Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 50

Welcome Guest Emily George

Edith/Maddie here, in a month that doesn’t know what to do with its own weather.

The Wicked Authors are multi-published many times over by now, but we all started somewhere. I’m delighted to welcome Australian-Canadian Emily George to the blog with A Half-Baked Murder, her debut cozy mystery!

The book came out two weeks ago. Get a whiff of this fabulous blurb:

Formally trained pastry chef Chloe Barnes is opening a cannabis bakery. That’s not at all what the twenty-eight-year-old envisioned while living the dream in Paris with a hot fiancé and a Michelin star restaurant gig around the corner. But the rising “it girl” of choux puffs rethinks everything after a scathing food review and humiliating breakup make her long for home in sunny California. When her beloved grandmother falls ill, Chloe returns to quaint Azalea Bay to start over in the most satisfying way possible—concocting delicious edibles with her quirky Aunt Dawn.

Combining French luxury and THC, Baked by Chloe will take pot brownies to another level. That is, until a creepy past acquaintance rehashes old drama and shockingly turns up dead—landing Aunt Dawn as the number one murder suspect. Now, alongside her closest confidants, a stunned Chloe must alternate between budding entrepreneur and amateur sleuth to clear her aunt’s name, open the best bakery in town, and weed out the real culprit from a list of unsettling suspects!

Take it away, Emily!

I’m extremely lucky to have been surrounded by many amazing women in my life, so it’s no surprise I gravitate to writing characters with an army of smart, quirky, confident, and loving women in their lives, too! And what better genre is there for showcasing all these great women than cosy mysteries?

My debut cosy mystery features sleuth and baker Chloe Barnes whipping up some very “special” treats while solving crimes in her local hometown with the help of her bohemian Aunt Dawn and sassy Grandma Rose. So, I thought I might share some of the inspirations behind Grandma Rose in particular, because she was heavily inspired by my own grandmother.

In fact, Grandma Rose’s name was taken from my grandmother’s favourite flowers, which were always blooming in her front garden. They share an affinity for gardening and flowers, always wanting to bring a little colour to their streets. Both women have a fierce sense of family and an unshakable inner strength, having lost husbands in their fifties, and they have decades worth of hilarious stories about how they were clever enough to pull tricks on the people around them. They’re both mischievous and young at heart.

In A Half-Baked Murder we see that Grandma Rose has a huge weakness for animals, particularly dogs, when she and Chloe adopt an adorable little Chihuahua named Antonio. My own grandmother was a dog person, too. You could always find her sitting in her chair and reading with her dog, Lady, curled up by her feet.

Like my own grandmother, Grandma Rose is whip smart! She and her friends have a bi-weekly cards night (Euchre is the game of choice) and they take no prisoners. If you want to play with their crew, then you’d better be prepared to lose some coin.

Another area that I pulled inspiration from is that Grandma Rose is currently dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis. This is something that both my own grandmother (and my mother) experienced, and while it might seem a serious topic for a cosy mystery I really wanted to show how women band together to care for one another in tough times—like Chloe does in returning home to Grandma Rose, and how my own family did, not once but twice. Family is super important to me and it’s also integral to A Half-Baked Murder, especially since Chloe’s aunt is the number one suspect!

A Half-Baked Murder is a story with loads of heart. If you love a twisty murder mystery plot with a fun cast of characters, adorable small-town setting and lots of heartfelt relationships, then I hope you’ll take a chance on my debut cosy mystery. Huge thanks to the Wicked Authors for letting me chat to you all today.

Readers: Who is the person who has inspired you most in your life? I’ll give away a signed print copy (advanced reader edition) of A Half-Baked Murder (open to US and Canada only).

Emily George is an Australian author who writes modern murder mysteries. Like her sleuths, she’s an elder Millennial who grew up on a steady diet of late 90’s romantic comedies, Spice Girls songs and Babysitter’s Club books. When she’s not figuring out creative ways to kill people (fictionally, of course) she enjoys knitting, baking, playing video games, and listening to true crime podcasts.  She resides in Canada with her husband.

Website: https://www.emily-george.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083181023724

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stefanielondon/ (this is the correct link, I have both pen names under one profile)

Buy links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Half-Baked-Murder-Emily-George-ebook/dp/B0B358Z4FN/

International & other retailers: https://www.emily-george.com/a-halfbaked-murder

The Anti-Legacy List

By Julie, still waiting for this New England winter to kick in

Last week I posted this in the Wicked Authors Facebook group:

I have added a “please don’t let this ever happen to me” to my life list. Please don’t ever let Keith Morrison read aloud a journal entry or love letter I wrote. Of course, for that to happen there would need to be a Dateline episode about me or my life, so it would be a pile on of misery. In other news, I got Peacock so that I could watch Poker Face (loved it from episode 2 on), and now I’m addicted to Dateline. I do like Keith Morrison episodes, but when he reads a diary entry it feels so personal.

Since then, I’ve been thinking about what I’d like my legacy not to be. Now there’s plenty of time for living, and lots will happen, but still. Here are four more “please don’t let this be someone’s memory of me”:

“She was a terrible cook.” To date that could not be said, but I’ve gotten out of practice. And I’ve made a couple of “I know how to make this” recipes lately that have been utter failures.

“She never laughs.” I have a good sense of humor, and am pretty funny. But the same could be said of so many others who, as they age, lose the laughter. (Thinking of beloved relatives here.) I pray that never happens.

“She was the main character of a tabloid story.” The Boston Globe, my local paper, recently ran an article about a couple who’s been married for many years, have a ton of money, lots of real estate, and are going through an awful divorce. Details in the article were cringe-worthy. I watched Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, and recognized a few of the names mentioned. I can’t help but think how terrible being the main character of a scandal would be. Of course the crime writer in me thinks about that in a different way.

“She ran out of food at a dinner/party/event.” Does anyone else have that fear? My friend David and I used to buy extra bags of chips and hide them just in case we needed to add something to the bowl towards the end of the night. Better people leave with leftovers than leave hungry.

I’m sure the list will grow. Thinking about it certainly clarifies how I want to live over the next few years.

May Keith Morrison never narrate any of our life stories.

Friends, do you have a “please don’t let this be my legacy” list?

Wicked Wednesday: Strong International Women

Today is International Women’s Day.

Wickeds – who is a (real) international woman you admire for her strength of whatever kind?

Julie: Greta Thurnberg is an inspiration. She speaks truth to power, and doesn’t put up with trolls. She is very concerned with climate issues, and has made a difference in the conversation.

Edith/Maddie: Totally agree about Thurnberg, Julie, and her activism and dedication. For very different reasons, I nominate Ann Cleeves. Her writing is brilliant, and she kept going after her husband of many years died, even starting a new series. I loved meeting her at Crime Bake four years ago and was thrilled to drive her to the airport after the conference closed. Cleeves is hugely famous, but she’s so approachable. If I reply to one of her tweets, she always replies back. In her, I find much to admire and aspire to.

Sherry: Malala Yousafzai is an amazing young woman from Pakistan who fights for the rights of all girls to be educated. Malala said, “Extremists have shown what frightens them most: A girl with a book.” I never dreamed, when I first read this quote, that teachers and librarians in the US would be threatened and fear sharing books.

Edith: Malala has now produced an Oscar-nominated short documentary, “Stranger at the Gate.”

Barb: I’m going with the Women Protesters of Iran, and their allies, who continue to protest nearly six months after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the “morality police” for wearing her hijab “improperly.” Protestors have been killed, beaten, arrested, and executed. Nevertheless, they persist. No one knows what will happen, and it’s hard to be optimistic, but the protests have drawn international support and internal support for the end to repression of women by the regime.

Liz: Dr. Leyla Hussein, who founded The Dahlia Project for girls subjected to FGM in the UK. It’s a support and counseling service, and they also work with the UK’s National Health Service to get survivors physical health counseling. Hussein also advocates against the practice through education.
Jessie: The women you mention are all so inspiring! I am going to go with a historical woman, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the British woman who learned learned about an early form of smallpox inoculation from women in Turkey while her husband was stationed there as an ambassador. She approved the use of it on her son while the family was in Constantinople. Even though it met with vehement disapproval when they returned to England she convinced a physician to repeat the procedure on her daughter. Her actions led to the first form of clinical trials in Europe and eventually to the eradication of the disease.

Readers: Who is your favorite strong international woman?

Opening Lines, Puerto Rico Version

Wickeds and friends, add your opening lines for the following picture.

Jessie: t wasn’t until after he had pushed the vehicle down into the ravine that he realized the flaw in his plan. He should have painted it green if he wanted it to disappear in amongst the lush growth.

Julie: The car was there. Now where was the passenger? The feeling of a gun in her back gave her the answer.

Barb: A giant, ghostly baby-skull looked out at him through the windshield. Cuidado, indeed.

Sherry: I told him the sign said, “slippery when wet,” but would he listen? The car careened down the ravine like we were on the world’s worst carnival ride. It’s the last ride he’d ever take. I made sure of that.

Edith/Maddie: I had no choice. After she helped me drag the body out of the Jeep, she had to die, too. They’ll both decompose in days in that rich wet soil where everything grows – especially voracious insects.

Readers: Add your opening line!

Cover Reveal: Scared Off

by Barb in Key West, saying good-bye today to a boatload of family. It’s bittersweet.

In recent years, Kensington has been offering the novellas from its holiday collections as standalone ebooks approximately a year after the mass market paperback of the anthology comes out. This means a new cover for Scared Off, coming August 22, 2023, and now available for pre-order.

What do you think? I kind of love it. Kensington has really been on a roll with my covers lately.

In Scared Off, three teenage girls having a sleepover on Halloween night get spooked when high schoolers crash the house for a party. But no one expected to find a crasher like Mrs. Zelisko, the elderly third floor tenant, dead in the backyard—dressed in a sheet like a ghost. With her niece traumatized, Julia Snowden must uncover who among the uninvited guests was responsible for devising such a murderous trick . . .

“…my favorite novella in the collection.  I enjoyed getting to spend some time with the characters, and I loved how the mystery unfolded.”

Carstairs Considers

“Barbara Ross always gives us solid characters that cleverly enhance her atmospheric cozies. Scared Off is a tasty Halloween morsel not to be overlooked this holiday season!”

Wonder Woman Sixty

“The final story is from my favorite cozy author, Barbara Ross, who provides us with another excellent installment of her Maine Clambake Mystery series.”

Criminal Element, Cooking the Books

In the Maine Clambake saga (as it is shaping up to be), Scared Off is book 9.5. coming in between Shucked Apart and Muddled Through. I enjoyed writing it very much, especially because, unusually, I got to write it in the season in which it is set.

These standalone ebooks make the novellas available for a very reasonable price. For those who don’t like ebooks, the novella is still available in mass market paperback in Halloween Party Murder.

Readers: What do you think? Do you like the cover? Do you like the opportunity to acquire these standalone ebooks?

Ask the Expert: Ex-FBI Agent Jodi Weber

Edith writing from north of Boston, where the weather can’t decide if it’s full winter snowstorm or sunny early spring. No matter what the season, I’m delighted to bring you Jodene Weber for this month’s Ask the Expert feature.

Last fall I asked author pal Annette Dashofy if she had a contact in the FBI. I had a question in my WIP, and I knew Annette had completed a Citizens’ FBI Academy a few years ago. She wrote back saying her local Sisters in Crime chapter had a member who was retired from the FBI, and asked if I wanted her to put us in touch. “Yes, please!” was my quick response.

Jodi and I arranged a time to connect on the telephone. The information she gave me was super helpful. I was scheduled to be the Wicked Authors blog wrangler for March, and I knew I still had a few guest spots available on the schedule. When I invited Jodi to join us, she responded something along the lines of, “Yes, please!”

From Nancy Drew to Silence of the Lambs: How I became an FBI Agent, a Psychological Suspense writer, and a True Crime Podcaster

As writers, many of us can easily name our favorite childhood books. For me, my love of reading and mysteries became entrenched the first time I sat down with a Nancy Drew book. I loved curling up with those distinctive yellow-spined books, and I eagerly saved up my allowance money to buy one after another, fascinated by all the crimes Nancy solved with her best friends Bess and George. As I grew older, my reading tastes graduated to Sue Grafton, Patricia Cornwell, and of course, the queen of suspense, Mary Higgins Clark.

I loved mysteries so much I majored in journalism in college. Upon graduating, I worked as a television news anchor and reporter, covering all the unsolved mysteries and murder trials that were happening in my home state of Wisconsin.

