Henny Penny Farmette

It’s not too late to enter the Goodreads giveaway of A BEELINE TO MURDER, my debut novel from Kensington Publishing. This is the first book in the Henny Penny Series, set in a farmette milieu and featuring sleuth Abigail Mackenzie, a former cop turned farmette owner.

Meera Lester’s debut novel–Deadline for the giveaway is 8/31/2015

The murder of a small town’s celebrity pastry chef remains central to this cozy mystery, however, Abby must juggle chores on the farmette (a foreclosed property she acquired that needs clearing, cleaning, and restoration) with paying detective work. Although she keeps  bees and chickens and sells her organic honey, eggs, and heirloom produce, the income is never enough to pay the bills and fund the renovation work.

The concept for this series came about as a result of my purchase of the real Henny Penny Farmette–a rundown property that I bought in 2009. The work of bringing the land back to life and renovating the house is some of the hardest work I’ve ever done. And it seems it will never end.

Like the protagonist of my novel, I keep bees and chickens. I grow heirloom vegetables and tend the dozens of fruit trees I’ve planted.

I draw upon real life issues involving weather, wild and domesticated animals, human relationship conflicts, and community dramas to seed the background of my murder mysteries.

I love writing about the people in the fictional small town of Las Flores. Except for growing up on a farm in the Midwest and spending two years in Miami, I have lived in Northern California’s cities and small towns for most of my life. Drawing upon the peculiarities of small town life, I have created the community of Las Flores with vivid details that I hope will ring true for my readers.

The deadline to enter the drawing for A BEELINE TO MURDER is  August 31 (Monday). I hope you’ll take a moment to join the fun. You might just win one of the 25 copies being given away. See, https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/147966-a-beeline-to-murder