An Interview with Ellen Byron writing as Maria DiRico By E. B. Davis

 Worry is paying a debt you may not owe…

Maria DiRico, Four Parties and a Funeral, Kindle Loc. 254

 

The June events schedule at Belle View is busting out all over—proms, graduations, and of course, weddings. There are unexpected bookings too, including a casting call for the pilot of Dons of Ditmars Boulevard. But soon, Mia’s fears about the cheesy reality show are confirmed . . .
 
Belle View quickly becomes the site of a sea of wanna-be goombahs and phony girlfriends, and some of Mia’s friends insist on getting in on the action. The production company owner and his executive producer ex-wife—who’s also very minor British royalty—have assembled a motley crew that does as much infighting and backstabbing as the on-screen “talent.” Even so, it’s a shock when a dead body is found in the pool house of a local mansion rented by the show . . .
 
Murder might boost the ratings. But Mia intends to make sure the killer gets jail time, not airtime . . .

                                                                                                                                    Amazon.com

Four Parties and a Funeral is the fourth book in Maria DiRico’s (Ellen Byron) Catering Hall mystery series. It was released yesterday.

 

This series keeps me guessing its backstory. Just when I think I know what is going to happen—it doesn’t—something else does. Of course, that’s also the reason I like the series. This is not predictable prose!

 

Please welcome Maria/Ellen back to WWK.    E. B. Davis

Do you plot a series arc and work the backstory to an end point? I actually don’t arc my series. I have a general idea about the ongoing storyline for my characters but let one book inform the next in terms of their growth.

 

Mia and her boyfriend Shane complain to each other about being brought up in notorious families that caused hurt and shame in their youths. Did Shane also come from a mob family? Yes! The Gambrazzo Family, which was based in Florida. (Fictionally, of course. 😊)

 

The mob Godfather, Donny Boldano Senior and his wife, Aurora, are dangerous people. Even so, why do we like them so much? Because I focused on problems we can all relate to: marital discord, kids they don’t know what to do with, aging… I also made Donny semi-retired and more interested in legit than illegal businesses. It’s a cozy series. I always keep that in mind. The prototype is one of my favorite movies from the 1980’s, Married to the Mob.

 

The reality show, “The Dons of Ditmars Boulevard” showcases Little Donny, who needs a career since he isn’t cut out for the mob. Although “Don” in Italian is a title of honor, in slang, it also refers to a mob boss. Why would Little Donny go on the show when it associates himself with his father, the Don of the mob? Wouldn’t that be too much exposure? This is one of the reasons Donny Senior is very unhappy with his son doing the show. But he also knows DJ is at sea and loves his son and wants him to find his path in life. And he knows that even DJ would draw the line at revealing anything incriminating or that would endanger his loved ones.

 

If there is a real Ditmars Boulevard, what’s it like? It’s the main drag in Queens, with shops and restaurants.

 

Why is Connecticut called the “Nutmeg State?” I had to look this up! It’s an unofficial nickname and no one seems to know the origin. The official nickname is The Constitution State.

 

I found it hard to believe that Madison’s cousin, the Anglophile, Pickney, had such atrocious manners. Wouldn’t her upbringing and interest in English Royalty influence her manners for the better? That’s so funny, because she’s based on a real person I knew! A very good question. And one I’ll put to the person in question if I ever see her again, lol.

 

Many of the reality show associates displayed transactional behavior. What is transactional behavior? Is it a new term for being Machiavellian? Narcissistic? It’s more upfront than Machiavellian. It’s taking a certain action knowing it will get you something in return. I.e., on a reality show like The Bachelor, a contestant may throw a fit or be nasty knowing it will get them more screentime. The producers understand this and expect it.

 

In the past, journalist Teri has been helpful to Mia. But she’s a pain! Why? What is it about Teri that is so irritating? I like to think of Teri as affably annoying. She enjoys getting a rise out of Mia. And she’s completely comfortable with who she is.

 

What’s a cafone? Basically, it’s someone who’s low-class and boorish, male or female, although I think it’s used more for men than women.

 

What’s a sizzle reel? It’s basically a sales reel – a short promotional video that will get buyers excited about your product. In TV, if you’re producing a pilot without a pre-set buyer, you’d put together the juiciest clips to woo a buyer.

