Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 90

Grater Conversations!

How much do you love the title No Grater Crime? Huge congratulations to Maddie (aka Edith) on the release yesterday! Doesn’t this sound like a great reason to read and relax this weekend?

Ever since meeting the wary owners of an antique shop opening across the street, Robbie has been scrambling to manage weird incidences plaguing her café and country store. Pricey items vanish from shelves without explanation, a fully equipped breakfast food truck starts lingering around the area each morning, and loyal diners mysteriously fall ill. When an elderly man dies after devouring an omelet packed with poisonous mushrooms, Robbie must temporarily close down Pans ‘N Pancakes and search for the killer with a real zest for running her out of business–or else.

Usually cooking can be relaxing, but it sounds like it isn’t for Robbie right now! So this week, let’s focus on graters. Yes, I said graters. Graters are good for cheese, chocolate, zest, vegetables–what’s your favorite way to use a grater, or your favorite end result of one having been used?

Jessie: Congratulations, Edith on the release! It is a fun title. I am going to have to say carrots and citrus zest. There are several carrot dishes I love to make that involve a grater. One is a sauteed kinpira dish and the other is a refreshig carrot salad. I also love zesting lime or lemon peel inot and onto just about anything I happen to be cooking. Pasta, chicken in butter sauce, blistered green beans with chili flakes are all enhanced with a few flicks of zest fresh from the grater!

Sherry: Cheers to another release, Edith. The title is fabulous. I’ve pretty much been banned from using our grater even after I purchased a cut-resistant glove to protect my knuckles and our food from my many accidents. My husband doesn’t like how I grate cheese — I don’t get it, but hey if I can get out of work in the kitchen, I’m all for it.

Barb: We stayed in a rental house last week. The kitchen had every piece of equipment you could possible want–except a grater! Much mumbling on the part of our many cooks. I use my grater, which I love, for lemon zest for butter cookies at Christmas time. When large amounts of grating is required, I use the food processor.

Liz: Congrats, Edith! I think I have a grater somewhere…I’m kidding. I do. Just bought a fancy new one, actually. I think the last thing I grated was fresh ginger for a dish from my Oh She Glows cookbook.

Julie: I love my IKEA grater that puts all in a nice cup with a cover. What do I love? Everything. But especially Parmesan cheese and chocolate. Separate. And, sometimes, together.

Edith/Maddie: Thank you all, dear Wickeds, for the kind wishes. Sherry, you crack me up. Of course Bob doesn’t want bits of knuckle skin in his grated cheese! I am also prone to that. Like Barb, if I’m making carrot cake or coleslaw, I always use the grater plate in my food processor. Bingo, done in a flash, and no scraped fingers. We have a dedicated rotary grater for the parmesan we like fresh grated on pasta. Fellow writer and friend Tiger Wiseman sent me a fabulous microplane grater/zester (with a turquoise handle!). But it’s super sharp, so I am very, very careful when I use it.

Readers: What’s your favorite grater?

Here Comes the Bride – and the Book!

Edith here, wearing my Maddie Day hat, thrilled to announce my twenty-fifth book birthday with No Grater Crime, the ninth in the Country Store Mysteries!

Robbie Jordan’s Pans ’N Pancakes boasts delicious eats and the best vintage cookware finds in South Lick, Indiana. And now, for a limited time, there’s a new special featured on the menu—murder!
 
Ever since meeting the wary owners of an antique shop opening across the street, Robbie has been scrambling to manage weird incidences plaguing her café and country store. Pricey items vanish from shelves without explanation, a fully equipped breakfast food truck starts lingering around the area each morning, and loyal diners mysteriously fall ill. When an elderly man dies after devouring an omelet packed with poisonous mushrooms, Robbie must temporarily close down Pans ’N Pancakes and search for the killer with a real zest for running her out of business—or else.  

Except … do you read any hint in there that the book ends with Robbie’s wedding? Yeah, no. I didn’t think so. It might be because my original plan was for Robbie and Abe to get married off the page after the book ended. Thank goodness Sherry read the manuscript before I sent it in. She said something like, “Cozy readers want to be invited to the wedding.” Oh!

Anyway, it was a perfect suggestion. I could do that. (Except I think I forgot to inform my editor, so nothing weddingish made its way into the official book blurb.) The manuscript was too short, as usual. I had included scenes of Robbie’s wedding planning mixed in with solving a murder, so readers already knew we were leading up to nuptials.

Last week I also realized I’d missed a great promotional opportunity by not focusing on the wedding in the lead-up to the release date. My dear friend Annette Dashofy, a brilliant yet low-key self-marketer, included a wedding at the end of ‘Til Death, her tenth Zoe Chambers mystery, which came out in June, 2020. I remember lots of fun pre-pub posts where Annette ran quizzes on what kind of wedding dress would suit Zoe, which one she would pick, and so on.

Darn! Did I do that? I did not. So I’m trying to remedy my lackluster promotional efforts right here, right now, today, on release day.

First, let’s talk dresses. Our hero, Robbie, has long been described as about 5’3″, with a small waist and hearty hips anchoring her bicyclist’s thighs. She wanted to find a dress to highlight her best attributes. What bride doesn’t want that? Aunt Adele and Robbie’s friend Lou went shopping with her.

The Indianapolis bridal shops seemed to specialize in either strapless numbers in satin with trains or overly fussy lace-trimmed gowns. I hadn’t liked a single one. We’d made a second trip to an international import shop Lou knew in Bloomington and found exactly what I wanted.

Did it look like this one from DavidsBridal.com? Not exactly, but close.

I ran my hands down the white embroidery on the scoop-necked bodice of the dress, which fit snugly but wasn’t too tight. The cap sleeves were embroidered in white, too, with tiny flowers and bells. The fine cotton of the skirt was gathered at the waist and fell to the floor, giving it a delightfully swish when I moved, and it even had pockets.

I did have a secret weapon when I was writing the wedding scenes – my son’s wedding three years ago. I loved the colors his bride Alison Russell picked. Dusty rose, deep blue, and gray are beautiful together and looked so tasteful. The outdoor venue in Potomac was perfect, with the trees behind in full leaf.

Not sure what Alison was laughing at, but I love this picture that captures part of the ceremony.

The bride and groom invited both their parents to walk them down the aisle, first Allan with his father and me, then Alison with her parents. In the book, Robbie’s Italian father Roberto and her Aunt Adele both walk her down the aisle – plus Adele’s dog, Sloopy.

I gave Robbie Alison’s blue shoes under her dress. The bride’s two attendants, Lou and Alana (oops, stole that name, too, from Alison’s maid of honor, on the right in the photo), wear blue in the book, but in whatever style they wanted – as did all the young women in Alison and Allan’s wedding party.

Alana and Lou hovered in their deep blue outfits. Alana, in an elegant sleeveless silk jumpsuit that complemented her short auburn hair, kept patting the pocket that held the ring box. Lou, wearing a square-necked simple dress that flattered her athletic figure, fussed with the flower wreath in my hair.

The wreath? That’s a little detail from my own modest wedding to Allan’s dad, many years ago.

Except I didn’t have the wreath on my head yet!

The men in the story wear rose-pink silk neckties, as did the men in Allan’s wedding party.

Edith’s boys, officiant John and groom Allan Hutchison-Maxwell

Now you have a sneak peek into the very end of the book. The rest? You’ll have to read No Grater Crime to find out what happens!

Readers: Dish on your favorite wedding memory, color, or idea. I’ll send one of you a signed copy of the new book, plus a little swag.

A Wicked Welcome to Vicki Delany

by Julie, packing her bags in Somerville

I’m delighted to welcome Vicki Delany to the blog today! She is the author of multiple books, and is here to tell us about her new series, A Catskill Summer Resort Mystery Book. Welcome Vicki!

Back in Time
By Vicki Delany

It’s 1953. Think girdles and stockings, fancy cocktails, grand ballrooms, cigarette smoke (and more cigarette smoke), angel food cake and Cheeze Whiz on celery, Reds under the beds and slow moving fans.

It’s the Catskills. Comedians and big bands and glamorous singers. Paddle boats and bellhops, tomato cocktails and Jello-salads, swimsuit competitions and dance instructors.

Put them together and you have my new series, the Catskills Resort Mysteries.  Out front: swimming pool, beach, lounge chairs, tennis games ,cards on the veranda, a full dining room. Behind the scenes: offices full of women pounding typewriters and answering phones,  harried switchboard operators, non-stop smoking. Hundreds of employees from gardeners to bellhops to chambermaids to entertainment directors, lifeguards, and dance instructors.

And at the center of it all, Elizabeth Grady, war-widow, bookkeeper, reluctant resort manager. Her mother, Olivia Peters, retired Broadway dance star and unexpectedly the owner of a Catskills resort.

Elizabeth doesn’t want to manage a huge resort and her relationship with her mother, the Broadway star, has never been easy, but when Olivia’s third husband cheats her out of all her money, and then she inherits Haggerman’s from an admirer, she asks (begs) Elizabeth to help her. So here Elizabeth is, spending most of her summer in a stuffy office trying to keep the resort afloat and profitable. If a murder and rumours of communist infiltration don’t shut them down for good

It’s been a lot of fun putting this series together. Researching the food, the clothes, the slang, the cars, the habits of resort staff and guests. Fortunately, I’ve had a lot of material to work with. People who worked in the Catskills in its hey day, and those who stayed at the famous hotels (and not-so-famous) have fond memories of heir time.  Unlike the authors of most historical books, I’ve had tons of film material to see – movies made in the era. I watched hours of Fred Astaire dance routines and big band performances to determine what sort of entertainment would have gone on in the ballroom in the evening. Movies also showed me the clothes and the hairstyles of the era.

I hope you’ll take a trip back in time with me and pay a visit to Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. Put on your best dress and your dancing shoes. Order a Manhattan from the bar, light up a cigarette, and grab a devilled egg or celery stick (complete with Cheeze Whiz) from the buffet.

Deadly Summer Nights by Vicki Delany, releases on September 7, from Berkley.

About the book:

A summer of fun at a Catskills resort comes to an abrupt end when a guest is found murdered, in this new 1950s set mystery series.

It’s the summer of 1953, and Elizabeth Grady is settling into Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. As a vacation getaway, Haggerman’s is ideal, and although Elizabeth’s ostentatious but well-meaning mother is new to running the resort, Elizabeth is eager to help her organize the guests and the entertainment acts. But Elizabeth will have to resort to untested abilities if she wants to save her mother’s business.

When a reclusive guest is found dead in a lake on the grounds, and a copy of The Communist Manifesto is found in his cabin, the local police chief is convinced that the man was a Russian spy. But Elizabeth isn’t so sure, and with the fate of the resort hanging in the balance, she’ll need to dodge red herrings, withstand the Red Scare, and catch a killer red-handed.

Bio:

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

Welcome Guest Paula B. Mays

I met Paula through the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime and we’ve been on a couple of panels together. She’s charming, smart, and I loved the story of how she came up with the idea for her mystery Murder in the Parador. Here’s a bit about the book:

Only one thing was certain: John Donne was dead. That fact was verified after the wedding. Marco, former police officer—currently private detective and police consultant–must follow clues from Southern Spain to Morocco in order to determine whether the brilliant scientist on the verge of one of the world’s greatest discoveries- the cure to the insidious disease of cancer- had been murdered. Marco had been assigned to Alberto Flores, a detective from the police force of Malaga, Spain, a member of the blue wall that had betrayed him. How could they work together? Moreover, Marco and the straight-laced Flores employed different modus operandi for solving crime. During this journey of discovery, Marco also finds out about himself and his relationship both to his own culture and to his family. He is also forced to examine his relationship with his live-in girlfriend, Belen, a Spanish flamenco dancer. Murder in the Parador introduces you to a diverse array of characters unlike any you’ve ever met. The various threads of the intricate plot ultimately align to reveal the startling circumstances at the heart of this compelling mystery.

Paula: The plane landed at Malaga, Spain airport on a bright sunny afternoon.  I stepped off tired after a long flight, stared into the sun and knew I was home.  Have you ever had that feeling? That sense of place, a knowing that this is where you belong.

My inner-self was not disappointed.  I first visited Marbella, Spain when a friend allowed, even encouraged me, to stay in her father’s now empty condo next to the Marriott hotel and just a walk from the beach on the Mediterranean.  I know it’s hard to believe I had to be talked into going the first time.  Luckily, my friend, Christine heard about it and said absolutely we must go.  She said she’d always wanted to go to Southern Spain.

Christine and I disembarked on Thanksgiving Day to 70 degree weather, sunshine, mountains, and the Mediterranean Sea.  Luckily, at that time, Christine understood some Spanish (I do now, but not at that time), so we easily got a taxi to Marbella 30 some miles away from the airport and found the condo.  The week-long adventure led to a permanent love affair and many excursions to the tiny condo steps from the beach.

I went often; attended Spanish immersion school, learned a great deal of Spanish, and made life-long friends. I specifically remember hanging out with a group of good friends atop a mountain near Marbella overlooking the sea, while one of our friends cooked chicken paella over the grill.  Sitting on a blanket sipping Sangria, I recall thinking how amazing it was to be in this dream. Some of these friends make cameo appearances in my book, though all of the characters are fictional.

What a magical place to set my other interest: International Mysteries.  I became entranced with MHZ networks in Washington DC, which featured mysteries from around the world.  Two of my favorites were Montalbano, based on the novels of Andrea Camilleri and Inspector Brunetti, based on the novels of Donna Leon.  It was all the inspiration I needed. They became my muses.  

I had to incorporate the mystical beauty of Spain into the mystery genre. So I set about writing my first novel, Murder in the Parador, which encompasses my own fantasy of a beautiful wedding to a gorgeous Spaniard in a Parador. (Note to reader- that hasn’t come true, but I carry on).  It’s important to me that you get the sense of place that touched me, the sea, the mountains, and the food such as well-known tapas and paella.  My main character, like Montalbano, often enjoys a good Spanish meal and delicious wine.

Magical places aren’t free from controversy though and my characters don’t shy away from it.  I purposely emphasize the diversity of Southern Spain, filled with British, Scandinavian, German and other European ex-pats, and an immigration problem.  Immigration issues from Africa, especially neighboring Morocco are similar to those in Mexico and the US.  My main characters are intended to represent this diversity and to point out the issues such as trafficking, and racism that plague even magical places.

COVID may have curtailed my jaunts to my second home, but I am always there through the stories of the characters who occupy the world of Vivirrambla.

Readers: Is there a magical place that has touched your heart?

Bio: I am an attorney with thirty-five years of experience.  My legal experience began in criminal law as an Assistant States Attorney to intellectual property, specifically trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  I attained a Masters in Public Health (MPH), from the George Washington University late in my career.  Presently, I work for a healthcare company.

I am a native of Washington DC. I started writing mysteries due to my interest in Southern Spain, which I view as a second home and from viewing International Mysteries on the MHZ network in DC, which featured mysteries from around the world including  the well-known Scandinavian mysteries.  I also enjoy water color and reading lessons at the National Cathedral, as well as tennis.

Genre Hopping with Naomi Hirahara

by Julie, enjoying the summer in Somerville

I am delighted to welcome Naomi Hirahara to the blog today! Naomi is a multi-published author who’s most recent book, Clark and Division, is getting wonderful reviews. Here’s a bit about the book:

Set in 1944 Chicago, Edgar Award-winner Naomi Hirahara’s eye-opening and poignant new mystery, the story of a young woman searching for the truth about her revered older sister’s death, brings to focus the struggles of one Japanese American family released from mass incarceration at Manzanar during World War II.

She truly genre hops, and she answered some questions for us.

What genres do you write in?

Traditional mystery, cultural mystery, historical mystery and noir

What drew you to the genre you write?

My love for context, or history. Understanding where we are today from the past.

What sets your book apart from what is out there?

There’s not much literature — both nonfiction or fiction — on what happened to Japanese Americans when they were released from wartime detention camps, and especially the experience in Chicago. There was a lot of juvenile delinquency that came out of this resettlement period of time — ripe for a mystery. That’s how my most recent historical, Clark and Division, evolved.

Do you write a series or standalones? Why?

Mostly series. I love developing characters over time and also to signal that this one book is not the end of the story. Clark and Division is officially a standalone but lo and behold, there will be a follow-up.

That’s great news! What are you working on now?

I’m currently developing the sequel to Clark and Division. It is called Evergreen, referring to a neighborhood in Boyle Heights in Los Angeles.

What are you reading right now?

Alexandra Chang’s Days of Distraction

Do you have a favorite quote or life motto?

Change before change gets you.

Favorite writing space?

Outside at a table at Caltech, but I’m usually at my living room table.

Favorite deadline snack?

It changes. Right now it’s rice crackers.

What do you see when you look up from writing?

Blankets crocheted by my husband’s grandmother and my grandmother. They are on a quilt rack.

Thank you for joining us today, Naomi. And congratulations on Clark and Division!

BIO:photo by Mayumi Hirahara

Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award-winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her Mas Arai mysteries, which have been published in Japanese, Korean and French, feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. The seventh and final Mas Arai mystery is Hiroshima Boy, which was nominated for an Edgar Award for best paperback original. Her first historical mystery is Clark and Division, which follows a Japanese American family’s move to Chicago in 1944 after being released from a California wartime detention center. Her second Leilani Santiago Hawai‘i mystery, An Eternal Lei, is scheduled to be released in 2022. A former journalist with The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, Naomi has also written numerous non-fiction history books and curated exhibitions. She has also written a middle-grade novel, 1001 Cranes.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NaomiHiraharaBooks
IG and Twitter: @gasagasagirl

Tea, Whiskey or Water?

