Saturday, April 13, 2024

Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Paint Can Kill (Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery, #9) by Joanna Campbell Slan

 

Paint Can Kill
Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
by
Joanna Campbell Slan


Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting - Hobe Sound, FL
Publisher: Spot On Publishing
Publisher: December 15, 2023
Paperback page count: 252 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8870813547 / Digital ASIN: B0CLYY79CV

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

 

It's raining outside, and it's raining inside. Hey, that's Florida. But as sassy entrepreneur Cara Mia Delgatto watches a van full of Highwayman paintings walk out the front door of The Treasure Chest--because the collection's owner is taking them back--she's crying on the inside all the way to the bank. There will be no quick fix for this. Instead, Cara focuses on an outstanding bill. When she visits the wealthy woman who has stiffed her, Cara stumbles over another stiff, a dead body. With multiple crises in her business life, Cara grieves the loss of her live-in love and her rescue Chihuahua. The man and the dog have left a huge hole in her heart. Will Cara survive all these losses?
  • Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series is a clean read
  • Features a female amateur sleuth and her friends
  • Includes Florida lore and history
  • Shares ideas for upcycling, recycling, and repurposing
  • Celebrates friends, family, and fur babies

CLICK TO PURCHASE!

CHARACTER GUEST POST:

Now, for something really special, I am delighted to welcome MJ Austin Slatkin to the blog today for a guest post!

My Checkered History with Highwayman Art
by
MJ Austin Slatkin of the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
 
Ten years ago, I was accused of stealing an entire collection of Highwayman paintings owned by Essie Goldfarb. Even though I wasn’t in Florida at the time! I mean, come on? Seriously? I was at my mother’s bedside because she was dying. How could I have masterminded the theft of more than 40 paintings? Where would I have put them? And if I had stolen them, why didn’t I sell any of them?
 
My name is MJ Austin Slatkin. Once again, I find myself accused of theft. This time, Essie’s son, Irving, believes I’m using his real paintings to sell bogus copies and cheat him out of a little money. That man is a total idiot. Why would I do something so dumb? Why flood the market with cheap knock-offs when it’s taken years to build a reputation for excellence?
 
See, the Highwaymen started when a group of 26 African-Americans realized they could make more money by painting landscapes than by working in the fields. A trained painter named Beanie Baccus actually taught them techniques and encouraged them in their work. At first, they sold pictures with wet paint as fast as they could create them. The timing was right. Servicemen returning from the Korean War made use of the GI Bill to buy starter homes, and if you’ve got a house, you’ve got walls to decorate. With their unique love of a vanishing Florida, the Highwaymen fulfilled a need at reasonable prices. A few pieces went for as little as $25. Today they start in the thousand-dollar range. I appreciate what it means to be self-taught. I’ve worked really hard to learn everything there is to know about vintage Florida furnishings. Why would I undercut the efforts of someone in a similar situation?
 
Fortunately, my boss, Cara Mia Delgatto, has my back. Cara can be difficult at times. She has a temper. She gets involved when she sees injustice. But she’s the best boss I’ve ever had. All right, I’ll be candid: She’s also a terrific friend. I know Cara will get to the bottom of this mess. When she does, I’ll be back in business, selling Highwayman art.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let’s not even go there.

Otherwise, Joanna’s a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).

Currently, she writes six fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books), the Tai Chi Mystery Series (featuring a mature female amateur sleuth!) and the Friday Night Mystery Series (set in Decatur, IL in 1986 with a spunky female heroine.)

A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.

In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida. You can email her at jcslan@joannaslan.com or visit her website at https://linktr.ee/jcslan.




TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

April 8 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
April 8 – Teatime and Books – SPOTLIGHT
April 8 – Maureen's Musing – SPOTLIGHT
April 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
April 9 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading – REVIEW
April 10 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 10 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
April 11 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 11 – Sneaky the Library Cat's blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
April 11 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST
April 12 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
April 12 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 13 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 14 – Maureen's Musing – SPOTLIGHT
April 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

TURN THIS WHO-DUN-IT
INTO
YOU-WON-IT!


 

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