Pushing Up Daisies

Here's an incredibly clever way one author is reaching new readers...through a seed and flower catalog. The Park Seed Company's emailed newsletter features a plug for Pushing Up Daisies (Thomas Dunne Books) by Rosemary Harris, "the first in series of mysteries featuring Master Gardener/amateur sleuth, Paula Holliday." The newsletter --emailed to no doubt thousands of customers in North America-- includes a Chapter One download and a way to purchase the book online (along with the seeds and bare root shrubs.) By the way, author Rosemary Harris, like her main character, is a Master Gardener.

The Park Seed newsletter mentions how it all came about:

We first met Author Rosemary Harris when she contacted Park Seed about possibly using one of our daisy images on the cover of the book she was working on. In the end they went with a fun, illustrated cover, but we're pleased to be able to offer our dear subscribers a free sneak peek of the book courtesy of Rosemary and her publisher!

And here's more about the book:

Paula can handle deer, slugs, and the occasional human pest -- but she's not prepared for the mummified body she digs up her first day on a new job! Casual snooping turns dangerous when another body turns up and one of Paula's friends appears to be a suspect.