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)

Kate Carlisle, Guest Blogger

It's my pleasure to host Kate Carlisle today as guest blogger because she'll be at Velma Teague tomorrow, along with Avery Aames, appearing for Authors @ The Teague at 2 p.m.  Thank you, Kate, for taking time to write for us.

Kate Carlisle’s Kitchen Remodel

Kate Carlisle is the author of the Bibliophile Mysteries, featuring rare book restoration expert (and lover of all things edible) Brooklyn Wainwright. The fourth Bibliophile Mystery, Murder Under Cover, is a May 2011 release. Brooklyn’s best friend Robin returns to San Francisco from a trip to India with a new man – and an exceedingly rare copy of the Kama Sutra for Brooklyn to restore. When the new boyfriend is murdered in Robin’s bed, only Brooklyn and the handsome British security expert Derek Stone stand between her and life in prison.

Thank you for hosting me here today, Lesa! I look forward to meeting you in person tomorrow. (Everyone, I’ll be at the Teague at 2 pm tomorrow. Public welcome! Come say hi, please!)


I love watching HGTV makeover shows, especially when they redo the kitchen. In the before scenes, we meet the homeowners and empathize with them over their sad, outdated kitchen. How tragic to live with brass fixtures and linoleum floors! Don’t worry, poor, pathetic people – help is on the way.

The team of experts sweeps in with low slung tool belts and blinding smiles. Demolition is finished before the first commercial break. In half an hour, the room is transformed, and teary-eyed homeowners exclaim in joy.

Yeah, that’s not how it goes in real life.

Seduced by the dream, I decided recently to have my kitchen remodeled. I thought it would be fun for my readers to follow along with the progress, so I committed to sharing pictures on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/katecarlislebooks.

The contractor came several weeks ago, and I very happily posted a picture of the hole he punched through my kitchen wall. Here it is:

The first hole, the first step of demolition.

“How thrilling,” I thought. In my heart, I believed that I’d have a sparkling, new kitchen in half an hour.

Since that first hole… nothing for over a month. Seriously, nothing. The contractor didn’t even return to our house during that time, though he kept assuring me over the phone that he would. The jagged edges of that ugly hole mocked me every time I entered the kitchen. (The upside is that I don’t like to cook much anyway, so it’s no hardship for me to eat out more often.)

Work finally started last week. I went to the dentist, and when I returned home, my entire kitchen was in the back of the contractor’s truck. Gulp!

I still plan to post updates and pictures of the progress when there is progress, so I hope you’ll like me on Facebook to join in the fun. I’m beginning to suspect this remodel will have little in common with the TV version. Our contractor is not movie star handsome, with a full head of hair and a T-shirt stretched tight over his muscular chest. There’s no perky girl with straight teeth designing window treatments on the spot. Sadly, demolition and rebuilding will clearly not happen in the space of a day.

Remodeling my kitchen has something in common with restoring an antique book, which is what Brooklyn Wainwright does. Brooklyn is the protagonist of MURDER UNDER COVER, the latest book in my Bibliophile Mysteries series. To properly restore a book, Brooklyn often has to take it completely apart. In essence, to demolish it. The big difference is that when her work is done, the book will still look delightfully old, whereas I hope my kitchen will not.

I also hope most fervently that during my kitchen remodel, I won’t stumble over any dead bodies, the way poor Brooklyn does when working on her precious books.

Have you ever remodeled your kitchen or another room in your home? How did you feel while the remodel was happening? Was it worth the hassle in the end? What is your favorite home show on TV? Do you read any home décor magazines to get ideas for your house? Do you like the DIY ideas, or the ones that cost lots of money?

To read a free excerpt of MURDER UNDER COVER, go to: http://katecarlisle.com/murder-under-cover.php.

Thanks, Kate! And, I hope there are some who can join us tomorrow at Velma Teague.

