Lisa Ks Book Reviews

BOOK TOUR

I'm so happy to be a stop on the

blog tour for author

Maddie Day

and her new book

BISCUITS AND SLASHED BROWNS

Book 4 in the Country Store Mysteries

For country-store owner Robbie Jordan, the National Maple Syrup Festival is a sweet escape from late-winter in South Lick, Indiana—until murder saps the life out of the celebration . . .

As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cook-off at Pans ‘N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes—and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur’s knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?

LKBR: Thank you for being here today!

MD: Thanks so much for having me.

LKBR: Please tell us a bit about your book/series.

MD: Biscuits and Slashed Browns is the fourth Country Store mystery, with chef/carpenter Robbie Jordan flipping pancakes and solving crimes in fictional South Lick, Indiana. She’s a transplant from Santa Barbara, California, but her mom was from Indiana and her quirky Aunt Adele still lives in town.

LKBR: How did you come up with the concept for this series? How about the idea for this installment?

MD: I lived in southern Indiana for five years when I earned a PhD at Indiana University. A fellow grad student dropped out and bought a general store in scenic Brown County. He and his girlfriend fixed it up into a restaurant and bed-and-breakfast rooms. I fictionalized that, made up a town, and sold the series. Readers love the small-town Midwestern setting, so I guess it was a good idea!

For this book, I learned that Brown County has an annual Maple Festival, so I used that as the backdrop for murder, plus a few subtle discussions of climate change and how it affects maple trees.

LKBR: Do you have a favorite character in your book/series?

MD: I like Robbie, of course, but I’m particularly fond of Lieutenant Buck Bird. He’s super tall and skinny with a huge appetite. His speech is full of colorful southernisms, and he doesn’t sound that educated, but he’s on top of his game and has become a good friend to Robbie.

LKBR: In your writing, have you ever used experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

MD: I might use a trait – positive or negative – from someone I know in a character. I’ve used aspects of my life in my books, for sure. In the Country Store Mysteries, Robbie is not only a chef, but she’s also a carpenter, and I have her renovating the upstairs of her building into bed and breakfast rooms. My Hugh is in the business of renovating antique homes, including ours, so I used a lot of what I’ve lived through and watched in some of the scenes in the new book and book three, When the Grits Hit the Fan. Also, a Hoosier I knew in graduate school was named Buck and talked just like my Buck does.

LKBR: When you’re in the process of writing/creating a book, do you use a computer, typewriter, dictate, or use pen to paper?

MD: I write on a big laptop in my upstairs home office. But I’ve been known to write a scene on a pad of paper if I’m out somewhere without a computer, and I often dictate ideas to myself on my phone when I’m out walking.

LKBR: Do you have any writing quirks or rituals that you do before, during, and/or after writing a new book?

MD: This is more a practice than a ritual, but I check with a group of other writers on Facebook every morning just before seven o’clock. Then we all write like crazy for an uninterrupted hour. It’s hosted by Ramona DeFelice Long, a writer and editor in Delaware. She calls us her Writing Champions, and the hour of work a sprint. I love that we’re scattered all over the country (globe, really) and all doing the same thing. It’s a great way to start my writing morning.

LKBR: What does your family think about your writing? How important is their support?

MD: They are so happy for me. My sisters and sons are some of my biggest fans. I live with a man who doesn’t read fiction and doesn’t get what I do. Still, he’s happy for me, too. I would do this work even if they all scoffed at me, because I have to write, but I’m glad I get cheers rather than jeers.

LKBR: Who/What inspired you to write your first book?

MD: I started writing a mystery novel back when I had a small farm and small children. When my younger son went off to kindergarten and I suddenly had every morning to myself, my husband at the time said, “You like to read mysteries so much, why don’t you write one?” Bingo! One of the best things he ever said to me (we are no longer married). I think he thought I’d make a lot of money fast, so in that sense he was clueless, but I have to credit him with jumpstarting what many years later has become my favorite job.

LKBR: What was one of the most surprising thing(s) you learned when trying to get your first book published?

MD: How very hard it is to land an agent. Oh, my. It’s good I don’t give up easily.

LKBR: Do you have any advice for aspiring cozy writers?

MD: Keep your butt in the chair and your fingers on the keyboard, and write the best book you can (you can’t fix what you haven’t written). Find your tribe of fellow writers. Find a good editor. And then write the next book!

LKBR: Where can readers go to learn more about you and your books?

MD: My web site, edithmaxwell.com, includes information about all my writing, including my historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries, my other contemporary series, and my award-winning short stories. Please stop by, and sign up for my newsletter, too. You can also find me at the following links:

Facebook: Maddie Day and Edith Maxwell

Twitter: @edithmaxwell and @MaddieDayAuthor

Pinterest: EdithMaxwell

Instagram: EdithMaxwellAuthor

LKBR: Thank you so much for letting us get to know you better!

MD: I’m always happy to visit and to connect with new (and not-so-new) fans.

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

Winners will be chosen after February 11

at the end of the tour

2 lucky readers will win print copies of

BISCUITS AND SLASHED BROWNS!

USA only

Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.

www.escapewithdollycas.com

MY REVIEW

I’ve loved this series from the very first page of book one, FLIPPED FOR MURDER. The characters, the location, and of course author Maddie Day’s writing, continue to bring me back again and again.

BISCUITS AND SLASHED BROWNS was a fast paced tale, with a well plotted mystery that left me hanging onto my seat through all of the twists and turns. When the action packed reveal came, I was really taken by surprise.

Another delightful installment of the Country Store Mysteries, BISCUITS AND SLASHED BROWNS is one mystery fans will want to add to their ever growing TBRs.

As always, you’ll find some amazing, tasty recipes at the back of the book.

Maddie Day is a talented amateur chef and holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-nominated author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and three cats in Massachusetts.

As Edith Maxwell, she writes the Local Foods Mysteries (Kensington Publishing) and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Midnight Ink).

You can find all Maddie's/Edith's identities at www.edithmaxwell.com. She blogs every weekday with the other Wicked Cozy Authors at wickedcozyauthors.com. Look for her as Edith M. Maxwell and Maddie Day on Facebook and @edithmaxwell and @maddiedayauthor on Twitter.

Purchase Links

Amazon B&N kobo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

January 29 – The Ninja Librarian – REVIEW, GUEST POST
January 29 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
January 30 – A Holland Reads - CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 30 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
January 31 – Sapphyria's Books – REVIEW
February 1 – Readeropolis – INTERVIEW
February 1 –Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
February 2 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
February 2 – Book Babble – REVIEW
February 3 – Queen of All She Reads – REVIEW
February 3 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW
February 4 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW
February 5 – My Reading Journeys - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 5 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews - REVIEW, GUEST POST
February 6 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT
February 6 – A Blue Million Books - CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 7 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews - REVIEW, INTERVIEW
February 7 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW
February 8 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW
February 8 – Carstairs Considers – REVIEW
February 9 – Varietats - REVIEW, GUEST POST
February 9 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW
February 10 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
February 10 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
February 11 – Island Confidential – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 11 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW