Only three weeks now until Farm Fresh and Fatal comes out. Early readers seem pleased. Here is my first review on Amazon from Sharon Ewing:
I have been anticipating the publication of Judy Hogan's second Penny Weaver mystery since she first described it to me several years ago. When my pre-publication order of Farm Fresh and Fatal arrived last week, I was not disappointed. The first sentence of the book plunges into the action that will carry the reader to the fast-paced turns and twists of the final chapter, where the murderer is revealed and finally apprehended. Along the way, in spite of their differences over traditional farming methods, genetically modified seeds (GMOs) organic farming, and race, the ragtag collection of farmers at the newly-formed Riverdell Farmers Market molds itself into a community, with the help of earnest activist and sleuth, Penny Weaver, herself a sustainable farmer. Through false arrests, ungrounded suspicions, and angry or disappointed lovers, Penny and her devoted friend Sammie organize the group to meet each crisis with yet another potluck supper, the table loaded with dishes made from the fresh produce grown by the members.
As Penny and Sammie connive to solve the murder and save the market, the reader is treated to a developing picture of characters from Hogan's first published mystery, Killer Frost, and given hints of earlier relationships and adventures. I am one reader who is eager to read more of the characters and conflicts Hogan has created in her small but vital North Carolina rural world.
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It's great if you like the book, if you send me your thoughts, as I'll post them on my blog later. Also our editor at Mainly Murder Press is urging us to get our books reviewed on Amazon, so if you are happy enough with the book to do both, great. I do still have pre-sale copies, $17 to pick up (included tax) and $20 for me to mail it to: PO Box 253, Moncure, NC, 27559.
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9895804-0-3 $15.95
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9895804-1-0. $2.99.
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Back cover plot synopsis and reader comments:
When Penny Weaver joins the new Riverdell Farmers’ Market, things go from bad to worse. The county’s poultry agent is poisoned, apparently after drinking fruit punch provided by the abrasive market manager, who claims innocence but is arrested. The state ag department threatens to close the market. Penny and her friend Sammie work to uncover the real poisoner. Kent is unpopular with the quirky farmers, with the exception of the genetically modified seeds man and the baker/jelly maker. Penny and Sammie discover that the poison was black nightshade, but which farmer grows it and who put it in the punch?
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Praise for Killer Frost:
A charming puzzler of a traditional mystery, this classic academic mystery debut is a pageturner populated with layered, interesting characters. My hat is off to Judy Hogan on a stellar debut. I look forward to the further adventures of Professor Penny Weaver at St. Francis college!
–Julia Spencer-Fleming, New York Times Bestselling Author of One Was A Soldier.
Farm Fresh and Fatal features an appealing protagonist, an intriguing background, and well-realized characters. Readers will enjoy these characters and empathize with their successes and failures. In the tradition of Margaret Maron. –Carolyn Hart, author of Dead, White, and Blue.
Hogan serves up a complex dish that is flavored with community and family drama. It is spiced with intrigue, finished with mystery and delivered right off the vine.
–Lyle Estill, President, Piedmont Biofuels and author of Small is Possible
Judy Hogan delivers again in her fearless Farm Fresh and Fatal. Through a story built on a strong foundation of research she tackles difficult issues, all the while giving us a first-rate read. And that authentic voice her readers have come to expect shines on every page.
--Lane Stone, author, Tiara Investigations Mystery series.
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One difficult, hot button issue in farming/food today is genetically modified seeds. The only truly safe food any more is organic. Those organic/sustainable farmers are working to keep the land and the natural resources safe for growing food that isn’t poisoned by pesticides and herbicides. Big corporations like Monsanto work at the highest levels of government to keep food from being labeled GMO, but 90% of food grown in North Carolina is grown GMO: corn, soy, rape (Canola oil), sugar beets, and wheat.
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I’d love to have you at a reading for my two new books. Here are the dates in the greater Triangle area. Next May I’ll even be reading in the greater DC area when I attend Malice Domestic Mystery Convention. Stay tuned! Judy Hogan
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Schedule for Farm Fresh and Fatal and Beaver Soul readings/events–Fall-Winter 2013
September 15, 2013. Day of publication and pre-sales mailed for Beaver Soul.
October 1, 2013. Day of publication and pre-sales mailed for Farm Fresh and Fatal.
October 24, Thursday, 3:30-6 P.M. Pittsboro Farmers’ Market at Fairgrounds. Sell and sign books.
October 26, Saturday, 2 PM. Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
November 2, Saturday, 11 AM-1 PM. Paperbacks Plus, Siler City. Signing.
November 8, Friday, 6 PM. Jackie Helvey’s radio show video-taped interview on community radio and TV--WCOM, Carrboro. I will send the link afterwards.
November 12, Tuesday, 7 PM, Goldsboro Library, Goldsboro, NC.
November 19, Tuesday, 7 PM. Regulator Bookshop, 720 W. Ninth St., Durham.
December 1-31. Display of Beaver Soul, Farm Fresh and Fatal, and Killer Frost at my Capital Bank, on the circle in Pittsboro. With bookmarks and cards.
December 3, Tuesday, 7 PM. South Regional Branch of Durham County Library.
December 8, Sunday, 2 PM. McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village, Chatham
GUEST BLOGS.
June 17, Monday. A Real Writer? jessyferguson.blogspot.com and realwriter.blogspot.com
August 13, Tuesday. Cheap Healthy Brownies w/connection to Penny Weaver’s cooking and the PMZ Poor Woman’s Cookbook. Dyingforchocolate.com Janet Rudolph’s blog cross posting with her mystery blog mysteryreadersinternational.com
September 7-13. Killer Frost cover displayed in rotation with other books from Sisters in Crime members. Home page, toward the bottom, of sistersincrime.org
October 1, Tuesday. Jenny Milchman’s blog on my “Made It” Moment with this book. jennymilchman.com
October 5, Saturday, Salad Day. Why I Prefer Small Presses. writerswhokill.blogspot.com
October 5, Saturday. Book Buzz feature on North Carolina Writers’ Network (ncwriters.org)
October 7, Monday. From Experience to Mystery. debrahgoldstein.com
October 14, Monday. Why I Write About Social Issues. omnimystery.com
I can't wait to read this second in your series, Judy, because I enjoyed the first one so much. I'm looking forward to reading about Penny again.
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