Louisiana Ladies of Mystery Panel

Posted on October 11, 2017

 

 

I am a panelist with Erica Spindler, Liah Penn, Mary Beth Magee, Cherie Coen and Ellen Byron called the Louisiana Ladies of Mystery                                                                        at the Louisiana Book Festival                                                                                                                                                                          Saturday, October 28th, 2017  From 11 a.m. to Noon                                              

                                 701 N 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA  70802                                                            

                              State Capitol Building, House Committee Room  4                                              

 

                                      Book Signing following the panel.                                                                                  

I will be signing DRIVE THRU MURDER, my 3rd book in the series THE NEW ORLEANS GO CUP CHRONICLES                                                        

                               12:15 p.m. to l p.m.Barnes & Noble Bookselling Tent

 

To order on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/y82bobvo

For more information on the Book Festival, Authors attending and speaking go to www.louisianabookfestival.org 

 

 

DRIVE THRU MURDER Available to order NOW!

Posted on March 21, 2017

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PREORDER YOUR COPY!

SPECIAL PREORDER PRICING $ .99  AND ONLY UNTIL April 7, 2017

 

3rd Book in the New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles series. Brandy Alexander is at it again!

When Brandy Alexander pulls into the drive-thru, she expects to order a box of CLUCK IT!—CHICKEN BY THE BUCKET, not hear gunshots and see someone in high heels and a black leather miniskirt climbing out of the pick-up window dragging a body. Her boyfriend, New Orleans Detective Dante Deedler, is on this case and hers as bodies keep turning up and she knows about them before he does.

Her neighbor, the palm reader who is also a phone sex operator, is having visions of Brandy’s future and past leaving more questions than answers.

The truth is Brandy’s future is muddled with distractions, murders, family dilemma and a rescued Schnauzer named Jesus.  Who will help her? The bartender who isn’t gay but works in a gay bar, the handyman who makes better dresses than repairs, Jiff the attorney she kissed at a Mardi Gras parade that’s still hot for her, or her nemesis– Dante’s partner—Hanky?

Time is ticking away. Could she be the next victim?

 There’s no place like New Orleans to have a good crime! 

 

Born to Rescue!

Posted on March 18, 2017

I was the kid who spent all my allowance playing games at school fairs trying to win the goldfish, turtle, or whatever poor creature was the prize. I overheard my dad tell my mother after I brought home a sickly parakeet in a tiny cage, “Those games are rigged. Nobody ever wins.  How is it she always comes home with some poor sick looking creature?”

I always won fair and square. The ping pong ball landed in the goldfish bowl or the ring tossed circled the square with a picture of the bird.   I won the game and got to select which pet I wanted as my prize.  I always picked the sickliest one in the tank or cage because I knew no one else would choose it.  Maybe I could save it.   I didn’t share this with my parents because they were already complaining they had to buy a bigger turtle bowl, a bigger cage, a bigger aquarium—a bigger creature residence.  If they knew I picked a sick one they would have left it in the container I brought it home in figuring it was going to die anyway.  They weren’t mean, just frugal.

Of course, once I found two baby mockingbirds that fell out of the nest and were in the grass.  One was sickly and barely moving. The other one was hopping around and squawking.  I put them both in a shoebox and the next morning the sick one was still alive and the one hopping around the day before was dead.  The sick one lived for almost 20 years in a really big cage my dad made for it in our garage!

My dad always brought home stray dogs.  He had the rescue mentality. We never had more than one dog at a time but we did have a dog, a duck, a chicken, and a parakeet all at the same time. Dad’s philosophy was ‘why pay for a dog when you can get a Heinz 57 for free?’ Heinz 57 was his endearing term for a mixed breed dog.  My mother fed them and took care of them—constantly complaining.  Don’t misunderstand, she loved animals, but she loved complaining a tad bit more so she was in heaven combining the two.

I didn’t get the rescue gene by accident.

Growing up we had no idea why anyone would pay for a dog. People would give us dogs or my dad would find them on the street but he always told my mother someone gave it to him.   We weren’t schooled in specific breeds only that dogs were big, little, yappy, old, puppies, black, white, mean, and biting dogs. It was a total shock when I learned people paid a lot of money for some dogs (breeds) and even more money to have it vetted only to grow tired or bored with them and then give them away! They just didn’t give them away, they left them at animal shelters. The bigger shock was there wasn’t a line of people at the shelters waiting to adopt these dogs.

Rescue was a natural for me even before it was recognized.  A man told me once, “Oh, you’re one of those rescuers and want to save them all.” While I wish I could save them all I really just wanted to save Schnauzers.  I knew my limitations and at the time they were financial.  Once the shelters knew I’d take a Schnauzer my name went on the underground Schnauzer Railroad.  They gave my name to other shelters and to anyone who brought in a Schnauzer. Soon people would call me to take their Schnauzer they no longer wanted and didn’t want to feel bad by taking it to a shelter.  Reasons ranged from the owner had to go into a nursing home (the only excuse I think is legit) to we’re going on vacation and can’t bring the dog, or it was just found as a stray trying to stay alive by eating out of our garbage cans and we can’t keep it. But before I became known as Schnauzer Rescue there was the first one.  The first one that got me into what became my involvement with breed rescue was a little Schnauzer I found running along the highway. Her name was Schnitzel.

SCHNITZEL

If I look back at a single event that got me into rescue it was Schnitzel.  I found her running on the highway and brought her to the closest vet, which was my vet, to see if he recognized her or knew who she might belong to. I thought she was a puppy because even full grown she was only ten pounds.

The vet came out after his exam and said to me, “This little dog is a sad story. She’s in heat so hopefully, she isn’t pregnant because she has heartworms and really bad teeth.  She looks to be no more than 3 years old.  She’s covered in fleas, ticks, and tapeworms and she needs a groom.   Someone probably put her out on that highway either to let her get hit by a car because they didn’t want to treat the heartworms or maybe they wanted someone to find her and take care of her. I’d like to think it’s the latter but over here, it’s probably the former.”

I asked, “What time can you have her ready to go home with me? I’ll take her. Give her a bath, shots and let’s get her scheduled for the heartworm treatments.”

“We can have her ready by 2:00 pm today, but don’t you want to go home and talk with your husband about it?” he asked.

“I will. Just get her ready. I’ll be back before you close.”

When I got home, I saw my husband working in the yard.  I brought him out a cold beer and said, “I had a bad experience on my way home and it turns out to be a sad story.”

He stopped working and asked, “What sad story? What happened?”

“I almost hit a little Schnauzer running along Highway 22.” I could see the worried look on his face as I went on, “She was so small, I was lucky I got her in the car and took her over to the vet clinic. Dr. Bill said she’s in heat, has heartworms, and might even be pregnant. He thinks someone put her out on the highway to get hit so they didn’t have to treat her for the heartworms.”

“Go call them right now and tell them we’ll take her,” he said and tried to shoo me along to hurry and make the call.

“I told them to have her ready and I’d pick her up at 2:00 before they close.”

I named her Schnitzel because in German it means little chip. She was always small and never weighed more than the ten pounds she was when I found her.  Holding her was like holding an infant whenever you picked her up because she was happy in the crook of your arm on her back.  Once I bought a baby sling at a yard sale and carried her around in it.  She looked like a Joey, a baby Kangaroo in a pouch.

She loved to go anywhere. I took her sailing and it turned cold and windy while we were out and I fashioned her a foul weather wind breaker out of a West Marine bag cutting a hole for her head and using the handles for her feet to step through keeping it close to her body. She wore it with her life vest when we were underway.  She loved sailing and had quite the sea legs – four!

She was cat-like.  She walked around on the back of my furniture and there wasn’t anyplace she couldn’t figure out how to jump to if she wanted to see something. She loved for me to dress her up for yappy hours at Jefferson Feed.  Here is a picture of her in her Chanel suit and pillbox hat at the January AFTER FIVE even.   She was quite the fashion plate and everyone loved her. Here she is with her escort Meaux!

Schnitzel was with me 13 years and she could have been as old as three when I found her.  I thought she was only one-year-old because she was so small. She was cute, fun and an entertaining little dog.

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                  In Loving Memory

                         Schnitzel

                         With us

                     1993 – 2006

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                 Meaux Jeaux Mooney

                         With us

        July 2003 - November 15, 2017

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on March 17, 2017

Meaux getting into his Irish self!

Meaux thinking, “Who else is here?”

Green really isn’t my color but I’m digging the hat. It makes me look taller.

 

Meaux says, “Yesterday, Colleen and  I joined the Yappy Hour at the new Jefferson Feed on Veterans!  Even from my position on the floor, I saw the cake, food, and wine for her and a ton of treats for me!  I checked out all the bottom shelves and there’s a bunch of new stuff I wouldn’t mind sampling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This afternoon we will be at Parasol’s Bar!   Kiss someone–even if they’re not Irish!

 

Meaux…he is the most interesting Schnauzer in the World.  Stay active my friends!

Barkus Parade in New Orleans!

