A New Day with Daisy Buchanan by Cate Price

Hi, Daisy Buchanan here, getting ready for the holiday season in our little village of Millbury, PA. I’m busy refreshing the displays in my store, Sometimes a Great Notion. It’s a quirky place, full of antiques, sewing notions, linens and quilts, and the spot where everyone seems to gravitate for hot coffee and spicy gossip.

Excuse me while I clamber up into one of the windows with my stash of Christmas-themed merchandise. I think an antique wooden children’s sled will look good in one corner, don’t you? I’ll fill it with boxes that I’ve wrapped with scraps of pretty vintage fabrics and decorated with old millinery trimmings, like rosettes and silk flowers. A stack of hat boxes, tied with gold ribbon and white netting will go in the other corner. In the center, I’ll create a mini dining tableau with a gorgeous Irish linen tablecloth, bundles of silver flatware tied with holly-patterned ribbon, and a set of six ruby wine glasses.

My store is mainly geared toward sewing notions, but I allow myself the leeway to pick up other interesting items at an auction or estate sale. Hey, everything sells in the end.

Across the street I spy my friend, Eleanor Reid, who is unlocking the door to her store, A Stitch Back in Time, where she restores and restyles antique wedding gowns.

The village is abuzz right now, not just with the excitement of the holidays, but with talk of the “Men of Millbury” calendar. Somehow, my other best friend, Martha Bristol, a fiery redhead, has convinced twelve brave souls to take it all off for the sake of historical preservation. From the mailman to the firefighters (who didn’t need much encouragement, let’s be honest) to the criminally good-looking Detective Serrano.

A developer wants to build a series of townhouses at the approach to our village which would completely destroy the character of the quaint neighborhood. Hopefully the Millbury Historical Society can raise enough money with this calendar to top his bid for the farm.

Oops, here comes a customer.

One last tweak to a collection of vintage evening bags filled with baubles, spools of thread, and mother-of-pearl buttons before I hop down from the display window.

Hope you’ll drop by soon for a visit. The coffee is on!

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You can read more about Daisy in Lie Of The Needle, the third book in the “Deadly Notions” mystery series, published by Berkley Prime Crime. The first book in the series is Going Through The Notions.

GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 6 p.m. eastern on January 23 for the chance to win a prize packet that includes four vintage hankies, a sweet little Nippon dish, and an old spindle (all items that Daisy Buchanan might have in her shop, Sometimes a Great Notion).  Bonus: Giveaway: win a print copy of Lie of the Needle.  The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

Meet the author
Cate Price is a regular sight on the streets of her home town walking her two amazing rescue dogs, and she also enjoys gardening, yard sales, and cooking with friends. Writing the Deadly Notions mysteries proved to be rather an expensive project, because while researching auction houses, she also became addicted to bidding on box lots.

Cate is a member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Visit her at www.cateprice.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catepriceauthor