JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: In much of the country, it's still cold, wet and wintry, but if you're one of the the 2.5 million couples tying the knot this year, you know it's practically June already - how's your to-do list? Weddings are such a near-universal experience - if you don't get hitched yourself, you've almost certainly been a guest or a member of the bridal party. It's no wonder wedding cozies have proven so popular. Readers are able to enjoy the drama, pageantry, romance and food without having to get dressed up or drop $$$ on an Omega 8006 juicer.
Maggie McConnon (you may have enjoyed her writing as Maggie Barbieri) and Marla Cooper join us today as art of their 'Weddings to Die For' tour. So pour yourself a glass of champagne, pick the fish or the beef, and settle down to find out how they make the magic happen.
Lovable gourmet-chef-turned-wedding-caterer Belfast McGrath is back to solve another murder in the second book in McConnon’s cozy mystery series, BEL OF THE BRAWL (on sale: March 7, 2017).
Wedding planner turned sleuth, Kelsey McKenna is back this time in beautiful California wine country, a perfect dream wedding spot, in Marla Cooper’s hilarious follow-up DYING ON THE VINE (on sale: April 4, 2017).
JULIA: I have to ask...why weddings?
Maggie: Weddings combine all of the
things I love as a writer: drama, food, and family. When you can put
all three of those things together in a story, the book practically
writes itself. I have never heard about or attended a wedding where
there wasn't at least a little bit of drama; even on my own
relatively drama-free wedding day, a hurricane swept through an hour
before the ceremony, soaking the bottom of my dress and trapping some
of my family in their station wagon on the East Side Drive in New
York City until the water subsided.
Marla: The simple explanation (that
doesn’t make me sound like a terrible person) is that I ghostwrote
a nonfiction book with a destination wedding planner and got a crash
course in a career that also happened to be perfect for an amateur
sleuth. Now, just between you and me — and let’s just keep this
between us, okay? — I’m also fascinated by the sheer potential
for drama that only a wedding can provide. Heightened emotions, petty
(or not so petty) jealousy, long-simmering resentments, all being
fueled by champagne toasts and an open bar… everyone’s supposed
to be on their best behavior, but they seldom are.
JULIA: Just yesterday, we were talking with Edith Maxwell about the importance of locale in a cozy mystery. How and why did you choose your settings?
Maggie: I'm a native New Yorker so I
write what I know. From the Hudson Valley to the Staten Island Ferry,
I feel at home. Plus, there's no better place to experiment with new
types of food than New York which help me visualize new recipes for
Belfast McGrath and new menus for Shamrock Manor.
Marla: [California Wine Country is] such
a beautiful area — and it happens to be just over an hour’s drive
from my house. I actually attended a wedding up in Sonoma County, and
while I was staying up there I took a tour of a winery that included
their wine cave. Talk about inspiration! I think I freaked out the
tour guide a little while I was asking him how long it would be
plausible for someone to be locked in a wine cave and not be
discovered. (Oh, and also? Wine.)JULIA: There's a lot of humor in both of your books. Do you have to work to bring the funny? Or does it come naturally?
Maggie: It is harder for me not to add
humor to my work than it is to try to incorporate it into the story.
Coming from a big Irish family, humor and storytelling is in my
blood. The Irish can take the darkest of situations and find
something to laugh about. I'm not sure where that comes from, if it's
a byproduct of years of national struggle or something else, but
there is nothing funnier than an Irish sense of humor, in my opinion,
and I try to bring a bit of humor to even the saddest or darkest
parts of any story that I'm working on.
Marla: For me, writing is a form of
play, an escape from the everyday world. The best days as a writer
are when I’m just having fun with it and make myself laugh without
even trying. In fact, trying to be funny rarely works for me. When I
read back over it, the humor always falls flat and I end up cutting
it. You know what is hard, though? Trying to balance humor in a
murder mystery. I should have probably thought of that before I
settled on a genre!
JULIA: What are your best wedding stories, dear readers? Ever been part of a celebration you thought might drive you to murder? Two lucky commenters will win either DYING ON THE VINE or BEL OF THE BRAWL!
You can find out more about Maggie McConnon/Maggie Barbieri at her web site. Read an excerpt of BEL OF THE BRAWL, friend her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter as @MaggieBarbieri.
You can talk about books with Marla Cooper on Goodreads. Read an excerpt of DYING ON THE VINE, friend her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter as @kindacozy
Congratulations, Marla and Maggie, on your newest books. Weddings have a special niche all their own; I’m looking forward to reading your books.
ReplyDeleteI can’t say as I’ve ever been part of a wedding celebration that threatened to drive me to murder, but at one time I was a wedding coordinator for our Church . . . sometimes the fuss and arguing at the rehearsal was simply mind-boggling. But by the time we put down the runner, tied the ribbons on the edge of the pews, and got the bride ready for her walk down the aisle, it all somehow seemed to work itself out . . . .
Thank you, Joan! I bet you have some good stories!
DeleteThank you, Joan!
DeleteI'm always amazed at the many ways people choose to personalize their weddings: theme weddings, destination weddings, shotgun weddings . . . My own was a relatively simple and inexpensive event, with friends pitching in to bake cakes and cater the reception, but the music selections were totally us, and we wrote our own vows. One of my co-workers went all out elaborate, and spent months traveling the country to select the best destination for her wedding, then drove us all crazy as she obsessed about which navy and yellow ribbons to trim the bridesmaid dresses with. And then there was the legendary Dallas society wedding that featured a dozen bridesmaids, group spa days, and enough side events to run up a total tab of $5 million. We were all just as married when it was over, but we each went a little nuts in the process. Throw in pre-wedding jitters, controlling in-laws, and lots of alcohol, and I'm pretty sure wedding planners, photographers, and caterers frequently feel the urge to kill.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the "theme" wedding baffles me, Gigi. I always thought the theme was "We're getting married."
DeleteI love that: "We were all just as married when it was over." So true! Oooooh, I bet the Dallas wedding had some good stories...
DeleteGigi, your wedding sounds perfect!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter's wedding was just about perfect, too, as far as I was concerned. She let me go with her to shop for the dress (a blizzard in Boston, the usually mobbed sample sale was just us). No bridesmaids(!) and her sister and her husband's best friend married them. I don't recall anger or issues, maybe some tension and anticipation but mostly pure joy. But she might remember differently...
Wedding dress sample sales are terrifying. I'm pretty sure the "Running of the Brides" at Filene's basement would provide some pretty good material for a murder mystery! Your daughter's wedding sounds lovely.... "pure joy" is about as good as it gets!
DeleteI tried on 5 dresses and returned to the first. It is a definite tribute to the 80s. Fortunately, we went to a small shop near my childhood home so no drama!
DeleteMaggie and Marla, love the blog tour idea--what fun to team up! I too think weddings are the perfect petri dish for growing whatever tension might have been brewing under the surface. I could go on and on about how weddings have gotten out of control, but I might sound like an old fart LOL.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who loves to hear the story of my first wedding (yes, there was a starter marriage!) I sewed my own dress and friends made cole slaw and potato salad out of the bins of vegetables I gave them....because...it was a pig roast in a field. And the pig (not live of course) spent the night in our bathtub full of ice the day before the party. And this was the only bathroom in the house. And we had plenty of overnight guests crammed in....
I love the pig in the bathtub story!!! (And I'm glad you clarified that it wasn't a live pig... although the image of a live pig spending the night in your bathtub is even funnier!) Thanks for sharing!
DeleteWe had a very low-key wedding but March weather was the star. Rain, wind, snow...gotta love the East Coast!
DeleteTimely topic, as we try to figure how to get 94 year old mother in law from NY to Philadelphia for her granddaughter's May wedding. The funniest wedding idea? I saw this in an advice column. Bride was having an Alice in Wonderland themed wedding and wondered if live baby bunnies in boxes for the centerpieces would be too much ( I am not making this up!)
ReplyDeleteCenterpieces that leave their own little wedding gifts behind!
DeleteExactly! I sent the story to my duaghter who was deep in her own (tasteful!) wedding plans and she said, "I won't lie. If I was invited to that wedding I would want to go."
