Interview with mystery author Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell)

Cozy mystery author Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) joins me today to chat about the first novel in a new series, Murder on Cape Cod.

Bio:

Agatha- and Macavity-nominated Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell lives north of Boston with her beau and two elderly cats, and gardens and cooks when she isn’t wasting time on Facebook.

Welcome, Maddie! Please tell us about your current release.

Murder on Cape Cod is the first in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries from Kensington Publishing. Here’s the blurb:

Summer is busy season for Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida’s bicycle shop, nestled in the quaint, seaside hamlet of Westham, Massachusetts. She’s expecting an influx of tourists at Mac’s Bikes; instead she discovers the body of Jake Lacey, and her brother soon becomes a suspect. Mac’s only experience with murder investigations is limited to the cozy mysteries she reads with her local book group, the Cozy Capers. So to clear her brother’s name, Mac has to summon help from her book group co-investigators. For a small town, Westham is teeming with possible killers, and this is one mystery where Mac is hoping for anything but a surprise ending.

The book releases tomorrow (December 18) in a paperback exclusive from Barnes & Noble. It will rerelease a year later in all formats on all platforms.

What inspired you to write this book?

I spend solo writing time in a retreat cottage in West Falmouth on Cape Cod a couple of times a year and love the Cape in all seasons. Setting a cozy series in a fictional town in that area appealed to me and my editor alike. And with the miles of bike trails, it made sense to have a bike shop proprietor as the protagonist. Her participation in a book group that only reads cozy mysteries was icing on the cake.

Excerpt from Murder on Cape Cod:

Now I found the turn from the bike trail to the pathway that cut up to Main Street. Near the end of the path a hedge of scrubby coastal Rosa Rugosa separated the walkway from my postage stamp of a yard. The fragrant scent from the just-blooming native shrub mixed with the salt air and reminded me of my childhood here on the Cape. I slowed as I rounded a bend. I was scanning through the mist for the opening that would let me through the wall of roses when I tripped.

The obstacle in my path, oddly both soft and solid, was a sizable one. I yelled, arms windmilling like in a vintage cartoon. The air gave me nothing to grab hold of and I landed on my hands and elbows. I glanced down and back to see my knees resting on . . . Jake.

“Gah!” I shrieked and scrambled forward off of him. I crouched in place, my heart beating like the timpani in the Cape Symphony. Jake lay on his front with his head half-turned toward me, lips pulled back in a grimace, eyes unblinking.

“Jake!” I called. “Jake, are you all right?”

He didn’t respond. I inched closer and couldn’t detect any signs of breathing. I touched his temple but I didn’t feel a pulse under his too-cool skin. His skinny legs were splayed at an odd angle, and his back was still, too still. No breaths moved it up and down. He was never going to enjoy another free spaghetti dinner—or anything else. Jake Lacey was dead.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Next up is my seventh Country Store Mystery. Chef Robbie Jordan is going to leave southern Indiana to attend her tenth high school reunion in Santa Barbara, California. While there, a friend of her late mother’s hints that Mom’s death might not have been from natural causes, after all.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

My first paid publication was a short story when I was nine. I entered “Viking Girl” in a contest run by the local newspaper – the Pasadena Star News - and was paid two dollars. I have been writing in non-fiction of various kinds my entire adult life, but I got back to fiction – and specifically crime fiction – about twenty five years ago. I started writing mystery novels in earnest in 2009.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Writing has been my full-time job for over six years. I am at my desk and working by seven every morning but Sunday. I usually write (or revise) until about eleven, then I go for my power walk, eat lunch, and do other authorly things in the afternoons. I am under contract to write three books a year, so I’d better treat it seriously.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I often talk out loud to myself on my daily walk. I plot the next day’s writing, then dictate a text to myself so I don’t forget. I think I’m known around my town as that crazy author lady who talks to herself. I don’t care. I like my plotting walks!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I don’t remember! I recall wanting to be a teenager, but other than that? Not a clue.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Thanks so much for interviewing me, Lisa! I hope readers will visit my group blog, the Wicked Authors, and find me on my web site and on social media.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Wicked Authors blog | Murder on Cape Cod

Thanks for being here today! Happy book launch tomorrow!

