As manager of my parents’ Silver Bear Shop & Factory in Silver Hollow, Michigan, my day begins with the alarm ringing in my ear at seven thirty. Ugh. “Sasha, get up!” That’s my sister Maddie’s piercing call from downstairs. We live ‘above the shop’ in a renovated Victorian house.
After three or four times hitting the snooze button, I shove my sweet ‘teddy bear’ dog, Rosie (a mix of Lhasa Apso and Bichon Frise, whose muzzle is right in my face – dog breath!), aside. Crawl out of the sack, one eye open. Rosie snuggles deeper in the bed, on my pillow too, clearly grateful she has it all to herself. I head into the shower and stand under the pulsing hot water until my brain fog clears. I grab my silver tee shirt with our teddy bear logo, black jeans, sandals, and pull my still-wet hair into a ponytail.
Maddie, an unapologetic happy morning person, has already made a pot of coffee – God bless her! – and left me a toasted English muffin with cream cheese and raspberry jam. She’s already at work in the office. I enjoy a second cup of coffee while watching the morning news show. By nine-thirty, I’m in the shop checking the cash register, the shelves of bears and accessories, and ready to greet customers at ten o’clock.
Do I want to marry again and have a family? One day, I hope.
Oh no. Trouble arrives when our sales rep, Will Taylor, once again demands to know why I’ll be hosting a tour of senior citizens from the local church. It’s a waste of time, in his opinion. He’s also mad that someone keyed his sporty car in our parking lot yesterday. He’s unpopular enough with our staff, but also around the village – how would I know who might have damaged his car in a show of fury? As for the tour, I’ll keep giving them. People enjoy seeing our factory, the staff in action, how we cut the fur and sew bears, and they always buy one or several as souvenirs.
I ignore his opinion that we need to cut staff, too. He’s crazy. We can barely keep up getting all our orders filled. Maddie interrupts our argument. She’s just agreed to accept a small company’s request for a hundred silver teddy bears to reward their employees’ children. Uncle Ross barges in, waving another special order for a five-foot-tall bear. The Oktobear Fest committee wants to give it as a prize at the festival, but their budget is limited – they need it ‘at cost’.
When Will refuses to budge on anything less than retail price, my uncle backs him against the door with a clenched fist. The Silverman family has always been generous to the community, and that will never change. Will stalks out of the shop in disgust.
Uncle Ross, Maddie, and I exchange satisfied grins and get back to work.
You can read more about Sasha, the Silver Bear Shop & Factory, and Silver Hollow in Bearly Departed, the first book in the NEW “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mystery series.
The Silver Bear Shop & Factory might be the cutest place around, but there’s nothing warm and fuzzy about murder . . .
As manager of the family teddy bear shop and factory, thirty-one-year-old Sasha Silverman leads a charmed life. Well, except for the part about being a single divorcée with a ticking biological clock in small-town Silver Hollow. And that’s just kid’s stuff compared to Will Taylor, the sales rep who’s set on making drastic changes to the business her parents built from scratch—with or without Sasha’s approval.
But before Will digs his claws in, someone pulls the stuffing out of his plan . . . and leaves his dead body inside the factory. Reeling from shock, Sasha’s hit with more bad news—police suspect her hot-tempered Uncle Ross may have murdered him. Sasha knows her uncle would never do such a thing, and she’s launching her own little investigation to expose the truth. As she tracks Will’s biggest rivals and enemies for clues, Sasha can’t get too comfy—or she’ll become the next plaything for a killer . . .
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About the author
Award-winning mystery author Meg Macy lives in Southeast Michigan, close enough to Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and Dexter — the area she chose for the setting of her new “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mystery series for Kensington. She is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery series; two books have been named Agatha Award finalists. Meg’s first published book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from Western Writers of America. She’s also a graduate of Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program. Meg loves reading mysteries, historical and contemporary, and other genre fiction. She needs more time for gardening, crafts, and watercolor painting – and a week or two on Mackinac Island. Visit the author online at megmacy.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Bearly Departed from Kensington Books. US entries only, please. The giveaway ends June 1, 2017. Good luck everyone!
