1--What is the title of your latest release?
DEATH BY SMOOTHIE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Freelance writer Jaine Austen gets a gig as a script doctor on an amateur theatrical production, where the only thing worse than the script is the diva leading lady. When the diva is bumped off with a deadly smoothie, Jaine sets out to find the killer—all the while dealing with her own personal diva—her cat, Prozac, who keeps breaking out of their apartment to wreak havoc on the neighbor’s petunias. More high jinks ensue when Jaine accidentally makes the winning bid in a Most Eligible Bachelor Auction.
Don’t miss this stirring saga of murder, mayhem, and really bad acting.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Most of Jaine’s adventures take place in Los Angeles, and show biz stories are always fun for me, so I set this one in the wacky world of amateur theatrics.
4--Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life?
Absolutely! In fact, I hang out with my sleuth 24/7. Jaine is a much younger, braver version of me.
5--What are three words that describe your sleuth?
Sometimes spunky, often terrified, and always hungry.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
How to train your cat to walk on a leash.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Edit as I write.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Froyo (vanilla and chocolate swirl).
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My office space is in my home, a sunlit room with two desks (one for my computer and printer; the other for reading and making handwritten edits), a philodendron that never dies, and a lovely view of the Chinese elm tree in my front yard.
10--Who is an author you admire?
The late Sue Grafton, for creating such a memorable heroine in Kinsey Millhone, and keeping her alphabet series going strong from A to Y.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
“How to Improve Your Vocabulary in Thirty Days.” I read it back in the stone ages when I was in high school and improved my English SAT score by a hundred points, which eventually got me into an Ivy League College. PS. The book was first published in 1949 and is STILL in print under the title “Word Power Made Easy.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
I’m 79 years old (going on 93) and to be perfectly honest, have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast this morning. So I don’t actually remember the call, just remember that I was darn happy to get it.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Addicted to Unreliable Narrator thrillers.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
So many! Sunset Boulevard. Sideways. The Heiress. Most anything by Hitchcock.
15--What is your favorite season?
In Los Angeles, there are really only two seasons: warm-ish and cold-ish. I like warm-ish.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Skinny dipping in Malibu, then brunch with George Clooney. Only kidding. At my age, just waking up is cause for celebration.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
TV show: EXTRAORDINARY ATTORNEY WU (streaming on Netflix). Book: HOME MADE by Liz Hauck.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italiano!
19--What do you do when you have free time?
World Class Champion at vegging out. Love to read, and solve Wordle, KenKen, and crossword puzzles. Walking and water jogging when I’m not glued to the sofa.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
In Jaine’s next adventure (as yet untitled), she will get a gig writing an exercise book, discover a corpse on a deluxe private railway car, try to pass herself off as a Romanian Princess, and possibly meet the love of her life.
A Jaine Austen Mystery # 19
It’s the funny side of homicide in acclaimed TV comedy writer and novelist Laura Levine’s newest mystery featuring Jaine Austen and her snarky cat, Prozac, as a murder from the past comes back to haunt the Hollywood writer-for-hire!
Freelance writer Jaine Austen is all too familiar with the short-lived sitcom I Married a Zombie—she once solved the murder of its star, Cryptessa Muldoon. But in true zombie fashion, Cryptessa is back from the grave—sort of—courtesy of a new theatrical production, and murder is on the bill once more…
Jaine is delighted when one of those rabid fans hires her as script doctor for his new play based on the show—until she reads the awful script and meets Misty, the actress who’ll be playing Cryptessa’s role. Misty has Audrey Hepburn’s doe eyes but not a smidgen of her ability. Yet she can certainly act the diva, demanding a special smoothie every day at 3pm. Meanwhile, Jaine is grappling with another spoiled female—her uncooperative cat, Prozac, who’s refusing to be wrangled into a kitty harness for outside walks.
When someone spikes Misty’s signature drink with a fatal shot of rat poison, the cast of suspects extends far beyond the theater. What Misty lacked in talent she made up for in enemies. Everyone Jaine talks to maintains their innocence, but one of them is clearly only playing the part. And it’s up to Jaine to figure out who, before a killer schedules an encore performance . . .
Mystery Cozy | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Kensington Cozies, On Sale: November 29, 2022, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781496728166 / eISBN: 9781496728180]
Laura Levine is a former sitcom writer whose credits include The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Jeffersons, The Love Boat, Three’s Company, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. As an advertising copywriter, she created Count Chocula and Frankenberry cereals for General Mills. Her work has been published in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. In her latest (and favorite) incarnation as a mystery novelist, she has been a New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Romantic Times award for Most Humorous Mystery. She live in Los Angeles.
No comments posted.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy