MURDER STRIKES A POSE on tour and a giveaway

Tracy Weber is a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Whole Life Yoga, an award-winning yoga studio in Seattle, where she currently lives with her husband and German Shepherd. Weber is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Dog Writers Association of America, and Sisters in Crime. She loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. Murder Strikes a Pose is Weber’s debut. I am very pleased to have Tracy here as a guest blogger today as she makes a stop n her tour for MURDER TRIKES A POSE with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours and you will find a giveaway down below the review.

What Kind of Yoga Teacher Writes about Murder?

I’ve made my living teaching yoga for over thirteen years now, but anyone who knows me can attest that I am not a typical yoga teacher. I came to yoga with an injured body, and I can’t do any of the cool poses pictured on the cover of Yoga Journal. I don’t know the Sanskrit names for most of the poses. I cringe pretty much any time I hear something woo-woo. But I love yoga. It has transformed my life and sharing it with others brings me great joy.

Still, like I said, I’m not a typical yoga teacher.

So most of my students weren’t all that surprised to learn that I spend my spare time plotting murder and hiding books on poisons in the kitchen where my husband can “accidentally” find them. It all makes sense if you know my warped sense of humor. People who don’t know me are sometimes taken aback—even a little affronted—however. What kind of demented yoga teacher combines yoga—a practice designed to promote inner peace—with murder?

For those of you who are curious but too polite to ask, here are my top four reasons for combining my loves (yoga, dogs, and cozy mysteries):

My light-hearted mysteries allow me to share my love of yoga with people I may never meet.

Good fiction immerses the reader in a world they might otherwise never experience. I hope to show my readers that yoga is for everyone—especially people like Kate and me who are far from perfect.

Kate Davidson, my novel’s protagonist, is a yoga teacher. Kate and I have different physical issues, but neither one of us will ever appear on the cover of Yoga Journal. Kate has laughably tight hamstrings, chubby, cellulite-ridden thighs, and she drinks a bit more wine than she probably should.

Likewise, neither of us is likely to be in the running for Buddha’s successor. I have a warped sense of humor and tease people way more than they probably like. Kate has fiery temper and often lashes out impulsively, only to regret it later. Yet both of us believe in yoga and have dedicated our lives to sharing it with others. If Kate and I can love yoga, anyone can love yoga—even mystery fans who have never considered trying it. Maybe even some of you reading this blog article! 😉

People are murdered in my work, but death isn’t the only theme.

Solving crime definitely takes center stage in my books, but Murder Strikes a Pose is ultimately a love story. In fiction, as in real life, love isn’t always easy. Murder Strikes a Pose illustrates how love can damage us, if we let it. Throughout its pages, normally good people do extreme—some might say evil—acts to protect those they love. But beyond that, the story shows how love transforms us, when we are ready. Overall, it promises that love saves us.

If my books were movies, they’d be rated PG—at most.

In some ways my book is a tiny bit outside the cozy realm. The story takes place in a city (Seattle) and the plot takes place over several weeks. In other ways, it’s 100% cozy. Cozies are typically light-hearted, often funny (I think mine are!) and written to appeal to the faint of heart. Gore is minimized; killing takes place off screen; sex happens behind closed doors. My mother read Murder Strikes a Pose, and she still thinks I’m a nice girl.

Last but not least, I love it!

But if I’m honest, the real reason I write yoga mysteries is simple. I’m a huge mystery fan, my life-work is yoga, and I’m absolutely, embarrassingly, head-over-heels crazy about my German shepherd, Tasha. I write about a yoga teacher who solves murders with a wacky German shepherd sidekick. Writing about yoga, dogs, and murder. What could be more fun?

It’s still too soon to know how the yoga community will receive my series, or if my students will still appreciate my sense of humor by the time they get to “the end.” But for me, what matters most is the intention: Murder Strikes a Pose is a tribute to all I hold dear. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I’ve loved writing it.

Please let me know what you think!

Namaste

BLURB

Yoga instructor Kate Davidson tries to live up to yoga’s Zen-like expectations, but it’s not easy while struggling to keep her small business afloat or dodging her best friend’s matchmaking efforts.

When George, a homeless alcoholic, and his loud, horse-sized German shepherd, Bella, start hawking newspapers outside her studio, Kate attempts to convince them to leave. Instead, the three strike up an unlikely friendship.

Then Kate finds George’s dead body. The police dismiss it as a drug-related street crime, but Kate knows he was no drug dealer. Now she must solve George’s murder and find someone willing to adopt his intimidating companion before Bella is sent to the big dog park in the sky. With the murderer on her trail, Kate has to work fast or her next Corpse Pose may be for real.

MY REVIEW

I enjoyed the book, it was a pleasant read. But I knew whodunit. Though I didn’t know why. The main character, Kate, is a bit whiny and self involved but she does seem to grow a bit through the book so I expect more of her in the future. And she does show great loyalty to the victim and his dog, Bella. I loved Bella. Kate’s best friend Rene seems like a fun character but we don’t see enough of her, hopefully we will see more of her in future.  I’m undecided on Michael, pet shop owner and romantic interest, because once again we don’t see enough of him for him to become a better developed character. Towards the end he does seem like a good match for Kate, one who will help her get over herself. There was a very funny line (there were quite a few actually), when the fact so little was really known about the victim, Kate just assumes she knows his character, “Maybe he was a vicious dictator or a serial killer… Heck, maybe he was even a Republican.” So while I would have picked a less predictable killer, this was an enjoyable first in a series that shows great potential and I will look forward to subsequent additions where the killer, hopefully, will not be as easy to guess. ♥♥♥♥

AUTHOR LINKS

• Website:  http://tracyweberauthor.com/
• Blog:  http://www.wholelifeyoga.com/blog/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracywe
• Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7148442.Tracy_Weber
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TracyWeberTypes

PURCHASE LINKS

• AMAZON
• Book World 
• B & N

GIVEAWAY: Tracy will be giving away an autographed copy of MURDER STRIKES A POSE. Just leave a comment below to qualify.

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

January 2 – Thoughts in Progress – Review, Giveaway

January 3 – Books-n-Kisses – Review, Guest Post

January 4 – readalot*- Review, Giveaway

January 5 – Auntiemwrites’s Weblog

January 7 – Mochas, Mysteries and More* – Interview, Review, Giveaway

January 8 – dru’s book musing – Guest Post, Giveaway

January 9 – Chloe Gets A Clue – Interview, Giveaway

January 10 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – Review, Giveaway

January 11 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading* – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

January 15 – Killer Characters – Guest Post