Day 11 ~ A Fool and His Monet

Posted on: June 11, 2022June 10, 2022 by Sandra Orchard

Funnest Story to Write Ever!

I absolutely loved every aspect of writing A Fool and HIs Monet, about FBI Special Agent Serena Jones and the art crimes she investigates.

First of all, St. Louis–Serena’s hometown–is an amazing city to explore.

My friend Vicki McCollum and her sister-in-law treated me to an in-depth tour of the city’s neighborhoods, eateries, famous places, hospitals, the art museum and all the other awesome destinations within the amazing Forest Park. We explored potential locations for Serena’s apartment, her folks’ home, the locales of various crimes and so much more.

Secondly, I was permitted to visit Serena’s workplace, the FBI headquarters in St. Louis, and interview her real world counterpart. What an enlightening experience that was.

Then there was the fascinating research into art crimes and how they’re investigated.

We all lose a piece of our common heritage when art is stolen.

Creating Serena Jones

Lastly, creating the character of Serena Jones was a delicious escapade all its own!

her quirky characters are laugh-out-loud funny and reminiscent of...

The Serena Jones Mysteries were my first foray into writing in first person, and I discovered I really enjoy writing in that point of view. Of course, it helps when the character has as active a thought life as Serena. The two great–and seemingly opposite–guys in her life helps too. 😆

I'm pretty sure this is not what my mom meant when she said I needed more men in my life.

Serena’s personality is partly based on my experience growing up as the daughter of British parents and is partly inspired by my friend Laurie Benner’s quirks and wit. I affectionately call Laurie Serena’s alter ego. 😎

We spent many laughter-filled evenings hashing out several scenes.

Did I mention the guys in Serena’s life? 😉

Their relationships are strictly friends, but I invited readers to tell me which of the two she should end up with at the end of the series. Unfortunately, my publisher decided to end the series after only three books, which meant mere months after this book released, the tally had to be taken.

And what a heated race it was!

His gaze skittered from my Glock to my face...

Download A Fool and His Monet for FREE

The best news of all is that for the next 6 days, you can download a digital copy of A Fool and His Monet for free!

Get it for: Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Google Play, and iBook

Although if you prefer holding a book in your hands, some retailers still have print copies for sale.

If you missed downloading Deadly Devotion for FREE, today is your last day.

You can also still enter: the rafflecopter giveaway for Boughs of Folly.

Your Turn:

Are you a Serena Jones fan?

P.S. Our 7th book recipient is…

Randomly selected from amongst newsletter subscribers, today’s recipient is: “jers1958.” Congratulations! I’ve sent you an email to ask you which book you’d like mailed.

Download A Fool and His Monet for Free in August

Posted on: August 20, 2019 by Sandra Orchard

If you haven’t met my plucky FBI art crime agent, Serena Jones, this month is your chance to read about her first adventure for free!

Almost every online retailer is on board, offering a legal free download of A Fool and His Monet by Sandra Orchard.

Here are links to some of the most popular retailers:

Amazon US. Nook. Kobo. CBD

If you know others who might enjoy A Fool and His Monet or all the Serena Jones Mysteries, please let them know about this great deal.

Click here to learn more about A Fool and His Monet.

Click here to checkout its bonus features.

99¢ Sale on A Fool and His Monet

Posted on: February 23, 2017 by Sandra Orchard

If you haven’t started reading my Serena Jones Mysteries yet, here is your chance to for less than a buck!

Serena Jones has a passion for recovering lost and stolen art–one that’s surpassed only by her zeal to uncover the truth about the art thief who murdered her grandfather. She’s joined the FBI Art Crime Team with the secret hope that one of her cases will lead to his killer. Now, despite her mother’s pleas to do something safer–like get married–Serena’s learning how to go undercover to catch thieves and black market traders.

When a local museum discovers an irreplaceable Monet missing, Jones leaps into action. The clues point in different directions, and her boss orders her to cease investigating her most promising suspect. But determined to solve the case and perhaps discover another clue in her grandfather’s murder, she pushes ahead, regardless of the danger.

