A Deadly Treat with Livia J. Washburn

As I perused through the cozy mysteries wondering which one I should read next, I stumbled upon one that caught my eye, TRICK OR DEADLY TREAT by Livia J. Washburn, her ninth Fresh- Baked Mystery. When I picked it up and read the back cover copy, I stopped and said, “Hey! I’ve been to that town!” Then I went to Livia’s page on Facebook and realized I’d been to her hometown too. How cool was that?

One private message later and an interview was born;) Please welcome Livia Washburn to The Cozy Corner.

Livia: Thanks for having me here. It really is cozy.

Kym: I love the small town of Weatherford, Texas. It’s a great place to go antiquing and not too far from Ft. Worth. What made you decide to make it the setting for your Fresh-Baked Mystery series?

Livia: I like to write about settings I'm personally familiar with when it's possible, and having grown up about twenty miles from Weatherford, I've been there many times. I wanted a town that was large enough to have some big-city crime but also plenty of small-town hominess. Also, Weatherford has the annual Peach Festival, which plays an important part in the first plot I came up with for the series, and everything about it seemed to fit perfectly.

Kym: Did any of the wonderful little diners inspire some of the recipes in your books?

Livia: None in particular, but there are plenty of great places to eat in Weatherford, that's for sure.

Kym: TRICK OR DEADLY TREAT is your ninth book in the series. What has been the biggest challenge for you to sustain a series that long?

Livia: The biggest challenge has been figuring out different mysteries that could involve Phyllis and her friends in a reasonable manner. I don't want any of the books to be too much like any of the others, so there have been all sorts of killers and many different kinds of motives for Phyllis to figure out. Also, coming up with enough good recipes has never been easy.

Kym: Your heroine Phyllis Newsom rents out rooms in her house to her friends, other retired teachers and it gives the reader a sense of an old boarding house with everyone knowing everyone else’s business almost like a big family. Is this the feel you were going for?

Livia: Oh, yes, definitely! I think it's been clear right from the start that Sam, Caroline, and Eve are just as much members of Phyllis's family as her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. (Well, maybe not right from the start with Sam, since he's introduced in the first book—but it doesn't take long!)

Kym: Phyllis has a soft spot for one of her boarders—Sam, who adopts a dog that seems to be good at stirring up as much trouble as Phyllis. Do you ever see Phyllis and Sam taking their relationship to just one room in the house?

Livia: Speaking of Sam!...Well, that's really up to them. I know authors sometimes say that they have no control over what their characters do, and there's some truth to that, especially in a long-running series. I know there have been times in my writing when I've tried to force a character to do something and finally realized that, no, that's just not what this person would do in real life. But to answer this particular question...I think at this point in their lives, Phyllis and Sam are quite content with the way things are, and I don't really expect that to change. Characters can sometimes surprise even the author, though, so you never know!

Kym: Buck, the Dalmatian comes to life on the page from his very first whimper. Is he modeled after a dog in your life?

Livia: Not one particular dog, no. But we've had many wonderful dogs and they've enriched our lives in so many ways and been such good friends to us. In fact, these days most of my writing time is spent with my computer sharing my lap with a couple of little Chihuahua/min pins who feud over which one is getting which spot. Throw in the new Great Dane mix pup that was recently dropped on us, and it can make writing interesting!

Kym: Will Buck continue to play a vital role in the Fresh- Baked Mystery series, or will he take a back seat with periodic crime helping antics?

Livia: I think Buck will always be around to some extent. He and Sam make a good team.

Kym: At the back of your Fresh-Baked Mystery books, there’s always a special treat—killer recipes;) And since I’m a dessert kind-of-gal, your Coconut Cream Pie Cookies and Pumpkin Vanilla Chip Cookies totally caught my eye! Which one would you recommend I try first?

Livia: Considering the time of year it is, anything with pumpkin in it is always a good choice.

Kym: For those of us who love to bake for our four-legged babies, I love the fact that you put in dog biscuit recipes, but they totally look like human treats! Why wouldn’t I share one of your snacks with my dog?

Livia: The dog biscuits certainly don’t have any ingredients that would hurt you! They're pretty bland, though, so I don't know how tasty they would be to two legged critters. My husband and daughters sample most of the things I bake for the books, but in this case they let Nicki and Nora (those Chihuahua/min pins I mentioned above) handle that job, and of course Dash, the new 65 pound puppy will help out with future dog treats. I have the feeling he’ll eat anything, though. We’re worried he’s half yeti.

Kym: You’ve also written numerous books in a historical fiction series, Wind River, with your husband, James Reasoner. Can you tell us a little bit about that series and what it’s like to collaborate with your husband?

Livia: The Wind River books are traditional Westerns about the founding and early days of a railroad town in Wyoming Territory, and like any Western series about a town I suppose they were influenced to some degree by the TV series GUNSMOKE, which I grew up watching because my father loved it. There's a large, colorful cast of characters in the Wind River novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed working on them. I was very proud of the mystery we worked into the series, where the crime happened in book one, and clues were dropped in the next five books with the solution in book six. James and I have always collaborated to a certain extent because we talk about plots all the time and help each other with research and editing. It's rare when either of us publishes something where the other one hasn't had at least a little input. I don't think we could accomplish nearly as much as we do if we didn't help each other.

Kym: Do you have something in store for the end of the year holiday season?

Livia: Most of our time is spent working, but there'll be chances for some good food and plenty of time spent with family, too.

Kym: What are you working on now?

Livia: I recently wrote two historical romance novellas, one Medieval and one Western that will appear in anthologies from Prairie Rose Publications, where I'm a co-publisher with my friend, Cheryl Pierson. Most of my time these days is spent on cover designing and publishing rather than writing, but I'll never give up writing and have plenty of other ideas I just need to find the time for.

Kym: Thank you for stopping by The Cozy Corner, Livia. I can’t wait to read THE CANDY CANE CUPCAKE KILLER!

Livia: Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. There's a nice little twist in the end...

Kym: If you’d like to read more about Livia’s Fresh- Baked Mystery series or any of her novels, please visit her website http://liviajwashburn.yolasite.com/ or follow her on Facebook Livia Washburn Reasoner and Twitter @LiviaJWashburn.

Until next time, get cozy and read on!

About Kym Roberts

Kym Roberts is a retired detective sergeant who looks for passion, mystery and suspense in every book she reads and writes. She can be found on the web at kymroberts.com, on Facebook at Kym Roberts (author) and on Twitter @kymroberts911. Look for her newest release, FLIRTING WITH THE DEVIL, A Noble Pass Affaire Novella available now.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads