The Poisonous Pour by Maddie Day: A Review by E. B. Davis

  

Since moving from L.A. to California’s verdant wine country, widowed single mom Cece Barton has gone from Colinas wine bar manager to wine bar owner—with a chaser of sleuthing . . .

It’s Memorial Day weekend and Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley is buzzing with activity. For Cece, business at Vino y Vida is going great, as is her romance with new beau, Benjamin. Meanwhile, Cece’s neighbor, Richard Flora, is stirring up controversy with his newest article, an exposé of Regan Greene, power-hungry director of a valley district organization. Also in the mix is the town’s big classic car show, paired with wine tastings . . .

At the show, Cece spots Regan, who is displaying her restored green ’72 Thunderbird convertible. As Cece pours tastes, she witnesses several heated discussions with Regan—including an argument with wine afficionado and new Colinas hardware store owner Greg Jardis. Otherwise, all goes smoothly—until Sunday brings shocking news. Regan has been murdered . . .

Rumors fly that Richard may have orchestrated the homicide—or even committed it. But Cece knows that’s absurd. And others in Cece’s orbit seem to have discomfiting connections to Regan, from Cece’s employee, Dane, to her winemaking teacher’s sister, Yolanda, to Colinas Mayor Guittierez. And after Yolanda visits the wine bar, Benjamin says he recognizes her from a road race.

Determined to clear Richard’s name, and failing to extract any clues from detectives, Cece once again enlists her twin, Allie, as her partner-in-sleuthing. But they’ll have to act quickly, before the trail goes sour . . .

Amazon.com

 

A Poisonous Pour is the third book in Maddie Day’s (Edith Maxwell) Cece Barton mystery series. Kensington will release it on April 28^th.

 

I am at a disadvantage because I missed reading the first two books. From the current book, the reader derives that Cece Barton has moved to Colinas, CA, in wine country, after her divorce to be with her twin sister, Allie, a real estate agent. Although Cece is described as a single mother, her daughter is an adult, studying in Japan, so we don’t see much of that aspect in Cece’s character. Cece now owns a wine bar in the center of the historic district housed in an adobe building. Most of the wines she serves are from local wine makers. A big question I have is how Cece managed to own the bar, which was formerly owned by the town, for free—an arrangement somehow orchestrated by Allie. But then, that question may have been answered in a previous book.

 

  

At a town car show where Cece is displaying her 1966 Ford Mustang, she witnesses Regan Greene, the director of a regional organization, have arguments with three people, including one of her two servers at the wine bar, the town’s mayor, and the new owner of the hardware store. Regan is
murdered the following night. When Cece investigates Regan’s office, she discovers that her assistant hated her and doesn’t mind a bit that she’s dead. Eventually, the instrument of the murder is discovered to be poisonous wine, but anyone could have injected poison through the cork so that clue doesn’t eliminate suspects.

 

One character I loved is Cece’s ninety-two-year-old neighbor, Richard Flora, a former journalist who still writes the occasional feature. Cece and he find friendship in their backyard gardens where Cece’s two cats wander. One of Richard’s recent articles focused on Regan because of her clashes with the town government. Richard is at first considered a suspect because of his article, in which a sharp perspective on Regan’s management is apparent, but town detective Kelly Daniell gives him only a brief glance.

 

Henry and Ed are a married couple and friends of Cece’s. Henry owns an art gallery. Ed owns a local diner. Both host venues for Cece to investigate and trade informational tips.

 

Another character I loved is Ouro, a golden retriever, who is owned by JJ, a female friend of Cece’s and a vintage car mechanic. He hangs out at the shop with JJ and protects her at her yurt, where they live. Ouro helps Cece when the villain threatens her.

 

The book was a cozy likeable read with a rich backstory and enough twists that it kept me captivated until the last page. The question that remains, which will motivate me to pick up the next book in the series, is what Cece’s beau Benjamin does for a living. His job is a secret!   

E. B. Davis

Taffy, Anyone?

Debra, thanks so much for inviting me back to Writers Who Kill! Murder at the Taffy Shop is the second Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery, and I’d love to send a commenter a signed copy after the books come in at the end of the month.

