Guest Post and Giveaway with Abigail Keam, author of Death by Bourbon

Hi, everyone!

I am pleased to participate in Abigail Keam's Death by Bourbon Virtual Book Tour hosted by First Rule Publicity.

About Abigail:

Abigail Keam is an award-winning author who writes the Josiah Reynolds mystery series about a beekeeper turned sleuth.

Death By A HoneyBee won the 2010 Gold Medal Award for Women’s Lit from Reader’s Favorite and was a Finalist of the USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books of 2011. Death By Drowning won the 2011 Gold Medal Award for Best Mystery Sleuth and also was placed on the USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books of 2011.

Ms. Keam is also an award-winning beekeeper who lives on the Kentucky River in a metal house with her husband and various critters. 

CONNECT WITH ABIGAIL ONLINE: 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Abigail!

Abigail has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to her.

By Abigail Keam

Like my beekeeping protagonist, Josiah Reynolds, in the Josiah Reynolds mystery series, I am also a beekeeper. In fact, I'm an award-winning beekeeper. Why did I begin beekeeping? There has always been a strong connection between women and these little fury insects. In fact, one of the first cave drawings found in Spain is of a woman with a torch and basket being lowered along a cliff side. What is she doing? She is collecting honey.

Since the time we lived in caves, women and honeybees have been associated together. The honeybee has also been used as a symbol for kingship and the feminine sacred. The honeybee symbol is used in the cartouche for the word Pharaoh. The honeybee is a symbol for the goddess of the hunt, Diana. The honeybee is also associated with the Madonna and the Magdalene. And strongly associated with the Magdalene were the Merovingian kings who used the honeybee as their royal symbol. It is known that when Napoleon was to be crowned emperor, that he had the Merovingian king, Clovis II's grave excavated for it was rumored that he was buried with 300 gold bees. As you can see from all the paintings done for that occasion, Napoleon is wearing a robe with gold honeybees sown onto the robe. Interesting how a little insect is so important as a symbol of royalty and divinity, and not just male divinity but the female sacred as well.

It is no coincidence that the alpha bee is called the Queen and that she has a court. She lays eggs which make up 95 percent of the female workers while drones are created to mate with virgin Queens. She controls her hive down to the temperament of her female workers which can number up to 100,000 in a hive. That's why we call alpha women - Queen Bees. For humans though, this controlling aspect of one's nature is not always positive. Not like in a hive where each bee must depend on the other and ultimately upon the Queen.

Honeybees do not have their own agenda but that of the Queen. Not like humans who sometimes stray from their moral code and commit murder. Unlike Hive Queens who can kill their sisters and daughters if desired, humans must pay a price for their bloodletting. But first they must be caught. If they commit murder around Josiah Reynolds, they will pay a price. She's not a queen bee for nothing.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Abigail! 

Grand Prize: A signed set of all four books in Abigail's Josiah Reynolds Mystery series, plus three 8-oz bottles of honey from Abigail's very own bee hives!

Runner-up Prizes: Two winners will receive a signed copy of Abigail's latest mystery, Death by Bourbon.

   

Life takes a dramatic turn for Josiah when she witnesses a death at an engagement party for guess who...Matt. Matt? Yes Matt.

Charming socialite Addison DeWitt falls into a fit after taking a sip of bourbon. That would be upsetting enough but Josiah is sure it is murder. However, no one will believe her except for Lady Elsmere and Meriah Caldwell, the famous mystery writer. The three of them conspire to bring the murderer to justice. It turns out that the suspect is always three steps ahead of them.

To make matters worse, Josiah's daughter, Asa, decides to move to London, Franklin leaves town and Jake starts singing a different turn. Josiah doubts her ability to meet the future alone. Maybe it's time to sell the Butterfly and move to Florida with the rest of the old folks.

Buy Links:
Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle

To enter the giveaway, please fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below.

The Grand Prize is limited to Canada/US mailing address only. The Runner-up Prizes are available worldwide. This giveaway will close at 12:01 AM EST on November 19, 2012.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Participants

11/1/2012 - Lost Inside The Covers - Review
11/2/2012 - Jess resides here - Excerpt and promo

11/2/2012 - Kaisy Daisy’s Corner -Review
11/3/2012 - My Rece’s Piece - Guest post
11/4/2012 - Author Interrupted - Review
11/5/2012 - Teena in Toronto - Review
11/6/2012 - Ann’s Book Corner - Review
11/6/2012 - Library Girl Reads and Reviews - Promo

11/7/2012 - … the bookworm ... - Excerpt and promo

11/7/2012 - Book in the Bag - Interview
11/8/2012-  Darlene’s Book Nook - Guest Post
11/10/2012 - Tribute Books, Reviews and Giveaways - Interview

11/10/2012 - From the Bootheel Cotton Patch - Review

11/11/2012 - Bunny’s Reviews - Guest post
11/12/2012 - Proud Book Nerd - Character post

11/12/2012 - A Date With a Book - Review
11/13/2012 - Dr. Pepper Diva - Review

11/13/2012 - Everything Distils into Reading - Promo
11/14/2012 - Babs Bistro Podcast - Podcast

11/14/2012 - Babs Book Bistro - Review

11/14/2012 - The Book Diva’s Reads - Guest post and excerpt
11/15/2012 - Celtic Lady’s Reviews -  Review and excerpt
11/16/2012 - CMash Reads - Guest post and giveaway

11/16/2012 - Minding Spot - Review/Excerpt and promo

11/16/2012 - Tales of a Book Addict - Review
11/17/2012 - Melissa’s Midnight Musings - Excerpt and promo

11/17/2012 - My Bookshelf - Review
11/18/2012 - Window on the World - Review and interview