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors to the first-time author to every author in between. Dayna is a self-professed bibliophile. While dancing has always been her first love, reading came as a very, very close second, with gardening coming in as a close third. Dayna is also the divorced mom of four adult children and a very proud grandma. She is also a web designer, social media specialist, book blogger, and reviewer. She's a long-time Disney lover and a Utah Jazz, Utah Utes, and Dallas Cowboys fan. See Dayna's reviews here: Dayna's Reviews

4 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -