Avery Aames & Kate Carlisle for Authors @ The Teague

It was so much fun to host mystery authors Avery Aames and Kate Carlisle for Authors @ The Teague. Kate is the author of the Bibliophile mystery series. And, Avery is the author of the Cheese Shop mysteries. Avery just won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel for the first in the series, The Long Quiche Goodbye. Kate was in on the secret that I had a surprise for Avery, but she didn't know what it was. I do know that Avery can't eat wheat, but I still baked a cake so we could share it with the audience after the program. I really wanted to present this cake to Avery. It has holes cut out of it so it looks like Swiss cheese, and it said, "Congrats, Avery! The Big Cheese."

After the presentation, Avery kicked off the program, acting as moderator. She said she and Kate had been traveling for ten days together. They discovered their books were coming out on the same day, so they decided it would be fun to take their song-and-dance show on the road.

Kate Carlisle writes the Bibliophile series featuring bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright. Brooklyn does rare book restoration, and there's a different book featuring in each mystery. Kate said she's a little slow. It took her until the third book to realize she had to work with the book selected for restoration. That book provides the catalyst for the plot itself. Brooklyn also has an interesting relationship with a British intelligence agent.

Avery asked what books were the focal point of the books. In Carlisle's first book, Homicide in Hardcover,  it was Goethe's Faust. In If Books Could Kill, Brooklyn went to the Edinburgh Book Fair. That centered on a book of Robert Burns' poetry, and whether or not it was authentic. The Lies that Bind dealt with Oliver Twist. It included a band of thieves and a Twisted Festival. In Kate's new book, Murder Under Cover, it's the Kama Sutra. Brooklyn's best friend, Robin, brings her a copy of the book, a rare one in French, to be restored and evaluated. Kate assured us the mystery is rated PG. No bodies are shown, except dead ones. She said it's actually pretty tame, although her editor had fun with it. The cover line is, "What dangers lurk between the sheets...?"

Avery Aames writes the Cheese Shop Mysteries. The first one, The Long Quiche Goodbye, just won the Agatha Award. The books are set in Holmes County, Ohio, in the fictional town of Providence. It's a beautiful section of the state, with rolling hills, cows and goats and sheep. Holmes County has a big Amish population, bigger actually than Pennsylvania. Avery wanted to ground the story in something earthy.

Charlotte Bessette owns the Cheese Shop, Fromagerie Bessette. She's dating a single, mysterious, handsome farmer who produces cheese. She took over the Cheese Shop from her grandparents. She has twin nieces, and a cousin who lives with her. Her cousin runs the wine annex attached to the shop. In the first book, Charlotte's beloved grandmother is accused of murdering a landlord.

Lost and Fondue, the second book, was just released. Avery told us she has cheese titles, or cheesy titles. In this one, Avery's friend, Meredith, wants to throw a fundraiser at a local winery. Some people in town are against it. Meredith brings in a group of artists, and one is killed in the cellar of the winery. Meredith's niece is accused of the murder. Since Avery babysat for the niece, and Meredith begs her, she investigates. She's an amateur sleuth, snoopy, who goes where she's not wanted. Amateur sleuths want to see justice done. That's why someone who wouldn't normally goes into a dark cellar does so. A personal stake drives them to investigate.

Next, Avery asked Carlisle if she has quirky characters in her books. Kate said Brooklyn is actually the straight man in the series. She was raised in a commune in Sonoma County. Kate said then she'd have to go to wineries in Sonoma County to do research. Brooklyn's parents were old hippies who met each other following the Grateful Dead. They bought land to be near their guru, grew grapes, and established a winery. Now, they're rich ex-hippies. In the first book, Homicde in Hardcover, Brooklyn's mother is a suspect. Brooklyn's mother is like Kate's mother in one way. She has what Carlisle calls a "sunny bunny face." It's the expression on her face when she refuses to talk about something again. She uses her face as a shield.

She also has a quirky character named Gabriel, a dark handsome stranger. He may be a thief and a scoundrel. For a while he took over, but Derek spoke up and said no. Aames pointed out that Carlisle's characters talk to her. Avery said that's not unusual to hear from authors, that their characters pop up and tell them something. That makes the authors sound quirky. The characters will say, I don't like that name you gave me. The characters almost become real. Authors and actors have that in common. Almost all authors talk about it.

