Playing Marilyn Monroe by Naomi Hirahara

JENN McKINLAY: Many conferences ago, I was lucky enough to make the acquaintance of a delightful woman named Naomi Hirahara, whose fourth Mas Arai mystery had just come out. Being a series reader, I had to go back to the first title, Summer of the Big Bachi, and once I read it, I was hooked. Recently, I saw pics pop up on Twitter of Naomi being inducted into Vroman's walk of fame, and I knew I had to ask her to come and share her insider's perspective of this amazing honor. Congratulations, Naomi! And thanks for joining us today!

NAOMI HIRAHARA: So honored to guest blog for the Reds! I’m a big fan of every single one of these writers and I’m wearing a red plaid throw as I compose this post.

The most remarkable thing happened to me this year—I got a chance to play Marilyn Monroe. If you’ve seen me in person, you are definitely calling my bluff right now. I’m 4’10” and my measurements will remain a secret. But my local hangout, Vroman’s, the oldest and largest independent bookstore in Southern California, made it all happen.

Vroman’s, established in 1894, owns the Pasadena property extending from its bookstore on Colorado Boulevard to an art movie house. As a result, the store management has decided to create a Walk of Fame, sporting handprints and signatures of authors cast in concrete a la Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

I actually witnessed the ceremony in the past and thought it was the coolest thing ever. In this age of digital book reviews, e-books and online sales, sometimes I feel like I’m living in a virtual world. To see something literally in concrete celebrating writers seem anachronistic, in the best possible way.

So when Vroman’s came calling this year to invite me to participate, I was completely floored. In fact a couple of days before the ceremony, I was feeling a bit sick to my stomach. I’m not a household word. I’m not worthy. But then my wise husband told me, “None of us really deserve any of it.” In other words, whatever we manage to receive is a gift. 

Jenn: You absolutely deserve it, but I adore your husband's wise words!

The event was a blast and after I cleaned off my hands, I did a Q & A with the wonderful Nancie Clare, a kindred spirit who is a writer of both history and mystery.

The wet cement was covered by a wood platform to protect it and for several days orange cones and yellow tape were placed around it to ensure that no dogs left their footprints. (Although it would have been cute if my Jack Russell was able to leave his.)

Since my husband and I often frequent that block in our neighborhood, he always tries to get us to stop at my square. Somehow it’s too embarrassing and I decline and usually keep walking.

The other day when my husband was away, I went to the movies on my own at the art movie house. After the film ended, I did stop at that square of concrete. Looking down at my signature and hand print, I had to smile and laugh. It was a gift. For a day, I was Marilyn Monroe.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Okay, Reds and Readers, if you could see the handprints of any author, dead or alive, on a Walk of Fame, whose would you want to see? And would you compare your hands to theirs? (Yes, I totally would).

***

Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award-winning author of two mystery series set in Southern California and numerous short stories. Her Mas Arai series ended this year with the publication of the seventh, Hiroshima Boy. The first in her Officer Ellie Rush series won the T. Jefferson Parker mystery award. A consultant for TV cable series and historic books/exhibitions, she is currently working on a mystery with a new character, Leilani Santiago, set on the island of Kaua‘i. Iced in Paradise will be released in September 2019.  She is also writing a historical standalone mystery based in 1940s Chicago. For more information, visit www.naomihirahara.com or her blog http://naomihirahara.com/blog/.

12 Mysteries of Christmas + Giveaway By Kate Carlisle

JENN McKINLAY: Yay! Yay! Yay! Today, my guest is one of my very favorite writers, my plotting partner, and all around gal pal the one the only...Kate Carlisle! And she has a super fun holiday blog post to share for those of us struggling in the gifting arts. Take it, Kate!

Kate Carlisle is the New York Times bestselling author of two ongoing series: the Bibliophile Mysteries featuring San Francisco bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright, whose rare book restoration skills uncover old secrets, treachery and murder; and the Fixer-Upper Mysteries, featuring Shannon Hammer, a home contractor who discovers not only skeletons in her neighbors' closets, but murder victims, too. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has brought three of the Fixer-Upper Mysteries to life in a series starring Jewel and Colin Ferguson. Watch for Kate's cameo in the second film!

I love a Christmas mystery. I even wrote one—Deck the Hallways. I don't know what it is about the holidays and murder that just seem to go together… Maybe all that Christmas muzak sends people over the edge.

To be truly satisfying, a Christmas mystery needs more than just to be set during the holiday season. It needs to be filled with cozy Christmas elements. The spirit of the season (murder notwithstanding). These 12 Mysteries of Christmas will fill your heart with joy. . . and your stocking with homicide!

