There’s an exciting time that happens right before a book launch—sweepstakes season. That’s when my brilliant marketing team at Berkley runs giveaways. Hooray for giving back to the reading community!
My next Sassy Cat Mystery, Mimi Lee Cracks the Code, will release on November 30, but its first sweepstakes happens now! That’s why S equals September Sweepstakes.
This exciting giveaway features four books AND a mysterious murder mystery game. It’s called the Detective Starter Pack Sweepstakes and goes from September 15 through September 25. I’m happy to be participating with Olivia Blacke, Jennifer Hawkins, and Jenn McKinlay.
For kicks, I asked my fellow authors to give me one fun fact about their current book. Check out our answers below:
The biggest challenge in NO MEMES OF ESCAPE was figuring out the mechanics of an escape room and making everything connect logically behind the scenes. Luckily for me, my bestie and his husband are escape room junkies, plus he’s worked at a couple of escape rooms, so I was able to pick his brain which was an immense help with designing a working escape room.
—Olivia Blacke (No Memes of Escape)
I stayed in an Art Deco style house on Catalina Island that was the inspiration (minus all the thefts) for the vacation rental in Mimi Lee Cracks the Code.
—Jennifer J. Chow (Mimi Lee Cracks the Code)
Fun fact: Not only are corgis said to have come to Great Britain with the Vikings but they are supposedly frequently ridden by fairies instead of horses, and that the white markings on a Welsh Pembroke Corgi’s shoulders are from the fairy saddle.
—Jennifer Hawkins (Murder Always Barks Twice )
My cover artist put a stack of books on the cover and one of them is the cover of the first book in the series. You have to look closely but I love how meta it is!
—Jenn McKinlay (Killer Research)
A fun, related collage (starting from upper L, going clockwise): Rocked an escape room; Catalina Island; Book 1 in the Library Lover’s Mysteries; fairy puzzle
Readers, what do you associate with September?
Chicks on the Case 
To me, the beginning of September means 1st Day of School photos for children of friends and family. Mid-September (the 15th) means the birthday of Dame Agatha Christie. The end of September means October, my birthday month is coming up next!!
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All exciting events, Emily! And happy early birthday!
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my birthday is in Sept, it and all the lovely fall colors are September.
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Ooh, a lot of autumn birthdays here. Fall colors are gorgeous. I went to undergrad on the east coast, and I do miss the stunning foliage.
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September means cooler weather, Football, the geese start their flyovers, I start getting my garden prepped for winter, Pumpkin Spiced Lattes and starting my Christmas projects!
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Fall sounds super busy for you, Kathy. Geese flyovers–so neat! And I think September quickly turns into the holidays. Happy latte drinking and Christmas projecting!
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It’s my birthday and wedding anniversary month. Here in Florida it’s still in the 90’s so it’s iced pumpkin lattes for me. I do miss seeing the foliage when I lived in MA and taking a drive up to the White Mountains and going to the County Fairs. pgenest57 at aol dot com
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I love the month of September, Jen. Here in Indiana, the humidity is dropping and the intense summer heat is going away. Ideal weather in my book. Cheers!
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Ideal weather is great, J.C.! 🙂
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Happy double celebration month! Yikes, 90-degree weather.
For the sweepstakes, feel feel to directly enter at: https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/detective-starter-pack-sweeps
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Not sure why my comment is two spaces below…Ha!
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The year is coming to a close. The snowy holiday season is approaching, and I’m turning another year older this month. The feel and smell in the air are changing, cooler weather is here, and the days are noticeably shorter. It’s bitter-sweet, more sweet than bitter. I love the colors and inspiration to do better next year. I’m grateful each morning I wake up to be here to witness yet another day of the passing season.
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Wise words, Marci. Here’s to more sweetness to you this year and beyond!
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Love these backstage glimpses! I’m a big fan of September—football and cooler weather spring to mind. In fact, even though it has been in the 90s the last couple of days, I’m wearing a sweatshirt because my windows are all open and the thermostat reads a glorious 66°!
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Yay, finally cooler weather for you! Gotta love those comfy sweatshirts…
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This is so cool!! I’m excited about all these books. Plus, my daughter works part-time in an escape room in New Orleans AND loves corgis.
Hmm… I was gonna share this contest but now I want it all to myself!
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Thanks so much, El! Haha about the sharing!
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Love all of these behind the scenes tidbits! Fascinating!!
My favorite part about September is the advent of Sweater Weather. I’m just not so thrilled about what comes after: Heavy Coat and Boots Weather.
Excited about the new Sassy Cat Mystery, coming soon!
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Thanks, Kathy! Yes, let’s stick with sweaters and not heavy coats!
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What fun facts! Thanks for sharing. I’ll have to look closely at Jenn’s book when I get it to see the first book’s cover.
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It’ll be a treasure hunt, Mark. Enjoy!
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Fall , sweatshirt weather, and not too long till the holiday season.
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Yes, Terry. Sometimes these fall months pass in a blur!
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Love these fun facts, Jen, and what a terrific sweepstakes it is!
My birthday is also in September–fancy that!–but I also associate the month with back-to-school and beautiful weather here in Santa Cruz.
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Happy birthday month, Leslie! And back-to-school & beautiful weather are also great associations.
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My father was born September 1 and my mother September 29, so I welcome in and welcome out this month celebrating two special people that now reside in Heaven. My sister was born in August and I was born in October, so we surround September.
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What a sweet image, Madeleine–your whole family celebrating so close together.
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I’m eagerly awaiting your Mimi Lee book release, love this series! Fall is my favorite season and I am looking forward to cooler weather and hopefully lots of rain!
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Thank you, Reba!! Enjoy your favorite season!
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Love September and Sweepstakes! Cooler air, shorter days, more reading time in the evening. I love it!
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More reading time–that’s the best! Thanks for chiming in & being part of the sweepstakes, Jenn!
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I love these little “secrets”, Jennifer! September makes me think of my wedding anniversary — which is today!
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Aww, happy belated anniversary! Hope you had a great day, Vickie!
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I’m old enough to remember when school started after Labor Day. I had three family members who had birthdays in September. Lots of cake then! They are all gone now. Now, September is a visible marker that cooler weather is FINALLY coming back!
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School for my kids still started after Labor Day for a while, but now everyone is on a similar schedule. Yay for September and cooler weather!
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Loved hearing the behind-the-books stories, Jen! Constantly adding/peeling off layers of clothing with crazily-changing temps comes to mind for Septembers in New England–along with baseball/football on rotation (go, Sox/Pats!), apples, and…that Earth, Wind & Fire song. (I was in college at the time.) This month always means a brand new year to me–maybe even more than Jan. 1. Fresh goals, new notebooks!
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Fresh goals, Lisa! Can’t wait to see them fulfilled!
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September is light coat wearing and the excuse to not venture out, said this homebody.
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September to me is the time Mother Nature starts her process of putting the flora to bed for the year. It is also the time to start gathering supplies for the pantry to make dishes to warm our bodies and souls due tocooler weather.
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