Review of Edith Maxwell's cozy mystery 'Til Dirt Do Us Part

‘Til Dirt Do Us Part

by Edith Maxwell

Reviewed by Lisa Haselton

Fall has arrived in Westbury, Massachusetts and self-professed geek turned gardener Cameron Flaherty finds herself mixed up in murder – again.

With the summer warmth and long days behind her, Cameron is grateful to have her barn rebuilt. And although the busiest gardening season is over, there is still plenty of work around the farm to be done and vegetables to be harvested.

The day after hosting an outdoor farm-to-table dinner at her farm, Cameron learns that one of the attendees has been found dead at a neighboring farm. Irene Burr had been raising a lot of ire around town with her desire to turn the old town hall into a museum. Did someone murder her, or was it a horrible accident? When Detective Pappas arrives at her doorstep, Cam knows murder is again in the air. She doesn’t want to be drawn in to the mystery, as the farm needs her full attention, but when strange events start happening to her, Cameron can’t help but be drawn in to try to find answers.

Maxwell’s ability to combine personal experience with a fictional world gives the story a nice balance. She entertains and educates at the same time. Young Ellie is back in this story and is excited about fulfilling the requirements for a Girl Scout badge thanks to Cameron’s assistance. Chef Jake is masterful with preparing the food for the farm-to-table dinner, yet his mood swings have Cameron wondering what is going on with him. The cast of characters adds the right amount of neighborly conflict, jealousies, and suspicions to make the reader as uncertain about who to trust, as the protagonist.

I enjoyed learning a bit more about organic food, farmer’s markets, and CSAs when reading this novel. The main character will soon be adding fresh eggs to her CSA, as chickens have moved onto Cameron’s farm. The novel is a wonderful glimpse into how being involved in the community can make a difference in people’s lives in various ways, too.

This is the second novel in Edith Maxwell’s Local Food Mystery Series. The first is A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die. Maxwell has published several mystery short stories, and has a traditional mystery, Speaking of Murder, published under the pseudonym Tace Baker.

I enjoyed ‘Til Dirt Do Us Part and it was difficult to stop turning the pages. The twists and turns kept me guessing right until the end, and even then there’s a cliffhanger. I found the romantic aspect just as intriguing as trying to solve the whodunnit. Who will Cam end up with? What kind of trouble will she find herself involved with next? This reader is looking forward to the next book in the series. I consider this a highly recommended, pleasurable read.

If you’re interested in learning more, visit the author’s website, or check out her Wednesday posts on the Sisters in Crime New England blog where her protagonist shares gardening tips. 

This book's release date is May 27. Edith is having a preorder contest where the gift is a lovely hand-painted silk scarf for you or someone you know. Click here for all the details.

ISBN: 978-0-7582-8464-8

Publisher: Kensington Books

Live chat/interview with cozy mystery author Edith Maxwell/Tace Baker - 7/7/13

The Writer's Chatroom presents cozy mystery author Edith Maxwell, aka Tace Baker.

WHEN?

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Eastern USA Time.....7-9 PM

Not sure what time that is wherever in the world you are? http://www.worldtimeserver.com

WHERE?

The Writers Chatroom at: http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm

Scroll down to the Java box. It may take a moment to load. Type in the name you wish to be known by, and click Sign In. No password needed.

Please note: The chatroom is only open for regularly scheduled chats.

Review of cozy mystery A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell

A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die

by Edith Maxwell

Cameron Flaherty is a self-professed geek turned gardener. She’s given up a cubical for the outdoors. She prefers her fingers in soil rather than clicking across a keyboard. It’s a new life and a new world for Cameron as she turns her great-uncle’s home into her own.

Taking the plunge from salaried, experienced, corporate employee to self-employed, newbie organic CSA (community supported agriculture) farmer is quite an adjustment. But before Cameron can really start to appreciate the new life she is starting to create for herself, she finds her recently fired employee dead on her property. It’s obviously murder and is not a great way to close out the first day of her share program. The challenges and mysteries don’t stop as Cameron struggles to settle into a routine on her farm, with her share program, or with building her new business.