Six Cats a Slayin' by Miranda James

Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, are busy decking the halls for the holidays when an unexpected delivery and a shocking murder conspire to shake up the season.

Deck the Hallways by Kate Carlisle (aka, me)

Someone's been slayed! If contractor Shannon Hammer can't nail the real culprit in the St. Nick of time, her dad will wind up in the clink...

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

The holidays are anything but merry when a family reunion is marred by murder—and the notoriously fastidious investigator is quickly on the case.

How the Finch Stole Christmas by Donna Andrews

When Meg's family stages a production of A Christmas Carol, the show must go on, even if the famous—though slightly over-the-hill—actor who's come to town to play the starring role of Scrooge has brought a sleigh-load of baggage and enemies with him.

White Colander Crime by Victorian Hamilton

The Heritage Society is re-creating a perfect Victorian Christmas—until good tidings go bad... At the end of a long day of festival fun, food columnist Jaymie Leighton discovers the body of local woman who predicted her own murder.

Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany

In Rudolph, New York, it’s Christmastime all year long. But this December, while the snow-lined streets seem merry and bright, a murder is about to ruin everyone’s holiday cheer.

Wreath between the Lines by Daryl Wood Gerber

The holidays are cookbook shop owner Jenna Hart's favorite time of year, until the friend of a friend is murdered with a Christmas tree star.

Not a Creature Was Purring by Krista Davis

Innkeeper Holly Miller finds it ruff staying cheerful over the holidays when the dead body of a beloved businessman turns up in the pet-friendly town of Wagtail, Virginia.

'Twas the Knife before Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

When a body turns up in a larger-than-life candy bowl filled with peppermints on the Mistletoe, Maine town square, Holly White is horrified to learn her best friend Caroline is the main suspect.

Death with All the Trimmings by Lucy Burdette

The only snow in Key West this Christmas is Hayley Snow, food critic for Key Zest magazine, who is not getting time off for the holiday…or time off from murder.

A Midwinter's Tail by Bethany Blake

Nothing gets professional pet sitter Daphne Templeton into the Christmas spirit more than the town’s annual Bark the Halls Ball. . . until the founder of a national chain of pet care franchises is found murdered, and Daphne's friend is the prime suspect.

A Holiday Yarn by Sally Goldenbaum

Holiday time is magical in Sea Harbor, as the Seaside Knitters turn winter yarns of deep reds, greens, and golds into gifts. But when murder comes to this small New England town, they must set aside their needles to pursue justice—and restore joy to the season.

Let's have some fun today! Give a little murderous twist to the title or lyric of a Christmas song, turning it into a great title for a Christmas mystery novel. For example: Rudolph, the Red-Handed Culprit. Everyone who plays this little reindeer game with me will be entered for a chance to win a signed copy of Deck the Hallways. (Please note: it's not enough just to post a generic comment. You need to play the game.)

ABOUT DECK THE HALLWAYS

Read chapter one for free at http://katecarlisle.com/deck-the-hallways.php

Someone's been slayed! If contractor Shannon Hammer can't nail the real culprit in the St. Nick of time, her dad will wind up in the clink...

Even at Christmastime, Shannon is more spackle than sparkle, which is why she leaps at the chance to transform a grand old Victorian mansion into ten charming apartments for homeless families. Filled with the spirit of the season, all of Lighthouse Cove turns out to help—including her best friends, a troupe of far-from-angelic Santa Claus impersonators, and her father, Jack.

But their merriment is soon dashed by a heated scuffle between Jack and the miserly president of the bank who's backing the project. When the man is murdered, all eyes are on Jack, and visions of prison time dance in Shannon's head. Now, she needs to pull off a crime-solving miracle, before her father's Christmas goose is cooked...

JENN: What about it, Reds and Readers? Dazzle me! What's your murderous twist to the title or lyric of a Christmas song? 

How Two Non-Cooks Write Culinary Mysteries by Debra Goldstein and Barbara Ross

JENN McKINLAY: Today, two culinary mystery authors, Barbara Ross and Debra Goldstein, confess their lack of kitchen know-how on this edition of Jungle Red Writer's author confessions. Pull up a chair, kids, this is going to be good! Seriously, welcome Debra and Barb! We're delighted to have you with us. 

Side note: I am a baker but I don't enjoy regular day to day cooking, so I feel ya!

Barb: Debra Goldstein and I have discovered we have many things in common since we decided to do a joint blog for our books released on December 18. Debra’s book is One Taste Too Many, the debut in her Sarah Blair Mystery series for Kensington. (So exciting!) My new book is Steamed Open, the seventh in my Maine Clambake Mysteries. One thing Debra and I have in common is though both of us write culinary mysteries, neither of us is much of a cook.

