My name is Casey Feldstein and I wear a number of hats. My regular job – as if anything in my life is regular- is baking desserts for the Blue Door restaurant and muffins for the coffee spots around Cadbury by the Sea, California.
And then there is the yarn retreat. I didn’t even know what a yarn retreat was until I found out I inherited the Yarn2Go business from my aunt. Basically you take a group of people and bring them to a rustic hotel and conference center that happens to be across the street from where I live and offer them some workshops on knitting. You offer them lots of free time to work on their own projects and time to enjoy the rugged surroundings, too. The fact that I don’t know a knitting needle from a crochet hook might make it seem a little odd for me to be putting on a yarn retreat. But then I’m known for trying new things. My problem is more with sticking with them.
The baking job makes sense since I have been baking since I was a kid. I think it was a reaction to my mother. She’s a cardiologist and might spend her days fixing broken hearts, but in her mind cookies only come in white boxes from the bakery.
My father is a doctor, too. He’s a pediatrician. I’m an only child and I’m afraid in my case the apple fell very far from the tree and then rolled into a ditch. Baking and yarn retreats are only the latest in a rather spotty career history. My mother likes to remind me that when she was my age (35) she was a doctor, a mother and a wife. And I’m what?
Who knows maybe I’ve finally found my place in the world. I know I love going to the Blue Door at night after they’ve closed. I put on some soft jazz and lay out the ingredients for whatever delicious dessert I’m baking that night. They let me bake the muffins there as well, though I bring in my own ingredients. When I’m done, long after the streets of Cadbury are rolled up and put away for the night, I drop off muffins at the coffee spots in town and go home.
Among my many past profession (i.e., jobs), I did temp work at a detective agency in Chicago. It was mostly phone interviews which is a nice way of saying I got people on the phone and pumped them for information about their cousin Sal who’d skipped town owing a lot of people money.
Who knew my investigative skills would come in handy or that my old boss Frank would begrudgingly turn out to be a big help? But then who would have figure that on my very first retreat, someone would turn up dead?
I’m not even going to bring up the hot cop, Dane Mangano, who lives down the street or my ex boyfriend, Dr. Sammy Glickner, who came across the country to make a house call.
Thanks to Berkley, I have one (1) copy of YARN TO GO to give away. Leave a comment to be included in the giveaway. The book will be shipped directly from the publisher. Contest ends July 4; US entries only per publisher’s request.
You can read more about Casey in Yarn To Go, the first book in the new “Yarn Retreat” mystery series.
Meet the author
Betty Hechtman grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Like her character, Casey Feldstein, she has sampled a number of professions and has done everything farm work on a kibbutz to working as an associate publicist. Aside from writing the “Yarn Retreat Mystery” series and the national bestselling “Crochet Mystery” series, she works in her family’s direct marketing business.
After getting a B.A. in Fine Arts, she studied photography, magic, improv comedy and film.
She has written newspaper and magazine pieces, along with short stories and several scripts. She splits her time between Southern California and Chicago and has yarn stashes in both places.
Visit Betty at her website, her blog at Killer Hobbies or on Facebook.
Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
Love Betty’s crochet books, and can’t wait to read this one!!
A new to me author, I would love to win!
This is a new to me author, would love to win!
love getting in on a new cozy series!!
thank you for the giveaway!!!
Thank you for the chance to win this book. I love my cozies
As I enjoy the crochet books I know I will love this. Thanks for the opportunity.
Fun to meet Casey! And I think the new, Yarn Retreat series will be a winner. Thanks for the chance to win!
Jazz AND baking….how deliciously dangerous. Looking forward to this one!
Sounds like a fun read – thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
Wonderful sounding book, would love to win
Looking forward to reading the book!
Love to get in on the ground floor of a series. And I might learn something about knitting, which I’m interested in. Sign me up! dz87507 at gmail.com
Love her books and this one sounds like another fun read…..
Looks great!
Love to knit and love to read, so this book sounds perfect for me!
This looks like a great book! Looking forward to reading it.
