#COOKING WITH CLORIS--MYSTERY AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON TURNS HER PASSION FOR COLLECTING VINTAGE COOKBOOKS INTO A NEW SERIES

Ellen Byron, author of the award-winning Cajun Country Mysteries, Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, and Catering Hall Mysteries (writing as Maria DiRico.) She’s also an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies (Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents.) Although she’s written more than two hundred articles for national magazines, she considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. Learn more about Ellen and her books at her website and the Chicks on the Case blog.

Collecting Vintage Cookbooks

My new series, the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries – which launched in June with Bayou Book Thief – is inspired by my own collection of vintage cookbooks. I developed this habit when I stumbled upon a cheery book titled The Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Famous Eating Places in an antiques store. The yellow cover was decorated with artwork that screamed 1950s. That hinted at what lay inside—more wonderful illustrations, along with recipes and descriptions of legendary American eateries. Two dollars later, the book was mine.

John Barrymore's
Spaghetti Recipe

After that purchase, I was hooked. I made a beeline to the cookbook section of every library sale, estate sale, or used bookstore I visited, scoring rare finds like 1928’s  Photoplay’s Cook Book {sic}: 150 Favorite Recipes of the Stars.  Need John Barrymore’s spaghetti recipe? I’m you’re gal. 

 

What I love about the cookbooks of yore is how they reflect the tenor of their times. One from 1935, the height of the Great Depression, is titled The Budget Cookbook. 1962’s The Working Wives’ (Salaried or Otherwise) Cookbook warily acknowledges women are joining the workforce. I somehow wound up with three copies of Thoughts on Buffets, all purchased at various Friends of the Library sales sponsored by my branch. This tells me buffets were quite popular in 1958 Studio City, California. And I love seeing how culinary tastes change over the decades. 1940s and 1950s cookbooks are a heavy cream lover’s delight. But the editors of the 1968 edition of Cookbook for Two considered two stalks of broccoli wrapped in processed ham and garnished with maraschino cherries the cover money shot.

I’m sure you’re wondering if I ever make the recipes from these cookbooks. The answer is, rarely. But I did want to include them in my series, where my protagonist runs Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, located in a beautiful culinary house museum in New Orleans’ Garden District. For Bayou Book Thief, I chose five from some of my favorite cookbooks, adapting them to current tastes and cooking techniques. The stove in a 1935 cookbook operated differently than the one in my kitchen – which is vintage in and of itself, dating back to early 1980s. 

 

Sharing my ever-growing collection through recipes in my new series is an absolute joy – and one I never saw coming when I picked up that delightful Ford Treasury cookbook at a tiny shop in a tiny town in Connecticut.

 

Bayou Book Thief

A Vintage Cookbook Mystery, Book 1

 

Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital. 

 

Ricki’s career dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, the city’s legendary restauranteur. Ricki is excited about turning her avocation – collecting vintage cookbooks – into a vocation by launching the museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware. Then she discovers that a trunk of donated vintage cookbooks doesn’t contain books – it holds the body of a cantankerous Bon Vee employee who was fired after being exposed as a book thief.

The skills Ricky has developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures come in handy for investigations. But both her business and Bon Vee could wind up as deadstock when Ricki’s past as curator of a billionaire’s first edition collection comes back to haunt her.

 

Will Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware be a success… or a recipe for disaster?

 

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AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON'S LOUISIANA BAYOU INSPIRATION

Today we’re happy to have award-winning mystery author Ellen Byron make a return visit. Ellen writes the Cajun Country Mystery Series and writing as Maria DiRico, she’ll debut a second series, The Catering Hall Mysteries, in 2020. Her TV credits include writing for Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents.  She’s also had her award-winning plays performed throughout the world. Fun fact: she worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. Learn more about Ellen and her books at her website.

Swamp Thing

I grew up in a suburb of New York City. Family vacations generally revolved around trips to New England, where we hiked Vermont’s mountains and explored Cape Cod’s dunes. Northeasterner that I was, if anyone had told me I’d fall in love with the swamps and bayous of Louisiana, I would have told them they were nuts. 

And yet I have.

There’s just something so magically mysterious about Louisiana’s waterways. Bayous are defined as “slow-moving streams,” and watching the languid path of a bayou like Bayou Teche, its banks filled with trees draped in Spanish moss, never ceases to entrance me. 

