Bitter Past: An Ellie Matthews Novel by Caroline Fardig (New Release)

While Caroline was snarking about Buddy the Elf last week, she was also plotting bringing out a new mystery series. Cannot wait to dig into this and be absolutely freaked out.

From USA Today bestselling author Caroline Fardig comes a gripping new forensic mystery series.

Three years ago, criminalist Ellie Matthews was blindsided when a grisly homicide case suddenly became personal.  She abandoned the danger and stress of crime scene investigation for a professorship at a posh private college and never looked back.

Now, Ellie’s pleasant world is shattered when she finds the dead body of a female student.  The campus is in chaos, reporters are circling like vultures, and Ellie is trying her best to distance herself from the situation.  Not an easy task when her closest colleague becomes the prime suspect.

After the college community is rocked by another suspicious death, Ellie’s mentor, Sheriff Jayne Walsh, convinces her to consult on the case.  Partnered with quick-witted Detective Nick Baxter, Ellie reluctantly bottles up her personal demons and dives back into the world she left behind, racing to make sense of the evidence before the killer strikes again.

Find it on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble

Mug Shot by Caroline Fardig (Book 2 in the Java Jive series)

Guys, do you even know how ill I was last week? So sick that I haven't even started this yet—but I will today! Juliet Langley is even more hilarious than Lizzie Hart, and the crowd she runs with is even loopier. I look forward to laughing yet again as our heroine stumbles over a few more dead bodies. Let's give it up for Caroline today and get this book now!

Full of humor and suspense, the bestselling Java Jive series heats up as the irrepressible heroine of Death Before Decaf faces off against Nashville’s upper crust to solve a shocking murder.

Book Description:

 
Former musician Juliet Langley has barely had a day off since taking over management of the coffeehouse owned by her best friend, Pete Bennett. But there’s always more to be done—such as prepping for the annual Holiday 5K Race organized by Pete’s snobby socialite girlfriend, Cecilia Hollingsworth. This year, Java Jive has a booth right at the finish line, and since Juliet and Cecilia don’t always see eye to eye, everything has to be perfect. Nothing can go wrong. Nothing . . . like Juliet stumbling over Cecilia’s dead body on the morning of the race.
 
When Pete is arrested for Cecilia’s murder, Juliet sets out to clear his name. She’ll do whatever it takes—even if it means standing up to the police, her ex-boyfriend, and the grande dames of Nashville. But there isn’t enough espresso in the world for the greatest challenge in her path: infiltrating Nashville’s high society to uncover the hidden hotbed of scandal without running afoul of the law herself. With her last dime staked on Pete’s bail bond and her staff growing jittery, the last thing Juliet needs is for her trademark temper to land her behind bars. As time drips away, Juliet needs to crack this case before the killer comes back for another shot.

MUG SHOT is the second book in the JAVA JIVE MYSTERIES series.  DEATH BEFORE DECAF (Book 1) is a USA TODAY BESTSELLER.

Buy MUG SHOT now! 

About the Author:

CAROLINE FARDIG is the USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the Java Jive Mysteries series and the Lizzie Hart Mysteries series. Fardig's BAD MEDICINE was named one of the "Best Books of 2015" by Suspense Magazine. She worked as a schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

Connect with Caroline!

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My Funny Valentine: A Lizzie Hart Novella by Caroline Fardig (Lizzie Hart Mysteries) (New Release)

Lizzie Hart is back! And she and Blake are celebrating her dream engagement as only she can: with murder. God, I've missed her ;-)

All Lizzie wants for Valentine’s Day is for her fiancé

NOT to be the prime suspect in a murder investigation. 

Is that too much to ask?

Lizzie Hart is finally living the dream.  She’s engaged to the love of her life, Blake Morgan, and more importantly, she hasn’t even given a thought to dead bodies or murder investigations for an entire year.  The only hurdle in Lizzie and Blake’s way to wedded bliss is introducing their polar opposite families to each other at their engagement party.

Blake’s parents have thrown a lavish shindig, but the fun is quickly over when Blake’s brother arrives with an unexpected guest, the woman who left Blake at the altar years ago.  If that weren’t enough drama for one evening, Lizzie and Blake find the town mayor dead and the detectives on the case put Blake at the top of their suspect list.

It’s a race against the clock for Lizzie and Blake to find the real killer before the police decide to lock Blake up and throw away the key.

My Funny Valentine: A Lizzie Hart Novella can be purchased here.

Death Before Decaf: A Java Jive Mystery by Caroline Fardig (New Release)

Oh my god- Caroline Fardig's latest is finally out! (Can you tell I've been waiting very impatiently?) Read the description below, then go snap this baby up!)

After her music career crashes and burns spectacularly, Juliet Langley is forced to turn to the only other business she knows: food service. Unfortunately, bad luck strikes yet again when her two-timing fiancé robs her blind and runs off with her best waitress. Flushing what’s left of her beloved café down the toilet with her failed engagement, Juliet packs up and moves back to her college stomping grounds in Nashville to manage an old friend’s coffeehouse. At first glance, it seems as though nothing’s changed at Java Jive. What could possibly go wrong? Only that the place is hemorrhaging money, the staff is in open revolt, and Juliet finds one unlucky employee dead in the dumpster out back before her first day is even over.
 
The corpse just so happens to belong to the cook who’d locked horns with Juliet over the finer points of the health code. Unimpressed with her management style, the other disgruntled employees are only too eager to spill the beans about her fiery temper to the detective on the case. Add to the mix a hunky stranger who’s asking way too many questions, and suddenly Juliet finds herself in some very hot water. If she can’t simmer down and sleuth her way to the real killer, she’s going to get burned.

Buy the book...

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Random House

Connect with Caroline

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An Interview with @CarolineFardig, author of the upcoming Bad Medicine...and the Java Jive series!

Did I mention that one of the best perks of being in the indie community is having a chance to read some gems before anyone else gets their hands on them? Well, it is, and once again I hounded Caroline Fardig to let me read her latest as soon as she'd spell checked it.

I have good news and bad news: Bad Medicine is just as good as It's Just A Little Crush and That Old Black Magic...but this might be the last we see of Miss Lizzie Hart, at least for a little while. *sniff* But- and this is more good news- we're going to be seeing a lot more from Miss Fardig! Read on to find out what, when and the secret to Caroline's success.

In what way is this story a departure from the other two books in the series?

Aside from the fact that my two favorite characters aren’t speaking to each other at the beginning, it’s not much of a departure. In fact, I think BAD MEDICINE ties both books together and kind of brings the trilogy full circle.

What's up with Lizzie actually using good judgment?!

Weird, right? Lizzie has been punched in the gut enough that things are finally starting to sink in for her. She’s working smarter.

What made you decide to pursue a medical angle in this book?

I’ve always been fascinated (and scared to death) by the way drugs can wreak havoc on our systems. I personally freak out if my body isn’t working the way it should, especially if I’m on a new medicine for some reason. It’s horrifying to think that two seemingly harmless drugs could cause a reaction that could kill you.

Is this really the last we're going to see of Lizzie?

Never say never. I have a new series coming out with Random House, the Java Jive Mysteries, and I’m also working on a very less cozy, much more forensics based novel. I don’t have the time to juggle 3 series at once, so I thought it would be easy to wrap up Lizzie’s story after three books. However, that doesn’t mean she and the gang are gone forever. Besides, Juliet, the main character in the Java Jive series is from Liberty, and Lizzie’s brother Ryan is a recurring character in the series as well.

I did like Ryan! When are we going to meet the rest of the Java Jive crew?

Ryan was fun to write, because he and Lizzie have such a strong brother-sister banter.  You'll meet Juliet and the rest of the Java Jive crew in DEATH BEFORE DECAF.  There's a sneak peek at the end of BAD MEDICINE!

Your career has made a big leap since you published It's Just A Little Crush. What's on your plate now?

I think I was overly wordy in my last answer and answered this question as well. Specifically on my plate is the first revision for the second book in the Java Jive series. And when I say “revision” I mean “rewrite of most of the second half”.

Every month (or is it week?), we see new forecasts of doom (which, we know, is right up your alley!) and/or Get Rich Quick schemes in publishing. What do you see?

As for Get Rich Quick schemes, I call those “one author simply got lucky and thinks he gamed the system”. As for the forecasting of doom, well, it depends on who you are and how you look at it. Are traditional publishers in trouble? Yes and no. Yes, their market share is being chipped away by indies. Yes, people are going to ebooks instead of buying print copies, which forces publishers to use a different marketing strategy. No, they’re not going anywhere anytime soon, because people still generally trust the quality of the works of “traditionally published”

authors over indies. Plus, the Big 5 still have an army of publicists and marketing experts who know how to get books in front of readers.

What do you think has been the secret to your success?

My team of friends and family who have all pitched in to help me! I have 9 editor/beta readers (yourself included!), all of whom have their own unique perspective and skill set. They truly make my books what they are, and I couldn’t do it without them. Other than that, I work A LOT. So much so that I’m always being told by my husband to “take a break”. I’m constantly thinking about writing the next scene, coming up with the next book idea, and trying to get my name out there.

So then would your advice to other authors be to work smarter or to work harder? ;-)

YES.  But seriously, for example, when a certain promo works well for you, use it again.  Or when some kind of advertising doesn't net you any sales, learn from your mistake.  Work anytime you can, because no one is going to do it for you.  You control your destiny, and (barring plain old bad luck) if you put in the time and effort, you'll see a return. 

Indeed! Thanks so much to Caroline for sitting down with me. Bring on the Java Jive!

~~~

What do a smokin’ hot detective, an evil chiropractor, and a couple of blind dates from hell have in common?

Lizzie has to wrangle them all in the third book of THE LIZZIE HART MYSTERIES series!

~~~

Lizzie Hart is overjoyed that six whole months have passed without a single murder in the sleepy town of Liberty. It’s also been six months since Blake Morgan heartlessly dumped her, but she’s determined to get over him. She’s slimmed down, ready to party, and injury-free, except for a little nagging pain in her ankle. She’s also very single, but her friends are doing everything in their power to fix that—including setting her up on one disastrous blind date after another.

Lizzie’s reprieve is short-lived when an old friend of hers is found dead from an apparent drug overdose. She wants to write it off as bad behavior after having seen the guy cheating on his wife with the new chiropractor in town. However, when she sees that same chiropractor playing doctor with another man who ends up dead, she worries there could be murder afoot.

Doing her best to stay on the right side of the law this time, Lizzie decides to go straight to the police with her suspicions. Unfortunately, the only cop available to speak with her is the stern yet hot new detective who has already given her a traffic ticket and a reprimand for public intoxication. Not surprisingly, he brushes her off, leaving her no choice but to begin snooping on her own. Lizzie soon learns she’s going to need help to get to the bottom of this mystery, but her best partner in crime solving, Blake, has turned into her worst enemy.

Can Lizzie and Blake find a way to work together to catch the killer…or will they kill each other first?

Buy It Now!

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CAROLINE FARDIG is the author of the LIZZIE HART MYSTERIES series and the forthcoming DEATH BEFORE DECAF, available November 2015 through Random House. Her eclectic working career included occupations of schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

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That Old Black Magic (The Lizzie Hart Mysteries) by Caroline Fardig (Interview, Giveaway)

That Old Black Magic…will it put Lizzie under its spell?

Lizzie Hart hoped her first day back at work after nearly being killed would be uneventful.  No such luck.  Before she can finish her morning coffee, Lizzie and her co-workers find a dead body on the rooftop of their office.  Media vultures that they are, the Liberty Chronicle employees are psyched to have first-hand news to report.  Lizzie, however, is devastated when she realizes that the victim is her ex-boyfriend’s brother.

When evidence begins piling up against one of Lizzie’s friends, she reluctantly dons her detective hat once again, determined to find the real killer.  She’s not thrilled about chasing another psychopath around, but she’ll do anything for a friend.  Lizzie’s love life is rapidly becoming a hot mess, too.  Her latest attempt at sleuthing isn’t leaving much time for her budding romance with town hunk Blake Morgan.  Add that to the fact she’s hiding a secret so big it could rock the very core of their relationship, it’s no wonder that Lizzie’s in a tizzy. 

Poor Lizzie ends up juggling a murder investigation, a wacky Wiccan coven, and two men vying for her attention—all while nursing injuries left over from the last time she decided to play Nancy Drew.  It’s a good thing she always has a few tricks up her sleeve.

Caroline Fardig is one of my favorite authors, and believe me when I tell you that I hounded her for months to be able to read her latest release. (Spoiler alert: it's just as funny and clever as her first.) I loved it so much I subjected myself to her trademark snark to discuss it. Read the interview, read my review, and then read the book!

Is it fair to say that the intrepid Miss Hart is a little bit neurotic, maybe even controlling?

What? Neurotic? Controlling? Just because she has frequent outbursts, is always right, and feels the need to save people from themselves? I can’t believe you’d say such a thing.

I'm not going to give too much away, but Blake, the hottie Lizzie drooled over in It's Just A Little Crush, is wrapped around her finger in That Old Black Magic. Lizzie puts him through his paces in both books. Is Blake the kind of guy who likes them hard to get?

Before Lizzie, Blake didn’t have to try at all to get women to fall for him. Lizzie is a challenge, and he needs a bit of challenge in his life, since his job is total cake. Frankly, I think Blake was getting bored with the easy catch. Also, don’t forget they started out as friends, so Lizzie has one thing none of those other women had—Blake’s respect.

You went pretty hard on the occult angle! What made that something you wanted to explore, other than maybe your creepy obsession with Halloween?

Yes, I have a creepy obsession with Halloween. Guilty as charged. Honestly, I got the idea for this book when all of the vampire/fantasy novels were so ridiculously popular. I was so sick of sparkly, sexy bloodsuckers that I went the totally opposite route—how is the occult viewed in real life, small town America? It’s not accepted. The people involved are not considered sex symbols—they’re often shunned. I began playing up the funny angle of that, but as I got into researching and writing, my opinion changed. It’s not cool to make fun of someone because his or her beliefs aren’t accepted by society. I hope people will notice some real emotional transformations in certain characters as they learn that as well. Whew. That was rather deep for me, wasn’t it?

Yes, that was kind of deep and really wonderful, and at the risk of giving a spoiler, Lizzie has a great attitude about that too. When you first started writing and saw what was popular (vampires/zombies/bondage/YA/dystopian), did you ever think that you should try and tailor what you were writing to what was "hot"?

Not really. I try for my books to be as true-to-life as possible (at least in the sense that a series about a small-town copy editor getting tangled up in murder after murder isn’t too unbelievable), so none of those elements would have fit the genre. Sure, I’d love to write a smash hit, but I don’t know how to compete with sparkly vampires and billionaires with hairbrushes. 

Have you ever dabbled in the occult? (Anything from a Ouija board to joining a coven!)

I’m going to have to stop at Ouija Board. I had one as a kid, but it was just another game to me. I’m tolerant of other people’s beliefs, but I don’t personally believe in magic and ghosts and things of that sort. Different strokes.

We know Lizzie's hilarious, but I rolled over laughing when I got to the part about, ahem, crazy girls. Any real-life stories you'd like to share about that?

When I originally read this question, I was going to say “no”, because I’m pretty chill, as women go. I’m not one of those drama queens, and I generally don’t make it a habit of hanging out with them (except for my darling daughter). However, once I really started to think about it, my husband certainly dated a couple of crazy girls before he met me, and my poor little son is getting a taste of it with “dating” in middle school. My husband prefers the term “psycho hose beast”. I know several women that would fit the category, and their significant others can’t seem to get enough of them. So yeah, it’s a thing.

Let's say, roughly, Crush was about infidelity and Magic is about the occult; what is Book Three going to be about and when is it going to drop?

Wow. I have enough trouble paring down my books into a book jacket description, let alone ONE WORD! I’m going to go with phrases. Let’s say Bad Medicine a combo of “back in the saddle” and “fatal attraction”. And it’s going to drop this summer!

FATAL ATTRACTION?! More fatal than the villain in It's Just A Little Crush? Or is someone we already can't stand going to show her true psycho colors? 

Well, not that anything can be “more fatal”—it’s either fatal or it isn’t. ;) [As I was saying about the snark!] Rest assured, there’s plenty of killing and crazy going on in Bad Medicine. And I know you want more Bethany, so I’m giving it to you. You’ll see a new side of her in Bad Medicine.

Psycho coworkers going even more psycho and yet more murder? I'm sure it'll be hilarious and I can't wait!

IT’S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH:  Kindle     Nook

THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC:  Kindle     Nook

  

In honor of the release of THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC, IT’S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH will be on sale for $0.99 the first week of February!

About the Author:

CAROLINE FARDIG was born and raised in a small town in Indiana. Her working career has been rather eclectic thus far, with occupations including schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom. Finally realizing that she wants to be a writer when she grows up, Caroline is currently hard at work churning out more novels in the LIZZIE HART MYSTERIES series. She still lives in that same small town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

Social Media:

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TV Do-Over Blog Hop, the Hawaii Five-0 edition

When Caroline Fardig announced that she was hosting this blog hop, I raised my hand faster than Welcome Back, Kotter's Horshack. And because it's Caroline, we both *knew* I'd have to write about Hawaii Five-0...

Yes, I watch Hawaii Five-0. No, I’m not ashamed (too much). 

Understand, I come by Hawaii Five-O honestly. My father was a fan of the original in the Seventies, and I watched along. Steve McGarrett was VERY serious, and Danny Williams aka Dann-O was his trusted right-hand man- and that was all I really knew, except that it was set in Hawaii. 

I was very excited when it was announced a few years ago that CBS was bringing back the show, and when I found out that Grace Park, an actress from Battlestar Galactica, was going to be playing a role previously played by a man, I was ecstatic. 

Let’s just say the execution has been a letdown. There’s a lot I would do differently. 