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

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

Cozy Authors at the Poisoned Pen

On Sunday, the Poisoned Pen had a wonderful turnout for a program featuring cozy authors.  Rhys Bowen, who acted as host, said now she knows the secret to marketing.  Promise cupcakes.  Bowen, the author of three series, Her Royal Spyness, Molly Murphy, and Evan Evans, was a terrific host.

Left to right - Hannah Dennison, Jenn McKinlay, Kate Carlisle, and Rhys Bowen



Rhys introduced the authors by saying they all are attractive women who kill people for a living.  And, their books make you chuckle and feel good.  She asked each author to introduce their characters.  Kate Carlisle's Brooklyn Wainwright is a bookbinder who does rare book restoration.  Every time she works on a book, someone dies.

Jenn McKinlay's current book features two friends, Mel and Angie, who own a cupcake bakery in Scottsdale's Old Town.  And, Jenn brought the cupcakes for the program.  They came from the cupcake bakery, Butter & Me.  And, Jenn was so pleased because they made the cupcakes look like the cover of her latest book, Buttercream Bump Off.                 

Hannah Dennison is the author of the Vicky Hill mysteries, set in England in Gipping-on-Plym.  And, bodies start off dead in Dennison's books because Vicky is an obituary writer.  Vicky is loosely based on Dennison's life in another century, when she worked as an obituary writer, and stood in church doorways taking down the names of the mourners.  Vicky's parents are criminals, wanted by Interpol, so she's not comfortable falling for policemen. 

Since Dennison's character was loosely based on her, Rhys Bowen asked Jenn and Kate if they were in their books.  Jenn said she and her sons made all the recipes in the back of her books, but a bakery life isn't for her since bakers have to be at work at 4 or 5 in the morning. 

Kate said she took lots of bookbinding classes, and she aspires to other aspects of Brooklyn's life.  She took everything she loves and put it in the books.  Brooklyn lives in San Francisco, and Carlisle loves that city.  Her character was raised in a commune in Sonoma where the members grew grapes, and eventually became wealthy due to their winery.  And, of course, Kate has to do hours of research.  So, her books include wine, San Francisco and books.

Rhys said she loves the research.  The last book in Her Royal Spyness series is set in Nice, so she had to go there and spend two weeks checking out the city and the bistros.  So, Kate's an author after her own heart.

Bowen asked the authors to tell the audience about their latest book.  McKinlay's Buttercream Bump Off is the second book in the series.  She laughed and said one reader complained they knew who the murderer was too soon, and Jenn said she couldn't remember who it was.  She wrote the book a year ago.  It's the second adventure for Mel and Angie.  Mel's mother, Joyce went on a date, and her date dies.  It was her first date in thirty years.  She blamed her dress, but the police suspect Joyce.  So, Mel and Angie have to find out who really killed him.

Hannah Dennison said her books feature unusual British pastimes.  The fourth one is Thieves!  Morris dancing, based on folklore, is important to the plot.  In the book, there is a Morris dancing danceathon, an annual event at the Grange.  Gypsies camp there, and someone dies.  As an aspiring investigative reporter, Vicky Hill works on the case.  (Dennison said she wanted to be an investigative reporter when she was writing obituaries.            

The Lies That Bind is the third book in Kate Carlisle's series.  Brooklyn

Wainwright is back in San Francisco teaching a class in bookbinding.  But, the artistic director of the center is horrible, so she has to die.  There's a book within the book.  Oliver Twist sets the story going.  The center has a Twisted Festival to raise money, and there is a band of thieves as in Oliver Twist.

Rhys Bowen said, oh yes, it's very therapeutic to kill off people you don't like.  Then, she said Kate had a background in TV.  She wrote for The Gong Show.  Bowen asked if Carlisle had thought about writing screenplays.  Kate said she did try to be a screenwriter, but it's much harder.  She needed more stuff to go on than could in a screenplay.  She went to law school, for one year.  Then she started writing and killing off truly evil professors.

