June 29, 2018

Murder at the Marina by Ellen Jacobson / Guest Post



Hey, everyone! Let's give a warm welcome to Ellen Jacobson. She's telling us all about Murder at the Marina and her sailing adventures with her husband. Welcome, Ellen!



Thanks for hosting me on your site today to celebrate the release of my cozy mystery, Murder at the Marina. This is the first book in the lighthearted and humorous Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery series, featuring a reluctant sailor turned amateur sleuth.

My own sailing adventures and misadventures inspired me to write this series. My husband and I bought our first sailboat in New Zealand in 2012. After a couple of years cruising in those beautiful waters, we returned to the States and bought a bigger boat which we moved onto in 2015. We've since cruised in Florida and the Bahamas, labored over endless boat projects, and worked to keep our cruising kitty (savings) topped up.

I wanted to reflect my experiences learning to sail, cruising and living aboard a boat, and being part of the boating community in my cozy mysteries. You could say that there's a little bit of me in my main character, Mollie.

I thought I'd share one of the boating tidbits which I wrote about in Murder at the Marina—namely, getting on and off of a boat at the dock. I like to think of living aboard a boat as a form of yoga. You're constantly stepping over things, bending under things, and contorting your body into strange, and sometimes painful, positions. Mollie has a bit of trouble climbing aboard her boat. To be honest, I'm surprised she made it on board in one piece. I know that I've had a mishap on more than one occasion.

What makes it even worse is when a powerboat passes by at high speed, creating a huge wake which violently jostles your sailboat from side to side. While you're trying to keep your balance, you can hear things falling onto the floor and breaking. What fun. It will be interesting to see over the course of the series how Mollie copes with the physical challenges of the boating life.

If you'd like to learn more about Mollie and her sailing adventures, you can find details about Murder at the Marina below.

Title: Murder at the Marina
Series: A Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery #1

Print ISBN: 978-1-7321602-1-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-7321602-0-0
Genre: Mystery



BLURB:

A dilapidated sailboat for your anniversary—not very romantic. A dead body on board—even worse.

Mollie McGhie is hoping for diamonds for her tenth wedding anniversary. Instead, her husband presents her with a dilapidated sailboat. Just one problem—she doesn’t know anything about boats, nor does she want to.

When Mollie discovers someone murdered on board, she hopes it will convince her husband that owning a boat is a bad idea. Unfortunately, he’s more determined than ever to fix the boat up and set out to sea.

Mollie finds herself drawn into the tight-knit community living at Palm Tree Marina in Coconut Cove, a small town on the Florida coast. She uncovers a crime ring dealing in stolen marine equipment, investigates an alien abduction, eats way too many chocolate bars, adopts a cat, and learns far more about sailing than she ever wanted to.

Can Mollie discover who the murderer is before her nosiness gets her killed?

BOOK LINKS:



Author Bio:

Ellen Jacobson writes mystery and scifi/fantasy stories. She is the author of the “Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery” series. She lives on a sailboat with her husband, exploring the world from the water. When she isn't working on boat projects or seeking out deserted islands, she blogs about their adventures at The Cynical Sailor.

AUTHOR LINKS:



23 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for having me over at your blog today, Chrys!

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    1. You're very welcome! I'd welcome you back anytime. :)

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  2. Sounds like plastic cups and plates is the way to go. They will only bounce not break.

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    1. We do have some plastic plates and bowls - they sure do come in handy at times :-)

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  3. I guess my petite size would be a plus on a boat.

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    1. Definitely! Of course, that means you'll get stuck with some of the worse jobs cause you can fit into tiny spaces :-)

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  4. I'm not into sailing but this seemed like an excellent book and a wonderful insight with the authore. Thank you Chrys.

    Yvonne.

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    1. Thanks - I'm glad you enjoyed hearing about life on board our boat :-)

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  5. Oh, this sounds like a really fun cozy mystery! Enjoyed the post immensely.

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  6. I'm sure the challenges of living aboard a boat balance to the advantages. It sounds like a fun book.

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    1. They definitely do balance out. When things aren't going well, we just try to remember all of the good times we've had and that we'll have again soon.

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  7. Congratulations, Ellen. About to launch into your mystery.

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  8. Grats to Ellen! Heh, boat yoga. I like it.

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  9. Congratulations Ellen. Grab my copy looks like a fum read.

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  10. I've been seeing this book popup everywhere lately. It looks great!

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  11. haha after all that balancing and trying to keep upright, it must be weird to walk on solid ground and not have to compensate for anything.

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  12. I keep saying this, but I can't wait to read this one. Ellen is awesome.

    I'm glad it's not just me who has trouble getting in and out of a boat. When I was in Curacao, I had to climb into a rubber dinghy from the ocean, which was quite rough. I had so much trouble, two guys had to help haul me over. I felt like such a geek. Meanwhile, our guide hopped in and out of it like it was nothing.

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  13. Congrats Ellen! Sounds like a great book!

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  14. Best of luck to Ellen!

    I'm clumsy on land. Imagine me on the sea? LOL

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  15. I can see how getting on and off a boat could be troublesome when you're not used to it. I don't think I've ever stepped onto a boat that didn't have a ramp already attached to it. I may need to brush up on my yoga should I ever try to board a private vessel on my own.

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  16. That's so cool that you've been sailing and have your own boat. The closest I've ever come to riding in a boat is riding the water taxi in Chicago, and even then that was just for a little while, not an extended trip like yours.

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