I’ve lost count of how many swamp tours I’ve taken in the years since I graduated from Tulane University and embarked on a writing career. The most memorable might be the one where a couple built a raised boardwalk through the swamp that was in the backyard of their convenience store. I’ll never forget wandering that wet wilderness, the only sounds coming from the frogs and other creatures who inhabited the environs. One of those creatures has become the “spirit animal” of my Cajun Country Mystery series.

Alligators might as well be the official state reptile of Louisiana. It’s almost impossible not to see one on a swamp tour. A few years ago, when we took our teenage daughter on her first trip to Louisiana, I signed us up for a tour of Lake Martin, a body of water created – like so many in the state – when the Mississippi changed course and cut it off from the river. We piled into a small motorboat along with a half-dozen others, and our guide motored us through the cypress trees and knees – that’s what the cypress stumps are called – of the lake. 

Our guide cut the engine when we came upon these two gators perched on a log. 

We watched in silence as the animals faced off. Suddenly, the gator on the right sprung on the other gator, knocking it off the log. “I’ve been doing this for thirty-five years and I’ve never seen anything like that,” the excited guide said in his thick Cajun accent. For the rest of the tour, he stopped at every boat we passed to regale them of this unprecedented sighting.

Our daughter just began her sophomore year at Loyola University in New Orleans. She fell in love with Louisiana, just like her mom. Her college stint gives me four years of excuses to visit the state—and each year will bring another exploration of the state’s otherworldly waters.

Fatal Cajun Festival

A Cajun Country Mystery

In the newest addition to Ellen Byron’s Agatha Award-winning Cajun Country Mystery series, country star Tammy Barker, a Pelican native who won an American Idol-styled TV singing contest, returns home to headline the town's first music festival. But Maggie Crozat discovers that Tammy is a full-fledged diva, a tiny terror in six-inch platform-heeled boots and a thick head of hair extensions. Worse, she carries a grudge against Maggie’s best friend, Gaynell Bourgeois. When a member of Tammy’s entourage is murdered, Tammy sees to it that Gaynell is the prime suspect, and Maggie must cozy up to Tammy's sketchy bandmates to prevent her friend from being charged with murder.

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MYSTERY AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON'S BOOK COVER #CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

Award-winning playwright and author Ellen Byron writes the Cajun Country Mystery series. She’s also written for various TV shows, include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents and has had more than 200 articles published in national magazines. In addition, Ellen has also worked as a cater-waiter for the legendary Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

From Book Cover to Ornament

I have a passion for Christmas ornaments that I’ve nurtured since childhood. When I was in middle school, my mother announced we’d no longer have a Christmas tree. It was a rough year and she didn’t feel much like celebrating anything. But the thought of not having a beautiful tree so horrified me that I volunteered to take over tree trimming and de-trimming duties. Mom signed off on this, so I became the Keeper of the Ornaments. When I married, I incorporated some of my husband’s family ornaments into the tradition. In total years, our decorations span almost a hundred years, with the oldest ornament dating back to 1928.

But not only do I love collecting ornaments, I love making them, too. I can’t let a year go by without making something for our tree. I have over a dozen gorgeous needlepoint and cross-stitch ornaments, but those get expense to make and finish. I’m madly in love with my book covers, so I debated an affordable way to turn them into ornaments and landed on an old hobby of mine – decoupage.

I always have stickers of my book covers made by Moo as either a giveaway or a way to decorate notepads for swag. With the artwork handled, translating the covers into ornaments was easy. I bought plain round ornaments from Michael’s Crafts, painted them, added a coating of Mod Podge to each, affixed the stickers, then added another coating of Mod Podge. Once the ornaments dried, I decorated each with an assortment of bling. Cute, huh?

I haven’t turned my most recent book, Mardi Gras Murder, into an ornament yet, but this post has inspired me. I’ll definitely use the iconic Mardi Gras color palette of purple, green, and gold. I’ll also add as much shimmer and shine as the ornament can support. Because, yes, the ornament will decorate a Christmas tree. But it also celebrates a second holiday. As the tongue-in-cheek New Orleans saying goes, “Happy Almost Mardi Gras!”

Mardi Gras Murder

A Cajun Country Mystery, Book 4

The resilient citizens of Pelican aren’t about to let some hundred-year flood ruin their Mardi Gras festivities, which include Courirs de Mardi Gras – Mardi Gras Runs – a gumbo cook-off, and the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant contest.  But when a body of a stranger washes up in the bayou behind Crozat Plantation B&B, and a pageant judge is shot, Maggie Crozat is convinced that the deaths are connected. Does someone want the pageant queen crown bad enough to kill for it? Or are the deaths somehow related to the Orphan Train, which delivered its last charges to Cajun Country in 1929?

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON ON COURIR DE MARDI GRAS

Award-winning mystery author Ellen Byron writes the Cajun Country Mystery series. Ellen’s TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents. She’s also written 200+ national magazine articles, and her published plays include the award-winning Graceland. As if that weren’t enough, she also worked as a cater-waiter for the legendary Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. Learn more about Ellen and her books at her website.

Mardi Gras Murder, my new Cajun Country Mystery, revolves around the Cajun tradition, Courir de Mardi Gras – Mardi Gras Run. The runs are down-home affairs, with fantastic masks often made by the wearer or a local craftsperson, and costumes that are also primarily made by hand. What I love are the fabrics Mardi Gras – in Cajun Country, the term is often used as a proper noun – chose for their outfits.

They range from sedate…

To exuberant.

Some are a little bit country…

Some are a little bit rock ‘n roll…

No matter the pattern, all the fabrics reflect the joyous nature of the Courirs. Yes, they can get crazy. And being an animal lover, I don’t love the part of a courir where they chase a chicken and then catch it for the communal gumbo that ends the festivities. Some are men only, which pushes a button for me. But local women responded by creating their own runs. There are family runs, too.

Still, I love the fact that such a unique and specifically regional celebration not only exists but thrives in today’s homogenized society. My friend Jan Gilbert, a renowned NOLA artist, participated in a run and took these photos. Someday I hope to join a run myself, well… laissez les bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll.

Mardi Gras Murder

A Cajun Country Mystery, Book 4

The resilient citizens of Pelican aren’t about to let some hundred-year flood ruin their Mardi Gras festivities, which include Courirs de Mardi Gras – Mardi Gras Runs – a gumbo cook-off, and the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant contest.  But when a body of a stranger washes up in the bayou Crozat Plantation B&B, and a pageant judge is shot, Maggie Crozat is convinced that the deaths are connected. Does someone want the pageant queen crown bad enough to kill for it? Or are the deaths somehow related to the Orphan Train, which delivered its last charges to Cajun Country in 1929?

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(Photos courtesy of Jan Gilbert and EPrimeMedia.com)

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON

Ellen Byron’s TV credits include Wings and Just Shoot Me. She’s written over 200 magazine articles, and her published plays include the award-winning Graceland. Now she’s writing the Cajun Country Mystery series. Learn more about Ellen and her books at her website. 

My Growing Gator Jewelry Collection

Every so often I get what my mother calls a bug up my butt about something. (Although she doesn’t use the word butt. She’s a bit of a potty mouth.) This recently happened when I became obsessed with alligator-themed costume jewelry.

My Cajun Country Mystery series is set in, well… Cajun Country. The swamps and bayous of this fascinating region are rife with alligators. One day when I was looking for a new way to procrastinate, I logged onto eBay and typed in “alligator brooch.” I thought it might be fun to buy one and wear it to the Malice Domestic Convention. Lo and behold, a long list of options greeted me. So I started to shop.

I bought a number of brooches, many of which I gave away at Left Coast Crime and Malice banquet tables. I graduated to necklaces, then earrings, rings, and bracelets. My collection has even branched out into clothing. When author Sherry Harris posted a picture of a flamingo sweater she’d found on eBay for a friend, I wrote to her, “Hey, if you ever find a sweater with alligators on it, LMK.” Within minutes, she posted three of them. I bought one, and love it. It’s become such an obsession, that as I wrote this blog post, I got an itch to do an eBay search, found a great top, bid on it, and won. Score!