Avery Aames' next book, Clobbered by Camembert, will be out in January. The characters drive Charlotte to do more. There's going to be more of Tyanne in that book. That's a character who needed a name change. Therese just didn't fit her. She's named for a friend of Avery's. Tyanne has a Southern accent, and has been asking for a bigger role.

Avery asked Kate if any of the characters in her books were fashioned around anyone she knows, and do they know it. She answered that Minka, Brooklyn's archenemy is, but, no, the woman doesn't know it. Avery said one of her characters is taken from a friend who can be snarky, saying things like, "You know that color doesn't look good on you," but, again, she doesn't know it. Kate said she does use a lot of dialogue she overhears. She has four brothers, and she uses a lot of what they say. She steals their best lines, because they say some really tacky things. She uses people's words a lot, but her characters are usually amalgamations of personalities.

What is Kate Carlisle's writing day like? She writes every day, at least six days a week. She starts early, and she's easily distracted by email, so she tries to stay off the Internet. She writes by word count since her editors want 75,000 to 80,000 words. That's a 300-320 pae book. If she gets 2000-3000 words a day, that's ten or twelve pages. It's dialogue heavy, and that fills more pages. Kate writes for 5 to 6 hours a day,a nd does business stuff, a lot of promotion.

Avery said she writes in scenes. Sometimes, she'll just write dialogue, and then add the rest later. The dialogue drives her story. Asked if she writes that way because she was an actress, she said, yes. She was an actress first, and wrote screenplays. Those aren't heavy on inner thought. They're very visual. But, a writer is the director, actor, and screenplay writer for a book. Dialogue works well for her. Carlisle agreed, saying when she gets stuck sometimes, she will just write dialogue back and forth between her characters. She doesn't have time for writer's block.

Aames pointed to Robert B. Parker as a writer who used dialogue. Most of his scenes were conversations between two people. He seldom wrote "he said." And, he very seldom set the scenes. The dialogue made his books fast-paced, and the reader picked up speed reading them. But, readers of cozies want detail in their books.

Kate has an old friend who is a papermaker, and her next book is going to involve lots of papermaking. It uses the book Beauty and the Beast. It comes out in February under the title One Book in the Grave. Carlisle's books have been released every eight months, but then it will move to every six months. She has already seen the cover artwork for it.

Aames remarked that her Clobbered by Camembert comes out sooner, in January, and she's still waiting to see the artwork for it. She has contracts for the fourth and fifth books in the series. The fourth book will be called To Brie or Not to Brie. She does research on cheeses and recipes because her books are culinary mysteries. She has to have a new recipe each week. With Brie, she wanted a recipe for ice cream. She saw a recipe online for Brie Blueberry Ice Cream, and then she played with the recipe to make it her own. With Lost and Fondue, she came up with fondue recipes. She is one of the authors who blogs at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen, and this week she had a recipe for a goat cheese fondue. Avery has to eat gluten-free, so she often adds white pepper to recipes or changes them from flour recipes.

So, Avery Aames does cook with cheese, but Kate Carlisle isn't a bookbinder. She said it's a fun hobby. She's taken classes in it her whole life. When she was a child of five, she took the cardboard from the laundry, and made them into books. She didn't write books; she made them. She collects books, and buys them at auctions and book fairs. She's fascinated by books. Kate met a friend, a master bookbinder, who has bound priceless 14th century books, taking them apart and repairing them in the style of the age. It's an art and a skill. Carlisle takes classes in San Francisco, where there are classes for book geeks. The classes are specialized, Master Bookbinding for 17th century books, or 18th century books.

Do they know the plot ahead of time? Avery likes to think it out. She knows who did it, and why. She knows at what point in the book the bodies need to drop. In the first book, the publisher wanted the body to drop by the end of the third chapter. Then, 2/3 of the way through, there's a twist. Aames starts plotting the story, and runs it together. She does a complete outline of all thirty chapters. Her editor has to approve it. She considers all of that as she writes.

Kate plots it carefully, and knows who did it, but she's flying by the seat of her pants as she writes it. She'll do one chapter straight through, then it's sent to her critique partner. When she's done, it's a clean copy.

Avery said her plots may change. It's like a road map. There are diversions, but she'll come back to her original plan. Kate said sometimes she discovers someone has to die that she didn't plan to kill. Then, you have to add the other elements, relationships, and other characters. Carlisle said readers who read series like to visit with Brooklyn's whole world and the recurring cast of characters. In her second book, set in Edinburgh, she had to find reasons to bring her characters there. So, Brooklyn may never get to travel again. Kate does plot it out, but some authors don't even do that, saying it spoils the book. Avery said even though she plots it out, the story is still fresh to her as she writes it because things change from the original outline.

