A Memory of Muskets by Kathleen Ernst – Guest Post + Giveaway

A Memory of Muskets by Kathleen Ernst

A Chloe Ellefson Mystery #7

Curator Chloe Ellefson is happily planning to spotlight home-front challenges and German immigrants at Old World Wisconsin’s first Civil War reenactment, but her overbearing boss scorns her ideas and proposes staging a mock battle instead. And when a reenactor is found dead at one of the historic site’s German farms, Chloe’s boyfriend, cop Roelke McKenna, suspects murder.

The more Roelke learns about reenacting, the more he fears that a killer will join the ranks. Then Chloe discovers a disturbing secret about Roelke’s Civil War–era ancestors. Together they struggle to solve crimes past and present . . . before Chloe loses her job and another reenactor loses his life.

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Bad Bosses
By Kathleen Ernst

Chloe Ellefson, protagonist of my mystery series, has a bad boss. Chloe is the curator of collections at a large living history museum. She answers to Ralph Petty, director of the historic site.

The site—Old World Wisconsin—is a real place where I used to work as a curator. Ralph Petty, however, is a fictional character. He is self-aggrandizing, dictatorial, a misogynist, and…well, petty. He’s the embodiment of every bad boss I’ve ever known, with some of my friends’ bad bosses thrown in for good measure.

When I created the Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites Mystery Series, I didn’t realize how popular a character Ralph Petty would become. Readers love to hate Ralph Petty. For some, he’s become the embodiment of their bad bosses too.

So while Ralph Petty hasn’t played a major role in every book, I give him stage time on a regular basis. He’s prominent in the newest book, A Memory of Muskets. Chloe is trying to stage a complicated special event—a Civil War reenactment focused on homefront activities—and Petty insists on micro-managing the program. He and Chloe have never gotten along, in part due to her habit of speaking truth to power. It seems clear that he wants to provoke her to commit some offense he can use as justification for terminating her employment. This time, he gets a bit of a comeuppance.

Have you ever worked for a bad boss? I hope that reading A Memory of Muskets will provide a bit of catharsis!

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About the Author

Kathleen Ernst is a former museum curator who remains passionate about history! In addition to the Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites series, she has written many books for American Girl, including nine about the historical character she created, Caroline Abbott. Over 1.5 million copies of Kathleen’s 33 titles have been sold. The Chloe series has earned a LOVEY Award for Best Traditional Mystery, and several of her mysteries for young readers have been finalists for Edgar or Agatha awards.

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Kathleen is offering one lucky Brooke Blogs reader a paperback copy of A Memory of Muskets. Thank you so much, Kathleen! This giveaway is open to US residents only. To enter:

Leave a comment below telling me why you want to read this book, asking the author a question, or telling about your ‘bad boss’ experience.

Fill out the Google form below. If you have difficulty, click here to access the form.

Giveaway will end at 11:59PM EST on October 20, 2016. Good luck!

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