Mystery Writer
Merry Christmas in July 2021!
Yup, I'm jumping on the Christmas In July train because I have a festive murder mystery in my catalogue and it seems like a great excuse to dust it off and have a little fun promoting it!
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Also I love Christmas and July is my birthday month, so... it's basically fate, right?
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Anyway, whether you bought Festively Fatal already or not, I hope you'll have fun hanging out here on this secret page I've set up for the event :)
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(And if you haven't bought Festively Fatal yet, it's currently 40% off the regular price and you can get a free gift by emailing a photo/screenshot of your order confirmation to saffron.amatti@gmail.com. Get your copy now from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and all other Amazon stores.)
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the manor…
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Laughter echoed, and a forlorn local journalist is hiding behind a pot plant at the party he was hired to report on.
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But Lucas Rathbone gets through the evening somehow.
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Not everyone is so lucky.
Rather than enjoying a lazy Christmas with people he loves, Lucas find himself drawn into a murder investigation, hounded by the victim’s ghost and - worst of all - accused of the crime.
He never wanted to go to the party in the first place.
Reviews for Festively Fatal
It's Christmas Party Time!
So, anything to do with Christmas means it's time for a party, right?
But, seeing as we're all over the globe (and there's a plague going on at the moment), we're going to be doing our partying online :)
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Obviously there's things to do here, but if you want to have a chat, head over to my Instagram and leave some comments on posts!
Party Location
Virtual parties require a little imagination, but we readers are good at that!
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But a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a lovely picture of Castlebury Magna, where all the action in Festively Fatal is taking place:
In case you haven't visted Castlebury Magna before, it's a fictional chocolate box village somewhere in England, about two hours by a 1920s train from London.
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There's a few houses, a smattering of shops, a church, police station, fields... and that's about it.
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Oh, and Castlebury Manor, about half a mile out of the village, where the murder in Festively Fatal takes place on Christmas Eve.
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How very... Festive.
However, I'm not going to let you freeze in the street*, so please come in and join the fun in Mrs Rathbone's living room.
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Lucas would argue that it's his house, but it's really most definitely his mother's house, and that's that.
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But the main thing is, there's a cosy fire, comfortable seats, fun and friendship...
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And a well-stocked drinks cabinet.
*Yes it's July, but it's my fictional village and I've decided it should snow. Also it's England, our weather is notoriously unpredictable, so it could totally happen.
Drink, anyone?
Okay, so this is a very "bring your own" affair when it comes to catering, but these are what I would be serving if it were a real life, in person shindig.
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All of these drinks are mentioned in Festively Fatal - although we never did work out what that blue cocktail was...
I also found some 1920s cocktail recipes for you to try out - if you do, please let me know how it goes!
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Hanky Panky and Bee's Knees are both mentioned in Festively Fatal, and though they're not mentioned in the book I've included Aviation Fizz for Clara, as it includes a violet liquor (violet is her favourite scent), and Between The Sheets for Tommy because... Well, it's Tommy. If he were going to name a drink, that's what it'd be!
Grab a plate
Much in the same way as the drinks, this is a "what it should be" list.
What you'll actually be eating is probably dictated by what's in your cupboards...
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Of course, this being a murder mystery book, you might feel safer that way!
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All the food here in mentioned in the book (because what's Christmas if you don't eat too much?!)
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Just like the cocktails above, I've found some 1920s recipes you might like to try out. None of these are actually mentioned in Festively Fatal, but Bread Sauce certainly would have been served, Ginger Snaps are pretty close to gingerbread, and I happen to like both the Queen Tarts and Lemon Curd tarts :)
Fun And Games
This is a little trickier on your own, so please head over to my Instagram account on Thursday 8th July to see what games are going on then.
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In the meantime, here's a snippet from my book Betrayal that involves Clara and Lucas playing a popular 1920s party game at Christmas. Enjoy!
Since Clara was twelve years old, before she’d really understood why, Lucas had made her heart skip a beat each time he smiled, or when his fingers brushed hers when he took a teacup from her, and most memorably the time they were playing Sardines at Christmas when she was sixteen and he found her in the wardrobe and squished in next to her.
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She remembered it well.
It was just them and her frocks in the stuffy darkness, and it thrilled her to be alone and so close to him. Her heart fluttered as she heard him breathing quietly - felt it, in fact, as their bodies pressed together in the tiny space. Each time he tentatively pushed the door open to look for other players, he pulled it shut again and plunged them back into the dark, each stifling giggles as they heard footsteps pass by the room.
It was them against the world, albeit in a very tiny way, and that was how she always wanted it to be.
After that night no one, not even Tommy, stood any chance of stealing her heart from Lucas.
Betrayal is the sixth book in the Lucas Rathbone Mysteries, and is available now on Amazon.
Decorations
Half of the fun of Christmas is putting the decorations up, so just for you I've created some (um, 18, I was having fun) Christmas ornaments you can print and make at home. I'd love to see them made up, so please send me photos of your creations to saffron.amatti@gmail.com or via Instagram.
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Simply print them onto thin card, put a hole in the top, and threat some ribbon or twine through. They're even set up to be suitable for double-sided printing, if you want to get fancy with it :)
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Bonus fake internet points to anyone who shares a post of their ornaments on Instagram and tags me (@saffron.amatti) in it!
Music
Thanks to the magic of Spotify and someone very kindly uploading a load of 1920s Christmas music, I've been able to create a playlist of Christmas songs Lucas and Clara would have been able to listen to in 1928. Some of them are original Edison recordings (which makes my little history nerd heart very happy) so they're a bit scratchy... but they probably would have been when they were new, so it's the authrentic experience :)
Gifts
Last but not least, it' wouldn't be Christmas without some gifts!
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Now, this is a little tricky as part of a virtual party, so once again I'm giving you a goody bag in the form of a printable PDF. This originally was part of my Relaunch Party in March 2021, so you may already have some of it, but I've added a couple of new bookmarks and postcards to the collection.
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As with the ornaments above, I'd love to see them made up, so please send me photos/tag me on Instagram :)
And that is is! We have reached the end of the party, and if you've made it this far, thank you very very much for attending :)
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If you haven't already picked up your copy of Festively Fatal, you have until midnight on 11th July 2021 to get it for just $2.99/£2.99 (40% off the normal price)
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If you've already bought the book, thank you so much! I really hope you enjoy it.
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And just like the at the end of hosting a real live party, I'm going to go for a lie down in a dark room and not talk to anyone for a while ;)
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Much love and festive wishes,
Saffron xx