Barlioche, Argentina Revisited #bookgiveaway

Hello everyone, I'm Charlotte Ross, a thirty-something, small-town

girl from the Mid-west, and I'm the protagonist in Evelyn Cullet's new

novel, Masterpiece of Murder. I've recently returned home from a

suspense-filled, romantic adventure in the beautiful resort city of

Barioche, (pronounced, bah reeh LOH cheh), Argentina. I'd like to

relate my experiences to you when I visited the city that's been

referred to as the gateway to Patagonia.

Bariloche's snow-capped mountains, glaciers, dense woods and

crystalline lakes have made its spectacular natural environment into

one of Argentina’s major outdoor recreation areas. In the high summer

season, when my story takes place, most days are characterized by

clear sunny skies and warm temperatures. On the day I arrived it was

raining. Just my luck. But at least the wet weather only lasted one

day. After that we had clear skies, sunny days and mild breezes which

would have been a great excuse to walk the paths of Lake Nahuel Huapi,

or enjoy all kinds of sports such as trekking, rafting, or

fly-fishing, although I never got the chance to do any of these.

Unfortunately, my days were spent searching for my errant fiancé,

sweating out time at the police station, taking some miserable art

classes, and trying to prove myself innocent of a murder I didn't

commit. But I digress.

One of the things I did get to enjoy was the wonderful cuisine of

Argentina. On the first day I arrived, I tasted a dish my host called,

Guiso. This meat and vegetable stew was a filling and satisfying meal

that combined traditional ingredients with sweet potatoes, squash and

peaches for a delectable combination. Served with crusty bread and

butter, it made an excellent impression on me, besides a great lunch.

The gastronomy of this city was exquisitely represented by so many

savory dishes, but another I especially enjoyed was a dinner of

Milanea Napolitana, breaded meat strips in tomato sauce and melted

port cheese; an Asado Salad, grilled white onions, carrots, olive oil,

lemon, and grated cheese. And for dessert Alfajores, two large almond

cookies sandwiched with thick melted chocolate. Yum!

And speaking of Argentine cuisine, it didn't take much coaxing for me

to delight in tasting the wine there. Malbec is Argentina's signature

grape and I hear that it's quickly making a new name for itself with

red wine lovers. I can see why. It's a medium to full-bodied, dry red

wine. I found the alcohol level slightly higher than that of the wine

I normally drink. It only took a half glass to make me a great deal

more tipsy than I would have liked. But it was awfully hard to resist

with its dark, inky purple color and the ripe fruit flavors of plums,

black cherry and blackberry which gave the wine a decidedly jammy

character. In other words, it was delicious! If you're a wine drinker,

you might want to give wine made from the Malbec grape a try.

And the Chocolate! How many ways can one eat chocolate??? Bariloche is

the one place in Argentina where you are bound to find out.

Chocolaterias (Chocolate Shops) in Bariloche are scattered everywhere

among the busy streets. One, in particular, played a pivotal role in

my story. To take my mind off my troubles, I indulged in the famous

chocolate varieties offered by the city as extravagant *chocolate

fondues*, chocolate stick, chocolate with almonds, and milk sweet

caramel with chocolate. I also delighted my taste buds with homemade

sweets of mosqueta, sweet elderberry, and currant. Chocolate is a

great comfort for me whenever I have the blues, because it's hard to

cry and each chocolate at the same time.

There were so many places in Bariloche I investigated while searching

for the real killer, like the Bariloche Museum; the Hospital Zonal

Juan Ramon Carrillo; and Our Lady of Nahuel Huapi Cathedral, a

breathtakingly beautiful building of Neo-gothic design with more than

50 stained-glass windows. I could go on, but I hope my short "tour"

brought a tiny bit of Bariloche, Argentina into your lives. To read

more about Bariloche, and to see photos of the places mentioned in

Evelyn's novel, please visit the Photo Page on Evelyn's webesite at

http://evelyncullet.com/. Oh yes, and to find out how my story turns

out, read Evelyn's new romantic suspense novel, Masterpiece of Murder,

available in print and ebook from the publisher at:

http://www.wings-press.com/, and from http://www.amazon.com. It's also

available as an ebook for the Nook from

http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

.

Thank you, Larissa, for having me as a guest on your blog today.

We would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and you'll

automatically be entered in Evelyn's giveaway contest. You could win a

signed print copy of Masterpiece of Murder. The lucky winner will be

picked at random at the end of the Murder We Write blog tour, and

announced on her blog, http://evelyncullet.com/blog/ on December 11th.

Don't forget to leave your email address so she'll know how to contact

you.

Masterpiece of Murder is a fast-paced romantic suspense novel

involving a broken-hearted art student, Charlotte Ross, who is so

intent on locating her errant fiancé that she submits someone else’s

painting as her own in order to gain access to a Master art class

being held in Bariloche, Argentina—the place her lost love was last

seen. When the painting gets her accepted into the class given by a

world-famous artist and womanizer, being a novice makes keeping up

with the others nearly impossible as she struggles to fake her way

though, while trying to win back the man she loves. But her fiancé has

his own reasons for being in Bariloche that complicate Charlotte’s

life and threaten her very existence as she stumbles into a downward

spiral of deception, art forgery, and murder. After accidently finding

the murder victim, circumstantial evidence begins to mount up against

her and the local police suspect she is the killer. Now she must use

the skills she learned from her mystery writer friend, along with the

help of her fellow art students, to discover who is really behind the

murder. Not an easy task with a military police officer dogging her

every step.

Evelyn Cullet has been an aspiring author since high school when she

wrote short stories. She didn't begin her first novel until college,

later in life. Afterward, she continued to take writing classes while

working in the offices of a major soft drink company. Now, after early

retirement, she finally has the chance to do what she loves best;

write full-time. Evelyn enjoys playing the piano, being an organic

gardener, and an amateur Lapidary. She's a former long-time member of

the Agatha Christie Society, and is currently a member of Sisters in

Crime. Evelyn and her husband  live in a suburb of Chicago along with

their Black Lab/Pit Bull, Bailey.