Today we sit down for a chat with Tally Holt from author Kaye George’s new Vintage Sweets Mystery Series.
What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?
I was pretty satisfied with my business in Dallas. I had a bakery there, since I love to work in the kitchen. Although I’d been in Dallas for a few years, I didn’t have much of a social life. I think the fact that I kept in touch with my childhood friend from Fredericksburg, Yolanda Bella, gave my author the idea to use those strings to pull me back there, through Yolanda.
What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?
I’m self-reliant. I’ve had to be, since my brother and I have “stage” parents. No, not the kind who push the kids on stage, the kind who are on the stage themselves. As often as possible, and wherever in the world they feel like it at the moment.
What do you like least about yourself?
I don’t seem to have very good judgment about people. I mean, I think I do, but Yolanda doesn’t. Sometimes I think she’s right. I’m too trusting.
What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?
Opening a vintage candy shop! Who ever heard of such a thing? Just because there was space available next to Yolanda’s gift basket store, and just because I received my grandmother’s recipes after her death. Hmm. Maybe I see where my author was coming from. This kind of feels like fate.
Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?
All the time! She always wants me outside my shop, looking around at people and clues, every time there’s a mystery to be solved. All this tension in my life. Really, Ms. George, I just want to make and sell candy. Would that be so hard?
What is your greatest fear?
I worry about my parents. They perform all over the world and the world can be a scary place. They go to locations that are volatile, politically. They even get caught up in natural disasters sometimes. They wouldn’t be who they are if they weren’t singing and dancing across the globe, but Cole and I (my brother) do worry about them.
What makes you happy?
Making delicious sweets, chocolate, coconut, caramel, fudge, and having people buy them so I can pay my bills. Then, after that, having the customers come back in and tell me how much they love my candies—and buy some more. That’s the best of all.
If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?
Now that I’m situated here in my hometown, maybe it would have been better if I hadn’t gone to Dallas for a few years. My business would be further along and I would know more about the town, instead of relying on others who have lived here all along. I’m not sure about some of these people.
Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?
Probably that detective, Jackson Rogers. He’s so…competent, so…tall, so…okay, he’s awfully good looking. And I can’t tell what he thinks about me. Wish I knew for sure if anything could develop between us.
Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?
Nigel, for sure. He’s the Maine coon cat that my brother, Cole, foisted onto me, after Nigel was foisted onto him by an ex-girlfriend. I had never had a cat before, but he made me love him. Now I don’t know what I’d do without him. But if I could be him, I would have it made. All he has to do is hint that he might be a bit puckish, and his bowl is filled with din din. If he wants to cuddle, I’m right there, except when I’m at work. If he doesn’t want to cuddle, he doesn’t. He does whatever he wants to whenever he wants to do it. What a life!
Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?
She has written some other mysteries, and one other cozy series. But for that one, she used the name Janet Cantrell, at the request of her publisher. For some reason, she’s gotten nominations for some of her work, Agatha, Derringer, stuff like that. She likes to write short stories, too, but hardly any of them are the cozy-type. I try to ignore all the competing characters rattling around in her head, but you can check them all out at her website. There’s also a link to Janet’s site, or you can click here to read about the three Fat Cat Mysteries.
What's next for you?
I’ll appear in a total of three mysteries, for sure. The second one will come out in June, and it’s called Deadly Sweet Tooth. The third will be sometime next year, Into the Sweet Hereafter. My future is murky after that, but you might see me around for some more sweet, but sticky, adventures.
My author is over there waving at me—she wants me to tell you THANKS for having me here today. I thank you, too, even though you made me answer some hard questions! Hope to see you again.
Revenge is Sweet
Vintage Sweets Mysteries, Book 1
In the picturesque tourist town of Fredericksburg, Texas, Tally Holt has opened a new candy store with a vintage twist . . .but there’s no sugar-coating a nasty case of murder .
Tally Holt has poured her heart, soul, and bank account into Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets, specializing in her grandmother’s delicious recipes. Tally’s homemade Mallomars, Twinkies, fudges, and taffy are a hit with visiting tourists—and with Yolanda Bella, the flamboyant owner of Bella’s Baskets next door. But both shops encounter a sour surprise when local handyman Gene Faust is found dead in Tally’s kitchen, stabbed with Yolanda’s scissors.
The mayor’s adopted son, Gene was a handsome Casanova with a bad habit of borrowing money from the women he wooed. It’s a sticky situation for Yolanda, who was one of his marks. There are plenty of other likely culprits among Fredericksburg’s female population, and even among Gene’s family. But unless Tally can figure out who finally had their fill of Gene’s sweet-talking ways, Yolanda—and both their fledgling businesses—may be destined for a bitter end . . .
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