People move in and out of the Cheese Shop. It's a little town, and Aames put a map of it on her website to keep people oriented. Kate said she has to write with a timeline, not a map. Avery agreed, saying a timeline was important. In her books, the twins are in school. She has to remember not to have them in school on Saturdays or holidays. And, clothes anchor them. Readers notice if the clothes change.

Asked if they recommend that people read their books in order, they both answered that fans like to read the books in order. Avery said she tries to write them so people can read them as standalones, though. Kate said she likes to read books in order. One thing to remember is that relationships develop in the course of a series. Carlisle said her mysteries are standalones, except for the personal relationships.

We ended the program with cake in my office for all the audience. Then, Avery, Kate and I headed out so they could grab something before their flights. Perfect ending to a fun program. I wish everyone could have joined the three of us for that conversation. We killed off characters, created a whole new cozy mystery, and laughed a lot. Maybe Avery Aames will share that cozy scenario on a future blog.

Avery Aames' website is http://www.averyaames.com/


Lost and Fondue by Avery Aames. Penguin Group (USA). ©2011. ISBN 9780425241585 (paperback), 312p.

Kate Carlisle's website is http://www.katecarlisle.com/

Murder Under Cover by Kate Carlisle. Penguin Group (USA). ©2011. ISBN  9780451233516 (paperback), 304p.

Left to right - Avery Aames, Lesa Holstine, Kate Carlisle (Photo by Bette Sharpe)

Lost and Fondue by Avery Aames

Avery Aames' first Cheese Shop Mystery, The Long Quiche Goodbye, is a finalist for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. In Lost and Fondue, she takes readers back to the fictional town of Providence, Ohio, where Charlotte Bessette, owner of Fromagerie Bessette, the cheese shop, is once again up to her neck in a murder investigation. It looks like Aames has another hit on her hands.

Charlotte's best friend, Meredith, had the idea to convert the Ziegler Winery into a liberal arts college. How much can go wrong with a fundraiser in an old building where there are rumors of hidden treasure? The actual question is, does anything go right?

Meredith is dating Charlotte's cousin, Matthew, who owns the wineshop attached to the cheese shop. He's also the father of twins, divorced from a woman who abandoned the girls and left for England. But, the day of the fundraiser, Sophie shows up, making an elaborate show of wanting to spend time with her "babies." Meredith's brother, Freddy, is responsible for a small group of art students, including his daughter, Quinn, who have painted in the winery. They seem like a high-spirited group of young people. But, everything falls apart that evening. Charlotte watches too many people argue at the reception, including Quinn and her boyfriend, Harker. Charlotte thinks it's a case of anger and hormones. Matthew argues with his ex-wife. Freddy argues with Harker. But, when Harker ends up dead in the cellar, Quinn is suspect number one on the police chief's list.

Charlotte's employee and friend, Rebecca Zook, pushes her to investigate. And, of course, Meredith begs for her help, insisting Quinn is innocent. Once again, Charlotte uses all of her local knowledge to snoop around, going a little too far at times. Will that snooping land her in a sticky situation?

Fans of Aames' The Long Quiche Goodbye will be just as pleased with the latest mystery. All of the favorite characters return from the previous book, Charlotte, her friends, and her enchanting family. This time, there's a large cast of suspicious characters. And, just as before, cheese lovers will find it hard to resist all the references to delicious flavors. My suggestion? Settle in with a nice cheese, a glass of wine, and enjoy Lost and Fondue.

Avery Aames' website is www.averyaames.com

Lost and Fondue by Avery Aames. Penguin Group (USA). ©2011. ISBN 9780425241585 (paperback), 312p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.

Jamie Freveletti and Avery Aames at The Poisoned Pen

It may sound like an odd combination, but thriller writer Jamie Freveletti, and mystery author Avery Aames made a terrific combination at the Poisoned Pen recently.  Jamie just won the International Thriller Award for Best First Novel  for her book, Running with the Devil.  Now, she's on tour with the sequel, Running Dark.  And, Avery Aames' debut mystery is The Long Quiche Goodbye.  Freveletti writes fast-paced intense thrillers, while Avery's book is a traditional mystery about the lighter, nicer side of society.

Avery started the program out with laughter.  When the microphones weren't working properly, she said, "I was a cheerleader.  I can do this without a mike."  The authors were asked to talk about the difference between a thriller and a mystery.  Avery said she is a thriller writer, who hasn't published a thriller yet.  But, the pacing is different.  The choice of verbs is different.  Thrillers have shorter sentences, and they're abrupt because they want people to move forward quickly in the book.  However, a mystery goes into detail.  It's more nuanced.  In her book, The Long Quiche Goodbye, she wants people to taste the cheese and wine.  The book is set in a small town in Ohio, with an easier lifestyle, and slower pace.  In a thriller, the killer may be after the main character.  In Aames' book, the main character is after a killer.  The pace is slower, and the author may give clues, woven into the story of cheese.  The pace only picks up toward the end of the book.

Jamie said she doesn't write from an outline.  She just goes.  If she's having fun, then she thinks the reader will have fun.  She's trying to give the feeling of a woman on the run.  There's no time to develop the character or plot in depth, as there is with a slower paced book.  Freveletti's character is a long distance marathon runner, and the plot and pace just keep going.  Avery said she tries to make readers turn the page at the end of a chapter.  There's an uptake at the end of chapters because she's essentially a thriller writer.

Freveletti's latest thriller, Running Dark, features Emma Caldridge again, an ultramarathon runner.  Asked if she intended to write a series, Jamie said the publisher decided it would be a series, and told her to keep going with the same character.  In this one, Emma is running a race that actually exists, the Comrades ultramarathon in South Africa.  It's fifty-five miles.  Freveletti's husband runs ultramarathons.  While Emma's running, a roadside bomb explodes.  There are lots of explosions and guns in the book.  She comes to, to find a man injecting her with something.  It's dopamine, mixed with another drug, so she can continue running.  

Freveletti said she knows something about drugs because she was a trial lawyer who specialized in food and drug law.  She did the oatmeal case.  When oatmeal packages said they could lower cholesterol, they can't make that claim.  That's a drug claim.  She did that petition.

There's all kinds of things happening in Running Dark, from the explosion, and drugs, to Somali pirates with rocket propelled grenades, and a Senate investigation.   Jamie said she reads the news all the time for ideas and research.  In 2005, Somali pirates shot at a cruise ship with a rocket propelled grenade.  That was a Carnival Cruise ship, but they wouldn't answer any questions.  And, HarperCollins wasn't excited about the idea of pirates.  They could just think of Jack Sparrow.  Then, the Somali pirates took that tanker, and Freveletti's publishers called, and said, can you write that book any faster. 

Avery said she has seven manuscripts in a drawer.  She had been an actress before she started writing, and she had decided to go back to acting if this book wasn't accepted.  We laughed when she said she didn't get some acting jobs because she reminded people of their wives.  But, she had been about to quit writing when The Long Quiche Goodbye was accepted.  Agents and publishers liked her writing, but she just couldn't sell anything. 

Jamie took a year to write her first book, Running from the Devil, and eight months to rewrite it.  When she submitted the first thirty pages, her agent told her she needed to join a writing group.  So, she went to her public library, and found a group.  With the second book, she had eleven months to get it to the editor, and her third book is due to them on Aug. 1. 

According to Aames, Berkley, her publisher, wants a book every nine or ten months.  The first book took eighteen months from contract to publication.  They wanted an outline.  She had three months to write the next book, Lost and Fondue, with one month to rewrite it. 

Freveletti's editor gave her eighteen days to rewrite.  She said, "Come on, I have children."  They're teenagers, but it's like having babies all over again.  You have to watch them.

They quoted Lee Child as defining the difference between a mystery and a thriller with a Humpty Dumpty analogy.  In a mystery, Humpty's already down, and you have to figure out who did it.  With a thriller, he's teetering, and you have to stop it.

Avery said she has to know how her character, Charlotte Bessette, figures out who did it.  She plots in the clues, the red herrings.  The entire book is plotted out, although she may change it.  But, Aames knows who did it and why, and adds the roller coaster ride.  She'll re-outline if things change, but even if she changes something, the same person always did it.  She does know who did it when she writes the book.

Jamie's third book is due to the editor on Aug. 1, but she's been on book tour, doing two signings a day, and she didn't know the ending of the book until she was in Vero Beach, and she still had 15,000 words to write.  So, when she was driving, if the TomTom GPS was quiet, she was plotting.  She knows the ending now, but she was putting it down on paper on the planet to Phoenix. 

Asked if she still participates in the writing group, Jamie said she's concerned about working with an open group, and the accusation of plagiarism.  She doesn't worry about the core group, but the library group is open to the public, so she no longer shares there.  She meets with a couple other writers, though.  Freveletti has a twenty-two page contract with HarperCollins, and they won't indemnify her for legal fees, so she also won't take unsolicited manuscripts to read, since she's afraid something would happen.  So, she goes to her private group.  She still loves the library group, but she doesn't take her manuscript there, or accept anyone's. 

Freveletti was so excited when Running from the Devil was nominated by the International Thriller Writers as Best First Novel.  It's hard for a woman to get nominated.  The book was one of five nominated for the award.  And, then her husband, a numbers guy, said that's great.  You have a 20% chance of winning.  But, Jamie's publicist knew, and was told to get her to New York.  She just wishes her publicist had told her to wear waterproof mascara.  And, she had no speech prepared, but she wanted to thank Lee Child and Tess Gerritsen, who had blurbed the book.

Aames said she had a call from her publicist after the cheese shop was out for one week, saying, congratulations, you're #7.  And, she said, number seven on what?  She was number seven on Barnes & Noble's mass market list.  That means Charlaine Harris has six paperbacks ahead of you on the list.  The publishers are pleased it hit the list because now they can put "National Bestseller" on the future books.

Freveletti said Running from the Devil was huge in Europe, even though it's set in South America.  Her husband is German, but he said his five relatives aren't the ones who made it a bestseller.  But, now HarperCollins can say it was an international bestseller. 

Someone in the audience mentioned that when Alex Kava was at the bookstore earlier in the week, she said it was hard for women to break into the thriller field.  The women said there is some sexism out there, but a lot of it is from women readers.   Many of Freveletti's readers write and say,  I won't read thrillers written by women, but....

Asked how they research, Avery Aames answered, "I eat."  She said she didn't eat a lot of cheese before

working on The Long Quiche Goodbye.  But, Berkley wanted a cheese shop mystery.  They wanted that niche.  And, Avery had been a caterer, a waitress, and had sold wine.  She had also been a actress, as Charlotte's grandmother is in the book.  She said the cheese tasting is fun, and her husband likes it.  So, she writes about it, and includes recipes using cheese on her website and blog.  Aames blogs at http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/.  She went to Ohio, to Amish country, the setting of the book, to do research.  Aames is from California, so she also based the setting a little on Menlo Park, where she grew up.  Everybody knew everyone there.  But, her primary research has been cheese tasting. 

When asked about her favorite cheeses, Avery said a sheep's cheese, Manchego, has a nutty taste.  Then, Taleggio melts wonderfully over vegetables.  She also loves cheddar.  She admitted she wouldn't eat Limburger cheese.  She also found a bleu cheese too strong; it was rancid smelling.  Aames reminded everyone that cheese is alive, and you shouldn't wrap it up, but keep it so air can get to it, and it won't turn.  She told us if a Brie is too young, it will be too hard, and if it's too old, it will be runny.

Jamie Freveletti did the research for her first book by flying to Colombia.  When she first told her husband she was going to do that, he said no she wasn't.  They solved that.  He went, too, and they stayed in Cartegena, in a beautiful hotel with guards with dogs.  She couldn't go to Somalia to research Running Dark, so she consulted a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

And, remember that Carnival Cruise lines refused to help?  She contacted Commodore Warwick, who had been captain of the Queen Mary II for twenty years before retiring, and he helped her.  The drugs she used actually cause an addiction.  She wanted one that would cause people to turn to gambling, or another addiction, and this one actually exists.  And, she consulted a scientist about the jellyfish in the book.  Box jellyfish are one of the most venomous species.

Jamie went on to discuss winning one of the Thriller awards, as a woman.  She said it was the night of the woman that evening.  Lisa Gardner had warned her they weren't going to win, because women didn't win thriller awards.  But, that night, Gardner, Freveletti, and Twist Phelan all won.  Tom Piccirilli was the only man to win.

Freveletti said she's hoping Angelini Jolie's movie, Salt, does well.  If Salt does well, Jamie's books might be optioned for film.  The theory has been that thrillers featuring women don't do well in movies.  This isn't a pairing with a man, and it doesn't involve a superhero.  So, if the movie is a hit, it may indicate a trend, that a thriller can be a hit with a female lead.  It might start a trend if Angelina can carry it off in Salt.

