Natalie Almond is a smart cookie with a big problem—she just can't tell her friends no, even when their half-baked ideas involve the words "sneak" and "don't tell." She couldn't back in 1994 and she still can't today. And that, folks, leads up to some fully baked trouble. Welcome to the Almond Inn Cozy Mysteries. The prequel ( a short Christmas novella) takes us back thirty years, when Natty and her friends are eleven and turn the Baptist Church upside down and inside out. Book one in the series, Getting Toasted in Almond, is coming in 2024 and is set in the present day, when Natty and her friends have grown-up mysteries to solve! " Definitely the best writing this author has ever done. Far superior to her earlier books, there's just no comparison. 'Cause this is the work of a storyteller, not just a writer. " ~ Gail Roughton, author of Raising Cain, The Witch Wars, and more " I enjoyed reading the prequel very much! The author's characterizations are excellent as she created unique personalities in Natty, Vivian, CeCe, and all the additional characters involved with the story. a delightful prelude that gives the reader a foretaste of the three main characters as 11-year-olds. Having done so adds sparkle to their personalities and should nicely tie into The Almond Inn Cozy Mysteries as the stories unfold. " ~ Sydell Voeller, author of Merry Christmas, Marcie, Daisies are Forever, and more