August is waning, but I’m still thinking about relaxing–how we do it, and how our characters do it. Wickeds, at the end of a long day, or at the conclusion of a case, is it time for tea, whiskey (or wine), or water to help you revive?

Jessie: Great question, Julie! Lately, I have been really enjoying a couple of different relaxing bevearages. I do love a treat! In the afternoons, throughout the summer, I have been making espresso tonics. I simply adore the snappy taste and the refreshing bubbles! I also splurged on a new bubbly water maker that will inject fizz into any sort of beverage that is not pulp-filled. Bubbled mint iced tea is a favorite now in the evenings! And I am always up for celebrating life’s successes with a glass of champagne! Not surprisingly, my characters end up enjoying bubbly beverages too. In the case of Beryl and Edwina, they tend towards gin fizzes!

Sherry: Jessie, you got me hooked on bubbly, flavored water years ago. I’ve been thinking about buying a bubbly water maker but haven’t taken the plunge yet. Like Jessie, I love a sparkling wine. My daughter works at a winery and they have a fabulous Blanc de Noir. Chloe loves the happy drinks that Joaquin makes her which usually include some kind of fruit and a paper umbrella. Sarah tends to drink wine.

Edith/Maddie: I love that when the Wickeds (used to) go out, Sherry always orders prosecco! Bubbly is good, especially for celebrating. I am partial to a spot of bourbon in the evenings – oddly enough, so is Robbie Jordan, although hers is always Four Roses from over the border in Kentucky. Mac Almeida loves a nice glass of wine, and of course Rose Carroll sticks to tea.

Barb: Julia drinks at Crowley’s, Busman’s Harbor’s noisiest. most touristy bar, where she orders the house red or white, or occasionally, a local beer. As to coffee and tea, she drinks at her mother’s kitchen table, across the street at the Snuggles Inn, where the china cups, painted with pink roses, are painfully small, and in her favorite place, Gus’s restaurant. Lately, she’s been sitting alone at the end of the counter.

Julie: The Garden Squad eats at the Star a lot, and Ernie is always in charge of ordering the wine and appetizers for the table. Roddy waits to see what they are eating before he commits to a drink. In WREATHING HAVOC they celebrate Thanksgiving, and Tamara’s son tops off Lilly’s wine glass with a different white, but she doesn’t care. They are all coffee drinkers, but when they need support or restoration, Lilly makes tea. As for myself–I love flavored water these days. I’m doing my best to drink more H2O, and a squeeze of lemon or line, or even cucumber, really helps.

Readers, what is your restorative or relaxing beverage of choice?

Ellen Byron and the Real Gaynell Bourgeois

Edith/Maddie, north of Boston and glad the weather has broken a little.

I’m so excited to welcome my dear friend Ellen Byron back to the blog. Cajun Kiss of Death, her seventh Cajun Country Mystery came out last week. I just finished my copy and loved it as much as the first six.

In Pelican, Louisiana, Valentine’s Day has a way of warming the heart, despite the February chill. But the air at Crozat Plantation B&B turns decidedly frigid when celebrity chef Phillippe Chanson checks in. And when the arrogant Phillippe–in town to open his newest Cajun-themed restaurant–perishes, Maggie Crozat’s dear friend JJ lands in very cold water.

Did JJ, proprietor of Junie’s Oyster Bar and Dance Hall, murder Phillippe because he feared the competition? Might Maggie’s mother, Ninette, have bumped off the chef for stealing one of her cherished recipes? Or was the culprit a local seafood vendor, miffed because Phillippe was somehow able to sell oysters for a remarkably reasonable price, despite an oyster shortage?

Maggie receives a series of anonymous gifts that begin as charming but grow increasingly disturbing. Does Maggie have an admirer–or a stalker? And are these mysterious gifts somehow related to Phillippe’s murder? Blood may be thicker than water, but this case is thicker than gumbo. And solving it will determine whether Maggie gets hearts and roses–or hearse and lilies–this Valentine’s Day.

The Real Gaynell Bourgeois

Readers often ask authors if their characters are inspired by real people. There’s someone in my life who inspired me so much I named a character after her.

I first met the real Gaynell Bourgeois Moore when she was the tour guide at Ashland-Belle Helene, a derelict plantation on Louisiana’s River Road. (The manor house has since been restored by the Shell Oil Company, but it is not open to the public.) I was taken by Gaynell’s charm and vivacity, and we struck up a friendship unaffected by the decades of difference in our ages. But life eventually intervened and after a few years, we drifted apart.

