FEATURED AUTHOR: CHRISTINA FREEBURN


ABOUT THE BOOK 


Making a list. Merry’s life is Christmas chaos. Her divorce is still in question. She’s behind on crafting orders. Ebenezer is an escape artist. And with one day left, she hasn’t completed the line-up for the annual Christmas parade, thanks to one grinch. Once Merry knows the Christmas secret, she realizes Santa isn’t what’s coming to town.



Checking it twice. Santa’s naughty list, courtesy of Jenna Wilcox, will roll down Main Street with names of residents who deserve a lump of coal in their stocking. Saving the parade won’t be easy, but Merry is up to task. Or so she thinks until she discovers Jenna’s body stashed in Santa’s sack.



Going to find out. As facts are unwrapped, Merry finds the line blurred between who’s naughty and nice. As threats are aimed at her and those she loves, Merry dashes for the truth before the murderer puts her on the naughty list and crosses her off for good.

Book Details:


Title: Better Watch Out

Author: Christina Freeburn

Genre: cozy mystery


Series: Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mystery, book 2


Publisher: Henery Press (October 15, 2019)

Print length: 252 pages

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours




IFs, ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA FREEBURN

Ifs


Q: If you could step back into a moment or day in time, where would you go?
A: I would return to a day when my two youngest were both on the same little league team. Now that all my children are grown and out of the nest, I miss those days and times when activities had us all together.

Q: If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
A: A librarian.

Q: If you had to do community service (or already do volunteer work), what would you choose?
A: A cat rescue organizer. This spring/summer I was an accidental cat rescue as feral cats kept having their litters on our porch or bringing their kittens to us once they were old enough to eat dry food. I, with the help of my son’s girlfriend, found homes for 12 kittens.

Q: If you were on the Amazon bestseller list, who would you choose to be one before and one below you?
A: I’d choose authors who being on the list gave them the boost of confidence to write the next book and enjoy the journey. It can be hard at times.


Q: If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
A: Pam Andrews Hanson, and we’d talk about everything, anything, and nothing. She’s one of my best friends and it’s been years since we’ve been able to sit and talk with each other. We don’t live near each other, so the majority of our conversations are through messages (either text of Facebook).

Ands


5 favorite possessions:  
    •    scrapbook albums
    •    Disney trading pin
    •    laptop
    •    electronic cutting machines (Cricut and Cameo)
and
    •    living room Christmas tree (I have more than one)

5 things you need in order to write:  
    •    laptop
    •    computer glasses
    •    notebook
    •    Vera Bradley pen
and
    •    a drink

5 favorite foods:  
    •    seafood
    •    gnocchi
    •    bread
    •    cheese
and
    •    asparagus (especially wrapped in bacon)

5 favorite places you’ve been:
    •    Disney World
    •    Caribbean
    •    Cape Cod
    •    California
and
    •    Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Chantilly, Virginia

5 favorite things to do:
    •    crafting
    •    reading
    •    traveling
    •    photography
and
    •    spending time with family

Whats

Q: What’s your all-time favorite place?
A: Disney World.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie?
A: Christmas With the Kranks.

Q: What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
A: I can’t watch the Nightmare Before Christmas because Jack Skellington creeps me out too much. 


Q: What’s the most beautiful sound you’ve heard?
A: A baby’s laugh.

Q: What’s your favorite/most visited Internet site?
A: Amazon
.

Q: What’s your favorite song?
A: Currently, "Someone You Loved."

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do?
A: Travel.

Q: What’s your favorite ice cream?
A: Mickey Mouse ice cream bars.

Q: What’s your favorite hobby or past-time?
A: Crafting, especially paper crafting.

Q: What’s your favorite movie snack?
A: Buttered popcorn.

Q: What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
A: Wallet.

Q: What drives you crazy?
A: The Charmin commercials
.

Q: What movie genre do you prefer: drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, or horror?
A: Usually drama, but I love superhero movies.