But then I did something that changed my life: I went to the movies with some friends and saw Silence of the Lambs. Watching Jodie Foster on the big screen planted a question in my mind: How does a woman become an FBI agent? I tracked down a local FBI agent and interviewed him, and at the end of my interview, he said something to me that changed the course of my life. He told me I had a gift for interviewing, and that the FBI needed female agents who had this skill. He encouraged me to apply to become a Special Agent. It took two years of applications, interviews, tests, background checks, and lots of running and pushups before I was accepted into the FBI Academy in 1997. A new career revolving around mysteries was born.

I worked as a Special Agent with the FBI for 22 years, in three field offices: Atlanta, Norfolk, and Pittsburgh. During my career, I worked on the Centennial Olympic Park bombing case and the subsequent fugitive investigation tracking serial bomber Eric Rudolph. I was a 9/11 responder at the Pentagon and worked the crime scene for 16 days as an evidence response team leader with the FBI. I was the case agent on numerous high profile international terrorism cases, as well as many complex crime investigations.

By age 50, when I was eligible to retire, my body had had enough of the wear and tear of all the ongoing training, stress, and danger FBI agents experience. I wanted to retire to spend more time with my children and write my suspense novels. Little did I know Covid-19 would put us into lock-down two weeks after I retired. While my children were home-schooling during the early days of the pandemic, I was on my laptop, too, crunching out a psychological suspense novel, The Bald Revelation. This manuscript is on query now and I am crossing my fingers I will soon land representation.

Life threw me a surprise in early 2023. I was invited to provide expert commentary about the Idaho College Murder Case on the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast. One appearance led to another, and another, and another. I am now a frequent guest on her podcast, and she encouraged me to start my own podcast.

With the help of my writing critique partner and great friend Carole Jones (author of This New Job’s Murder, A Melody Shore Mystery), I launched Caught In My Web,. It’s a true crime podcast covering mysteries, murders, and cases capturing my attention. This podcast allows me to share my analysis of true crime cases in the headlines and gives listeners perspective on how law enforcement works cases, and what prosecutors consider before filing charges or seeking indictments. For the third time in my life, I found a career revolving around mysteries, and it all started because I picked up a Nancy Drew book in second grade.

As writers, it is important to keep up on true crime cases and consult with law enforcement to accurately reflect how cases are investigated. This is the biggest error I see when reading mysteries. Stay current! Technology must play a role in your mysteries. There’s no investigation that occurs nowadays without examination of computers and cell phones. One of the best resources I have found is true crime podcasts and documentaries. Your readers follow these cases, and they know the latest techniques law enforcement utilizes in solving crimes. This is a wonderful way to learn details, specifics, and technicalities you can incorporate into your stories.

One final thought: most mystery writers and readers share a very specific quality with members of law enforcement. They want justice for victims. No one wants to read a mystery where the criminal gets away or the case is left unsolved. And never forget, the mystery you write might be as influential to a reader as that yellow-spined Nancy Drew book was to me decades ago.

Readers: do you have a mystery book from childhood that influenced your career? What documentaries or podcasts would you recommend to fellow writers that have helped you when researching your novels? Writers, questions about my former work?

Jodene Weber is a retired Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a former television journalist. A mom of two, Jodene hosts her own true crime podcast, Caught In My Web, and is a writer of psychological suspense novels. She is an active member of the Mary Roberts Rinehart chapter of Sisters In Crime.

Subscribe to her podcast, Caught In My Web, on Patreon.com. https://Patreon.com/user?u=34176993.

Facebook: Caught In My Web

Twitter: @JodeneWeber

Instagram: @WeberJodene

Reality Life with Kate Casey is available on all major podcast platforms.

In The Bald Revelation, Claudia Carlton is a potential dead-woman walking in upstate New York, with a room of disguises she uses to camouflage the physical effects of alopecia, as well as a deep secret. Claudia operates the local news website The Finger Lakes Flash and receives an anonymous tip suggesting local deaths are murders disguised by a clever veil. Intrigued and desperate to expose the truth, Claudia races against time to stop a murderer masquerading in plain sight with a killer deadline.

Join Me in Wishing My Mom a Happy 96th Birthday!