 

What’s a Frankenbite? This is a reality TV term for when they cut together disparate takes to create a manufactured moment. It looks like a single shot but is different clips edited together for more of a dramatic effect.  I.e. – and this is exaggerated – a contestant might say at different times, “I hate strawberries” and “I’d like to talk to you.” A Frankenbite would be editing those moments together somehow into her saying “I hate you.”

 

What’s a second line? Technically, it’s the line of mourners marching after the band following a funeral in New Orleans. But it’s morphed into a celebratory quasi-parade for all kinds of events.

 

Is Little Island real? Yes, and it’s fantastic! It was primarily funded by Diane Von Furstenberg and her husband Barry Diller and is in the Hudson River around 14^th Street at the pier where the old White Star ocean liners used to dock. Home - Little Island

 

What does Farkakte mean? It’s a Yiddish word that basically means “messed up” or “ridiculous.” It’s kind of a Yiddish verbal version of an eye roll.

 

What is Montepulciano wine? Is that a vineyard’s name? It’s a red wine varietal generally grown in the Abruzzo region of Italy, where my mother is from.

 

What’s next for Mia? The Witless Protection Program will launch in June 2024 and we’ll finally get to meet her no-good adulterer of a husband, Adam Grosso. And yes, he’s still her husband, which will complicate her personal life enormously – as you might expect!

An Interview with Maria DiRico by E. B. Davis

 

Mia Carina is back in the borough of Queens—in charge of the family catering hall, Belle View Banquet Manor, and keeping her nonna company. But some events—like murder—are not the kind you can schedule . . .
 
Mia’s newly pregnant friend Nicole plans to hold a shower at Belle View—but Nicole also has to attend one that her competitive (and mysteriously rich) stepmother, Tina, is throwing at the fanciest place in Queens. It’s a good chance for Mia to snoop on a competitor, especially since doing a search for “how to run a catering hall” can get you only so far.
 
Mia tags along at the lavish party, but the ambience suffers at Nicole’s Belle View shower when a fight breaks out—and then, oddly, a long-missing and valuable stolen painting is unwrapped by the mom-to-be. Tina is clearly shocked to see it. But not as shocked as Mia is when, soon afterward, she spots the lifeless body of a party guest floating in the marina . . .

Amazon.com

 

I’m disappointed I missed the debut book in this series, Here Comes the Body, but I was easily able to pick up the backstory in Long Island Iced Tina, the second book in the series. Maria DiRico is a pseudonym for Ellen Byron. This series is different from her Cajun/Bayou series set in Louisiana, but the central theme of family remains the same. It’s a great theme, universal, and showcases the beauty and warts that go along with family.

 

Mia Carina’s main goal in life at the moment is to keep her father, Ravello, from going back into the slammer. He’s done time, as her brother is now doing. They are associated with the mob, but they are trying to go straight by operating Belle View Banquet Manor, a clean venue. But as an ex-con, her father is always first on the suspect list.

 

There’s a lot of unresolved backstory within these books—a remote (in more ways than one) mother who lives in Italy, an ex who supposedly drowned but whose body wasn’t recovered, a brother soon to get out of jail, and a stalled romance. All keep Mia’s life interesting or fraught, but that’s for the books that follow.

 

Please welcome Maria DiRico to WWK!                                                                                      E. B. Davis

 

Where in NYC is Astoria? Or perhaps it isn’t in the city? Is this an Italian neighborhood?

Astoria is in the New York City borough of Queens. Decades ago, it was a predominately Italian neighborhood, then it segued into being more of a Greek neighborhood, and now’s it’s wonderfully multi-cultural.

 

Mia’s friend Nicole is having a baby. Nicole’s maternal grandmother wants to have a shower at Belle View. The problem is that Nicole’s parents split up. Her mother, Linda, magnanimously insists on inviting step-monster, Tina, to the shower. For that reason, Nicole’s grandmother insists pasta puttanesca be served. What’s the story on pasta named for whores? Legend has it that this particular sauce was created by prostitutes in a Neapolitan bordello during WWII. While this has become widely accepted as the sauce’s genesis, many culinary experts dispute it. But they haven’t come up with a better story, lol.

 

Tina decides to upstage the Belle View shower and have another shower for her at a tony venue, Versailles on the Park, an upscale rival of Belle View. Is the building real, the park?

It’s not, but it’s inspired by a real venue called Terrace on the Park, which is housed in the old heliport from the 1964-65 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows Park. Terrace on the Park looks nothing like the venue I created in the book, though.

