Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 165
October 31, 2018
Wicked Wednesday — Yule Log Murder
Here’s a bit about Barb’s novella in Yule Log Murder:
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LOGGED ON by BARBARA ROSS
Realizing she can’t make a decent Bûche de Noël to save her life, Julia Snowden enlists the help of her eccentric neighbor, Mrs. St. Onge, in hopes of mastering the dessert for Christmas. With everyone in the old woman’s circle missing or deceased, however, it’s up to Julia to stop the deadly tidings before she’s the next Busman’s Harbor resident to meet a not-so-jolly fate.
Wickeds, have you ever eaten a Buche De Noel or attempted to make one?If not a Buche De Noel, what about a jelly roll? And if not a jelly roll what is the most complicated dessert you’ve made?
Edith: My son and I did try to make a Buche a few years ago. It was not a big success. It was too sweet for me, and definitely did not look like a log… But it was fun baking with Allan! Congratulations on the book, Barb. Can’t wait to read your novella.
Barb: Edith, you were brave to take this on. Julia’s first three attempts were so much worse.
Jessie: While I love food that looks like something fanciful I have never attempted a Buche de Noel. I am not really a fan of chocolate so it seems like a great deal of work for the pleasure it would provide me. I have made several jelly rolls and am always delighted by the apparent miracle of a cake that turns into a neat spiral. I also love its vintage feel and am always warmed by the memory of my maternal grandmother who talked me through the first one I made over the telephone.
Barb: Jessie, I love the picture I have in my head of your grandmother coaching you over the phone.
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Sherry: I had a friend who made an excellent Buche de Noel, however I haven’t tried to make one. I have made several other cake rolls. One of my favorite is a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. When the ladies from Mystery Lovers Kitchen invited me to do a guest spot I created a Fluffernutter cake roll. It was yummy. Click here for a link to the recipe. And like Jessie, I love to see that spiral.
Barb: Sherry, I am coming to visit next time you make that pumpkin roll. It sounds delicious. I’m a little suspicious about the fluffernutter, though. As I disclosed yesterday, the whole Buche de Noel thing overwhelmed me. I made the whole thing more daunting for Julia by forcing her to use hand tools, no electric mixer, food processor, etc. I think I’ll stick to my cookies, mincemeat and occasional fruitcake. I loved writing about the recipes, though.
Julie: When I was in high school I made Buche de Noel. I don’t remember it being difficult which was either due to my youth, or the long lost recipe. A couple of years ago, inspired by The Great British Baking Show, my niece and I attempted to make one. Epic fail. My sponge tasted like chocolate eggs. The orange oil made the cream taste like perfume. Awful. I’m going to try again this year to redeem myself.
Readers: What is that special dessert you make for the holidays? The real showstopper.
October 30, 2018
Yule Log Murder Released!
by Barb, who’s in Boston visiting her daughter and brand new granddaughter
[image error]Hi All. I’m thrilled to announce the release of Yule Log Murder, the latest collection of three holiday novellas by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and me. All three stories take place in Maine, and all three involve a Bûche de Noël, the traditional French yule log cake.
I admit I was completely daunted when Kensington asked me to write a tale of Christmas mayhem centered on a complicated dessert. When they asked me to write for the previous collection, Eggnog Murder, I had an eggnog anecdote I’d been sitting on for years. For a Bûche de Noël, I had nuthin’. Plus, my baking is confined to a) fruit pies, b) Christmas cookies, and c) the very occasional bread (pumpkin, cranberry, etc.) or coffee cake. Note there are zero frosted cakes on that list, much less anything that gets rolled up.
But I love the holiday season and I love writing in the novella length, so there was no way I wasn’t going for it. I enjoyed doing the research, especially watching the famous video of Julia Child making a bûche.
The best part is when she flings the caramel at a broomstick to make the spun sugar moss (which starts about about 24:25 in the video).
Speaking to my niece Julia, who makes a Bûche de Noël every year, did nothing to assuage my fears. She strongly recommended making the cake over several days. Lots of the recipes I was looking at said the same. For example this excellent blog post improves Julia’s recipe by clarifying it. A mere 40 steps!
My protagonist Julia isn’t the baker in her family. Her sister Livvie is. So the idea of Julia learning to make the bûche over several days, while also learning about and solving a mystery, began to take shape. Who would teach her? Her mother’s elderly neighbor, Odile St. Onge. And why would Julia want to learn? To honor her boyfriend Chris’s family’s French Canadian heritage. After keeping mum about his family forever, Chris finally began to open up about them in Stowed Away and tells even more in Steamed Open (coming December 18, just in time for…).
So that’s the story. Making each part of the cake–the base, the filling, the icing, the meringue mushrooms, and the spun sugar moss–is entwined with a part of the mystery Julia uncovers at Mrs. St. Onge’s house.
[image error]I do include Mrs. St. Onge’s recipe at the end of the novella. However, in order to make the story last, I picked the most complicated recipe I could find for each element–and then added a few twists. Therefore, if Yule Log Murder makes you pine for a Bûche de Noël of your own for Christmas, I recommend ordering from your favorite bakery. Or, there’s always Williams Sonoma.
Readers: Is there a holiday recipe or craft you’ve always wanted to try–but been daunted by? Do you think you’ll go for it or let it go?
October 29, 2018
Guest Ellen Byron
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Edith here, gearing up for one kind of costume holiday, and delighted to welcome good friend Ellen Byron, who is going to share about another kind. But first – her new book is out, Mardi Gras Murder!
Flood has up-ended life in tiny Pelican, Louisiana, and deposited the body of a stranger in the bayou behind Crozat Plantation Bed and Breakfast. Meanwhile, the post-flood recovery has put a controversial exhibit about the little-known Louisiana Orphan Train on hold. But 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. When a pageant judge is shot, Maggie Crozat is convinced that his death is somehow connected to the stranger’s. And she wonders – does someone want the gumbo-shaped 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?
Ellen will give away a copy of the book to one commenter here today, too (restricted to continental US only). Take it away, Ellen!
The Wonderful World of Mardi Gras World
I have to confess, despite the prodigious amount of time I’ve spent in New Orleans, I’d never been to Mardi Gras World. The venue is generally written off as a tourist destination and visiting tourist destinations is something those of us who like to consider ourselves honorary citizens tend to be snobby about. But since the theme of my new release is Mardi Gras, I decided to finally pay MGW a visit. And what a revelation.
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My agent, Doug Grad, and I were both in town for the ALA convention, so we decided to go together. Located along the river walking distance from the convention center, Mardi Gras World is a must-see. The tour begins with a movie about the Kern family, which has been making Mardi Gras floats for umpteen years. A bunch of costumes are available, offering visitors a chance to dress like the Krewe members that man the floats, and me the chance to look like a total idiot. (Props for Doug jumping into the game. To protect his dignity – and mine – I will not be sharing that photo.)
After the movie, a guide walks visitors through the facility, where people are constructing the decorations that will grace next year’s floats. This is no Disneyland, folks. Artists and craftspeople are working incredibly hard to make Mardi Gras magic.
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The tour concludes in the gift shop, as most tours in general do, but with the “lagniappe” – a Louisiana expression that means “a little something extra” – of a slice of King Cake, the traditional Mardi pastry.
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And I got an extra gift – images I could use in my Shameless Shilling Campaign to celebrate the launch of MARDI GRAS MURDER.
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Readers: What is your favorite tourist site? Have you ever visited a site you loved that people dismiss as too touristy? Remember, Ellen’s giving away a copy of Mardi Gras Murder to one lucky US commenter!
Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country Mystery series has been nominated for Agatha, Daphne, and Lefty Awards. Body on the Bayou and A Cajun Christmas Killing both won the Best Humorous Mystery Lefty Award. Her TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and many network pilots; published plays include the award-winning Graceland.
https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/
https://twitter.com/ellenbyronla
https://www.instagram.com/cajuncountrymysteries/
October 27, 2018
Announcing The Wickeds Facebook Group!
Jessie: In New Hampshire where it has been sleeting all day!
[image error]Hello everyone! The Wickeds are delighted to invite you to join our new FB group! While we love the blog and all that it offers to readers and to us we thought we would roll out an additional way to connect with you. We hope this space will serve as a fun spot for us to interact with you and also for you to chat with each other.
We plan to host FB Live events, book chats and giveaways as well as to talk about the writing life, things we love and news and ideas worth sharing!
We would love to get to know each of you better in that easily interactive setting. The group is live and ready to join!
October 26, 2018
A Little Help From Your Friends — Guest Diane Vallere
Welcome Back, Diane! I’ve known Diane for several years, but really got to know her last year through her work as Immediate Past President of Sisters in Crime. She works incredibly hard for the organization and works hard on her writing. She’s an inspiration. Diane is giving away an ebook of the first in the Madison Night mysteries Pillow Stalk. Leave a comment for a chance to win! And be sure to look for another contest at the end of this post!
[image error]Thank you for inviting me to spend time with the Wickeds! I’ll admit right off the bat that I’m jealous over what you have. Not just the blog, but the obvious camaraderie, the professional courtesy, and the respect. It’s inspiring, and it syncs perfectly with one of the themes from my upcoming book, which is friendship.
With all the murder and mayhem that goes into a mystery, it might surprise some readers to learn that the crime writing community is filled with friends. Just attend a convention like Malice Domestic and you’ll see hugs and kisses, hear laughter and good times. Grown women who room together and act like they’re attending a slumber party. And a different group of grown women who stay out until three a.m. It’s a class reunion without the social climbing. It’s a lot of fun.
One of the questions I frequently get asked about Madison Night is why she doesn’t have more friends. And while the answer to that is rooted somewhere between the nasty breakup that caused her to flee Pennsylvania for Texas prior to book 1 and my own personal shakeup that caused me to flee Texas for California (much fleeing, I know!), I also know from experience that a life without friends is a little empty.
When I first moved to California, I knew next to nobody. My job at the time provided regular contact with coworkers and customers, so I had social interaction of a sort. Long distance friendships that were born out of other jobs dissolved. New friendships were made, mostly with writers who understood my priorities. Those friends—many of them discovered through my connection to Sisters in Crime—supported me as I started my new life.
One of my favorite things about writing the Madison Night books is the journey Madison is on as a person. She turned fifty between the last book and this one, and if you read a subset of contemporary mysteries, you may think curiosity ends somewhere in the mid-thirties. But Madison is my age (ish) and she’s just as curious as ever!
When the question about Madison’s friends (or lack thereof) came up, I started thinking, why doesn’t she have friends? What does that say about her? What does that say about me? Is she too isolated? Too wrapped up in her own world? Did her emotional walls keep her from letting others in, or—the thing we all fear when we feel alone—did nobody else really care about her?
I looked at the characters who peppered the earlier books in the series and saw that Madison’s friends were on the pages all along. They were silent supporters of her new life in Texas, friends who had lives of their own too. But when she needed them the most, they were there for her, and that’s the best thing about friendship.
We see more of Madison’s friends on the pages of Lover Come Hack than in previous books, and I think that’s because Madison herself is settling into her life and finally getting comfortable. She’s letting the walls come down. I guess she’s becoming part of a wicked group of her own!
That’s not to say friendship means smooth sailing, as Madison (and anybody who reads the book) is about to find out!
Readers: Have friends helped you through the good and bad of life?
About the book:
After a falling out with a friend flips interior decorator Madison Night’s world inside out, she’s determined to revamp her life. Jane Strong, fellow mid-century modern enthusiast, encourages Madison’s entry in an upcoming design competition, but their rift makes collaboration no longer an option.
