Click here to learn more about Cleo's Haunted Bookshop novels, written under the pen name Alice Kimberly

  

 

 

---

 

  

WHO IS
CLEO
COYLE?

 

Wiki Entry
here

 

 

NEW!

FOR AUTHORS:

Read Cleo's
Guest Post at
Mystery Writing
Is Murder
"Genre Blending
and Your Character's
Love Life"
Click here to read.

 

 

Cozy Murder
Mysteries Blog
Interviews
Cleo

Part 1
click here

Part 2
click here

 

 

  

Gumshoe
Review
Interviews
Cleo Here

 

 

  

Fun Foodie
Book Resort
Interview
with Cleo
Here.

 

  

 

 

 Extra
Interview
here

 

 

---

 

 

 

"All I know is
first you've got
to get mad."

~ Paddy Cheyefsky

 

Click to see.

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Guess Who
Performed at
the Super Bowl?

  

 CLICK TO HEAR

Music and Lyrics
by Pete Townshend

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

  

 

 

"Only love
can bring the rain
that falls like tears
from on high..."

  

 Click to hear

Music and Lyrics
by Pete Townshend

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

MEMBER
OF...

 Click the logo
to learn more
about
Sisters in Crime

Read the
Sisters in Crime
BLOG
by clicking here 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Cleo Coyle

Create Your Badge

  

 

---

 

 

 

TWEET!

   

       

 

   

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

A New
A-Team?

Click to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 PBS Rumble!

Mr. Rogers vs.
Julia Child

 Click to see.

 

 

   

 

 

---

 

 

 

Sign up

for Cleo's 

Newsletter &

Coffee Drawings

 *Once a week, Cleo awards a free pound of her latest "Coffee Pick" to one of her newsletter subscribers. The newsletter is free.

 To sign up, hit the "Newsletter" button in
the upper left column or send an e-mail that says "Sign me up!" to Cleo's e-mail box:

VillageBlend@aol.com

 

 Cleo maintains this list herself. She believes in the joy of cooking, living, sharing, and creating community.

 

 

---

 

NOW
IN
PAPERBACK!

 

 National
Mystery
Besteller

  

 *Starred Review*
~Library Journal

 

  For Readers Who
Buy Books Online

(No stores near
or can't get
to one...)

 

Click below
to order...

   

 CLICK HERE TO ORDER
Espresso Shot:
A Coffeehouse Mystery

 

To read an
exclusive excerpt
introduced by
the author.

 

 CLICK HERE...

(Excerpt will
appear in PDF
format.)

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Every   

Friday,

Cleo Posts 

Recipes

& Tips

 

Where?

Click here to visit

Mystery Lovers'
Kitchen

  

Six mystery
writers
cooking up
crime...
and recipes!

  

 

 

---

 

  

"How 'bout
remembering
your divinity?"

 Thank You
by Alanis
Morissette

 Click to hear.

 

 

 

---

  

 

GET CLEO'S

 

RECIPE
FOR

 

Banana-Walnut
 Muffins
with Sweet
Crunchy Tops

To Get Recipe,

 Click here

 

 

  

---

 

 

      

 

 

 

 "Through all the doubt,
somehow they knew..."

~ Alan Parsons Project

   
click to hear

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

Want to find an
Independent
Mystery
Bookseller
Near You?

  

     Then click here
to see a list of the
IMBA's member
bookstores all over
the country! Many of
these book shops
have author readings
and events.

Support your local
Independent Bookseller!   

 "Jack and Pen"
certainly agree
  

 Click here to
find out why!

 

      

Welcome
to my *virtual* coffeehouse!

The coffee is brewing, the fireplace is crackling, and the muffins are baking. So come in to my virtual Village Blend to warm your bones and hang out for a little while.

 

—Cleo Coyle

 

 

---

Last Updated Tuesday
March 9, 2010

 

 

 

 

And now...

 

 

from

 

NEW YORK CITY

 

it's

 

CLEO'S

FREE COFFEE DRAWING!!

  

Wee-haaaaa!!!

  

 

 

 

(Okay, calm down.
It's just free coffee...)

 

 

 

Hi there. Cleo Coyle here.  Welcome to this week’s Free Coffee Drawing. Wee-haaa!!

 

Monday evening, I randomly selected this week's winning e-mail address from my most current list of newsletter subscribers. 

 

(To find out how to sign up for next Monday's free coffee drawings, scroll down to the green text...)

 

A good sleuth is also good at solving riddles. How good a sleuth are you? Can you guess the clue to the winning e-mail address before I post it?

 

Let’s see…

 

 

This three letter word can mean a boat or a box, but when you add this letter, it becomes another word for what you do with your car when you stop it by the curb. What is the letter?

 

 

 

 

To see the answer,

SCROLL DOWN…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see a fun video clue
to this week's riddle,

 

 

CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep

 

scrolling

 

down...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the answer is…
The letter

P

because if you add “P” to ARK,
you get the word PARK

 

 

 

And that's this week's clue,
which means, once again...

 

 

 

THE FREE COFFEE
COUNTDOWN IS ON! 

 

 

 

"P" is the FIRST letter in this week's winning e-mail address. But "P" has not won yet! "P" must reply to my notifying e mail by March 12, or I will have to choose a new winner.

 

So stay tuned and check back. If the above coffee clock keeps ticking through Friday at midnight (EST), I'll be holding a new Coffee Drawing Saturday morning!!! (I know. It’s almost too exciting for words. But you can handle it.)

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Cleo Coyle

 

  

  

 

      

    Want to sign up for next Monday's free coffee drawing? It's easy. Simply sign up for my free, seasonal E-newsletter by sending an e-mail that says "Sign me up" to VillageBlend@aol.com and you will be entered automatically in next Monday's drawing as well as all of my future weekly coffee drawings, just my way of sharing some excellent coffee finds with my readers and site visitors.

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

---

  

 

 

New
Recipe!

 

3 Secrets to
Creamy Egg
Custard

  

 To get my new recipe,
click below and jump to
my recent blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!

 

  TO GET MY NEW RECIPE
FOR CREAMY EGG CUSTARD
CLICK HERE

  

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

You can see
more of my recipes
by scrolling down this
page or by clicking on
the Coffee Cup in the
upper left column that says
"Get Cleo's Recipes..."

 ~ Cleo

 

 

 

---

 

  

 

 Set a new course.
There’s coffee
in that nebula.

 
^ Click me

 

 

 —Captain Janeway
Star Trek: Voyager   

 

      

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congrats to Lyn
of Vanceburg, Kentucky, for winning last week's Coffee Drawing

...and hello to Eileen in NH
with whom Lyn says she'll be
sharing her java prize!

 

 

   

  

  

Recipe

 

Cleo Coyle's
Peanut Butter
Cookies

  

 To get my new recipe,
click below and jump to
my recent blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!

 

 CLICK HERE TO
GET MY NEW
RECIPE POST

 

 

You can see
more of my recipes
by scrolling down this
page or by clicking on
the Coffee Cup in the
upper left column that says
"Get Cleo's Recipes..."

 ~ Cleo

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

“It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait  in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity. I bet this kind of thing does not happen to heroin addicts. I bet that when serious heroin addicts go to purchase their heroin, they do not tolerate waiting in line while some dilettante in front of them orders a hazelnut smack-a-chino with cinnamon sprinkles!”

 ~ Dave Barry

  

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

COFFEE
AND CRIME

a true story...

 

Yes, even bank robbers take coffee breaks. A New York Police Depatment Captain recently saw a man buying a cup of coffee near 31st Street in Manhattan.

The man fit the description of a suspected bank robber, and Captain Winski conducted a stop, question, and frisk on the suspect. As it turned out, the man was wanted for the February 11th robbery of the Captial One Bank as well as 6 additional bank robberies. Read more about it by clicking here.

Till next time
~Cleo

  

 MIKE QUINN'S
BEAT

   

CRIME FILE

»  NYPD: Official Website
for New York's Finest

»  NY Crime File (Daily News)

»  Police Blotter (NY Post)

  

 

 

 

 

---

  

 

 

 

Recipe!

 

    Mary Kennedy's
Easy Chocolate
Kahlua Cake

  

 To meet mystery author
Mary Kennedy
and get her recipe for
Easy Chocolate
Kahlua Cake
click below and jump to her
special guest blog
post today at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!
 

 CLICK HERE TO GET
THIS RECIPE!

 

You can see more
of my recipes
by scrolling down
this page.

 ~ Cleo

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi there. Cleo Coyle here.
I  recently posted as a guest at the
awesome blog of mystery writer
Elizabeth Spann Craig. 