Q: What do you collect?
A: Disney trading pins . . . and scrapbook supplies

.

Q: What’s your latest recommendation for:
Food: Broccoli and cheese soup (here’s my favorite recipe for cooking in an Instant Pot)
Music: Ed Sheeran, No. 6 Collaboration Project
Movie: Aladdin (Live Action)
Book: Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan
TV: The Masked Singer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Freeburn has always loved books. There was nothing better than picking up a story and being transported to another place. The love of reading evolved into the love of writing and she's been writing since her teenage years. Her first novel was a 2003 Library of Virginia Literary Award nominee. Her mysteries series, Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery and the Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mysteries, are a mix of crafty and crime and feature heroines whose crafting time is interrupted by crime solving.

Connect with Christina:
Facebook  |   Twitter  |   Instagram

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  B&N  |  Kobo

FEATURED AUTHOR: CHRISTINA FREEBURN

ABOUT THE BOOK

Empty nester Merry Winters loves three things: Christmas, crafting and her family. To regain purpose and joy, Merry hits the road to a Christmas vendor event with her furry sidekick Ebenezer in her new mobile crafting sleigh, aka an RV.

But it soon turns into the nightmare before Christmas when Merry unwraps her Scrooge of an ex-husband’s body in one of the RV’s compartments. Add to that his missing winning lottery ticket believed to be stashed somewhere in the RV, leading the homicide detective and Merry’s stepdaughter to believe Merry is the one whodunit.

With visions of prison dancing in her head, will Merry be able to solve this Christmas calamity before she’s locked away?




Book Details:


Title: Not a Creature Was Stirring

Author: Christina Freeburn


Genre: Cozy mystery


Series: Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mystery, book 1


Publisher: Henery Press (January 22, 2019)

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

GUEST POST BY CHRISTINA FREEBURN

The Creation of a New Series

It’s interesting what can give me an idea for a new series. A song. A line of dialogue. A news article. This time, the catalyst for Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mystery Series was my youngest child moving out. I found it hard to relate to my heroine Faith (from the Scrap This mystery series) who was soon-to-be married and dreaming of starting a family when the raising of children part of my life was ending.

But as I’m a writer at heart, I couldn’t stop writing so I continued trying to write a book with Faith. It wasn’t going anywhere. No matter how many times I rewrote the first few pages, the story wasn’t taking off. I gave up on a novel and decided to write a short story featuring Faith. I finished it, but I wasn’t connected to it. There was no spark in the story. No humor. Not even anger. The characters were doing what I needed but it was emotionless.

It was then that I realized I was disconnected from Faith. We weren’t talking to each other and it wasn’t something I was able to force. I guess in a way I was a little jealous of where she was in life and found myself in a place where I couldn’t “talk” or understand her anymore. What was I going to do? I felt even more lost when I wasn’t writing, my brain was constantly asking, “What are you going to do now?” For twenty some odd years, my primary role was stay at home mom, but with no kids at home, that “job” was gone. I was no longer needed. My purpose was gone. I was adrift. And to add to my feelings of being “purposeless,” I found myself in a place where I couldn’t write…or at least I couldn’t write from Faith’s POV.

I’ve always found writing to be cathartic and work out a lot of issues that way. So, I decided to write a story featuring a new character. A woman who was an empty nester and struggling to know who she was now that motherhood was no longer her primary focus. I wanted to “up the ante” for her so also made her recently divorced. I looked in my little book of mystery plot ideas…I jot down snippet of conversation I hear, song lyric, or in this case a pondering I had when I had watching a show about RVs, and one worked perfectly for a woman beginning a new life adventure.

I started writing and Merry Winters came to life on the page. One day, I do plan on telling the next story in Faith’s life (and sleuthing) but for now, Merry and I still have things to work out together.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Christina Freeburn has always loved books. There was nothing better than picking up a story and being transported to another place. The love of reading evolved into the love of writing and she’s been writing since her teenage years. Her first novel was a 2003 Library of Virginia Literary Award nominee. Her mysteries series, Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery and Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mysteries, are a mix of crafty and crime and feature heroines whose crafting time is interrupted by crime solving.