Friends get a kick out of my hobby. Author Alyssa Maxwell recently tagged me in a post where she wore a top decorated with a darling gator applique. (Alyssa, I so want a shirt like that!) A few weeks ago, I was in New Orleans to promote my newest book, A Cajun Christmas Killing, and mentioned my passion for gator jewelry to my friend Celeste. She said, “Oh, I’ve got a gator necklace I can give you.” I told her I wasn’t comfortable taking her jewelry. Her response? “No worries, I have two.” Yes, she had two of these necklaces. #onlyinNewOrleans.

Back to that Malice panel I mentioned earlier. Moderator Shawn Reilly Simpson sent us panelists a list of questions ahead of time, and one was “What’s your spirit animal?” Personally, mine is a rescue dog. But I realized that my series has its own spirit animal: the alligator. So when it comes down to it, I owe my whole collection to Shawn. I should thank her with some kind of present. Hmmm… sounds like it’s time to search “alligator jewelry, clothing, or anything” on Ebay again!

A Cajun Christmas Killing: A Cajun Country Mystery

Maggie Crozat is home in Cajun Country during the most magical time of the year. But the Grinch has come to stay at the Crozat Plantation B&B, and he’s flooding travel websites with vicious reviews. Maggie ID’s him as rival businessman Donald Baxter–until Baxter is found stabbed to death. With her detective boyfriend sidelined as a suspect, Maggie must catch the real killer or it will be the opposite of a Joyeux Noel for her.

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FEAR OF HEIGHTS AND THE RAINBOW BRIDGE WITH GUEST AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON

The Rainbow Bridge

Ellen's Byron’s debut mystery, Plantation Shudders, was nominated for multiple awards and made the USA Today Bestseller list. Now she’s out with the second book in her Cajun Country Mystery Series, and it, too, is racking up award nominations. Ellen’s other writing credits include over 200 national magazine articles, an award-winning play, and writing credits on various TV shows, include Wings, Just Shoot Me, Fairly Odd Parents, and various pilots. Learn more about Ellen and her books at her website. 

Once a Bridesmaid

While many friends have been bridesmaids umpteen times, I only had the honor of being one once. But it was an experience I’ll never forget.

Karen and Max were buddies of mine from college. We all met at New Orleans’ Tulane University. When they got engaged and Karen asked me to be in her wedding party, I decided to combine my stint as a bridesmaid with a research trip through Cajun Country to New Orleans for a play I was working on. I mapped out a scenic drive that would take me across the Galveston Bay to the Louisiana road that ran along the Gulf of Mexico.

The wedding and reception went relatively smoothly. The plan was for Karen’s mom Marni and me to drive the newlyweds to an airport hotel to spend the night before their early morning departure to Greece for their honeymoon. Marni and I did just that. And then, on the ride back to her house, Marni’s beater car died on the interstate. Even the warning lights didn’t work. We got out of the car and within minutes, another car hit it. Marni, running to get out of the way, went tumbling down the cement embankment, breaking her arm.

I spent a sleepless night in a Houston hospital waiting for Marni to be released. But I was determined to continue my research trip, so a day later – and no more rested – I made the drive south and got on a ferry in Galveston. In a chipper mood as we crossed the lovely bay, I got into a conversation with a couple of other passengers. I told them my trip route and they exchanged a look. “The gulf road washed out in the last hurricane,” one said. “It’s closed.”

Deflated but not deterred, I reversed course, headed back to Galveston, and followed a new route through a less-than-scenic part of Texas, powered by the mantra, “Must get to Louisiana, must get to Louisiana.” A highway sign appeared, alerting me to the fact I was approaching the Rainbow Bridge. “Why does that sound so familiar?” I thought to myself. Readers, you need to know that I have a terrible fear of heights. I’ve fainted looking out a floor-to-ceiling office building window. Years ago, I toured with the Florida Studio Theatre and almost passed out during a drive across the Tampa-St. Petersburg Bridge. “If you hate this, you never want to drive over the Rainbow Bridge in Texas,” the van driver warned me.

And there I was, hurtling toward the Rainbow Bridge, a cheery name for a horrifying span with a vertical clearance of 177 feet. I was trapped. I could either drive over the bridge, or into the water under it. I whimpered and drove, never taking my eyes off the road in front of me as I soared to heights an airplane reaches on takeoff.