Let’s go back to the beginning, Debra. How did your life evolve to make you a “cook of convenience,” as you so cleverly call it in your series?

Debra: Growing up, my mother made dinner between five and six p.m. My sister shadowed her in the kitchen while I opted to unload the dishwasher at five-fifteen, set the table at five-thirty, say “hello” to my dad at five-forty-five and come to the table after the six o’clock conclusion of Perry Mason. My sister learned to cook from scratch while I learned courtroom procedure and short-cuts that held me in good stead in my later career choice.

Barb: I’m laughing at the idea of you learning legal procedure from Perry Mason. I would have liked visiting your courtroom. So given all that, how did you come to write a culinary mystery series?

Debra:I love reading cozy mysteries (yours are some of the best!). When I decided I wanted to write, I thought about how cozy mysteries usually center around food or crafts – two areas in which I’m challenged. Somewhat frustrated, I realized there had to be readers who, like me, preferred bringing take-out in, making dishes using pre-prepared ingredients, or buying quilts, scarfs, and other already finished crafted items. When I researched and found recipes like Jell-O in a Can, I knew there was no shortage of material for a fun culinary cook of convenience mystery series. 

Considering your technical background and admitted reliance on your husband for recipe preparation, how did you come to write a culinary mystery series?

Barb: When my agent first brought up the idea of a series centered around a clambake, he characterized it as a culinary mystery.  I ignored him and wrote a proposal and sample chapters that didn’t include recipes. After all, if you’ve ever been to a clambake, it’s the same meal every time, and much of the meal isn’t practical to cook at home. Eventually, my agent caught on and made me put in recipes. By then I was too in love with the setting and characters to turn back.

Okay. So now we know you, like your main character Sarah, are a cook of convenience, how do you make readers’ mouths water when they read your book?

Debra: My first goal was to write a fun book that combined a good plot with recipes true cooks and cooks of convenience could both appreciate. Using my experience raising night and day twins, I opted to have my protagonist be a cook of convenience while her twin sister is a gourmet chef. This gave me the ability to introduce recipes, even for the same dish, all readers could salivate over. A good example is the contrast between Sarah’s Spinach Pie made with Stouffer’s Spinach Souffle and her twin’s farm to table version.

Seven books in a series is quite a feat – what workarounds did you use to keep readers’ mouths watering considering the limits of a clambake’s menu?

Barb: You’ve already alluded to my major workaround. My husband is a great cook. I decided early on that since most of them couldn’t come from the clambake, I would provide recipes from the other meals my characters ate in the course of the story. I tell my husband Bill the type and circumstances of the meal. He figures out the recipe, and then we taste test so I can describe it accurately.

What’s the most embarrassing/funny/crazy thing that’s happened as a result of the mismatch between your series focus and your own culinary shortcomings?

Debra: Last year, after writing about food, I got the brilliant idea to make matzah ball soup from scratch for our family Seder. While buying my ingredients, I grabbed a bag of Passover approved noodles. The day of the Seder, I spent all day bringing my soup to perfection. I tasted it and knew I’d nailed it. As the Seder service began, for an extra touch, I threw in the noodles. When we finally reached dinner, I removed the pot’s cover and watched the liquid whoosh away. Our first course was chicken flavored noodles sans soup. 

How about you? Most embarrassing moment?

Barb: Possibly the librarian who decided my husband and I absolutely had to cater her annual board meeting. I explained several times in several ways that Bill and I are not my characters Julia and Chris and she would surely regret her insistence.Or there was the panel I was on this year at Bouchercon. The moderator was a last minute sub, and she did a great job. Unfortunately, she’d prepared a whole slew of questions about cooking, and not one author on the panel was a cook. She was great, though, and it made for a very funny panel.

How about you, Reds and Readers, are you a culinary wizard or do you fake it 'til you bake it?

About the authors

 Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Kensington’s new Sarah Blair cozy mystery series, which debuted with One Taste Too Manyon December 18, 2018. She also wrote Should HavePlayed Pokerand 2012 IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her short stories, including Anthony and Agatha nominated “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies including Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and Mystery Weekly.Debra is president of Sisters in Crime’s Guppy Chapter, serves on SinC’s national board, and is president of the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. Find out more about Debra at www.DebraHGoldstein.com.

Barbara Ross is the author of seven Maine Clambake Mysteries. The latest, Steamed Open, was released December 18, 2018. Barbara’s novellas featuring Julia Snowden are included along with stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis in Eggnog Murder and Yule Log Murder. Barbara and her husband live in Portland, Maine. Visit her website at http://www.maineclambakemysteries.com