Cut to 1997. On a visit to New Orleans, my husband and I took a day trip up the River Road. We stopped at the Houmas House Plantation gift shop, and I mentioned to the sales associate I’d lost touch with a friend who once worked at Ashland. “Do you happen to know a Gaynell Bourgeois?” I asked. “Know her?” the woman said. “She works here!” She pulled out a walkie talkie – remember, this was the late 90s – and moments later, Gaynell came bounding down a flight of stairs holding up the hoop skirt of her tour guide costume. Our rekindled friendship has been going strong ever since.

In addition to being a general delight, Gaynell is extraordinary on many levels. A proud Cajun woman, she’s a self-taught artist, musician, and writer who uses these talents to chronicle her life and the Cajun culture she grew up with. I’m the lucky owner of her CDs, memoir, and a brick from Ashland-Belle Helene she decorated with a lovely painting of the grand home. I bought the brick when we first met, and it’s traveled with me from New Orleans to New York to Los Angeles.

You’ll find hints of Gaynell all over the place in my Cajun Country Mystery series— in the culture, the warmth of the characters, the atmosphere. You’ll even find hints of her in the food. She shared her own Gumbo recipe with me for the Agatha Award-winning Mardi Gras Murder.

Back to that character I named after her. When I began the series, I told Gaynell I wanted to honor her in this way.  I said, “You can either be the eightysomething grand-mere or the nineteen-year-old musician.” Without missing a beat, Gaynell responded, “Oh, I’ll be the nineteen-year-old.”

So she is.

Readers: is there someone in your life who might inspire a fictional character? Comment to be entered to win a copy of Cajun Kiss of Death, the seventh book in the award-winning Cajun Country Mystery series.

Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards for Best Humorous Mystery. She writes the Catering Hall Mystery series, under the name Maria DiRico, and will debut the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries (as Ellen) in June 2022 . Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and FAIRLY ODD PARENTS. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart.

Purchase link: Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron: 9781643857381 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

Newsletter link: Cozy Mysteries | Ellen Byron | Author

Finally

Jessie: In New Hampshire, where a few trees are displaying tinges of orange

Do you have any goals or habits you’ve been meaning to reach or add for simply ages? I have a few, but one of the most persistent has been a daily meditation practice. Every year, for what felt like forever, I would add it to my list of goals and plans. I would download an app on my phone or read an inspirational book touting the benefits of incorporating it. I would even make real attempts to cultivate a habit of it each January.

I tried setting a reminder on my calendar to prompt me to make it a priority. I toyed with guided meditations using a smart speaker in my office. I alternated sitting up straight in a chair or lying stretched out on the floor. I gave it a go first thing in the morning and also tried it last thing at night. But, no matter what I did, I just couldn’t manage to make it stick nor could I see any real value in persisting. By the end of January I invariably gave up my attempts and consoled myself with the notion that perhaps it was not a path everyone should tred.

But over and over I would encounter articles, or blog posts, or casual references to meditation by acquaintences, and a quiet little part of my brain woudl perk up and pay attention. It would offer up a suggestion that perhaps I ought to try again. It reminded me of the fact that I love accomplishing goals and adding habits I believe support the direction I wish to head in my life and career. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to reliquish the idea once and for all. And then, around Christmas 2019 I read about the Muse Band. Not for me, mind you. That would have been too sensible. Our eldest had started a meditation practice of his own and I thought he might enjoy some added incentive to continue it. Why I didn’t ask for one of my own that year is beyond me. But by December of 2020 I had managed to realise that it was perhaps a solution for me as well. It arrived a few days past Christmas and I dutifully gave it a try, not all that convinced it would make a difference, but ready and willing to be convinced. I sat upright in a chair, in the morning, and popped the thing on my head. I placed my headphones over my ears and followed the directions being fed at me through the app. And you know, it worked like a charm. The simple device managed to provide feedback and data that made sense to me. I used it again the next day and then the next.

Little by little, I began to understand how a meditative state felt and how to quiet my mind to reach it. And when I did, it was undeniaby pleasant. I tend to have a rambunctious brain and the ability to put it into neutral once in a while was an experience worth seeking. Before long, I found myself increasing the number of minutes I spent at it each day and also increased my quantity goals for the week.

