Dog-Gone Dead 2.0 Happy Monday, friends! Dog-Gone Dead was originally released in June 2020. The original publisher retired and returned the rights to me for the first three books in A Low Country Dog Walker series. Today is the release of the revised version of Dog-Gone Dead. If you enjoy…

Dog-Gone Dead is the second book in Jackie Layton's A Low Country Dog Walker Mystery series, featuring protagonist Andi Grace Scott, a dog walker who must clear her brother's name after he's framed for murder when a body is found with his landscaping tools.

A Story of Courage The story of Rober Smalls stopped me in my tracks. I never heard his name before this month. His is a story of bravery, courage, defiance, and determination. I admire what he did with his life, and I'm convinced that I can push myself to do more. Robert Smalls was a slave in…

Do you have indoor plants in your home office? #author

A reminder, our featured author this week is @jackiecozyauthor.bsky.social. Read our interview with her here: cozymystery.com/blog/jackie-...

Our featured author this week was @jackiecozyauthor.bsky.social. You can see all of her cozies here: cozymystery.com/authors/jack...

Happy Valentine’s Day Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays, probably because it's about love and it's the day before my birthday. Let's talk about things we love. I'm not talking about the definitions of Agape, Phileo, and Eros. I'm focusing on things we really, really like. One thing I…

What does your cozy day look like?

Who's using Substack?https://open.substack.com/pub/jackielaytonauthor/p/why-substack-for-me?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

How much have you accomplished this month in community with fellow writers during the January Jumpstart? We hope you've met your writing goals for the month, but if not, there are still a couple days left of five write-ins per day! Keep going!

Happy Book Birthday Two of my good friends had a book release this week. I've read Heather Weidner's Murder Strikes a Chord already, and it's a winner. Veronica Mars meets The Golden Girls as event planner Cassidy Jamison and her four sixty-year-old employees race to solve a rocker’s murder before…

First beach walk of 2026!

Wings of Deceit Today, I'd like to welcome my friend, Ruth J. Hartman. Thanks, Jackie, for inviting me today! Hi, everyone, 😊 I’m Ruth J. Hartman, and I write cozy mysteries with a feline twist. I’m so excited for the upcoming release of my newest book, Wings of Deceit. It’s Book 3 in my Seneca…

It’s JRR Tolkien’s birthday. The Hobbit was the first book I read by him. What’s your favorite?

Happy New Year Happy 2026! I hope this year is full of blessings for you. If you've followed me for long, you know I love to set goals. I've been thinking about goals for this year and one of them is to get in better shape. The difference for 2026 is that I'm joining the Y. I also plan to read…

Happy New Year’s Eve!

Reviews and ebook giveaways of "Killer Tracks" by Mary Keliikoa, "Murder in Fifth Position" An On Pointe Mystery by Lori Robbins, and "Killer Secrets" by Jackie Layton kingsriverlife.com/12/27/a-trio... @jackiecozyauthor.bsky.social @marykeliikoaauthor.bsky.social #mysteries #booksky 💙📚

Merry Christmas It's always good for me to take a moment to reflect on the reason for Christmas. If you'd ever like to have a conversation about Jesus, please reach out to me. I hope you have a joyous Christmas!

Christmas Cooking with Sophie Sophie Becker owns Sophie's Bakery on the town square in Lutz, Texas. She's Emma Justice's best friend in A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery series. Springerles are German cookies that require special molds or rolling pins. My ancestors brought these molds to America…

Who's ready for a Christmas giveaway? www.celebratelit.com/posts/merry-...

Time for a Giveaway Merry Christmas friends! I hope you are having an amazing Christmas season! To make it even better, I have a special giveaway just for you! I have joined Celebrate Lit and several other authors to bring you the Merry Christmas Readers Giveaway.  You have a chance to win a $50…

Killer secrets Speed dating sabotage? Or straight-up murder? Kate Sloan’s best friend, Bess Walker, decides to try speed dating and convinces Kate to go with her for moral support. The night of the event is filled with many emotions. Excitement, hope, jealousy, fear, greed, and even anger.

It’s Back The owner of Bell Bridge Books decided to retire and close the business, and she gave me back the rights to Bite the Dust. So, I have self-published a revised edition of Bite the Dust. Here's the cover. What do you think? Here's what Meez Carrie said about the book: i fell in love with…

Take time to read this holiday season!

Wait, what? What happened to November? One day it's Thanksgiving and fall decorations and then it's time to celebrate Christmas. I have so much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful family and I am thankful for them every day. I'm also thankful for all of you who read my books. Speaking of books,…

I’m thankful to share that Killer Secrets released today. Get to know Kate Sloan better. drusbookmusing.com/jackie-layto...

Thankful for the release of Killer Secrets tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!

A Slight Delay Some of you may remember that today is the release day for Killer Secrets. Sadly, there has been a delay. But that's okay. I decided to share more about Kate Sloan and hopefully build excitement for the new book. Kate Sloan is an empty nester who moved to her hometown of Fox Island…

Happy Veterans Day!

I hope you can join the fun! youtube.com/live/Rr49iCZ...

I’m excited and hope you can join us!

A Bookish Moment November is going to be a fun month, starting with A Bookish Moment. If you're not familiar with A Bookish Moment, it was created by two of my favorite people, Sarah E. Burr and J.C. Kenney. They are fun, and we'll have a wonderful time. I hope you can join us Thursday at 4:30 ET.…

Killer Secrets is coming soon!

Killer Secrets will release in November! www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8DjnUYV/

A Zappy Little Christmas A Zappy Little Christmas in October? You bet. Paula Charles' new book releases October 21, and I preordered it months ago. Isn't the cover beautiful? I can't wait to read it. Paula agreed to stop by the blog today, and here's Paula. Thank you, Jackie, for inviting me here…

I had a great day at the OBX Book Festival Books at the Banks.

Save the Date I'm excited to share that my newest book, Killer Secrets, will release on November 11. Here's the back cover copy... Speed dating sabotage? Or straight-up murder? Kate Sloan’s best friend Bess Walker decides to try speed dating and convinces Kate to go with her for moral support. The…

OBX Book Festival Saturday, October 18, I'll be an author at the Outer Banks Book Festival. It's not too late to plan to attend. Here's some information, including a list of authors attending. There will be giveaways, swag, and lots of books! Be sure to stop by and see me if you make it to the…

Who’s going to be there?

Learn more about the OBX Book Festival Books at the Bank and Happy National Book Month. mailchi.mp/8d56bcba49ef...

Let's connect on Substack.

Shifting Gears to Poetry Last week we had National Poetry Day. When I discovered my friend, Priscilla Bettis, had a book of poetry release last week, I wanted to share it with you. Priscilla and I have never met in person, but we connected years ago through social media. Priscilla Bettis is an…

Creative Juices Part 2 Creative juices, visionary thoughts, imagination, artistic inspiration, creative flow and other words and phrases all refer to creativity and flow of ideas. These are necessary for artists, authors, composers and others in artistic fields. When I work as a pharmacist, I…

Creative Juices The Desert Sleuths chapter of Sisters in Crime hosted a conference this past weekend, and it was amazing. There was a panel led by Rhys Bowen with Edith Maxwell, Catriona McPherson, and Lois Winston. The topic focused on staying creative. If you've read many of my posts, you know I…

Fall is the Season to Fall for a Good Book The days are cooler and shorter. What's cozier than curling up with a good book? If you haven't read all my books yet, this is a good season to catch up. In a few months, Killer Secrets, the third book in An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series will…

National Hug & High 5 Day It's been a tough week in the United States, and I wanted to do an uplifting post. I discovered it is National Hug & High Five Day and the National Day of Encouragement. Mark Twain said, "Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." Let's find…

September is the New January In August, I joined a small group of friends, and we looked at our goals from January. We discussed how we were doing on our 2025 goals. We also talked about new goals for the rest of the year. We discussed other goals, like family, health, and spiritual goals. One of…

Editing and Such I've been busy the past week working on Developmental Edits for Killer Secrets, the third book in An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series. I can't wait to share this book with you all in the next few months. This is not the cover, but there may be a kayak in the story. Meanwhile,…