 Whether you are an aspiring writer
or just interested in the process
of writing, Elizabeth's blog
is a great one to follow.

Click here to read
my Guest Post at
Mystery Writing is Murder...

"Genre Blending and
Your character's Love Life"
by Cleo Coyle   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

  
Recipe!

   

 Cleo Coyle's
Valentine
Cranberry Chicken

  

 To get my recipe for
Valentine Cranberry Chicken
click below and jump to my recent
blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!
 

 CLICK HERE TO READ
MY NEW POST 

 

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Foodie
Post!

 

Frozen Pizza
Doctor
&
Toppings Poll

 

  

Yes, it's true.
The pizza in the photo above
began its life frozen in a box.
Learn a few tricks to greatly improve
a frozen pie (and save $$ on delivery). Read my new post at...
Mystery Lovers Kitchen,
a group blog where six mystery writers enjoy cooking up crime...
and recipes!

 

 CLICK HERE TO READ
MY PIZZA TOPPINGS POST!

 

And take my
Pizza Toppings Poll, too...

 

 

 

  

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping
Coffee
HOT
in
Winter

 

 

Cold coffee certainly has its place. It's a pleasure, for instance, to have an icy coffee frappe in the sweltering heat of a New York summer. 

     It is not a pleasure to reach for your coffee on an 18 degree morning and find that it has gone from delightfully steamy to colder than the heart of a snarky co-worker. Brrrrrrrrr! While I have no remedy for your humorless colleague, I do have one for the cold coffee. 

 

 Behold the  Electric
Beverage
Warmer

 


 

 I  have this type of small electric warmer sitting beside my laptop, and I use it every day. There are a lot of brands out there, and this one has good ratings from consumers. The truth is, however, I don't have this exact one. I was using a Bodum beverage warmer, but after a number of years (and spills, I'm a klutz), it was ready for replacement at which point I discovered that Bodum discontinued it. So how can I recommend it? 

      If the cup warmer above seems too expensive ($20), I can suggest that you do what I did. I went into an arts and craft store (Michaels) and bought a "candle warmer" for around 5 bucks. (For my international friends: Bucks is slang for dollars, the equivalent of "quid" for a British pound although more like $1.60 in the current currency exchange.)

     My husband uses the candle warmer to warm his coffee cup. I've used it, too, and I find it works just as well as the Bodum beverage warmer.

So what about your car? How do you keep coffee warm on those long, chilly commutes?

Behold the Electric Heated Travel Mug.

I haven't tried this product yet (which requires you to literally plug the cup into your dashboard) because my little Honda was T-boned two summers ago by a taxi driver who blasted through a red light, and I have yet to get back on the mechanical horse.

     Yes, folks, that's right, I push my groceries home in a wheeled grocery cart just like those little old ladies in Italy. Winter, too. So next time you grumble about having to get into a cold car to go grocery shopping, think about me in NYC, pushing a cart down an icy sidewalk! (But that's another post altogether.)

     In the meantime, if you have a thought about keeping coffee hot on a cold winter day, feel free to share it on my message board and...

Stay warm!

 

         ~ Till next time,
Cleo Coyle

  

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe!

 

 Cleo Coyle's
(Healthier)
Shrimp Scampi
with Angel Hair

  

 To get my recipe for a
(Healthier) Shrimp Scampi,
click below and jump to my recent
blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!
 

 CLICK HERE
TO READ
MY POST 

 

 

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

 

You can get
more of my recipes
by scrolling down
this page...

 ~ Cleo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 Hi there. Cleo Coyle here.
I recently answered a Nebraska
reader's question about
drip coffeemakers. To see her
question and my answer,
just visit my message
board by clicking here
and scrolling down.
I hope the info is helpful to you!

Till next time,
~ Cleo

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

Recipe
Post!

 

Cleo Coyle's
(Rustic)
White Chocolate Snowflake Latte

 

This delicious latte can be made right on your own stovetop. (You don't even need an espresso machine.) It was just one of the many drink and food recipes in the back of my most recent Coffeehouse Mystery: Holiday Grind.

     To get the text of this recipe, visit me as I make a Special Guest appearance this week with the "Cozy Chicks" group blog...

