BOOK TOUR
The Fourth of July is coming, and for professional food lover Samantha Barnes, it’s all about the picnic. Okay, and the fireworks. And the parade. But mostly the picnic. What could be better than a DIY clambake followed by the best blueberry buckle in the world? Sam has finally found the perfect recipe in the kitchen of Clara Foster, famed cookbook author and retired restaurateur, and she’s thrilled when Clara agrees to a buckle baking lesson.
But when Clara dies in a house fire blamed on carelessness in the kitchen, Sam doesn’t believe it. Unfortunately, her doubts set in motion an investigation pointing to the new owner of Clara’s legendary restaurant—and a cousin of Sam’s harbormaster boyfriend. So, in between researching the Cape’s best lobster rolls and planning her clambake, Sam needs to find Clara's killer before the fireworks really start....
LKBR: Hi, Amy, it’s great to have you with us.
AP: Thanks, Lisa! I’m so
pleased to be here on your wonderful blog!
LKBR: Please
tell us a bit about yourself.
AP: Well, I and my four siblings (and various dogs and cats) grew
up in a big old farmhouse in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, but spent every summer
on Cape Cod, where we joined our vast extended family in long days sailing,
swimming, clamming and, of course, eating. I have lived in many wonderful
places in my life, including New York and Rome, but it is the Cape that always
calls me back.
As a lifelong mystery lover and wordsmith, I’ve been an
editor, a restaurant reviewer and a journalist before leading employee
communications at a global bank. A few years ago (with the final college
tuition bill paid!), I waved goodbye to Wall Street to write the Cape Cod
Foodie mysteries full time (and spend more time sailing on the Cape!).
LKBR:
Please tell us about your new book.
AP: In MURDER IS NO PICNIC,
The
Fourth of July is coming, and for professional food lover Samantha Barnes, it’s
all about the picnic. Okay, and the fireworks. And the parade. But mostly the
picnic. What could be better than a DIY clambake followed by the best blueberry
buckle in the world? Sam has finally found the perfect recipe in the kitchen of
Clara Foster, famed cookbook author and retired restaurateur, and she’s
thrilled when Clara agrees to a buckle baking lesson.
But when Clara dies in a house fire blamed on carelessness in the kitchen, Sam
doesn’t believe it. Unfortunately, her doubts set in motion an investigation
pointing to the new owner of Clara’s legendary restaurant—and a cousin of Sam’s
harbormaster boyfriend. So, in between researching the Cape’s best
lobster rolls and planning her clambake, Sam needs to find Clara’s killer
before the fireworks really start….
LKBR: Do
you remember where you were/what you were doing when the idea of this
book/series came to you?
AP: I remember exactly when and where the idea came to me. I was eating of course, since that’s what I
do best. I was having lunch with my wonderful agent, Sandy Harding, and we were
discussing a thriller I had recently finished writing. I was very tired of
“writing dark,” and I said to Sandy, “You know what would be fun to write? A
traditional mystery, one set in someplace lovely like Cape Cod, with an amateur
sleuth like Miss Marple, but young-ish and kind of goofy but smart. And she
would love food and dogs and sailing. And everything would come out right in
the end.”
And Sandy said, “Well, why don’t you do that? It could be a
sort of palate cleanser.” (Sandy knows how to speak foodie to a foodie.)
So I did. And I never went back to the dark side ;)
LKBR: That's the exact reason I started reading cozies. I was reading nothing but thrillers, and it all became way too dark for me.
LKBR: How
did you go about submitting your first idea for a book? Was that first book
published?
AP: The first book was the thriller mentioned above. And, no, it
was not published! But Sandy took my first Cape Cod Foodie mystery, A SIDE OF
MURDER, to Berkley Books and they – amazingly – took it and – even more
amazingly – signed me to a three-book contract!
LKBR: Is
writing your fulltime job? What’s your writing schedule like?
AP: Writing is absolutely my fulltime job. And I love it! I’m
usually at my desk by 6 a.m. and writing (0r editing or rewriting) until noon.
And then I spend a few hours in the afternoon on social media, because you
don’t just write a book – you have to promote it, too!
LKBR: No
matter where you are, do you write down ideas when inspiration strikes?
AP: I
usually wake up in the early hours of the morning and simply allow my mind to
float over what I might be writing that day. You would be amazed at what rises
to the surface and gest jotted down (“can you kill someone with a coconut?”.
What I also tend to do is eavesdrop unashamedly to other people’s conversations
in line at the grocery store or sitting next to me at a restaurant. Most
recently, this is what I sneakily jotted down: “I love you, but this is where I
get off the bus, sister.” I can’t wait to put that in one of my books.
LKBR: Do
you write your book(s) from beginning to end or do you do you write scenes out
of order then pull them together?
AP: Because I write twisty
mysteries that require clues strategically scattered and all loose ends tied
up, I always start with a detailed outline of about 30 pages before I even
start the real writing. The outline process is no fun at all, but the writing –
that is pure joy.
LKBR:
Have you ever killed off a series’ regular character? If yes, was it hard for
you to do? What were your reader’s reactions to it?
AP: Good
lord, no! I love my characters too much! In particular, I love my heroine,
Samantha Barnes. Sam is definitely not perfect.
But I so enjoy spending time with her.
LKBR: Where
do you do most of your writing?
AP: Well, I’m a lucky girl there. For a month every summer, I have the joy of writing in a little cottage on the Cape.
Back in my real life, though, I’m mostly writing at home in
New Jersey in my “office” (also known as the “guest bedroom,” though my son,
Quinn, who left home years ago still calls it his bedroom), which actually has a partial view of New York City!
And then on the weekends, we escape to Bucks County,
Pennsylvania, where I sit at my mother’s old desk and channel her love of
mysteries as I write.
LKBR: What
are three things always within reach when you’re writing?
AP: Coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Also, coffee.
LKBR:
Please describe yourself in one sentence.
AP: I am the exact opposite of my fictional alter ego – short (Sam
is tall, really tall, like, over-six-feet-tall kind of tall), a total chicken (Sam is very brave,
especially when defending her dog), boringly polite (Sam is funny and snarky),
and only a so-so cook (Sam is a terrific cook).
LKBR: Do
you have a message for your readers?
AP: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for loving Sam and the gang
and the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries!
LKBR:
Thank you so much, Amy, for spending time with us today. Can’t wait to chat
with you again!
AP: It was great fun! Thanks for having me!
Order
MURDER IS NO PICNIC here
Sign up for Amy’s newsletter, News from the Cape Cod Foodie
About Amy Pershing
Amy Pershing, who spent every summer of her childhood on Cape Cod, was an editor, a restaurant reviewer and a journalist before leading employee communications at a global bank. A few years ago she waved goodbye to Wall Street to write full time. Murder Is No Picnic is the third of the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries featuring Samantha Barnes, a disgraced but resilient ex-chef who retreats home to Cape Cod where she finds herself juggling a new job as the local paper’s “Cape Cod Foodie,” a complicated love life, a posse of just-slightly-odd friends, a falling-down house, a ginormous dog and a propensity for falling over dead bodies. Elizabeth Gilbert called the first book in the series, A Side of Murder, “the freshest, funniest mystery I have ever read,” and Kirkus Reviews gave the second book, An Eggnog to Die For, a starred review, saying, “A delightful sleuth, a complex mystery, and lovingly described cuisine: a winner for both foodies and mystery mavens.”
Purchase Links
Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Google Books - IndieBound - Bookshop.org
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
Thanks, Lisa (and Amy).
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday!
Pat T
Have a beautiful day, Pat!
DeleteThanks so much for this really fun interview, Lisa!
ReplyDeleteIt's been wonderful getting to know more about you, Amy. Congratulations on the new book!
DeleteSounds great, I love the cover.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThis book looks incredible to read. I sure would love to win, read & review print format of this book. Love books like this.
Thanks for giveaway & review.
Thank you for being part of the book tour for "MURDER IS NO PICNIC" by Amy Pershing. Enjoyed the Q&A interview and can't wait for the opportunity to dive in reading this great sounding book.
ReplyDelete2clowns at arkansas dot net