I Love The Cover and The Cute Title. Thanks for sharing it with us. 🙂
Looks like a fun and cute read
I would love to get “into” a new series and win this book! Thanks for offering it! lindaherold999@gmail.com
Such a cute cover and title! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity. Kuzlin at aol.com
I <3 1st books!!
excited for a new series…
Thank you for the giveaway!!!
I’ve never read a book by this author but I’m interested! Thanks for a chance to win!
Have loved teddy bears all my life and can’t wait to read this new to me author’s story.
This series sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the review.
The more I read about this new series, the more I want to read it. Thanks for the chance to win!
Teddy bears ever a popular item. Hope the book goes into why they kept Will as long as they did. Such an unpleasant character would never be good for business, among other things. I still have my first teddy. With the very original name of Teddy. He is psychedelic in purple with swirls of blue yellow pink. anyway. The book looks really good and I am looking forward to it. A new author and read is always so exciting. It is on my TBR. But do hope this will be an early start
I can’t wait to read this one. I love the anticipation of the first book in a new series.
I love the cover art and title. Thank you for this chance!
This sounds like such a fun read!!! How can you go wrong with teddy bears and a mystery. My bad side is happy to hear Will gets his comeuppance. I would LOVE to win a copy.
Since I collect Teddy bears and love mysteries, this sounds like the perfect book for me! Hope I win. Thanks for the giveaway.
Thanks for a chance to win a copy. Love the cover and finding a new series.
Sounds like a terrific new series that I can’t wait to read! Thanks for sharing Dru Ann! Thank you Meg, for the chance to win a copy! How great that would be! 😀
This series sounds very interesting. I would love to read this book.
This series sounds so intriguing! Thank you fir a chance to win !
Thanks for this lovely feature and giveaway.
I’m looking forward to reading the book.
I like first in series and my house is full of teddy bears since I didn’t have one as a child, just dolls. This book sounds like a perfect read for me.
Love hearing about a new series!! I’m looking forward to reading Bearly Departed. Thanks for the chance to win a print copy.
I LOVE this cover, thank you for the chance to win a copy of this book.
wfnren at aol dot com
This looks unique and fun. Love the cover!
This one sounds like a winner. Fun idea a setting for murder.
Thanks for the chance to win, I can’t wait to read this new series!
Thank you for the chance to win. This is such a cute cover
As a collector of teddy bears, I enjoy any book with teddy bears in them. Thanks for hosting Meg Macy’s book on you blog.
Who doesn’t love a teddy bear?
What a JERK! Sales Reps do NOT dictate to the manufacturer. You take your orders, call in on special orders and hope everything arrives on schedule. You most definitely tell the owners they need to CUT STAFF! LOL
I was an Indie Rep in the Electronics and Computer Industry for almost 25 years. I worked hard just to make sure my contract was renewed each year. I handled 23 non competing companies and just managed to make a living.
I have a small Teddy collection. They were gifted to me or I won them in charitable giveaways at a local bar. I most definitely want to read this book.
Yes Dru, I want to be entered in the giveaway. I was too busy spouting off on my milk box.
I enjoyed reading about a day in Sasha Silverman’s life. How fun to own a teddy bear store (except for snarky Will) ~. Thanks Dru and Meg for the giveaway!
You can’t help but think he got what he deserved!
I’m a fan of the Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins mystery series – looking forward to reading Meg Macy’s newest mystery.
Sounds like a great start to a new series. Looking forward to reading the book.
This cover is so adorable.
I love the cover. Thanks for the giveaway.
Poor little bear! Thank you for the blog post!
This new series sounds great! I can’t wait to read it! Thank you so much for the chance to win!
Thanks to you, Dru Ann, for this wonderful blog and to everyone for your comments! Best wishes to winning!
I’ve never read anything by this author, so I’m looking forward to this new series.
I’m looking forward to reading this series. I sounds adorable and who doesn’t love a teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh was my favorite.
Sounds like a good read.
Love this…thank you for the review…please enter me.
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
Who doesn’t love a Teddy Bear? Would love to read.
**** WINNER ****
Bearly Departed by Meg Macy is Lois Rotella
Congratulations