Moving Violation

by Melanie Jackson

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BLURB:

Welcome to Hope Falls, home of the world’s smallest but smartest detective…

“Moving Violation” is the first book in author Melanie Jackson’s bestselling Chloe Boston Cozy Mystery Series. Within it’s covers we meet the diminutive sleuth Chloe Boston, a member of the Hope Falls Police Department who is stuck in parking enforcement because at 98 pounds, 5 foot nothing, she will never be able to pass the department’s physical entrance exam to become an officer.

In the first installment of this light-hearted cozy mystery series Chloe investigates the death of a local industrialist. Of course, her efforts are hampered by her lack of official status within the department. But there may be another way to achieve her goal of someday becoming a detective. With the aid of her dog, Blue, and her writer’s group, Chloe may just be able to solve Hope Fall’s recent homicide and by so doing impress the new chief of police.

The Chloe Boston cozy mysteries are light airy reads filled with plenty of quirky characters and fast moving plot elements. And the best part is that if you become hooked on the books, as I’m sure you will, there are 21 more of them in the series for you to enjoy.

Fourth Anniversary Illustrated Edition

The fourth anniversary rerelease of this classic series opener includes illustrations by author Lisa Cach as well as bonus material originally released separately under the title the “Chloe Boston Files”.

If you’re looking to spend a pleasant evening snuggled up in a chair by the fire reading a good book then you need look no further — this is the book for you.

Let’s stay in touch…

—Melanie

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Excerpt:

I ride a bike.

My bike is technically a tricycle, but it is not one of those cute scooters you see senior citizens tooling around in or the kind you rode when you were a kid. No, my bicycle has a third wheel on account of the massive sidecar bolted onto it. The extra appendage was constructed by my father out of another bike and a pile of scrap metal he had lying around in the back of his shop. I think that some of it was plumbing he tore out of the guest bathroom he never finished remodeling. Which may be partly why my mom left him.

Me? My name is Chloe Boston. I’m five foot tall and weigh in at a whopping ninety-eight pounds, sopping wet with my clothes on. I’ve been told that I’m nice to look at, and based on the reaction of most men I meet off the job I suppose it’s true. Maybe because I was an ugly duckling for so many years, I have a hard time believing this.

Regardless of my diminutive size and passable appearance, I’ve always valued the power of my brain above my limited brawn or fairness to the eye. In fact, it’s my brain and not my appearance that usually gets me into trouble and is at the center of the story I’m about to tell you.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Melanie has been writing her entire life. In fact, one of her earliest fond memories is receiving an IBM Selectric typewriter for her birthday. After publishing romance novels (Scottish historical and paranormal) for New York based publisher Dorchester Publishing from 1999 to 2010, Melanie chose to begin self-publishing cozy mysteries. Since then she has released the Chloe Boston, Butterscotch Jones, Miss Henry, Wendover House, Kenneth Mayhew and Jane Blackthorn Mystery series.

Melanie Jackson is the award-winning author of more than one hundred novels and novellas published in various languages. She lives with her writer husband and her bossy cat in the Sonoma wine country. Besides gardening, she is involved with animal charities.

Interview for My Devotional Thoughts

1. When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?

I was three and beginning to read and realized that the cover of my favorite book A Visit From St. Nicholas also said ‘by Clement C Moore’. As it dawned on me that the book had been written by someone—not simply appeared by magic like rain or flowers—I knew I wanted to be one of those people who wrote books.

2. When you are writing, what is your work schedule like?

At the beginning stages of a book when the muse has been burning the midnight oil and I awake with material in my head, I sit down to write first thing. Once the first heat of the book has passed I usually manage breakfast before sitting down at the computer. Writing in mainly something I do in the morning when energy is high. Afternoons are reserved for editing or marketing or social media.

3. What kinds of research (if any) did you do for this book?

One would think that with Moving Violation being about a meter maid who wants to be a detective that the research would involve things related to law enforcement—and it did to the degree that I talked to some of the local deputies in the small town where we were living. But mostly it involved figuring out the routes of the local meter maids and using them as blueprint in my mind for Chloe’s route and the timing of her day. Most of the other research involved facts about Washington State—differences in laws (during the course of the series marijuana was legalize as a for instance) and also what sorts of plants and animals live there. These are small details that doesn’t appear a great deal in the story, but I like to know my background environment, to have a complete map of it before beginning a series.

Moving Violation was my first cozy mystery and the book was actually written as a test to see if the series would fly. Could the life of a meter maid be sufficiently interesting to readers? And it turns out that it was. At reader request, we ended up making it available in audio and print as well as e-format, and now also in Spanish. It is a bit of risk but we shall see if the life of a small town meter-maid in Hope Falls, Washington will resonate with other cultures.

4. In your spare time, what do you like to do?

My main enthusiasm is gardening—indoors and out. Right now I am growing African violets from seed. I was shocked at how tiny the seeds are—like dust. And the plants are six months old and still well under an inch tall. I am not sure what I will do with twenty of the same plant, perhaps inflict them on the neighbors for Christmas.

Drought permitting, this year I would like to attempt growing pumpkins hydroponically. I believe that it can be done and with less water than in the ground where much of the moisture bleeds away or evaporates. But pumpkins are water hogs so we need to see what the water rationing situation is looking like before I decide to do this.

5. If you could have dinner with 3 people living or dead, who would you choose and why?

Alexandre Dumas—with him cooking the meal. The man was an amazing chef and gave tremendous dinner parties. He also had a lightning fast mind and was a warm and jolly host.

Ninon De L’enclos (seventeenth century feminists, writer and editor who ran the best literary salon in Paris).

Christopher Marlowe, because though I can see some of him through his writing and by the letters and testimonials left by friends (including Shakespeare), I would still like to know the man who could translate Greek verse so warmly and humanely and yet also do the cold-blooded work of a spy.

All of them had great political courage. They also shared the trait of knowing very early in life what they wanted and pursued their dreams with rare determination.

LOL—of course there is a problem with this guest list. We would have a terrible time understanding each other since my French is poor and while I can read Elizabethan English I don’t happen to use it much in conversation.

Amazon (Kindle)   http://www.amazon.com/Moving-Violation-Chloe-Boston-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B003YH9JKI

Smashwords (All Formats)   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/20686

This book is on sale for only $0.99, as are the first books of Melanie’s most popular other series:

Moving Violation (Chloe Boston Cozy Mysteries 1)

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Moving-Violation-Chloe-Boston-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B003YH9JKI

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moving-violation-melanie-jackson/1100544822

Due North (Butterscotch Jones Cozy Mysteries 1)

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/North-Butterscotch-Jones-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B004VMOANQ

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/due-north-melanie-jackson/1102121596

Portrait of a Gossip (Miss Henry Cozy Mysteries 1)

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Gossip-Miss-Henry-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B007X6IL5A

The Secret Staircase (Wendover House Gothic Mysteries 1)

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Staircase-Wendover-House-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B005V0K81A

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-secret-staircase-melanie-jackson/1106609231

Contact information:

Email: mjjaxn@gmail.com

Website: melaniejackson.com

Facebook: facebook.com/authorMelanieJackson

Twitter: twitter.com/melaniejaxn

 
Melanie will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/02/vbt-moving-violation-by-melanie-jackson.html

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