Murder of a Bookstore Babe

Author’s Note

In July 2000, when the first book in my Scumble River series, Murder of a Small-Town Honey, was published, it was written in “real time.” It was the year 2000 in Skye’s life as well as mine, but after several books in a series, time becomes a problem. It takes me from seven months to a year to write a book, and then it is usually another year from the time I turn that book in to my editor until the reader sees it on a bookstore shelf. This can make the time line confusing. Different authors handle this matter in different ways. After a great deal of deliberation, I decided that Skye and her friends and family will age more slowly than those of us who don’t live in Scumble River. While I made this decision as I wrote the fourth book in the series, Murder of a Snake in the Grass, I didn’t realize until recently that I needed to share this information with my readers. So, to catch everyone up, the following is when the books take place:

Murder of a Small-Town Honey—August 2000

Murder of a Sweet Old Lady—March 2001

Murder of a Sleeping Beauty—April 2002

Murder of a Snake in the Grass—August 2002

Murder of a Barbie and Ken—November 2002

Murder of a Pink Elephant—February 2003

Murder of a Smart Cookie—June 2003

Murder of a Real Bad Boy—September 2003

Murder of a Botoxed Blonde—November 2003

Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry—April 2004

Murder of a Royal Pain—October 2004

Murder of a Wedding Belle—June 2005

Murder of a Bookstore Babe—September 2005

The Scumble River short story and novella take place:

“Not a Monster of a Chance” from And the Dying Is Easy—June 2001

“Dead Blondes Tell No Tales” from Drop-Dead Blonde—March 2003