Bowen said Jenn McKinlay writes a few series, which is why she has a hard time remembering her killers.  Jenn said she has loads of personalities.  As Lucy Lawrence, she wrote the decoupage series.  The last book in that series will be out in March.  It wraps up the series.  Jenn said that's OK because it was a perfect three book series.  It looks like the cupcake series, written as Jenn McKinlay will be going for a while, at least until people get tired of cupcakes.  And, she's launching the Library Lover's Mystery series, set in Connecticut, where she grew up and got her degree.  As Josie Bill, a third identity, she'll write a thrift series.  Jenn said she's Scottish and cheap, so she loves thrift.  She said there will be thrift tips in the books.

Bowen, like Dennison, was from England, so she asked Hannah if she could only write about England after she left.  Hannah said she couldn't wait to leave England for California.  Then the only stories she could tell were about the place she left.  Devon, where she sets her books, is fifty years behind the world, in a simpler time.  The books have weird backdrops, some her editor discovered.  They've featured snail races and hedgejumping.  Hedgejumping is not done on horseback.  It's a serious hobby.  Hannah learned a lot eavesdropping on a conversation in a bump when a woman told her husband he had to stop stopping the car to jump hedges.  Rhys agreed that there were unusual hobbies there, mentioning the man who was the last mud sled fisherman in England, taking a sled out on mud to catch shrimp.

The authors were all asked how they managed an outside work life and writing.  Carlisle said she quit working in July.  She had worked for lawyers.  She wrote for three hours before going to work at 8:30, and on weekends.  She was determined to keep writing, despite hundreds of rejections.  She said you learn by writing.

Jenn has a part-time job at the Central Library in Phoenix.  She's afraid to leave and lose her material.  When Buttercream Bump Off made the extended New York Times Bestseller list, everyone at the library asked if she was going to leave.  She didn't know where she'd get her material if she left.

Hannah is working for an advertising agency, for the chairman.  She said it's crazy there.  She writes beofre work, and gets up at 4:30.  She wants to transition into writing full-time, but the stories in advertising are so good.

Rhys said the all write cozies, a term she finds insulting.  How did they feel about that term?  Kate answered that she also writes romance, so cozies are a step up for legitimate writing.  She wrote murders for years, and didn't know what a hook is.  Now, she knows what a hook is, and that she's in the right place.  She's happy where she is.

Jenn also came from romance.  She wrote a few Harlequins.  She tells the story that her husband doesn't sleep at night, knowing she's better at writing murders than romance.  She said Agatha Christie is a cozy writer, so I'm fine with it.  She's not a thriller writer.  And, she said, it depends who says "cozy."  If it's one of the boys, it's usually denigrating.  But, a reviewer who says it's a wonderful cozy and the characters kick, means cozy is fine.

Hannah said she's warped.  She really likes murdering people, and she wants to make it funny.  She wants to write an escape from reality, so people can enjoy it with chocolates and cats.

Rhys Bowen said cozy writers see society as a complete whole, and, if murder happens, it disrupts the whole.  The sleuth puts the world back again.  Noir writers see the whole world as warped, and they only put a piece of the world back in place.

They were asked how they manage to maintain their relationships with writing and working.  Jenn had the best answer.  "My husband's a musician, so I look good."  Kate said her husband is supportive, and even does all the shopping.  Hannah said her husband feels as if she's physically not there since she's at work, or mentally not there since she's writing.  He drifts around her orbit.  Actually, he's a copywriter and writes screenplays, so they're permanently tormented together.

Then they were asked how they write such realistic, three dimensional characters.  Jenn said hers are composites.  They are her and every best friend she's had.  She's been lucky to always have a buddy.  Buddies are good because everyone has insecurities and flaws.  It's the buddy that makes everything OK.
Hannah said Vicky is her, young and insecure.  She was a freak at school.  But, she loves watching people.  She takes a character and takes them to the extreme.  Her unusual, quirky characters are based on people who really exist.  Kate said, "Brooklyn is a little younger, taller, small, deeper, and more heroic me."  Kate was a loner whose family moved a lot.  She lived in her own head.  So Brooklyn has friends, and a strong sense of justice.  Carlisle said her books are so character driven that the plot falls by the wayside.  She's all about the character.  When someone asked about Brooklyn's archenemy, Minka, Kate said she's bubonic plague for books.  Carlisle knew someone like that when she was working in TV.

When they were asked who their favorite authors were, Hannah said, "Rhys Bowen, Kate Carlisle, Jenn McKinlay."  Then she said, and of course, Agatha Christie.  Jenn agreed with Agatha Christie, but added that she has eclectic taste since she works in a library.  She doesn't read many mysteries.  Since she's working with young adults, she reads YA books.  She said there's really good stuff there.  Teen is an incredible market, with people open to everything.  They're looking for unique voices and unique stories.  The books are more cutting edge in the YA market.  They're not looking for a hook as much as a unique story.

Kate said she reads, Rhys, Hannah, Nancy Martin's Blackbird Sisters mysteries.  She reads Juliet Blackwell.  She loves her witch books, and the Art Lovers books.  She loves the two men fighting over the character in the Art Lovers mysteries.  Speaking of two men, she reads Janet Evanovich.  Then there are Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky, the godmothers of the genre.  Carlisle reads mysteries and romance.

So, Rhys said, OK, speaking of romance; how much sex is in your books?  Jenn's books don't have much sex.  She doesn't like scary or noir.  She likes cozies because they just hint at sex.  Dennison's Vicky will not have sex, and it's unlikely she ever will.  The editor doesn't want her to.  Like Hannah herself, Vicky is a late starter.  Vicky is obsessed with getting a front page scoop, as Dennison was.  If Vicky does have sex, it will just be to get it out of the way, as Hannah's mother advised her to do. 

Kate's Brooklyn met a man, is happy now, and the relationship has progressed.  Mystery readers aren't always interested in seeing everything on the page.  So, Carlisle either closes the door or the couple is interrupted.  But, the fourth book in the series features an antique copy of the Kama Sutra.  Rhys called out, "More research!"

Hannah had mentioned that the Vicky Hill mysteries were probably not going to continue here, but she has sold more books in that series in the U.K.  Asked about more odd hobbies, she said one will feature tar barrel racing.  On Nov. 5, they hold races.  The barrels are filled with tar, and then there are separate races for men, women and children.  They run holding the barrel aloft with one glove, like a cooking mitt.  Rhys and Hannah agreed that when you move away from home, you get nostalgic for the time, not the place, but you never feel at home again.

When Rhys asked what was coming next, Kate Carlisle said the Kama Sutra mystery is called Murder Under Cover.  There's danger between the sheets.  Jenn's next cupcake mystery is Death by the Dozen, scheduled for October.  She was inspired by the Scottsdale Food Festival.  There's a challenge for the chefs, and Mel and Angie enter the desserts competition.  Mel's mentor from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute is murdered, so naturally, they become involved.  Hannah said if she has to tie the series up, she'll make sure Vicky has sex.  Maybe she'll run a quiz, and have people write in and suggest the lucky man.

Rhys Bowen's next book is due out March 1, Bless the Bride.  It's a Molly Murphy mystery.  Molly has promised Daniel she won't investigate cases after the wedding.  But, just before the wedding, she becomes involved in one in New York's Chinatown.  The next book in Her Royal Spyness series is set in Nice.  It will be called Naughty in Nice.  And, it features Coco Chanel, the Duke of Westminster, and jewels that were lent to Queen Mary. 

Once again, the Poisoned Pen presented a fun author program, complete with cupcakes.

Hannah Dennison's website is http://www.hannahdennison.com/

Jenn McKinlay's website is http://www.jennmckinlay.com/

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

Rhys Bowen's website is http://www.rhysbowen.com/