
from THE SCARLET PEPPER (April 2012)
Book 2 of The White House Gardener Mysteries by Dorothy St. James
For most of the country daylight savings time hit last night and we all lost an hour. Let me tell you, it came at a most inconvenient time. Lord love me, I don't have an hour to lose right now.
Odd things are happening at the White House. At first I thought Milo, the Commander in Leash, was to blame for the damaged plants in the First Lady's Kitchen Garden. Something had ripped the plants clean out of the ground! I tried to save what I could and replanted what I couldn't save. But then not long after that, red chili peppers started growing where I'd planted green bell peppers and cabbage is popping up where the First Lady's favorite lettuce should be.
And everyone is blaming me!
I've been working overtime, patching the garden back together and trying to figure out who's playing games with my reputation. But it's fast becoming a losing battle. A certain weasel...er...reporter has started printing his own theories of what is happening in the garden. He's calling the garden a fake and a subversive plot by the President to get hard working Americans to eat more veggies. (I'm rolling my eyes.)
In less than a month's time, you'll be able to read all about my misadventures in the vegetable garden when THE SCARLET PEPPER goes on sale April 3, 2012.
I hope by that time to have caught my garden thief (and to have recovered from this dratted lost hour of sleep)!
How are you coping with the time change?
1. Get in on the drawing to win one of 4 copies of THE SCARLET PEPPER this week from Books On The House! Contest winners will be announced on MARCH 14, 2012!
2. Head over to Goodreads for a chance to win one of 2 copies of THE SCARLET PEPPER! Contest winners will be announced on APRIL 5, 2012!
3. Go play the fun and games over at The Romance Reviews for a chance to win tons of prizes including a copy of the book that started it all, FLOWERBED OF STATE! The contest is running for several weeks, but Flowerbed of State is being given away at the end of the week of MARCH 14 and ending MARCH 21, the prize winners will be announce MARCH 22!
Dorothy St. James writes the White House Gardener Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Flowerbed of State is the first book in the series. Be sure to grab your copy while they're still available! Visit with Dorothy on the web or at Facebook. Or follow her on Twitter.
Praise for FLOWERBED OF STATE:
"Credible characters, a fast-paced plot, and a light look at political life in Washington, D.C., will delight cozy fans." ~ Publishers Weekly






Planted my small garden last year and was thrilled with my first watermelon. Came home to find the vine stretched to the limit and the fruit scooped out to the rind. The tomatoes and marigolds were gone too. The culprit(s): squirrels, racoons, deers, or foxes? Which do you think. Something more nefarious?
ReplyDeleteIf I were you, I'd keep a close eye on your neighbors. There's something fishy going on in your garden. Take it from me, you can't be too careful!
DeleteI'm looking forward to reading this book and getting to know you, and Milo! It sounds great and the cover is a knockout! I think I already entered all three of the giveaways you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I hope you win one of the contests, Nancy! And thank you! Berkley Prime Crime did give me a great cover, didn't they? Now, I just need to get a handle on Milo. He's been full of puppy energy lately!
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