AN INTERVIEW WITH COZY MYSTERY AUTHOR SUSAN SANTANGELO

The Muses, Boomer and Lilly

Today we sit down for a chat with Susan Santangelo, author of the cozy Baby Boomer Mysteries. Learn more about Susan and her books at her website. 

When did you realize you wanted to write novels? 

I wrote feature stories professionally for newspapers and magazines most of my adult life. I loved reading cozy mysteries, and I noodled around writing one for several years but never started one. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was a real wake up call. So about fourteen years ago, I started writing my first mystery. 

 

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

Four years. 

 

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

I’m a hybrid author. 

 

Where do you write?

I have a home office, which I share with my muses/dogs, Boomer and Lilly. I like to bounce story ideas off them. They have excellent instincts. 

 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

No music. But doggy snoring is fine. No barking, though.

 

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

Because my books are written in the first person, all my readers think Carol Andrews is me and my husband Joe is Carol’s husband, Jim. The books aren’t about our lives, though. It’s just a coincidence that the first book in the series is titled Retirement Can Be Murder, when Jim decides to retire and his wife doesn’t want him home driving her crazy, and I began writing the book just as my own husband was retiring! That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.       

  

Describe your process for naming your character.

My series is the Baby Boomer mysteries, so I choose character names that are appropriate to that age group. “Carol” was one of the most popular first names when I was in school. Carol’s best friends are Nancy, Claire and Mary Alice. All those names were popular back in the fifties and sixties.

 

Real settings or fictional towns?

The books are set in the fictional town of Fairport, CT, a combination of two real towns in Connecticut, Fairfield and Westport. The antique house where Carol and Jim live in the series is based on the Fairfield house that my family and I lived and loved in for many years.

 

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?

Carol talks to her dogs, Lucy and Ethel, ALL THE TIME. 

                                                                                          

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

I’ve been known to chat with Boomer and Lilly. Not as often as Carol talks to Lucy and Ethel, though.   

 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

Anything by Janet Evanovich. Her Stephanie Plum series is set in Trenton, NJ, where we used to live.

 

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

I wish I’d started writing mysteries when I was younger.  

 

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Rudeness.

 

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

Dogs, a cell phone and a charger.

 

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

I had a part-time job in the gift wrap department of a major retailer. I was a total failure.

 

Who’s your all-time favorite literary character (any genre)? Why?

I’d love to be Miss Marple. She proved that nobody should ever underestimate a senior citizen!  

 

Ocean or mountains?

Ocean.

 

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

The country, but close to a city.

 

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m writing book 11 in the series, Masquerades Can Be Murder, which has a ghost in it. 

 

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

I hope people enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

 

Mistletoe Can Be Murder

A Baby Boomer Mystery, Book 10

 

Carol Andrews is planning her grandson CJ’s first Christmas down to the last detail. What she didn’t plan on is a furnace fiasco, the unexpected appearance of CJ’s Other Grandmother, Margo, and her new boyfriend, a family feud, a stolen credit card, and murder. When Margo’s boyfriend becomes the police’s chief suspect, Carol is forced to add crime-solving to her holiday to-do list before Santa can come down the chimney.

 

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook 

AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR SUSAN SANTANGELO'S BABY BOOMER SLEUTH CAROL ANDREWS

Today we sit down for a chat with Carol Andrews from author Susan Santangelo’s Baby Boomer Mystery series.

What was your life like before your author started pulling your strings?

Peaceful and quiet!

What’s the one trait you like most about yourself?

Multi-tasking under the impossible circumstances Susan thinks up for me to deal with.

What do you like least about yourself?

I cry much too easily.

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you? They’re all weird. And some of them are very scary. Especially when my life is threatened, like the time in Second Honeymoons Can Be Murder (Book 6) when she had me facing a deranged killer with no warning whatsoever. 

Do you argue with your author? If so, what do you argue about?

Susan always has an idea in her head about which way she wants her plots to go. Her plots! Can you imagine? She’d be nothing without me. When she really won’t listen to my suggestions, I just go on strike. Some authors have writer’s block. She has Carol block. But she has yet to figure that out.

What is your greatest fear?

That she may decide to end the series by killing me off.

