BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--AN INTERVIEW WITH MIMI HARMONY

If you’ve ever read any of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, you know that I love my mother—when I’m not on the verge of killing her. Or killing author Lois Winston for instilling my mother with some very annoying traits. Mama can be extremely manipulative, but she’s got a heart of 24-karat gold when it comes to her grandsons and me, and that tends to negate much of her annoying side—sometimes.

Today we’d like to introduce you to another strong-willed but well-meaning mother, Maria Ruth “Mimi” Spinelli Harmony from Four Uncles and a Wedding. Mimi and husband Howard are the parents of Polly Faith Harmony, who claims her parents were stoned when they named her. They insist their daughter’s name couldn’t be more appropriate. Keep reading to find out why.

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

Actually, I do believe Lois is firmly entrenched in my camp. She’s helping me find a husband for my daughter, and you know what they say, two heads are better than one—especially when it comes to my stubborn offspring.

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

I’m a go-getter. I set goals, work toward them, and don’t give up until I’ve achieved that goal. Nothing and no one gets in my way.

What do you like least about yourself?

Nothing, really. If there’s something I don’t like about myself, I work to change it. I’m a very positive person.

What is the strangest thing your author has had you do or had happen to you?

She created a rather unique family for me that gives new meaning to the word unorthodox. Howard and I met in Haight-Ashbury in the late sixties during a tune-in-turn-on-drop-out weekend escapade. We’re both the products of nonconformist parents. On my side, my parents came from the Lower East Side, only my mother was a Russian Jew and my father an Italian Catholic. You can imagine the Romeo-Juliet scenario their romance caused back in the late nineteen-forties.

On Howard’s side, his mother was a Boston blueblood who traced her Episcopalian heritage back to the Founding Fathers. So did his father, but he was a Unitarian—in other words, a heretic as far as his mother’s family was concerned.

 

Both sets of parents are long gone. Howard and I were only children, much to the relief of our grandparents, or so we were told. Our uncles are the only remaining family—Uncle Aaron Goldfarb, the rabbi; Uncle Francis Xavier Spinelli, the Catholic priest; Uncle Calvin Trusdale, the Episcopalian priest; and Uncle Ralph Waldo Emerson Harmony, the gay Unitarian minister.

This very unorthodox lineage explains the name we chose for our daughter: Polly Faith Harmony. And no, contrary to what Polly will tell you, we were not stoned when we named her. It was a very deliberate decision to honor all parts of her heritage.

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

I argue with my daughter far more than I argue with Lois. Lois and I are on the same wavelength most of the time.

What is your greatest fear?

That by the time my daughter makes me a grandmother, I’ll be too old to enjoy my grandchildren.

What makes you happy?

My life and my family make me happy. About the only thing I’m not happy about is my daughter’s refusal to find herself a husband and start making those grandchildren for me, but I’m working on it. As I said earlier, I don’t give up.

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

I wish Lois had given Polly some brothers and sisters. That would have increased my odds of becoming a grandmother before I wind up with one foot in the grave.

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

Obviously, that’s my stubborn daughter. She turns her nose up at every eligible guy I introduce her to. She even created a list of The Top Ten Reasons to Call it Quits After the First Date. She never gives these men a chance.

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

Any of my friends who have grandchildren.

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

Lois can be found at her website and lurking behind the scenes at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog.

What's next for you?

I certainly hope it’s grandmotherhood!

Four Uncles and a Wedding

Polly Faith Harmony is the ultimate ecumenical love child. Born to former hippies turned millionaire entrepreneurs, she’s one part Jewish, one part Catholic, one part Episcopalian, and one part Unitarian–hence her name. Could have been worse. Her flower power parents might have named her Polly Esther.

Aside from her joke of a name, her great-uncles, one from each side of the family, are all members of the clergy, not to mention golfing buddies and best friends. To keep harmony in the Harmony household, Polly has grown up alternately attending all four houses of worship.

When Polly’s feminist mother decides it’s about time Polly settles down and start providing her with grandchildren before her biological clock runs out, she enlists the uncles’ help. Polly and her friend Joni have penned the Top 10 Reasons to Call it Quits After the First Date, but Polly soon finds that thanks to her interfering relatives, the list is growing at an alarming rate. Worse yet, she learns that loving relatives on a mission rarely play fair.

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#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--MEET CONNIE STEDWORTH

Did you know that I’m not the only crafty character author Lois Winston has created? Long before she conceived me, she gave birth to Connie Stedworth, the Martha Stewart of the Midwest (but being that she’s from the Midwest, Connie’s a much kinder, gentler version of the crafting diva.) Connie first made her appearance in Talk Gertie to Me, the first book Lois ever sold. Unfortunately, she was stuck in out-of-print limbo for several years. A few years ago Talk Gertie to Me and the novella romantic mystery sequel, Elementary, My Dear Gertie, became available as ebooks. Now, Talk Gertie to Me is finally once again available in print and for the first time, so is Elementary, My Dear Gertie. Both also have new covers.