DeleteOooooh, I would pay money to go to that wedding! (But I hope they skipped the bunny centerpieces because that's bound to go wrong.) Now I'm off to google that advice column because I'm dying to know more!
DeleteAll the weddings I have attended have been pretty tame affairs! No drama, no hijinks, no problems. It's fun though to read about Bridezillas or witness some wedding catastrophes on the written page.
ReplyDeleteI agree. In real life, I wouldn't wish wedding drama on anybody, but it's sure fun when it's a fictional wedding!
DeleteWorst wedding? Where the parents of the groom shot dagger looks at the bride all through the proceedings. Obviously, they were thinking 'shotgun wedding' or their son would never have married Miss Nobody. I'm happy to report that the couple is celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary this year--and to set the rumors to rest, their first child came along 6 years after the wedding. Best wedding? My oldest nephew--married in the bride's dad's backyard overlooking a large pond. Imagine the happy couple, hands clasped just as night fell, Chinese lanterns and a full harvest moon illuminating the young couple. Marla and Maggie--can't wait--some humor is really appreciated along with the murder!!
ReplyDeleteFlora, when Ross and I got married, we only had a three month engagement. We timed it that way so as not to interfere with my sister's long-planned wedding at the end of the summer, but several of the lawyers at Ross's firm actually ASKED if we were expecting. Who knows how many others thought that... Good thing the Smithie wasn't born until five years after we tied the knot.
DeleteGreat stories! I love the visual of Chinese lanterns. And I love that the first couple showed the groom's parents how wrong they were!
DeleteWeddings, drama - I think they go together like peanut butter and jelly, yes?
ReplyDeleteMy own wedding was fairly drama-free (after I put my foot down very firmly with my aunt, who had grandiose decorating ideas - but I controlled the purse strings so that was that). I was maid of honor for my best friend (who had to have TWO ceremonies, the first for the benefit of her in-laws who were visiting from Romania in January and wanted a very traditional ceremony). The morning of the second ceremony, there was a torrential rainstorm (the wedding was going to be outside). My friend was freaking. But it cleared up by noon. The only downside was that the hilltop was a muddy disaster and guests had to be trucked up in a 4x4. Fortunately, my kids were at the stage where I never traveled without wet wipes and I was able to provide cleanup assistance to many.
Marla, do you travel to every destination you write about or is it online research?
Mary/Liz
I do make a point to visit each destination, because you can pick up details that you never would have thought to look for online. In fact, that's one of the most fun parts of my job! I'd love to write a book set in Italy... so of course I would *have* to go visit, right?
DeleteI haven't read Maggie's books, so I will have to give them a try. I'm planning to finish Dying on the Vine today, and I'm enjoying it as much as I did Marla's debut.
ReplyDeleteAwwww, thanks, Mark! I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying it!
DeleteThanks, Mark! I hope you enjoy them.
DeleteHi, Marla and Maggie! I love weddings as s backdrop for murder as they really do bring out the best/worst in people. Hub and I kept it simple and, like Julia, I had a short engagement - five months. I had never daydreamed about my wedding (tomboy!) so I found it all a lot of drudgery and farmed out most of the decision making to other people. Church - Hub's family church. Venue - the only place available on such short notice. Dress - off the rack and a perfect fit. Cake - Hub's choice. Music - Hub's band played. Flowers - Mom's choice. Food - Mom's choice. Invitations - my choice. Veil - made my own because I'm a crafty tomboy. Centerpieces - gorgeous roses from my best friend's garden. Guest list: 150 max. Attendants - I had my mom, Hub had his dad, and a dear friend's daughter was our flower girl and that was it. We kept it simple and sentimental. Drama - zero. Honestly, I would have eloped but my parents eloped and ended up divorced so my mother felt a proper wedding was required. Looking back, I'm glad we did it short and sweet and full of wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteMarla and Maggie - Have you seen any trends in weddings that alarm you? I hear naked cake is a thing and the mere thought of it makes me grumpy.
Five months is a short engagement?? Well, if you mean it is short compared to a year engagement, then I see what you mean :-) I know many people who marry a week after meeting or three months after meeting!
DeleteSounds like you have wonderful memories!