As you read this, I’m flying home from celebrating my mom’s 96th birthday! I thought I’d share some photos from her life with you. My love of reading comes from my mom. Our house was filled with books and trips to the library were frequent. Mom is still an avid reader and reads our Wicked blog every weekday!

Mom in third grade. She’s the one on the far left.

Mom holding the basketball with her high school state championship team.

I always call this photo the original selfie and don’t know how they managed to take it with a Brownie camera where they couldn’t see themselves! This is one of mom’s lifelong friends, Mary Lou.

Mom at a college party.

My parents — they met in college.

Mom with two sorority sisters — Bev and Pat. I’ve known these women all my life. The woman on the right was always Aunt Pat to me. She was a big influence in my life and I loved her dearly.

Mom with me at a lake.

And now for a leap ahead!

The day my mom found a giant shell and I only found a tiny sand dollar!

Mom when Tagged for Death (my first book) came out!

Watching sunset with my daughter a couple of night ago.

Readers: Please join me in wishing mom a happy birthday!

Wicked Wednesday: Strong Women

Edith/Maddie here, kicking off a month of Strong Women as our March Wicked Wednesday theme.

And now you know the extent of my talent in visual art! Nothing wrong with a stick figure, I always say, and check out their impressive biceps. (The graphic was put together by the talented Jennifer McKee.)

It’s well-known that staying physically fit helps us feel better and live longer. I can say with confidence that my fellow Wicked Authors are women full of life, and we all want to live well as long as we can. We have words to write and worlds to create, after all.

So, Wickeds – what do you do to keep your physical self strong? Lift weights? Carry grandbabies – or dogs? Isometric pushups against the wall? Brisk walks, swims, or gym workouts? Crunches at your desk? Share with our readers. And if you don’t want to talk about yourself, how about your protagonist(s)?

Sherry: I take lots of walks. And funny you mentioned wall pushups because I do those on and off. I keep saying I’m going to get in a routine with them, but never do. I also do some balance exercises which I also need to do on a more regular basis. Chloe is a big fan of running and water sports — that keeps her in shape.

Jessie: For the last three years I have slowly become a fairly regular runner. I injured a knee back in December so I have been off my game a bit lately, but it is my exercise of choice. Recently, my husband gifted me with an infrared sauna which I have gleefully added to my self-care routine. There is nothing like sweating for an hour whilst the frigid north wind howls round the house!

Liz: Jessie! I’m so jealous – it’s a life goal of mine to have a sauna IN MY HOUSE. I love them. I take lots of walks on the beach – 6 or 7 miles a day in the warmer months. I’m also a huge Body Pump and Body Combat junkie. I have the on-demand channel so I can work out whenever. Sometimes if I’m feeling like I need something different I’ll hit the rower or the elliptical in my building’s gym.

Edith/Maddie: I was a runner for a decade or so, Jessie, and loved that feeling. No more, alas. Instead, I walk a minimum of 10k steps a day and just bought myself a set of weights – pairs of three, five, and eight pounds in pretty colors – because I’m determined to try to build back some muscle. Sherry, I take an online balance class twice a week that’s very good. Let me know if you want the link!

Julie: List me as another Wicked jealous of Jessie’s sauna! These days especially. I endeavor to get 5-10K steps a day, and have become a fan of doing virtual walking challenges. I also am a fan of dance workouts, especially Country Head and Let’s Get Up. I’m also adding yoga to the mix. I used to run (well, never really run but walk fast) but my knees are sore these days. Nevertheless, I’m thinking about signing up for a 5K this spring to challenge myself.

Readers: What do you do to try to stay fit?

A Wicked Welcome to Cheryl Head **giveaway**

by Julie, happy to see March coming

I am delighted to welcome Cheryl Head to the Wickeds. Her new book, Time’s Undoing, is garnering wonderful reviews, and I asked Cheryl to come on the blog to talk about her writing, and the book. We decided to do an interview:

Name (s): Cheryl A. Head

Genre(s): Crime fiction; Private Investigator series

What drew you to write crime fiction?
I love the mystery genre, and have read it all my life starting with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, then moving to the short stories: especially Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. I love all the 40’s and 50’s Noir films–even the bad ones, and as a young adult I was entertained and inspired by Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, and Barbara Neely. I adore the Blanche series. Those writers, and their works, made me want to write crime fiction.

