Best First Novel Agatha Nominee:
Consigned to Death

Jane was thrilled to learn that Consigned to Death has been nominated for the Best First Novel Agatha award by lovers of traditional mysteries. The award is named for Agatha Christie and given annually at the Malice Domestic mystery conference.

"You coulda knocked me over with a feather and I'm still smiling!" Jane said. "I'm completely thrilled!"

The winning book is selected by fan vote and awarded at the Malice Domestic mystery conference's annual banquet. This year, the conference will be held the first weekend in May.

Consigned to Death will be released in paperback April 3, 2007.

Antiques Collecting Fact:
Did You Know?

This J & MP Bell of Glasgow fruit/punch bowl is a wonderful example of transferware (c.1860).

Transfer printing was invented in England in the mid-18th century and is still the most commonly used method of decorating ceramics in Europe and the United States. Paper, printed with a design in metallic oxides, is wrapped around the porcelain and burns off during firing.

Deadly Appraisal Got a
Great PW Review

Publishers Weekly gave Deadly Appraisals a great review. Here’s what they wrote:

“Antiques dealer Josie Prescott thought she left trouble behind in New York City, where she weathered a price-fixing scandal in 2006's Consigned to Death , but her efforts to start afresh in New Hampshire stall when she gets mixed up in murder in Cleland's adept second cozy. After the Portsmouth Women's Guild representative, Maisy Gaylor, drops dead from potassium cyanide poisoning at a benefit gala that Josie has sponsored, Detective Rowcliff insinuates that Josie might have been the possible target.

Cleland keeps the reader guessing about the true target of the poison and the possible suspects. Did Britt Epps, the chairman of the fete, have it in for Maisy, or does the theft of a $20,000 Chinese porcelain tureen mean Josie should still be worried about her nemesis from her former New York auction house- With the help of her lawyer and the intermittent cooperation of a nosy reporter, Josie finds some surprising answers.”

Unpublished Fact
About Josie

Josie likes line dancing. She wears dark green alligator cowboy boots and jeans.  

“It’s a kind of meditation for me,” she explains. “I just get in the zone where my body takes over. It’s completely relaxing for me.”

Book Tour Continues to Grow

Starting  in New York City on 17 April 2007 and continuing to Arizona, Texas, California, Michigan, Massachusetts, Virginia, Tennessee, Nebraska and loads of places in between, Jane will again embark on a national tour that includes conferences, bookstores, and libraries. Stop by if you’re nearby and say hello!

Talking About Books
While Drinking Martinis

New book club discussion questions, along with martini recipes, have been posted—for both the soon-to-released paperback of Consigned to Death and the new Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery, Deadly Appraisal. The questions are specific to each book. So are the martini recipes!

What’s It Worth?
You Be the Judge!
Test or Hone Your Appraisal Skills

Each week we will offer three objects for you to appraise! Visit often to compare your appraisal judgments to those of the experts -- Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. It’s fun—and challenging! Want to give it a whirl now?

Cooking Tip from Josie’s Mom

“Honey,” Josie’s mom wrote. “That’s the secret. Fill a big pot with enough water to cover the corn. Add 1 tablespoon of honey per ear of corn. When the water is roiling, add the corn and bring the water back to a rolling boil for two minutes. Remove the corn from the water and drench in melted butter, rolling the ears to coat them evenly. Sprinkle with salt.”

Other recipes from Josie’s mom are on Jane’s website.