After that, I just kept going until I crossed the Sabine River and saw the most beautiful sight I could dream of – an I-10 sign reading “Welcome to Louisiana.” I pulled into the first rest stop I came to, put my head on the steering wheel of my rented car, and burst into tears. I adore Louisiana and experience elation every time I arrive. But I don’t think I’ll ever again have that overwhelming sense of euphoria I felt when I crossed that border into the Pelican State.

I haven’t been back to Houston since that wedding. But I’m happy to report the relationship stuck. Karen and Max got a thirty-three year marriage and two gorgeous daughters. I got a dress I never wore again and a great anecdote.

Body on the Bayou

A Cajun Country Mystery, Book 2

The Crozats feared that past murders at Crozat Plantation B&B might spell the death of their beloved estate, but they've managed to survive the scandal. Now there's a très bigger story in Pelican, Louisiana: the upcoming nuptials between Maggie Crozat's nemesis, Police Chief Rufus Durand, and her co-worker, Vanessa Fleer.

When everyone else refuses the job of being Vanessa's Maid of Honor, Maggie reluctantly takes up the title and finds herself tasked with a long list of duties--the most important of which is entertaining Vanessa's cousin, Ginger Fleer-Starke. But just days before the wedding, Ginger's lifeless body is found on the bayou and the Pelican PD, as well as the Crozats, have another murder mystery on their hands.

There's a gumbo-potful of suspects, including an ex-Marine with PTSD, an annoying local newspaper reporter, and Vanessa's own sparkplug of a mother. But when it looks like the investigation is zeroing in on Vanessa as the prime suspect, Maggie reluctantly adds keeping the bride-to-be out of jail to her list of Maid of Honor responsibilities

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#TRAVEL TO CREOLE AND AMERICAN PLANTATIONS WITH GUEST AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON

Laura Plantation

Ellen Byron's debut novel, Plantation Shudders, made the USA Today Bestsellers list, and was nominated for Agatha, Lefty, and Daphne awards. The second book in her Cajun Country Mystery Series, Body on the Bayou, was recently released. Learn more aobut Ellen and her books at her website. 

A great way to build a day trip from New Orleans is to tour one Creole plantation and one American plantation, with a lunch break between tours –which is exactly what I did with my family on a recent visit to Louisiana.

Creole plantations are of an earlier vintage and were painted in vivid colors. American plantations tend to date after the Louisiana Purchase, when planters from other parts of the country migrated to Louisiana. They were usually white and leaned more toward Greek Revival in style. (There was a reason Creole planters avoided white - colors did a much better job of hiding Louisiana's mold and mildew. However, once American rule was imposed on Louisiana, many Creoles wound up painting their houses white so that they blended in with their new neighbors.)

My husband, daughter and I began our adventure at Laura, a Creole plantation on the west River Road. They give a wonderful tour where you get a wide-ranging view of what plantation life was like. The owners had the miraculous good luck to locate the diary of Laura Lacoul Gore, who grew up on the plantation (hence the name) and documented her life there and her home's history. The tales of Br'er Rabbit originated in Laura's slave cabins, and that’s an important part of the tour. You see the grim lodgings where enslaved people were forced to live, and learn about the brutal difficulties they had to endure.

Before crossing the Mississippi to our destination on its east bank, we stopped for lunch at B&C Seafood, a local haunt that also enjoys national popularity. I love its authenticity and delicious dishes.

Houmas House 

Next up on our agenda was a tour of Houmas House, once known as The Sugar Palace. Houmas House is a classic "American" plantation, although it’s currently painted pale yellow instead of white. The tour is detailed and fascinating, with even a little gossip thrown in about what happened when Bette Davis and Joan Crawford butted heads on the set of Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. (Hint: Joan Crawford isn’t in the movie.)

Both Laura and Houmas House have excellent gift shops. Houmas House also offers great dining options, so hopefully you’ve worked off that lunch at B&C’s by the time you’re done with their tour. I've had dinner at The Carriage House, and it was outstanding, as was the Burnside Cafe, where I had one of the best oyster po'boys ever. And my husband fell in love with the sweet concoction that they served with their bread. It's made from butter, Steen Cane Syrup, and pecans, and trust me, if he could have packed it in his suitcase, he would have! Enjoy a light bite – or even a heavy one – before you return to New Orleans after a day spent stepping back into Louisiana’s unique past.

