Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Out of Temper: Bean to Bar Mystery #3 by Amber Royer (Top 10 List)

OUT OF TEMPER

Bean to Bar Mysteries, Book 3
by
AMBER ROYER
Categories: Cozy Mystery / Women Sleuth / Romance 
Publisher: Golden Tip Press
Date of Publication: February 1, 2022
Number of Pages: 264 pages 
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand has been the scene of two murders – both of which she has been instrumental in helping solve. So when she gets invited to demo her chocolate skills aboard a cruise ship sailing out of the local port, she’s excited at the chance to get away from the shop long enough to regain her equilibrium. She even brings her best friend along, and makes plans for time at the spa. But when she gets on board, she finds out that she’s been booked for a mystery-themed cruise, and said best friend, Autumn, has to finally deal with the real reasons she quit writing mysteries. Only – if that wasn’t stressful enough – it doesn’t take long before there’s a real murder on the cruise, and someone Felicity knows becomes the prime suspect. When said suspect asks her for help, she can’t exactly say no, can she?
Felicity finds herself surrounded by cruise goers who all had connections to the victim – and finds that both Logan (her business partner, whom she recently kissed) and Arlo (the cop who was once Felicity’s first boyfriend, before she moved away from Galveston) are dealing with the case until more official help can arrive. How will Felicity survive the ensuing awkwardness?

One thing that helps: the retired police dog turned therapy dog she meets on board. Satchmo helps Felicity deal with being back on the water after tragedy in her past – and also helps her uncover a vital clue to the case. Can Felicity unmask the killer and keep a friend from being framed before all the suspects leave the ship?
CLICK TO PURCHASE!

Amber Royer’s Top Ten Literary Dogs

In the Bean to Bar Mysteries, there’s a new companion animal introduced in each book.  In Grand Openings Can Be Murder, readers got to meet Knightley, Felicity’s lop-eared bunny.  In 70% Dark Intentions, Felicity wound up taking care of Clive the Octopus, when Clive’s owner went missing.  And now, in Out of Temper, Felicity’s on a cruise ship, where she gets to hang out with a therapy dog.

Which got me thinking about literary dogs.  Dogs have been sidekicks, healing influences, protagonists, commentators, protectors and more.  They’ve been in books and movies, both realistically portrayed and as cartoons.  I ranked my top ten favorites.

There are so many excellent dog characters, I couldn’t possibly fit them all on this list.  These are just my personal favorites.  Honorable mentions include: Wishbone from Wishbone.  Astro from the Jetsons.  Max from The Secret Life of Pets.  Bolt from Bolt.  Tock from The Phantom Tollbooth.  Bitzer from Shaun the Sheep. Luiz from Rio.  Hooch from Turner and Hooch.

Here’s the top ten:

  1. Lassie from Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight. Because a dog that smart and kind can’t help but win your heart. In the original work, Lassie, who has been sold, has to find a way to return home to the boy she loves.
  2. Buck from Call of the Wild by Jack London. Buck is the ultimate fish-out-of-water character, a Saint Bernard mix from California who gets kidnapped and taken to be a sled dog in the Yukon Territory. A lesser dog wouldn’t have survived . . . but Buck has the determination to be up to the challenge.
  3. Buttons from the Animaniacs. Buttons is a long-suffering dog who is put in charge of a mischievous child named Mindy, who is always a step away from catastrophic injury—except that Buttons ingeniously finds her a way out of it. Of course, he usually winds up taking the blame for all the trouble—but that doesn’t stop him from doing his job the next time.
  4. Asta from the Thin Man series of films. Asta is a wire fox terrier, but in the original novel, he was cast as a female schnauzer.  The director wanted a more debonair look for Nick and Nora’s pet, since they’re socialites.  Though he’s more of a sidekick than a pet, and helps solve the mysteries.
  5. Gromit from the Wallace and Gromit claymation series and films. Gromit keeps Wallace’s plans moving, whether they are shooting a rocket to the moon to find out if it is really made of cheese, or trying to progress Wallace’s love life. He’s resourceful and kind, and always has Wallace’s back.
  6. Chet from the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series. The books are told from Chet’s point of view. He’s always loyal to Bernie—and sees Bernie as a better person than he really is.  Chet is distractable, and behaves like a real dog.  But he always WANTS to do the right thing.
  7. Dug from Pixar’s Up. The whole story was such an emotional roller-coaster, and Dug was a big part of the film’s heart. He didn’t fit in with the rest of the dog pack in the story because he is too kind and positive-minded.  He’s not perfect, but he is exactly what both Charles and Russell need.
  8. Snoopy from the Peanuts cartoons by Charles Schulz. My favorite Peanuts strips are always the ones with Snoopy up on his dog house, trying to write the Great American Novel. As a writer myself, a lot of what he’s going through hits home.  (There’s even a book called Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life.)
  9. Winn-Dixie from Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. Winn-Dixie may start out as a scruffy stray, but his loveable nature helps the book’s protagonist make friends. Who wouldn’t want a dog like that?  Even if he is afraid of thunderstorms.
  10. Satchmo from Out of Temper . . . by me! Okay, I’m biased, but I really did have a blast writing this quirky beagle. He was a cadaver dog for the police, now retired and training to be a therapy dog.  He may be a little older, but he still has plenty of energy and a penchant for meatballs.  Like any character, I developed him by thinking of him as a real dog, and imagining what events in his past would have gotten him to the point where he enters the story.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Satchmo in Out of Temper, as he helps Felicity solve the mystery.  He has a lot of qualities of my favorite literary dogs.


Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook for Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. Amber and her husband live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them hiking or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs. If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate.
FACEBOOK  ◆  TWITTER
◆  WEBSITE  ◆  BLOG
◆  AMAZON  ◆  GOODREADS  ◆
◆  INSTAGRAM ◆  YOUTUBE  ◆

————————————–
GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
 ONE WINNER 
Signed copy of Out of Temper +
chocolate bar from French Broad Chocolates!
(US only, ends midnight CT, 3/5/2022)

FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY, 
or visit the blogs directly:

2/23/22

Playlist

Chapter Break Book Blog

2/23/22

BONUS Promo

Hall Ways Blog

2/24/22

Review

Missus Gonzo

2/24/22

BONUS Promo

LSBBT Blog

2/25/22

Review

StoreyBook Reviews

2/26/22

Scrapbook Page

All the Ups and Downs

2/27/22

Top 10 List

The Plain-Spoken Pen

2/28/22

Review

Bibliotica

3/1/22

Top 10 List

Reading by Moonlight

3/2/22

Review

Forgotten Winds

3/3/22

Guest Post

Book Bustle

3/4/22

Review

Carpe Diem Chronicles

blog tour services provided by
Follow me on social media

One Reply to “Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Out of Temper: Bean to Bar Mystery #3 by Amber Royer (Top 10 List)”