AN INTERVIEW WITH CRYSTAL HAGAN FROM AUTHOR CHRISTINE DESMET'S MISCHIEF IN MOONSHINE SERIES

Today we sit down for a chat with Crystal Hagan from author Christine Desmet’s Mischief in Moonstone Series. 

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

I was teaching first grade in a village called Moonstone that hugs Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. I also live on a small acreage and enjoyed my animals, particularly my reindeer, Rudolph, that was going to be featured in our live-animal holiday display until he was stolen. 

 

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

Patience. If you teach first graders you have to be patient and kind, and of course a peacemaker because of the occasional scuffles among the kids.

 

What do you like least about yourself? 

My inability to give up some old habits—even an old boyfriend. I’m a bit too much of a traditionalist, too. When I apologize to people for anything small or otherwise, I always have to bring them a pie or cake I’ve baked, or Christmas cookies at this time of year.

 

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

She hid my reindeer Rudolph on me in a mansion we call the North Pole here in Moonstone. An older gentleman who used to play Santa Claus lives there, but he’s become a curmudgeon. And now, his rather handsome son is back from Arizona visiting for the holidays, and he says they’re not returning Rudolph to me. I believe his father is in cahoots with our mayor who wants my live-animal display discontinued. So, my author has me fighting for Rudolph on two fronts. And my first-graders are very upset because they think Santa Claus can’t find our town without Rudolph leading the sleigh.

 

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

I don’t argue with her so much as the local townspeople and the two men living in the North Pole mansion. Some of my first-graders don’t have much. Some won’t be able to see a parent for Christmas for any number of reasons. My author likes romance, and she’d like me to settle into a romantic story, but I tell her that Peter LeBarron may be handsome, but he stole Rudolph and I want him back! For me, the mystery has to be solved soon so the kids aren’t feeling sad.

 

What is your greatest fear? 

That I won’t be able to bring a good holiday to my first-graders and to the people in my quaint, little village. This is a poor area, and some of the children need me to come through for them with happy things like being able to pet Rudolph.

 

What makes you happy? 

I enjoy seeing my students smile. And baking and making candies. I make homemade popcorn balls for the students and teach them games in the snow, such as “Duck, Duck, Goose.” I’m hoping that the father of one of my students will be able to come home for Christmas. Jobs are scarce here in northern Wisconsin, and some of the guys travel to other states for construction or other jobs.

 

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

Sticking with my old boyfriend too long. I’m the loyal type, and somehow I keep excusing his slights or so-called forgetfulness. This new guy Peter LeBarron keeps pointing out I need to consider that we all outgrow people just as we outgrow other things. 

 

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

Peter LeBarron certainly bugs me. Those feelings have to do with him growing up here until high school when he left for private school and college. He essentially abandoned his father, I believe. He says there’s more to the story. But do I have the patience to listen to the man who stole my reindeer and won’t give back Rudolph? Of course, I don’t get along with Mayor Bob Winters either because he dislikes my ideas for drawing tourists to Moonstone for the holidays. Two men who don’t believe in Rudolph leading a sleigh “slay” me!

 

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

My best friend Rita Johnson. Rita is the postmistress in Moonstone. Her daughter Gretchen is in my class. Rita is so together, smart, and very quick with her wit and actions. She put up a flier on the “FBI Most Wanted” board for my missing Rudolph, and of course it said something to the effect “last seen with Peter LeBarron.” Peter wanted to rip that down, but of course defacing federal property might land him in jail. That action of Rita’s on my behalf began to change the dynamic in my relationship with Peter LeBarron. I learned he had a lot more secrets besides kidnapping Rudolph.

 

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

My author is at her website, where you'll find links to her other social media, and at Blackbird Writers, where you'll find a link to theBlackbird Writers Discussion Forum and the group's newsletter.

 

What's next for you?

My author has me continuing to get involved with new people coming to Moonstone. Murder and other types of mysteries appear in the remainder of the Mischief-in-Moonstone Series novellas. All have sweet romances included. In Misbehavin’ in Moonstone, No. 2 in the series, I meet the new chef Kirsten Peplinski, who discovers there’s an illegal gambling boat off-shore in Lake Superior featuring scantily clad servers. The men in town suddenly say they’re going fishing. Kirsten discovers evidence the party boat’s captain might actually be a pirate scouting Moonstone to steal jewels and other valuables. 

 

When Rudolph was Kidnapped

Mischief in Moonstone Series, Book 1

 

When her pet reindeer, Rudolph, is stolen from the live animal holiday display, first-grade teacher Crystal Hagan has a big problem on her hands. Her students fear that Christmas will be canceled. Ironically, the prime suspect is a man who lives in a mansion known as the “North Pole.” And to her shock, Peter LeBarron admits to kidnapping Rudolph and he won’t give him back without some romantic “negotiations.”

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JUSTIN MURPHY ON BOOKS FEATURING DISABLED CHARACTERS

Today we welcome back Justin Murphy. In both his fiction and nonfiction, Justin explores many themes in his work, including probing into the darkness of pure evil and exploring obscure figures often forgotten in entertainment. Today he talks about books that would appeal to disabled readers. Learn more about Justin and his books at his Facebook Author Page.  

What Books Interest Disabled Readers?

For the last several years, there has been lots of discussion about the need for more diversity and inclusivity. Especially when it pertains to issues concerning African Americans, Asians, and those of Latino or Hispanic heritage, among other races and ethnicities as well. There are also mentions of giving women more prominent roles in fiction, along with the LGBTQ community. This way readers of such backgrounds see some reflection of themselves in stories with characters they can identify with.

 

Yet as a reader and author with a mild case of Cerebral Palsy caring for an autistic brother, there doesn’t seem to be much representation for the disabled in comparison. As with any of these cases and in general, there’s most likely a tug of war between literary and commercial genre fiction. With the former, there’s often a first-person story chronicling one’s ordeals and allows readers to see things through their eyes. The latter is mostly, but not always, a more accessible third-person story in the categories of crime/mystery/detective or sci-fi/fantasy/horror. Either concealing important issues in the guise of these stories or providing an escape into a more imaginative situation where one escapes such.

Two novels come to mind where a first-person story dealing with a mentally disabled and/or neurodivergent character engages in a detective story. One is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close written by Jonathan Safran-Foer about Oskar Schell, a boy with Asperger’s who lost his father on 9/11. He sets out across New York City in search of the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father. 

 

The other book is The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon, about Christopher John Francis Boone, another autistic boy who discovers the neighbor’s dog impaled by a garden fork. Despite being considered the prime suspect, he sets out to investigate the canine’s murder.

 

I’ve read both novels and feel they do a good job of staying entrenched in the world of a first-person literary novel while incorporating elements of said detective story. The same could be said for House Rules Written by Jodi Piccoult. Though in most cases, I lean toward the latter myself. In terms of the fiction, I’ve been reading a collection of stories by sci-fi/fantasy author Ray Bradbury, also read similar volumes by legendary mystery authors Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and James M. Cain. While I can’t speak for other disabled readers and their feelings on these matters, embracing more disabled narratives and placing them in a genre context might be taking several steps forward.

 For the most part, disabled narratives are either of a first-person literary or non-fiction nature. But as a reader, I want to see more risks taken with this subject matter. A broader crime/mystery/detective or sci-fi/fantasy/horror story involving a disabled character, whether he or she is a main or supporting player. Even better if such were a series detailing one’s ongoing ordeals within these settings. Yet even readers know it takes a lot of skill and craft to balance the realistic struggle of said character with a more imaginative genre scenario, and consistent on sequential basis. Though such is not impossible and could work very well.

 

It’s one thing to read about one’s struggles being recounted in first-person, whether it be factual or fictionalized. You’re being told this individual’s story. Yet when placed in a genre context, the author shows you their ordeal, whether it be a crime/detective/mystery story or a sci-fi/fantasy/horror tale. You’re learning a broader social message which their life or perspective tries to convey. Yet it remains up to the reader to decode the fiction from the more concealed portion of the author’s life. Odds are, this would be a worthwhile reading journey and enable these observers to think for themselves.

 

While these ideas may be ahead of the curve, a first person literary or non-fiction story might be too confining. A genre story or series with disabled character front and center, or with regular involvement in the stories broadens the profile and understanding of these people and their issues. It would be great to see such a thing come to pass sooner or later.

 

(Note from Lois and Anastasia: The Maid by Nita Prose is a cozy mystery with an autistic amateur sleuth.)

#COOKING WITH CLORIS -- COZY MYSTERY AUTHOR ELLIE FIELDS AND CHOCOLATE DECADENCE CAKE

Author Ellie Fields weaves small town charm, baking recipes, and gardening tips into her cozy mysteries. Her diverse fictional town of Cricket Creek is an amalgam of the small towns up and down the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains where she lives and where she finds inspiration for her stories and characters. Learn more about her and her books at her website. 