Mia has a cat, named Doorstop, and a pet parakeet. She lets it fly in her apartment even though la cacca happens (why is that word feminine?). Is she nuts? Lol! She lets her parakeet Pizzazz fly around the room because the bird is based on my zia and zio’s bird, Tweetie, who they let fly around their home, which is literally where Mia lives in the series. I used to have a great photo of Tweetie perched on the head of Zia Rose’s Virgin Mary figurine in her bedroom. I’d give anything to find that picture.

 

Mia’s grandmother makes Italian sausage on scrambled eggs topped with fried onions and peppers for breakfast. Maria says she’ll have a salad for lunch, but ends up with pasta. How does she not get fat? Oh, her pants are definitely getting tighter. That’s why she sometimes bikes to work. To burn off calories.

 

Is it true that brick homes in Astoria were built with words or pictures hidden in the brick? I honestly don’t know if those particular homes were built that way, but this is based on apartment buildings in the Bronx or Mount Vernon that my family used to drive by on our way from Westchester County to Astoria to visit Nonna and my cousins. The Italian masons who built the apartments included little designs with bricks. My mother pointed them out to me once, and I’ve kept an eye out for them ever since.

 

Jamie Boldano is a childhood friend since his father is head of the Family. Jamie and Mia are attracted to each other, but have sworn off romance, at least Jamie has. His girlfriend is Connecticut waspy, and he longs for a home in the countryside. Is he rebelling from his upbringing or does he truly want to change who he is? A little of both. At this point in his life, though, I think Jamie generally seeks a different type of life more than he’s rebelling against what he grew up with.

 

When the shower takes place at Belle View, a fight between mother Linda and stepmother Tina ensues in the ladies’ room, and then a stolen painting appears as a gift. Later, Mia finds a body in the marina harbor that Belle View overlooks. It wasn’t until Mia starts investigating the murder that I appreciated slacker employee, Cammie Dianopolis. Why is she vital when she barely works? I love writing Cammie because there’s way more to her than meets the eye. She absolutely does her job, although she keeps her tasks to a minimum. But that’s the deal the Boldanos agreed to. She’s also an invaluable ear to Mia. And even better, she can manipulate her detective ex-husband into sharing information Mia would never be able to get otherwise.

 

Are Greeks and Italians sequestered in the same neighborhood? Yes, along with many other cultures now, as well.

 

How did a corpse get buried without shoes? Why is Mia’s grandmother intent on sending extra shoes along to heaven in another body’s coffin? This is real!! Mom and I were visiting Nonna once when the story came up. Nonna told Mom in Italian. I only picked up a few words of it – they spoke a dialect and my Italian was never great – and when I asked Mom to translate, she said the husband of one of Nonna’s friends appeared to his widow in her dreams telling her he was buried without shoes. So they put a pair in the coffin of another pisane to send up to him. My mother has absolutely no memory of this, but I can recall exactly where she and Nonna were in Nonna’s living room when she told me!

 

Why do women TV weather professionals, who often have advance meteorology degrees, have to dress like sluts? I don’t know!! I live in Los Angeles, and on the secondary stations, it’s jaw-dropping what not only the weatherwomen but some of the anchorwomen wear.

 

Mia visits her brother Posi in jail. Why does she seek his opinion? Is he older? Yes, he’s two years older. Since he’s got a criminal past – and present – he’s a good source for insight into how criminals think and plan. Plus, he was in much deeper with the Family than she was, so he can provide Mia with insights into the Boldanos that she lacks.

 

Who were the Westies? The Westies were a violent Irish gang that operated mostly in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan during the 1960s-80s. They were active when I was living in the city. I even lived in Hell’s Kitchen for several months. A lot of actors I knew lived there too, because it was cheap, and some of the Westies would hang out at the dive bars we also hung out at.

 

Now that Mia’s solved that murder, will she ever learn to drive? Yup!

 

What’s next for Mia? IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE MURDER launches in November 2021, and as you can guess, it’s Christmas-themed. A secret about Jamie’s birth is revealed, setting the wheels in motion for murder. Meanwhile, the neighborhood competes for the most extreme Christmas decorations, causing a battle between some senior citizen mean girls and Nonna’s crew. It involves the most coveted holiday display piece of all – Tony Bennett-Santa, an animatronic Tony Bennett dressed as Santa who croons holiday tunes. Tony Bennett is a native son of Astoria. My mom went to high school with him, although he was a year older. I met him and his wife once. Lovely people.

