What is the title of your latest release?
My latest Tea Shop Mystery (#25 in the Tea Shop Mystery series) is LEMON CURD KILLER.
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning hosts a fancy Limón Tea in an actual lemon grove as the kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and teacups clink, a designer is brutally murdered, leading her grieving daughter to beg for Theodosia’s help in solving this very strange case.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
My Tea Shop Mysteries always take place in Charleston, SC because that’s where Theodosia’s quaint little tea shop is located. This particular mystery is set in a lemon grove because it seemed like a lovely place in which to cause total disruption.
Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life?
Absolutely. My main character, Theodosia Browning, is smart, sassy, and kind of a daredevil when it coming to jumping in and solving a mystery. Plus she has a dog named Earl Grey and I just love dogs.
What are three words that describe your sleuth?
Curious, smart, entrepreneurial.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I studied up on the process of how to design a line of clothing, sourcing suppliers, and retail merchandising. I also learned a bit more about classic sports cars since I set one of the scenes at a fancy car show.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I can pretty much complete a chapter in two days of writing. So once that’s done, I go back over it, punch it up, and always (always!) try to make it more exciting. Then I move on.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Lobster rolls and good French Champagne.
Describe your writing space/office.
I wish I could say neat and orderly, but it’s not. It’s a room in our lower level that has my desk and iMac, my grandfather’s hundred year-old lawyer’s bookcase, and a bunch of papers on the floor. Oh, and my Chinese Shar Pei, Lotus, usually hangs out there too.
Who is an author you admire?
Steven King. He can write crazy scary books like Salem’s Lot that make you believe in vampires, as well as a great American novel filled with raw energy and hope like Shawshank Redemption.
Is there a book that changed your life?
I read Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer when I was eleven years old. Scared me to death when I found out how fast the world’s landscape can change.
Tell us about when you got “the call” (when you found out your book was going to be published).
I was sitting in my office, thinking about selling the ad agency that I’d helped create. The phone rang and it was my agent saying, “Guess what? You just scored a three-book contract!” Two weeks later I sold the agency.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Since I was the kid who always told ghost stories around the campfire and snuck into the cemetery on a dare, I’ve always been partial to mysteries, thrillers, and Gothic horror.
What’s your favorite movie?
It’s hard to decide between Apocalypse Now (for its gritty reality) and Blade Runner (for its futuristic insight).
What’s your favorite season?
Autumn. My office window looks out onto a good five acres of woods so the changing leaves are like a wonderful kaleidoscope of gold and red. Lots of whitetail deer out there too.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Quietly. I don’t like to be reminded of numbers.
What’s a recent TV show/movie/book/podcast that you highly recommend?
I just finished reading The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley and loved her tricky, intricate plot. I understand it’s being made into a movie.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Hmm, difficult question, so many to choose from. Well, I’ve never had a bad meal in Paris.
What do you do when you have free time?
Read – I try to devour two or three books a week. Of course, I also enjoy shopping and traveling (amazing how those two are so easily combined).
What can readers expect from you next?
Lots more books. I’m in the process of signing a six-book contract for more Tea Shop Mysteries and I’m also writing two thrillers – The Headhunters Wife and Hot Buttered Blonde.
A Tea Shop Mystery #24
High tea and high fashion turn deadly in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.
Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning has been tapped to host a fancy Limón Tea in a genuine lemon orchard as a rousing kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and the scent of lemon wafts among the tea tables, the deadly murder of a fashion designer puts the squeeze on things.
As the lemon curd begins to sour, the murdered woman’s daughter begs Theodosia to help find the killer. Tea events and fashion shows must go on, however, which puts Theodosia and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, right in the thick of squabbling business partners, crazed clothing designers, irate film producers, drug deals, and a disastrous Tea Trolley Tour.
INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Berkley, On Sale: March 7, 2023, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593200926 / eISBN: 9780593200933]
Halfway between a cozy
and a thriller – a thrillzy!
Laura Childs is the author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Most have been on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. Recently, Book Riot named her 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, and has a Chinese Shar-Pei named Lotus.
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