About Hostage to Fortune
Hostage to Fortune: A Tea and Tarot Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: misterio press (May 21, 2020)
Number of Pages: 250
Digital ASIN:
Abigail and Hyperion uncork a murder…
Tea and Tarot room owner Abigail Beanblossom is used to running interference for her socially-awkward former boss, tech billionaire Razzzor. So when he invites her on a stakeout to investigate the sale of counterfeit wine from his latest venture – an upscale winery – she barrels on in. But the two stumble across the corpse of a wine merchant, and new wine in old bottles is now the least of their problems.
Good thing amateur detectives Abigail and her partner, tarot reader Hyperion Night, have a nose for murder. Their investigation takes them from elegant wine cellars to chic tea parties on the California coast. But just as the investigation starts to get its legs, Abigail discovers there’s more than wine at the bottom of this crime…
Hostage to Fortune is book 2 in the Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series. Start reading this hilariously cozy caper today!
Tearoom recipes in the back of the book.
Guest Post by the Author
Herbs and Tarot
The first card in the deck, The Fool, was about optimism and taking chances. I wanted some good-mood herbs and pops of color for The Fool card.
I made notes about herbs that might work well together. Lemon balm was like an emotional cleanse – even its flavor was cheerful. Rose is supposed to soften the heart, and rose hips would provide color. Oat straw would work well with the lemon balm, and it was supposed to ease anxiety…
— Hostage to Fortune, Kirsten Weiss
Witches and ceremonial magicians often work with a concept called correspondences. In a spell, certain objects or herbs or crystals represent or correspond to other objects or ideas. These items are then used as part of the spellcasting ritual.
For example, if someone was casting a spell to increase their income, they might use green candles, because green corresponds to money. And they might cast that spell during a waxing moon, because the waxing moon corresponds to expansion and growth.
In Hostage to Fortune, Abigail Beanblossom is trying to develop Tarot teas, with herbs that magically correspond to the concepts behind the cards. This isn’t a new idea, and you can find lists of Tarot and herbal correspondences online.
But Abigail’s not going with the online definitions. The traditional herbs don’t always taste good together. So, she’s working things out herself, trying to mix things together to get the sense of the card that taste good. For example, with the Fool card, which is about a leap of faith, it’s hard to take chances if you’re anxious. So she mixed lemon balm, rose hips, oat straw, orange peel and lavender for a foolishly fun, cheerful tea.
The Magician is about manifesting, and manifestation magically corresponds to Balm of Gilead. Unfortunately, while balm of gilead has a nice brownish color when steeped in water, it’s also relatively flavorless. So, Abigail added licorice root, which not only looks a lot like a magician’s wand, but also has a lovely sweet flavor.
If you want to concoct your own magical teas, be aware. Many herbs with magical correspondences, like mandrake, are actually quite poisonous. Just because it’s natural, doesn’t mean it’s healthy. It’s not enough to know the correspondence. For safety’s sake, you need to do some research into the herb to make sure it’s drinkable. For this reason, my first stop is usually to find recipe books for teas.
About Kirsten Weiss
Kirsten Weiss has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. The latter gives her heartburn, but she drinks it anyway.
Now based in Colorado Springs, CO, she writes genre-blending cozy mystery, supernatural and steampunk suspense, mixing her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of fun and enchantment.
If you like funny cozy mysteries, check out her Pie Town, Tea and Tarot, Paranormal Museum and Wits’ End books. If you’re looking for some magic with your mystery, give the Witches of Doyle, Riga Hayworth and Rocky Bridges books a try. And if you like steampunk, the Sensibility Grey series might be for you.
Kirsten sends out original short stories of mystery and magic to her mailing list. If you’d like to get them delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up for her newsletter at kirstenweiss.com
Feel free to follow her on Twitter @KirstenWeiss, on Tumblr at kweiss01, on Pinterest at KirstenWeiss, or on Bookbub, get in touch on Facebook, post a picture of this book to Instagram and tag her @kirstenweissauthor, or send her an email. She’ll answer you personally…which may be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.
Author Links
Twitter: @KirstenWeiss
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kirsten.weiss/
Instagram: @KirstenWeissAuthor
Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/kirsten-weiss
Book Series: Sensibility Grey Steampunk Suspense, Tea and Tarot cozy mysteries, the Pie Town cozy mysteries, the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum cozy mysteries, the Doyle Witch and Doyle Cozy mystery novels, the Riga Hayworth paranormal mysteries.
- Purchase Links
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
May 20 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
May 21 – I’m Into Books – CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 22 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, GUEST POST
May 22 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
May 23 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
May 23 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
May 24 – Lisa Ks Book Review – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 25 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
May 25 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
May 26 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
May 26 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
May 27 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 28 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
May 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 29 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST
May 29 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
May 30 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 31 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
June 1 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
June 2 – Gimme The Scoop Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Additional Banners
Kay Garrett
Thank you for being part of the book tour for “Hostage to Fortune”.
Enjoyed reading Kirsten Weiss’ guest post and can’t wait for the opportunity to read this book on my TBR list.
Kirsten Weiss
Thank you for hosting me today!