Sunday, March 28, 2010

Welcome Guest Blogger - Hannah Reed!


Please welcome author Hannah Reed as our guest blogger today. Hannah is the author of Buzz Off, the first book in a brand new series of mysteries. I was lucky to be given the chance to read Buzz Off before its publicaiton, and I just loved it. To wit:

“A stellar debut! The death of a beekeeper makes for an absolute honey of a read in this engaging and well-written mystery. Story Fischer is a sharp and resilient amateur sleuth, and Hannah Reed sweeps us into her world with skillful and loving detail. Booksellers, listen up: Once readers get a taste of the Queen Bee Mysteries, they will be swarming for more!"

~ Cleo Coyle

And now . . . here's Hannah!


A big bold Thank You to Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen for inviting me to share information on my upcoming Queen Bee mystery and, of course, I have a honey of a recipe for you. Buzz Off (the first) comes out September 7th (2010) and features Story Fischer, a beginning beekeeper and owner of The Wild Clover, a small Wisconsin grocery store catering to local products.


Here’s a little more about Buzz Off . . .

Story’s messy divorce is final; the honey from her beekeeping business has been harvested; and her market is thriving. Life seems pretty sweet until her mentor in the honey business is found stung to death in his apiary.
Story is still trying to explain to the panicked locals that Manny was killed by wasps, not honeybees, when another body is found floating in the Oconomowoc River. This time the evidence points to Story's ex. Sure, Clay's a womanizer and a buzz kill--but a murderer?

With the townsfolk stirred up against her honeybees, and a handsome cop--who also happens to be Story's former high school sweetheart--putting Clay in cuffs, it's up to Story to get them both out of a very sticky situation.

Now for the
promised recipe!

Wisconsin is famous for frozen custard, which is much like ice cream, only richer and creamier. (Yes, that’s really possible!) So if you visit our state, ‘bee’ sure to stop at one of our custard shops.
This is Story’s version of honey frozen custard from The Wild Clover newsletter found in the back of Buzz Off.



Honey Frozen Custard

2 c. milk
2 c. heavy cream
6 eggs
2/3 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
Ice Cream Maker

Whisk together eggs and honey and set aside. While stirring, heat milk and
1-1/4 cup of the cream until almost simmering. Important! Unless you want honey scrambled eggs (which are delicious BTW), make sure to SLOWLY add 1 cup of the cream mixture to the egg mixture, whisking.
Add all that to the pan, stirring. Simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon. Cool, then chill in fridge at least one hour. Add 1 tsp vanilla and remaining 3/4 cup cream. Pour into ice cream maker and follow those directions.




You could win a honey
of a mystery prize!

Buzz Off is now available for pre-order. To celebrate I'm running a special spring deal. Pre-order Buzz Off before May 1st and send a copy of the receipt - either email(hannahreed51@gmail.com) or snail mail (email for the address), and you'll be entered in the May 1st drawing for the prize.

Your favorite brick-and-mortar bookstore can handle the pre-order for you. Or take care of it online by clicking one of the hot buttons below.


* Barnes and Noble's pre-order
page for Buzz Off -
click here.


* Amazon's pre-order page
for Buzz Off -
click here.


Hannah Reed is the pen name for author Deb Baker. You can visit Hannah at her official website http://www.queenbeemystery.com/
for more recipes and fun facts about honey and bees.
Or visit her at her Facebook Queen Bee Page by clicking here.



Comments for
Hannah welcome!

14 comments:

  1. Custard that's really just richer and creamer ice cream can only be delicious. Never would have thought of adding honey instead of sugar. So much better for us. BUZZ OFF sounds like a great cozy mystery and Story Fischer a great new character to enjoy.

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  2. Mason - BUZZ OFF was a fantastic read! I think you'll love Story and her world. I certainly did!

    ~Cleo

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  3. I'm looking forward to reading Buzz Off. It looks like a honey of a read.

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  4. Oh, I want that custard ice cream. And cannot wait for this new series!

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  5. It must be wrong to want custard ice cream this early in the morning! Yum....

    I can't wait to read "Buzz Off," Hannah! Thanks so much for visiting with us at the Mystery Lovers' Kitchen today!

    Riley/Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  6. The first time I made this recipe, it really DID turn into the best scrambled eggs I've ever had. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it's a real treat.

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  7. You said the magic words: "ice cream." And honey, too? Yum, yum, yum!

    Can't wait for Buzz Off ... it sounds like a sweet read. :)

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  8. Hannah, I love the cover of Buzz Off. Makes me feel like summer is just around the corner.

    Your Honey Frozen Custard sounds wonderful. I can't wait to try it. And I confess that I'm fascinated by honey scrambled eggs!

    ~ Krista

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  9. I love honey... great recipe... sounds like a fun read

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  10. Thanks for all your comments and to Mystery Lovers' Kitchen for having me. And to Cleo for saying such nice things about my books.

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  11. Hannah, the ice cream/custard sounds great! With honey. Can't wait to try. I love scrambled eggs with syrup, so I'll bet with honey they're fabulous.
    ~Avery

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  12. Just a quick, final thank you to Hannah for joining us this week. I hope you'll come back again, later this year, to share another "honey" of a recipe. :-)

    Cheers,
    ~Cleo

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