 

An Interview With Ellen Byron, Writing as Maria DiRico

by Grace Topping

Agatha Award and Lefty Award winner Ellen Byron recently released the first book in her new Catering Hall Mystery Series, writing under the name of Maria DiRico. Ellen is well known for her Cajun Country Mystery Series and also for being the scriptwriter on television series such as “Wings.” It was a pleasure talking to Ellen/Maria about both her series and her other works. 

Here Comes the Body

Back Cover Copy

After her philandering husband’s boat went down, newly single Mia Carina went back to Astoria, the bustling Queens neighborhood of her youth. Living with her nonna and her oversized cat, Doorstop, she’s got a whole new life—including some amateur sleuthing . . .
 
Mia is starting work at Belle View, her father’s catering hall, a popular spot for weddings, office parties, and more—despite the planes that occasionally roar overhead on their way to LaGuardia and rattle the crystal chandelier. Soon she’s planning a bachelor party for a less-than-gentlemanly groom. But it goes awry when the gigantic cake is wheeled in and a deadly surprise is revealed . . .
 
Since some of her family’s associates are on the shady side, the NYPD wastes no time in casting suspicion on Mia’s father. Now, Mia’s going to have to use all her street smarts to keep him out of Rikers Island . . .

                                                                                                            www.amazon.com

Welcome, Ellen/Maria, to Writers Who Kill.

As an award-winning author under your own name, why did you use the pen name Maria DiRico for your new series? 

Ellen Byron/Maria DiRico

Kensington wanted me to use a pen name for their own publishing reasons. I chose “Maria DiRico” because it’s my late nonna’s maiden name. My mother was born in Italy, and the series is in many ways a tribute to the fond memories I have of times spent with the Italian side of my family. 

In the first book of the Catering Hall Mystery Series, Here Comes the Body, there is a strong theme of reinventing yourself and second chances—for Mia Carina, who returns to her home in Queens from Florida under a cloud of scandal, and for her father and brother, who haven’t always been law-abiding citizens. Did you have that in mind when you wrote this book?

I think it was more of setting those as goals for my characters than thinking of it as themes. Sometimes I do set out to highlight a theme, but I get so caught up in the lives of my characters that theme falls into the background.

You included several subplots in Here Comes the Body, including Mia searching for her lost bird, a missing husband, elderly people in a community being taken advantage of, and neighborhood change. What value do you think subplots bring to a book?

Subplots add a richness to plots and show layers to characters. We love Mia for her drive to find her little lost parrot. It shows her warmth and vulnerability in the face of trying to be so strong in challenging circumstances. And speaking of themes, there was definitely a theme to the subplot of Felicity Stewart Forbes, the rapacious real estate agent manipulating local senior citizens. I wanted to shine a light on how gentrification can up-end a community. It’s not all bad—I don’t want to give anything away—but I fear for how it often decimates affordable working-class neighborhoods.

At the very beginning, we know that Mia’s husband has disappeared, presumed drowned. How is she able to go on with her life and possibly form other relationships, with his death being uncertain?

 It’s hard! His open-ended disappearance leaves her in a relationship limbo – she’s not divorced, she’s not officially a widow. What is she? But she also uses this dilemma as an excuse not to jump into a new relationship. Her disastrous marriage has left her a bit of a commitment-phobe because she doesn’t trust her own choices. 

At one point, Mia, feeling overwhelmed and depressed, goes out for an evening of music and dancing, which bolsters her spirits. Does music lift your spirits? Do you have a favorite kind of music?

I love a ton of different music genres, from pop (I say I have the taste of a tweenager) to Cajun to Bollywood. But I am and always will be, a proud Disco Queen. My favorite band of all time is KC and the Sunshine Band. When I hear those opening notes of “Get Down Tonight” – talk about lifting your spirits! I think it’s the best pop song ever written and you will never convince me otherwise.

Queens is like another character in your book. Placing your book anywhere else in the country wouldn’t have worked as well. Did you grow up in Queens? If so, when you go back to visit, do you find it changed?