Well, I do know the difference between a crochet hook and knitting needle, but that’s about as far as it goes. [My grandmother did teach me to do a crochet stitch, but what can one do with a crocheted string 5 ft long, and not evenly stitched at that!] But, I’m not sure I could run a retreat — and I know I couldn’t do the baking.
This sounds like a wonderful read. Would love to begin the series.
I’m a big jazz fan, in fact I played dixieland at a club in Greenwich Village back in the early 70’s. Two nights a week I’d sit in for the other drummer. As to the knitting part, I left that to mommy dearest. I had no interest in that.
I’d love to win this first book in a new series for my home library.
NoraAdrienne(at)gmail(dot)com
What a great post, sounds like a fun read.
Sounds great. Thank you.
Looks like a great new cozy mystery!
Love to crochet and read so naturally love these books hope to win
half_blue_sky@yahoo.com
I’d love to read this! Great article!
Sounds like she’s found her “profession” to me!
Sounds like a great read
I love all your comments!
Always looking for a new cozy series to try and this one looks great!!! I definitely want to check out the other books in this series.
I love to knit and of course eat! So wonderful to hear about the start of a new series. I have read about yarn retreats before and sure wish I could go on one with my best friend who is a great crocheter! Thank you for the chance to win!
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
Eager to read this series. I was born in Chicago and now reside in the greater LA area. Barely knit, don’t crochet. Gave up baking. Just have to read about it all.
Oh, how I’d love to win a free copy! I’m in a forced early retirement and having to really watch my book-spending!
Betty’s books are great! I like them very much and so does my mother in law.
I think the “Yarn Retreat Mystery” series is something I should be reading.
I love knitting cozies! They are my favorite kind of murder.
Sounds good. I hadn’t heard of the sleuth before so I double-checked and found it was a new series. I know her other series has the Tarzana Hookers in it, a crocheting series. I’d love to try this new one.
catbooks72(at)gmail(dot)com
I love crocheting, reading and mysteries, so Betty’s books fulfill all of these loves. I pray I win! Thanks for the opportunity to enter to win!
What fun. I love Betty’s crochet series and look forward to reading a knitting one. Especially since I knit (kind of) and don’t crochet!
cozyupwithkathy @ gmail . com
I enjoyed the conversation with Casey. It will be great fun to get to know her and see what trouble she gets into.
I love this title! Thank you for hosting this giveaway.
wfnren(at)aol(dot)com
Sounds like my favorite type of read lomazowr@gmail.com
Sounds like great cozy mystery.
Your debut “Yarn” book sounds so good, Betty. For those of us who do crafts and sewing, these series have a very special appeal but for those who do not yet do these things, it is an invitation just seeing the lovely and enticing front covers and the great reviews. I would absolutely love to win a copy of Yarn to Go. Thank you so much for the opportunity. May you have continued success Betty.
Eager to start anotherof Betty’s series!
I would love to receive your free book. I love your books and there is nothing better than free!
Sounds interesting. A new series to start reading. Thank you for a chance to win a copy.
I love what this book includes: yarn, bakery, medical issues,woman business person, cozy mystery. What else do you need !!! Can’t wait to read this one. Thanks for the opportunity to possibly win this book. If I do it will be my first. Fingers Crossed
Sounds right up my alley for a first read…love all the blog give-away’s and love this blog. Thanks
I love her writing and look forward to reading this new series. Thank you for the opportunity to win. I hope I win!
I love the crochet series. I check them out at the library(tight budget). It would be great to start my collection of Betty H. books with the new series! Casey sounds like a fun character.
It sounds like a great book! I have read all if her crocheting mysteries and enjoyed them even though I am a knitter..
Can’t wait to read this one!!! I love all Betty’s other books, and so excited about the new one!!
New author to me. Will have to check her at the library. Hopefully, they have her books.
Love the crochet series. I have them all on my Nook and this books sounds fabulous!!!!!
Another good cozy series for me to look for at the bookstore and library. Thanks for the review—and the contest.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Great cozy book, to curl up & read on the rainy days(thunderstorms)we are having.
Sounds like my kind of book, can’t wait to check it out. Thanks for the review and the giveaway.
contest is closed.