Freveletti's Running with the Devil is up for two more awards, a Barry and a Macavity.  She was on Cloud 9.  It was like a Cinderella story.  And, when she got back to Chicago, she was told her book was  #5 on Chicagoland's Indie booksellers bestseller list

Avery Aames reported that she does have a thriller on an editor's desk.  The story has a male protagonist.  It was inspired by her nephew, who was her sister's son.  Aames' sister was a drug addict.  Aames recommends that thriller writers go to New York to Thrillerfest because a thriller might be picked up there.  She said her real name, Darryl, might be helpful in the thriller market, since it can also be a man's name.

In the meantime, Aames considers herself as a writer for hire, working for Berkley, since they asked her to write a cheese shop mystery.  Berkley looks for a hook for a traditional mystery.  They want a series that will run for three to twelve books.  With the right hook, readers will read everything in the series.  They've covered subjects such as scrapbooking, knitting, catering.  They wanted to cover the cheese shop niche. 

Aames took the job.  She had written a thriller about a woman in Lake Tahoe who was an ex-soap actress, and it didn't sell.  Then, she wrote another one, a Lake Tahoe thriller about a costume designer.  She thought she had a hook for a series set in - Lake Tahoe!  It was to be a gem series, featuring pottery and jewelry made with glass.  A hook can be a city or town, but in Berkley mysteries, it's usually a profession.

Freveletti said a thriller has to be high concept.  Her first book went to a bidding war before being bought in a pre-empt by HarperCollins.  Some of the suggestions, though, from other publishers helped her define her character.  She knew she didn't want to write about a damaged heroine, as someone suggested.  The high concept for book #2 was the Somali pirates.  Book number one was down in the Colombian jungle. 

Since there were a number of writers there from Sisters in Crime, one question was whether you should compare your book to others while pitching it.  Jamie answered that it doesn't hurt to define your book in the genre.  Tell publishers what it's like.  Her books are like The Bourne Identity, early Ludlum, or Lee Child.  Avery said she compares hers to Lisa Gardner's. 

According to Freveletti, the next big hurdle, after acceptance of the first book, is to get a second contract.  The first contract was for books one and two.  Then, you hope books three and four will be picked up.  For her, it didn't hurt that Running with the Devil was a bestseller in Germany.  Aames said her Berkley contract was for three books.  Hopefully, they'll pick up books four through six.  Jamie's HarperCollins contract was for books three and four in the Emma Caldridge series.   There is a kicker clause in the contract.  They have right of first look at the book, but she can send it to another house if she chooses. 

Asked about getting a lawyer for the contract, Freveletti said you don't need one if your agent has a good template for contracts.  She said the publishers are business people, and hers has been wonderful to deal with. 

Both authors stressed that writers need to be persistent.  Don't give up.  And, they need to belong to a group such as Sisters in Crime.  The Guppies are unpublished writers who are members of Sisters in Crime.  Jamie joined Sisters in Crime.

Asked how her kids saw her career, Jamie said her youngest asked if she could get a pony.  But, now that she's older, thirteen, she said she doesn't have time for a horse.

Avery warned that everyone doesn't get Jamie's contract.  Freveletti agreed.  She said her book went to a bidding war, and she received a six figure advance for a two book deal.  Her second contract was close to six figures, but she gets higher royalties, and the publisher pays for her tour.  She has a fantastic agent.  Aames said she doesn't have that kind of contract. 

Freveletti's book sold in forty-five days.  She said the houses have email messages to agents, and their emails said they needed a woman who could write a thriller, and they couldn't find her.  They'd been looking for three years.  Jamie's agent said she was submitting her.  Running from the Devil went to a bidding war.  She said it was interesting.  She had a list of ten editors, and she wanted one of them.    Her agent had a different goal.  She wanted a six figure advance because she wanted to break that six figure ceiling, a rare occurrence. 

Following the program and book signing, the Desert Sleuths Chapter of Sisters in Crime had invited the authors to dinner next door at Grazie Pizzeria and Wine Bar.  I felt lucky that they included me.  Great looking group of women, isn't it?  We had a wonderful time as the authors continued to tell us stories of writing, conferences, and publishing.

Avery Aames' website is http://www.averyaames.com/ and she is one of the bloggers at Mystery Lovers Kitchen.


The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames. Berkley Prime Crime, ©2010. ISBN 9780425235522 (paperback), 304p.

Jamie Freveletti's website is http://www.jamiefreveletti.com/.

Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti.  HarperCollins, ©2010. ISBN 9780061684241 (hardcover), 322p.