Body on the Bayou

The Crozats feared that past murders at Crozat Plantation B&B might spell the death of their beloved estate, but they’ve managed to survive the scandal. Now there’s a très bigger story in Pelican, Louisiana: the upcoming nuptials between Maggie Crozat’s nemesis, Police Chief Rufus Durand, and her co-worker, Vanessa Fleer.

When everyone else refuses the job of being Vanessa's Maid of Honor, Maggie reluctantly takes up the title and finds herself tasked with a long list of duties--the most important of which is entertaining Vanessa’s cousin, Ginger Fleer-Starke. But just days before the wedding, Ginger’s lifeless body is found on the bayou and the Pelican PD, as well as the Crozats, have another murder mystery on their hands.

There’s a gumbo-potful of suspects, including an ex-Marine with PTSD, an annoying local newspaper reporter, and Vanessa’s own sparkplug of a mother. But when it looks like the investigation is zeroing in on Vanessa as the prime suspect, Maggie reluctantly adds keeping the bride-to-be out of jail to her list of Maid of Honor responsibilities.

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--BEADING WITH GUEST AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON

Ellen Byron’s TV credits include Wings and Just Shoot Me. She’s written over 200 magazine articles, and her published plays include the award-winning Graceland. Today she joins us to talk about her passion for beading. Learn more about Ellen and her book at her website. 

Make a Necklace with Ellen Byron

Branding is the buzzword of the decade. With that in mind, I decided to create a signature color palette themed to my Cajun Country series that I’d wear to book signings and conferences. Since the series is set in Louisiana, I went with the Mardi Gras scheme of purple, green, and gold. Amassing a wardrobe in those hues hasn’t been a problem. But coming up with accessories has. So I decided to make necklaces that would compliment my outfits.

I got into making jewelry a few years ago, so I already had the basic tools: jewelry pliers, wire cutters, and wire. I bought crimping beads at Michael’s.

I have a collection of glass and crystal beads, but I expanded it through shopping at local bead shops, online stores, and craft shops. I also found old necklaces that I took apart so I could repurpose the beads.

Step one: I searched Ebay for “vintage pins purple gold green” or “mardi gras pins.” I ended up buying about five in several necklaces I assembled styles. Here are four, but I’ll guide you through my process using another pin.

 

Step two: I cut a length of wire about six inches longer than I’d need for the length of the necklace. That leaves about three inches on each end to attach a clasp. (NOTE: For this example, I only used one long wire because the brooch’s clasp I attached it to was vertical. If the clasp is horizontal, I cut two pieces of wire and attach one to each end of the clasp. NOTE #2: If the brooch is heavy, go with a heavier gauge of wire.)

Step three: I loop the wire around the top of the brooch clasp, making sure it’s even on both sides. I then slip on one or two crimping beads, push them down as close to the brooch clasp as possible, and squeeze the beads with the pliers to secure the wire in place. NOTE: This vintage alligator brooch had a loose clasp, so I also placed a dollop of strong craft glue over the clasp’s opening.

 

Step four: The fun part! I play with different bead combinations to see which best compliments the brooch I’m working with. Since this brooch is a bit heavy, I primarily used smaller crystal beads. If your necklace is too heavy, it won’t be comfortable and you increase the chance of it breaking. NOTE: I picked up the bead tray for fifty cents at a thrift store. I don’t use the measurements, but it’s a great surface to work on. But it’s totally optional.

If my combination is complicated, I write it down on a “cheat sheet.” You want both sides to match up. So if you make a mistake and don’t want to re-string your wire, just make sure you match the other side to the pattern. If you look closely at my finished necklace, you’ll see that I messed up once and instead of two green beads, I did one. When I realized this, rather than re-string an entire side, I simply copied the “mistake” on the opposite wire. That way, the patterns on both sides still match up.

Step five: Time to attach the two halves of the clasp to finish the necklace. First, I string two crimping beads onto one end of a wire, and then I add the clasp. (I prefer a lobster claw clasp, which I’ll always attach to the left wire because I’m a lefty.) I loop the wire through the crimping beads, leaving enough of a loop to allow the clasp to hang loose, but not so much that the loop is huge. (I also leave about a half inch of wire below the clasp so that the beads have a bit of room, although you can’t tell from the pictures below.) I repeat the process with the other half of the clasp on the opposite wire. I twist the excess wire around the wire below the crimping beads once or twice for extra hold, and then trim off whatever’s left.