CLICK HERE TO VISIT
CLEO AT THE COZY CHICKS BLOG
AND GET HER (RUSTIC)
WHITE CHOCOLATE LATTE RECIPE

 

PIctured above are the 3 easy steps for making my (rustic) White Chocolate Snowflake Latte. Clockwise from upper left: Step 1, Step 2, Step 3. (There really is no Step 4. The final photo simply shows you what happens about one minute after you take your first sip of this drink!)

To get the ingredients and directions for this easy recipe, read my post at the "Cozy Chicks" group blog, where I recently blogged as a  Special Guest...

Click here
to visit.

 

Cheers!
~ Cleo

 

 

You can get
more of my recipes
by scrolling down
this page...

 

 ~ Cleo

 

 

 

 

 Shout-out of Java Thanks
 to author Jennifer (J.B.) Stanley
for offering me the
guest blog spot at Cozy Chicks!

Did you know Jennifer is launching
a brand new mystery series this month?

  

 You can learn more about
Jennifer Stanley's first
Hope Street Mystery: Stiring Up Strife
at her official author Web site.

CLICK HERE
TO VISIT JENNIFER

  

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 
Reviews!*

 

 

HOLIDAY GRIND

A Coffeehouse
Mystery

 

 Mystery Scene Magazine

"Coyle's greatest strength is writing characters that feel real. Clare and company are some of the most vibrant characters I've ever read...Coyle also is a master of misdirection and red herrings. I challenge any reader to figure out whodunit before Coyle reveals all."

 

 

The Huffington Post

  "Other honorable mentions for new holiday booking… Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle, a new addition to the coffeehouse mystery series that…adds in jolts of souped-up coffee, sweet cooking…and super sleuthing to deliver a fun and gripping fa-la-la-la latte surprise."

  

Kirkus

“Coyle’s coffeehouse mysteries (Espresso Shot, etc.) are packed with believable characters and topped with serious coffee lore and holiday recipes. This one will keep your cup piping hot.”

Library Journal

  “…a good plot and an in-your-face look at life in the Big Apple for good measure. Fans of culinary cozies will want this.”

  

Romantic Times

 “Coffeehouse manger Clare Cosi and her band of her merry men lead readers on a wild and hilarious ride to find out who killed her Santa in this witty and intelligent cozy. Readers will be enthralled as the mystery unravels and the surprise killer is revealed.”

  

*...and there was much rejoicing and drinking of coffee in the Coyle household.

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

  

 

 

 

 Cleo's Special
Guest
This Week:

 

Julia Child!

Learn how to make
the perfect French flat
(aka "tossed") omelette...

 

     

Julia Child

 

To read my post at
Mystery Lovers Kitchen,
a group blog where
six mystery writers
are cooking up crime...
and recipes

  CLICK HERE

 

 

 Also...
Barbara Fairchild,
Editor-in-Chief of
Bon Appétit, discusses
the "3 Things Julia
Taught Me" in a lovely
little piece...
 here.

To read my original
Julia Child post from
August 2009
and get my recipe for...

Corn Muffin Tops
a la Julia Child

Click Here

  

You can get
more of my recipes
by scrolling down
this page...

 

Till next time,
~Cleo Coyle

 

 

 

  

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

THE KILLER
COFFEE CLUB

recently discussed
Cleo Coyle’s
Holiday Grind
with Cleo appearing
LIVE via Facebook IM.

Photo courtesy of Nikki Bonanni

 

 If you would like to invite Cleo to
your own book club discussion
via Instant Messaging on Facebook
or AOL, you can arrange
Cleo's LIVE "IM" appearance
by sending a NOTE TO CLEO
to VillageBlend@aol.com

 

& FYI...

The Killer Coffee Club holds its meetings,
at the Ithaca Barnes & Noble:
Tops Plaza, 614 South Meadow,
Ithaca, NY 14850
For more information,
visit the reading group’s web site: www.killercoffeeclub.com    

 Or contact the Killer Coffee Club at
 mysterybuff@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

A New Year's
Recipe!

 

 Cleo Coyle's
Healthier Oatmeal
Cookies with optional
Maple Glaze

  

 To get my Healthier Oatmeal
Cookie recipe click below and
jump to my recent blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!

 

 CLICK HERE TO READ
MY COOKIE POST 

 

 

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

   

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

A New Year's
Recipe

  

Now a
Foodbuzz
Top 9 Pick!

