A GIANT MURDER - Marji Laine - One Free Book

Bio: Marji Laine is a graduated home-schooling mom of four with two college students staying in the nest for a little longer. She and her hubby of 34 years also share their North Texas home with a rescue pup named Rosie. When Marji isn't editing or publishing the books for her authors at Write Integrity Press, she indulges in penning her own mystery, suspense, and romance novels. She loves acting in musical comedy, has directed many stage productions, leads a women's Bible study and sings in her church choir. She prefers mountains to beaches, dogs to cats, NASCAR to football, Magnolia pie, white roses, green, and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. You can find her at her website: http://.www.MarjiLaine.com

Welcome back, Marji. Why did you become an author?  My mom asked me over a decade ago, “If money and time weren’t issues, what would you do?” I answered, “WRITE!” I surprised myself, because I had a successful scrapbooking and stamping business with 5 annual retreats. But Mama wasn’t surprised, and it was at that point that my career began.

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job? I do love to help other authors publish their books, and I love teaching, but writing is like a vacation to me!

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why? I really like the time I’m in. I might have enjoyed living earlier in the twentieth century or being a fly on the wall during the Exodus. I can be a history buff, but I don’t want to actually go there.

What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to? We traveled a lot when I was a kid, covering most of the middle part of the US, but I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, to Hawaii, or to the uppermost part of the northeast - Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. I would love to visit all of those places at some point.

How about a foreign country you hope to visit? My ancestry is from Scotland. I would love to visit there. I’d also love to visit the castles of Germany.

What lesson has the Lord taught you recently? We’re studying the life of Joseph right now, and I’m loving how the Lord wastes nothing. Also, my daughter has given me food for thought: When my emotions focus on the negative, demand proof. I have loved doing that.

Tell us about the featured book. I am so honored to have been invited to join in the Ever After Mystery series. We were challenged to take a fairy tale and rewrite it to craft a mystery set sometime in the 1920s. I placed mine in downtown Dallas, 1926, and jumped into “Jack and the Beanstalk.” My mystery is complete with a giant, a harp, a goose, and Jack, and of course, it wouldn’t be complete without magic beans.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Dallas, Texas, 1926

Always be prepared for anything.

Josephine Jacobs could almost hear her mom’s reminder. But how could she have prepared for fisticuffs in the middle of an elegant event? She crouched next to her serving station in the modern chrome kitchen as yet another crash of pans made her flinch.

The guests of the elegant affair on the other side of the swinging door must be hearing all of this. Maybe the band in the Century Ballroom drowned it out. Josie poked her head above the counter.

“Haven’t you seen the paper, Goose? I’m a giant in my field.” TG Taggert, the host of the gala, grabbed the smaller man by his white chef’s collar and shoved him against a shelf full of cookware.

He pushed off the unit and shoved a fist toward Mr. Taggert. “You’re not going to get away with this.”

Mr. Taggert reached to the side and then backhanded the man across the face.

Josie ducked at the violence.

“You don’t have any say, my friend.” Taggert’s voice had an ugly sound. Another crash followed Mr. Taggert’s shout.

Josie peeked out again. How could she not? If nothing else, she wanted to make sure the fight wasn’t moving closer to her.

The chef’s nose showed blood. “I’m not your friend. And they aren’t your beans.”

Beans? She hadn’t been paying attention when the fight broke out, but really. Beans?

Mr. Taggert gathered the chef’s collar in a meaty fist again. “They are my goose-laid, golden eggs, Ganderson. What do you think you’ll do about it?”

The chef’s face looked positively blistered, but he didn’t explode. “I’ll kill you before I let you take my recipes and sell them in your horrible cans.”

Mr. Taggert threw his head back and laughed. Almost a pleasant sound. He patted the chef on the cheek he’d just hit as though the man were a good dog.

“Face it, Goose, you made a gamble. You went up against the big guys, and you lost. Fair and square.” Then he turned his back on the man.

How can readers find you on the Internet? My website is http://.www.MarjiLaine.com. I have info there about my books and about publishing as well as a contact form. And I’m always chatting back and forth with my newsletter group members. A link to join my newsletter is on my website as well.

Also, Lena, I’m doing a Goodreads giveaway with A Giant Murder! Woohoo! Three US winners will receive a signed copy of my book and a box of related items. Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/328890-a-giant-murder

And today is the beginning of a fun blog hop mystery about my book! Wanna find out WHO SPILLED THE BEANS? Check out my blog tomorrow, but today, the story begins on Liz Tolsma’s blog: https://liztolsma.com/2021/07/26/who-spilled-the-beans/

Thank you, Marji, for sharing your story with my blog readers and me. You know I love your writing. I’m eager to read this book. And I’d love to feature each book in the series. I’ve already featured The Last Gasp.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

http://ow.ly/HNNz50FJwBC

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