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As many of you may know, our beloved sister hostess SHARON DONOVAN, tragically passed away on 11th April 2012. We who knew her, loved her, and were inspired by her courage and determination to face head on whatever life threw at her. When she could no longer see to paint she turned to writing and showed her amazing talent in the Inspirational Romance and Romantic Suspense genres, and her story 'Charade Of Hearts' was awarded the coveted Predators and Editors Award in January 2011.

This Blog was a source of great delight to her, she was one of the founder hostesses and she contributed to the fun and silliness in her own original way, and was kind enough to let her unique creation, the hunky butler 'Oliver' join us for our Friday romp and prepare 'virtual breakfast' for the guests on the following morning. It's beyond hard to have to go on without her, but we know that she would have been the first to insist that 'the show must go on.' She is, and will always be with us in spirit.
Sharon, dear friend, we will never forget you.
The Author Roast and Toast is part of the legacy you left us. Let's raise a Toast to you as well as all our guests.
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Friday, April 15, 2011

Maryann Miller's Magical Mystery Celebratory Roast


What could be more idyllic or tranquil than a quiet English Country pub for a Celebration Roast?

The hostesses have hired the Function Room at the 'The Quill and Ink' to hold a party for Maryann Miller, to celebrate her suspense novel 'Open Season.' The pub is often frequented by authors who meet to chat and mull over ideas, so they're looking forward to some good company.

"I can't believe it!" Sharon exclaims, "A murder, right here, last night!"

"I know," Lyn glances at the other three hostesses, "An IRS Inspector no less!   It's lucky Maryann knows so much about crime investigation, I bet she'll have some ideas as to who the murderer is.  And I gather the Police have asked her to bring Sarah and Angel with her too, to help them solve the crime."

"What?  Angel and Sarah from 'Open Season?'

"Yes, " AJ says, trying to flatten her birdsnest hair as she arranges little glasses with flowers in them on each table."It's just as well none of us have anything to hide."


"Well, you could hide a lot in that hair, sweetie, although it's impossible for Sharon to hide her bubble butt, and Lyn's feet stick out a mile!" Mary quips, arranging glass holders with small candles by the place settings. Sharon and AJ glare at her, and Lyn accidentally-on-purpose steps on her foot with her huge clodhoppers.

"Owww!" Mary yelps, dancing around on one foot and clutching her fake hooters which threaten to bounce out onto the floor. "Owww, Owoooh!"



"I wonder 'who dun it'' AJ murmurs, ignoring Mary's yelps.  It could be anyone really." She looks around.  "Mary could have smothered him with one of her hooters, Lyn could have clobbered him with one of her big shoes -"

"Hey!" Mary retorts indignantly, "I've better things to do than go around smothering people.  Besides, didn't the Police say he was hit on the back of the head by a blunt instrument? My hooters are anything but  blunt, I'll have you know."

"And don't look at me," Lyn says, "I can't even kill a fly!"

"I don't know about that," Sharon says thoughtfully.  "Didn't you have a run-in with the IRS recently about ITI Numbers. for Brit authors, and the fact you won't get any more Royalties if they don't let you have one? And didn't you swear murder under your breath?"


"Before we start accusing each other,"AJ says soothingly, "Have you looked in the 'snug'?"  It's full of some very interesting looking characters.  There's a woman who looks like Agatha Christie's  Miss Marple, a guy who could be the double of Sherlock Holmes, a tall thin gentleman with a monacle, who talks just like Lord Peter Wimsey, a pipe smoker with a French accent, who doubles for Maigret,  then there's a lady who I swear  could be Agatha Christie, someone else who I heard addressed as 'Mr Chandler--.' 

"Woah" Sharon interrupts, let's not let our imaginations run away with us.  I'm sure those are just fellow writers getting into character.  Perhaps we should leave it to the experts to find the killer."



They cast their eyes over the tables.  There is a variety of delicious pub food on the menu, toad in the hole, sheperds pie (no, not made with real shepherd, Mary, Sharon grins,) 
bangers and mash, 


Yorkshire Pudding,  chicken and chips (French fries),  Ploughman's Lunch. and for pudding,  Tapioca pudding with cherries and a huge strawberry shortcake with Maryann's cover on top.


"Good, I see Oliver's remembered the Rob Roy for Sarah, and  we have plenty of Diet Coke for that lady dressed like Miss Marple, who keeps asking for one with a spritz of selzer."

A call from the bar alerts them to the fact that Maryann has just walked in.  The hostesses rush out to greet her, she looks stunning, in a champagne colored shirt and black designer jeans. Perhaps she, and Angel and Sarah,  when they arrive will be able to solve the mystery of who killed the IRS Inspector.

For your chance to win an arc of Maryann's book, just tell us who YOU think did the dirty deed?


OPEN SEASON EXCERPT:
Prologue

Sarah took a deep breath and faced Quinlin in the stuffy cubbyhole of an office. The room was hot and musty. Dust motes floated in the slivers of sunshine that had penetrated the haze of accumulated grime on the windows of the old building. The scent of his cologne hung heavily in the still air. Chaps. Rich, masculine, and too easily a distraction.

Dressed in a dark, somber suit, Quinlin didn’t speak. He watched her with the careful scrutiny of a snake considering a field mouse. A trickle of perspiration ran down Sarah’s back and dampened her white T-shirt. Shifting in the wooden chair, she contemplated the wisdom of taking off her jacket, then decided against it. He would interpret it as a sign of weakness.

She thought she was prepared for this. She’d rehearsed it a million times, remembering the images, nailing down the sequence, readying herself for his opener, “Detective Kingsly, tell me what happened that night.”

She recalled the moon playing tag with a few heavy clouds, casting weird, disorientating shadows on the crumbling buildings. She remembered wishing the clouds would give way to rain, anything to relieve the oppressive heat that had pounded the city relentlessly for weeks. She remembered thinking the heat made people do crazy things.

Maybe that’s why it had happened.

The rest of it flashed through her mind like a sequence of freeze frames.

Franco and the boy turn.

A glint of metal in the moonlight.

John pushes her away, reaching for the gun tucked in his waistband.

The clasp on her purse sticks.

A flash of gunfire.

The sharp report of return fire.

Struggling to get her gun.

Franco is down.

The kid swings his gun toward John.

She fires the same time the kid does.

The coppery smell of warm blood.

Hers?

No.

Goddam it, John, get up!

Why is everything so quiet?

Where is the kid?

There’s a big gaping hole in the cheap sequined evening bag.

Every time Sarah played the scene in her mind, she hoped for a different ending. It never came. Her purse always had the hole in it. John was always dead. And so was the kid.

“And you’re sure you had no choice?” Quinlin’s officious voice rankled with unspoken insinuations.
Sarah suppressed a surge of anger as he walked behind her chair. The son of a bitch is not going to trip me up. No way.

“Yes.” She didn’t trust herself with more words.

“That’s pretty easy to say since everyone else who was there is dead.”

The comment jolted her, and she clenched sweaty fists in her lap to keep herself in the chair. Don’t dignify that with a response.

BIO:

     As a journalist and author, Maryann Miller amassed credits for feature articles and short fiction in numerous national and regional publications. The Rosen Publishing Group in New York published nine of her non-fiction books including the award-winning, Coping With Weapons and Violence in School and On Your Streets, which is in its third printing. Play It Again, Sam, a woman's novel and One Small Victory, a suspense novel, are electronic books available on Kindle, Nook, and other e-book reading devices. A young adult novel, Friends Forever, is her first book for BWL Publishing Partners. One Small Victory was originally published in hardback. A mystery, Open Season, is a new release in hardback from Five Star Cengage Gale. Miller has also written several screenplays and stage plays and is the Theatre Director at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts. 






***GIVEAWAY***


To win an arc of Maryann's book, all you have to do just answer the question above and leaveyour e-mail address.
  Contest ends tomorrow and everyone who comments is elligible..

83 comments:

  1. Well of course the butler did it ...wha...no butler??? Good post, loved the setting!

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  2. I hope I was just fashionably late to the party. Never quite sure how to time it so I don't look too eager, yet I don't want to be rude.

    I thought this was going to be a nice little party with a few drinks and some good food. Did not know there had been a murder. I would say, "How tragic" but it was an IRS agent.

    Sarah and Angel will get right on the case and see if they can figure out who did it. Meanwhile everyone enjoy the goodies and the company. I'm going to visit with Agatha for a while. Always wanted to meet her.

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  3. Hi Patsy, come right on in, glad you liked the post - come and partake of some real English pub grub!

    Maryann, welcome! It's your party so you arrived at exactly the right time. you look lovely in that outfit. We were quite astounded ourselves to find there had been a murder - *grin* it couldn't have happened to a better person really - and Angel and Sarah should feel right at home. Give our regards to Agatha.

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  4. It's always such fun to join these parties. I'm looking forward to my next one in June. Have a great day, but be careful, these ladies have a tendancy to start trouble uh...I mean get into trouble.

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  5. This is great fun, Maryann!

    Congrats on Open Season and all the
    great reviews the novel has received.

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  6. Oh, Oliver. I do need a martini before I go visit with Agatha. She won't mind, I'm sure. Maybe I should bring one for her, too.

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  7. That guy in the Sherlock Holmes outfit is hiding the weapon under his cape. But let's forget all that and try the dessert.

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  8. Hi Roseanne and Jacqueline,

    Great to see you both, make yourselves at hoe and join in the fun.

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  9. Maryanne, I see Oliver headed your way with two of his special martinis.

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  10. Cathy, that's a great bit of observation, but yes, do have some tapioca pudding, followed by some of that yummy cake if you fancy!

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  11. Cathy, Sarah wants to know if you actually saw the weapon.

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  12. A warm welcome to your party Maryann! And congrats on Open Season, my kind of book. Enjoy Oliver's martinis, the goodies and the wonderful dark mystery of a real who done it in a British pub, what fun.

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  13. Kisses Lyn sweetie. Sharon whispers, no need to worry about the body, I'll never tell where we...er...I mean YOU hid the nice IRS man's head.

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  14. Sharon waves madly at Patsy, Roseanne, Jacqueline and Cathie. You ladies dig in and mingle before things get wild and hairy.

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  15. Maryann, tell us about Angel and Sarah. In the meantime I'm gonna go ask Sherlock where Watson is

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  16. Mary wearing a monocle has been searching the place for the body. "No luck girls, I am doing me best to clear you Lyn, but is it possible that you accidentally stomped him to death? Welcome everyone. Butler eh'. well we do have some staff helping with the party, but they are all bonded. Lyn it all points to you!!!

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  17. And the weapon, well the weapon coulda been anything! How do we find it. We need more help!
    Whilst I wait, can I get a nice wild berry smoothie? Just to pump me up for the task ahead.
    By the way, have we cleared all of us or is everyone suspect?
    Who's the detective on the case, can Sarah and Angel update us.
    The Sherlock Homes guy does look suspicious don't he?

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  18. Kiss kiss Mary dear, you can't hide your face with that mask on a stick. Honey the inspector will recognize your hooters, disgusting.

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  19. Sharon, the best way to describe Angel and Sarah and their relationship is, think "Lethal Weapon" with female leads. They are thrown together as partners after Sarah is involved in a complicated deadly force issue where she shot a young black kid. Angel comes from a family that has attitudes largely guided by a local preacher who constantly pushes the racial button on any issue. Needless to say, Angel's family is not happy that she is partnered with "this honkey bitch."

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  20. After one of Oliver's James Bond martinis, Sharon paints black magic marker eyeballs on Mary's boobies. Now go distract the good inspecter whilst I hide Lyn, although it's a mission impossible with her huge feet sticking out of the closet we stuffed her in. Kinda reminds you of the wicked witch on Dorothy.

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  21. Where's AJ, still hiding the ax in her bee hive

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  22. Hmmm...Maryann, a must read, caught my interest. I hope Angel and Sarah come along soon so I can meet them.

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  23. Ladies, ladies! How lovely y'all look tonight. Maryann, none so fetching as you might I addd. As promised, two of my cosmo martinis. Here we are then, love. Drink up and go have your chat with Agatha.