 

 

Cleo Coyle's
Leftover Champagne
Vinaigrette

 

This blog post
was a FoodBuzz
Top 9 Pick! (click to see)

 

 

To get my Leftover Champagne recipe
click below and jump to my recent
blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!
 

 CLICK HERE TO READ
MY VINAIGRETTE POST 

 

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

You can get
more of my recipes
by scrolling down
this page...

 ~ Cleo

 

 

    

---

  

    

Mr. Fellows
Has a Happy New Year...

   

 

  

 

---

  

     

 

 "Library Thing"
recently hosted a
Chat with Cleo.

The chat is no
longer live
but you can
read the
conversation by...

 Clicking here

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

The Famous
 Times Square
Crystal Ball
Gets a Makeover

  

 The theme for 2010:
"Let there be courage..."

Watch the
video by
CLICKING HERE

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 New Holiday
Recipe

 

  Cleo Coyle's
Colonial
Cranberries

 

This blog post was
named a Foodbuzz
Top 9 Pick (Link below!)

 

To get my Colonial Cranberries recipe
click below and jump to my recent
blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!
 

 CLICK HERE TO READ
MY CRANBERRY POST 

 

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

 

You can get
more of my recipes
by scrolling down
this page...

  ~ Cleo 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 Yes, Virginia,
there is a
Santa Claus...

 Click to Listen.

 

  

 

---

 

 

  

 

 Cleo Coyle's
Eggnog Latte
Cookies

(2 Ways)

 

 

 

This blog post
was a FoodBuzz
Top 9 Pick! (click to see)

 

 To get my Eggnog Latte Cookie
recipe, including my recipes for
Eggnog Glaze and Nutmeg Sugar,
click below and jump to my recent
blog post at
Mystery Lovers' Kitchen...
where six mystery writers are
cooking up crime...and recipes!
 

 CLICK HERE TO READ
MY COOKIE POST 

 

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

CLEO'S
CAPPUCCINO
MUFFINS!

 

The above gorgeous photo of my Cappuccino Muffin with Sweet Frothy Top is courtesy of and copyright (c) 2009 to Brandi Evans of
branappetit who also baked my muffins and posted the following message to my Coffee Talk message board...

~Cleo Coyle

 

Hi!

I have a food/healthy living blog and I made your Cappuccino Muffins today out of one of your Coffeehouse Mystery books. They turned out wonderful! ...

Best,
Brandi
http:/branappetit.wordpress.com/

 

Cleo's reply:

Thanks, Brandi! I am so glad that you liked the recipe. For anyone interested in making my Cappuccino Muffins with Sweet Frothy Tops, Brandi used the recipe out of my 5th Coffeehouse Mystery: Decaffeinated Corpse.

BTW: Clare served these muffins to a character just before interrogating him. (Yeah, I'd say these muffins are just about good enough to make anyone talk. :-)

To read Brandi's post about making my Cappuccino Muffins, including some amazing step-by-step photos, CLICK HERE, and you will jump to her recent "mysterious muffins" post at her delightful "Branapetit" blog.

 

Java joy you, Brandi!
Thank you again, not only for
making my muffings but also
for blogging about them! Woot!

~Cleo

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 Holiday
Recipe!

  

Cleo Coyle's
Holiday Sprouts
with Stilton, Bacon
& Figs

 This blog post
was a FoodBuzz
Top 9 Pick! (Click to see!)

  

English Stilton is a superb blue cheese that is traditionally served at Christmastime. It is one of my favorite "flavors of the Season." In fact, my love for Stilton inspired my new recipe for you today: "Holiday Sprouts"

This side dish carries layers of flavor,
so it works especially well when
paired with straightforward main
dishes like roasted turkey, chicken,
or beef.  If you have trouble finding
Stilton cheese, no worries, my
recipe will work just fine with any
blue cheese...
 

To get my Holiday Sprouts recipe, click
below and jump
to my recent
blog post at
Mystery Lovers'
Kitchen...

 

 CLICK HERE TO READ
MY RECENT POST 

 

If you like it,
buzz it!

 

 Every week, I  post a new recipe
or tip at this group blog,
where six mystery writers enjoy
cooking up crime...and recipes.

You can get
more of my recipes
by scrolling down
this page...

 ~ Cleo

 

  

   

 

---

 

 

  

  

  HOLIDAY
MEMORIES

 

 

When the Book Resort asked me if I had a special Thanksgiving memory, it took me all of three seconds to know how I would answer. Read my reply here. 

 

Till next time,
~ Cleo

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 Holiday Weekend
Recipe!

 

"Leftover Turkey"
Pot Pie with Cheddar
Crust & "No-Brainer"
White Sauce

   

 To get my
"Thanksgiving Leftovers"
recipe for Turkey Pot Pie, 

click here. 

   The document will appear in PDF format.
Simply print out the recipe
or save it on your computer. 

 

 

 You can get more of my
recipes by visiting scrolling
 down this page...and by
visiting my site's recipe
page by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

---

 

  

 

 

HAPPY 
HOLIDAYS!

  

 

 

Coffeehouse
Mystery reader
Bud from Bangor, Maine

 Hi Cleo,

 

Just wanted to wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving. I’m looking forward to Holiday Grind and will order it from my local independent book seller. The Briar Patch is about a half city block from my office and a great place to wander about.

 

Stay well and winter well,

Bud

 

 

P.S. "My little hens out back – 10 weeks old. We’ve had three eggs this week from our Red Star Crosses (18 weeks old) – neat!" 

Photo courtesy of Bud Knickbocker

 

 

 

 

Hi there. Cleo here. There's something about Mainers. They know good coffee. Bud from Bangor certainly does. We met via e-mail last year (after he began reading my Coffeehouse Mysteries), and he recommended one of my best coffee picks for 2009 -- La Minita Estate, an excellent Costa Rican coffee roasted expertly by a little store in Ellsworth, Maine, called Rooster Brother. To learn more about Rooster Brother coffee or order some for yourself, click here.

       For Thanks- giving, Bud is giving me a brand new gift, another java recommendation: CarraBasset Coffee Company. They are located in beautiful Kingfield, Maine. (To pay a virtual visit to beautiful Kingfield via pictures, click here.)

       I have not yet tried these guys, but a thumbs-up from Bud is good enough for me! I'm delighted by their selection of single-origin coffees, their clever (and delicious sounding) blend names, and their prices on premium coffees like Kona and Jamaica Blue Mountain.
    Like I said, Bud knows coffee. His brother and sister-in-law even operate their own historic coffeehouse in Covington, Louisiana! Click here to visit Dickie and Lisa's St. John's Coffeehouse.

To visit  Carra Basset Coffee's
menu of coffee selections  click here...

 

"My personal favorites," Bud writes, "are Einstein and Acadia Roast. I don’t know if Einstein will make you smarter, but you’ll feel better with the attempt to garner their wisdom served within the timeless wonder of a well brewed cup. LOL!"

 

Thus java doth make
poets of us all...

 

Thanks for your
lovely note, Bud, and... 

Happy Thanksgiving,
Everyone!

~ Cleo Coyle

 

 

 

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Click here to visit
Cleo's archives and
learn about the birth of
modern coffeehouse
culture...

 

NOTE PLEASE!
ARCHIVED ARTICLES
 MAY TAKE A MINUTE
OR SO TO LOAD.

 

 

 

 

 

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ANGELS

 

 Don't believe
in them?

Well, I do. They're right
here among us...

Meet the unassuming man pictured below. He is a school bus driver in Queens. Click the picture to learn why he's also an angel among us and one of CNN's 10 Finalists for Hero of the Year...

 

This story also
appeared on CNN

 Click here to
see all 10 finalists for
CNN's Hero of the Year
and read about 2009's winner.

 Click here
to learn more
about Jorge.

 

Till next time,
 ~ Cleo

 

 

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  202 RECIPE IDEAS
FOR YOUR HOLIDAY
TABLE

  To get this cornucopia of recipe
ideas, read my recent blog
post at Mystery Lovers'
Kitchen...

  CLICK HERE TO
READ MY NEW POST  

 

Till next time,
~Cleo

 

 

 

 

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 Do not miss Lesa's
Sunday Salon

at Lesa's
Book Critiques!

 

Lesa Holstine is a
library professional and
an award-winning book
reviewer who is greatly
respected in the field. To read what
she had to say about Cleo's newest Coffeehouse Mystery:
Holiday Grind...

 CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Huzzah!*

  

 

Espresso Shot
hit #3 on
Barnes &
Noble's Mass
Market Mystery
Bestseller list* and
#31 in overall
best-selling fiction
for the chain
nationwide!*

It also hit #8 on
Bookscan's Mass Market
Mystery List, and was the...

