1--What is the title of your latest release?
OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAY HOMICIDE
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Three sisters who run a B&B struggle to keep a murder investigation from landing one of them in jail or ruining their guests' unrealistic expectations for a perfect family holiday.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
It was part and parcel of the original premise, a B&B in bourbon country. Kentucky seems to be under-represented in the cozy world, and it's a beautiful place, with so much to offer.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Probably not with Jess, because she's a little too much like me in some ways (lawyer, oldest sibling, bossy), so we'd probably clash, but it would be great fun to try to keep up with CJ, the youngest, who's as adventurous as I am cautious.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Jess is smart, organized, and bossy.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
During background research to start the series, I learned a lot about bourbon and the aging barrels. I'm not a drinker, so even the basics were new to me, like the way bourbon gets its distinctive flavor from the charring on the inside of the oak barrels. That led me to discovering that there's a distillery in Vermont that flips the process on its head, by aging the bourbon in reusable metal vats, and putting pieces of charred wood into the vat to infuse the flavor, as if they were making a kind of alcohol-based tea. It's a more sustainable method than constantly replacing the barrels, plus it gives them the option of using different varieties of wood (only oak can be used for barrels for technical reasons). You can read more about this method here: https://www.splitspirits.com/
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do pretty much every variation you can imagine. Early in the draft, I do a lot of editing as I go. Midway through though, I try to keep going linearly, and never go back more than to the beginning of the current scene, or else I get bogged down forever in the middle. Toward the end, I'm just racing to finish the first draft (of three), so I do no editing whatsoever, and it's a real mess! I very much live by the Terry Pratchett quote that "The first draft is just you telling yourself the story," and then later drafts are more for the reader.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
A multi-generational family tradition for Sunday dinner: macaroni and cheese with a ton of New York extra-sharp cheddar. (Don't tell my cardiologist.)
9--Describe your writing space/office!
It's dull but functional, just a square room with the basics: desk, computer, printer, etc. Plus a variety of chairs and beds for my cats to occupy while I work. The only really special feature (besides the cats themselves) is an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that a friend made for me.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Oh, there are so many. In the cozy genre, I've been a fan of Donna Andrews forever, and I learned a lot about plotting a cozy by studying her story structure. Beyond that, I mostly read outside the mystery genre. I'm a huge fan of Martha Wells, both science fiction and fantasy, and Ben Aaronovitch, the Rivers of London series, both of whom are brilliant world-builders and plotters. And for work ethic, someone who sets a standard I would love to meet but never do, there's Nora Roberts.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Not one book, no. I think it's a more gradual, cumulative effect of reading widely that made me a more curious and empathetic person than my judgmental nature would have led me to become otherwise.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I came close a few times earlier in the process, and each time I got what I thought was going to be the call (either for agent representation or publication), I was all excited and started making wild and crazy plans, only to get a very kind rejection in the end. So when I was contacted (email, not phone) for what would turn out to be my first publication, by Gemma Halliday (for my Helen Binney Mysteries), I was pretty chill, because I was so sure the deal would end up going nowhere. (My naturally judgmental nature comes with a lot of pessimism too!) It took a while to realize the series was really going to be published, so it slowly snowballed to excitement when I had a real, live, publication date and a cover, rather than having a big hit of adrenaline during the initial email offering a contract.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I tend to read non-mysteries to avoid being influenced when plotting my own stories, although I do read some historical mysteries, since I know I'm absolutely incapable of writing a historical setting. Beyond that, I read fantasy and science fiction mostly, some of which are essentially mysteries.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
I'm not sure why, but I am really not a fan of movies. I prefer long-form storytelling that I find in a television series that arcs over a season or the entire show, like both the original Leverage and the reboot.
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I've never really done anything for my birthday other than to indulge in a bit of cake and ice cream. Okay, maybe more than "a bit." Again, don't rat me out to my cardiologist, please!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I really enjoyed the Dalgliesh series on Acorn TV. And I adore the Lady Sherlock book series by Sherry Thomas. The audiobook narrator is fabulous.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Italian.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Quilt.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I am, as they say, between contracts, so I'm not entirely sure what will be published next, just that I have more ideas for stories than I have time to write. I'm mostly working on a secret project that's a bit … well, let's just say it's going to be a nightmare for my brilliant and kind agent to market. I've also got the beginning of another novella for the Helen Binney series, and I'm working on a cozy mystery series set at a tiny municipal airport (not unlike a small town unto itself, with a diner and other services/activities, and regular community members coming in and out), something I've tried for years to find just the right plot for, to highlight the setting.
Bourbon B&B Mysteries #3
From USA Today bestselling author Gin Jones comes homicide for the holidays...
Jess Walker is spending Christmas with her sisters for the first time in years, but it's a working holiday at the Three Sisters B&B in the heart of Kentucky's bourbon country. Jess, Em, and CJ are expecting a guest who has long dreamed of running her own B&B, so she'll be playing hostess while her extended family will join her as additional guests.
Except the sisters end up doing most of the hard work, and things keep going awry. Jess would swear the holiday is jinxed. And things go from difficult to downright dangerous, when CJ delivers her bourbon cranberry sauce to the local gift shop...and finds the owner dead! The sheriff immediately jumps to the wrong conclusions, and the sisters are determined to get justice for CJ's best wholesale customer. Suspects are scarce though, and the B&B's guests are spooked by the murder and threatening to cancel their booking.
Can the sisters solve the murder while still giving their guests an Old-Fashioned Holiday?
Mystery Amateur Sleuth | Mystery Cozy [Gemma Halliday Publishing, On Sale: November 19, 2024, e-Book, ISBN: 9798223709947 / eISBN: 9798223709947]
Gin is a retired lawyer who specialized in ghost-writing for other lawyers. She prefers to write her own books though, so she doesn't have to worry that her sense of humor might get her thrown into jail for contempt of court. She is the author of four series, the Garlic Farm Mysteries, the Danger Cove quilting series, the Danger Cove farmers' market series, and the Helen Binney Mysteries. In her spare time, Gin makes quilts, grows garlic, and advocates for patients with rare disorders.
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