Spotlight on Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie (V. M.) Burns #SpotlightSunday #giveaway

One Sunday every month, Mystery Lovers' Kitchen turns the spotlight on ourselves to allow readers a chance to get to know each of us better. Today is my turn in the spotlight. However, I think if you've read any of my books, you already know a lot about me. Let's see.

I was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. Never heard of it? It's in the Northwestern part of Indiana, only 90 miles from Chicago and close to the Michigan state line. It's also the home of one of my alma maters, the University of Notre Dame (Go Irish)! My R.J. Franklin Mystery series is set in the fictionalized version of South Bend. I call it, St. Joseph, Indiana. Why? St. Joseph is the county for South Bend. It's also the name of the river that passes through the town. There's even a prominent catholic university there. In the books, I call it JAMU, Jesus and Mary University. I'll bet you can guess what I based that on.😄 All of the titles in my RJ Franklin Mystery series are taken from Negro Spirituals. There are also soul food recipes in the back of the book. TRAVELLIN' SHOES is the first book in the series and it's the first book I ever wrote.

After graduating from Northwestern University (undergrad) and the University of Notre Dame (Masters), I got a job in St. Joseph, Michigan. St. Joe is 30 miles north of South Bend. If you've read my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series, you might recognize St. Joseph as the fictionalized town of South Harbor, Michigan. It's a quaint town on the shores of Lake Michigan with cobblestone streets and loads of charm. Later, I moved to Benton Harbor, which I refer to in the series as North Harbor. Benton Harbor is the home of bookshop owner, cozy mystery author, and amateur sleuth, Samantha Washington. Sam was a high school English teacher who dreamed of quitting her job, opening a mystery bookshop, and writing British historic cozy mysteries. I was never a high school English teacher, but Sam and I share the same dreams. I don't have the mystery bookstore (YET), but thanks to this series, I get to write both a contemporary mystery AND a British historic cozy because there is a story-within-a-story. Oh, and Sam and I have one more thing in common. We both own toy poodles. Samantha has two chocolate toy poodles and so did I. In fact, the toy poodles on the covers of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series were based on my dogs. In the books, they are named Snickers and Oreo. In reality, they were Coco and Cash. Sadly, they have both crossed the rainbow bridge, but I'm thrilled that they can live on in my books. 

After publishing my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series, my publisher asked if I wanted to write another series. That started my Dog Club Mystery series. This series it features a CPA and amateur sleuth, Lily Anne Echosby. At the start of the series Lily lives in Northwestern Indiana (sound familiar?). Later, she relocates to Chattanooga, Tennessee. I was never an accountant (math isn't my thing), but I did work for a CPA firm for twelve years. I left the CPA firm and went to work for an appliance manufacturer in Southwest Michigan. This company asked if I wanted to relocate to their new facility in Tennessee. Leave the cold Midwestern winters and move to the South? YES! I jumped at the chance. Like Lily, I needed a change and I longed for warmer weather. In the first book in the series, Lily gets a black toy poodle and gets involved with a dog club (and I got a black toy poodle). I too, used to belong to a dog club where I competed with Coco and Cash in canine obedience and agility. Look at Coco fly!!

My Baker Street Mystery series started in 2022. The first book, TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER, released in August 2022. It features Madison Montgomery, a social media influencer who is dumped by her fiancé during their livestreamed wedding. Maddy is humiliated and looking for a place to hideout, when she learns she's inherited a house, a bakery, and a 250lb English mastiff named Baby from her Great Aunt Octavia. But, in order to get her inheritance, she has to live in the house, run the bakery, and keep the dog for one year. The only problem is, Maddy can't cook. Here's where my life veers away from my books. I'm not a social media influencer. In fact, truth be told, I kind of suck at social media. I don't own a big 250lb dog. I have 2 toy poodles who weigh less than 20 lbs TOGETHER. And, unlike Maddy, I do know how to cook. In fact, I love baking. So, why write about a character who is completely different from me? Because I also enjoy living vicariously through my characters. In this series, at least for a little while, I can be the cool social media influencer with the amazing designer wardrobe and the big dog.

Here are my two poodles, Kensington (aka Kenzie) is the black toy poodle. YES, I named her after my publisher. She is 8 years old and loves to cuddle. Chloe is 3 years old. She is the troublemaker. Don't let that calm demeanor fool you. She's plotting mischief. 

That sums me up in a nutshell. Was I right? Did you already know everything about me simply by reading  my books? Well if you want to stay up to date on book sales, new releases, enter giveaways, and find out what the poodles are up to, follow me on these social media sites. 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vmburnsbooks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vmburnsbooks/

Website:  vmburns.com

READERS: Madison Montgomery in my Baker Street Mystery Series is a Social Media Influencer. Do you use/like social media? If so, which ones are your favorites? I'm on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Let me know in the comments to be entered for a copy of Murder is a Piece of Cake. US ONLY (Sorry, the customs fees are just too much. Last time I sent a book to Canada it was $40). Be sure to include your email address if you want to be included for the giveaway.

With small town New Bison’s Spring Festival just around the corner, the pressure is on Maddy to continue her late great-aunt Octavia’s legacy. That means scoring the top prize and transforming Baby Cakes into Southwest Michigan’s must-visit bakery, even though her inexperience in the kitchen brings nightmares of humiliating tagged photos and scathing reviews.

 

There’s another reason for lost beauty sleep. A second bakery is opening in town under the ownership of CJ Davenport, a shrewd investor with a reputation for sabotaging anyone who gets in his way. And savvy, flashy Maddy tops his list. It’s a sticky spot to be in—more so when Davenport turns up dead with a Baby Cakes’s knife stuck in his back.

 

Maddy’s whole life just went from #thriving to barely surviving. Now, supported by the crafty Baker Street Irregulars and her new boyfriend, she must find the courage to face off against a killer who could very well get her name trending for the first and last time . . .

MURDER IS A PIECE Of CAKE, the second book in the Baker Street Mystery series released on June 27, 2023. 

 

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