Flamed Out By Valona Jones

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I’m pleased to welcome our guest today: Tabby Winslow Quigsly, amateur sleuth and owner of the magical candle shop that fans of the A Magic Candle Shop Mysteries know and love. Tabby has been busy in Savannah, making candles, uncovering secrets, and solving the occasional murder, so I’m glad she could take a moment to stop by and share a bit of her world with all of you.

Tabby Quigsly, amateur sleuth of A Magic Candle Shop Mysteries

Forward from book author Maggie Toussaint, writing as Valona Jones: I recently went to a program about a remarkable woman the other night. After a larger boat ran into her sloop-rigged freighter, this licensed boat captain had to sue to cover her repairs. This happened very early in the twentieth century. Her testimony to the judge, after a three-year wait, took two and a half hours. The woman who’d been running boats all her life said she thought the long testimony time was due to the judge enjoying her barnacle-encrusted language.

That struck a chord in me. My sister and a childhood friend are women of the water as well, so they always have an air of command about them and a deep respect for the Atlantic Ocean. When bad weather happens on the water, they react immediately and head for the “hill”, as they call the shore.

They are responsible people.

In the realm of cozy paranormal mysteries, my amateur sleuth Taby Winslow Quigsly is very responsible. She’s also a businesswoman, a candlemaker, a cat’s person, a soap maker, a twin sister, a niece, and a wife.

Without further ado, Heeeeeeeres Tabby!

Hi, everyone. I’m so glad to see all of you here. This virtual book tour for FLAMED OUT, is a wondrous journey around the web, and I enjoy connecting with new readers and to those who enjoy following my exploits as I reach out to readers. First, let me say I’m grateful to the woman who brought me to life, my author Maggie Toussaint.

For all my years of living in the port city of Savannah, Georgia, I haven’t spent much time on boats. I’m more of a city girl, but the beach on Tybee Island is the special place for me and my twin sister Sage. Every chance we get, we sneak off to enjoy the beach.

We roost on the high tide line, digging our toes into the warm sand and following the endless chain of waves visually into the shore. The scent of the sea is precious to me. It smells clean, unlike city air. The salted air gives my sinuses a cleaning boost. The sound of the waves creates a trance-like state for me and my fraternal twin sister Sage. And the energy here is amazing.

However, I realize that the main reason I love being at the shore is that when I am there, I am not responsible for anything. When I’m at the shop, I have our employees to take care of. I have candles and soaps to make to keep up with the constant inventory demand from our loyal customers and tourists.

When Mom and Auntie O owned and ran the shop, they never complained, never seemed to mind the responsibility of making enough money to keep our employees paid regularly. They never forgot to pay a bill here or there, never had to grovel at the bank for being overdrawn, though we had funds elsewhere in the same bank.

Some days it feels like I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. But before you think I’m a complainer, I love imbuing soaps and candles with my energy. I enjoy the menial shop owner tasks as well as interfacing with various artists in the community to spotlight their work in our shop.

For instance, Norman Googe, our sculptor, is a former Savannah School of Art and Design student. He’s traditionally created small statuettes of mythical creatures. At the opening of this book one of Norman’s stone sculptures, a winged lion, winked at me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that. Also in FLAMED OUT, Norman brings in a bevy of different creations. I won’t spoil the surprise but you don’t want to miss them!

When things get tough, I have my black cat, Harley, for comfort, and my twin has her cat, Luna. At first, we thought they were just cats. Then we realized they were sensitive cats. In FLAMED OUT, we are all sorely tested, and in the process, we uncover a new truth about our beloved felines. Can’t reveal all the plot here, so you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens to Harley and Luna.

There are other surprises. For one, Quig and I finally learn the truth about each other’s talents. Suffice it to say, this is not an easy truth for either of us, and, one of us nearly dies.

So many lingering questions are answered, like why are the Council up in everyone’s business. Also, what it means to be on the Council’s radar. My twin and I have the moxie to pull off solving this case. I’m constantly having to adapt to new situations, and unlike my twin, I don’t thrive on conflict.

Sage intuitively knows how to talk to people. There isn’t a stranger in the world to her, a card-carrying extrovert. I’m the opposite and an introvert, but I have a bone deep sense of justice too. I can’t stand to know that someone had been taken advantage of. Thus, that’s how I came to solve murders.

I hope you enjoy the final installment in my series. All the gang is here and hoping you’ll figure out who killed Dr. Willim Rosemont, psychiatrist to the biggest names in Savannah, before it is revealed. I’d been hoping for an easy case, but it quickly became one of those “be careful what you wish for” homicide investigations.

Flamed Out: A Magic Candle Shop Mystery by Valona Jones

About Flamed Out

Flamed Out: A Magic Candle Shop Mystery Paranormal Cozy Mystery 5th in Series Setting – Georgia Publisher : Muddle House Publishing Publication date : October 14, 2025 Print length : 270 pages ISBN-13 : 979-8992357110 ASIN : B0FLW15JCB

Supernatural intrigue, a web of lies, and deadly secrets When a loyal customer begs Tabby Quigsly to look into her uncle’s suspicious death, Tabby can’t say no—even if the police rule it an accident. Dr. Willim Rosemont, a respected psychiatrist, took a fatal tumble down Savannah’s infamous Stone Stairs of Death, but the five people who were with him that night all claim to have seen nothing. Tabby’s ties to the case run deep—friends, frenemies, and even her husband’s best friend are among the witnesses. Then she uncovers a chilling truth: Rosemont was part of Savannah’s hidden Paranormal Council—the very group Tabby’s been hiding from all her life. As the August heat rises, so does the pressure. Tabby’s new marriage is reeling from revelations about her husband’s shocking powers, her psychic gifts are spiraling, and the killer is closing in. Can she unravel the mystery before everything—including her freedom—goes up in flames?

About Valona Jones

Valona Jones, aka Maggie Toussaint, writes paranormal cozies set in coastal Georgia. Her latest release, FLAMED OUT, book 5 in the A Magic Candle Shop Mysteries, came out October 14, 2025. Under the name of Maggie Toussaint, she also publishes cozy mysteries and romantic suspense. Her pen name for a three-book science fiction ecothriller is Rigel Carson. In total, she has published 30 works of fiction and won multiple awards. She lives in coastal Georgia, where time and tide wait for no one. Visit her sites: https://valonajones.com and https://maggietoussaint.com

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Thank you, Tabby and Maggie, for stopping by! Please take a peek around the website for more cozy mystery adventures, leave a comment to share your thoughts, and support the author. You never know what mystery you might uncover next!

As always, thanks for stopping by for some Salty Inspirations!