I lived in the Little Neck section of Queens until I was ten when we moved to the suburb of Scarsdale for their excellent school system. But most of my Italian family lived in Astoria. Nonna lived there until the day she died. Eventually, relatives decamped for Long Island and New Jersey, but my childhood was centered around Astoria. Cousins by marriage ran two catering halls, the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina, where Jer and I had our East Coast reception. The memories of all the family events that took place at these locales—plus the local Knights of Columbus, of course—inspired the series.

Also, my late grandfather, who I never got to meet, helped found an organization called the Orsogna Mutual Aid Society, which exists to this day. Orsogna is the little village my family came from in Italy, and so many pisanes emigrated from the town that it inspired Orsogna MAS to offer support and camaraderie with the old hometown.

You included several phrases in Italian throughout the book, which really adds to the flavor. Do you speak Italian?

A little, but not as much as I wish I did. My mother spoke Italian when she didn’t want us to know what she was saying, LOL. I finally studied it in college and became semi-proficient. But my family spoke with a dialect and accent, so even when my Italian was at its best, I couldn’t understand most of them. I did speak enough to get around Italy on a couple of trips, but I’ve been living in California for thirty years now and lost any opportunity to practice the language. It was much easier in New York.

How much does Mia’s world resemble your earlier life? Have you had any family members or friends say they saw themselves in your characters?

Mia lives where my nonna and zia and zio lived with their kids. She works at Grand Bay Marina, which Cousin Pauly ran. She shops at La Guli Pastry Shop, a real store in Astoria. So… a lot of it. But my family was not mobbed-up, although some cousins definitely had connections. When you’re running catering halls in Queens, it’s almost impossible not to. At least it was back when I was growing up. No family members recognize themselves, although my mother was plenty nervous that they would. 

With a career writing TV scripts (e.g., Wings), what made you switch to writing novels, especially mysteries? 

Lack of work writing TV scripts. Half kidding. My TV career hit a dry patch, which also coincided with a bit of script-writing burnout on my part. I have to write—I can’t not write—so I decided to try writing what I love to read: mysteries. 

TV and movie scripts are pretty lean. How was the transition to novel writing, which requires more detail? Did your previous experience writing scripts help?

It absolutely helps me plot out a story. Absolutely. I began my writing career as a playwright, and that’s what helps me add detail and color in terms of a book’s prose. That’s why, given my slight case of script burnout, I gravitated toward novel writing versus writing a TV or film spec script. It allowed me to wax more poetic in terms of mood and setting than I can in a script.

The Catering Hall Mystery Series is quite different from your Cajun Country Mystery Series, under the name Ellen Byron. Please tell us about that series.

I discovered Cajun Country when I was a student at Tulane University and fell madly in love with it. The fact there’s a region in this country with its own food, music, and even language absolutely fascinates me. I’ve always been an architecture buff thanks to my mom, who organized family vacations around visiting historical sites. In my Cajun Country series, a young artist returns home to Pelican, Louisiana—town motto, “Yes, We Peli-Can!”—to help her family run the family plantation as a B and B. And of course, a variety of murders charted through the series make this very difficult.

Is it a coincidence that the main characters from both series, Mia Carina and Maggie Crozat, have the same initials? 

No, it was total stupidity on my part. I didn’t even realize it until it was too late. And now I need to do a search through every book to make sure I’m using the right name. (Rolling eyes and slapping forehead.)

So what’s next for Mia and Maggie?

I’m super excited about both upcoming books. Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, the sixth Cajun Country Mystery, launches September 8^th. It revolves around Halloween, and you can imagine how much fun I had writing about Halloween in Cajun Country, especially since Louisiana proudly claims to be the most haunted state in America. (Spoiler alert: no ghosts in the story, but there is a rougarou, the Cajun equivalent of a werewolf.)

And in Long Island Iced Tina, the next Catering Hall Mystery (March 2021), a stolen painting that mysteriously appears twenty years later sets off a wild chain of events, including murder. And there’s a fun subplot for Lizabetta, Mia’s nonna. The late husband of a close friend appears to his widow in a dream telling her that he was buried without shoes and he needs some. So to help her friend, Lizabetta goes from one funeral to another trying to sneak a pair of shoes into an open casket. This storyline was inspired by a real conversation between my nonna and mother that I was privy to. My mother has no memory of this, but I’ve never forgotten it!

Thank you, Ellen/Maria. 

To find out more about Ellen Byron (Maria DiRico), follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and at www.ellenbyron.com.