Who Doesn't Love Chocolate?

 

Um…that would be me, actually. What??? Seriously????

 

Truthfully, it’s not that I don’t like chocolate, it’s that I’d rather enjoy something lemon-y or coconut-y, especially when it comes to cakes. But given that my friends, family, and hubby all love chocolate, that’s the flavor of cake I usually make for birthdays, and wow, do I have a fabulous chocolate cake recipe that everyone seems to love!

 

In Wedding Planned to Death, my amateur sleuth Cicely Rue is a gardener, not a baker. In fact, the only thing she likes baking are pies and pizza. She’d much rather have her hands deep in the rich soil of her garden than in a bowl of batter (although she did win the blue ribbon for her pies at the County Fair ten years running). In fact, she loves gardening so much that when she’s laid off from her job, she starts a business hosting weddings in her lovely flower garden.

 

Cicely's best friend Josie Barrett owns Creeky Sweets, a bakery in the small fictional town of Cricket Creek, California, and she bakes like a dream. She even bakes the cakes for the weddings Cicely hosts at her place. I love writing Josie’s character, because I can almost smell and taste all the goodies in the bakery as I write. Usually, when I’m done writing one of the scenes set in Creeky Sweets, I’m inspired to bake something, which my friends and hubby always appreciate! And each time I create some delicious confection, I save the recipe to use in one of my Wedding Garden Cozy Mystery books.

 

In Wedding Planned to Death, I shared one of the recipes from Josie’s bakery that included lavender from Cicely’s garden: Creeky Sweets Lavender and Lemon cookies. I also included a recipe for a pie Cicely Rue bakes in the story: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie. Both are delicious, and I knew that for the next book in the series, Grave the Date, I needed to include other equally yummy recipes. I had several picked out from cakes, cookies, and breads I’ve baked before, but ended up not including my favorite chocolate cake recipe in the book. It’s too good not to share, though, so here it is.

 

First, though, answer me this: Do you love chocolate? Or are you like me, more of a fan of other flavors? And if so, what’s your favorite cake flavor?

 

Chocolate Decadence Cake

 

Ingredients:

3 cups (plus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour

3 cups granulated sugar

1-1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

4 large eggs

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1-1/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup warm dark coffee

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Butter or Crisco to coat the cake tins

Three parchment paper circles to fit the bottom of 9-inch cake pans

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Using a paper towel, coat three nine inch cake pans with butter or Crisco, then sift flour into the pans and shake to make sure the butter is thoroughly coated. Tap out excess. Place parchment paper circles inside the cake pan. Set pans aside somewhere cool.

 

Using a wire whisk (or on low speed if you’re using a stand mixer), mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt until thoroughly incorporated.

 

In a separate bowl, add the eggs, buttermilk, warm water, warm coffee, oil, and vanilla, then beat by hand with a wire whisk just until the eggs are broken up.

 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, beating with a wire whisk for about five minutes or if using a stand mixer, about two to three minutes until the cake mixture is smooth and the wet and dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Be careful to not overmix.

 

Using a tare scale or another method, divide the batter equally among the three pans. 

 

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Check for doneness by sticking a toothpick in the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done. If it’s sticky, bake for another two minutes, then test again, using a fresh toothpick. Be careful to test quickly, as you don’t want all the heat to escape your oven.

 

Cool in the pans on wire racks. I typically cool ten to twenty minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Put a wire rack on top of the cake, grab it carefully, then flip it over and hopefully the cake will slide right out of the pan. If you’re using parchment paper, be sure to peel the paper off at this point. Allow to cool completely (at least another hour). 

 

Layer the cake, adding a ring of Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttermilk on the bottom layer and filling it in with chocolate ganache. Repeat for the next layer. Add the top layer, then crumb-coat the cake with a thin layer of the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Set in the refrigerator for an hour. When the frosting is solid, remove cake from refrigerator and coat with a generous layer of the frosting, then serve and enjoy!

  

Chocolate Ganache

 

Ingredients:

8 ounces heavy cream

16 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (room-temperature)

 

Grate the chocolate and place it in a dry medium-sized bowl. Set it aside.  Grating the chocolate results in an easier melt. (Note: be sure all utensils are dry.)