When Jane is found dead, Madison tops the suspect list. And when anonymous computer hackings interfere with both the investigation and the competition, Jane’s murder no longer seems random. With a mess of a love life, an angry client, and a looming deadline on her contest entry, Madison turns to an unlikely ally to decode a motive before a crash becomes imminent.
Diane’s Bio:
[image error]After two decades working for a top luxury retailer, Diane Vallere traded fashion accessories for accessories to murder. She is a three-time Lefty Award nominee for best humorous mystery and a past president of Sisters in Crime. She started her own detective agency at age ten and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since.
Social:
FB: https://facebook.com/dianevallereauthor
IG: https://Instagram.com/dianevallere
YT: https://Youtube.com/dianevallere
Preorder Contest:
[image error]To celebrate the release of LOVER COME HACK, Diane is giving away a house! A reissue of a 1962 Barbie Dream House, to be specific. Get the scoop here (and get a peek at chapter one while you’re there!) https://dianevallere.com/lover-come-hack Good luck!
October 25, 2018
The Plain and Simple Truth
Jane/Susannah/Sadie here, home for a short while before my next big adventure …
[image error]Unfortunately, my employer would not let me expense this $2,500 quilt
In last month’s post I mentioned that I was going on a trip to Amish country on a work trip. Well, I can report that I had an outstanding time…and my wonderful employer paid for it, LOL! I met a lot of friendly, engaging people on the tour, both the tourists and the Amish people we encountered. I would go back again, anytime.
This tour started in Cleveland, and we traveled around the countryside of Holmes County, Ohio for several days. There are villages, of course, but the majority of
[image error]One of about 400 landscape pictures I took–it’s all so pretty!
Holmes County is farmland, still green at the beginning of October, with rolling hills and livestock grazing and big red or white barns. Holmes County is home to the second-largest Amish population in the country (after Lancaster in Pennsylvania). If you get the chance, I highly recommend Amish Heartland Tours. You will not be sorry. Shelly, the owner, is a wealth of knowledge, and she has relationships with many Amish people who will invite you into their businesses, as well as into their homes–and some of them will even feed you!
But rather than give you a travelogue, I thought I’d give you some facts and myths about the Amish. So here goes:
The Amish are Protestant Christians, technically part of the Anabaptist movement which began in Switzerland in the seventeenth century. They were highly persecuted, and moved to Pennsylvania at the invitation of William Penn. The underlying tenet of their faith is the belief in adult baptism. Babies and children are not baptized, but wait until they are ready to join the church of their own free will, usually around the age of 20 or so. At that time they may marry an Amish spouse.
[image error]Amish buggies at the Mount Hope livestock auction and flea market
Today, there are no Amish in Europe. They all live in the United States and Canada in communities from Maine to Florida and even in Colorado and Montana. There’s even an Amish community called Pinecraft, a suburb of Sarasota, Florida, where Amish snowbirds congregate in the winter. The Amish population is doubling every 20 years, so communities are expanding where there is farmland to be had.
The Holmes County Amish serve peanut butter spread (sometimes called church spread) at many meals, including their after-church meals. This is a mixture of equal parts creamy peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and light corn syrup (although an even more delicious version I tasted at one home used part maple syrup, part corn syrup). It will keep at room temperature indefinitely, and can be stored in a squeeze bottle. Delicious on anything you’d put peanut butter on–homemade bread, crackers, apple slices, or a banana. Seriously, make some and try it.
[image error]Amish women wear prayer Kapps and pin up their hair underneath them. These are white or black and shaped differently depending on which community the woman is in. A traveling bonnet (a big, black, very stiff headpiece) goes over the Kapp when a woman leaves the home–although I saw plenty of women not wearing them too. Amish women’s clothing is fastened with straight pins–children and men wear buttons, though.
[image error]World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock (Sugar Creek, Ohio)–I can cross seeing this off my bucket list!