What makes you happy?

When she finally writes “The End” and sends off the completed book to her publisher. Then I can finally take a nap.

If you could rewrite a part of your story, what would it be? Why?

I’d want to be thinner, so I could eat anything I wanted and not gain weight.

Of the other characters in your book, which one bugs you the most? Why?

My husband, Jim, drives me completely bonkers a lot of the time. Since he retired, he’s become obsessed with saving money and has me on a very tight budget. And he always wants to know where I’m going, when I’ll be home, and what I’m making for dinner. Oh, and he re-does a lot of the household tasks, like re-loading the dishwasher before I start it. I mean, really! 

Of the other characters in your book, which one would you love to trade places with? Why?

I’d like to trade places with Lucy and Ethel, our two English cocker spaniels. They have the best life of all!

Tell us a little something about your author. Where can readers find her website/blog?

Susan’s the author of eight Baby Boomer mysteries, and is currently working (but not too hard) on Book 9, tentatively titled, Politics Can Be Murder. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers and the Cape Cod Writers Center. She hangs out with her long-suffering husband Joe on Cape Cod in the summer, and goes to Clearwater, Florida, for the winter. (Fortunately, I get to travel with her.) She and Joe also have two English cocker spaniels, Boomer and Lilly. You can find more about her and her books at her website. She doesn’t have her own blog, but she likes to do guest appearances on others.   

What's next for you?

I’m lying in wait in Susan’s mind right now while she figures out which way she wants the plot for “Politics” to go. And then I’ll step in, have my way, and we’ll go on from there.

In-Laws Can Be Murder

A Baby Boomer Mystery, Book 8

Carol Andrews doesn't share well. Especially when it comes to her precious, long-awaited first grandchild, CJ. So when her son-in-law's pushy mother, Margo, arrives in town and horns in on Carol's happiness, it's hate at first sight. But when Margo thinks she's committed a murder and reaches out to Carol for help, then vanishes without a trace, it's up to Carol to put aside her petty jealousy and crack the case before the police get involved.

Buy Links

paperback

ebook 

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR SUSAN SANTANGELO ON DIETING DISHES

Susan Santangelo is the author of the bestselling humorous Baby Boomer mystery series. Book 6 in the series, Second Honeymoons Can Be Murder, will be released on February 16th. She divides her time between Cape Cod, MA and the Gulf Coast of Florida and shares her life with two very spoiled English cocker spaniels who serve as the model for her books' covers. Learn more about Susan and her books at her website. 

Dieting Doesn’t Have To Be Murder!

According to a recent survey, the number one New Year’s resolution  people make is to lose weight. And by some amazing coincidence, the most commonly broken New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. In fact, the average time most people (including me) spend trying to lose weight is less than two months.

If you’re like me and need some extra incentives to stick to a weight-loss routine, read on for some tips and tricks from Carol Andrews, the protagonist in my seventh Baby Boomer mystery, Dieting Can Be Murder, on how to motivate yourself so you’ll start losing weight.

Carol recommends that you set your expectations low in the beginning. Be realistic about your goals, so you’ll succeed. Don’t bite off more than you can chew – in every way!

                 

In doing her Internet research, trying to find the perfect weight-loss routine for her – one that didn’t involve exercising or giving up cheeseburgers and French fries – Carol found an article which said that eating off a blue plate will make food appear unappetizing. Presto – you’ll eat less! Since Carol didn’t want to buy a whole new set of tableware, she bought blue sunglasses instead, and wore them at every meal for a few days. Three guesses how well that worked out, and the first two don’t count.

      

She also discovered that, according to the Delboeuf Illusion theory, people whose food choice contrasts with their plate they’re using tend to eat less because they are more aware of how much food is actually on that plate. The same article also claimed that keeping the heat temperature lower in winter and air conditioning temperature higher in summer makes the body work harder to burn calories. Since Carol’s husband Jim insists on keeping the temperature in the Andrews house low in the winter and higher in the summer to save money, he was definitely a fan of this idea.

There are many dangerous diets on the Internet these days, though, so don’t be fooled. If a diet sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The best way to start is with the advice of a medical professional.