I have to admit, I had to google "naked cake" and was relieved to see that it didn't mean what I thought it did! I've been hearing lots of stories about really elaborate weddings like the Alice in Wonderland wedding Triss mentioned above. In fact, I was at a party recently and about half the guests were talking about what they were going to wear to a steampunk wedding the following weekend. I'm torn: having your guests put together a costume to attend your wedding seems like a lot to ask — but at the same time, I spent the whole evening trying to figure out how to get myself invited!
DeleteIt seems the wedding game has really gotten much more complicated since I was a blushing bride. I just watched a reality-show wedding where the invites were printed on tea towels. That was a new one but definitely memorable!
DeleteI just don't understand blowing a wad of money on a wedding. I really don't. People forget it is a ceremony to unite two people. Not a fashion extravaganza or a string of photo ops. We attended a wedding where the bride stopped and posed every few minutes throughout the ceremony for the photography. I thought it would never be over. We're going to Ohio to a wedding next month. I'm afraid this one will be choreographed too. My favorite wedding was where the groom was petrified and was standing on his bride's veil. She was listing for the entire ceremony since she couldn't just shove him away.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear the "average" price of a wedding these days, my reaction is generally: "What?!?!?" Also... I'm cracking up over the bride constantly posing for pictures. I can only imagine how many of them she posted to Facebook!
DeleteActually I think it was pre-Facebook.
DeleteGreat post! I remember Maggie and Marla from Malice Domestic. Maggie did Not want her photo taken so I didn't take a photo. I love the name Belfast. It is a city in Northern Ireland. It reminded me of other names people give their children like Paris, Geneva or London. Marla's Kelsey McKenna reminded me of the name of the actress from the movie Born Free.
ReplyDeleteFavorite wedding story: A friend got married and they decided to have a potluck. Wedding guests made the food and brought food to the wedding. Friends played music.
I often hear Bridezilla stories and I can see how someone can be murdered in one of these stories.
Look forward to reading Maggie and Marla's books.
Thanks for saying hi! I don't know about Maggie, but I'll be at Malice again this year!
DeleteI am notoriously camera shy! (Ask my husband of 28 years.) I will be there. Let's get a photo together. 😀
DeleteOr we could have someone just do a quick drawing of us! 😀
DeletePat,that story made me snort my tea! My first wedding was small, in a dour Scottish Presbyterian Church. Neither set of parents came--mine because they couldn't, my ex's because they disapproved. My dress was an off the rack tea gown. Friends in the village gave the reception in their back garden. This was not the way things were done in Scotland, and all the guests were horrified by the whole affair.
ReplyDeleteSecond wedding was in the lady judge's home, and she was wearing jean cut-offs under her robe. We wrote our own vows. My parents, my daughter, and two friends were witnesses. Much the better of the two ceremonies:-)
My daughter's wedding was my favorite ever--of course for the obvious reason! But also because it was exactly what she wanted. The venue was a local ranch. My BFF did the flowers. Daughter and son-in-law wrote their own vows and were married on the porch, with just immediate family and closest friends. Then another hundred people arrived for the party! The food was catered by a local barbecue place (one of the best in Texas) and my daughter wore cowboy boots with her absolutely gorgeous dress. Perfect.
Ohhhhh, the Texas wedding sounds awesome! One of my favorite weddings was at the Salt Lick, which is a big barbecue place outside of Austin. I love the idea of a smaller, more intimate wedding followed by a big party.
DeleteLove cowboy boots with a wedding dress. That is awesome.
DeleteLive bunnies??? Yeeesh. I love weddings. Love. They are hilarious. The daughter of a friend of mine was a bridesmaid in a wedding where the bride almost came to blows with her mother over GLOVES! Gloves! And how the flower girls/children always steal the show, for better for for worse.
ReplyDeleteJenn--naked cake is..without frosting? Or what?
My own personal wedding drama involved gloves, too! Our best man skipped both the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner because his date, who was the heiress of a processed meat empire, was out looking for gloves to wear to our wedding .... in Austin, Texas. (Not a gloves kind of town.) She also yelled at our caterers and when we arrived at the venue, I had to go do damage control to keep them from revolting. Ahhhh, good times.