Amish men grow beards after they marry, and do not cut them. They shave their mustaches though. The reason is that the Amish are pacifists and mustaches are historically associated with the military. (Additional, non-Amish fact: my grandfather, a farmer, always grew a mustacheless beard starting in October and wore it through the cold winters of New York State. He said the beard kept his face warm while he was hunting or doing chores, but his nose breath caused ice to form in his mustache, and that’s why he shaved it off)
Have you ever been to Amish Country? Which area? Do you have any questions about the Amish? I’ll do my best to answer them.
October 24, 2018
Wicked Wednesday — Writer’s Life Part 4
Someone asked me recently if I thought my life as a writer was normal. In the moment, I thought it was an odd question — what is normal? But writers get to do some cool things that maybe aren’t normal for everyone. So Wickeds, what cool things have you done?
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Julie: So many things! One of my favorite field trips was to a clock tower, where I climbed up and learned how it worked. It changed my book Chime and Punishment. I also love that I make up stories for people all the time. I’ll sit in a coffeeshop and make up backstories for everyone there. That is one of our cooler superpowers, making stuff up.
Barb: Being a writer is foundational to so many interesting things. I love that I get to meet readers and speak at libraries, bookstores, and conferences. The mystery community is so fabulous. And, of course, I get to blog with my Wicked sistas! Writing and publishing is just the ticket to ride this fun train.
Liz: So many things! I’ve met so many interesting people, gotten to go to awesome events and conferences, and do cool research. For me one of the coolest things was getting to be part of the Boston Book Festival a few years back on a really fun panel. I was kind of in awe that I was actually an author participating in that event!
Jessie: I think for me the best part is feeling like my life is always expanding and becoming more fulfilling. It is astonishing how wonderful life is when you feel like you are lined up with your purpose. I think being a writer has helped me to come into my own in ways I had not before and I am supremely grateful for that part of the journey! How else could I have attended a seance as a research trip?
Sherry: One of the most fun (and most terrifying) things I’ve done as an author was to Skype with three sixth grade creative writing classes. I was afraid I’d bore them to death, but they asked wonderful questions. We laughed together and the time flew by each time. It was so fun to see these bright, talented kids.
Edith: What a great question! Some of the hands-on research I’ve done for the Quaker Midwife Mysteries has been a real treat: riding in a historic buggy pulled by a real horse on rural riding paths; living the life of an 1870s New England family for 24 hours (right down to the chamberpot…); hanging out in John Greenleaf Whittier’s study, unchanged from when he wrote and received visitors in it? Definitely not “normal” but so valuable for the small details in my series.
[image error]Susan Koso, who generously took Edith riding in her drop-front phaeton.
Readers: What cool things have you done in your life that might not seem “normal” to someone else?
October 23, 2018
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
By Liz, enjoying all the scares that October brings!
For all you Christmas people who say December is the most wonderful time of the year – I have to respectfully disagree with you. October and Halloween is my most wonderful time. I love it all – the scary movies, the crazy costumes, the anything goes attitude – and, yeah, the candy. Even though I try to eat better candy these days, I’m still a sucker for Milk Duds.
Like my criminal- and murder-focused tendencies (well, in books anyway), I’m not quite sure where my love for Halloween came from. My parents certainly didn’t have it. They did the obligatory kids’ Halloween parties for me as a child, but they were never overly enthused about the holiday in general.
But I’ve always loved Halloween, magic and witchy things. I went to college in Salem, Mass., which reinforced that love affair. I was a sucker for any kind of mystical totem: crystals, oracle cards, magical books, tarot, you name it. When the “official Salem witch” Laurie Cabot’s store was on the wharf in Salem, I was a regular. You name it, I bought it. I have also had a long-time fascination with Stevie Nicks, the original witchy woman, and I emulated her in my clothing choices every chance I got over the years – platform boots and all.
Long after I graduated college, I spent my Octobers in Salem. If you’ve never been, seriously, you have to go. It’s changed a bit these days, but it’s still a blast. The entire month of October is a constant costume party. And they have Haunted Happenings all month long. And even though I knew the Salem lore like the back of my hand, I could never resist joining a candlelight ghost tour if the opportunity arose. And Shaggy was a [image error]fan too. My favorite Octobers were the ones where she was dressed up and parading around Salem, making friends with everyone (even the monsters).
Scary movies and books have always been my jam too. I once tried to watch a scary movie every night during Halloween season. With the house decked out in orange lights, some hot apple cider and a glowing carved pumpkin in the background, what better way to spend an evening?
Well – maybe at a haunted house. I do love haunted houses…and the scariest experience I ever had at one involved nuns. Which I think is a product of my childhood Catholic school experiences.
This year, I haven’t been as much in the spirit. But there’s still a week left. I think this weekend I’m going to get some orange lights, pick out the scariest movie on Netflix I can find, and drink some hot cider. There might even be a pumpkin involved.
Readers, chime in with your verdict! Halloween – love it or hate it?
October 22, 2018
The Wickeds Hit New York!
We did it! We arranged our schedules so we could all hit the Big Apple on the same day last week. We visited Kensington Publishing – our shared publisher – and our editors. On Wednesday we met in Connecticut and took the train into New York City Thursday morning.
Of course we had to do some window shopping on our walk to Kensington.
The publicity and marketing department spent a couple of hours with us, filming promotional videos and explaining their support efforts going forward, which are awesome. We had lunch with our editors, Larissa and Michele from marketing, and our agent. After lunch we toured around the Kensington offices meeting more people.
We spent another night in Connecticut, treating it as a fun blog mini-retreat. At the last minute, Barb couldn’t join us, but it was for the best of reasons – her daughter was in labor with Barb’s second grandchild!
Wickeds, chime in and share your favorite part of the trip, and your pictures, too.
[image error]Those of us with John Scognamiglio (right)as our editor posed for a pic in his office along with John Talbot (left), agent for all the Wickeds.
Publisher Steve Zacharius, whose father founded the company, joined us for a picture in front of the company waterfall.
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Liz: It was so much fun meeting the Kensington team – all the awesome people who make our books happen! We felt so welcomed and supported. It was truly a lovely experience. We got to sign our new books, record some fun videos and had a lot of laughs.
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We have so many fun things in store for you readers in the coming year – appearances, new books, new series, the list goes on!
And don’t forget to enter the Kensington Halloween sweepstakes here for a chance to win our books and some fun Halloween-y prizes!
Jessie: I had such fun doing the videos with the other Wickeds ( we missed you so much, Barb!). I also loved meeting all the different staff members at Kensington and having the chance to put names to faces!
[image error]Julie: I am new to the Kensington family, and am thrilled to have joined them wearing my Julia Henry hat. I’m thinking about better ways to use social media, specifically Instagram, and got some great tips from them. We’re all working together, and that’s a wonderful feeling.
[image error]Sherry: I hadn’t been to NYC since fifth grade and was all agog. I took so many pictures and kept lagging behind as I took pictures. (New Yorkers, I tried to step to the side to snap pictures. I always hear the locals complain about tourists stopping in the middle of the sidewalks to take photos.) Of course it is always fun to spend time with my editor, Gary (on the left) and our agent, John Talbot. They’ve known each other for years and have some very funny stories. Getting to meet the behind the scenes people at Kensington was fabulous.
Barb: I so missed coming on this Wicked road trip, but this is why I stayed home.
[image error]New granddaughter Etta.
Edith: The rest of us shared a lovely dinner overlooking Long Island Sound the last night, and then stayed up too late talking and emptying a bottle or two.
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Readers: Have you ever been to New York City? And have you ever missed an event for a reason as good as Barb’s?
October 20, 2018
Cover Reveal for Tell Tail Heart!
Happy Saturday, readers! I’m putting my Cate Conte hat on today to reveal the awesome new cover for the third book in the series, Tell Tail Heart:
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What do you think?? Tell me in the comments below.
Now, I’m off to finish the book…