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  24. Mary changes her shirt not wanting bulls eyes on her hooters. She picks up the tray that has been resting on Sharon's bubble butt all morning...
    I wondered where the condiments went!
    Here they are! Well that big butt comes in handy once in awhile right Lyn?
    Sharon you didn't smother the victim when you sat on him did you? Just wondering cause Lyn swears she didn't step on him. Hmmmm...That means there's still a murderer around. We need bodyguards for all of us. (Hot bodyguards with nice big muscles and stuff to admire too)
    Who wants me to see if I can get them?? I'll call in the secret service if I have too! Though that's a last resort. We have to find the murderer!!!Before they strike again!!!

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  25. Kisses Mary, sweet thing, a nice frosty berry smoothie. That a girl, down the ol' hatch.

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  26. Forget Agatha Maryann! We need the big guys like on CSI!

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  27. Lyn my little love dove, a nice mead for you and a nicely aged chardonnay for Sharon.

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  28. Wow, you babes have some bods. LOL. Maryann, where's yours? Notice we just get a mugshot of you. Seriously, folks, I've read the book and it's really good. A nice set-up for a series, and I can hardly wait until the next one. Thumbs up from a fellow BRP editor.

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  29. Oliver serves Sherlock a draft, AJ a sweet tea and a chocolate martini to Roseanne. He gets a bit snarky with PL Parker, refusing to serve her. No, Patsy, you can rest assure that the butler did not do it.

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  30. You'll have to forgive Patsy Oliver. She didn't mean it. We know you would never murder anyone. By the way, I brought my stun gun today in case anyone tries to murder me!!!

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  31. Oliver dodges a dart game gone mad when a few pub pounders fling darts at Mary's hooters before she covers them with her new shirt. Bull's eye!

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  32. Was I just naked while you did that Sharon? Holy Moley, I must be drunk or somethin'!
    Thanks for not looking Oliver!Or did you?

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  33. Sharon whips off her Watson mask and hugs Mary. How'd ya know I was the drunk that started flinging darts at your hooters?

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  34. Dani, you missed me in the picture just before the excerpt. Of course, the outfit made me look so svelte. (I just love that word.)

    And thanks for the shout-out for my book.

    Oops, I just got pushed aside by Sarah...

    "What do you mean by hogging the spotlight, Maryann. This is my story after all."

    Sarah, Sarah, how quickly you forget about your partner.

    "Yeah. I'd like to forget her alright."

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  35. BTW, Oliver was looking, see how red his ears are as he hands you another smoothie. HA

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  36. Mary, let's sneak Lyn out of the broom closet, it's embarrassing after all, her clodhoppers sticking out and tripping everyone.

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  37. What's that Mariann, not another dead body!

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  38. OK, Angel and Sarah are on the case. Hi Doni, welcome. I can't wait to read OPEN SEASON,yea

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  39. You mean you want Lyn to come out of the closet? Hey, that could be very odd if I didn't know she's married. Oh! You mean come OUT of the closet.
    Yeah,I have seen four people hit the deck as they trip over her feet.
    I must say we need to get together and use our united force to find the killer before they strike again. Heck! They could be after us? Anyone have a clue as to who it is or even better who is that guy they killed??
    Sarah??

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  40. Lyn staggers out of the closet and hugs her sister-hostesses and then hugs Maryann and blows a kiss at Oliver.

    Thanks so much for the mead, it's the only thing that kept me going in there.

    So - have you found the real killer yet? I know I have a motive but LYN IS INNOCENT! All the evidence is purely circumstantial - it's elementary my dear hostesses!

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  41. Sharon, I was in the loo. Who got killed? Please don't tell me one of my girls was responsible. I never know what Sarah is going to do when she has a few too many Rob Roy's. And Angel has been a little testy of late.

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  42. Lyn do you see those guys in the dark raincoats? They look like CIA, or even FBI, ever been to Roswell. I digress, all I know is they are watching you like hawks!
    Let's see if we can lose them! AAAHH Mary's scream is cut off as a gag is forced into her mouth, a hood placed over her head and a knock me out hit on the head. Mary has been kidnapped!!

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  43. Sisters, quick, grab Maryann, Sarah and Angel and let's toss a few darts at the badges drinking ginger ale, a likely story, Watson.
    Wanna bet one of the coppers iced the IRS dude.

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  44. Well done for saving Maryann, Sharon Angel and Sarah - but what about our poor Mary. Where d'you think they've taken her?

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  45. Oh, no worries Maryann, it wasn't your girls that killed the sap with the bald head and beer gut. He tripped on Lyn's feet and fell on a knife in his pocket. Ah ha Sherlock, the murder weapon.

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  46. Lyn, we must help Mary, kick him with one of your boats for crying outt loud

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  47. Not able to see and scared to death, only Mary knows about the stun gun Oliver gave her to play with, I mean protect herself. This may be the time she really needs it. Mary can see just under the bottom of the hood she wears. She looks down on a kilted body. The man has a wonderful behind and his muscular calves work in time to each step he takes with Mary slung over his shoulder. Mary can only hope they didn't get Sharon, Lyn, AJ or Maryann! Then she hears the muffled noises of another gagged woman very near to her. She can just barely make out the legs of the rugged man who carries someone else she assumes. Who?? And why are they taken. Are these men the murderers? Could she and another unlucky soul be next. HELP she screams in her head Nibby, if you can hear me run to the girls and help them find me. No, no toys now. Nibby, not playing now. Help Nibby. Help them find me. Wonder if...

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  48. Angel here, while Sarah has been getting tipsy and hanging all over Oliver - I CANNOT believe the nerve of that woman - I have been busy on the case. Did everyone see the woman in the red slinky dress who was plying that IRS agent with drinks earlier. I questioned her companion and it appears she was being audited by this very same agent. Hmmmmm... the plot thickens.

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  49. Lyn aims a kick at the man carrying Mary, with her dainty little tootsies but he swerves to avoid her and she falls flat on her face.

    Nibby, go girl, rescue your msitress there's a good dog - oops, I didn't say pull his kilt right off him *blush* don't look Maryann!

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  50. Good kick Lyn, knock 'em dead. No Nibby, this is not play time. You can play ball with your mistress's boob balls when the bad men aren't aiming to kill her.

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  51. Not to fear Maryann, I'll knock 'em out with my American thighs. Hark, Angel are you playing my song on the jukebox by AC/DC, let's boogie!

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  52. AJ, get off the copper's lap, we have to catch a thief and a killer. Someone in this pub swiped my eye spy eye glass. I'm gonna go cop a feel with that hottie copper with the bald head and the twinkle in his eye. Maybe I'll find out if there's any truth to the rumor about bald headed men. Grin

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  53. This is one crazeee partay. I have a feeling there might be another death before the cops show up to shut it down. Oooh, no one said there were margaritas. Clear a path to the bar!

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  54. Helen, Oliver is busy calling London Yard in. Here's a margarita, enjoy!

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  55. Hi Helen, we aim to please, enjoy your margarita.

    I hope you're not right about another murder - three is two too many, LOL!(Unless they're all IRS)

    Hope you'll stay a while to help us solve these terrible crimes!

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  56. Sarah here, I just want everyone to know I can certainly hold my liquor and it does not impair my abilities to...erk... solve this crime. Or is it crimes. Why didn't anyone tell me there were two more while Oliver and I were having fun? And where's my partner?

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  57. Here I am, Sarah. If you would be so kind, we could use your help in rescuing Mary. And I have no idea what happened to Maryann. We have to help her if she's in trouble. We need her to write more stories for us to romp around in.

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  58. Nibby here! Me and Cuddles grabbed Thor and we have searched everywhere. I can still hear her in my head screaming. "Help!! NNOOO! Yesss... I mean NOOO! Help somebody save me please!!
    The scent has faded and the lady in the red dress left in an awful hurry. Why would they still Mary, and why would they, gulp- kill her. Ruff, ruff, ruff, rufff, growl..
    Where are that Sarah girl and the other one. Devil, no Angel? Find Mary, I can't even smell her hooters anymore. Whine...

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  59. Calm down Nibbie, there's a good girl. Cuddles, come over here and touch her with your horn to sooth her ruffled feathers - er I mean fur.You too Thor, tell her it's OK.

    Mary's not dead - they wouldn't dare kill her. Knowing our Mary, I wouldn't be surprised if she's having a whale of a time with that Scot in a kilt - but she's not in any danger at all, but we need to find her. and Maryann. Sarah, Angel, we need your help - badly!

