Henny Penny Farmette

Welcome September! I’ve got lots of exciting news for this month. First, A HIVE OF HOMICIDES, the third novel in my Henny Penny Farmette series of cozy mysteries, comes out on September 26. I’ll be doing a giveaway on Goodreads.com. But there’s more . . . .

“Lester’s sensitive portrayal of Abby’s struggle with her wounded psyche raises this traditional mystery above the pack.”–Publishers Weekly

The newest offering in the Henny Penny Farmette of cozy mysteries

This month marks the launch of an  exciting Barnes & Noble/Kensington Publishing “BUY 3, GET 1 FREE” sale throughout September. And my novel, THE MURDER OF A QUEEN BEE, is among the cozies featured! And there’s still more.

Everyone who buys a Kensington cozy mystery from the B&N in-store display or any Kensington cozy mystery from BarnesandNoble.com between 9/5/17 – 10/5/17 and registers their purchase at http://sites.kensingtonbooks.com/kensingtoncozies/BN/ will be automatically entered into Kensington’s “Cozy Mystery Bonanza” sweepstakes for a chance to win a $300 value gift basket.

–        The grand prize ($300 value)

–        Kensington Cozies Digital recipe book

–        A STORY TO KILL by Lynn Cahoon

One grand prize winner will be selected after the sale has concluded.

ABOUT QUEEN BEE: Murder claims the life of a free-spirited friend of ex-cop and farmette owner Abigail Mackenzie after a New Age Cult leader takes over an abandoned nudist camp in the mountains near Las Flores, California. Abby teams up with the dead woman’s brother to discover the killer’s identity even as an old boyfriend in Abby’s life shows up unannounced with a hidden agenda.

ABOUT HIVE: Abby suffers emotional challenges following the attempted murder of her friend Paola Varela and the death of  Paola’s husband. She seeks help from a new doctor in town while piecing together the clues to smoke out a killer. But as Abby attempts to heal and  help Paola  recover, she unwittingly places them both in the crosshairs of the killer.

See the full Publishers Weekly review at, https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-61773-917-0

The novel that launched the three-book Henny Penny Farmette series of mysteries is BEELINE TO MURDER.

BEELINE TO MURDER started theHenny Penny Farmette mystery series

ABOUT BEELINE: Abby is drawn into solving the murder of the celebrated pastry chef who buys her trademark lavender honey. The search for the murderer takes her through the lives of several of the town’s eccentric characters, exposing secrets along the way until she unmasks the killer among them.

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to stock up on your favorite cozy authors books this fall with the exciting offers from Barnes & Noble and Kensington.

The title of the third novel in my Henny Penny Farmette series suggests loss of bees and murderous intent. No beekeeper wants to lose a hive, regardless of how it happens–whether some invader wants to kill the bees, go after the honey, or use the hive as a host for proliferation of its own species.

A healthy hive box with lid removed

I’m not one-hundred percent positive why I lost a hive this year. My best guess was that the demise was due (not to homicide but rather) to a tiny little pest, possibly a beetle that weakened it so that the bees and queen fled leading to the hive’s demise.

My beekeeper neighbor and I spotted a small beetle and treated for it. My best efforts to keep my small bee house and the area around it clean as well as doing frequent hive inspections wasn’t enough. Now, I’m considering moving my remaining hive onto a higher, drier, sunnier location.

Bee garden in June bloom

I’ll do it at night which is the correct time to move bees. You just put a little strip of packing foam along the hive entrance, gently move the hive, and place it in the new location. Remove the foam strip so the bees can leave at dawn and make sure there’s a water source nearby.

These honeybees will visit a backyard fountain throughout the day

The bees will likely accept the move if there is water and food in the area. I like planting perennial bee gardens and flowers and bulbs with high nectar value for bloom throughout the year.

Since hives can be compromised by wax moths, hive beetles, and other pests (as well as parasites and diseases), frequent inspections to decipher a problem and treat it before it destroys your hive is imperative.

With supers (smaller hive boxes with ten frames each) on the hive in June, the bees will forage on abundant flowers and produce honey that can be taken off in July. That’s also the time to inspect for mites because these populations tend to swell during summer.

________________________________________________________________

If you’re interested in beekeeping and other farmette topics, check out my Henny Penny Farmette series of mysteries. All are available to order online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailer sites as well as traditional bookstores everywhere.

This third novel in the series will be released Sept. 2017