DeleteHank -- YES! Naked as in no frosting - I mean what is the point? Seriously, the thought of it causes me to spiral into an existential crisis!
DeleteCake without icing is sacrilege.
DeleteLife without icing is not worth living.
Deleteyeesh. That is--silly. Okay? Like french fries without ketchup.
DeleteMarla! Hilarious. Whoa. Priorities, right? That sounds like a whole nother blog, too. Anytime!
DeleteI've never been to a wedding like those in the movies, with all the last-minute mind changes, family fights, etc.--at least not that I know of. Who knows what might happen that's not visible to some or all of the guests? One wedding memory form long ago, that helped me to ease up on my control-freakiness: two of our Catholic friends got married, and asked us to write and deliver the prayers of the faithful (a series of invocations) during the mass. I said, "When would you like to see them," since in their shoes I would have wanted to sign off. No need, they said, just show up with them. That demonstration of trust has stuck with me for a long time, and I keep looking for opportunities to do something similar.
ReplyDeleteOur own wedding was unspectacular, save for my beautiful bride. We were married in the Newman Center in Columbus, the day after she received her MA. We had some friends sing a couple of folky songs, and one of the pictures captured them on an "oo" type note. Friends who saw the picture later said they'd never seen a wedding with two guitarists and a whistler.
I'm always surprised when people are able to be laissez-faire about their wedding. I called a friend from the airport once, worried that I'd gotten the wrong dress. (She had sent me the style number, and I can't remember why I thought I'd ended up with the wrong one, but I did.) She said, "Well, is it green?" And I said yes, then she said, "I'm sure it will be fine." So basically, I was the one freaking out and she was totally cool as long as I had a green dress. It turned out that I had gotten the right one, but I was so impressed by her relaxed attitude!
DeleteForgot to mention that I enjoyed Once Upon a Lie and will look for these new books!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jim! My Maggie McConnon books are much lighter than my Maeve books. I hope you enjoy!
DeleteMy wedding was great, but that was probably because I treated it like a nice dinner party which happened to include our ceremony. We were married by my high school English teacher who got a special dispensation from the state of Massachusetts. She's a writer, in addition to being a teacher, and she wrote the most lovely ceremony, after consulting with our parents about their wedding days. We had our eldest siblings as our attendants (in outfits of their choice), and the hubby and I greeted everyone before the ceremony. The only hiccup was that the musician who was supposed to play during dinner never showed, so the ceremony musician (a guitarist)stayed on. He left with bloody fingers and quite the bonus!
ReplyDeleteMaggie and Marla, do your couples always end up happily ever after?
So far they have! I have to admit, I'm kind of a romantic, so I haven't really wanted to mess with the weddings or the couples *too* much. Of course, if I were 8 or 9 books in, I'd probably want to change it up a little bit, but for now, no brides or grooms have been harmed in the making of these books! :-)
DeleteAh, weddings.
ReplyDeleteFraught with dramatic potential.
I encourage people to elope!
Libby Dodd
I would probably encourage more people to elope, but I wouldn't want to miss out on all the stories!! :-)
DeleteNot a bad idea...LOL.
DeleteI have a pal who's about to elope! I'll try to get a full report..!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for having us on the blog today. I've loved reading all the responses and hearing everyone's wedding stories!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any bad wedding stories, but I've never been involved in planning one either. I was a bridesmaid twice, and both times the dresses were quite tasteful. There weren't any crazy relatives or people making a scene. I guess if I want to experience a crazy wedding I'll just have to read about one! mbradeen@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThere's still time! xoxoxo
DeleteSo much fun! Thanks Jungle Reds! xo
ReplyDeleteLove you! See you at Malice? xoxo
DeleteTo be honest, the reason that weddings make such a great fictional setting is exactly why I don't enjoy them. So much expense and fuss...
ReplyDeleteFor my wedding, I literally chose a weekday where I knew my husband didn't have work and I had a half day. He met me at City Hall after I got off work and we got married with only the judge as a witness. Over a year later, still not sure if I want to hold a reception. I want all the cake and presents, but I don't want to deal with all the planning and expense and attention (tiny bit introverted).