 

In a heavy saucepan, heat cream over medium heat until little bubbles begin to form along the edges. Do NOT boil! I never leave my saucepan at this step.

 

Pour the cream into a dry medium-sized bowl. Carefully add the chocolate to the cream, stirring until just incorporated. Let it sit for five minutes, unbothered.

 

Once the mixture has set for five minutes, with a dry wooden spoon, stir the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is fully incorporated into the cream.

 

Cool completely, then whip for five minutes on high in a stand mixer.

 

Put in a piping bag to use as the filling in the cake. 

 

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttermilk Frosting

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cold dark coffee

7-8 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/4 cup (or less) milk

 

Using a hand or stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. 

 

Slowly incorporate the cocoa powder, then add the vanilla and cold coffee and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

 

Add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time. If the mixture gets too thick, add milk, one tablespoon at a time until it gets to a good spreading consistency (this is a thick frosting so be sure not to add too much milk). 

 

Wedding Planned to Death

A Wedding Garden Cozy Mystery, Book 1

 

When introverted gardener Cicely Rue loses her job and learns she and her son (along with her dog, cat, and all her chickens) may have to move away from Cricket Creek, wedding planner Sabrina Mattingly—the town’s former bully—tosses her a lifeline by offering a contract to host a wedding in Cicely’s picturesque flower garden.

 

Cicely’s at first reluctant (host weddings? with people?), but given the choice between losing her home or becoming more sociable, she soon agrees to turn her garden into a wedding venue. Even as Cicely grows increasingly nervous, the town vendors excitedly prepare for the wedding. The wedding plans are coming along beautifully . . . until the wedding planner turns up dead and buried in Cicely's compost heap!

 

Milo Levine may be a brilliant detective, but he’s dead wrong when he makes Cicely his prime suspect just because her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. Doesn’t seem to matter that Milo had once been her friend, nor does it matter that Cicely has a blooming suspicion others in town have motive for murder.

 

Despite Milo ordering her to steer clear of the investigation, Cicely and her dog Otis dig for clues rooted deep in the town’s history to prove she’s not a murderer—and to find out who is before Cicely becomes the murderer's next victim!

 

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COZY PARANORMAL AUTHOR AVERY DANIELS CRAFTS A VAMPIRE SLEUTH WITH A SUNNY OUTLOOK ON LIFE

Paranormal cozy author Avery Daniels resides in Colorado with two brother black cats as her spirited companions and volunteers at a cat shelter. She enjoys scrapbooking, card making, photography, painting and crochet. Learn more about Avery and her books at her website where you'll also find links to her other social media.

Affirmations and a Positive Thought Vampire?

I knew I wanted to write a paranormal cozy mystery, but the standard is to make the main character a witch. I wanted to stand out, so I told myself the witch would make a good sidekick, but not the heroine. So, I went with a vampire.

 

Vampires aren’t very cozy, so I had my work cut out for me. First, I wanted her to counter the standard image of a vampire. I gave her curly blond hair and glasses and named her Misty Summers. She’s like an adult version of Shirley Temple. That’s a good start but I had to make her more unique to break the barrier some folks have against a vampire lead for a cozy mystery.

 

What would be the most against-type characteristic for Misty Summers? What about a vampire who is a positive thought believer, who says affirmations and is working on being the best person she can be, who reads self-help books and has a heart for helping people? She a sunny, fun vampire.

 

In the process I had to get a little more into what affirmations were to have Misty be a believer. But to understand affirmations, we must address the inner critic. Everyone has an inner critic. Some have a more aggressive critic than others. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey refers to it as the scripts that have been handed to us by parents, society, cultural influence, friends, co-workers etc. It is the concept of how other’s perception of us and our behavior shapes that inner critic, so we perpetuate that perception with our inner thought life. 

 

Have you ever heard of the "self-fulfilling prophecy?" It’s the theory that, if you believe in a certain outcome, you will act in accordance with your belief of the outcome in such a manner that you actually bring about that outcome. So, if your inner critic keeps telling you that you really don’t deserve such-and-such or people like you don’t get such lucky breaks etc. you are likely to act in a way to make sure you don't get it.

 

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
- Patrick Overton

 

Before long that inner critic can become the self-saboteur of our lives. But we can start to address our self-defeating inner thoughts with a technique called Affirmations. And that is what my “look on the sunny side” Misty Summers does. She uses affirmations to deal with her lacking self-esteem from her uninterested parents. 

 

Affirmations are constructive, positive statements that you repeat to yourself aloud at least once daily. More often is better. Many make it part of their morning and evening ritual to incorporate it into their habits. Affirmations don’t work miracles, so if you don’t like yourself or have some deep traumas, this won’t work. Affirmations are a slow reprogramming of established outlooks. It will take a while to work, but it does help shift that negative talk as you become more aware of it and consciously reject them with new constructive thoughts.

 

If you are interested, you can write your own affirmations. The book Self-Esteem for Dummies by S. Renee Smith provides many tips

 

In the first book, Misty Summers uses affirmations to deal with becoming a vampire. She keeps saying them every morning. She will continue to use affirmation in future books, but as she grows and adjusts I’m sure she will develop new ones to help her where she is at in the moment. I really like this aspect of my newly turned vampire dealing with her extreme life changes with as much positivity as she can. Will she still struggle? Absolutely, but she will keep looking for the silver lining and bright side, and those simple affirmations are part of her tool belt to deal with what life throws her.

First Bite

An Accidental Vampire PI Mystery, Book 1

What's a positive thought girl to do when she finds herself one of the undead? Recite plenty of affirmations and use those new toothy skills to assist her PI boss, of course

In 24 hours, Misty Summers had the worst date of her life, was bit by a vampire, and her PI boss may close his business as he goes through a divorce. Looking on the sunny side, she decides to use her new vampire assets and become the investigator to keep her job and income. She doesn’t know what her future holds, but it can’t be any worse! When she starts following up on a missing woman’s case, she finds herself in the middle of murder. Even with her positive thinking and affirmations, she is finding her new reality daunting. But she vows to take a bite out of crime in her small lake resort town.

If you like Duffy Brown, Nancy Warren, Nova Nelson, Dionne Lister, Trixie Silvertale, and Leighann Dobbs, then you'll love this series with a quirky intelligent sleuth, small town lake setting, and tantalizing mysteries. Misty Indigo Summers is a positive thinking kind of gal and a most unlikely vampire and PI. Buy these fun and clean cozy mysteries and start enjoying Misty's adventures today!

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AN INTERVIEW WITH COZY MYSTERY AUTHOR KATHLEEN BAILEY

Today we sit down for a chat with cozy mystery author Kathleen Bailey. Learn more about her at her website.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in the first grade. The practicalities of life along with a few plot twists along the way, though, had me travel the long and winding road to realize that dream. 

 

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

The little voice inside me that kept saying “I want to be a writer” remained constant for over forty years. In the intervening decades, I worked as a pediatric physical therapist treating children with special needs. When I transitioned from that career to writing, it took about eighteen months from ground zero to publication.

 

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

Indie published.

 

Where do you write?

These days I write at my desk in my living room where I have a view of my front yard.

 

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

Silence, please. Thank you!

 

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

I refute all allegations that I’ve drawn any of my plots from real life. I deny any involvement in an actual cozy murder mystery, though I do like to bake pies, have an adorable feline fur baby, and try not to swear. Characters, however, often are combinations of people I’ve come across along the way. There is never any one-to-one correlation, though. Sophia, who is Olivia’s best friend, is a pediatric physical therapist, and her role and knowledge are drawn from my experience. 

 

Describe your process for naming your character?

Character names are important to me. Some are chosen for personal reasons or because of the meaning the name has in relation to the character. Foremost though, names must be memorable and distinguishable for the reader. I take care not to have characters with like sounding names that may lead to reader confusion. I research popular names from different decades to ensure my characters have names that would be appropriate for their age and background. 

 

Real settings or fictional towns?

Apple Station, Virginia, is a fictional town set in the Shenandoah Valley. It is based on a few towns in that area, but all other place settings in the series are real. 

 

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

I love how my character Tori (one of Olivia’s best friends) is completely unfiltered in what she says, though never in a mean or rude way. She says exactly what’s on her mind, and it’s often what Olivia needs to hear.

 

What’s your quirkiest quirk?

It’s not so much my quirk as my kitten’s quirk. As soon as I open my laptop to write, she trots into the corner of the room just out of my view and then won’t stop meowing until I come over and devote all my attention to her.

 

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

I would have written any of the collected works of poetry by Mary Oliver. She expressed the simple truths of life with exquisitely crafted, accessible verse. 

 

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

No do-overs for me. Every experience in my life, good or bad, has made me who I am today, and I don’t want to be anyone other than myself. 