#2 bestselling
paperback mystery
of the Independent Mystery Bookseller's Association for the month of October 2009!*

  * and there was much rejoicing
and drinking of coffee in the Coyle household.

  

 Thank you, Coffeehouse
Mystery Readers,
for making
Espresso Shot
a National Bestseller!

 

 

 

 “SUPERB...INTELLIGENT... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.”
—Library Journal
(Starred review)

  

  Now Available
in Paperback !

*

“Recipes, romance and
caffeine-fueled detection
add up to a lively tale.”
—Kirkus

 *

   “Strong personalities
abound in this sophisticated
novel, which is part whodunit
and part romance.”
—New Mystery Reader

 

  

A Fresh Fiction
Fresh Pick!
October 8, 2009

 

 

 

Cleo's recent blog post at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen was about Espresso Shot. To read it and watch a geat little video about a National Barista Champion, click the link below...

  

CLICK HERE TO READ
CLEO'S RECENT BLOG POST
ABOUT ESPRESSO SHOT... 

 

 

  

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   Cleo's Newest
Coffee Feature

MEET
KEVIN CUDDEBACK

 

Photo of Kevin courtesy of Gimme Coffee

 Kevin is the CEO of Gimme! Coffee, named by Food and Wine magazine as one of the top coffee bars in the country.

 

 To read Cleo's
exclusive interview,
CLICK HERE

 

  

 

 

  

 

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 The Divine
Miss M

 

 

Agatha Christie,
at home in Devon,
England, 1946.

  

“Jane Marple is an unlikely literary heroine," writes Kate Mose in the foreword of a newly published Marple collection, "an elderly unmarried lady of a certain age living in St Mary Mead, a fictional village in the South of England.
     "At first glance there is nothing to mark her out, a relic of her Victorian upbringing, knitting and weeding the garden, not someone to whom anyone pays a great deal of attention. And this, of course, is precisely the point. Behind this façade is a shrewdly intelligent observer who takes advantage of the attitudes of those around her who see only a ‘fluffy’ old woman — including many literary critics, past and present — to pursue murderers, blackmailers, fraudsters . . . ”

 The above was excerpted from the foreword to a new collection entitled The Complete Miss Marple, containing all 12 Miss Marple novels and 20 short stories by Agatha Christie,
published by HarperCollins. At more than a foot thick, the £1,000 tome breaks the Guinness World Record for book with the thickest spine ever!

   Click here to visit
"AgathaChristie.com"
and learn more....

 Yes, yes, I say! Three cheers for Miss Marple! How could I not love the Divine Miss M? She is, of course, the literary grandmother to my own amateur sleuth, Clare Cosi.
     Like Jane Marple, Clare's position as a barista and coffeehouse manager, in the lofty lanes of New York City’s rich, famous, and smug, renders her the invisible woman, a service economy employee without the status or money to be of “consequence.”
     As an art school dropout, however, Clare has a great eye for detail. After years behind her coffee bar, she’s also developed an ear for gossip, a talent for talking her way into and out of situations, and Clare's generosity of spirit, considerate heart, and sense of humor have forged a few key friendships among her well-heeled customers, handy connections that help open important sleuthing doors for her around the city when necessary. Those attributes combined with Clare's single-mom instinct for protecting the weak and powerless leave liars, hypocrites, cheats, and murderers at her mercy.
      I have found sheer joy in writing the character of Clare Cosi, and she could never have existed without the great Agatha’s Miss Jane Marple, who inspired me in Clare's creation. So kudos to Agatha and to the Divine Miss M upon the publication of her complete works!

 

A final quote...

“So what is it about Miss Marple that still attracts readers some 80 years on?” Ms. Mose asks in her foreword. “…changing times notwithstanding, the human heart does not change so very much. Love, jealousy, greed, anger, revenge — these are characteristics that endure, whether it be on a Caribbean island, among the tombs in Luxor, on the Devon coast or in an English village much like St Mary Mead. And, perhaps most important of all, because we recognise what Miss Marple’s companion, Cherry, says in Nemesis to be no more than the truth: 'Good people are scarce.' In art, as in life.”

 

I could not agree more!

 Till next time,
Cleo Coyle

 

                  
More Miss Marple!
To read a wonderful London Times
article, "Marple the Feminist," 
by Barry Forshaw, the author of
British Crime Writing:
An Encyclopedia,
click here!

    

  

 

  
 

 

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A Coffeehouse Mystery reader from Abilene, Texas
sends Cleo a "rattling" good pic... 

(Recipes follow...!)

  

Re-posted from Cleo's e-mail box
at VillageBlend@aol.com...

Hi Cleo,

I'm a big fan of your books and your Web site. My aunt sent me this picture of a rattler! I don't know if you are from Texas, but those rattlers (rattlebugs, that's what my grandmother and I call them) get huge!
     This picture reminded me...
      I once stepped on one by accident! My grandparents had a house out of the city and all of the family was visiting that day. Well, thank goodness my husband told me to wear my boots that day. It was dark and I was loading my son up in the car, I hear something rattle by my foot! Let me tell you it was a rattlesnake!
      Luckily, I had stepped on its head. Then, my little cousin came around the corner, and I was holding her away from it so my uncle could pick it up with a shovel and throw it in the pasture!
     That whole time I never lifted my foot until my uncle came! I was terrified! When we got home I looked at my boots, and sure enough there was an imprint of where it tried to take a bite of me. Thank you to my husband, uncle, and my thick boots. This is not the picture of my rattler. This one is from my aunt in Odessa!

Take care,
Tiffney
Abilene, Texas

 

Hi, Tiffney. Cleo Coyle here. Obviously, I love that picture and your story, too. I hope your aunt doesn't let that delicious rattlesnake go to waste. Because... although I'm not from Texas (I grew up in Western, Pennsylvania), even I know that rattlesnake is good eatin'!

 

CLICK HERE
for Rattlesnake Recipes!

 Till next time
~Cleo Coyle

 

  

 

 

 

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 Who is Your
Favorite Rock Star
Chef?

 

Click here to see a spot-on
Alton Bown parody (via YouTube).
If you love Alton, you'll love this!

 

 Vote in
Cleo's Celebrity Chef
Poll By

Clicking here...

 

 

 

 

  

 

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Cleo Coyle's
Sweet Kettle Corn

    

 Read my interview
with the real
"Ghost Whisperer"
Mary Ann Winkowski,
who consults for the
CBS TV show by...

Clicking Here 

You will jump to my
blog post at
Mystery Lovers'
Kitchen.com, where
you can also get my Halloween
recipe for Sweet Kettle Corn.

 

 

 

 

 

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Recipe!

 

Cleo Coyle's
Mocha-Dipped Rum
Macaroons

  

 To get my recipe,
click here and jump to
my recent blog post
at Mystery Lovers'
Kitchen.com

 

To get more of my
recipes, visit my
Recipe Page
by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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COFFEE
CRAZY

 

Did you know that filmmaker David Lynch not only loves coffee but also sells it on his Web site?

 

  Click here to visit
Mr. Lynch's Coffee Page.

Click Here to see
FBI Agent Cooper's
"coffee philopsophy" in
Mr. Lynch's classic TV show
Twin Peaks...

 

 

 

 

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 Melissa of Austin,
Texas, recently won
Cleo's Coffee Drawing.
Here is her reply
to Cleo's notifying
e-mail...

 

    §  

 

 Below is part of Cleo's reply to Melissa...

 
 

Hi Melissa

Congrats! I am so happy that you're happy. (LOL on the teen eyeroll!) The coffee you have won is an exotic Ethiopian drop called Amaro Gayo. It is exported by the only female miller and exporter in the whole of Ethiopia (Asnakech Thomas, pictured left), and her coffee has a very unique flavor profile...

 In my 4th Coffeehouse Mystery Murder Most Frothy, I had Clare Cosi drinking a Ugandan coffee with notes of strawberry.
     It's taken me a long time to find one like it that I can share with my readers, but I finally found it—Amaro Gayo has the oddest hint of strawberry and the roasting makes it taste almost baked. To me it tastes like a strawberry donut! But of course it's also coffee so it's one very unique drinking experience. I'll be writing more on the Web site about it soon—this is one coffee that proves premium coffee can have the complexity of fine wine...
     (As you can see I'm personally coffee crazy—just like Clare Cosi—and filmmaker David Lynch. I know I'm in good company because Mr. Lynch actually sells his own brand of coffee on his Web site! LOL!)