Maxwell combines personal experience with fiction in this novel featuring a cast of characters who have their own opinions about eating local food. For example, young Ellie is working on a Girl Scout badge and is learning to appreciate home-grown food; Portuguese immigrant Lucinda is determined to eat only locally grown food for an entire year; and Chef Jake prides himself on serving meals with as many local ingredients as possible. Other cast members add the right amount of neighborly conflict, jealousies, and suspicions to make the reader nod her head and think, “I know people like that.”

Although set in fictional Westbury, Massachusetts, the novel includes real locations, such as Newburyport and Gloucester. The novel is a wonderful introduction to farmer’s markets, organic gardening, CSAs, and CSFs (fishing).

This novel is Edith Maxwell’s first and is also the start of her Local Food Mystery Series. Maxwell has published several mystery short stories, and has a traditional mystery, Speaking of Murder, published under the pseudonym Tace Baker.

A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die is comfortable to read, which is appropriate since it’s a cozy, but I call it comfortable because as a reader, I felt like part of the cast and included in the conversations. It has a nice pace and is definitely a page turner. This is a highly recommended read for cozy readers, gardeners, and anyone seeking a pleasurable read.

Title: A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die

Author: Edith Maxwell

Published: June 2013

ISBN: 978-0-7582-8461-7

Publisher: Kensington Publishing

Interview with mystery author Edith Maxwell / Tace Baker

Today's interviewee is friend and mystery author Edith Maxwell. She's talking about her first mystery in her first series written as Tace Baker. It's called Speaking of Murder.

Bio:

Edith Maxwell is the author of Speaking of Murder (Barking Rain Press, under pseudonym Tace Baker) featuring Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau. Edith holds a PhD in linguistics and is a member of Amesbury Monthly Meeting of Friends. The book was first runner up in the Linda Howard Award for Excellence contest

Edith also writes the Local Foods Mysteries. A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die introduces organic farmer Cam Flaherty and a colorful Locavore Club (Kensington Publishing, June, 2013).

A mother and technical writer, Edith is a fourth-generation Californian, but lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and three cats.

Welcome, Edith. Please tell us about your current release.

Speaking of Murder came out from Barking Rain Press just a month ago. Listening to academic blackmail and small-town intrigues, Quaker Linguistics Professor Lauren Rousseau uses her ear for accents and facility with languages to track down not only her star student's killer but also crimes committed by her department chairwoman.

What inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to start a series about a smart young professor who uses her linguistic knowledge to solve crimes. She's got her own set of problems – issues with commitment, for example – but starts to overcomes them as she searches for a killer. I thought also making her a Quaker would add depth and an unusual aspect to her character. And then I followed her around and wrote down what happened.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I'm writing the second book in the Local Foods Mystery series. It opens during a fall Farm-to-Table dinner, and I was lucky enough to attend one at a local farm just last week. Great food in a beautiful setting all in the name of research.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

In about third grade. My mother told me I was a good writer and I guess it just stuck. I've written ever since in all kinds of formats - journalism, academic papers, technical documentation – but fiction is what I love to write.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Alas, I write technical documentation full time, so fiction gets fit in on weekends, retreats, plane rides, and so on. When I do have a full day available, I get up early and write until about lunchtime, when I usually run out of steam. Staying off the Internet is important on those days. It's hard to find enough time to write the books as well as network and promote, but so far I've managed. I hope to be able to leave the day job sometime in the next few years, though.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

If you had a camera on me at my desk, you would see me doing all kinds of crazy physical things: figuring out logistics of being grabbed or of holding a weapon while also hanging on to something else; scaring myself so I can describe how the throat thickens and the heart thumps; making weird facial expressions, and more. I have to be careful when I'm out writing in a coffee shop or library! 

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I really don't remember. Isn't that strange? I know I aspired to be a teenager. I adored a girl who lived down the street, with her full-skirt dresses and cool shoes. I guess I never thought beyond that.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Having my first book out is a dream come true, and it never would have happened without the help, support, and education I get from my fellow Sisters in Crime, both in person locally and online. What a great group of writer-friends I have gained (including you, Lisa!).

I love hearing from my readers through Twitter and Facebook.

It's great to have you join my blog, Edith. See you soon at New England Crime Bake 2012 mystery conference!