Here’s the scoop:

It’s August, full season on Cape Cod, with plentiful sunshine and tourists alike. When Mac’s Bikes owner Mackenzie Almeida heads out for her early daily walk with her friend, she finds a horrified Gin staring at Beverly Ruchart, an imperious summer person, dead on the walkway next to Gin’s candy shop, Salty Taffy’s.

Lots of people wanted Beverly gone. But when the police find the murder weapon in Gin’s garage, the Cozy Capers book group members put their heads together to clear Gin’s name and to figure out who killed the woman whom almost everyone disliked. Mac’s bike shop is vandalized one night, and when the killer later invades her tiny house to finish her off, Bella, Mac’s African Gray parrot, comes to the rescue.

Yes, Gin owns a candy shop. Stop drooling, all right? And yes, she pulls her own salt water taffy. Pretty much any coastal town in the US carries its own version of the stuff, from Seaside, Oregon to Newport Beach, California; Boothbay Harbor, Maine to Key West, Florida – I’ve sampled it in all but Key West…

photo credit to Eric Schmuttenmaer - Downers Grove, USA

I decided to set a few scenes inside Salty Taffy’s kitchen and knew it was time for research. When I was young – my mother had a major sweet tooth – I remember we made taffy once. It was a lot of work, and more than a lot of the sugary stuff was consumed by my older sisters and me, but it was fun. For this book I needed a peek into how professionals do it.

Check out this video and skip to minute 2 or so (unless you want to watch the whole thing). Isn’t it mesmerizing? I could look at that all day – if I didn’t have books to write.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H23AY8Kdx00

Gin uses a big red machine like the one in the clip to do the pulling, because she also has fudge and truffles and all kinds of other treats to make. When I saw that machine, my imagination went nuts, thinking of all the mayhem it could do to someone. Because that’s what crime writers’ brains do, right?

In book one, Murder on Cape Cod, Mac uses the machine to great advantage to clear her and Gin of a threatening situation – and put a killer behind bars. Will the red taffy puller play a part in the new book, too? You’ll have to read it to find out!

Readers: What’s your favorite flavor of taffy? Have you ever pulled it by hand? If you don’t like taffy, what kind of locally made candy do you prefer?

Murder at the Taffy Shop releases March 31 in a one-year paperback exclusive from Barnes & Noble. Murder on Cape Cod, went to wide release on December 31, 2019 and is available in several formats wherever books are sold.

Agatha and Macavity finalist Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. With twenty books in print and more in production, Maxwell/Day lives north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, and cooks. Find her at EdithMaxwell.com and as @MaddieDayAuthor on social media.

Pseudonyms 101

By Shari Randall

I was thrilled when my publisher asked me to write another series but a bit baffled when I was told to write under a pseudonym. My agent said this is done to differentiate the two series. So when my new Ice Cream Shop mysteries come out they’ll be written by Meri Allen. (A mix of my hometown, Meriden, and my dad’s first name, Allen).

The writing has gone well. I’m falling in love with my new characters, especially Grace Rhodes, a librarian with a secret past. When her friend asks her to help run an ice cream shop in Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, Grace jumps at the chance and of course, lands smack in the middle of murder. (Don't worry - if you’re missing the Lobster Shack series, there will be a Lobster Shack holiday story, “The Queen of Christmas," which will be up for preorders in November.)

Julie Anne Lindsey

I had some questions about writing two series and using a pseudonym, so I called on some friends for advice: Julie Anne Lindsey and Edith Maxwell, two talented writers who have successfully juggled series and pseudonyms for years. Between the two of them they publish under seven names: Edith Maxwell (Maddie Day, Tace Baker) and Julie Anne Lindsey (Julie Chase, Jacqueline Frost, Bree Baker).

I had questions, they had answers and reassuring insights. I hope this short Q and A helps every author who is switching gears not just with a pseudonym, but also with a new series and characters.

Do you feel like Sybil, with multiple personalities?

Julie:  I think you'll find it's easy to switch between author names because they're kind of irrelevant. Like nicknames, not other personalities.

Edith: Writing under different names presents both joys and concerns.

How do you shift gears when writing a different series and different characters?

Julie: As for changing between worlds and writing one series then another, I don't struggle with that because everything is so different in each series. The places and characters are real enough to me that I easily know what they'd do or say in each situation like I would with my friends in real life. So, I just tell their stories. 

Tell us a bit about your evolution:

Edith: When my editor of the Local Foods Mysteries (my first Edith Maxwell series)

Edith Maxwell

at Kensington Publishing accepted my proposal for the Country Store Mysteries, he said he wanted me to use a pseudonym. I agreed and settled on Maddie Day, but I wasn't clear why. My agent said it was probably to make me look like a new author to readers and booksellers. That series has done so well, I have a second Maddie Day series, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. I guess it worked!

As it turns out, I wasn't very smart choosing Maddie Day as a pen name. There are other Maddie Days out there, so my URL and all my social media accounts have to be MaddieDayAuthor. Next time I'll find a unique name if it kills me. A caution to writers considering a pseudonym - do your research first. Once you're locked into a name, you can't go back

My historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries are published as Edith. And my short stories are all written by Edith. I also had two early books written as Tace Baker - Speaking of Murder and Bluffing is Murder. The publisher has gone out of business, so Beyond the Page Publishing (who puts out the Quaker Midwife books) is going to reissue the pair with new covers (and a fresh edit update) as Edith Maxwell books. I love the name Tace, an archaic Quaker name I dug up, and maybe she'll come back with another series one day. 

How to deal with conference nametags?

Julie: At Bouchercon, the mystery conference, I think Bree Baker will be in parentheses beneath Julie Ann Lindsey on my name tag. I was torn about the name tag situation because my latest Bree Baker book just released 9/24 but my first Cider Shop as me releases during Bouchercon so... I figured since one was my actual name, it would be reasonable to make that my nametag name and the other a subtitle. It can be tricky.

Edith: My editor never said I couldn't link the names, so link I do. I often sign emails and blog posts "Edith/Maddie." Having two names on a convention nametag means both are smaller, which is a bit of a drawback. So far I've appeared at mystery conferences under both personas, so it doesn't make sense to use one without the other.

What about social media? Tips or tricks? 

Julie: I don't know that I have any tips or tricks. I'm muddling along like everyone. I think just being ourselves and engaging readers is all we can do. Cross-promote when you can. Support yourself LOL. And maybe think of the pen name as a subtitle of the series- just there to help readers looking for that slightly different thing to find it. I often cross-promote between Julie Anne Lindsey and Julie Chase on Facebook, but on Twitter and Insta, it's just me.

Edith: I've opted to use a single web site for all my names and series. I have a MaddieDayAuthor.com site, but it's only a landing page to send readers over to EdithMaxwell.com. I also use a single bookmark, which I change up every year (or more frequently) with the three most current covers.

I have Instagram and Twitter accounts for both names, and two separate Facebook author pages, too. Managing all that is a handful, I can tell you. 

I have unifying artwork for my author brand, which I was lucky enough to receive as a gift from my best friend for a milestone birthday seven years ago. The painting, titled "Edith's World," goes on my bookmarks, web site, business cards, and Facebook author pages.

Many thanks for your insights, Julie and Edith!

Writers, you ever used a pseudonym?

Maddie Day (Edith Maxwell) Interview by E. B. Davis

Restaurateur Robbie Jordan is ready for the boost in business a local music festival brings to South Lick, Indiana, but the beloved event strikes a sour note when one of the musicians is murdered . . .
 
June’s annual Brown County Bluegrass Festival at the Bill Monroe Music Park in neighboring Beanblossom is always a hit for Robbie’s country store and café, Pans ‘N Pancakes. This year, Robbie is even more excited, because she’s launching a new bed and breakfast above her shop. A few festival musicians will be among Robbie’s first guests, along with her father, Roberto, and his wife, Maria. But the celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he can conduct an encore performance . . .

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0776H5T7B/

Death Over Easy is the fifth book in Maddie Day’s (Edith Maxwell) Country Store Mystery series. It will be released on July 31 by Kensington. I interviewed Edith when the first in the series, Flipped For Murder, came out in 2015, and I wanted to catch up with the series.

At the start, California native and chef Robbie Jordan visits her aunt in South Lick, Indiana, falls in love with the town, finds a building to buy, and founds Pan ‘N Pancakes, a breakfast and lunch restaurant in a country store, which also sells antique cookware. From there, the murders begin. It’s a great cozy premise: food, small town, repeat characters, a single woman and amateur sleuth.

Since Flipped For Murder, Robbie’s personal life, intriguing backstory and successful crime-solving keep readers coming back for more. In Death Over Easy, Robbie’s professional life expands by her opening a B & B on the upper floor of the restaurant/store building, which is a natural because she provides breakfast for half the town anyway.

Please welcome, Edith Maxwell, writing as Maddie Day, back to WWK.                           E. B. Davis   

Thanks for having me, E.B.  You always ask the best – and hardest – questions. Here goes!

What field did Robbie’s father, Roberto, do his graduate work in? What research did he do in South Lick?

He was studying the geology of the area, which includes a lot of limestone and natural mineral springs. He is from the Pisa area, which also has limestone and hot springs (the leaning tower is built on limestone in 1178). Both places are also hilly, so he would have felt at home in Brown County, Indiana.

The bluegrass festival was held at the Bill Monroe Music Park. Who was Bill Monroe?

He was a well-known mandolin player from Kentucky (the Bluegrass State) who had a band in the 1930s called Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, so he pretty much named the genre. 

Did bluegrass have its roots in Appalachia, Kentucky and Tennessee?

Yes, absolutely, with roots in traditional Scottish, Irish, and English music from the immigrants who settled there.

The victim, Pia Bianchi, borrowed money. What was it for?

It was for the graduate music program at Indiana University. She’s friends with Robbie’s friend Phil (see below), who also studies and works there.

A dancer, Beth Ferguson, and her fiddle-playing partner are staying at Robbie’s B & B. What makes Beth so disagreeable? Is she just cheap?

She’s unhappy and frustrated, and she takes it out on others, as many in that situation do.

This set of guests is Robbie’s first. What does she learn from them?

One thing she learns is that she needs a better key system, as well as an outdoor camera to track her guests coming and going. She also realizes B&B guests can complicate her life, but she can use the extra cash from renting the rooms, so she’s going to deal with it.

Must unincorporated towns in Indiana rely on the state police?

On them and on the county sheriffs.

How does Robbie use crossword puzzles to help her solve crimes?

She sometimes mocks up a puzzle so she can see all the people and motives in one place and how they link. She has an orderly, visual mind and a good memory. Puzzling is a natural way for her to think.

What is an IGA? An IPA?

IGA is a chain of independently owned and operated franchise grocery stores. When I lived in Indiana, we had IGA and Kroger’s. IPA is India Pale Ale, a style of highly hopped beer – and my personal favorite. Hops act as a preservative, and they were added to ale when it was being shipped from England to India in colonial days as a way to keep it fresh on the long voyage.

My store had been open for less than a year and it felt like I’d always been here.

I guess that’s a sign of being where you should be.

(Kindle Loc. 243)

Do you think there is a specific place where people belong?

I think people can feel deeply at home in certain places, sometimes inexplicably.

Isn’t fried mush—polenta?

Yes! West Africans eat a form of thick corn porridge, too, as do Brazilians.

Robbie supplies the police with a lot of information. Isn’t she afraid people will stop talking to her?

She doesn’t appear to be. People love her restaurant and so far nobody’s clammed up on her.

Who is Philostrate (Phil) MacDonald when he’s not baking for Robbie? How did he get his name?

It’s a name from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, which Phil’s parents bestowed on him. He’s a graduate student in the IU Music department, and he’s also the part-time secretary there.

In the middle of dialogue, Robbie notices the foliage and sounds in the area. Does this slow the scene’s pace and put the reader in-the-moment?

You tell me!

We have cream pies, which are milk and sugar based, on the East coast. Is it that cinnamon on top that makes them pure Indiana?

I’d never eaten a sugar cream pie before I heard that it is a typical Hoosier dessert. I’ve had chocolate cream pies, of course.

Robbie bikes. Do you exercise, or is it something you wish you would do and give that attribute to your characters?

I do try to get vigorous exercise every day, usually power walking. I have been biking more lately, but not on her level – I hate riding up hills. Both my adult sons are serious cyclists, though, so I can consult with them on terminology and parts.

Could Detective Henderson and Robbie become friends?

I think they might. I like Anne Henderson.

Isn’t buckwheat—wheat? How is buckwheat soba GF?

No, it isn’t wheat, as it isn’t a grass. It’s a different kind of plant grown for its grain-like seeds.

How has Robbie changed since the first book?

She’s become a better restaurateur, for one. She’s also growing confident in her relationship with her boyfriend, Abe, and is loving getting to know her father. In terms of solving crimes, she’s getting smarter about not venturing into dangerous situations alone. Nobody wants to be labeled Too Stupid to Live!

I hope readers will find me on my web site, at the Wickeds’ blog, and on Facebook (Maddie Day has her own page).  Thanks for stopping by!

Readers:  Where is your favorite B&B? What’s the best breakfast you’ve eaten out? 

On Writing Fast by Maddie Day (Edith Maxwell)

My name is Maddie (and Edith), and I write fast. There, I’ve said it! But it’s true. Why do I write fast, and how can I?

Long ago I read Anne Lamott’s well-known and oft-quoted book, Bird by Bird. I became a firm believer in the sh***y first draft. I am under contract to write three-plus books a year. 200,000 to  225,000 words is a heck of a lot of words, and when I hit Submit they have to be as beautifully written as I can make them, but only in the service of a well-plotted and compellingly told mystery.

I also write the occasional novella and two or three short stories in that same year. So I have to crank out that first draft straight through and get the bones of the story in place. That way I have time to polish, revise, get the manuscript independently edited, and revise some more before I have to send it to my editor.

Death Over Easy, out July 31, is my fifth Country Store Mystery, and I wrote the first draft in seven weeks flat. I started writing it at an away-from-home writing retreat at author Tiger Wiseman’s Vermont getaway and got a great head start. I treat my writing as my day job – because it is – and after I returned home I just kept cranking on the book every day but Sunday.

I get asked many of the same questions over and over: how do I keep three series straight, what do I do for writer’s block, and how can I be so prolific?

For the first, my characters and settings are so real to me I simply don’t confuse them. Add to the mix that one series is set in the late 1880s, and another in southern Indiana, and that further distinguishes them.

Writer’s block? I have deadlines. I can’t get blocked. I might be temporarily out of ideas, but when that happens changing venues really helps. I go for one of my plotting walks and talk out loud to myself about my story. Or sit in the rocking chair behind my desk chair and brainstorm with pen and notebook. Either of those never fails to dislodge the next scene I need to write. Exercising the mantra of “butt in chair, fingers on keyboard” also works every time. The simple act of typing “I don’t know what comes next” brings – you got it – what comes next.

And finally, keeping a disciplined schedule is key. I check in with Ramona DeFelice Long’s sprint thread on Facebook every day by seven AM, then I turn off distractions and write all morning. 1500 words/day (or more) produces a slim first draft in forty days. That’s all I need, because I know my revision phase will plump it up to my contracted 65,000-75,000 words.

I know I’m blessed with a vivid imagination as well as the willingness and ability to live on a budget for now, and not everyone can ditch the daytime situation, as Dru Ann Love calls it. But frankly, I’m living my dream and would never go back.

Readers: What are you disciplined about? What do you find it hard to stick to?



Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Local Foods Mysteries, the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. She is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau and two elderly cats. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, KillerCharacters.com, and at Under Cover of Darkness. Read about all her personalities and her work at edithmaxwell.com, and please find her on social media – she loves to talk to readers.

Death Over Easy--Restaurateur Robbie Jordan is ready for the boost in business a local bluegrass festival brings to South Lick, Indiana, but the beloved event strikes a sour note. The celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he – or she – can conduct an encore performance.

An Interview With Edith Maxwell

by Grace Topping

Whether writing under the name of Edith Maxwell, Maddie Day, or Tace Baker, Edith writes a terrific book, or two, or three each year that will thoroughly entertain you. This prolific writer has a reputation for hard work and a commitment to her writing career that is truly inspirational. She is currently working on four separate mystery series. When once asked how she found inspiration, she replied, “Butt in the chair.”

I had the privilege of meeting Edith at a Malice Domestic Conference and later talking to her at the Fall for the Book Festival, based at George Mason University in Virginia, when she appeared as a guest speaker. She is as delightful in person as her characters are in her multiple books.

Recently, the Malice Domestic board announced that Edith had been nominated for an Agatha award in not one but two categories: Delivering the Truth for Best Historical Mystery and “The Mayor and the Midwife” for Best Short Story. I can’t wait for the end of April to hear the results.

It is a pleasure to welcome Edith Maxwell to Writers Who Kill.

Please tell us a bit about your series. I understand that you have series other than the one you are currently working on.

Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day

First, thanks so much for inviting me over, Grace. What a great set of questions you put together!

As Edith Maxwell, I write the Local Foods Mysteries, which feature organic farmer Cam Flaherty, a group of local foods enthusiasts, and locally sourced murder. It’s set in a fictional small town in Massachusetts near where I live. I also write the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, with Quaker midwife Rose Carroll hearing secrets, catching babies, and solving crimes in my town of Amesbury in 1888.

As Maddie Day, I author the Country Store Mysteries. Robbie Jordan is a chef and carpenter turning out breakfast and lunch in her country store restaurant in lovely southern Indiana, and solving a few murders along the way. Maddie Day is also writing the first book in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, which are set on Cape Cod here in Massachusetts.

As Tace Baker, I have two books out in the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries, in which a contemporary Quaker linguistics professor solves crimes in her small coastal Massachusetts town.

You amaze me writing four different mystery series. How many books are you writing each year?

I write three books a year. One series is ending but another is starting, so it evens out!

When starting a new book or series, what do you start with (character, victim, motive)?

For example, in my new, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, my editor suggested the book group hook and I suggested Cape Cod. So in a way I’m starting with the setting and the reason a group of village business owners and other notables get together every week. My idea was for them to read one cozy mystery a week (which is fewer than many avid cozy fans accomplish) and then to be drawn into a real-life murder mystery in each of the books in my series. But then I needed a protagonist, so I decided to have Mac Almeida own a bicycle repair and rental shop, in part because I couldn’t think of any other cozies featuring that career. Cape Cod is flat and gorgeous, with many biking/walking trails, so it’s a reasonable occupation.

How do you make the main characters of your series sound different? If we were to interview all four of them at the same time how would they come across?

They sound different because they are different. It just comes with knowing my characters, especially my protagonists. Of course, Rose Carroll, the 1888 Quaker midwife, sounds the most different, with her “thee”s and “thy”s, and I have to be careful that she doesn’t utter language that wasn’t in use at the time.

Do you ever find yourself mixing up your characters—attributing habits or characteristics to another?

I really don’t. They are so clearly distinct people. For example, Robbie Jordan in the Country Store Mysteries is a Californian living in Indiana. She’s a chef and a carpenter, a puzzler and a cyclist, who has been burned badly by love not once but twice. She has a completely different outlook on life than my Local Foods Mysteries farmer Cam Flaherty, an introverted former software engineer who, over the course of five books, finds she’s able to relate to people rather than just vegetables (or code), after all.

Do you have a favorite among your main characters? Or is that too much like asking a parent which of their children is their favorite?

Yes, it is! But I might admire Rose Carroll a little more than my other amateur sleuths. Life is already challenging for a Quaker, because they dress, speak, and act differently in 1888 than most of the population. In addition, Rose is also an independent businesswoman and a forthright as yet single woman not afraid to speak her mind and ask questions to get to the bottom of the mysteries she encounters.

At what point did you feel you had become a successful writer, or have you reached that point yet? Have you had an “I’ve made it” moment?

Gosh. Every time I get a box of ARCs (Advanced Review Copies) or final copies and I hold my own book in my hands, I can barely believe it. By May my “shelfie” will feature twelve traditionally published books, some in as many as three of the possible formats (hardcover, mass-market paperback, large print, and audiobook). Also, when my twice-a-year royalty checks keep going up, or when I bank a check for an advance, that feels pretty good, too, as does being a double Agatha-Award nominee this year. But there’s always room for more success, for more challenges, for more ways to feel that I’ve “made it.”

With series with different publishers, how do you handle conflicting or overlapping deadlines?

I am strict about my calendar, and I am disciplined about my writing, doing my best to work on one series at a time. If two books are due a month apart, I work ahead. This year I had books due in January, February, and June. I wrote the January book last summer, the February book in the fall, and am working on the June book now. But, as I’ve said elsewhere, my scheme blows up sometimes. I might be in the middle of a first draft on series A, and I get copyedits in on series B that are due back in two weeks. I drop the first draft, much as I’d rather stay immersed in it, do the copyedits, and then return. Same if I get proofs in from series C. The more immediate deadline always has to take priority, no matter which publisher it’s for.

It’s the competing release dates that are a little bit of an issue right now. Country Store #3 comes out March 28 written as Maddie Day from Kensington. Quaker Midwife #2 comes out April 8 written as Edith Maxwell from Midnight Ink. Yikes! Both publishers’ publicists set up blog tours that exactly overlap on the same two weeks in April. So I’m writing a heck of a lot of guest posts, and my launch party on April 7 is going to be Edith and Maddie interviewing each other. My local indy bookstore owner thought that would be a fun idea, so I’m going to launch both books together.

Do you ever have moments of panic juggling so many books?

Of course! But lists, calendars, and discipline are holding me together so far. And I always make time for my power walk midday, which some days is also a plotting walk. Exercise clears my brain, keeps me calm, and gets the oxygen circulating.

What is a good writing day for you?

To wake up at 5:30 well rested, get my Internet poking around, blog reading, and Facebook and Twitter posting done before 7, and then to be writing from 7 until 11 or so.  If I’m writing first draft, I don’t let myself leave the desk until I’ve written at least 1500 words, which often turns into more. Then I walk, eat lunch, and spend the afternoon doing promotional and other less creative author work.

Now that you’ve had a number of contracts, what is the most important thing you’ve learned that might help new writers?

Write the best book you can. Keep that butt in the chair and those fingers on the keyboard. Then find your tribe. Join Sisters in Crime or whatever group writers in your genre hang out in. Talk to them. Learn from them. Network your little ass off.

With a busy writing schedule, how do you find time to promote your books? Do you enjoy doing promotion?

I do and I don’t. I don’t want to go around saying, “Buy my book!” But I do want to gently let people know it’s available. So the times between releases are almost more important. I get to know my community of readers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and in person. I run giveaways and fun contests from time to time. I never turn down an invitation to visit a library. I promote my fellow authors and cheer them on. And I blog actively with the other Wicked Cozy Authors, plus once a month each on Killer Characters and with the Midnight Ink authors. By the time I have a release, people already know me (or that’s the goal), and I hope they’ll be as excited by my new book as I am.

What promotional/marketing efforts have paid off, and which ones were wastes of time?

It’s so hard to know what pays off in terms of sales. Certainly a Goodreads giveaway of five ARCs, which I get for free from my publisher, gets a lot of visibility. I just ended one for GRITS, and almost 2000 people signed up. I pay thirteen dollars to send five books in the US, but two thousand people have the book on the Want to Read list.  Does that result in increased sales? I don’t know.

What the most valuable thing you’ve learned from good and maybe not so good reviews?

From the less-than-positive ones, I’ve learned you can’t please everybody. And that’s okay.  And from the glowing ones? That I can make people really, really happy with my stories. And that’s fabulous!

What is the most touching comment you’ve received from a reader?

A fan wrote that she had to sit with a sick relative in the hospital for some time. She said my book got her through several days and helped her escape the pain. That note very much touched me.

You write both historical and contemporary series. Do you find one easier to write than the other?

Certainly the historical series demands a level of research the contemporary series don’t. I have to check all kinds of details about language, train travel, clothing, carriages, heating systems, footwear – you name it! But in terms of the mystery, the storytelling, I don’t find any era easier or harder to write.  It’s still a story about people, their motivations, their loves and hates, and the puzzle of the mystery.

With all the time you spend writing, do you ever have time to read for pleasure? If so, what are you reading now? Do you have a favorite writer?

I do read for pleasure, and read more when I’m on vacation or laid up after a surgery (as I essentially have been since the start of February this year). I couldn’t possibly say who my favorite author is, but I was so happy to h ave time to read Deborah Crombie’s latest and Rhys Bowen’s new WWII novel, and to lose myself in Ingrid Thoft, Fiona Davis, and Ausma Zehanat Khan, all of whom I discovered on the Jungle Red Writers blog.

Describe your favorite place to write.

I have an upstairs office overlooking our quiet street. My office has a rocking chair, a futon couch, and lots of bookcases. I sit on a ball chair and work at a lovely wooden desk made by a local artisan, and my commute is thirty seconds long.

To readers new to your books, which of them would you recommend they start with?

Well, of course I always think that my latest books are my best, so they could start there (see next question). But to begin each series at the beginning, they could start with A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die (Local Foods Mysteries #1), Delivering the Truth (Quaker Midwife Mysteries #1), and Flipped for Murder (Country Store Mysteries #1).

What’s next for your four series? Any books coming out soon?

Yes! As I mentioned earlier, When the Grits Hit the Fan, Country Store #3, comes out March 28 written as Maddie Day. Called to Justice, Quaker Midwife #2, comes out April 8, and Mulch Ado About Murder, Local Foods Mystery #5, releases May 30.

Any new series in the works?

See previous comments about the Cozy Capers Book Group series! The first book will be out sometime in 2018.

Thanks again for having me. I’d love readers to tell me, if they’ve read my books, which is their favorite – and why. And if they haven’t, which series appeals to them most. I’m happy to answer questions all day, too.

Thank you, Edith, for joining us at Writers Who Kill.

To learn more about Edith (and Maddie Day) and her numerous books, visit her at www.edithmaxwell.com. 

Here is a peak at Edith’s (and Maddie’s) upcoming releases.

When the Grits Hit the Fan (A Country Store Mystery) by Maddie Day

Despite the bitter winter in South Lick, Indiana, business is still hot at Robbie Jordan’s restaurant. But when another murder rattles the small town, can Robbie defrost the motives of a cold-blooded killer?

Before she started hosting dinners for Indiana University’s Sociology Department at Pans ‘N Pancakes, Robbie never imagined scholarly meetings could be so hostile. It’s all due to Professor Charles Stilton, who seems to thrive on heated exchanges with his peers and underlings, and tensions flare one night after he disrespects Robbie’s friend, graduate student Lou. So when Robbie and Lou go snowshoeing the next morning and find the contentious academic frozen under ice, police suspect Lou might have killed him after their public tiff. To prove her friend’s innocence, Robbie is absorbing local gossip about Professor Stilton’s past and developing her own thesis on the homicide—even if that means stirring up terrible danger for herself along the way . . .

Called to Justice (A Quaker Midwife Mystery) by Edith Maxwell

When Hannah Breed confides to midwife Rose Carroll that she’s pregnant out of wedlock, Rose promises to help her through the pregnancy and figure out a way to break the news to her family. But that night, amid the noise and revelry of the Independence Day fireworks, Hannah is found shot dead.

After a former slave and fellow Quaker is accused of the murder, Rose delves into the crime, convinced of the man’s innocence. An ill-mannered mill manager, an Irish immigrant, and the victim’s young boyfriend come under suspicion even as Rose’s future with her handsome doctor suitor becomes unsure. Rose continues to deliver babies and listen to secrets, finally focusing in on the culprit only to be threatened herself.

Mulch Ado about Murder (Local Foods Mystery) by Edith Maxwell

It’s been a hot, dry spring in Westbury, Massachusetts. As organic farmer Cam Flaherty waits for much-needed rain, storm clouds of mystery begin to gather. Once again, it’s time to put away her sun hat and put on her sleuthing cap . . .

May has been anything but merry for Cam so far. Her parents have arrived unexpectedly and her crops are in danger of withering away. But all of that’s nothing compared to the grim fate that lies in store for one of her neighbors. Nicole Kingsbury is the proud owner of the town’s new hydroponic greenhouse. She claims the process will be 100% organic, but she uses chemicals to feed her crops. To Cam’s surprise, her mother embarrasses her by organizing a series of loud public protests against Nicole’s operation.

When Nicole is found dead in a vat of hydroponic slurry—clutching another set of rosary beads—Detective Pete Pappas has a new murder to solve. Showers may be scarce this spring, but there’s no shortage of suspects, including the dead woman’s embittered ex‑husband, the Other Man whose affair ruined their marriage, and Cam’s own mother. Lucky for Cam, her father turns out to have a knack for sleuthing—not to mention dealing with chickens. Will he and Cam be able to clear Mrs. Flaherty’s name before the killer strikes again?

www.amazon.com

Bio:

National best-selling author Edith Maxwell is a 2017 double Agatha Award nominee for her historical mystery Delivering the Truth and her short story, “The Mayor and the Midwife.” She writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell’s award-winning short crime fiction has appeared in many juried anthologies, and she is honored to serve as President of Sisters in Crime New England.

A fourth-generation Californian and former tech writer, farmer, and doula, Maxwell now writes, cooks, gardens, and wastes time as a Facebook addict north of Boston with her beau and three cats. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, Killer Characters, and with the Midnight Ink authors.