Cheryl Hollon has been a friend of the Wickeds since the publication of Pane and Suffering, the first book in her Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery series. Now she’s here with book six, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.
Take it away, Cheryl!
For this book, the craft is bead making and I signed up for a private professional workshop guided by Josh Poll, the owner of Zen Studio and Gallery (https://zenglass.com/). His shop is a mere five-minute drive away and I was looking forward to my personalized instruction.
After running through a safety lecture and learning how to use the specialized tools, I fired up the torch for my first lesson. Well, the torch is big, loud, scary and screams heat right in front of your face.
I’ve never been so uncomfortable in a hot shop, not even when blowing glass using a nine-foot blowpipe. It seems that scale is the problem for me – the flame was too close and even though I took three three-hour sessions, I never got over the fear of the torch.
I was so disappointed! I had huge plans to make custom beads for my friends and family. All came to nothing as it was clear I could never practice long enough to overcome my dislike of the torch.
As much as I wanted to leave, I stuck it out so I could describe the process well enough to add believability to the manuscript. Talk about sacrificing for your art – I certainly suffered. Josh was magnificent and understood what I was trying to gain from the experience.
Readers: Have you ever looked forward to an activity and discovered that it wasn’t for you?
Down in Flames released on June 25, 2019 and is available for you to order at Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and in your favorite bookstores. It is published by Kensington Books. If your budget is tight, please ask your library to order it.
About Down in Flames: A fatal hit-and-run in front of Savannah Webb’s glass shop proves to be no accident. . .
A highlight of Savannah’s new glass bead workshop is a technique called flame-working, which requires the careful wielding of acetylene torches. Understandably, safety is a top priority. But as Savannah is ensuring her students’ safety inside, a hit-and-run driver strikes down a pedestrian outside her shop.
The victim is Nicole Borawski, the bartender/manager at the Queen’s Head Pub, owned by Savannah’s boyfriend Edward. It quickly becomes clear that this was no random act of vehicular manslaughter. Now the glass shop owner is all fired up to get a bead on the driver–before someone else meets a dead end . . .
Visit Cheryl and her books at her Website, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter