LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD

Hey, Y'all! After a busy summer and a hectic, crazy year, I'm taking a little time off from road-trippin and setting up at Vintage Markets  and Antique Shows. However, being the enthusiastic JUNKER I am, I never seem to take a 

break from "pickin'." So my booth at Hermann Antique Mall will be getting a whole lotta love and attention in the coming weeks. I have totes

and totes of all things rusty, cowgirl, garden, lacy, vintage, 
primitive,  dainty, and industrial that 

will be making its way to Brenham for the autumn junkin' season. 

I'm also very excited to be a part of the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale in Gonzales the first 

weekend of November. I'll be setting up a truckload of FRESH "Victorian Cowgirl" themed treasures!

Until then, I'll be presenting, "Flea Markets, Funky Old Stuff and Murder, Oh My!" to 

the Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime Mystery Writers group in Austin September 8. 

They've asked me to present how old stuff could possibly become incorporated into a mystery novel...I'm beyond thrilled to be asked to explain how that can and does happen (at least to me!) Which leads me to 

mention what is happening with VINTAGE MURDER, the second book in the Jimmie Rae Flea Market Mystery series. To be honest, I'm still working on the manuscript--I know, I know...I said I'd be done already and have it available by the end of the year. I'm still learning a lot about publishing and although the book will technically be "finished" well before then, there's a lot of pre-release marketing and reviewing that needs to happen. I'm working to do just that to the best of my abilities, but it puts VINTAGE MURDER at a LAUNCH date of March 2014...just in time for the SPRING TEXAS ANTIQUES WEEK! In the meantime, look for some fun contests AND GIVEAWAYS, a-hot-off-the-press-Jimmie Rae Junkin' newsletter, the VINTAGE MURDER cover release, and lots of vintage wedding info...hopefully you'll understand and it will be worth the wait. 

Until then, here's the "blurb" for VINTAGE MURDER. 

Love is in the air for everyone but Jimmie Rae. Maxine Huntington and Steve Devine are engaged and the wedding planning is in full swing. Even her Grandmother Star has found romance. All is going as well as can be expected until something blue is wrapped around the wedding planner's throat and she is found murdered near Blessings Antique Mall. 
What's a girl to do when all the clues point back to her best friend as the primary suspect? It's a whole lot easier to host a pin-up girl bachelorette party than to investigate a case with more twists than a funky macrame plant hanger. 
Jimmie Rae goes beyond her duties as maid of honor to hurry and solve the murder so Maxine can be taken off the suspect list and the wedding can go on as scheduled. 
What she discovers leads her to believe she may not know her best friend as well as she thought she did. Only the admission of a strange secret past can free Maxine. But will her revelation leave her broken-hearted at the altar and directly into the trap of the killer? Can Jimmie Rae save not only their friendship, but her best friend before it's too late?
Stay tuned....

My last happy thought for this post...six weeks until FALL TEXAS ANTIQUES WEEK!! 

Until next time,

Peace, love, and all the good stuff, sweet friends!