1--What is the title of your latest release?
FATAL FUDGE SWIRL
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Hard to do without spoilers!
Riley Rhodes, a former CIA librarian who now runs the Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop, has been tasked with making a lavish Halloween themed wedding cake for the owner of Penniman’s Inn on the Green. But a murder at the Inn puts Riley at the center of a police investigation and in the murderer’s crosshairs.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
One fall weekend I visited an ice cream shop in the northeast part of Connecticut – what we call the Quiet Corner. Full of farms, rolling hills, and beautiful country lanes bordered by stone walls and fields of sunflowers, it felt like I’d stumbled into the perfect setting for my series.
4--Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life?
Absolutely! Riley and I share a love of travel, books, and food.
5--What are three words that describe your sleuth?
Riley is curious, loyal, and adventurous.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Because I included a character who is a celebrity chef who specializes in molecular gastronomy, I learned a lot about the science of cooking. It was totally fun because I’m a huge fan of cooking shows.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
In a former life I was an editor, so I force myself to keep going in the draft phase. It’s a struggle not to stop and make corrections, but doing so slows the writing too much.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
A really luxurious hot fudge sundae. No, tacos. No, a pepperoni pizza. Can I have all of them?
9--Describe your writing space/office!
My dining room table. It has large windows and I like to keep an eye on the neighborhood while I write. I am the Gladys Kravitz of my neighborhood.
10--Who is an author you admire?
So many but I’d have to put Agatha Christie at the top of the list for the sheer inventiveness of her plots.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
My life was probably changed when I read my first Nancy Drew mystery, The Secret of the Old Clock. Nancy Drew was the gateway drug to my life-long mystery addiction.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)
True story: I was at the Mohegan Sun Casino. My mom loves to play the slots and I love to watch my mom play the slots because winning or losing she’s hilarious. My agent called to tell me the news. I told my mom, “well, I’ll never win again. Getting a publishing contract has used up all my luck forever.”
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love funny mysteries (like those by MC Beaton or Janet Evanovich) or gothic mysteries – anything with a spooky castle with one light burning in a tower and a woman in a gown running across the lawn.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
So hard to pick one! Probably Casablanca. I think it’s perfect.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Catching a Broadway show and then there must be cake.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I adore Only Murders in the Building and Pokerface.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Lebanese food is my current favorite.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Walk by the shore and visit bookstores.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I have a short story in the new MURDER AT SEA cozy mystery anthology. Right now, I’m writing a follow up to Riley’s adventures in Fatal Fudge Swirl and I’m shopping a new project, so keep your fingers crossed for me!
Ice Cream Shop Mystery #3
A movie production brings drama—and murder—to a close-knit New England village, forcing Riley Rhodes to scoop out the suspects.
Former CIA librarian and amateur sleuth Riley Rhodes is loving her fresh start as the manager of the Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. The leaves are turning, tourists are leaf-peeping, and Penniman, Connecticut is putting finishing touches on the weekend long Halloween Happening. But the village is also buzzing. Former child star Cooper Collins is overseeing the production of a romantic comedy that’s filming on the town green and his domineering socialite mother, Diantha, is planning her lavish Halloween themed wedding at her Inn on the Green. Her fiancé has run the Inn's kitchen for years, ably aided by his recent ex-wife, chef Mary Ann Dumas. An old friend of Riley’s, Mary Ann turns to her when the bride requests a spooky ice cream wedding cake.
But the weekend takes a frightful turn when Diantha is found dead and suspicion falls on Mary Ann. The cast of potential suspects is long—each wedding guest had a chilling motive to kill the vicious heiress. Can Riley unmask the murderer before another guest ends up on ice?
Mystery [St. Martin's Paperbacks, On Sale: June 27, 2023, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250267108 / eISBN: 9781250267115]
MERI ALLEN lives in a quiet corner of Connecticut, where she haunts used book stores and vintage shops. As Shari Randall, she writes the Agatha Award-winning Lobster Shack Mystery series.
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