Here are two “skinny” recipes from the Andrews household that you may find helpful. First is a low-fat smoothie to help you get started in the right direction. (Of course, in Dieting Can Be Murder, the villain added one extra ingredient!)

Cape Cod Cranberry-Almond Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk

1 banana

1 cup fresh kale

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

1 T. honey

Handful of slivered almonds

Mix almond milk, banana, kale, cranberries and honey in a blender. Top with a smattering of slivered almonds. Enjoy!

One of the most important things to practice when trying to lose weight is portion control. Here’s a variation of the Weight Watchers recipe Jim Andrews found on the Internet, which Carol makes in Chapter 35 of Dieting Can Be Murder. This meatloaf is cooked in a muffin pan, yielding smaller, individual portions rather than one large loaf. Instant portion control!

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

2 lbs. uncooked ground turkey breast

4 tsp. fresh thyme

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 T. olive oil

2 T. regular butter

1 cup uncooked onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup red pepper, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

12 oz. mushrooms, finely chopped

1 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1/2 cup white wine

Canned fat-free gravy

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Fill 12-muffin tray cups with liners. Coat large mixing bowl with cooking spray.

Place ground turkey breast in prepared bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Place butter and oil in large frying pan and cook over medium high heat until butter melts. Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté 3-5 minutes. Add soy sauce and white wine. Cook until mixture thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Add parsley and cook 1-2 more minutes.

Add mushroom mixture to turkey and mix thoroughly. Drop by heaping tablespoons into prepared muffin tray cups until each cup is about 2/3 full. Bake muffins until center seems firm to the touch and turkey is completely cooked through, about 22 – 27 minutes. Top with heated gravy and enjoy.

These muffins can be made ahead and warmed up in the microwave. They freeze well, too.

Happy weight loss!

Dieting Can Be Murder

There’s a little too much to love about Carol Andrews these days, thanks to the extra calories she indulged in during her recent second honeymoon in Florida with her husband Jim. Determined to shed the extra pounds before the birth of her first grandchild, Carol joins Tummy Trimmers, a new, holistic approach to fighting – and winning – the battle of the bulge. But her weight loss regimen is interrupted by another group member, who collapses on Carol right after completing a meditation exercise, and dies.  When the evidence points to murder, the always-curious Carol can’t resist adding sleuthing to her personal weight loss routine.

 

Buy Links

paperback

ebook 

SLEUTHING WOMEN BLOG TOUR

Today marks the start of the Sleuthing Women blog tour. Come hop around the blogosphere with the ten authors of Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries as we talk about our books, our characters, and our lives. Hear from some of our characters as well. There will be prizes! Five lucky readers will be chosen at random to win an ebook copy of Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries.

Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries is a collection of full-length mysteries featuring murder and assorted mayhem by ten critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling authors. Each novel in the set is the first book in an established multi-book series—a total of over 3,000 pages of reading pleasure for lovers of amateur sleuth, caper, and cozy mysteries, with a combined total of over 1700 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4 stars.

Tour Schedule

May 9 – Judy Alter at Lisa Ks Book Reviews

May 9 – Lois Winston at 3 Partners inShopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too!

May 10 – RP Dahlke at Leigh Anderson Romance

May 11 – review at Back Porchervations

May 11 – Camille Minichino at A Holland Reads

May 12 – Mary Kennedy at fundinmental

May 13 – Susan Santangelo at Cassidy Salem Reads & Writes

May 14 – Maggie Toussaint at Laura’s interests

May 15 – Heather Haven at Queen of All She Reads

May 16 – review at Jersey Girl Book Reviews

May 17 – Jonnie Jacobs at Teresa TrentAuthor Site

May 18 – Vinnie Hansen at Island Confidential

May 19 – Lois Winston at Ashleyz Wonderland

May 20 – spotlight at Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book 

May 21 – review at StoreyBook Reviews

May 22 – review at Brooke Blogs

Buy Links

Kindle

Nook

Kobo

iTunes 

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--SLEUTHING WOMEN...AND AT LEAST ONE OF THEM CRAFTS!

Anastasia here again! Remember a couple of weeks ago I told you about Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries? At the time the boxed set was available for pre-order. It's now on sale everywhere. Just to refresh your memory, this all came about as a result of an idea author Lois Winston had awhile back. And if you love mysteries, you’re going to love this! 

Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries is a collection of full-length mysteries featuring murder and assorted mayhem by ten critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling authors. Each novel in the set is the first book in an established multi-book series—a total of over 3,000 pages of reading pleasure for lovers of amateur sleuth, caper, and cozy mysteries, with a combined total of over 1700 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4 stars. 

Titles include:

Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery by Lois Winston—Working mom Anastasia is clueless about her husband’s gambling addiction until he permanently cashes in his chips and her comfortable middle-class life craps out. He leaves her with staggering debt, his communist mother, and a loan shark demanding $50,000. Then she’s accused of murder…

Murder Among Neighbors, a Kate Austen Suburban Mystery by Jonnie Jacobs — When Kate Austen’s socialite neighbor, Pepper Livingston, is murdered, Kate becomes involved in a sea of steamy secrets that bring her face to face with shocking truths—and handsome detective Michael Stone.

Skeleton in a Dead Space, a Kelly O’Connell Mystery by Judy Alter—Real estate isn’t a dangerous profession until Kelly O’Connell stumbles over a skeleton and runs into serial killers and cold-blooded murderers in a home being renovated in Fort Worth. Kelly barges through life trying to keep from angering her policeman boyfriend Mike and protect her two young daughters.

In for a Penny, a Cleopatra Jones Mystery by Maggie Toussaint—Accountant Cleo faces an unwanted hazard when her golf ball lands on a dead banker. The cops think her BFF shot him, so Cleo sets out to prove them wrong. She ventures into the dating world, wrangles her teens, adopts the victim’s dog, and tries to rein in her mom…until the killer puts a target on Cleo’s back.

The Hydrogen Murder, a Periodic Table Mystery by Camille Minichino—A retired physicist returns to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts and moves into an apartment above her friends' funeral home. When she signs on to help the Police Department with a science-related homicide, she doesn't realize she may have hundreds of cases ahead of her.

Retirement Can Be Murder, A Baby Boomer Mystery by Susan Santangelo—Carol Andrews dreads her husband Jim’s upcoming retirement more than a root canal without Novocain. She can’t imagine anything worse than having an at-home husband with time on his hands and nothing to fill it—until Jim is suspected of murdering his retirement coach.

Dead Air, A Talk Radio Mystery by Mary Kennedy—Psychologist Maggie Walsh moves from NY to Florida to become the host of WYME's On the Couch with Maggie Walsh. When her guest, New Age prophet Guru Sanjay Gingii, turns up dead, her new roommate Lark becomes the prime suspect. Maggie must prove Lark innocent while dealing with a killer who needs more than just therapy.

A Dead Red Cadillac, A Dead Red Mystery by RP Dahlke—When her vintage Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask aero-ag pilot Lalla Bains why an elderly widowed piano teacher is found strapped in the driver’s seat. Lalla confronts suspects, informants, cross-dressers, drug-running crop dusters, and a crazy Chihuahua on her quest to find the killer.

Murder is a Family Business, an Alvarez Family Murder Mystery by Heather Haven—Just because a man cheats on his wife and makes Danny DeVito look tall, dark and handsome, is that any reason to kill him? The reluctant and quirky PI, Lee Alvarez, has her work cut out for her when the man is murdered on her watch. Of all the nerve.

Murder, Honey, a Carol Sabala Mystery by Vinnie Hansen—When the head chef collapses into baker Carol Sabala’s cookie dough, she is thrust into her first murder investigation. Suspects abound at Archibald’s, the swanky Santa Cruz restaurant where Carol works. The head chef cut a swath of people who wanted him dead from ex-lovers to bitter rivals to greedy relatives.

Buy Links

Kindle

Nook

Kobo

iTunes

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--ANASTASIA AND HER FELLOW SLEUTHS TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME

Anastasia here! If you love mysteries, you’re going to love this! Author Lois Winston, she who created moi, recently got together with nine of her writing buddies to join her in a project she’d had percolating for some time.