 

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Bigotry.

 

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

Ample food, clean water, and a working satellite phone.

 

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

I worked a hot second part-time as a substitute teacher at a public high school. Brutal.

 

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

Favorite all-time character? Are you kidding me? Why would you do this to me? My brain is hurting from overload … too many choices … next question, please!

 

Ocean or mountains?

Both and equally.

 

City girl/guy or country girl/guy?

Country girl always.

 

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m working on book three in The Olivia Penn Mystery Series.

 

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

I want to thank all my readers for their support! You can connect with me through my website at kathleenbaileyauthor.com. For updates, news, and occasional photos of my adorable feline fur baby, please join my newsletter!

 

Silence Says the Most

An Olivia Penn Mystery, Book 2

 

Five days before Halloween, fall turns frightful in Apple Station when a child’s drawing entangles Olivia in a murder at a park lake.

 

Olivia’s hometown is gearing up for its annual Halloween festival, and pumpkins, corn mazes, and autumn vibes are everywhere. All is cozy in the crisp fall air as excitement builds for the costume parade on Friday. A casual Monday lakeside picnic lunch with her forever friend, though, sets off a chain of events that catches Olivia in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

When a body is discovered amid an algae bloom under mysterious circumstances, everyone points fingers, but one among them is not telling the truth. The only apparent witness to the crime is a child who doesn’t speak. Motives abound, suspects are plenty, and it’s up to Olivia to discover why the child has implicated her as the key to solving the murder.

 

Can Olivia unmask the killer before the endangered evidence vanishes, and she becomes the next victim?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--AUTHOR S. LEE MANNING DISCUSSES RESEARCH, INTERNATIONAL CUISINE, MAPLE SYRUP, AND A NEW THRILLER

A reformed lawyer, S. Lee Manning is the award-winning author of international thrillers, featuring a Russian-Jewish immigrant to the United States working for American intelligence. When not writing thrillers, she occasionally performs stand-up comedy. Manning lives with her husband and fellow author, J.B. Manning, and their cat Xiao in Vermont. Learn more about her and her books at her website and keep reading for a special giveaway. 

The Bitter and the Sweet 

Writing international thrillers is a challenge. It not only requires an exciting plot and intriguing characters but also descriptions of different cities and countries: their cultures, customs, and of course, their food. I don't visit every place I write about - it would be prohibitively expensive and given that I'm not a New York Timesbestseller (yet), I can't really afford it. But the researching is fun, and with every book I've written, I've explored the local food.

 

To write Bloody Soil (available for preorder now and releasing Nov. 9^th) required detailed plotting and crafting new characters who would be involved in helping (or hindering) my returning protagonist and friends in their attempt to stop a neo-Nazi plot in present day Germany. But in between moments of high tension, a character's got to eat. 

 

I read through travel books, online recipes, and cultural comparisons. I learned that Germans eat huge breakfasts with different kinds of bread, cheeses, sausage, jams. To compensate, they eat smaller dinners. Something called currywurst - sausage with curry on a crispy bread roll- is a favorite street food in Berlin. 

 

Germans also eat a lot of potatoes, which appear in many forms: potato pancakes, potato dumplings, bratkartoffein - potatoes flavored with herbs and bacon, potato noodles, and of course, potato salad and mashed potatoes. I also researched recipes that contain something besides potatoes for my characters' meals. Zurich ragout - veal, white sauce, and mushrooms, and kaesespaetzle, small pasta layered with cheese and topped with fried onions - also sounded damn good.

 

Much of my first novel, Trojan Horse, takes place in Romania. Like Bram Stoker, who wrote about Dracula in Transylvania, without ever leaving England, I traveled to Romania from my office, using travel books and the Internet. (Pointing out the obvious, Bram Stoker, writing in the 19th century, used travelogs but not the Internet.) I not only had to describe the area where the action took place, but what the characters would be eating - although my poor hero was imprisoned and starved for most of the book. But bad guys also have to eat. I researched traditional Romanian meals: rasol moldovresca (boiled chicken with horseradish and sour cream) and muschi poianna (beef stuffed with mushrooms, bacon, pepper, and paprika, served with a vegetable puree). The team rescuing my hero chowed down on a type of cream donut called papanasi. 

 

For the second book in my series, Nerve Attack, I didn't need to research the location where my hero stops a plot to kill Americans with a nerve poison because I set it in the beautiful state of Vermont - where I currently live. And I also know the local food. Ben & Jerry's, the famous Vermont ice cream with the factory in Waterbury, Vermont (only 45 minutes from my house, so in Vermont terms, practically in my neighborhood) gets applause (and a gangster's cooperation) for its innovative flavors. My personal favorite from Vermont - maple syrup - is only mentioned in passing, when a character describes eating pancakes with the real stuff. But maple syrup deserves so much more than the few words that it gets in my novel. 

My love of maple syrup is not only because I love the flavor. I combine my love for the flavor with my love for Vermont. Maple syrup is an item of cultural pride here in Vermont. You can buy maple syrup at general stores, sugar shacks, clothes stores, or even sports stores.

Along with writing about local food in every novel, as a proud Vermonter, I try to sneak in at least one mention of Vermont. 

 

Which is why I'm celebrating the release of my latest novel, Bloody Soil, with two giveaways of maple syrup - to honor the inclusion of local foods in my novels and to honor my home state. Everyone who signs up for my newsletter is entered into a lottery for a half-gallon in November, and the first two hundred people to answer two questions about Bloody Soil will be entered into a drawing for a gallon in January. If you're interested, check out my website, where I describe the contest in more detail. I also write more about the history and culture of maple syrup in my October blog.

 

And with my work-in-progress set in Paris, I'm eager to get back to work on the descriptions of food - although maybe this time, I'll manage some in-person research.

Bloody Soil

A Kolya Petrov Thriller, Book 3

 

In BLOODY SOIL, pub. date November 9, 2022, a mysterious American calling himself “Michael Hall" arrives in Berlin to join Germany Now, a far-right group and must prove himself by shooting a prominent Jewish anti-Nazi activist or face certain death. Afterwards, Germany Now welcomes him into its ranks, planning to use his weapons expertise to create a dictatorship dedicated to the Nazi ideals of blood and soil.

 

Michael, though, has attracted the deadly attention of an unexpected enemy. Lisette who infiltrated the group to avenge the assassination of her father years earlier, is eliminating the killers among them one by one and has targeted Michael as her next victim. But is Michael the murderer she believes him to be, and by killing him, could Lisette unknowingly destroy the chance to save German democracy?

 

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MYSTERY AUTHOR SARALYN RICHARD ON WRITING ABOUT DEATH

Saralyn Richard’s award-winning humor- and romance-tinged mysteries and children's book pull back the curtain on people in settings as diverse as elite country manor houses and disadvantaged urban high schools. Along with writing, Saralyn also teaches creative writing and literature. Learn more about her and her books at her website where you’ll also find links to her on other social media sites.

Writing About Death

by Saralyn Richard

 

As a mystery author, I’m often asked how and why I write about death. “You’re such a genteel lady. Why don’t you write about happy things: parties, petit fours, and puppies?”

 

I do write about happy things. Parties, petit fours, and puppies inhabit my books, for sure, because those are some of the delightful things about life. Authors of fiction do their best to represent life in all its magnificent aspects, and sometimes that includes writing about death.

 

Because I write mysteries, and characters sometimes die, I’ve interviewed numerous people who have experience with death: funeral home employees, gravediggers, policemen, physicians. I’ve always been struck by the serenity and matter-of-fact attitudes these sources have exhibited. The “death is a part of life” philosophy prevails. 

 

Once I spoke with a mortician, who told me that when she prepares a body, she is humble and respectful, realizing that she is the last person to interact with the deceased. When she finishes the job, she goes out into the wide world and her senses are sharpened. She feels more alive than ever, more determined to make every living moment count.

 

That’s how death is. Death reminds us of life, how precious, how fragile, and how fleeting it is.

 

Mystery novels should not be confused with treatises on death. On the contrary, most mysteries I read, and certainly those that I write, are entertaining whodunits, designed to engage readers in solving intellectual and emotional puzzles. If a character dies along the way, the event is more plot than theme, a challenge for other characters to overcome, a life’s lesson to learn, a world order to restore.

 

Bad Blood Sisters 

Bad Blood Sisters is the story of Quinn McFarland, a young woman who has grown up in her family business, a mortuary. Quinn’s family has often joked about death, but this summer death stops being funny. Quinn’s estranged BFF is brought into the funeral home, a victim of violence, and Quinn realizes that the blood oath they took and the secrets they buried now put Quinn in extreme danger. 

 

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