My guest in the coffee shop today is Jessica Thompson, bestselling author of culinary crime fiction including the wonderful A Caterer’s Guide to Love and Murder. Today is Publication Day for her second book A Caterer’s Guide to Holidays and Homicide – I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this one!
Keep reading for more details but first the author’s kindly agreed to answer some questions.
Hello, Jessica and Happy Publication Day! What can I get you?
Hot chocolate is my jam! No matter the weather. I try to avoid caffeine so I’ll pass on the tea and coffee.
No problem at all – one hot chocolate coming right up. I see you’ve brought some books with you – what are you reading at the moment?
I’m SO close to my goal of reading all of Agatha Christie’s books, so I’m reading a collection of the Miss Marple short stories while I gather my courage before saying goodbye in Curtain.
That’s impressive! AC wrote so many books. I have a feeling I might know the answer to the next question but who is your hero (real or fictional)?
Mostly my mom but also Agatha Christie.
If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?
Flying. Definitely. I regularly had flying dreams all the way into college.
Oh me too! And do you have a favourite film?
I love a charmingly funny movie, like Dan In Real Life or Mostly Martha.
Why did you choose to write in the culinary crime genre?
As soon as I discovered culinary mysteries were a thing, I knew where I was meant to be. Mysteries? Love ’em! Food and recipes? Lemme at ’em! But both together means a subgenre that’s made for me!
Yes I’m a big fan of foodie fiction, and the mystery angle in yours is the cherry on top! What do you find the hardest aspect of writing a novel?
Editing! Ugh, gouge my eyes out! Outlining and writing the first draft is the easy part.
Tell me about it! For me it’s those pesky typos that seem to multiply every time you make a correction. What are you working on next?
I’m editing a classic mystery called Shoot Shovel and Shut Up and putting together an anthology of spooky stories from my writing friends.
Wow, you are busy! Which is all great news for us readers. Thanks so much Jessica
If you haven’t read Jessica’s first book yet, you can get it here
Now let’s take a look at the new book:
Deck the Halls…with a personal chef, a snowed-in lodge and a sprinkling of murder!
“Watch the knives!”
While acting as personal chef for a friend’s mountain retreat, Violet and her husband Jake must set aside their stress over infertility and create a magical and delicious holiday – until tragedy crashes the party.
Being snowed in and unreachable from town, Violet and Jake end up hired for a different kind of job – finding out which of the guests committed murder and why someone’s trying to fame the hostess. Violet must find a balance between following her gut and keeping it all under control until the police can reach them, while still managing the kitchen. But can she sniff out the killer before anyone else bites the big one?
A Caterer’s Guide to Holidays and Homicide will give you a culinary holiday you won’t forget!
It’s published by Darkstroke and is available here
More about Jessica
When Jessica discovered mystery novels with recipes, she knew she had found her niche.
Now Jessica is the author of the Amazon best-selling culinary cozy mystery, “A Caterer’s Guide to Love and Murder,” and the second book of the series, “A Caterer’s Guide to Holidays and Homicide,” is out today. She is active in her local writing community and is a member of the Writers’ League of Texas and the Storymakers Guild. She received a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Brigham Young University but has always enjoyed writing and reading mysteries.
As an avid home chef and food science geek, Jessica has won cooking competitions and been featured in the online Taste of Home recipe collection. She also tends to be the go-to source for recipes, taste-testing, and food advice among her peers.
Jessica is originally from California, but now has adopted the Austin, Texas lifestyle. She enjoys living in the suburbs with her husband and young children, but also enjoys helping her parents with their nearby longhorn cattle ranch.
Get in touch
Website Jessicathompsonauthor.com
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Goodreadshttp://goodreads.com/jessicathauthor/
Bookbubhttps://www.bookbub.com/profile/jessica-thompson-ede71ffc-5762-4778-a116-3c3a048cb45f
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