Here’s what others are saying about A Fool and His Monet:

“an enthralling whodunit, replete with action, suspense, danger and a lot of humor. And there’s a hint of a real romance developing. Serena is a terrific lead series character.” ~Mysterious Reviews

“This intriguing look into the world of art theft from the perspective of an FBI agent, will keep readers guessing the twists and turns as to the identify and motive of the thief.” ~ RT Book Reviews

“Orchard debuts a lighthearted mystery series. Her quirky characters are laugh-out-loud funny and reminiscent of the protagonists in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum stories. Readers looking for a humorous mystery with a dash of romance may find it here.” ~ Library Journal Review

But don’t wait. The 99¢ sale ends Feb 28th

Find it at your favourite Ebook retailer for all popular Ereaders:

Kindle Kobo Nook iBook

Laugh out loud and…develop your vocabulary!

And if you love the book, you can revisit the characters in:

The Battle is Heating Up!

Posted on: March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 by Sandra Orchard

Do you think colleagues should date? Do you think opposites attract? Are you lining up on Team Tanner’s side? Or Team Nate’s?

Have no clue what I’m talking about? 😀

Well…at the back of A Fool and His Monet, I invited readers to visit my Vote For Your Favorite page to tell me who they want Serena Jones to be with by the end of the series–Serena Jones Mysteries.

I REALLY do plan to let YOU decide!

And wow, readers are passionate about their choices!

Check out these reasoned arguments from “JL” championing Tanner’s cause:

Reason 1) Tanner is her best and most loyal friend. Friends with the whole family, not just Aunt Martha (and do we really trust Martha’s friend choices?)

Nate is an infatuation.

Reason 2) Tanner’s protective but respects Serena as a capable, strong woman. He’s confident but realizes he can’t have “any woman he wants.” He knows he has to fight for Serena, and she’s worth it to him. He also recognizes Nate is a worthy opponent, as much as he tries to hide it.

Nate is like the mice he’s catching – moves himself into her life without invite, appearing in unexpected places – like her window. Nuff said.

Reason 3) Tanner’s getting up there, he’ll likely want to slow down/settle down in the upcoming books, right after he plays a vital role in Serena solving the mystery of her grandfather’s death, and Serena decides crime investigation no longer means to her what it had.

Nate still has to hit his midlife crisis, where he’ll grow his hair, get an “I love mom” tat and Harley Davidson across America to the anthem of “Life is a Highway.”

Plus, Serena could develop a rare tea allergy or be transferred to a remote island without TV, or mice – and then what would she and Nate have in common?!

Tanner 100%. I rest my case.

Sandra here: I’m rolling on the floor, laughing, picturing Nate on a Harley with that tat. 😆

Your Turn: Agree? Disagree? If you’ve read the book, be sure to vote!

In a few days…I’ll share reasons from the president of Nate’s fan club. 😀

Feeling Stressed?

Posted on: March 7, 2016 by Sandra Orchard

Tell me about it! My characters are out of control.

FBI agent Serena Jones has taken on a life of her own and is appearing around the blogosphere.

Today she’s blabbing about me and about painting to relax and about I’m afraid to look what else. But if you want to, you can check it out here:

http://anastasiapollack.blogspot.ca/2016/03/crafts-with-anastasia-guest-art-sleuth.html

If colouring to relax is more your speed, here’s a blog I found where you can download adult colouring pages:

http://nerdymamma.com/11-free-printable-adult-coloring-pages/6/

I’ve decided to colour the peacock. 🙂

I have to try something. My characters are stressing me out!

Later this week, Serena’s Aunt Martha gets into the act with an interview at Jaunty Quills. And when she talks, there’s no telling what she’ll say. I’ll share the link once it’s live on March 11th, if…I’m not too mad at her. 😉

In the meantime, have a great week. Happy colouring or painting or whatever you do to relax. If it’s reading, and you enjoy the thrill of entering giveaways, check out this book review blog:

http://bestreads-kav.blogspot.ca/2016/03/a-fool-his-monet.html

Google alerted me this morning to the reviewer’s giveaway of A Fool and His Monet. Kav is a voracious reader and posts a new review (often with giveaways) almost every day.

Let the Whirlwind Blog Tour Begin!

Posted on: March 1, 2016March 3, 2016 by Sandra Orchard

I’ll be flitting around the blogosphere a lot this month sharing tidbits about how I researched and wrote A Fool and His Monet.

For those of you who are already deep into the story or <gasp> finished, don’t forget to vote for your favourite guy and check out the book’s bonus features.

Today – March 1st –

I’m at Stitches Thru Time sharing through pictures how the story location and character evolved, and…hosting a giveaway of the winner’s choice of an oil or acrylic art kit to help her relax in the same fashion as my heroine, Serena Jones. 😉

Art Kit Giveaway Prize

Wednesday Mar 2nd – I’ll be at the More To Life Blog, chatting about listening to your mother, something my heroine finds herself wishing she’d done.

Thurs Mar 4th – I’ll be interviewed at USA Today’s Happy Ever After Blog and they talked me into sharing a…shall we say dated never-before-seen photo. 😎

I’ll also be interviewed on Motherhood Talk Radio and will share the link once I have it.

Fri March 5th – I’m being interviewed at Suspense Sisters

A Fool and His Monet Releases TODAY in Ebook

Posted on: February 23, 2016February 23, 2016 by Sandra Orchard

Join me at Patricia Bradley’s blog and meet the men in Serena Jones’s life. I had soooo much fun writing this.

They and I are competing–game show style–in Are You Smarter Than Your Characters?

I’m not sure how I feel about creating characters who might actually be smarter than me. 😕

We’re also giving away fun stuff.

Hope to see you there!

On another note:

afoolandhismoney

Goodreads members, there is still time to enter the 5-book giveaway here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/170107-a-fool-and-his-monet

Why Art Crime?

Posted on: February 8, 2016February 9, 2016 by Sandra Orchard

With only 3 weeks until A Fool and His Monet releases (2 weeks for the Ebook release), I thought it would be a great time to share with you some of the inspiration behind the Serena Jones Mysteries series, which tracks the exploits of art crime agent Serena Jones.

Art thieves aren’t as cultured and clever as shows like the Thomas Crown Affair and White Collar would have us believe. But when they succeed in making off with millions of dollars worth of fine art in a daring or brazen escapade, their thefts do make for sensational news stories.

Gardner Museum Courtyard 1 — Central courtyard of the Gardner Museum during my visit last year

The arguably most famous is the 25+ year old, unsolved case of the Gardner Museum theft. In the wee hours of Mar 18th 1990 (while Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were beginning to wind down), two thieves disguised as police officers entered the museum, tied up the guards and proceeded to steal 13 very different works of art. Considering the specific pieces stolen, some have speculated that it was a theft to order. Others, such as Robert K. Wittman, founder of the FBI’s art crime team, believe the men were merely incompetent. Art that hot is impossible to sell. The buyer could never display it.

Yet, the museum remains optimistic that the stolen art will yet be recovered. Until then the empty frames from which priceless paintings such as Rembrandt’s Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee remain hanging on the walls as haunting reminders of the collective heritage stolen from all of us that night.

To aid in their recovery, the museum is offering a $5 million reward for their recovery. Click the image above to link to their virtual tour of the theft and pieces stolen. Maybe you have a clue to where one of these pieces could be now and don’t even realize it!

As I began communicating with the FBI during my research for this series, one person suggested I write a mystery to solve this case. Maybe it would help the FBI solve it, she said.

Wouldn’t it make an intriguing story for a fiction writer to elicit the help of her readers in recovering priceless paintings and solving a 25+ year old crime? 😀

Your Turn: What do you think? Have any theories?

Always Watching by Lynette Eason

Posted on: January 30, 2016January 29, 2016 by Sandra Orchard

I’m super excited about my friend (and super popular romantic suspense author) Lynette Eason’s new series Elite Guardians.

Book 1, Always Watching, releases Feb 2nd, although it’s already available for digital download.

And…for Goodreads members in the US or Canada, you still have time to enter the Goodreads Giveaway for a chance to snag one of five copies. The giveaway ends Feb 2nd, so don’t delay!

The Elite Guardian series is about female bodyguards and their clients who can’t stay out of trouble.

In Always Watching, when it becomes clear that popular psychiatrist and radio personality Wade Savage has a stalker, his father secretly hires Elite Guardians to protect his son. But when Wade’s bodyguard is attacked and nearly killed, agency owner Olivia Edwards must step in and fill the gap.

Olivia’s skills are about to be tested to the limit as Wade’s stalker moves from leaving innocent gifts at his door to threatening those closest to him–including Olivia. But in her mind, even more dangerous than the threats to her life is the hold her handsome client has on her heart.

Colleen Coble, author of The Inn at Ocean’s Edge and the Hope Beach series says: “This is one of the best romantic suspense novels I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommended!”

1602 Lynette headshot Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the Women of Justice, the Deadly Reunions, and the Hidden Identity series. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She lives in South Carolina. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.