Near the creek that runs behind her Pennsylvania house, Willow Bellamy has converted an old barn into an art school—though the place does still have some animal inhabitants, including Rembrandt, the owl who lives up in the rafters. And while it’s important for any artist to have a vision, Willow can sometimes see things others can’t, just like her mother and grandmother before her. Not that she would exactly call herself a witch . . . When some local merchants gather in the studio for a painting party, they focus their attention on a still life with flowers and an assortment of garden tools, including antique pruning shears that disappear—at the same time despised restaurant owner Evangeline Fletcher is murdered. Willow must use all her gifts to find the killer, although it means teaming up with a handsome, mysterious detective whom Willow fears she may have accidentally conjured from a canvas. This investigation is sure to be a hoot . . . “Doggone charming from start to finish!” —Cleo Coyle, New York Times bestselling author on Death by Chocolate Lab

Bethany Blake, author of the nationally bestselling Lucky Paws Petsitting Mysteries, launches a charming new spinoff mystery series featuring an artist and art teacher with a magical gift for solving murders. Near the creek that runs behind her Pennsylvania house, Willow Bellamy has converted an old barn into an art school--though the place does still have some animal inhabitants, including Rembrandt, the owl who lives up in the rafters. And while it's important for any artist to have a vision, Willow can sometimes see things others can't, just like her mother and grandmother before her. Not that she would exactly call herself a witch... When some local merchants gather in the studio for a painting party, they focus their attention on a still life with flowers and an assortment of garden tools, including antique pruning shears that disappear--at the same time despised restaurant owner Evangeline Fletcher is murdered. Willow must use all her gifts to find the killer, although it means teaming up with a handsome, mysterious detective whom Willow fears she may have accidentally conjured from a canvas. This investigation is sure to be a hoot...

It’s time for Sylvan Creek’s annual “Chili for Dogs” charity event—and when Daphne Templeton-Black’s father, Ben, rolls into town with his food truck and his faithful mutt, it’s sure to spice up the Memorial Day weekend. But another kind of memorial is in the cards when Ben’s business partner downs some poisoned chili. As if Daphne didn’t have enough family commitments helping her pregnant sister, now she has to figure out who had a beef with the victim and clear her father of murder. And as she peppers witnesses and suspects with questions, she’s worried that if she can’t get someone to spill the beans, her efforts won’t amount to a hill of beans . . . Includes recipes for homemade pet treats! “Doggone charming from start to finish!” —Cleo Coyle, New York Times bestselling author on Death by Chocolate Lab

A heart-stirring story about a woman's journey to self-discovery through art and her family's history. Forbidden. Hidden. Denied. Can art be powerful enough to endure? Ragni Clauson’s work, relationships, and body all seem to be falling apart. And she isn’t convinced that spending her vacation fixing up her great-grandmother’s cabin and supervising her rebellious teenage niece, Erika, will offer any much-needed rejuvenation. As Ragni and Erika clean, they begin to uncover the secret paintings and life of Nilda, Ragni’s ancestor who lived in the cabin in the early 1900s. Ragni doesn’t know how much she has in common with her great-grandmother, but it becomes clear Nilda faced her own struggles. Taking care of home and menfolk, fighting off locusts, raising her daughter, and finding time to paint in the midst of it all were not easy tasks. Will Nilda’s passion for enduring art re-ignite Ragni’s artistic soul a century later? Weaving together the stories of three generations of women, The Brushstroke Legacy stirs us to believe that no matter the circumstances, we are called to use our gifts—never knowing when they might bring a stranger to a new place of hope.

In Shangyang Fang’s debut Burying the Mountain, longing and loss rush through a portal of difficult beauty. Absence is translated into fire ants and snow, a boy’s desire is transfigured into the indifference of mountains and rivers, and loneliness finds its place in the wounded openness of language. From the surface of a Song Dynasty ink-wash painting to a makeshift bedroom in Chengdu, these poems thread intimacy, eros, and grief. Evoking the music of ancient Chinese poetry, Fang alloys political erasure, exile, remembrance, and death into a single brushstroke on the silk scroll, where names are forgotten as paper boats on water.

A Brush With Death First in the Art of the Dead Series Evil Comes Alive When She Paints With Ashes of the Dead. A dead serial killer's spirit longs to kill again and an artist's canvas becomes its portal. It all started innocently enough when New Orleans painter Kira McGovern mixed some of her mother's cremated ashes into her oil paints. Entering an altered state, she channeled key moments of her mother's life into a breathtaking memorial work of art. Her new business, Canvas of Life, was begun, and commissions rolled in. But things get strange when Kira meets Sean Easton, a Midwestern rancher, hiding a secret of his own. Both are unprepared for the horrific terrors that emerge with every brush stroke from an unexpected new commission. Even as the pair fall for each other, the evil in the painting grows more malevolent. Soon, the awakened entity isn't satisfied to just flood Kira's dreams with blood and murder. It wants her as its next victim. Can Kira and Sean unmask the horror--and stop Kira becoming its next possession--before it's too late?

“I intend to stand firm and let the peacocks multiply, for I am sure that, in the end, the last word will be theirs.” —Flannery O’Connor When she was young, the writer Flannery O’Connor was captivated by the chickens in her yard. She’d watch their wings flap, their beaks peck, and their eyes glint. At age six, her life was forever changed when she and a chicken she had been training to walk forwards and backwards were featured in the Pathé News, and she realized that people want to see what is odd and strange in life. But while she loved birds of all varieties and kept several species around the house, it was the peacocks that came to dominate her life. Written by Amy Alznauer with devotional attention to all things odd and illustrated in radiant paint by Ping Zhu, The Strange Birds of Flannery O’Connor explores the beginnings of one author’s lifelong obsession. Amy Alznauer lives in Chicago with her husband, two children, a dog, a parakeet, sometimes chicks, and a part-time fish, but, as of today, no elephants or peacocks. Ping Zhu is a freelance illustrator who has worked with clients big and small, won some awards based on the work she did for aforementioned clients, attracted new clients with shiny awards, and is hoping to maintain her livelihood in Brooklyn by repeating that cycle.

"The story traces the lives and techniques of Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon, RipKirby), Stan Drake (Juliet Jones), Hal Foster (Prince Valiant), and more, dissecting their techniques through recreations of their artwork,and highlighting the metatextual resonances that bind them together"--Page 4 of cove

A CHARMING MYSTERY FILLED WITH COLORFUL CHARACTERS... "Johnson paints characters with a folksy charm that makes them feel like family. But beware! This richly-textured mystery has it all: family secrets, professional competition, and judgments cast for past mistakes. Color me a fan!" - Diane Vallere, Author of the Material Witness, Style & Error, and Mad for Mod Mystery Series Sub-Genre Keywords: Cozy Mysteries, Amateur Sleuth, Women Sleuths, Craft Mysteries A dead body in her garden and a homicide detective on her doorstep... Computer programmer and tole-painting enthusiast Aurora (Rory) Anderson doesn't envision finding either when she steps outside to investigate the frenzied yipping coming from her own backyard. After all, she lives in Vista Beach, a quiet California beach community where violent crime is rare and murder even rarer. Suspicion falls on Rory when the body buried in her flowerbed turns out to be someone she knows-her tole painting teacher, Hester Bouquet. Just two weekends before, Rory attended one of Hester's weekend painting seminars, an unpleasant experience she vowed never to repeat. As evidence piles up against Rory, she embarks on a quest to identify the killer and clear her name. Can Rory unearth the truth before she encounters her own brush with death? Praise for FATAL BRUSHSTROKE: "Rory is definitely a quirky character; she has the ability to draw the readers in so that they want to follow her through her adventures. Which is a good thing, because this is the first in a brand new series featuring Rory Anderson, so there's even more fun to come." - Suspense Magazine "Fans of crafty cozies will love this delightful new series that features tole painting enthusiast, Aurora "Rory" Anderson...In Fatal Brushstroke, Johnson has penned a charming mystery filled with colorful characters, clever plot twists and unexpected surprises that will keep you guessing whodunit right until the end. A rewarding read and a refreshing debut." -Hannah Dennison, Author of The Vicky Hill Mysteries and The Honeychurch Hall Mysteries "Traditional mystery readers will love this debut author, Sybil Johnson, and her amateur sleuth, Aurora "Rory" Anderson, a Southern California woman who has survived her share of tragedy in the fictitious seaside community of Vista Beach. Johnson has an assured, steady hand in creating complex plotlines in Fatal Brushstroke. Readers will definitely want to revisit Vista Beach in Aurora's next outing of investigating. Just watch out for those inline skaters on the beachside bike path!" - Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award-Winning Author of Murder on Bamboo Lane "When the body of Hester Bouquet, a famous decorative painting designer, shows up in her garden, Aurora "Rory" Anderson finds herself painted into a corner. Can she prove her innocence before the surly Chief of Police puts her in the clink and throws away the key? Can she trust the handsome new detective sending mixed messages? Set in a small beach town in Southern California, with Fatal Brushstroke Sybil Johnson has penned a fun and fast-paced romp with plenty of suspense and intrigue, colorful characters, infidelity and family secrets. Fatal Brushstroke is sure to please cozy readers, especially those who love crafts mixed with murder." - Sue Ann Jaffarian, Author of the Bestselling Ghost of Granny Apples and Odelia Grey Mystery Series Books in the Aurora Anderson Mystery Series: FATAL BRUSHSTROKE (#1) PAINT THE TOWN DEAD (#2) Summer 2015 Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all...