Jennifer DiCamillo is in the Garden

Good morning everyone. It's a nice day in the garden. I hope none of you have allergies because the flowers are in bloom. I want to welcome, Jennifer, it also looks like she has brought some friends. Everyone please help yourselves to some refreshments and then we'll begin.

Jennifer: Hi, Mary. It’s so nice of you to invite me to your blog. I brought along two friends of mine. I hope you don’t mind.

Mary: Of course not, everyone’s welcome here.  Wait. I recognize these detectives. Folks, we are lucky to have Detectives Beth Thompson and Mike Barber from that serial killer case chronicled in Jennifer DiCamillo’s book FOUR DEAD.

Mike: My pleasure. (Mike reaches around Beth to shake Mary’s hand.)

Jennifer:  If they hadn’t been after a serial killer, I could’ve named my book after The Dating Game, you know that game show of the 70’s?

Mike: But we were after a serial killer.

Beth: And we caught him, too!

Mike: I had to, for my own sanity.

Mary: That’s right, he was after reheads, wasn’t he? Like Beth?

Beth: Yes, women who fit my profile. I have to tell you, it was eerie looking at our S.K. board—all those pictures of his victims. (She shudders.)

Jennifer: I’d rather talk about The Dating Game. Beth made Mike crazier than the serial killer did. Didn’t you, Beth?

Beth: Oh, I hope so! He plays his emotions close to his chest, so close you’d think love was a poker game.

Mike: Ok, I’ll admit it—it was all I could stand, watching her go out with my brothers that last week of the case.

Mary: Isn’t that a time when you’d normally work round the clock? Feeling the heat, so to speak?

Beth: Yes. But I thought I was a target. I didn’t want to die before I found true love. So, you could say the timeline the serial killer set had me on edge in more ways than one.

Mary: So, what’s this about dating his brothers? The two of you are engaged, aren’t you?

Beth: Yes! (She holds out her ring finger which sports a single carat of SI diamond in princess cut.) We are now. But back then, well, I had to meet them when I saw their pictures.

Jennifer: All very handsome men.

Beth: Very different though.

Mike: I’d rather talk about the serial killer.

Beth: You’ll have to excuse Mike, he has some jealousy issues.

Mike: Only because they, uh, you taunted me during that last hellish week… All I wanted to do was keep her safe.

Beth: I just wanted to find love. The fairytale, Happy Ever After, all the things a girl dreams of.

Mike: (Through gritted teeth) We were chasing a serial killer!

Mary: Pretty grueling case?

Beth: Frustrating. We had very few leads.

Mike: Four bodies found in back alley dumpsters over the course of four months.

Jennifer: It was in all the papers.

Beth: We had a map with four pin points.

Mike: We did the routine background checks.

Mary: Anything connect?

Beth: That was another thing, the only thing the victims had in common was hair color.

Jennifer: There were more clues. I should know, I wrote the book. I don’t think we should talk about the case any more. It hasn’t gone to trial yet.

Mary: So, are you saying this killer may go free?

Jennifer: If he does, I’d write a sequel to Four Dead. I’m talking to my publisher, Mojocastle, right now, about the possibilities.

Mary:: I thought most of their titles were overly graphic.

Jennifer: Not bloody, but yes.

Mary: But you let them publish your masterpiece anyway?

Jennifer: (Laughing) Masterpiece? There is a little sex in it.

Beth: Well, the book is good. She pegged Mike perfectly.

Mike: And Beth gave her all the particulars about what distractions we had to deal with on the case.

Beth: You know a good book is all in the details, Mike, just like any sensational case…any case for that matter.

Mary: What will you do now that you’re retired, Beth?

Beth: Well, I hope he’ll follow through on his promise of marriage.

Mike: I’m a man of my word.

Beth: His father wants a grandchild to pass on the family name.

Mike: (groans) It’ll just be another one of his pawns.

Beth: (aghast) Mike! How can you say that? On the internet where things never disappear?

Mike: He’ll use it to his advantage or won’t be satisfied with just one.

Beth: The man has nothing sons. Ever think he’d just be happy with one little girl grandbaby?

Mike: (groans again)

Jennifer: On that note, I think we should go. Mary, thanks again for having us. Come over to my blog http://www.jenndicamillo.wordpress.com sometime soon.

Thank you Jennifer, Mike and Beth for visiting my garden, I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did.

Welcome Clare O'Donohue

I'm very excited to have as a guest blogger, Clare O'Donohue! Everyone pour yourself some wine and find some shade. Without further ado, here's Clare:

Recently, I was trying to explain to someone that I wrote my latest novel, Missing Persons, in ten weeks. It is, by far, the fastest I have ever written a book, and considering it’s also my longest novel, at just over 85,000 words, it’s a pretty mean feat. The best explanation I could come up with for how it happened so fast is that I vomited this novel. Nice image, huh.

