#NewRelease from Meg Benjamin - THE TOMATO JAM MURDERS
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Today we have a #newrelease from Meg Benjamin - THE TOMATO JAM MURDERS, the sixth book in her Luscious Delights cozy mystery series. This book features burro racing, which I confess I've never heard of before. Meg tells us five things we never knew about burro racing. Since I didn't know anything about the sport it's all news to me! Welcome, Meg!
Five Things You Didn’t Know About Burro Racing
My new release, The Tomato Jam Murder, the sixth book in my Luscious Delights cozy mystery series, has a lot of information about burro racing. Chances are unless you’re a Coloradan, you’ve never heard of burro racing. Heck, even if you’re from Colorado you may never have heard of it. I hadn’t until I stumbled across an article with some great pictures in the Colorado Sun.
Once I’d read about burro racing, I knew I had to include it in my Luscious Delights series. My heroine, Roxy Constantine, is a jam maker by trade, but she lives in the Colorado Rockies in prime burro racing territory. Here’s the blurb for The Tomato Jam Murder:
It’s burro racing season in the Rockies, and Roxy Constantine is all for it. Now if she can come up with a good recipe for tomato jam, her summer will be complete. But when Roxy finds a body on the burro race course, she’s suddenly plunged into a murder investigation. And when her innocent friend is accused of killing her ex, Roxy must challenge a corrupt police chief who wants to shut her up. Now she needs to find the real killer and save a neighboring town from a plot to ruin its mountain magic.
So what to tell you about burro racing?
1. Nobody rides the burros. The race is supposed to recreate the mad dash prospectors made to get their claims registered before somebody else beat them to it. Their burros ran right alongside the prospectors, and they probably enjoyed it.
2. There are very specific rules for how the racing team (one person and one burro) is set up. The burros carry a pack saddle with a pick, a gold pan, and a shovel that weighs thirty pounds total. The human part of the team holds one end of a fifteen-foot rope that’s attached to the burro’s bridle. If the human racer drops the rope, the team is disqualified. If the burro wanders off the trail, the team is disqualified.
3. The human racer can push, pull, carry, or cajole the burro up the trail, but they can’t ride it and they can’t mistreat it. No whips allowed. The burros frequently set the pace, whether the human likes it or not.
4. The race courses can be grueling. The Fairplay, Colorado, course (one of the triple crown of Fairplay, Leadville, and Buena Vista) is 29 miles long and goes over Mosquito Pass at over 13,000 feet. Many burro racers are former endurance racers.
5. To win, the burro’s nose must cross the finish line first.
I loved writing about the burro races. Like my heroine, I think burros are adorable. Here’s a quick excerpt to give you a feel for Roxy’s adventure:
“Hello?” I called again.
“Hello yourself,” a male voice called. I put a hand to my hammering heart then stepped back and peered up the trail. Silas and his burro were on the switchback above us. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I found this little guy wandering around, and I’m trying to find his handler. I think there might be somebody in this clump of trees.”
“Okay,” Silas said when he was level with me. “Give me the lead rope. I’ll hold onto him while you see if his owner is around.”
I handed over the rope gratefully enough and stepped into the evergreen grove. The dense thatch of branches blotted out a lot of the light.
A man was lying face down in the center of the grove. On the trail, I’d seen the bright red of the bandanna he had knotted around his neck. “Um…hi?” I said, tentatively. When he didn’t move, or give any sign that he’d heard me, I stepped closer. “Mister? Are you okay?”
Something about the stillness of that body made my throat tighten. I’d seen a few dead bodies in my time, but most of them had been clearly and thoroughly dead. This guy was just lying there. Very quiet.
You’ve got to check. You know that. I did know it, but I didn’t like it. I leaned forward and put my hand on his shoulder. I felt the cool dead flesh through his thin cotton shirt. Yanking my hand away, I stumbled to the trail where Silas waited.
“Call 911,” I gasped. “There’s a dead guy in there.”
The Tomato Jam Murder is a special Amazon ebook release. You can pick up your copy here: https://amzn.to/4oj93e5
Author Bio:
Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance and cozy mysteries. Meg’s cozy
mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth
based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Her Konigsburg series is set in
the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the
Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing and from Meg’s indie
line). Along with romance and cozies, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos
Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Meg’s indie line.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1/ (personal)
Instagram: @meg_benjamin
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/megbenjamin/
Website: http://www.MegBenjamin.com/
I love hearing about the burro races. I'd never heard of them before! Good luck with your release.
How cool. You''re right I'd never heard of burro racing. Now I've got to head over to youtube and see if anyone has posted video. Happy sales.
Thank you for being my guest, Meg!