They say “do what you love and the money will follow.” What I wanted to know was, how exactly does this cash “follow”? Is it dropped by a stork in a bag with dollar signs on it? Would I find a check stuffed in a super-sized fortune cookie? Or maybe the odd change that settled in the couch cushions would turn out to be hundred-dollar bills? I was waiting.
As I stitched my latest kite design in the kitchen-slash-studio in the Victorian house that housed Strings Attached, my kite shop, I reflected that I’d nailed step one. I was definitely doing what I loved. For an artist like me, kites had the advantage over paintings in that they shimmered in the wind and caught the sun. Rock Point’s rugged coastline, fir-trimmed hills, and sunbeaten fishermen’s cottages teemed with inspiration. Plus, my best friend Avery lived here, making the best lattes and tuna melts on the West Coast at her café and sharing her family’s old cabin with me.
And business was good—for the moment. Now, it’s August, and the beach swarmed with families chasing waves, digging for clams, and, yes, flying kites. The winter months would be a different story. Few people want to battle Oregon’s cold and drizzle with a kite when they could be enjoying an ocean view from a cozy armchair by the fire.
Which is why I had to win Best of Show at Rock Point’s annual kite festival. The resulting publicity would draw hordes of customers to my online shop. The trouble was that kite designers from up and down the coast competed in the kite festival—and one of them would almost certainly be Jack Sullivan, the way-too-attractive owner of Rock Point’s other kite shop.
I pieced a triangle of emerald mylar on my kite and hand-basted it to the sheer base fabric. This kite would win the contest. It had to. It was one of my most beautiful designs yet, a panorama of Rock Point appliqued to glow like a stained-glass window at twilight.
I looked up at the sound of knocking at the shop’s front door. Strings Attached wasn’t due to open for a while—the shop’s hours were clearly marked. I set my kite aside. Maybe this was the money the old saying had promised. Ha ha. With the way my life had been lately, just about anyone could be on the other side of the door. I rose to answer it.
You can read more about Emma in Live and Let Fly, the second book in the “Kite Shop” mystery series.
Kite shop owner Emmy Adler becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation that could send her dreams crashing to the ground. . .
With summer drawing to a close in Rock Point, Oregon, Emmy Adler hopes to beat the seasonal drop in business by winning the annual kite festival. What better way to garner publicity for the handmade kites sold in her shop, Strings Attached? In the days leading up to the festival, Emmy’s ambitions are soaring. Even an argument with reality TV star and contest judge Jasmine Normand can’t bring her down. But when Jasmine is found dead the morning after their altercation, Emmy’s no longer flying high.
When the police open an investigation into Jasmine’s death and deem it a murder, Emmy falls under suspicion. With a national tabloid reporter convinced that she is guilty and business at her shop at a standstill, Emmy has to trade kite making for crime solving—or find all of her ambitions blown off course.
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Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Live and Let Fly. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends December 13, 2017. Good luck everyone!
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About the author
Clover Tate is the pen name of Angela M. Sanders, author of the Joanna Hayworth vintage clothing mysteries and the Booster Club capers. Live and Let Fly is the second novel in the Kite Shop mysteries set in the coastal town of Rock Point, Oregon. When Angela isn’t at her laptop, she’s rummaging in thrift shops, lounging with a book and her ex-shelter cats Squeaky and Bitsy la Mouche, and pontificating about how to make the perfect martini. Connect with Angela at www.angelamsanders.com.
All comments are welcomed.
I’m looking forward to reading this book. I really enjoyed the first book in the series.
What a beautiful cover! I can almost imagine being in Oregon and sitting on the beach. I can’t wait to read this book. Thanks Dru Ann for today’s blog and reminding me about the new entry in this series. Thanks Clover for your generosity for the give-away! 🙂
One of my favorite places to visit in Sacramento is a Kite store. I think I read this series. need to
Sounds like a fun cozy! Thank you for the chance to win a copy.
wfnren at aol dot com
This is a series I hadn’t heard about before, so that you Dru Ann for filling me in about this and many other authors and their series!! I’d be very happy to win a print book, as would many other readers, and thank you for that chance. Merry Christmas.
Sounds like a winner.
Happy Sunday Dru Ann. Thank you for sharing Clover Tate’s book Live and Let Fly on your blog. I love your blog because you always introduce me to authors I’ve not read. It is fun to see your feeling about a book and whether it is something that may fit my interest.
I’m looking over a book by Clover that I’ve never read before…
I really enjoyed the first book. A kite artist is such an interesting character and so different from other series. I’m looking forward to this installment.
A store dedicated to Kites? So cool. Love it!
I’ve been to two kite specialty shops . The most recent was on Molokai, Hawaii. Delightful.
This is a new author and series to me. Sounds like a great new series.
I really enjoyed the first book and am so glad the latest is available to read over the holidays.
Thank you, everyone, for reading my Day in the Life post! I hope whoever wins the book enjoys reading it as much as I did writing it. Thank you, too, Dru Ann, for featuring Live and Let Fly.
I would love to win a copy. Thanks for the giveaway.
I don’t know much about kite flying.
This books looks interesting.
Is this new series, by a successful author, going to be a fly by night series? Sorry I couldn’t resist.
First book was a keeper, I’m sure this will be as well. All her other series are as well.
Sounds like a fun read. Thanks for the chance.
I live very close to the Oregon coast, so this series is very intriguing to me. Thanks for the giveaway!
a definite add to my Wish List..
thank you for the giveaway!!!
I want to win LIVE AND LET FLY.
**** WINNER ****
Live and Let Fly is Barbara Hackel
Congratulations!