About Joyce and Jim Lavene Joyce and Jim Lavene wrote award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They had written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. Joyce passed away October 20, 2015 and Jim passed on May 5, 2016. They are missed by family, friends and their many fans. Renaissance Faire | Missing Pieces Mystery | Retired Witches Mysteries WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK PUTTING ON THE WITCH by Joyce and Jim Lavene Retired Witches #3 In the latest mystery from the bestselling authors of Looking for Mr. Good Witch, the retired witches of Wilmington, North Carolina, are ready to kick up their heels… With their coven’s spell book still missing, Molly and Elsie—along with their ghostly friend Olivia, her daughter Dorothy, and her boyfriend Brian—are all on edge, especially now that Dorothy’s infamously wicked father is back in the picture. So when they receive an invitation to an exclusive Witches Ball, the ladies jump at the chance to dress up and have some fun. The castle locale is spectacular and the party is hopping, but the festivities…

The first time I visited New Orleans, I fell head over heels in love with the city. And because this fanciful city was introduced to me by friends who lived there, friends who actually belonged to the famed Rex and Comus krewes, I had the rare privilege of being invited into the giant float dens, meeting the float builders, marching in one of the Fat Tuesday parades, and attending the white tie (not just black tie) Rex Ball. New Orleans truly is The Big Easy and The City That Care Forgot. It’s also a city that been mythologized and derided, and is filled with contradictions. It’s eccentric, overindulgent, and just naturally possesses a dark side. And I just knew that New Orleans would provide the perfect setting and backdrop for my Scrapbooking Mysteries. The tricky thing, of course, is how to capture the essence of New Orleans. How to bottle the magic and then spill it out onto the pages of my mysteries. Well, I’ve tried very hard to do just that. Because at its heart, New Orleans is a spooky, highly atmospheric place that lends itself to a mystery novel setting. Think about it – you have the crumbling…

Enemies to lovers. I have such a weak spot for these stories – reading them, writing them, watching them on the big screen…I love it all! My latest novel, ALL LACED UP, features two ice arena enemies: figure skater Lia Bailey and hockey player Pierce Miller. On the surface, the idea of Lia and Pierce (or any enemies!) becoming lovers seems ridiculous. How can two people go from wanting to stab each other with an ice skate to wanting to melt the skating rink’s ice with their kisses, all within the span of one novel? The key is passion. Just like it takes passion to love someone, it also takes passion to hate them. You know how the line between laughing and crying is so thin? I think the line between hate and love can also be thin, especially if said hate was caused by some kind of misunderstanding or easily resolvable conflict, which is definitely the case for Lia and Pierce. My favorite moment in one of these stories is when that misunderstanding disappears or the conflict is resolved. That moment when a character goes from thinking “he gets on my very last nerve” to thinking “he gets on…

According to the Bible, laughter has medicinal effects. I can’t deny this truth. I’ve often been in situations where I’ve laughed myself silly (or hardy-har-har-harred until I couldn’t see straight). Never once did I stop laughing to remind myself that my life was overflowing with heartache and pain. Nope. I just kept right on laughing until I wore myself out. I’ve come to the conclusion that something rather magical happens the moment laughter is released: We are incapable of holding onto the negatives. It’s as if laughter and negativity cannot reside in the same place at the same time. One pushes the other to the farthest corner of the room. Why all of this talk about laughter and pain? Because my job as a novelist calls these things into question daily. Many times I ask myself the question: “Why are you writing such silly, fluffy stories? Don’t you know there are serious issues going on in the world? Can’t you see that people are hurting? Why don’t you write something that will impact the reader in the deepest, darkest places so that their lives can be transformed?” My answer? “I do!” I write books—lighthearted, wonky books—that cause people to step…

In my upcoming release SILENT NIGHT SHADOWS, the heroine Claire Phillips has to face her past and realize that while she’s not the same person she once was, she isn’t as different as she thought… I’d love to say that learning such things is confined to fiction. But the truth? The truth is we have to do that in real life all the time. One thing I love about writing fiction is the opportunity it gives me as a writer to process issues in my own life through my stories. I take whatever I’m wrestling with, feed it into a fictional character, which changes the issue to something nothing like that I’m facing personally, and then use my emotions to help the character grow and change through that. And in the process? I grow and change as well. Writing SILENT NIGHT SHADOWS was that way for me. Claire Phillips’ journey starts when she is reunited with a college friend who is wrong for her in more ways than she can count. Claire used to be a rock climbing adventurer, but life started to feel too unsafe to her, and she’s shut down that side of herself in favor of a…