If you enjoy the humor of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, you won’t be disappointed with Talk Gertie to Me and Elementary, My Dear Gertie. A word of advice, though: due to the hysterical nature of these books, it’s best not to read them while drinking anything. And if you enjoy the crafts that are included in the mystery series, you’ll find one of Connie’s trademark crafts in Talk Gertie to Me.

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Talk Gertie to Me

Two years ago Nori Stedworth fled the conservative mentality of both her parents and Ten Commandments, Iowa, for Manhattan. She loves her new life—until one devastating afternoon that culminates with the arrival of her mother. Mom Connie is suffering from middle-age meltdown. Her only identity is as a wife and mother, but her husband is a workaholic, and her daughter is halfway across the country. Grandchildren would give her life new purpose. If only Nori would come to her senses and marry town mortician and most eligible bachelor Eugene Draymore.

To that end, Mom sets off to bring Nori home. But when she meets Nori’s neighbor, her plans take an unexpected twist, and she’s thrust headfirst into a career as the next Martha Stewart. Suddenly, she’s a somebody in her own right and reconsiders returning to her old life.

As a coping mechanism, Nori resurrects Gertie, her adolescent imaginary friend. A laptop mix-up lands her musings in the hands of Mackenzie Randolph, a talk-radio station manager on deadline to boost sagging ratings or lose his job. He knows he’s found the answer to his prayers when he reads Nori’s make-believe correspondence.

And maybe he’s found much more.

Meanwhile Dad, with Eugene in tow, comes in search of his AWOL wife.Tempers flare when Mom refuses to return home. However, when she and Dad hear Nori on the radio, they unite to “save” her from the corruption of both Mac and Manhattan.

And that’s when things really get interesting.

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Elementary,My Dear Gertie

In this novella sequel to the award-winning Talk Gertie To Me, two years have passed since the happily-ever-after that isn’t doing so well. Nori Stedworth has moved in with the love of her life, Mackenzie Randolph, much to her parents’ displeasure. They’re coping as best as parents from Ten Commandments, Iowa can. They want Mac to make an honest woman of their daughter, and that means nothing short of marriage. Mac is all for exchanging I do’s. He’s even bought the ring, but before he can pop the question, an explosion hurls him and Nori right into the middle of a murder investigation. Gertie, Nori's alter-ego, can't help but lend her acerbic wit to the twists and turns as the town is turned upside down in the search for a murderer and arsonist, and yet another scandal envelopes the not-so-pious residents of Ten Commandments.

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR SUZY TURNER

Suzy Turner is a Brit living in Portugal. She’s worked as a journalist, assistant editor, features editor, and magazine editor. Nearly four years ago she turned her attention to fiction and has since written six young adult novels and recently published her first chick lit novel, Forever Fredless. Today she joins us with a sneak peek at that book. Learn more about Suzy at her website, her chick lit blog, and her YA blog. – AP

Forever Fredless

Kate Robinson has spent the past two decades yearning to find her soul mate, the boy she found and then lost during a family holiday. Shortly after her twenty-eighth birthday, however, she inherits a fortune from an old family friend and becomes something of an overnight celebrity. Can her new-found fame lead her to him after all this time?

EXCERPT

Thank God for anti-perspirant, I thought as I sat on the couch and waited for the countdown to begin. I clutched at my hands until they were white and looked across at the two people sitting opposite, both completely at ease in front of the cameras.

Five, four, three, two, one...

'Welcome back to this morning's edition of Good Morning GB,' announced Ireland Rothschild, the blonde-haired, blue eyed darling of morning TV. 'I'm here with Fergus O'Reilly and we've a special guest with us this morning. None other than Britain's love-struck multi-millionaire, Kate Robinson. 'Welcome, Kate,' she said with a dazzling smile aimed more towards the camera than at me.

As my cheeks began to heat up, I was so grateful to the make-up artist, who had insisted on caking on the foundation before the show had started. In fact, I had so much make-up on that I was hoping once I'd removed it, nobody would recognise me when I headed to the airport in my now rather stupidly chosen car. I couldn't exactly blend in driving a pink Mini could I?

'Good morning,' I whispered shyly.

Fergus grinned back at me, tilting his head as if he was about to speak to a child. 'Now, tell us, Kate dear, how does it feel to never have to worry about money ever again?' he asked, his toothpaste advert teeth twinkling beneath the heat of the studio lights.