Invitation from The Desert Sleuths - Wine & Crime

The Desert Sleuths
invite you to an exclusive
event:

An Afternoon of
Wine & Crime
With Special Guests:
Jamie Freveletti & Avery Aames


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Festivities begin at 2:00pm at The Poisoned Pen where Jamie Freveletti and
Avery Aames will discuss and sign their books Running Dark and The
Long Quiche Goodbye.




Jamie Freveletti






Avery Aames





Then, afterwards, join Jamie and Avery at Grazie Pizzeria & Wine Bar for
more inside scoop from these bestselling authors!

A party you won’t want to miss! No RSVP necessary.

The Poisoned Pen
4014 N. Goldwater Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 947-2974

Grazie Pizzeria & Wine Bar
6952 E. Main Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 663-9797
Directly South through Poisoned
Pen parking lot

Winners and A Long Quiche Goodbye Giveaway

Congratulations to the winners of the last contest. Barbara Fister's Through the Cracks will go to Randi O. from Mt. Gilead, OH. Kim S. of Essex, CT won Jassy Mackenzie's Random Violence. I'll put the books in the mail tomorrow.

I have a delicious treat for you this week. Avery Aames, author of The Long Quiche Goodbye, has offered to give two winners autographed copies of her new book. How can you turn down the chance to win this kickoff to a new series, set in a charming cheese shop in Providence, Ohio, in Amish Country? Great characters, appetizing cheese chats, and a charming shop and town. An enjoyable cozy mystery, with a murder or two.

So, thanks to Avery, you can win an autographed copy of her book, just released this week. If you'd like to win one, email me at Email me!. If that link doesn't work for you, the email address is: lholstine@yahoo.com. Your subject line should read "Win The Long Quiche Goodbye." Your message should include your mailing address. Entrants only in the U.S., please.

The contest will end Thursday, July 15 at 6 p.m. PT. The winners will be selected by random number generator. The winners will be notified, and Avery will send your books. Good luck!

The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames

After Avery Aames' guest blog, how can anyone resist reading the debut mystery in the Cheese Shop series, The Long Quiche Goodbye? Fromagerie Bessette and the town of Providence, Ohio are charming places. It's too bad they're spoiled by murder.

Charlotte Bessette and her cousin, Matthew, are ready for the grand reopening of the cheese shop they took over from their grandfather. They've expanded, adding a wine shop with Matthew as sommelier, and the opening should be a treat for everyone. Business is booming in Amish Country. Unfortunately, Ed Woodhouse, the biggest real estate tycoon in town is threatening to sell the Cheese Shop property, and Charlotte's grandmother, Grandmère Bernadette is in a heated mayoral campaign against his wife. The night of the opening, Woodhouse makes passes at too many women in the shop, and his wife makes a scene, but everything calms down. Just as Charlotte is enjoying a little flirtation with a mysterious supplier of artisan cheese, a scream indicates trouble. And, Charlotte finds that trouble, her Grandmère standing over a victim killed with a knife from the shop.

No one wants to believe the town's mayor, a seventy-two-year-old exotic French immigrant, is a killer, but the police chief is forced to place her under house arrest. As her grandparents wither under the strain, Charlotte's friends recruit her to find the real killer.

Hopefully, The Long Quiche Goodbye marks the start of a successful, long-running series. Aames' characters are enjoyable, and Charlotte stands out from other amateur sleuths as an interesting, determined woman. It's going to be fun to watch the changes in Charlotte and her employee, Rebecca Zook. Rebecca, who left the Amish life, has a fondness for all TV crime shows, and bases her ideas about the case on episodes from TV. And, the mouth-watering discussion of cheeses adds so much to the pleasure of reading this book. I can't say enough about Fromagerie Bessette, The Cheese Shop. Aames has created a shop that leaps off the page, a warm, enticing place that invites customers and readers alike. It's the perfect setting for the launch of an enjoyable new series.

And, if you'd like a chance to win a copy of The Long Quiche Goodbye, check back on Thursday night when I'll start a contest. Avery Aames' will be giving away two autographed copies of the book.

Avery Aames' website is www.averyaames.com and she is one of the bloggers at Mystery Lovers Kitchen.

The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames. Berkley Prime Crime, ©2010. ISBN 9780425235522 (paperback), 304p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The publisher sent me my copy, in hopes I would review it.