Food plays an important role in the Magical Cats Mysteries. Kathleen Paulson can often be found making treats for her friends as well as for her two cats, Owen and Hercules. The boys’ favorite treat has to be Kathleen’s homemade sardine crackers, also known as Stinky Crackers. If you decide to try these for your own cat, please remember there’s a reason they’re called Stinky Crackers. You might want to open a window (or two) when they’re cooking. Stinky Crackers 1 can sardines packed in spring water 1 T shredded cheddar cheese* 1 cup fine, whole wheat bread crumbs 1 beaten egg 1 T vegetable oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash the sardines in their liquid in a medium bowl. Add egg, oil, cheese and bread crumbs. Mix well. Mixture will be crumbly. Shape into 24 small balls. If the mixture will not hold together add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until it will. Place balls on an ungreased baking sheet and press down lightly on the top of each one with a fork. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until golden. Watch carefully; they burn easily. Cool and store in an air-tight container *Many cats are lactose-intolerant….

Like the heroines I write about in my sexy contemporaries, I love to travel and seek out new adventures. I don’t always know where those adventures are going to lead—but isn’t that part of the fun? Shortly after my husband and I decided to get married, a Swiss friend of his who lived in Zurich came to stay with us in New York City for a few days. It turned out her parents owned a house in the mountains in Switzerland (omg) that they used for skiing but that stayed empty in the summer (omg omg) and that they’d be happy to have us use for our honeymoon (omg omg omg). If you’re not really sure of the benefits of marriage when you can live with someone and build a life together without getting the state involved, I have one word for you: honeymoon. If you’re not really sure whether you have time or money for a honeymoon and someone offers to whisk you to their family’s Swiss chalet: TAKE IT. My husband and I had gone on a day hikes in the New York area before. It was something we knew we enjoyed doing together. But going to Switzerland…

First, I try to get lists from my family early! They usually give them to me after Thanksgiving, but I try to pin them down even earlier than that. Then I like to pick up things on sale, or that catch my attention whenever I’m out and about. I don’t shop a lot, so it helps to look when I’m just running regular errands. So hopefully well before Christmas all the shopping will be done and spread out a bit cost-wise. I make bears. I usually have a lot of bear orders for Christmas, so between writing and having fun with family (Thanksgiving and holiday decorating), I have to keep on top of those. I love making bears, so that makes it feel even more Christmas-like! I think of the joy they’ll bring to those all over the world. I just shipped five to two different homes in Australia! I decorate the day after Thanksgiving, normally. But this year, I’ll be seeing my son one last time while he’s still in Omaha, and we’ll visit the wolf reserve and zoo to see the jaguars before he leaves the service next year. So, I’ll be either decorating early or a little…

I love writing stories about the people in my Blessings, Georgia series. SAVING JAKE is the most recent and is an October 4th release. I’ve been trying to narrow down my favorite characters in this story, but I’m about to give it up because they’re all so important to the story that I couldn’t separate a one. Having said that, if I had to pick: Favorite characters: Bonnie Carol and her pet chicken, Lavonne. Worst villain in a Blessings book: Truman Slade Best secondary characters always: Ruby Dye and her girls from The Curl Up and Dye. Unsung hero in Blessings: P.Nutt Butterman, Esquire Best place to gather: Granny’s Country Kitchen Lessons learned: The past does not define our future. From me to you… here’s another story from the best small town in the south – Blessings, Georgia. I’d love to know how my readers would fill these out: Favorite Character: Worst Villain from any Blessings book: Best secondary character: Unsung Hero: Best Place to Gather: Lessons Learned: Tell us below and you’ll be eligible to win a copy of the first two Blessings, Georgia novels (YOU AND ONLY YOU and I’LL STAND BY YOU). Blessings, Georgia You and Only…

The #HoldOntoTheLight campaign has asked authors to share openly about depression and since I’ve struggled with it all my life, I was asked to participate. The good news is that I’m so much better than I was before. In fact, every day is a joyous smile of yes, yes, yes! And yes, I’m lying. The truth is that every day is NOT a glorious wave of internal joy, but on the whole, it’s way better than it was before. Depression is hard and thoughts of suicide are real. I know, I’ve been there. Guess what was the most important thing I learned about my depressions. Johnny Depp did not cheer me up. Even his 21 Jump Street reruns. Depression is a cycle. Sure I’ll get depressed again. Maybe even linger on (obsess about) suicide. But I climbed out the last dozen times, and I’ll climb out this time, too. That’s a certainty. I just have to hold on until it happens. The only one putting pressure on myself is me. That means I can remind myself—a thousand times if necessary—that it’s okay to miss a book deadline, soccer game, or PTA meeting. (In fact, I’ve only attended one PTA meeting…