What sets your book apart from what is out there?
My series protagonist: Charlene (Charlie) Mack is a Black, Lesbian, professional Private Investigator. I think that does it. LOL

Do you write a series or standalones? Why?
I’ve done both. And will continue to do so. I like the opportunity a series gives an author (and reader) to really get to know a character and see her/him evolve. And if that character is in anyway likeable, or relatable, one becomes invested in the protagonist’s success. That’s the beauty of a series. When I write a standalone it usually revolves around some point I want to make that just won’t leave me alone. My first self-published novel was an historical about the lives of two, young “Negro” soldiers during WWII. That story just begged to be told. The same for my newest (Time’s Undoing, Dutton Books). It is crime fiction, and has historical elements . It is a very personal story, built around a family tragedy, involving excessive police force in Jim Crow Birmingham, Alabama. I’d been carrying this story in my bones for decades. When George Floyd died the words flowed from me. It was sometimes painful, but very cathartic.

What are you currently writing?
Short Stories. I love to write them. I don’t think I’m proficient at them, yet. I’ll probably take a class or two to get better at structure and resolution. I’m definitely a life-long learner. A good day is when I learn something, about an issue or idea I think is important, and it stays with me.

What are you reading right now?
Last year I think I only read crime-fiction. Scores of books. So far, that’s what I’m also doing in the New Year. I’m book blurbing for friends. I’ll work on a new Charlie Mack this year, I’ve already written a few chapters.

Do you have a favorite quote or life motto?
To whom much is given, much is expected. It’s a verse from the Bible. New Testament.

Favorite writing space?
A train. I am an absolute writing fiend on a train. At home I don’t have an everyday writing space. I move around. I don’t tie myself to my desk.

Favorite deadline snack?
A Hershey chocolate bar with almonds. But any chocolate will do.

What do you see when you look up from writing?
Depends on where I am. I like to take frequent breaks and often I’ll walk around (or cook) to help me think.

Tell us about your current book.
Time’s Undoing has a dual timeline, with both an historical and contemporary protagonist. Meghan McKenzie is a young, newspaper journalist who sets off to investigate the unsolved killing of her great-great grandfather, Robert Harrington, by a Birmingham, Alabama police officer. She uncovers many of the facts of his murder, and steps on enough toes to put herself in danger. The historical chapters imagines Robert’s life, and ultimate death. Two very different writing challenges, but as an author the historical sections transported me to a different emotional level. That’s not happened consistenly for me. I often felt my grandfather was guiding me in the research and the writing.

Thank you for being on the blog today, and congratulations on the new book! Readers, Cheryl will be choosing one commenter on the blog today and sending them a copy of Time’s Undoing.

About Time’s Undoing , which is released today:

A searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist’s search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago—inspired by the author’s own family history

Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the “Magic City” for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city’s busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it’s also a stronghold for the Klan. And with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention.

2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press, has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather’s murder—but no one knows the full story of what really happened back then, and his body was never found. Determined to find answers to her family’s long-buried tragedy and spurred by the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger.

Inspired by true events, Time’s Undoing is both a passionate tale of one woman’s quest for the truth behind the racially motivated trauma that has haunted her family for generations and, as newfound friends and supporters in Birmingham rally around Meghan’s search, the uplifting story of a community coming together to fight for change.

About Cheryl Head:

Cheryl A. Head writes the Anthony, and Lambda Literary-nominated, Charlie Mack Motown Mysteries. Formerly of Detroit, her books are included in the Special Collections of the Library of Michigan. The most recent book in her series, Warn Me When It’s Time, received a Silver Medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and was dubbed “chilling and prescient” by The New York Times.

Time’s Undoing, a crime novel based on her family’s personal tragedy will be published by Dutton Books in February 2023.

Cheryl now lives in Washington, DC with her partner, and canine supervisors: Abby and Frisby.

www.cherylhead.com
@cheaddc (Twitter)
@cheadwrites (Instagram)
Facebook

Joy in the Tropics

Edith/Maddie here, back home north of Boston, where it’s cold and quiet.

Our regular readers might know I traveled to Puerto Rico recently for the joyous occasion of my younger son’s wedding. Isn’t that perfect for the month of love? And, oh, what a time I had!