Avery Aames, Guest Blogger

Today, I'd like to welcome Avery Aames as guest blogger. Avery's new mystery, The Long Quiche Goodbye, is released tomorrow, so it's the perfect time to invite her to meet with us. Thank you, Avery!

CHARACTERS WELCOME!

By Avery Aames

You know what’s fun? Populating a book with characters. For A Cheese Shop Mystery series, I’ve created an entire town of people, characters who have dwelt in the quaint town of Providence, Ohio for years. You know what’s even more fun? When a character is cast in a cameo role and turns out to become a major player.

When I began writing The Long Quiche Goodbye, I started out with a set of main characters that included my protagonist Charlotte who ran The Cheese Shop, her cousin Matthew who ran the wine annex, her grandparents Grandmère and Pépère who raised her, and a best friend from childhood, Meredith. Charlotte also had an assistant in the shop, Amelia Wagler, who was a sweet Amish girl who left the community. Along the way, I realized that Amelia was too close a name to Amy, one of Charlotte’s twin nieces, so I changed Amelia’s name to one that was a more typical Amish name, Rebecca Zook, and wham! The character took off. Rebecca started waving her fictional hands at me and begging to be “all she could be.” She loved TV mystery shows. She was a snoop. She repeatedly had important information to impart. Without warning, she started chatting more in conversations. [Okay, yes, I probably had the ability to rein her in, but why? That would ruin the fun.] And so she evolved into Charlotte’s sidekick. Understand, Meredith was supposed to be Charlotte’s sidekick, but Meredith turned into someone who had more pressing life issues than pal-ing around with Charlotte. Rebecca, on the other hand, was always there, chiming in. [In book two, Lost and Fondue, she is just as vital. And Meredith gets a bigger role.]

Another character that took off in The Long Quiche Goodbye was Grandmère. What a delight she was to write! She is the local mayor and runs the local theater that earns rave reviews in the region. When she first appeared on the page, she had such energy. She reminded me (and therefore Charlotte) of “the little engine that could.” She charged onto the scene with the colorful verve of a gypsy. Years ago, she and Pépère left war-torn France and made America their home, and the couple embraced all things American. Grandmère raised Charlotte with love and affection and a gentle hand, but she is a director, and an organizer, and she wants to make sure her opinion is heard. Rein her in? Not on a bet!

Charlotte’s twin nieces, Amy and Claire, have also blossomed into full characters. Amy is night to Claire’s day. She’s a spitfire like her grandmother, nosy like Rebecca, and very dramatic, while Claire is more reserved, a reader, an observer. Charlotte adores them both.

And then there’s Charlotte’s pal, Delilah, an ex-hoofer from Broadway who has returned to town to run the Country Kitchen diner. And Lois, the quirky gal who adores the color purple and operates the Lavender and Lace bed-and-breakfast. And Umberto Urso, the chief of police, a big bear of a man who Charlotte thought was destined to become president of the United States but chose to keep the peace in his hometown.

The list goes on, but I don’t want to forget to mention Jordan Pace, the handsome cheese farmer who has won Charlotte’s heart. Not only does he help smaller farms age their cheeses properly in the affinage caves that he built, but he makes a delicious Double-cream Gouda. What a guy! However, Jordan has a mysterious past that makes Charlotte a little wary. She wishes she knew more about him. She’s not the kind of person who takes risks. At least she isn’t until a murder happens in town and her grandmother is suspected of the crime. Then Charlotte finds out that she has spirit. Lots of spirit!

Ah, yes, the joy of being an author. I love it.

Do you people watch? Do you divine stories about people you see? ? Do your characters have a past, a future? Do those stories morph? Isn’t it fun?!!!


Thank you, Avery! I hope you'll check out Avery's book if you love cozy mysteries or cheese. And, I'm sure you don't have to love cheese to read the book. I'm originally from Ohio, and I'm partial to books set there. I'll be reviewing The Long Quiche Goodbye tomorrow.

*****
Avery Aames, author of A Cheese Shop Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, likes to read, cook, garden, and do amateur photography. You may visit Avery at http://www.averyaames.com. She also blogs at Mystery Lovers Kitchen, a blog for foodies who love mysteries, http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com as well as at Killer Characters, a blog overtaken by cozy authors’ characters, http://www.killercharacters.com.

The first book in the series, The Long Quiche Goodbye, debuts July 6. You can purchase the book at Avery’s bookseller page: http://www.averyaames.com/book1_sellers.html

The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames. Berkley Prime Crime, ©2010. ISBN 9780425235522 (paperback), 304p.