You might ask how I ended up as mayor of Silver Hollow—a small town with a heart-of-gold community near Ann Arbor, Michigan. We’re into teddy bears here, due to my husband Alex’s teddy bear shop and factory. After he retired ten years ago, our daughter Sasha began managing the shop. My brother-in-law supervises factory operations, and his wife helps keep the books. Last year I talked Alex into moving to Florida, more to get him away from always meeting his friends for breakfast, golfing, and to recover from a heart attack scare; I thought the warm weather would be good for us both, since I really hate the winters here. But Alex quickly became bored and didn’t make new friends like I did, so we returned.

Oh, I meant to explain why I decided to run for mayor—only because my friend Cal Bloom, the previous mayor, died right before Christmas. That was a huge shock. To him as well, since someone electrocuted him in his holiday Santa Bear costume. Talk about adding insult to injury! But my daughter Sasha helped solve that murder and others, along with my younger daughter, Maddie. They’re both so smart! And savvy in business. Sasha has hosted several fun events at the Silver Bear Shop, and Maddie just started her own graphics design company.

Now I’m swamped as mayor, keeping a finger on several improvement projects around town, and helping Silver Hollow’s community events chairman gear up for a region-wide Highland Fling. It’s being held at a metro park with far more room for games, vendors, music, and dancing, than our small Village Green can accommodate. We discovered how crowded and crazy that was at the Oktobear Fest last autumn. Everything seemed to be working out well until trouble reared its ugly head.

It was bad enough that Teddy Hartman, the former owner of Bears of the Heart, a rival teddy bear business located in New England, showed up last fall passing out fliers advertising his cheap toys at the Labor Day parade. Hartman was so jealous that the Silver Bear Shop & Factory won a major national contest before Christmas with a “Beary Potter” wizard bear. He quickly produced a teddy bear with a magician’s hat and robe, a little too similar to Mickey Mouse the apprentice! Ha. The minute Hartman got word of a possible lawsuit, he changed the design and sold the company.

That didn’t stop Hartman, though. He actually moved to Silver Hollow, with big plans to open a bed-and-breakfast and showcase each of his silly teddy bears in every bedroom—like the Love Shack bear on a heart-shaped bed! But Hartman couldn’t come up with a loan, according to my friend Barbara Davison, who sold her Victorian house instead to a couple from Scotland. The MacRaes have already begun renovations to open a boutique. I can’t wait to see what they’ve done to the place, given how it’s almost next door to the Silver Bear Shop. Now I’ve heard rumors that Hartman blames me for influencing Barbara not to sell to him! Unbelievable.

Of course I’ve heard plenty of criticism about decisions I’ve made as mayor, but that’s par for the course. I wouldn’t have expected Teddy Hartman to be courteous, given his behavior at the first meeting of the Silver Hollow Entrepreneurs and Business Association (SHEBA). Can you believe Hartman manipulated his way into becoming president? Everyone knows that Gil Thompson, owner of the Fresh Grounds coffee shop and bakery, has far more experience and is friends with every business owner in town. Gil expected to take over leadership, and is pretty miffed. How Teddy Hartman finagled his way into taking over won’t remain a secret for long. Dirty laundry always comes out in the wash, as my father-in-law used to say.

I hoped that since the bed-and-breakfast plan didn’t pan out, Hartman and his wife would find another small town—but nope. They decided to open a pet shop boutique. I heard rumors that they haven’t stocked practical items like dog and cat food or litter, which would cut down on trips to bigger cities or distant strip malls. Oh well. At least they’re not near my Vintage Nouveau gallery, where I sell artwork from local artists like Jay Kirby’s creative wood carvings—Sasha’s boyfriend is quite talented. I’m also busy with meetings and follow-throughs, daily phone calls, emails, keeping tabs on social media, plus county level meetings about road improvements around the village, making appearances for charity and other fund raising, you name it.

My husband is happy again, meeting his friends for breakfast at the local diner, and practicing for the sporting events at the Highland Fling—an axe-throwing contest, caber toss, and plenty more. Sasha is juggling plans to produce kilted teddy bears, which will be totally adorable! As for Teddy Hartman, I hope he stays off the radar and minds his own business.

But I have a bad feeling he’s got revenge on his mind.

Bear a Wee Grudge, A Teddy Bear Mystery #5
Genre: Cozy
Release: November 2021
Purchase Link

Teddy bear shop manager Sasha Silverman must step fast to find a murderer before an upcoming Scottish festival . . .

It’s springtime in Silver Hollow, Michigan, and Sasha is looking forward to the village’s inaugural Highland Fling weekend. Plans are underway for a Kilted 5K, athletic competitions, dancing, live music, and even a Hurl-the-Haggis contest. Meanwhile, Sasha’s staff is busy crafting custom teddy bears in kilts for the Silver Bear Shop’s vendor booth. But trouble’s brewing behind the scenes, as the obnoxious Teddy Hartman, former owner of a rival teddy bear company, sows seeds of discord about town, targeting Sasha’s family and their business.

Things go from plaid to worse when—just a week before the festival kicks-off—the disgruntled gossip is found murdered with an ax buried in his back. Sasha’s dad is arrested, since he’s a champion ax-thrower. But she doesn’t give a dram what it looks like—Sasha knows that despite the old business rivalry with Hartman, her father is innocent. So with a spot of help from her friends, Sasha must bag the real killer before her first Fling also becomes her last.

About the author
Award-winning mystery author Meg Macy lives in Southeast Michigan, close enough to Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and Dexter — the setting of her “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mysteries for Kensington. She is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins mysteries; two books, Wouldn’t It Be Deadly and Get Me to the Grave On Time were Agatha Award finalists for Best Historical. Meg’s first published book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from Western Writers of America. Meg loves reading historical and cozy mysteries, gardening, crafts, and watercolor painting.

All comments are welcomed.