'Erm, well, I guess it's... erm, kind of... erm,' I felt so bloody stupid. Great time for my brain to stop working. 'I - erm. Great,' I nodded. 'Great, really great.' Idiot.

Ireland glanced across at her grey-haired colleague and pouted before nodding. 'Tell us how you knew this man. This,' she glanced down at the iPad on her lap and continued, 'Samuel?'

I cleared my throat and lifted my head, feeling like my brain was back in action. 'He was a very good friend of the family, some years ago,' I answered.

'Just a friend? Why did he leave you all his money and his property?' asked Fergus.

'He didn't have any family and I guess you could say that my mother and I were the closest he ever had to a family.'

'Isn't that lovely?' pouted Ireland. 'You certainly are a lucky woman. But what about your mother? Didn't she receive any of his inheritance?'

'No,' I said before swallowing hard. 'My mother lives a rather... nomadic lifestyle, in Africa. She doesn't want any of it. All she asked of me was to donate a sum to charity which, of course, I have done.'

'She lives in Africa? A nomadic lifestyle? That sounds intriguing. Perhaps we should interview her one of these days,' laughed Ireland and Fergus together.

'Have you splashed out on anything since receiving your inheritance back in June?' they asked, leaning forward eagerly awaiting my answer.

'Yes I have actually. I bought a car and a new house.'

'Well good for you, Kate. But now, most of us are curious about this boy you lost. Tell us about him?'

Oh no. Why did I agree to this?

Taking a deep breath, I knew I had no choice. Several articles had been printed since the one in Liberty; everyone wanted to know more and nobody was going to leave me alone until I told them everything.

'He was just a boy who I had a connection with when I was much, much younger. It was at Skegness. At an afternoon disco for kids. I was dancing and I felt someone touch my back and when I turned around there he was.  The most beautiful boy I'd ever seen,' I said, stopping and smiling as I reminisced. ‘It was one of the happiest memories of my life.'

Sighing, I continued, 'We just looked at each other and it was like everything else just disappeared into the background. We stood staring, for what seemed like ages. I could barely move. And then, almost as soon as it had begun, my dad appeared and took me away. I couldn't do anything as we walked to the car. I looked around for the boy but he was gone. And then, just as we were driving away, I turned around in my seat and there he was. He had a daffodil in his hand. I always assumed he'd gone to pick it for me, but that's just a childish fantasy, I guess. The whole thing is probably nothing but a childish fantasy, really.'

Ireland was very carefully dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, pretending to be moved, while Fergus smiled sadly.

'What a beautiful story, Kate. I don't believe for one second that this is a childish fantasy. It's romantic and beautiful,' Ireland said.

'Now, tell us, Kate. Why did you call him Fred?' asked Fergus.

Smiling, I explained about the Right Said Fred song, just as the music began in the background.

'What a wonderful tale. Thank you, Kate, for joining us today. It's been a pleasure having you with us to share your story,' said Fergus.

'Thank you,' I whispered before the camera moved back to Ireland as she straightened her skirt and looked alluring.

'Do you remember this moment in time?' she asked. 'Are you the elusive Fred? We'd love to hear from you. You can contact us at...'

Before I could hear anything else, I was ushered off the couch and back behind the scenes where Jo stood, waiting patiently for me, with open arms.

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COOKING WITH CLORIS--GUEST AUTHOR MORGAN ST. JAMES & NOODLE KUGEL

Author, speaker, and columnist Morgan St. James created the Silver Sisters Mystery series with her sister Phyllice Bradner. She also writes by herself and with other co-authors. Morgan presents workshops and is a frequent panel member or moderator at writers conferences and meetings and has written over 500 published articles about the writing world. Learn more about Morgan and her books at her website and blog. – AP  

A Corpse in the Soup, named Best Mystery Audio Book of 2007 by USA Book News, was my first published mystery novel. Ten published books later, with number eleven (a true crime novel) about to be released, it is still one of my favorites because my sister and I became best friends through writing it.

The Silver Sisters series all began in 1996 with a phone conversation with my sister, Phyllice Bradner, who lived in Alaska at the time. We hadn’t really known each other well until my mother had mini-strokes and Phyllice had to come to Los Angeles to help me get Mom settled in an assisted living facility. You see, Phyllice had moved to Alaska when she was twenty and our mother was the communication conduit between us for many years. We actually only spoke to each other directly a few times a year as Mom always told us what the other one was up to. There was no unlimited long distance then.

During the two weeks Phyllice spent in L.A. helping me with Mom, among many other things we discovered in common, we found we were both fans of funny mysteries. Not only that, but both of us had been published in newspapers and magazines and Phyllice had even won many awards from the Alaskan Press Club. Can you guess what came next?

