For Golden Chandelier by Liz LaMac
Golden
Chandelier (LaMac)
Liz LaMac, 2019
Self Published
350 pages
ISBN 9781708248437
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Summary Author Bio Discussion Questions Characters Liz’ s Books
Summary or Synopses
Golden Chandelier is an easy-read, cozy mystery that takes place in the wonderful ritzy
retirement complex, The Golden Chandelier. It is almost Christmas time and ‘wham’
someone up and murders their young handsome, Assistant Manager, Mark Townsend.
As if things aren’t bad enough, the following day their main cook comes up
missing. His beautiful lover, Shirley Fuller, the other woman, is beside herself with grief. Now everyone is on
edge.
And little old Sarah
Hill and her sister, Ellie, who live on the fourth floor, are behaving a little
odd. Could they be serial killers? No. Don’t even think it. But Still…
And then on top of all this, the
Christmas fund comes up missing. And at Mark’s funeral a man dressed in black
tries to kill Nancy Murdock. She goes to the hospital. And the other cook is in the
hospital, he got hurt in a car accident. He was running from the police. They
wanted to talk to him about Mark’s death. It’s going to take a Mangle Ironer to
iron this scary mess out. And for heaven sakes, it is Christmas time.
Like all of Liz’s books there is a lot
of humor. Even in times of sadness, Sarah and her eighty five year old sister
Ellie can keep you in stitches. A fun, thrilling 350 page book.
Liz
says, “My books are part of who I am and the people and places I’ve come
across. I enjoy writing easy-read cozy mysteries. And there will always be a
bit of humor right in the scariest parts. Some characters will make you laugh
out loud and others may bring a
tear. I enjoy mountain views, the
hot sun, and antiques, foot stomping music and a good cup of tea.”
Author bio, Liz LaMac
Unlike many of my friends, my childhood was not full of hard work.
There was a lot of hard work going on in my house, when I was growing up, but
being the youngest in the family, I was not a part of it. Our house was small,
but there was always room for company and relatives. They were colorful
relatives with stories, jokes, skits, singing, and poems. And there was Sunday
school, church socials, and Country Music. Almost every Sunday the minister
came to dinner and our table was set with our best china and our best
silverware. There was always an abundance of good food. Our house was furnished
with the best appliances and beautiful furniture. But we didn’t have a
bathroom. Just a path.( Pictured at the top left is Little King Joe and Liz.)
Minister’s
Wife Days: I took part in Women’s Clubs,
Youth Groups, and Church Camps. I did church secretarial duties and taught
classes for Sunday school teachers on a State level for the United Methodist
church. All while I raised five children. I took part in Scout troop events,
and many late nights you could find me writing jingles for Greeting Cards under
an assumed name. I was a “go getter,” the church ladies frowned upon my camper
sales business, and they always thought my dresses were too short. By the time
my oldest was in 6th grade I was entertaining crowds as a
ventriloquist and had learned how to belly dance.
Antiques: Antiques became part of my life
when an elderly neighbor gave me a set of beautiful old salt and pepper shakers.
I was in grade school, and I still have them. I bought an 1898 Victorian house
in the mountains and gave tours through it. We had an Antique store down the
street and my serious love of antiques began. There has been more than one
antique shop over the years, and I’ve been known to sell an estate ring right
off my finger at a party
I interviewed Mr. Frank of the Frank Tea and Spice Co and
published an article in the Antique Times
on the Jumbo Peanut Butter Jars. Then in 1977 I wrote a 32 page book, Jumbo Brand Peanut Butter Jars, History and
Price Guide. That book is still the bestselling book I have. It has been
revised 3 times, and it now has 66 pages and beautiful clear pictures of all
the jars. I own at least one of every peanut butter jar the Frank Tea and Spice
Company made.
School
Days: My husband and I traveled the
mid-Atlantic and southern states for years doing school shows. Besides
ventriloquism with my main dummy and lots of other character dummies, there
were magic tricks and songs. As a guest on To Tell The Truth with Gary Moore, I
did the talking for the other guests. I’m known to make a tea cup talk at a
restaurant now and then.
A young man just back from Iraq walked into my Antique booth one
day and told me that I saved his life. I was shocked to learn that he was one
of those school kids that saw my show. In a long battle where he was seriously
frightened for his life, the song my dummy Rag Mop sang came to his mind. He
sang it in his head over and over until his immediate crisis was resolved. He
sang it to me, hugged me and thanked me. Whenever people get on a high horse
and act like laughter and fun are not important, I think of him.
Nashville
Days: The Nashville Scene at the peak
of Hee Haw was right up my alley. We made wonderful friends there. I am forever
grateful for the advice and friendships’ of Archie Campbell, Jack Kirby and
many others on the Hee Haw set. I was welcomed by friends back stage at the
Grand Ole Opry. We went every Friday and Saturday night if I could and loved
every minute of it. There was always food back stage and people were constantly
exchanging recipes. The stars on stage were good ole country food lovers back
stage. Erby Mandrel, Speck Rhodes, Wilma Lee Cooper and others become best of
friends.
