Paint Can Kill: Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting – Hobe Sound, FL
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Spot On Publishing (December 15, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 252 pages

Synopsis

It’s raining outside, and it’s raining inside. Hey, that’s Florida. But as sassy entrepreneur Cara Mia Delgatto watches a van full of Highwayman paintings walk out the front door of The Treasure Chest–because the collection’s owner is taking them back–she’s crying on the inside all the way to the bank. There will be no quick fix for this. Instead Cara focuses on an outstanding bill. When she visits the wealthy woman who has stiffed her, Cara stumbles over another stiff, a dead body. With multiple crisises in her business life, Cara grieves the loss of her live-in love and her rescue Chihuahua. The man and the dog have left a huge hole in her heart. Will Cara survive all these losses?

• Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series is a clean read
• Features a female amateur sleuth and her friends
• Includes Florida lore and history
• Shares ideas for upcycling, recycling, and repurposing
• Celebrates friends, family, and fur babies

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Guest Post

Recently, I took a “strengths” test, a free online questionnaire designed to help me see where I’m strongest. The point being, make use of your strengths. Play to them. Okay, I’ll admit I’m a sucker for silly tests that purport to tell me about myself. Are you? So, I answered the questions and learned I’m classified as a “problem-solver.”

That fits me to a tee. I love writing and crafting because I love solving problems. When you think about it, that’s what the two activities have in common: problems. When I write a book, I start with a group of general ideas. I might not even know who dies. I might not know whodunnit. Or I might change my mind about whodunnit. But I know enough that I’m curious. I want to put my characters in a tough situation and see what they do. Some authors call this “discovery” writing.

Writing this way means that each day, I sit down and discover stuff I didn’t know and definitely didn’t plan for. Does that mean I don’t use an outline? I use an outline. I’m not a slave to it, but I use one. I use a variety of tools. I keep a list of character names, a calendar for the actions, and often a map. I’ll scribble on scraps of paper, jotting down ideas as they come to me. Then, I’ll spread them out, bunch them into categories, and create links or bridges from one idea to another. I’ll also draw a Venn diagram showing how the friction occurs among characters. Eventually, I’ll find a theme for the book. It might not be readily apparent until I’m a good way along.

Do I get stuck? Occasionally, but actually not that often. When I do, it’s time for a break. Typically, I leave my desk and go to my rowing machine. Fifteen minutes later, my mind is clear. I can write this way because I believe, in my heart of hearts, that there’s an answer for every question. I just need to knuckle down and find it.

About the Author

Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author, as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let’s not even go there.

Otherwise, Joanna’s a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).

Currently, she writes six fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books), the Tai Chi Mystery Series (featuring a mature female amateur sleuth!) and the Friday Night Mystery Series (set in Decatur, IL in 1986 with a spunky female heroine.)

A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.

In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida.

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