I am so excited to have Laura Childs here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Q/A and Giveaway.
Thanks Laura and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Plum Tea Crazy Blog Tour!
Please take it away, Laura!
Q and A with Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author of Plum Tea Crazy
1. What inspired you to write cozies based on food?
My Tea Shop Mysteries are set in the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, SC where Theodosia, the proprietor, serves morning tea, luncheon tea, and afternoon tea. So this gives me a terrific opportunity to sneak in information (and recipes!) about lavender scones, lemon tea bread, banana muffins, griddle scones, baked French toast, avocado and chicken tea sandwiches . . . well, you get the idea. Food doesn’t dominate my mysteries – they’re still chock full of action, humor, and quirky characters, but it plays a nice role.
2. What are some of your favorite kind of foods?
I’m a grazer, so I love a three-tiered tea tray or a restaurant that offers lots of small plates. Tea trays usually include scones with Devonshire cream and jam, finger sandwiches, and an assortment of tea cookies and brownie bites. If I’m at a restaurant that offers small plates I generally go for charcuterie boards, tuna tartare, oysters, bruschetta, crab cakes, olive tapenade, or grilled calamari.
3. What are some of your favorite teas?
I love Japanese green tea for its amazing verdant notes and almost buttery finish. I also enjoy a good fresh-fruity Darjeeling tea as well as a smoky lapsang souchong from China
4. How do you decide what recipes are included in which book?
That’s the really fun part. I try to key the recipes with the book’s title as well as some of the critical events that unfold in the plot. For example, there’s a plum blossom tea happening in Plum Tea Crazy where lots of wild things happen, so I included a recipe for plum crisp. In Devonshire Scream, there was a tea that celebrated the Duchess of Devonshire and I included a recipe for Devonshire cream.
5. Have you experienced a High Tea?
I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy high tea at a number of places – the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, The Plaza Hotel in New York, The Ritz in London. Of course, any tea is great. A morning cream tea which is just a scone and tea. Elevenses, which is kind of an early luncheon tea. And afternoon tea, which can be as simple or as extravagant as you want.
6. What books do you have coming out in the future?
Glitter Bomb, my newest New Orleans Scrapbook Mystery, will be out in October. Eggs on Ice, my new Cackleberry Club Mystery, will be out in December. And Broken Bone China, my next Tea Shop Mystery, will be out in March 2019.
7. Please tell us a bit about Plum Tea Crazy
As tea shop owner Theodosia views Charleston Harbor’s Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow’s walk of a nearby mansion, a local banker tumbles over the narrow railing and plunges to his death. Then, when Theodosia discovers the victim was actually shot with a crossbow, this tragic accident suddenly turns sinister and she starts to investigate. I’d have to say it’s a gripping, realistic murder with a raft of quirky suspects and a good dose of humor and tea lore.
BIO
Laura Childs is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Recently, Book Riot named the Tea Shop Mysteries to their list of “25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, enjoys travel, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Find Laura at www.laurachilds.com or on Facebook at Laura Childs Author
BONUS RECIPE!
Strawberry Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches
Strawberry Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. strawberry preserves
4 slices thin white bread
Combine cream cheese and strawberry preserves in a bowl. Spread mixture on 2 slices of bread. Top with plain bread, trim crusts, and cut bread diagonally into triangles. Yields 8 small tea sandwiches.
Plum Tea Crazy (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
19th in Series
Berkley (March 6, 2018)
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0451489609
Digital ASIN: B071K4DPRH
Theodosia Browning investigates a Charleston steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.
While viewing the harbor’s Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow’s walk of Timothy Neville’s Charleston mansion, local banker Carson Lanier seemingly tumbles over a narrow railing, then plunges three stories to his death. But a tragic accident becomes something much more sinister when it’s discovered that the victim was first shot with a bolt from a crossbow.
At the request of the mansion owner, Theodosia investigates the tragedy and is soon neck deep in suspects. An almost ex-wife, a coworker, a real estate partner – all had motives for killing the luckless banker, but one resorted to murder to settle accounts.
INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
About the Author
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.
Laura’s Links
Website – http://www.laurachilds.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31
Purchase Links
Amazon B and N Kobo Google Play
Giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792683/?widget_template=56d5f80dbc544fb30fda66f0
Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:
https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/plum-tea-crazy-tea-shop-mystery-laura-childs
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