Christina served in the US Army and has also worked as a paralegal, librarian, church secretary, and golf shop pro. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, dog, and a rarely seen cat except by those who are afraid and allergic to felines.




Connect with Christina:

Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book
:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: CHRISTINA FREEBURN

ABOUT THE BOOK

Even knee-deep in planning her wedding, Faith Hunter finds herself distracted by the town scrapbook she was commissioned to create. Eden’s oldest mystery, the founding family’s exodus nearly a hundred years ago, remains unsolved. When a search through the family’s abandoned mansion leads to the uncovering of bones on the property and ex-boyfriend Steve Davis announces a surprise heir has staked a claim, Faith is determined to dig up the truth left behind.

Meanwhile, family friend Wyatt Buford asks Faith to look into his deadbeat father’s disappearing act and his connection to the murder. Her quest for answers unearths secrets past and present that some would prefer stay buried at any cost. Faith’s resolve to present the facts and nothing but about Eden’s history could lead to her own future being cut short.

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA FREEBURN

A few of your favorite things:
Scrapbooking Supplies, pretty much anything Disney, Christmas movies.
Things you need to throw out:
Boxes, receipts, the keep-because-I-might-need-this-obscure-object-one-day stuff
.

Things you need in order to write:
Computer, pen, Internet, excitement, what-if part of my brain working.
Things that hamper your writing:
Internet, self-doubt, daily distractions
.

Things you love about writing:
Writing, readers, righting wrongs through fiction, meeting people.
Things you hate about writing:
Times I struggle for the words, marketing (doesn’t come natural to me).

Hardest thing about being a writer:
Self-doubt.

Easiest thing about being a writer:
Ideas (I have a document with ideas of books I’d like to write).



Things you never want to run out of:
Clean clothes, gas, scrapbooking tape, patience.
Things you wish you’d never bought:
Furbies for my children, a Ford Tempo, caramel M&Ms (because those things are addicting)
.

Favorite beverage:
Diet Coke
.
Something that gives you a pickle face:
Beer.

Something you wish you could do:
Swim.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do:
Worry.

Things you’d walk a mile for:
My family.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:
Snakes, ventriloquist dummies.

Things to say to an author:
You enjoyed their book or are interested in reading their book
.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:
Would I have read your work? (How would I know that? If I answer yes, I sound pretentious, if I say no than it comes across like I don’t have confidence that my books aret worth reading.)

Favorite places you’ve been:
Paris, Disney World, Provincetown
.
Places you never want to go to again:
Black Canyon National Park (I’m terrified of heights, drive not fun nor looking down into the gorge).

Favorite books:
Mystery and romance.

Books you would ban:
Autobiographies of criminals.

Things that make you happy:
My family, Disney, Christmastime
.
Things that drive you crazy:
Double standards, hypocrisy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Freeburn started jotting down stories on her bus commute to high school and never stopped. The Scrap This Mystery series is a mix of crafty and crime, bringing together her love of mysteries and scrapbooking. Her New Beginnings series is an inspirational romantic suspense featuring heroines and heroes willing to risk their lives to find hope, promise and a future for those struggling in a world that’s set against them. Christina served in the JAG Corps of the US Army and has worked as a paralegal, librarian, and church secretary. Currently, she is plotting two new series and waiting to see which one wins over her muse.



Connect with Christina:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads 

Buy the books:
Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble   |   iBooks   |   Kobo  

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FEATURED AUTHOR: CHRISTINA FREEBURN

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Caribbean cruise is the perfect setting for a Roget wedding, and Faith meeting Ted’s family. She also hopes the vacation gets their stalled romance moving, but it doesn’t take long for that dream to capsize. Ted’s daughter hates her. The ex-wife is adored. Odessa Roget is surly. And the banned father of a groom, John Roget, requests Faith’s assistance in bringing down a jewel theft ring masterminded by his ex-wife.