 

The finished product is the photo at the beginning of this post.

I’ve laid out very detailed instructions, but making one of these necklaces is a lot of fun and really not that hard. My biggest dilemma now is how to stop myself from making more of them!

P.S. See if you can spot where I goofed up the pattern of purple/gold/green/gold/green/gold. Instead, I beaded purple/gold/green/gold/purple, missing a green bead. Hint: it’s about a third of the way up from the alligator.

Plantation Shudders

Maggie Crozat, a feisty artist in her early thirties, moves back to eccentric Pelican, Louisiana, after a decade in New York to work at her family’s historic plantation-turned-B&B.  The family business is in peril after an obnoxious eighty-something couple staying at the B&B on their honeymoon – yes, their honeymoon – mysteriously drops dead within minutes of each other.  The Pelican Chief of Police carries a longstanding grudge against the Crozats, and Maggie can’t trust the sexy new detective in town because he happens to be the Chief’s cousin. So Maggie is forced to become an amateur sleuth, aided by her accordion-playing best friend Gaynell, her cross-dressing pal JJ, and her cocktail-loving Grandmere.

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#TRAVEL TO A LOUISIANA PLANTATION WITH GUEST AUTHOR ELLEN BYRON

Ellen Byron’s TV credits include Wings and Just Shoot Me. She’s written over 200 magazine articles, and her published plays include the award-winning Graceland. Learn more about Ellen and her book at her website. 

An Overnight Stay at a Louisiana Plantation

When I planned a trip that would introduce my husband to the Louisiana that I fell in love with as a Tulane University student, I decided to treat us to the adventure of spending the night at a plantation. After doing a little research, I booked a night at Madewood in Napoleonville.

We drove up from New Orleans, turned onto a road that ran alongside Bayou Lafourche, and then stopped in front of an elegant Greek revival mansion. Built in 1846 by Colonel Thomas Pugh, it’s been owned by the Marshall family since 1964. No Marshalls were in residence when we arrived, but we were welcomed by a household staff member and given written details on how to enjoy our stay.

Around six p.m., we rendezvoused with fellow guests in the library for wine and cheese and appetizers. There were about half a dozen of us, but all I remember is a young couple from Boston on their honeymoon, and a tall, self-confident Texan. I don’t remember his wife, which tells you which of the couple had the larger personality. In order to begin dinner, we’d been instructed to ring a bell that would summon the help. This led to an awkward moment. The politically correct among us couldn’t bring ourselves to ring that bell. Finally, Tex, as I’ll call him, said, “I’ll do it,” then jumped up and rang the bell with gusto. An older woman in a white uniform came out of the kitchen and showed us to the dinner table, where we spent the next couple of hours eating an array of amazing homemade Creole courses.

Strangers brought together by chance. An evening orchestrated by a host not present. As the night went on, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was actually living the Agatha Christie novel, And Then There Were None. The only thing missing was a fierce storm that knocked out all the power and of course, a murder victim or two! Luckily, we were spared such drama. We finished the meal, had a good night’s sleep, and enjoyed a hearty breakfast the next morning. I left with great memories and the inspiration for my debut novel, Plantation Shudders: A Cajun Country Mystery.

Many of Louisiana’s plantations now welcome guests, including Nottoway, Houmas House, and the iconic Oak Alley. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend an overnight stay. It was a fascinating experience, and one I dream of replicating.

Plantation Shudders

Maggie Crozat, a feisty artist in her early thirties, moves back to eccentric Pelican, Louisiana, after a decade in New York to work at her family’s historic plantation-turned-B&B.  The family business is in peril after an obnoxious eighty-something couple staying at the B&B on their honeymoon – yes, their honeymoon – mysteriously drops dead within minutes of each other.  The Pelican Chief of Police carries a longstanding grudge against the Crozats, and Maggie can’t trust the sexy new detective in town because he happens to be the Chief’s cousin. So Maggie is forced to become an amateur sleuth, aided by her accordion-playing best friend Gaynell, her cross-dressing pal JJ, and her cocktail-loving Grandmere.

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