Today marks the 230th day in a row that I have meditated. I love knowing that I have made a habit of something that languished on my list for so long, but that isn’t really what matters. As I move through my days and weeks so many more new ideas bubble to the surface of my mind as thought they just needed a bit of quiet before they dared raise their heads. I find myself questioning repetive thoughts about my work or about situations. I feel more cheerful overall. I cannot claim that every meditation session is bliss or that I have any degree of mastery of the practice, but I do know that I look forward to my time sitting quietly every day and seeing where it will all ultimately take me.

Readers, do you have anything on your list of aspirations that has been there forever? Have you tried meditating?

On Visiting Thin Places by Lucy Burdette

Today we welcome back to the blog our good friend, Lucy Burdette. Lucy’s here to celebrate the release of Scone of Contention, the eleventh book in her Key West Food Critic Mystery series.

Here’s the blurb

A murderer’s out to spoil Hayley’s honeymoon in national bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s eleventh Key West Food Critic Mystery.

Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow and her groom, police detective Nathan Bransford, chose Scotland for their long-delayed honeymoon, hoping to sightsee and enjoy prize-winning scones. But their romantic duo swells to a crowd when they’re joined by Nathan’s family as well as octogenarian Miss Gloria.

Nathan’s sister Vera takes the women on a whirlwind tour of some of Scotland’s iconic mystic places as research for a looming book project. But the trip takes a deadly tartan turn when a dinner party guest falls ill and claims she was poisoned. And then the group watches in horror as a mysterious tourist tumbles to his death from the famous Falkirk Wheel, high above the Forth & Clyde canal.

Vera and her friends deny knowing the dead man, but after observing their reactions to the fall, Hayley is not convinced. With one person dead, a second possibly poisoned, and the tension among Vera’s friends as thick as farmhouse cheese, Hayley fears her long-awaited honeymoon might end with another murder.

Far away from home, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, eccentric characters, and a forbiddingly gorgeous setting, Hayley must call on all her savvy to keep a killer from striking again and then escaping Scot free.

Take it away, Lucy!

I don’t believe I’d ever paid much attention to the concept of thin places before we traveled to Scotland in 2019. I like this description by Eric Weiner, found in the New York Times: “It’s not clear who first uttered the term “thin places,” but they almost certainly spoke with an Irish brogue. The ancient pagan Celts, and later, Christians, used the term to describe mesmerizing places like the wind-swept isle of Iona (now part of Scotland) or the rocky peaks of Croagh Patrick. Heaven and earth, the Celtic saying goes, are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter.”

Iona

We visited that isle of Iona, absolutely staggering in its lonely beauty, along with Glencoe, in the highlands of Scotland, famous for a bloody massacre that occurred in a peaceful village. The ruins of a home on the site of this massacre are said to be very thin, with some visitors experiencing the presence of the people who had lived there. I was disappointed not to feel that, but Robin, one of the friends we made on the trip, definitely did. She described it this way: “At first, maybe because I was alone on that walk, I felt that I was walking on sacred ground. I was sensing the quiet spirits of those who had gone before. I had no feelings of fear or panic at that point. It was almost like they were explaining that this was where they lived and worked and raised their families. I felt a sense of sadness yet quiet acceptance from these spirits that echoed in the whispering of the leaves. It was emotionally overwhelming and a memory that will always remain with me.”

Glencoe

I knew that I wanted to weave the theme of thin places into A Scone of Contention, the 11th book in the Key West food critic mystery series—as much of the book takes place in Scotland. If you follow this series, you might immediately recognize two characters who would connect with thin places, tarot card reader Lorenzo, and Miss Gloria, Hayley’s beloved octogenarian neighbor. But I couldn’t bring the whole Key West gang on this trip—it was supposed to be Hayley and Nathan’s delayed honeymoon! In the end, they enthusiastically invited Miss Gloria to go with them. In the following snippet, they are newly arrived guests in the home of Nathan’s sister, Vera, and her husband in St. Andrews. This scene takes place on the first night of their visit.