Having had a man she loved accuse her of a crime, Faith won’t let Odessa travel down the same path and agrees to help. Faith sets her course on uncovering the true criminals—which might be a groom’s best friend. The romantic week turns disastrous as a wedding is interrupted, suspicious deaths point to murders, and Ted’s daughter schemes to reunite her parents. Instead of diamonds being a girl’s best friend, Faith finds they’re cruising her toward Davy Jones’ Locker.

INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTINA FREEBURN

Christina, do you write every day?
No. For me, I need to give my brain at least one day of rest from writing a week. If I don’t take a day off, I find myself struggling to get the words out. I need a break from the computer and to not think about the story to come back to it fresh and ready to create.

How often do you read?
I try to read every day, though last year I didn’t read as often as I wanted (unless I counted message boards). This year, I’m going to limit the amount of time I spend on messages boards so I have more time to read books. I missed reading books and there are so many on my Kindle and my shelves that I’m a little said I didn’t get around to reading last year.

What do you think makes a good story?
For me, a good story has main characters who are actively involved in the plot and not ones where all the events just happen in the story and the heroine and hero are only reacting. I don’t even mind unlikeable characters as long as they are true to themselves and are engaged in what’s going on in the plot and realize some of the drama happening to them was created by them.

What books do you currently have published?
Masked to Death is the thirteenth book I’ve had published. Two of my books are out of print, and I have no plans to self-publish. The books I have out that are still in print are in the Scrap this Series: Cropped to Death, Designed to Death, Embellished to Death, Framed to Death, and the most recent Masked to Death.
I wrote The New Beginning Series which are inspirational romantic suspense (this series is complete), and those books are: Lost Then Found, Led Astray, Safe and Sound, Long Gone, and Far and Away
Then there’s Dying for Redemption which is a traditional detective novel where the main character is a ghost who helps the recently murdered solve their own case. I’d love to write another in this world (I had planned on it being a series), but I haven’t been able to work it into my schedule the last few years.

Is writing your dream job?
Yes.  I wanted to be a writer  when “I grew up” in the ninth grade. Before then, I loved reading but not so much writing. I will admit that there are some days when writing (especially the business side of it) can almost feel like a nightmare, but I know every job (and dream) has those days where you question yourself and wonder why you thought it was a good idea.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
The Food Network. I can get some great cooking and baking tips and learn a lot, and I love most of the shows. But probably the best thing about the Food Network is there isn’t any negativity, except for some of the competition shows when the contestants get sassy with each other. But even then, it’s limited and not too horrible or leaves me feeling depressed.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I like Facebook. There are days when I spend way too much time on it and days I wonder why I bother because my feed contains so much negativity. On those days,  I remind myself Facebook is a way I can keep connected with family and friends that I don’t get to see that often, and it’s what I make of it. If I know I’m in a mood where pretty much the world seems to irritate me, I need to not click on the icon and wait until I’m feeling better.  Like with anything, there’s positives and negatives and I’m the one that controls if Facebook is a positive or negative experience for me.

What five things would you never want to live without?
The five things I wouldn’t want to live without are cars, cameras, scrapbooking supplies, computer, and luggage…all things that help in traveling, creating memories, and documenting them.

What do you wish you could do?
Swim. I never learned as a child, and when I was almost thirty I took swim lessons, but I didn’t master it and still struggle in the water. I can not drown for a short length of time, but I still don’t know how to swim. I’ve thought about trying lessons again but there isn’t a place near me that teaches adults. I really want to learn as I enjoy cruising, and I know I’d love it even more if I could swim because I’d be able to participate in more of the excursions available as most involve water.

