Maintaining good personal relationships with their suppliers is one of the secrets of the Cackleberry Club Café’s success, so Suzanne doesn’t mind going out to Mike Mullen’s dairy farm to pick up some wheels of cheese. She’s looking forward to a nice visit with the mild-mannered farmer before heading back to their hectic kitchen.
 
But when she arrives, Mike’s nowhere to be found. The moaning of his cows leads her to look in the barn, where she discovers a bloodcurdling sight—the farmer’s dead body. Apparently not everyone was as fond of Mike Mullen as the Cackleberry Club.
 
Churning with grief and outrage, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni vow to find the farmer’s murderer—but as they get closer to the truth, the desperate killer gets whipped into a frenzy and plans to put the squeeze on them…

Egg Drop Dead is the 7th Cackleberry Club mystery and I will definitely be going back to catch up with this series. Suzanne, Toni, and Petra were such affable, believable women, that mid-way through the book I felt as though they were people I really knew, and not just characters in a story. Add to that a well-paced mystery and you have a really enjoyable cozy.

I was lucky enough to get the chance to ask Laura a few questions recently. Enjoy the interview, and be sure to keep reading afterwards for a chance to win your own copy of Egg Drop Dead!

The Cackleberry Club is a perfect “cozy” setting. Is it based on a real place, or did it come completely from your imagination?

The Cackleberry Club is a compilation of a whole bunch of little cafes that I’ve visited throughout the Midwest. These are little hole-in-the-wall places that you stop at for a piece of pie, then realize they are selling ice cream cones in the next room, and carnival glass, Mason jars, and old issues of Life magazine in the back room. Kind of a fun, homey, crazy quilt kind of place.

Do your friends and acquaintances ever find their way into your stories?

Once in a while I borrow their names, but I never depict their personalities. It’s a lot more fun to conjure up my own characters. Then I really do have absolute control over them!

As the author of multiple series, do you ever find it difficult to keep the characters and settings straight?

Not really. Before I started writing mysteries, I ran a marketing firm for twenty years. At any given time, we might be creating campaigns for ten to twenty different clients. Compared to juggling that type of intense creative work, writing three mystery series is a snap.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?

Reading, shopping, wine tasting, art collecting, traveling with my husband, and hanging out with Asia and Moosha, my two Shar-Pei dogs.

I always enjoy asking this one – Coffee or Tea? I know you also write the Tea Shop Mysteries, so does that mean you’re a tea lover yourself?

Hah! I’m really a Diet Coke fiend. That’s what jump starts me in the morning so I can write all day long. But I do love tea, especially Japanese green tea. My husband (Dr. Bob) is a professor of Asian art, so I’ve been lucky to have traveled and tea tasted all over China, Japan, and Indonesia.

What books are you reading now?

 Chaos by Patricia Cornwell and I just finished Escape Clause by John Sandford and Night School by Lee Child. Since I’ve just written two thrillers (Little Girl Gone and Shadow Girl) I’m really studying the thriller genre and trying to pick up writing tips from the best.

What shows have you been binge-watching?

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Walking Dead. How’s that for a strange dichotomy? Now if zombies could only go shopping on Rodeo Drive!

Thank you so much Laura!! 🙂

Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win one of two print copies of Egg Drop Dead (US Only)

 About the Author
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

December 4 – Varietats – Review
December 5 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW
December 5 – Varietats – REVIEW
December 6 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
December 6 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW
December 7 – MysteriesEtc – REVIEW
December 7 – Readeropolis – REVIEW
December 8 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 8 – Queen of All She Reads – GUEST POST
December 9 – Island Confidential – INTERVIEW
December 9 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW
December 10 – The Editing Pen – REVIEW
December 11 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
December 11 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
December 12 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
December 12 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
December 13 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
December 14 – Texas Book-aholic – REVIEW
December 14 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – INTERVIEW
December 15 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
December 16 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW
December 17 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – REVIEW
December 18 – Booklady’s Booknotes – REVIEW