Laid Out and Candle Lit [Paperback]

Ann Everett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2011

What do Sweet Thangs, Orgasm Pie, and a murder in Brownsboro, TX all have in common? Tizzy Donovan. Tizzy is a small town girl, a widow, single mother, daughter to the best baker in town, sister to the county Sheriff, and also known as the local girl who talks to the dead. After almost five years without a man, she’s pent up and hot to trot! And in small town Brownsboro, population 854, pardon 853, the roster of available men is just plain lousy. When Tizzy discovers the body in the cemetery, she goes to prime suspect number one, and lands in a decidedly unsweetened pickle. With lead after lead placing her in the crosshairs, her only hope and potential damnation come in the form of Texas Ranger Ridge Cooper. Cutting his teeth on his first case, Ranger Cooper and his interest in the sexy Tizzy lead them both to combine his will to solve the case with her sassy come-backs and a good helping of Better than Sex Cupcakes. With pressure mounting on both of them, will this formidable duo, be able to find a murderer and love within the once sleepy confines of Brownsboro, TX?

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

LAID OUT AND CANDLE LIT, a humorous, romance, mystery, is my first novel. It's set in the real life town of Brownsboro, Texas...my hometown. It's just a spot in the road, but when I was growing up there, I thought the world stopped at the city limits. I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to live anywhere else. It now has a population of about 1000, but when I was a child, it only had about 400 people. Many of the events, characters, and places in LAID OUT AND CANDLE LIT, are based on real events, characters, and places from my past.
LAID OUT AND CANDLE LIT is the first in a series of three books I have planned revolving around the same characters and set in the same location of Brownsboro, Texas.
The characters...Pattiecake, Sugarpie, Saint, Dan, Nana, Earl Dean, Rayann, and others from the book are people I know or have known. It was a real joy to being these characters to life and attempt to put my little Texas hick town of Brownsboro on the map!

From the Back Cover

LAID OUT AND CANDLE LIT is an enchanting tale of murder and deception teeming with endearing Texas characters. Tizzy Donovan is a captivating character and her relationship with Texas Ranger Ridge Cooper, investigating the murder that occurs in the first chapter, will keep the reader enthralled throughout. The novel takes you into a story that fairly crackles with originally and verve.
The author, Ann Everett, draws wonderful characters and you can hear the slow Texas drawl, the earthy twang in her dialogue. This is a novel that keeps the reader guessing while presenting vivid portraits of characters that seem so real, you are sure they are not only drawn from life, but, by the end, you will be certain that they are real and you have met every one of them.
Lest you think this is just another run-of-the-mill grim murder mystery, this tale of rural Texas is laced with an undercurrent of rollicking humor that will lay you out and light your candle.
~~~~Jory Sherman
Pulitzer Prize Nominee and Author of THE BALLAD OF PINEWOOD LAKE
 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Briona Glen Publishing, LLC (August 30, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1618070053
• ISBN-13: 978-1618070050
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,753,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ann Everett is a Texas girl from her big-bar-hair down to her bare toes. For many years she did stand-up comedy for businesses, corporations, and non-profit organizations.

Creator of the White Trash Facelift, halter tops, and beer bling bracelets, Ann embraces her small town upbringing and thinks Texans are the funniest people on earth.

She's an award winning author and active member of Northeast Texas Writers' Organization where she serves as director of their twenty-seventh annual writers' conference.

When Ann's not writing, she spends her days listening in on people's conversations at the local Wal-Mart, beauty shop, grocery store, and numerous other gathering spots. She draws from that research to pen her romantic comedies full of southern sass and Texas twang.

To follow her blog and learn more about Ann, go to www.anneverett.com or follow her on Twitter: @Talkin' Twang

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this winner! December 17, 2011

By C. Wong VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

'Laid Out and Candle Lit' is one of those books that you don't want to take to the doctor's office to read while you are waiting! That is because you will get stares from the others in the waiting room because you will be laughing so hard!

I am very impressed with Ann Everett's new book. It is so loaded with humor and local flavor and hooks you on the first page through to the end. She puts just the right amount of details to make you feel that you are sweltering in Texas heat, smelling the muffins bursting with blueberries and hear the constant gossip of a very small town. All the main characters are fully developed and the pace of this book is very fast. Ann Everett makes the little town of Brownsboro come alive.

Tizzy Donovan, 25 years old, a widow with a darling daughter, Gracie, talks to the dead in the Jenkins cemetery every morning on her jog. She is stubborn, a great cook, a loving mother and after five years without sex, ripe for cupid's arrow. On one particular morning she finds a body near her husband's grave.

Ridge Cooper is a new Texas Ranger who has previous law enforcement experience and gets assigned to this case. He wants to prove himself with this case and worries about being attracted to Tizzy as she is one of the suspects. He does see much in the way of stores when he comes to town and thinks to himself that the victim was probably "bored to death". But as the mystery unravels he finds something very tangled and a lot of the secrets of this small town are revealed.

I don't want to give away who the murder victim is or any of the mystery. Everything fell neatly in place at the end. But I really enjoyed this mystery set in north east Texas with characters such as Bubba, Sugarpie and Pattiecake. There is romance, sex done with a lot of humor and a deep appreciation for the good cooking.

There is a recipe in the back for 'Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie' that I would love to try if I wasn't pre-diabetic.

The next book in this series is 'You're Busting My Nuptials' and I want to be sure to read it.

I recommend this book to cozy mystery readers and anyone who enjoys laughing.

I received this book as a win from GoodReads and that in no way influenced my review.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Laid Out and Candle Lit November 2, 2011

By symbolicangel

Format:Paperback

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

The characters were refreshing, unique, and entertaining. The author has done an excellent job at creating a world that draws in the reader. I started reading late one evening, had to put it away to get some sleep, then continued the next morning until I'd finished reading. Laid Out and Candle Lit is the type of book that will grab hold of you and won't let go. I didn't want to put it down. If you like romance, mystery, suspense, with a touch of paranormal and a whole lot of humor, then this is the read for you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book! September 23, 2011

By Nidia B. Hernandez

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is my first book by Ann Everett. Coming from a big city (New York), I always wanted to know what it was like to have been raised in a small town in Anywhere, US. Ann brings the reader into small town living and lets them live in in. The characters are marvelous. Tizzy is incredibly real and likable. She is a young widow and mother with plenty on her plate, not to mention the fact that she had just found a dead body in a cemetery. Enter, handsome, Texas Ranger, ready to investigate the murder and never thinking for the life of him that he would fall so hard for his number one suspect. This was truly a fantastic read, full of humor and wonderful dialogue. I felt as if I were standing in the center and everything happening around me. Great, fun book!