What’s your least favorite chore?
Laundry because it just never seems to be done.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery Series brings together Christina’s love of mysteries, scrapbooking, and West Virginia. When not writing or reading, she can be found in her craft room or at a crop. She’s working on the sixth book in the series published by Henery Press. Christina served in the US Army JAG Corps and also worked as a paralegal, librarian, and church secretary.

Connect with Christina:
Website  |  
Blog  |  Facebook  |   Twitter   |  Goodreads  

Buy the book:
Amazon 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Featured Author: Christina Freeburn

I'm happy to feature another cozy mystery writer today. Christina Freeburn is the author of the Faith Hunter Scrap mystery series. She's here today to talk about book number 2 in the series, Designed to Death.

About the book:

Faith Hunter planned the perfect event at her grandmother’s shop, Scrap This, featuring local scrapbooker and Life Artist Diva, Belinda Watson. But the extravaganza goes up in a cloud of glitter when Belinda and her cousin, Darlene, brawl over scraplifted designs. Faith attempts to break it up, but only makes things worse. Then when Belinda turns up dead behind the Scrap This store, Faith’s involvement goes viral.

As accusations against her turn vicious, Faith sets out to prove her nemesis, Darlene, committed the crime, only to realize they are both innocent. Now they must team up or the murderer’s plan will come together seamlessly with the frenemies sharing a jail cell—or worse, a funeral.

Interview with Christina Freeburn

Christina, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I’ve been writing since I was a freshman in high school so ... wow ... almost thirty years. I started during a long, boring bus ride to school. It was thirty minute drive so a friend and I decided to write a teenage romance book together. She grew bored after a few weeks, but I continued on.

How did you come up with the title of your book?

Since the first book in the Faith Hunter Scrap mystery series is Cropped to Death, I wanted to pair another scrapbooking term with “to Death.” The second book in the series deals with scraplifting/stealing designs so I went with Designed to Death.

How would you describe your book in five words?

Cozy, crafty, humorous, sassy, and engaging. 

How did you create the plot for this book?

The plot came from combining a couple of different incidents that happened years ago in the scrapbooking community and adding a twist or two to make it a little more unique. I didn’t want the plot to be similar to the actual events and also needed to up it just a little more so it seemed “reasonable” people would find themselves willing to commit murder. And since Faith is the kind of person who is driven to help others, I wondered what would happen if the person in need was someone she didn’t particularly like. 

How do you get to know your characters?

By writing about them. I try and do biographies and write out their back story, but I’ve discovered the most important things, and their deepest secrets, come out when I’m writing the stories and giving the characters freedom to do and say what they want.

What would your main character say about you?

That I’m bossy and fight to get my own way with the story even though she has a better idea and knows what’s really going on in Eden. I need to let go of what I want to happen so what is actually happening can take place on the page.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

Without giving too much of the plot away, it’s a toss-up between Faith and Darlene getting caught by Detective Ted Roget as their looking for clues at someone’s house, and a scene involving Washi tape.

What song would you pick to go with your book?

By the end of the book, Faith’s theme song is "Undo It," by Carrie Underwood.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?

Travel Unscripted by Mark Murphy in ebook format.

Where’s home for you?

West Virginia.

Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?

I used to work in a library and loved it. So I’d pick a library.

You won the lottery. What’s the first thing you would buy?

A house or condo in Florida that’s close to a port and also Orlando.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I like to scrapbook, read or quilt. And my favorite thing of all to do would be traveling, especially to Disney World though we can’t do that very often.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on Embellished to Death, book 3 in the Scrapbooking series.

About the author:

Christina has loved books since she can remember. There was nothing better than picking up a story and finding herself in another place and meeting new people. The love of reading evolved into the love of writing, and she's been writing since her teenage years. Her first novel, Parental Source, was a 2003 Library of Virginia Literary award nominee. Whether it's a detective story or an inspirational romantic suspense, her stories usually involve some sort of crime where the characters are determined to see those wrongs righted.