My
own music show, The Liz LaMac Show, was on the
road during these days. We had at least two Opry stars on each show, my
ventriloquism, my band, Liz’s Sugar Daddys and the Clogging Dolls. I was
blessed with wonderful Nashville experiences and an incredible husband. I met
stars as well as stars before they were stars. With my long red hair, many
stars and fans mistook me for Dottie West. The great Dolly Parton (thinking I
was Dottie West) once put her arm around my shoulders at a party and asked me
where I had been so long. We were on camera at the time and pictures of us together
appeared in Country Music magazines. I loved Nashville
My
dummies and I have been in newspapers and
magazines all over the world. The famous Stars and Stripes featured us three
times. The Associated Press picked up a Nashville story about my dummy, King
Joe, getting his arm broken once when our van was vandalized on a street in
downtown Nashville. We’ve even appeared
on the Front cover of Country Music USA. All
told, my dummies and I did over 200 live shows a year for 30 years. I wrote
country songs, children’s songs and thousands of jokes. I wrote Wynn Miller’s
Mopkin Joke Book.
Television
and Radio: My first radio event was an
interview about the Council of the Southern Mountains during my Minister’s Wife
days. The council was an important part
of changing church policies and the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King spoke but had to leave
early as some of his men and his son had been thrown in jail for sitting up
front on a bus. I enjoyed the interview
and have always felt I had a small part in the early civil rights movement by
learning of the issues and talking about them.
The
King Joe’s Palace TV Series was
my syndicated children’s television show. This half hour show was up on
satellite and could be picked up in the states and overseas. Those days were
tiresome and my husband and I worked very hard to make it all happen. We had some Opry stars and new comers on each
show. Joe Edward, a regular musician at the Opry was also a regular on King Joe’s
Palace. What a wonderful, colorful character he is. Everyone had such great fun doing the
shows. I wrote most of the children’s
songs and all the jokes and script.
My
experience as an artist at Nashville’s Fan Fair was eye opening and inspiring.
I met lots of fellow artists and fans. All my Nashville contacts were so
interesting one on one that we put together a syndicated radio show, Liz LaMac’s Roving Studio, and I started
interviewing the stars.
Books
and Publications: I was working on my first major
children’s book during my Nashville Days, The
Story of Dummyland. It was published
in a colorful hardback and I did the bookstore tours. Of course there were show books, coloring
books, and joke books published and for sale during my school performing days
and my short stories were in church bulletins and my jingles on Greeting Cards
way back. I’ve always loved to write.
I’m not sure how many books I have written over the years, but as of now I have
over twenty on Amazon. And when it comes to songs, several of mine have been
sang on TV and on the radio. Several have been used on albums by other country
music artists. I have written over a
hundred songs that have full demos.
I had two Syndicated News
Paper Columns over the years, one
was called, Mud and Dud, and one was called Frogs
and Spices. Of course there were
jokes along with some character stories as well as children’s crafts. I wrote this column many years for local and
regional newspapers.
I love to write, and my
favorite thing is writing easy read, cozy mysteries. However, the book that has
sold the most copies is Jumbo Brand
Peanut Butter Jars.
Questions for book club Discussions
1.
If you were Sheriff Thomas McKown how would
you have handled the situation, when he asked the Hill Sisters about the man’s
black sock that was found in their Condo?
2.
How did you feel
about the way Sarah and her Sister Ellie handled the situation after finding a
dead man in Sister Ellie’s bed?
3.
If you could have
changed the ending of the book who would you have made the murderer? Discuss
why.
4.
What part of the
book kept you turning pages and why?
5.
Do you feel that
the author’s ventriloquial career influenced her style of writing, which
resulted in more dialogue then used by most books? What are your thoughts
concerning the use of more dialogue? Or do you think there was more dialogue in
this book than others you have read?
6.
Did you feel that
most of the characters stayed in character? What ones did you believe
strayed? And why?
7.
Do you have a
favorite part or maybe just a paragraph you would like to read to the others?
8.
Did you feel good
about the way the residents of the Golden Chandelier used their Christmas Fund?
Did it give you a warm feeling? Or could they have used the money in a better
way? Discuss what they could have done with the money.
9.
What were your
thoughts about Lucinda’s reactions toward the Hill Sisters after she found out
what they did to Jack? Discuss Lucinda’s reasons for reacting the way she did.
10. Do you feel that Sheriff McKown made the right
decision when he decided not to question Sarah and her Sister Ellie about the
dead man on Ellie’s bed?
11. Did any parts of the book make you cry or tear up?
Discuss this. Did any parts or happenings in the book cause you to smile or laugh
out loud? Discuss this.
12. If the Colden
Chandelier was made into a play or a movie, which character could you see
yourself playing? Why?
13. Do you feel the Golden chandelier was a good reed, a fun
read, intellectual read or a cozy red? And why?
14. How did you feel about the way the book ended? What
were you expecting and who did you think did it? Why?
15. Have you read the first mystery, Dead Man At High Tea, by this same author, (Liz LaMac)?
16. How do you feel about having a list of Characters in
the front of a book? Do you think that would have been helpful?
Characters
In Alphabetical Order
The page number that is listed
after the name is the page in which they were first introduced. Read each
character’s name and see if you can remember that Character. Ask the following
questions.
1.
Do you remember
this character?
2.
Did you feel good
about this character? If so, why? If not, Why?
3.
Was the character
believable?
4.
Did you have a
good or bad feeling when this character came back into the script of the book?
5.
Did you feel that
this was a strong character? Would you like to see this character back in
future books by this author?
Andrews, Cody, page 19, is a city police. He helped Sarah and her Sister Ellie
with the Santa.
Bailey, Inez,
page 132, is one of the three women in the Crime Fighting Team that Sheriff McKown called in to help question
all the residents.
Bennett, Hayward, page 12, is the long lost lover that Sarah Hill is waiting for.
Betsy, page 77, is
the girl Carl Fox took home from work the night Mark was killed.
Burbank, James, page 22, is a retired ventriloquist and he lives in condo 312.
Conley, Lucy, page
58, is one of the three women in the
Crime Fighting Team
that Sheriff McKown called in to
help question all the residents.
Doolittle, Oliver page 183 is the town
drunk and was in the jail when they took Johnny Silone in and put him in a
cell. Johnny is James Burbank’s ventriloquial dummy.
Dunkin, Mr. , Page
216, is the tailor who helped sew up
the jacket at the funeral home.
Edwards, Scott, page 53, is the
architects that designed the whole Golden Chandelier complex.
Fitzpatrick, Dewy, page 48, A resident of condo 217, that seems to be having an
affair with Rosetta Brocelli, condo 208.
Fox, Carl, page
8, he is the main guard at the complex.
Fuller, Shirley, page 12, is the
pretty blond in 311. She is in love with the cook, Jack Kirby.
Harper, Nancy, page 32, was engaged to
Mark in college and is now his secretary.
Hill, Ellie, page
9, is in her eighties and is still
waiting for her lover, who left over forty years ago, to come back to her.
Hill, Sarah, page9,
is Ellie’s sister and she never married. She is sweet on James Burbank.
Hunter, Mandi, page 68, is the second
cook in control and works most of the time in the down stairs kitchen.
Kirby, Jack, page
13, is the main cook; he is having an affair with Shirley Fuller, condo 311.
Kirby, Lucinda, page 54, is the main
cook, Jack Kirby’s, jealous wife.
Lewis, Dale,
page 28, is a friend of Sheriff McKown and he is the Coroner.
Mandrel, Joseph, page 25, is the manager of the Golden Chandelier retirement
complex.
Marpel, Terry, page 251, is Larry
Murphy’s ventriloquial dummy.
McKown, Sheriff Thomas, page 14, is the local Sheriff and he is in love with Lucy Conley.
Miller, Paul,
page 108, is an assistant cook at
the Complex and he wants to be manager.
Murphy, Donald and Susie, page 206, are the grandparents of the young ventriloquist, Larry Murphy.
Larry stays with them sometimes when he is working close by.
Murphy, Larry,
page 251, is the young budding
ventriloquist.
Myers, Sidney,
page 123 is the accountant for The
Golden Chandelier.
Newsbery, Stan, page 284, is the
Doctor that Mark Townsend put through college.
North, Pete,
page 43, runs the elevator at the
Golden Chandelier.
Parker, Owen, page
19, is Mark Townsend’s live-in
lover.
Silone, Johnny,
page 18, is James Burbank’s ventriloquial dummy and is in condo 312 also.
Smith, Deputy,
page 14, works closely with Sheriff McKown.
Taylor, Fred, page
48, is a resident of condo 417 and he collects death masks.
Townsend, Mark, page 14, is the dead assistant manager of the Golden Chandelier.
Townsend, Stan, page 299, is the dead assistant Manager Mark Townsend’s
Grandfather.
Walton, Slim, page
208, is the newspaper reporter who
was Mr. Mandrel’s alibi.
Wells, Simon, page
208, is the owner of the newspaper.
Wilder, Mary Ann, page 133, is one of the
three women in the Crime Fighting Team that Sheriff McKown called in to help
question all the residents.
Partial
List of Titles by Liz LaMac
Books for Children
A Grace and Prayer for
Caila
A Teddy Bear Christmas
The Teddy Bears at Granny Lou’s
House
The Story of Dummy Land
Collecting
Jumbo Brand Peanut Butter
Jars
Southern Belle and Her Egg Plate
Cookbooks
Covered Dish Dinner
Cookbook
High Tea Southern Style
Country Music Stars New
cookbook and Stories
Cozy Mysteries
Golden Chandelier
A Dead man at High Tea
For boys Only
The Adventures of the
Conway Boys
Just For Fun
Out-House Blues
Paranormal Books
Bigfoot Is Here In Michigan
Bigfoot Seen in Oregon
Troubled Spirits Linger
(Hutton House Ghost)
Plays
Short Stage Plays
Self-help and How-To Books
Ventriloquism for Health,
Wealth and Happiness
Yes I Will Heal