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  60. Mary walks back the whole way to the party. She rubs her wrists as she stumbles inside. "Girls there's something big going on here! I was Kidnapped!!!!! When We reached their hideout, I was able to use my stun gun to shock my captor. Whomever else they took I couldn't find her!!
    I hated to rap him on the head. He was just following orders and when he hit the ground his kit flipped up, and I almost stayed there. But finally something snapped and I ran away. Hitch-hiked here the whole way. Nibby met me as I was walking the last ten miles here.
    Love you girl and no you are not the devil. Good doggie. I'm exhausted, I can't believe it. Just watch out for guys in kilts, they came once and they might come and kidnap me again or any one of you!!! And who else is missing???
    They have her and I never saw their leader. Thoughts anyone???
    Thanks for the drink Oliver, and the hugs my hostess sisters!What's happened any clues to the murderers name yet? Or does everything still point to LYN???

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  61. Dear sister Mary, it's good to see you back safely, the three animals have been so worried about you. (and me of course.) We're afraid Maryann may have been kidnapped as well - and Sharon has been conversing with that Sherlock character for an awful long time.

    What do you mean - does suspicion still point to me. I keep telling you
    LYN IS INNOCENT!

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  62. Just asking, I know you didn't do it, someone is trying to frame you for sure. By the by, who was the victim??
    Why does everything point to your feet??

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  63. Mary, I knew my book would come in handy. Good for you for wonking that guy on the head with it and escaping.

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  64. Did we figure out who the murderer was yet? I still say it was the butler. Just got back from a bowling party and had more than my share of beer so I'd better pass on the spirits here - maybe not!

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  65. Yes, it was a big help!
    But, I fear for your safety Maryann!
    Beware, we still haven't found the murderer. Someone help us!!! Before we're all killed!

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  66. We all need a drink Patsy! Knock yourself out, that would be as opposed to some stranger doing it!!

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  67. Hi Patsy

    So glad you came back. We need your help. There's been another murder, Mary and Maryann got kidnapped, and I've been framed.

    Oh, did you read Oliver's comment? I think you'd better try and get back on his good side!

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  68. What did Oliver say? I missed it. Why would he be mad at me?
    Maybe you are the murderer Lyn is it possible you have dual personalities and don't know you did it.
    Who else was murdered. This is terrible, Oh the humanities!!

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  69. Girls, got the bald headed chap nailed. Yep, he's the killer. See that bulge in his pocket, no Maryann, not there silly, his shirt pocket. That's the hidden paper weight, the Rock he used to take out the IRS chap. Looks like we helped you bury that body for nothing Lyn. Ah what are sisters for, right Mary and AJ.

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  70. Hi Patsy, glad you came back but Oliver says to sober up from your bowling escapade with some Chai tea. Cheers

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  71. Sharon. Are you sure about the bald-headed chap. Wasn't he the one that you were so interested in before? And I did not look where you thought I looked. I saw the bulge in his jacket pocket.

    Oliver, maybe we all need another round of drinks while we try to sort this out.

    Sarah, Angel, do you even have a clue?

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  72. Angel here. I said before I thought it was that lady in the slinky red dress. Always hated slinky red dresses ever since senior prom when Betsy big-boobs stole Jamel from me. He took one look at those boobs in that dress, and that was all she wrote, folks.

    And where is that lady now? Not Betsy. The lady who was at the party earlier. Nobody has seen her since just before the IRS guy was found with his head bashed in. And I saw her with one of Maryann's books. Mary already said it was heavy enough to knock out the guy who kidnapped her, maybe it killed the IRS guy.

    Oh, my gosh, that means Sarah and I are accomplices by default. What will that do to our careers?

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  73. It will be a big boost! Headline's will read 'Author unwilling participant in murder!!'
    Hmmmmmmm.....
    Need some sleep exhausted from my ordeal!
    I'll see you in the morning!
    sleep well... BRAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

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  74. Thank you for the wonderful party. The food and drinks were scrumptious, and it was such fun playing with you all. It is time for me and Sarah and Angel to call it a night. They have roll call early tomorrow morning, and I have a screenwriting workshop to teach. I will be gone all day tomorrow, so I will check in Sunday and announce the winner. I think Angel and Sarah have narrowed it down to either the lady in red or the butler. Nobody saw him, so maybe he did the dirty deed and absconded.