• Layoff the Bromance. Alex O'Loughlin is in great shape and he can keep a straight face; Scott Caan has great comedic timing. Neither of them have a lot of dramatic range. The answer the producers came up with is to make them *the* bromance of prime time television. I admit, for a few minutes, it can be cute, but after that...please, no. When I see them squabbling about, well, nothing for more than ten minutes, I know that the writers needed a lot of filler for that episode. Suggestion: make the crimes- and the criminals- more interesting and spare us five minutes of their banter.

McGarrett and Dann-O smirking- of course

 

...these two are less amused, possibly because they have more to do

• Develop the female characters. Oh my god! I sent a message to Caroline the day after one of the episodes featuring Jorge Garcia. He plays a brilliant but very paranoid high school acquaintance of Chin Ho’s, Jerry Ortega. He’s a great actor, but he’s a minor character. However, within ten minutes of his appearance I thought he was infinitely more interesting than Catherine Rollins, played by Michelle Borth. We know that Rollins is hyper-competent, sexy and loyal to Steve, but...that’s really it. There was virtually no character development for her, and neither was there for Lori Weston as played by Lauren Graham (although she did get to drop the occasional one-liners). The women who were interesting- Jenna Kaye (Larisa Oleynik) and Malia Waincroft (Reiko Aylesworth)- were killed off. Of course. Suggestion: next time you hire an actress, make her character interesting.

What's the point of making a core character if a woman if you're not going to develop that character? Other than putting her in a bikini?

• A little gravitas. One of the early episodes lingered on Steve and Catherine waking up in bed together. It wasn't graphic at all- hello, this is CBS- but it was silly. I remarked to my husband that we never saw Jack Lord, the original McGarrett, in bed with anyone. My husband replied that he would have closed the door. Indeed. It's not about intimacy on television- done well, it's great!- but sometimes I want McGarrett to be a little more in charge and even a little more aloof. Suggestion: watch the old show and see what they did for Lord.
• More Wo Fat! Wo Fat from the original series was dangerous and ruthless, but he didn't get his own hands dirty. The modern Wo-Fat doesn't mind killing people with his own hands. He's just as brilliant, and he has a long reach. There's also a connection between his family and McGarrett's- he ordered the hit on McGarrett's father and McGarrett's mother killed one of his parents- but he clearly wants something *more* from McGarrett. Suggestion: as the show enters its fifth season, it should think about its end game. Figure out what it is Wo-Fat wants, and make sure we see a lot of him.

Both versions of Wo Fat are pretty badass, but the one from the Seventies might schmooze you a little before he killed you.

• More Chin Ho! I wasn't a Lost fan (I'm sorry, I just couldn't make the commitment), but it didn't take long for me to know that Daniel Dae Kim is the best actor on the show, hands down. The episodes that heavily feature him are among the best in the series, and his presence in a scene usually elevates everyone in it...when it doesn't highlight how much work they need to do. Suggestion: give Chin Ho more to do.

Eerie coincidence: Daniel Dae Kim and Kam Fong Chun both played the role of Chin Ho Kelly- and they were both good actors. Weird!

• Enough with the bikini shots. Yes, Hawaii has beautiful scenery and beautiful beaches, but please, stop putting everyone in bikinis. Everyone's too thin and it's just weird. Suggestion: focus more on Honolulu's downtown.
• Stop making it the 21st century equivalent of The Love Boat. It's not that older actors aren't good actors; it's that you might as well put a sign on them that says "Special Guest Star to appeal to CBS' dominant demographic" every time they walk into a scene. Most of the people they've cast *are* good actors, so why have most of their story lines felt so silly? Darryl Hannah as a flaky real estate agent, Dennis Miller as a shock jock, Melanie Griffith as Danno's mother (REALLY?!) and, most painfully, Eli Wallach as a World War 2 veteran were wasted opportunities. Those actors should have been given more to do. Their best use to date so far has been Ed Asner as a ruthless jewel thief who originally appeared in the 70s show (the flashbacks were awesome). Now if only they hadn't felt the need to make him funny too... Suggestion: when you've got a diamond, let it shine.

 Thanks for reading! What would you do differently, or H5-0 or any other show? Let me know in the comments below, and then do me a favor and hop over to Laura Chapman's blog tomorrow to find out which show she's dying to change.

Murder and Emotional Anguish- What's Not To Love? (Soap Opera Blog Hop)

Readers of this blog know that I love Caroline Fardig, author of the hilarious chick lit mystery It's Just A Little Crush. Given what happens to her characters, perhaps it's not a surprise that the lessons she took from the soaps were the importance of a good murder and, even when you keep your characters alive, putting them through some serious emotional anguish.

You know what I love most about this post? She calls out Game of Thrones for being a soap. Take that, tv snobs!

Sheridan Crane of Passions- just one of the many times she was kidnapped