It turns out that there are actually mystery readers out there who have never heard of me. Can you imagine? So Lois figured if that was the case with me, the same was probably true for the sleuths her friends had created. We sleuths want readers to know about our exploits. We’re proud of the cases we’ve solved, especially when we figure things out well before the cops.

So Lois thought, what if she gathered together the first books in ten established mystery series and bundled them together into one awesome ebook boxed set? And what if she then priced that set of ten books at an incredible bargain? Wouldn’t that tempt mystery readers to get to know all of us? So that’s exactly what she did.

Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries is a collection of full-length mysteries featuring murder and assorted mayhem by ten critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling authors. Each novel in the set is the first book in an established multi-book series—a total of over 3,000 pages of reading pleasure for lovers of amateur sleuth, caper, and cozy mysteries, with a combined total of over 1700 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4 stars. Titles include:

Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery by Lois Winston—Working mom Anastasia is clueless about her husband’s gambling addiction until he permanently cashes in his chips and her comfortable middle-class life craps out. He leaves her with staggering debt, his communist mother, and a loan shark demanding $50,000. Then she’s accused of murder…

Murder Among Neighbors, a Kate Austen Suburban Mystery by Jonnie Jacobs — When Kate Austen’s socialite neighbor, Pepper Livingston, is murdered, Kate becomes involved in a sea of steamy secrets that bring her face to face with shocking truths—and handsome detective Michael Stone.

Skeleton in a Dead Space, a Kelly O’Connell Mystery by Judy Alter—Real estate isn’t a dangerous profession until Kelly O’Connell stumbles over a skeleton and runs into serial killers and cold-blooded murderers in a home being renovated in Fort Worth. Kelly barges through life trying to keep from angering her policeman boyfriend Mike and protect her two young daughters.

In for a Penny, a Cleopatra Jones Mystery by Maggie Toussaint—Accountant Cleo faces an unwanted hazard when her golf ball lands on a dead banker. The cops think her BFF shot him, so Cleo sets out to prove them wrong. She ventures into the dating world, wrangles her teens, adopts the victim’s dog, and tries to rein in her mom…until the killer puts a target on Cleo’s back.

The Hydrogen Murder, a Periodic Table Mystery by Camille Minichino—A retired physicist returns to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts and moves into an apartment above her friends' funeral home. When she signs on to help the Police Department with a science-related homicide, she doesn't realize she may have hundreds of cases ahead of her.

Retirement Can Be Murder, A Baby Boomer Mystery by Susan Santangelo—Carol Andrews dreads her husband Jim’s upcoming retirement more than a root canal without Novocain. She can’t imagine anything worse than having an at-home husband with time on his hands and nothing to fill it—until Jim is suspected of murdering his retirement coach.

Dead Air, A Talk Radio Mystery by Mary Kennedy—Psychologist Maggie Walsh moves from NY to Florida to become the host of WYME's On the Couch with Maggie Walsh. When her guest, New Age prophet Guru Sanjay Gingii, turns up dead, her new roommate Lark becomes the prime suspect. Maggie must prove Lark innocent while dealing with a killer who needs more than just therapy.

A Dead Red Cadillac, A Dead Red Mystery by RP Dahlke—When her vintage Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask aero-ag pilot Lalla Bains why an elderly widowed piano teacher is found strapped in the driver’s seat. Lalla confronts suspects, informants, cross-dressers, drug-running crop dusters, and a crazy Chihuahua on her quest to find the killer.

Murder is a Family Business, an Alvarez Family Murder Mystery by Heather Haven—Just because a man cheats on his wife and makes Danny DeVito look tall, dark and handsome, is that any reason to kill him? The reluctant and quirky PI, Lee Alvarez, has her work cut out for her when the man is murdered on her watch. Of all the nerve.

Murder, Honey, a Carol Sabala Mystery by Vinnie Hansen—When the head chef collapses into baker Carol Sabala’s cookie dough, she is thrust into her first murder investigation. Suspects abound at Archibald’s, the swanky Santa Cruz restaurant where Carol works. The head chef cut a swath of people who wanted him dead from ex-lovers to bitter rivals to greedy relatives.

Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries is currently available for pre-order and will go on sale May 1^st.

Buy Links

Kindle

Nook

Kobo

iTunes