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  75. I'm quite certain it was the Lady in Red, Maryann. Bravo for solving the case Angel and Sarah. Maryann, thank you for playing along with us at the roast. You were a fun guest and no doubt Open Season will be a smashing hit. Best of luck!
    Now what's say we wake up Lyn, Mary and AJ and head into the kitchen where Oliver's cooking up breakfast. Sharon slinks an arm around Maryann. I'll never tell where we buried the real IRS man, the one Lyn snuffed out when she smacked him over the head with one of her size 122 clodhoppers.

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  76. Yawning, Oliver turns sizzling bacon and sausage in one pan, fluffy golden eggs in another. Coffee brews in a pot, the rich smell of caffeine wafting through the pub, along with Chai tea. Removing a pan of biscuits from the oven, he mutters something under his breath about the butler always getting falsely accused. Sighing, he fills a heaping platter for Maryann, Angel and Sarah, then to the sister hostesses. There we go my pretties. Dig in and enjoy!

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  77. What? Does Oliver have a rival for his job? Has our dear sister hostess Sharon run off with her butler? Does this mean I'm cleared?

    How did Mary survive the night?

    Mary, are you sure that's a rock in your bald headed guy's breast pocket?

    Where is the lady in red?

    Is that loud rumbling sound Mary snoring?

    Will Maryann still want to talk to us when she's reached such a pinnacle of fame she's asked to be the first Author Laureate for the White House?

    What will Angel and Sarah do next?

    Write your answers on a five pound note an send to Lyn...
    or just leave another comment - we can never have too many!

    Thanks so much for playing along with us Maryann, we've had such a great time with you and Angel and Sarah. You've been a fantastic guest and we wish you tremendous success and huge sales with 'Open Season'.

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  78. Lyn sits up and rubs her eyes

    Good morning Sharon, Maryann, everyone!

    W--whaat, was I dreaming? OOh there's a lovely aroma of bacon and eggs coming from the kitchen - and chai tea, just what I need.
    Hungry work this sleuthing!

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  79. What fun, Maryann! Delightful blog party!!

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  80. Well as the sun sets on another Roast and Toast one wonders how she gets away with it. We buried the IRS man, where no one will ever find him for Lyn. What we don't do for our sister friends. It was Sharon with the bald guy. No baldies for me please, I like a nice head of clean hair to run my fingers... Oh my.
    Well I made it no one has kidnapped me. I'm gonna be fine. Who is that masked man over there girls???? OH MY!

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  81. hello sweet sister Mary.

    *Waves to Heidi* Hello Heidi, the pub's still open, plenty of food left!

    *Evil cackle" Let's see how quickly I get my ITIN now, LOL!
    Woe to the IRS Man who gets on the wrong side of this Brit Writer! That lady in red sure did me a favour - I wonder who she was?

    What's that about a masked man? A highwayman in this day and age? Can't be. You don't mean...it isn't...how the heck did the James Gang get over here?

    Ah well, as Sharon always says -
    'just another Author Roast and Toast!'

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  82. So sorry I missed the scrumptious breakfast yesterday morning. That's what I get for having to hit the toad at 6am with three boiled eggs and some orange slices. Just reading about what Oliver cooked makes my mouth water this morning.

    On to solving the crime. Angel was right that the lady in red had something to do with the murder. She drugged the IRS agent so he would be a little sleepy, then the butler did bash his head in before they both ran off with the money the IRS agent has just gotten from Joe Konrath for all the books he has sold on Kindle. Since P.L Parker was the first to mention the butler did it, she wins the copy of my book.

    Thanks again to all who helped make the party such fun.

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  83. Well, so glad the mystery's been solved - thanks Maryann, and congratulations Patsy.

    It seems a mysterious butler snuck into the party uninvited - hmmm, the plot thickens!

    Anyway, we won't worry about that. We all survived, my name is cleared and we had a great time, thanks so much for a wonderful murder/mystery weekend, Maryann.

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AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST

AUTHOR ROAST AND TOAST
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