After Phyllice was back in Alaska I called her with my brilliant idea. “Let’s write our own mystery series. Here’s my idea: sister sleuths with one living in Beverly Hills and one in Juneau, Alaska.”

She picked up on the idea and answered, “Let’s make them identical twins. That’s more fun than sisters if they’re going to be amateur sleuths. We can use the fact that they’re identical for lots of cool situations.”

Moving right along I said, “Okay. What if they’re two very different personalities and have extremely opposite styles. The one from Beverly Hills is high fashion, writes—oh, I don’t know—maybe an advice column for something like the Beverly Hills Blabbermouth, and the other lives in Juneau, is an over-the-hill flower child who dresses in vintage clothes and owns an antique store.”

“Hmmm,” Phyllice mused. “Not exact, but it sounds somewhat like us. I like it.”

“Well, not exactly. Can I be a rich widow who lives on a fabulous estate? I’d like that a lot, even if I’m just rich in a book. Remember, we used to live only two houses outside of Beverly Hills.”

“Yeah. The street name changed at the corner. Okay, I’ll give you that. You can be wealthy. While I don’t wish it on you, being a widow lets you have some romantic adventures. Here’s another idea. What if their mother and uncle live in cottages on your estate and they are former vaudeville magicians? We could have some fun with that.”

Several conversations later the Silver Sisters were born and we began plotting out our first book. We wanted it to be quirky with twists and turns but lots of clues along the way and the oldsters were just the ticket to add some spice.

Phyllice’s late husband loved to watch cooking shows like the Iron Chef and we cooked up the Greatest Gourmet Gladiators Tournament with tons of Hollywood hype and some over-the-top scenes. We love goofy names, and that is part of the charm of this series.

The competing chefs were Caesar Romano, the romantic chef; Biff Wellington, the aerobic chef who exercises while he cooks; Moishe Matsumoto, the King of Kosher Sushi; and, Toulouse Jankowski, the Polish Cajun. During the competition one of them gets killed and that leads the twins and the oldsters on a merry chase in search of the killer.

You might wonder why they got involved, and it’s simple. The Beverly Hills twin, Godiva Olivia DuBois, has been buried under an avalanche of mail from lost souls seeking advice since her column, “Ask G.O.D.” (her initials) became syndicated. The letters and answers are all comical. She needs help and lures her twin Goldie Silver’s budding-chef daughter, Chili Pepper, down from Alaska to attend a live broadcast of Romano’s TV show, “Flirting With Food” plus tickets to the Greatest Gourmet Gladiator. What she really wants is help answering the letters.

Four tasters from the audience are poisoned on Romano’s show, and Godiva is one of them. Never one to miss an opportunity, when he visits her in the hospital she is very flirtatious and snags the handsome chef as her boyfriend. Then one of the competing chefs at the Tournament is killed, Romano is the prime suspect and all four Silvers are determined to prove his innocence.

Mother Flossie and Uncle Sterling Silver still perform every Thursday at the Hollywood Home for Has-Beens, but their first love is to go undercover in disguise. Whether the twins know about their escapades or not, they are determined to help find the killer, so, of course, the loveable oldsters wind up in jeopardy. Their antics have delighted readers so much, that the 80-year-old mother and uncle now have a fan base of their own.

Flossie Silver, is not a typical Jewish mother. She is a magician who believes in astrology and tarot cards, as does Goldie, but she is also a great Jewish cook and has given Godiva’s cook Martina all of her recipes. Throughout the investigation Flossie and Martina ply the Italian chef with wonderful Jewish family recipes, particularly chicken soup and noodle kugel (a tantalizing sweet noodle pudding.) After A Corpse in the Soup was published, we received many emails asking for the kugel recipe. It was one of our mother’s favorite creations and was passed down from generation to generation. We included it at the back of the second book, Seven Deadly Samovars. Here it is. Try it. You’ll like it.

Flossie’s Fabulous Noodle Kugel

Ingredients:

8 oz. pkg. of wide egg noodles

1/4 lb butter, melted (margarine substitute optional)

1 cup golden raisins

3 eggs, beaten (4 eggs optional)

4 heaping tablespoons sour cream

4 oz. cream cheese, softened and rolled into tiny balls

1/2 cup sugar (to taste) mix with a small amount of cinnamon for taste and color

1 cup milk (a little more if you like it more moist)

packaged cornflake crumbs (optional)

Cook the noodles. Rinse in cool water. Mix all ingredients with cooked noodles. Pour into 8x10 greased Pyrex pan. Top with packaged cornflake crumbs (optional) and bake in preheated 350º oven for about an hour. Cool and cut into squares for serving. (You can double the recipe and freeze some, too.)

—Based on a recipe from the authors’ mother Rosetta.

A Corpse in the Soup

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