Guest Post
by Sherry Harris
World building is something authors talk about when starting a series. There are so many decisions to be made – where is the book going to be set, what’s interesting about the setting, big city versus small town? When my editor at Kensington and I were talking about a starting a new series we ended up agreeing it would be set in the panhandle of Florida. I have been visiting there since the late eighties, lived there for three years when my husband was in the Air Force, and continue to visit when I can.
Destin, Florida has become a tourist mecca. The emerald-colored water of the Gulf of Mexico laps gently on the white sandy beaches. The sand is so soft it feels more like talcum powder than sand. It squeaks a bit when you walk on it because it’s worn down quartz that washed down from the Appalachian mountains over thousands of years.
Destin seemed a little too big, with all of its high-rises for the town I wanted my protagonist, Chloe Jackson living in. Two of my favorite small towns near Destin are Seaside, Florida founded in 1981 and the much older resort village of Grayton Beach founded in 1890.
Seaside, Florida is credited as being the first New Urban town in America. The founders wanted to create an old-fashioned beach town, with traditional wood-framed cottages that were common in the Florida Panhandle. A town where people walked instead of using cars to get around and a haven for teachers, artists, and tradesman. While the town is walkable the housing is way out of range for most of the people it was originally intended for. Nonetheless, it is an amazing place to visit. The movie The Truman Story was filmed there.
Grayton Beach still has streets made of oyster shells, like Seaside it’s avoided having high-rise buildings that are so common in other parts of the panhandle. One of the reasons Grayton Beach has stayed small is because it’s surrounded by state-owned park land including Grayton Beach State Recreation Area which is consistently named one of the top ten beaches in the U.S.
I also envisioned the town in the TV show Hart of Dixie which has a village green with a gazebo where its citizens can stop to chat or they can hold festivals and concerts. With all of this in mind, I created the town of Emerald Cove. I hope you can join Chloe, a children’s librarian from Chicago transplanted to Emerald Cove because of a promise she made to a friend, in her first adventure in From Beer to Eternity.
From Beer to Eternity (A Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery)
by Sherry Harris
About from Beer to Eternity
From Beer to Eternity (A Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
New Series
Publisher: Kensington (July 28, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 1496723031
ISBN-13: 978-1496723031
Digital ASIN: B07ZPKTWCZ
A whip smart librarian’s fresh start comes with a tart twist in this perfect cocktail of murder and mystery—with a romance chaser.
MURDER ON TAP
With Chicago winters in the rearview mirror, Chloe Jackson is making good on a promise: help her late friend’s grandmother run the Sea Glass Saloon in the Florida Panhandle. To Chloe’s surprise, feisty Vivi Slidell isn’t the frail retiree Chloe expects. Nor is Emerald Cove. It’s less a sleepy fishing village than a panhandle hotspot overrun with land developers and tourists. But it’s a Sea Glass regular who’s mysteriously crossed the cranky Vivi. When their bitter argument comes to a head and he’s found dead behind the bar, guess who’s the number one suspect?
In trying to clear Vivi’s name, Chloe discovers the old woman isn’t the only one in Emerald Cove with secrets. Under the laidback attitude, sparkling white beaches, and small town ways something terrible is brewing. And the sure way a killer can keep those secrets bottled up is to finish off one murder with a double shot: aimed at Chloe and Vivi.
About Sherry Harris
Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award-nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series and the upcoming Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mysteries. She is a past president of Sisters in Crime, and a member of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.
In her spare time, Sherry loves reading and is a patent-holding inventor. Sherry, her husband, and guard dog Lily are living in northern Virginia until they figure out where they want to move to next.
Author Links
Kensington:https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/39655
Website:https://sherryharrisauthor.com/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/sherry.n.harris.1
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Books – IndieBound
Review of From Beer To Eternity
Review (4.5 Stars): From Beer To Eternity was a fun, exciting mystery with a delightful cast of characters. Chloe was a great heroine and you will instantly adore her. I loved the humor and the warm locale, which made me want to grab a drink and sit in the sand. This is a great start to an entertaining new series and I will definitely be back for another round.
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
July 27 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
July 27 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
July 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into Good Book – REVIEW
July 28 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT
July 28 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
July 29 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
July 29 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
July 30 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
July 30 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW, GUEST POST
July 31 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
July 31 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
August 1 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW
August 1 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
August 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 2 – eBook addicts – REVIEW
August 3 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 3 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
August 4 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
August 4 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
August 4 – Dee-Scoveries – SPOTLIGHT
August 5 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
August 5 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 5 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
