About the Book

Book: Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing

Author: Lisa R. Howeler

Genre: Clean Cozy Mystery

Release Date: July 11, 2023

A little bit of mystery, a dash of romance, and a whole lot of heart

After being laid off from her job as a librarian at a small college, Gladwynn Grant isn’t sure what her next step in life is. When a job as a small-town newspaper reporter opens up in the town her grandmother Lucinda Grant lives in, she decides to take it to get away from a lot of things – Bennett Steele for one.

Lucinda has been living alone since Gladwynn’s grandfather passed away six years ago and she isn’t a take-it-easy, rock-on-your-front-porch kind of grandma. She’s always on the go and lately, she’s been on the go with a man who Gladwynn doesn’t know.

Gladwynn thought Brookstone was a small, quiet town, but within a few days of being there, she has to rethink that notion. Someone has cut the bank loan officer’s brakes, threatening letters are being sent, and memories of a jewelry theft from the 1990s have everyone looking at the cold case again.

What, if anything, will Gladwynn uncover about her new hometown and her grandmother’s new male friend? And what will she do about her grandmother’s attempt to set her up with the handsome Pastor Luke Callahan?

Find out in this modern mystery with a vintage feel.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Lisa Robinson-Howeler is a writer and photographer from Northeastern Pennsylvania, where she lives with her husband and two children, her dog Zooma and her two cats Pixel and Scout. She is a former small-town newspaper reporter. She is also a wife, blogger, and a homeschooling mother. She blogs about fiction, faith, photography, and life.

More from Lisa

I can’t say that Gladwynn Grant’s character is based completely on my grandmother, but, in some ways, I did. I named her Gladwynn after my paternal grandmother who I grew up living over the creek and through the woods from.

Gladwynn was her middle name but I’m not really sure how she spelled it because she never really used it. She usually just wrote G. as the middle initial. When we did a search on Ancestry, we saw that some spellings on her documents were Gladwin and some were Gladwyn. I guess her family wasn’t sure either, but if I remember right (I don’t have the document right in front of me) on her birth certificate it was spelled Gladwin.

I liked the spelling of Gladwynn with a “y” and two “n’s” though so that is how I spelled Gladwynn’s name for the books.

My grandmother was tough and to the point. She wasn’t mean but she didn’t pull punches. She was not super maternal or affectionate. Again, though, she was not mean.

She lived through the Great Depression and raised children during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Her youngest, my dad, was in the Air Force when Vietnam broke out. He was never sent overseas but he helped build bombs and work on airplanes during that time.

She knew about hardship, trials, and heartbreak. Her husband died of cancer when he was in his 60s and she spent the next 35 years without him. She began to lose her eyesight to macular degeneration in her 80s.

None of what life threw at her stopped her from living her best life.

She still traveled and kept her house and property up. At the age of 86 I caught her on a ladder cleaning out the gutters. Around the same age she marched down the dirt road in front of her house with a walking stick and told the township road workers to make sure the drainage pipe they were putting in didn’t run into her field and flood it.

If she was afraid of things, she didn’t show it very often.

My family lived with her while I was in college and I learned so much about how to preserve and live a happy and fulfilled life despite the tragedies or trials of my life.

When I started thinking about writing a cozy mystery series, I wanted the main character to be a lot like grandma, but also more affectionate and sentimental than my grandmother seemed at times.

I only remember my grandmother telling me she loved me once or twice in my life, but I know she did because she showed it in her actions toward me.

I wrote Gladwynn to be bold and tough, but also to be affectionate and open with her feelings – a lot like my grandmother, but also a little different.

I think my grandmother would love the idea that I am writing a series of books based on her name and partially on her personality.

My Impressions

“The people in this county had a lot more skeletons in their closet than Gladwynn had ever imagined.”

After being let go from her job as a research librarian, Gladwynn Grant flees her hometown and her self-centered ex-boyfriend to resettle in a small town 200 miles away, Brookstone, PA, where her grandmother lives. Gladwynn takes a job as a cub reporter, where she gets so little respect, “She was beginning to think she should legally change her name to New Girl.” Lisa Howeler sets up the classic cozy in Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing.

Multiple- near murders, a ten year-old- unsolved jewelry heist, rumors of buried French treasure, an antagonistic relationship between the paper Gladwynn works for and the police and fire departments. Plus, don’t forget the six degrees of separation law- in this case, everybody either knows somebody well, or is related.

I wished for a list of characters at the front to refer to. Some, like Daryl Stabler, owner of prized land and all-around jerk, you won’t forget. But, I highly suggest either taking notes on characters or reading on kindle so you can refer back to names as they re-occur.

Gladwynn and her grandmother have a very unusual relationship. Both are a little snarky, Grandma likes to keep her social life private, which causes the investigative and protective side of Gladwynn to come out. Yet they love each other fiercely. Grandma keeps pushing a certain young man towards Gladwynn. But, by the time I finished the book and read the provided introductory chapter of the next book, I was getting a strong reminder of the love triangles of the Hannah Swensen Mysteries. I must admit I bought the next book in the Gladwynn Grant series and will probably devour it today.

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I also bought my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

Notable Quotables:

(Fave observation quotes.)

“people can do things totally out of their norm if they get angry enough.”

“That’s the weird things about memories, though. They follow you no matter where you go.”

(Fave wisdom quote.)

“It can’t be easy trying to step into shoes as big as Grandpa’s.” Luke sighed. “I like to think of it as following in his footsteps instead. I could never fill his shoes, but I’m more than happy to follow in his footsteps.”

(Fave spiritual truth.)

“It’s a weird world we live in.” “It’s a heartbroken world we live in,” Lionel said. “If only more people knew how God created them to love and be loved. Your grandfather did his very best to make sure everyone he came in contact with knew that.”

(Fave funny- ironic quote.)

“You’re learning. I’m proud of you.” She rolled her eyes as she sat down. “Grey gods indeed.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great! Looking forward to second Gladwynn Grant book later today!!

Great! Binge-reading second book later today. Gotta figure out love triangle!!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 13

Holly’s Book Corner, March 13

Texas Book-aholic, March 14

Devoted To Hope, March 15

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 16

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 17

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 18

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 19 (Author Interview)

Mornings at Character Cafe, March 19

Book Looks by Lisa, March 20

An Author’s Take, March 21

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 22

Blogging With Carol, March 23

Pause for Tales, March 23

Lily’s Corner, March 24

For Him and My Family, March 25

Mary Hake, March 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lisa is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and a paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a7a8/gladwynn-grant-gets-her-footing-celebration-tour-giveaway