I heard a soft tap on the door. 
“Come in.” 
Miss Gloria’s elfin face appeared. 
“Everything okay?” I asked. 
“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it? I can’t wait to see more of the countryside.” She paused, plucked at her topknot of white hair. “But I am a little worried.” 
I patted the bed beside me. “About what?” 
She crossed the room and perched on Nathan’s side of the bed. “It might sound silly. But I didn’t realize that Vera’s husband is a Campbell. I never asked you their family name.” 
“And that’s a problem because…?” 
“Because my mother’s people were McDonalds.” 
She stopped speaking, as though that was all I needed to know. But it explained nothing to me. 
“Say a little more about that?” I suggested. 
She heaved a troubled sigh. “My ancestors lived in the Highlands, in Glencoe where we will be going with Vera, I’m sure. It’s well known for being a thin place. And many of those same people were massacred by the Campbells. William’s people.” 
She looked so distressed that I needed to understand. Clearly, I should have been reading more Scottish history. “And how long ago did all this happen?” I asked. 
“In the 1600’s. But they wiped out most of the clan. And we have long memories. I still sense that loss right here.” She pressed her hand to her chest and I could almost feel her heart pounding like a little bird. 
“I can imagine how distressing that bit of history would feel,” I said. 
Though in truth, I couldn’t quite imagine getting that upset about something so long ago. On the other hand, I didn’t know the details of the massacre, and I was a lot younger than Miss Gloria. More concerned with the here-and-now, than my ancestors’ lives. This was likely a failing of my own. 
“Let’s get a little rest. We’re both exhausted. And then we can figure out what to do when we’re fresh.” I reached over to give her a hug.  

Though honestly, what was there to do? Demand reparations from our host, Nathan’s brother-in-law, for what his ancestors did four hundred years ago?  

I hope you’ll enjoy this visit to Scotland. I sure did love writing it!

Readers: Have you visited a thin place? Have you had the experience of making a connection with spirits from another time in such a place?

About LucyLucy in Glencoe

New Jersey born Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleib is the author of 19 mysteries, including A SCONE OF CONTENTION, the latest in the Key West series featuring food critic Hayley Snow (coming August 10, 2021 from Crooked Lane Books.) Bronze medal-winning THE KEY LIME CRIME is the tenth book in her Key West food critic mystery series. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a past president of Sisters in Crime, and currently serving as president of the Friends of the Key West Library.

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In Search of the Julie HEA **plus giveaway**

by Julie, summering in Somerville

I love a good story, I really do. In “normal” times, I voraciously consume them–through books, theater, movies, television, podcasts, artwork. But these aren’t normal times, are they? These days my consumption is a bit different–live theater hasn’t been part of my life for over a year for one thing. (How I miss it!) Here’s the other thing.

I need to be assured there will be an Julie HEA. A Julie approved Happily Ever After.

Now, let me explain. Happily ever after, as defined by me these days, means the following:

The ending needs to be satisfying. No loose ends. No ambiguity. Life is uncertain enough. I need a story with an ending.The journey to the ending can be exciting, but it can’t be too scary or anxiety producing.The ending cannot rip my heart out, depress me, or make me overly anxious.The ending needs to make sense for the novel/movie/television series/podcast. You can’t force an HEA. It needs to come naturally. Forced is worse than not having one at all.I want to smile at the end of the story.

When people recommend a book/movie/series/podcast, my first question is “will it stress me out?” That’s become shorthand for “is there a happily every after?”. My nieces, both of whom are horror and thriller fans, are always telling me about a show they’re watching. “Is is an Aunt Julie show?” I’ll ask. They look at each other, and usually shake their heads. When they come along a show that passes the Aunt Julie HEA test, they’ll text me excitedly. “Have you ever watched Hart of Dixie?” was a text last fall. “It’s an Aunt Julie show.” (It was.)

Now, pre-pandemic Julie sat happily in a theater weeping. My Irish roots embraced the darkness of life. I found satisfaction in tragic stories that ended well. I rewatched sad movies prepared for the catharsis. Bleak poetry warmed my soul. That Julie will be back.

But these days, I have started and stopped more mystery series (BritBox and Acorn are two channels I adore) with a “too dark” then ever before. I’ve never been a blood/guts/torture fan, but I used to be able to deal with dark. You know what I mean. Cranky investigator with a troubled past, haunted by a case, always making their life more miserable by being a wonderful sleuth but less than human being. These days it’s a “nope” and then I rewatch Murder, She Wrote or Midsommer Murders or The Librarians for the upteenth time. I’m listening to Elizabeth Peters books like they are musical theater scores. I’ve been reading non-fiction (I read Wikipedia to prepare myself first) and, of course, my beloved cozies.

That doesn’t mean that I’m not buying books that don’t fit the Julie HEA. I’ll save them for later, or lend them to a friend. When friends recommend a television show, I ask for more details and, more often than not, move it to the “future” side of my to watch list.

So here I am, late summer of 2021. Life is a lot these days. I’m looking for stories with a Julie HEA. Readers, what do you recommend? Comment below, and I’ll send two commenters a copy of Wreathing Havoc, which will be released on September 28! BTW, it has a Julie HEA.