Posted on February 22, 2017

New Orleans knows how to party and paw-ty. We have boat parades, kid parades, big parades, little parades and DOG parades!  This year the theme of BARKUS

St. Pawgustine Marching Band

St. Pawgustine Band Members

was Pirates of the Crescent City: Barkus tells tales of Jean Lafleabag!   There were great pirate costumes and  pirate ships made from wagons, grocery carts and strollers along with many other interesting costumes of Dragon Dogs, Dog Bees, and even a St. Pawgustine Marching Band of dogs-with instruments!  Enjoy some of the photos I took as Meaux watched from the viewing stand on his wagon float!

Dog costumes included Lady w/dog Flower,

Beehive and Girl Bee with Dog Bee

Dog Pirate Ship

Angie the Schnauzer Pirate

Dragon Dogs

Meaux and Maus in the wagon float

Dog Treasure Chest

 

 

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My Schnauzers (and Nancy Drew) are my inspiration!

Posted on January 25, 2017

My Schnauzers and breed rescue are my inspiration.  Here are my three that were all rescues.  My Meaux, and he likes that he is a character in my books, likes to read!

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Meaux likes that he’s a character in my books!

 

Mauser the Schnauzer

 

Moon Pie Mooney

 

 

 

 

 

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Colleen Mooney Blog Tour

Posted on June 30, 2016

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Colleen Mooney

Genre Mystery,  Crime, Thriller/Romantic Suspense

COLLEEN MOONEY Blog Tour on Brain to Books.com

I’ll be doing Giveaways, Prizes and talking books!

July 1st, 3:00 pm CST, 4:00 pm EST
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense Follow this link at the tour time!  https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group…

 

 

The New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles series Book 1 & 2

 

Dead And Breakfast

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Colleen Mooney Goodreads Giveaway

Posted on June 30, 2016

Rescued By A Kiss, lst book in series The New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles Giveaway – Enter to win!

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RESCUED BY A KISS

by Colleen Mooney

Giveaway ends August 15, 2016.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

 

Cover Reveal: Dead and Breakfast – Book Two of the Go Cup Chronicles!

Posted on July 3, 2015

I’m excited to be doing a book signing this evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Mandeville Trailhead Museum on 675 Lafitte Street in Mandeville, LA! Learn more by calling (985) 624 3147 – Come out to enjoy food, drinks and books!

Meanwhile, I’m excited to announce that Dead & Breakfast, the second book in the New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles will release August 1, 2015, with pre-orders available July 23…

Here’s the NEW COVER REVEAL… and a synopsis of the new release, Dead & Breakfast!

Brandy Alexander’s friend opens a New Orleans bed and breakfast surrounded by a cemetery and is surprised to find the only guest murdered in his room the day it opens. Brandy must help Julia figure out who the guesthouse killer is before Julia is sent to the Big House.

Brandy gets a call from Julia at 6:00 a.m. to come over at once. Julia has a body in a guest room of her newly opened Bed and Breakfast. When Brandy arrives, Julia admits having spent the evening in a romantic interlude with this musician in town for the Jazz Fest. When Julia left him to fix breakfast he was very much alive. She returned to find him dead, bludgeoned with an antique object from the room.

Brandy takes charge and calls the police. Dante, her ex-boyfriend, now a homicide detective, shows up with his new partner. The new partner is also his new girlfriend. Brandy learns that their feelings for each other are unresolved and their relationship may not be over. They were childhood sweethearts who grew up next door to each other with all their family and friends intertwined. They broke up when she met and kissed a man at a Mardi Gras parade just weeks before. Brandy needs Dante’s help to clear Julia who looks good for the crime, but Dante is not Julia’s biggest fan. The police feel the murderer has been charged and Julia is on the fast track for an orange jumpsuit,

During her brief incarceration, Julia employs a handyman she met in jail to work at her guesthouse. He’s not much of a handyman and winds up being more of a cook and maid, dressing for the parts. There is something offbeat about the handyman, the Jazz Fest musicians and the racetrack employees Brandy interviews. Unrelated events connect a young woman gone missing from an all night bar when her vehicle is pulled out of a bayou. Evidence of the murder is found in the dead woman’s car but will it be enough to clear Julia?

Brandy, with the help of Dante, and her current influential boyfriend, Jiff, discover what really happened at the guesthouse that night. Brandy realizes there is no such thing as coincidence as the missing pieces come together. To exonerate Julia she needs the help of the two men she must also keep apart…

There’s no place like New Orleans to have a good crime.

 

Get Rescued by a Kiss FREE During Mardi Gras!

Posted on February 14, 2015

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FREE FOR MARDI GRAS! Rescued By A Kiss (The New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles Book 1) – Kindle edition by Colleen Mooney. Contemporary Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

FREE Feb 15-18 to celebrate Mardi Gras! CLICK HERE TO GET IT NOW!

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