Victoria Hamilton | Why Vintage; Why Kitchen?

Writers get asked all the time where we get our ideas. But in my particular case I get asked, how did I come up with the idea for the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, in particular?

I started cooking early. When I was very young my mother was a full time homemaker. I well remember the set of Pyrex Primary Colors bowls on the counter—used for everything— the old wood bread board for kneading, the red handled tools. She baked bread from scratch and made the best home baked beans I have ever tasted. The kitchen was a place of warmth and family; it was safe and happy. I was lucky.

When I was eight, my mother went to work as a homemaker with the Red Cross, which was mostly day work. But from there, when I was nine, my ambitious, intelligent mother, who never thought she was smart enough, took training—and came through top of her class—and got a job at a children’s psychiatric hospital as an assistant nurse. That meant, of course, shift work.

Now, my father could cook. As a matter of fact, he was a cook in the army. However, this was a time before men were expected to cook for their families. So my mom taught me to cook and when she was on afternoon shift, I cooked for my dad and myself.

So cooking, and the old tools, and the kitchen warmth… it means a lot to me. When I started out to write cozy mysteries, where else to center it than the kitchen, and what else to center it on, but vintage kitchen tools, old bowls, and kitchen furnishings from the past?

And think about it; don’t a lot of those tools make dandy murder weapons?

About Victoria Hamilton

Victoria Hamilton is the national bestselling author of three series, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mysteries as Victoria, and the Teapot Collector Mysteries as Amanda Cooper. She is also the bestselling author of Regency and historical romance as Donna Lea Simpson.

Victoria loves to cook and collects vintage kitchen paraphernalia, teacups and teapots, and almost anything that catches her fancy! She loves to read, especially mystery novels, and enjoys good tea and cheap wine, the company of friends, and has a newfound appreciation for opera. She enjoys crocheting and beading, but a good book can tempt her away from almost anything… except writing!

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About WHITE COLANDER CRIME

In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of No Mallets Intended, the Heritage Society is re-creating a perfect Victorian Christmas—until good tidings go bad...

Queensville has great expectations for their Dickens Days festival. A tourist- trade boom means a big turnout for the opening of Queensville Historic Manor and for Jaymie Leighton, food columnist and vintage cookware collector, a chance to promote the manor and give away homemade goodies. At the end of a long day of festival fun, Jaymie discovers the battered body of local woman Shelby Fretter.

Shelby predicted her own murder in journal entries—and all clues point to Cody Wainwright, the troubled son of Jaymie’s beleaguered newspaper editor. But considering the entire Fretter family had its share of dirty secrets, Jaymie’s not convinced by the case against Cody. With twists all over, she’s going to have to work like the Dickens to wrap up this investigation before Christmas—especially with the real killer ready to kill again.

INCLUDES A RECIPE!