John David Hutchison-Maxwell and Alexandra Santiago-Llegus live and work at the Plenitud PR Teaching Center and Farm in a little town called Las Marias in the mountains of western Puerto Rico. The wedding was held at the farm and other events took place elsewhere in Las Marias.

My boy is thirty-four, so it took him a little while to find his true love, but it was worth the wait. We adore the talented, beautiful, and affectionate Alex, and the two are perfect for each other.

Hugh and I went a day early to have time with John and Alex without the crush of all the others. We got to see where they live on the farm, with two superadobe houses (read about them here) and a kitchen/sitting room.

JD showing Hugh the second and not-quite finished house.

Hugh and I settled into our big rental house a couple of miles from the farm and shared it with Allan and Alison, my older son and his wife, plus Barbara and Janet, my two older sisters, and three generations of our good friends, who are family by choice. My brother David, alas, couldn’t make it.

The next day we all helped with some wedding prep.

Then we welcomed Alex’s family to our house, which included a spacious covered downstairs patio. Her mom, aunts, and grandmother brought a big home-cooked Puerto Rican dinner and we all got to know each other, working through Spanish and English and lots of smiles and hugs.

My oldest nephew and his wife came from Idaho, and Alex’s father Tito is to the right.

The next day JD gave a farm tour, explaining everything from water filtration to terraced growing to bioconstruction, and we all helped with more prep.

Alex’s grandmothers have been friends since they were children, and it was a delight to meet Mama Mary and Mama Fela, both 89.

We in the wedding party rehearsed in front of the bamboo arch John David’s friends constructed (which was festooned with fresh blooms the next day for the ceremony), with the little flower girls leading off. Kaya and Cosima had never met before this but became great friends.

Rehearsal dinner back at our house was catered and lovely and I gave a toast in English and Spanish (thank you, Google, for the translation). (My darling great-goddaughter’s face isn’t allowed on the internet, thus the obscuring, and her little brother was asleep upstairs.)

The next day was wedding day, with my friend Jennifer and I getting our hair done.

Allan was part of the men’s getting-ready group and sent a couple of pix.

Alas, there were no candid shots of me and my boys together all gussied up, and we’ll have to wait for the official photos to come in to see what the photographer captured.

Allan did shoot this one of my sister and me checking out family pictures. I’m happy to report the footwear, about which I angsted for months, was comfortable and suitable, as was the dress.

My sisters and their uncle-the-groom look great, as does Hugh.

The bride, always a lovely woman, was stunning in a dress designed and sewn by one of her bridesmaids (a fashion designer). We’ll have to wait for official photographs, but we caught this one of the newlyweds during a musical number.

Their friends surprised them with a lovely rendition of George Harrison’s “Give Me Love,” complete with cello, guitar, keyboard, and a lead singer.

Our mother-groom dance was to Nanci Griffith’s performance of “From a Distance,” a song I was listening to before and after John David was born, and one that still holds meaning for both of us (song written by Julie Gold). Again, so far no pix of our dance that I’ve seen, but I cherish the memory.

A family brunch the next day was delightful.

We closed the day with JD and Alex dining with us in our house (one of the family pictures I wished we’d gotten the night before).

Anna (Jennifer’s daughter and Cosima’s mother) is like a sister to my sons, and vice versa. Kevin’s mother is Puerto Rican, so he fit right in.

Anna and Kevin’s son, Luca, loves trying to walk in Daddy’s shoes.

I finished off the stay with a few days on the east coast with Jennifer, my beach buddy of 45 years. We swam, hopped a ferry for a quick visit to Vieques, and toured tropical rain forest El Yunque. Both of us seventy-somethings completed the 1500-foot climb up to Mt. Britton on a path constructed ninety years ago by the WPA (most of it was in better shape than this stretch).

You might fairly ask if I wrote during my trip. Readers, I did not. On the plane ride home, I drafted a synopsis for Cece Barton #2, which is overdue to my editor, but that was it.

Now that I’ve been home for four days, it’s time to stop being distracted and get the last 20k words written on Deep Fried Death, Country Store Mystery #12, which is due in a month.

But I refilled the creative well, and most important, I was there to celebrate one of life’s biggest passages with my son and my favorite loved ones.

Readers: What big or small life moment have you celebrated lately?