An Interview with Maggie Toussaint by E. B. Davis

“One of these days I hope you’ll tell me what you’re running from.”

“That’s easy. The past. The present is all about escaping the past.”

Maggie Toussaint, Seas the Day, Kindle Loc. 530

Caterer River Holloway has talents beyond her to-die-for cooking. She is also known among friends and family on Shell Island as a “finder” of things. Which is why a desperate mother begs River to track down her grown son, Chili Bolz, who’s seemingly vanished.

Deputy Lance Hamlyn, a newcomer to Shell Island, has hit a dead-end in trying to locate the missing man. Familiar with River’s reputation, he attempts to team up with her, hoping that her inside track with the locals might aid his investigation. But the simple missing person case begins to boil over into something far more frightening when Chili’s mother falls victim to a brutal assault. Worse, her dying words to River seem to incriminate more than one of River’s friends in both kidnapping and, now, murder.

While Deputy Hamlyn conducts the formal criminal investigation, River uses her time between catering events to do some sleuthing of her own. Her efforts are hampered by the unexpected return of her absentee boyfriend, who has his own reasons for wanting her to stay safely in the kitchen. With the number of suspects growing longer than her food shopping list, River soon finds herself caught in an unsavory recipe for disaster. She must locate the missing Chili and discover who killed his mother before her own goose is quite literally cooked! 

Maggie Toussaint serves up a fun and captivating read in Seas the Day, the first in her Seafood Caper Mystery series! Complete with Southern recipes.

https://maggietoussaint.com/seas-the-day/

Maggie Toussaint has done it again—created a new series— Seafood Caper mysteries, which are guaranteed to immerse readers head-to-toe. The first book, Seas the Day, was released yesterday by Henery Press. This is Maggie’s sixth series. I very much like main character, River Holloway, and yet, I don’t understand her.
Set on a Georgia barrier island, seafood is only one specialty of caterer River Holloway. Finding things and solving mysteries is another. When she’s asked to find a missing person, she gets more help than she’d like from Deputy Hamlyn. She gets more worries than she’d like from her boyfriend—who escapes L.A. for bluer pastures to help River solve the case. I think she could have solved the case by herself without their “help.” But would she really give up her business to be with her boyfriend? We’ll have to read the next book to find out. Maggie’s given us homework again.

Please welcome Maggie Toussaint back to WWK!                    E. B. Davis

Is Shell Island real or based on another island off the coast of Georgia? It is patterned after the St Simons Island of my youth with some upgrades like traffic circles, which now exist on St Simons. For Seas the Day, I wanted a small-town setting with just enough newcomers to stir the pot.

Why does River like to find lost things? She likes finding things because she’s good at it. Her family and friends have asked her for years to help find things—and she does. I am envious of her skill and could have used her help many times.

What kind of mother, namely Estelle, names her child Chili when their last name is Bolz? Like many of my characters, Estelle has a few quirks. She named both her sons after food. Chili is her oldest son and Kale is her youngest, though Kale drowned last year.

Estelle was River’s mother’s friend and bridge partner. How long ago did River’s mom die? She passed in January and it’s now March when Seas the Day opens. Due to health issues, River’s mom was unable to live independently for years before she passed, though her mind stayed sharp, and she enjoyed bridge. In high school, River became her mother’s caretaker and co-parented her younger brother. As is the case with long infirmity/illnesses, you grieve all along. When a loved one finally dies, it’s a guilty relief.

What brought River’s boyfriend, Pete Merrick, to the island originally? Pete’s adoptive parents moved to Shell Island when his dad got a job at Island Bank when Pete was in elementary school. From his first days on the island, Pete knew two things. First, he wanted to be a millionaire, and second, he wanted River to be his girlfriend. By 8 years old, Pete had already changed schools three times due to his father’s jobs. Pete realized having money meant one could control one’s destiny, and that’s what he planned to do.

Although Pete proposed, River did not accept. Why? He’d left the island to seek his fortune, but last year he’d stopped calling or writing her. On Valentine’s Day (last month), he made a grand gesture to win her back, but, while she was still in love with him, that absence for nearly a year weighed heavy on her heart. She wants him in her life but he has some catch-up work to do on regaining her trust.

Why is River thinking of getting pregnant if she didn’t accept Pete’s proposal? Good genes? Does she have enough of a support system to raise a child by herself? She is an optimist and expects Pete will come around to her way of thinking. She’s 32,and as her biological clock reminds her, she’s not getting any younger. As a person who is centered by home and hearth, River longs for her own family. Pete is the man she wants as the father of her children, and she expects they will marry, eventually. She wants a child with him whether he stays or not. He wants a child because it will cement their relationship, and she can’t say no to marriage. As for support system, River knows people who can help her. She’s resourceful and energetic and a bit naïve about what’s involved with small children, but that’s a tale for another book in the series.

When Estelle asked River to find Chili she knew much more than she told River. Things that were dangerous. At a certain point, River knows this. Why does she still consider Estelle a friend? After helping parent her brother, River realizes that she loves her brother, but she doesn’t like some of his choices. The same holds true for Estelle. She’s known and loved Estelle all of her life. She understands that Estelle had difficult choices to make and wishes Estelle had reached out for help sooner.

Have you ever been claimed and owned by a cat, Maggie? Why does River name the stray, black cat, Major? Our two cats claimed my kids and I had a front row seat to witness their ownership behavior firsthand for years. I was never owned by a cat, but animals always come right up to me. I am an animal magnet. As for the name Major, River names him that for his vigilance, his patrolling behaviors, and his no-nonsense attitude. The cat is lucky he didn’t get called Marine.

Vivian Declan is an interesting character. She’s more than she appears to be. Tell our readers about Vivian, please. Viv is still living the singles lifestyle 14 years out of high school. By day she works at the mill, by night she cruises bars looking for Mr. Right. Viv tries to fill the emptiness inside her with temporary companionship. She’s the Lost Girl we all become at one time or another, for whatever indulgence we use to avoid looking closely at our lives.

Deputy Lance Hamlyn arrested River’s brother, Doug, on what charges? How much younger is Doug than River? Doug is four years younger than River, so he’s 28. When his mother passed two months ago, he got stinking drunk and got arrested for stealing the sheriff’s Jeep. River wiped out her savings to pay his lawyer and his fine. He got off with probation and community service. Like Viv, Doug would rather rather live the party life than be responsible. But without his mother to bail him out of jams, that arrest changes his thinking.

River seems embarrassed to be seen with Lance. Why? Because she has a boyfriend and she doesn’t want anyone to think she’s disloyal to Pete. She doesn’t like the deputy very much either. Lance is the deputy who arrested her brother.

Why does River say that Estelle “filters” information differently? Estelle isn’t all there, but she mostly passes for normal. She’s always been a little batty, something akin to the character of Rose on the 1980s sitcom, The Golden Girls. She’s fragile in some ways of the world but her old-fashioned values give framework and meaning to her life.

Estelle judges Viv harshly. Wow—does she not see herself at all? For all her quirks, Estelle firmly believes that a woman shouldn’t be so free with her affections. She thinks Viv’s loose lifestyle is asking for trouble on several fronts. As events unfold in Seas the Day, readers will learn more of Estelle’s backstory, which totally influenced present-day Estelle.

What s River’s antidote for shock? River treats shock with busy hands. She can’t let her guard down or fall apart immediately. She has to get through the day first. When she learns that a friend died, she fulfills her daily commitments first. It’s only later in the evening that she lets down her guard and feels the grief. Usually she unwinds alone in her room, but now that Pete is back in her life, albeit as a phone connection, he’s her confidante. After burying her grandmother and her mom, she’s well aware of the fragility of life. River is determined to make her own way with Holloway Catering, but she’s struggling with the how part of that. She also uses ice cream therapy when stressed!

River gets a business proposition that could be lucrative, but she turns it down. Does she have more discernment than Pete? As with most of us, our dream begins as a wish and is spoken as a whisper in the dark. Then, if we’re lucky, our dreams take flight. For River, she only worked on Holloway Catering part-time due to being her mother’s caretaker, so when the burden of caretaking was lifted, she’s reluctant to gear up in a new direction because it might be a wrong turn. She clings to what she knows because tradition and heritage are priceless to her. I wouldn’t say she has more discernment than Pete, whose last business choice was a disaster. Instead, she’s much more risk averse.

What’s next for River? I have two more books planned in the Seafood Capers Mystery Series, Spawning Suspicion, which is tentatively scheduled for late 2020, and Shrimply Dead, which will release in spring of 2021.

Thank you, Elaine, for hosting me here at Writers Who Kill. I always enjoy guesting here.