But that’s, more or less, what it felt like. This book, its characters, its story… all came to me fully formed. I often woke up in the middle of the night with a scene so clear in my head that it was easier to turn on my computer and write the pages then try to go back to sleep. I wrote for ten or twelve hours on some days, spending more time with fictional people than with real ones. But I had no choice. My main character, Kate Conway, would just not go away until I told her story. Who knew imaginary people could be so insistent?
Part of the speed was certainly because I’d been kicking around two ideas for a while. One was about a TV producer of a true crime show. My day job is as a TV producer and I know from personal experience that you meet a lot of nutty people in that job, so it seemed ripe for a mystery series. I had this idea for a missing nursing student, a seemingly perfect young woman who might have had a lot of secrets. Exploiting those secrets would make for great TV but would hurt the family, and Kate would be stuck between her instincts as a producer, and her humanity.

 The other idea was about a woman in the middle of a divorce when her about-to-be-ex-husband dies. This, thankfully, is not based on any real life experience, but on an observation I made one day. When a marriage, or any relationship, ends, there is a tendency to focus only on the bad about a person. But when someone dies, there is a tendency to focus only on the good. It seemed a great place to start a character, someone in the middle of hating her husband, when his death shifts the narrative and forces her to confront her own mixed feelings about her marriage.

When I put these two ideas together, I realized I had something. As a TV producer your job is often about manipulating emotion, but it’s hard to do when your own life is an emotional roller coaster. Kate is sarcastic and often dislikes being too involved with people, so to pump up the emotion even more, I added her opposite. A kind, friendly woman named Vera, who happens to be Kate’s late husband’s mistress.
With all that going on, I knew immediately where it was going. I knew how the television show would work out, I knew what had happened to the missing woman, and I knew exactly what that final moment in the book would be. It was as if I knew Kate and Vera, and all the others in the book. At that point is was about getting the scenes written as fast I could type, so Kate would let me get some sleep. With that kind of pressure, and a growing exhaustion, it’s almost surprising it took so long to write.

Missing Person's blurb:

The debut of an exciting new mystery series featuring a sarcastic television producer turned amateur sleuth. 

The cause of death is "undetermined," but the cops peg Chicago television producer Kate Conway as the main suspect when her soon-to-be ex-husband, Frank, is found dead. To make matters worse-and weirder- Frank's new girlfriend suddenly wants to be friends.

Happy for the distraction, Kate throws herself into a new work assignment for the television program Missing Persons: the story of Theresa Moretti, a seemingly angelic young woman who disappeared a year earlier. All Kate wants is a cliché story and twenty-two minutes of footage, but when the two cases appear to overlap, Kate needs to work fast before another body turns up-her own.

Reviewed by Christine:

Rating: 5 



I really enjoyed the sit on the edge of your seat style about this book.  It is as if you are reading two mysteries in one!  In the beginning of the book it is as if Kate Conway is a cold hearted TV producer.  Keep reading and you will never guess how this turns out until the very end.  This is defiantly a book that I could not put down.  I would recommend this book to anyone who would listen.

Regan is in the garden

Welcome my good friend Regan. It’s finally spring or maybe summer in the garden, so the flowers are in bloom. I hope no one has allergies, back in the day it was hay fever. Have some wine or a beverage of your choice, I believe there are some mint mojito’s. Anyway help yourself to drink and appetizers and settled in for a great interview.

Mary: I would love to hear all about ‘Regan’ that is not the writer. Where did you grow up, and what shaped your life?

Regan: I grew up in a small town on Long Island. My grandmother, Nana, was probably the best part of my life growing up. She had make sense values that are still applicable today.

Mary: Tell us about living in/or by one of my favorite valley’s, Napa. I’m so jealous. LOL.  *Regan if you do not want to answer this because you don’t want people to know you live in or around Napa just delete.

Regan: I live about a half hour away from the Napa Valley but in terms of place, it’s like entering a whole other world. One of my favorite places there is the Castello Di Ameroso. It’s a replica, down to the exact stones in the courtyard, of a 15th century Moorish castle. No matter what time of year there is always something going on and, of course, wine tastings for the best in the world.

Mary: Oh, I'm glad to hear that, we are going to visit Castello Di Ameroso when we visit my sister in law this fall. Now tell us about Regan the writer. Also, what books influenced you growing up.

Regan: Anything and everything by Alexandre Dumas and Charles Dickens. My favorite days were the ones where I could sit alone in my room reading for hours on end. It’s still one of my favorite things to do.

Mary: Do you have a some you admire? Someone who you reflect on when you’re ready to throw in the towel and give up writing?

Regan: No, not really. I mostly write because, well first I can’t not write and second, it’s my way of traveling to any time and place that interests me. Through research and my own imagination I get to be where ever my characters take me

Everyone take a moment to stretch and refill your glasses and plates.

Mary: Regan, what books do you have out? And where can we find you, such as a web site, etc.

Regan: My 18th is due out this summer. Sometimes I find it hard to believe I’ve written, and had published, that many. Then I chat with friends of mine like Sherry Derr-Wille who just released, I think, her 100th or close to it. My website is www.ReganTaylor.com and my blog is http://regantaylorsworld.blogspot.com.

I’m published with Awe-struck (www.awestruck.net), eXtasy (www.extasybooks.com), The Dark Castle Lords (http://www.thedarkcastlelords.com) and Siren-bookstrand (www.siren-bookstrand.com)

Mary: What is the one thing you wished someone had told you before you embarked on this crazy writing journey?

Regan: You know, I’ve been pretty lucky. All along the way I’ve had great advice from people who have been in the business a long time. So many of them are incredibly generous with their time and advice.

Mary: Now for the fun stuff. When you’re not working or writing, what do you do to relax?

Regan: Relax? Himmmm. Okay, I work a 40 hour a week day job with an hour commute each way every day. I do read 3-4 books a week during that commute. Until about a year ago I had a kitty named Molly who had kidney disease the last 5 years of her life—she lived to her 22nd birthday which is quite a feat for a kitty, especially one with the kind of health issue she had. Her medial regime which included fluid therapy twice a day took time each day plus her brother, Mel, needed attention as well. Whatever I did for Molly (and at one time my kitty Ginny) Mel had to have too. Molly had a sub-q fluid set up; Mel had a bag – empty but it had a line and I’d have to hold it near his neck so he “got” fluids too. Molly needed several medications and Mel also had a bottle of “meds” – it was a vial of water with a syringe just like Molly’s and he also got “meds”. And when it was all done, he’d look at me and wait for me to tell him he was a good boy – just like I told Molly she was a good girl.

With their care on my plate and my work schedule, free time just didn’t happen. My escape though, my whole life, has been reading, pretty much anything and everything. You know the phrase “so many books, not enough time”? That would be me.

Mary: What type of food do you like? Do you have a favorite restaurant in your area you’d recommend?

Regan: Pretty much anything except scallops and sea cucumber. My absolute favorite are chocolate covered cherries. My favorite restaurant is the Red Lobster cause I do love lobster. Although, we have a restaurant in my town called Stars that has a variety of dishes that are fabulous. We go there at least once a week and always have our favorite waitress, Nicky, to chat with.

Mary: As you know I love to post recipes at the garden, do you have any to share?

Regan: You mean like cooking? Um, well, I boil a decent egg, but that’s about it for me. If it doesn’t go in the microwave, it doesn’t happen. That said, I have a solid appreciation for anyone who does cook!

Thank you, Regan, for entertaining us in the garden today. Please come back and visit.

Concert Ho Series in the garden continues

Sorry I've been a bit MIA this last week, however, I've still had this stupid head cold. It's all I can do to get through the day job. I missed Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and concert ho that I am, you know I had to be almost dead sick to miss that. Ron said that it was awesome. In fact, the opening group was so good that he though the Big Head Todd would be a let down. He was pleasantly surprised.

My last Friday evening though, even though I'm not 100%, I was not about to miss another concert. I am so glad I made it. We saw Buddy Guy, and opening for him was Mavis Staples. I couldn't believe how good they were. I'm not sure how old Mavis is, but Buddy is 74. I'm a lot younger and wished I had his moves. Good grief the man can play the guitar. I came home and bought one of his albums on iTunes.

And as always the Venue, Red Butte Gardens was awesome and relaxing. I had taken some video's with my phone, but for some reason I can't get them to play. So here are some links and pictures.

Mavis Staples - I'll take you there (Though the one I did at the concert was much more fun, dang phone)

Buddy Guy - Sweet Home Chicago (This was in 2006 so he was a bit younger)

On a whole I give this concert 5 1/2

Wine and Murder

Last week I had an interview with some wonderful people from the Kiler Grover Winery where I had my wine tasting and book signing on June 10th. And since then I've pretty much been MIA. That's because even though I had the best time at the signing, I was also coming down with something and the cool air in the wine making room hammered the nail in my sinus cold. I've been sick and miserable since. Next time? I'm wearing a dress jacket.

Enough complaining about my cold. For those who could not make the signing, here is a recap. We had a tasting, the winery had 4 wines to taste--all were awesome:
2008 Trebbiano - http://www.kgwwine.com/Product.aspx?prdid=23
2009 Interpretation - http://www.kgwwine.com/Product.aspx?prdid=27
2005 Zinergy - http://www.kgwwine.com/Product.aspx?prdid=4
2007 Zinergy - http://www.kgwwine.com/Product.aspx?prdid=20

Then next to the tasting we had my daughter-in-law and her mom, LeeAnn, designs in glassware.

And of course I was the last in the chain of tables.

No wait the last table held two give-aways and the food. Probably the most popular.

I feel that the even was a total success, we all had fun and I believe sold some of our wares.

Thank you to everyone who dropped by. I hope to do it again soon!

Cajun Black Beans and Rice

Once again I've found a use of the Cajun spices I mixed up. Ron (my husband) says this recipe has a bit of Mexican thrown in because I use Jalapeños. Those are optional, especially if you do not want a kick.

Cajun Black Beans & Rice 6 - 1 cup servings
15 oz. Black Beans, drained
4 cups cooked white rice
1/2 jalapeño chopped - Optional (Seeds will make it hotter also)
1/4 cup onion chopped
1/4 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup green bell pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp Cajun Spice

Add beans and chopped veggies to a pan and warm while cooking rice. When rice has started to soften add to beans and mix thoroughly as you add the spices. Cook until rice is tender.
214 Calories per 1 cup serving. 0 Trans fat, 0 saturated fat, 0 Cholesterol, 573 mg Sodium, 45 g Carbohydrates, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 2 g sugars and 8g Protein. Vitamin A 5%, Vitamin C 25%, Calcium 4% and Iron 14%

Serve with Louisiana Hot Links (170 Calorie per link) Salad and a crisp white wine. If you go with the spicy jalapeño Riesling is the best.

Marilyn Meredith, is in the garden today

Good morning everyone, today we have Marilyn Meredith. AKA F.M. Meredith, I just love saying AKA, don’t you? It’s finally spring, almost summer here in the garden. Pull up a chair or make yourself comfortable on the grass. Help yourself to some refreshments if you’re hungry. Before we start, here is a bit of background on our guest.

F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of nearly thirty published novels. Her latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, from Oak Tree Press, is Angel Lost. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Internet chapter , Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. 

Visit  her at http://fictionforyou.com and 

her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com

Mary: Rocky Bluff sounds like a great series. If you don’t mind I’m going to call you F.M. mostly so Mary and Marilyn doesn’t get confusing. Now for our guest, but for me. I’m sure I’d mess up and put the same name for answer and question.  Anyway, if everyone is settled in with their refreshments, let begin. I have your blurb on Angel Lost. 

As plans for her perfect wedding fill her mind, Officer Stacey Wilbur is sent out to trap a flasher, the new hire realizes Rocky Bluff P.D. is not the answer to his problems, Abel Navarro’s can’t concentrate on the job because of worry about his mother, Officer Gordon Butler has his usual upsets, the sudden appearance of an angel in the window of a furniture store captures everyone’s imagination and causes problems for RBPD, and then the worst possible happens—will Stacey and Doug’s wedding take place?

And here’s one from a fellow author that I love:

"A pervert threatens women joggers on the beach, a robber threatens wealthy homes on the bluff, and an angel watches over the townspeople from a downtown window.  F. M. Merediths' latest Rocky Bluff P. D. novel is a gentle human drama about loneliness and change, through which the reader is pulled, page after page, by an assortment of compelling criminal curiosities."

C. N. Nevets is an author of psychological suspense.

Mary: Wow, this sounds great! F.M. can you tell us where to buy, and find more information about this book?


F.M.: Angel Lost is available from Amazon.com and for an autographed copy, you can order from my website http://fictionforyou.com and you can read the first chapters of most of my books there as well.

Mary: You have some great reviews on this, can you steer our guest to where they can read them? Also, how do you find review sites for your books?

F.M.: Most of my reviews are on the Amazon.com website under the book. I’ve collected review sites over the years and you can always do a Google search for mystery reviewers. If you belong to DorothyL you can offer a book for someone to review and do a drawing. Good reviews on DorothyL are really helpful.

Mary: I’ve been scavenging your web site, it’s a great site by the way, anyway do you do your own trailers? If so how do you compose them, organize, etc. If now how do you find people to do them for you?

F.M.: I love my trailers, but I can’t take credit for any of them. The latest were done by Cheryl Malandrinos who did it for me as part of a paid blog tour. There are lots of folks out there who do them though, and one way to find them, of course, is to look at the credits at the end of a trailer, another of course, is to go to Google. There is a great deal of difference in how much people charge, so take that into consideration too.

Mary: Is everyone comfortable? There’s more wine and appetizers, if you’d care for some. So, F.M. can you tell us what was the first book you read over and over until the pages were dog eared? And how old were you at the time?

F.M.: The only book I remember reading over and over was Gone with the Wind. I read it when I was a pre-teen and as a teen and again as an adult. My mom and I went to see the movie five times.

Mary: Good grief, do you know how many pages that book has? I know it's on my night stand. Who inspired you growing up? Was it that person who inspired you to dream of being an author?

F.M.: My dad thought I could do anything and bragged to everyone how good I was at everything from writing stories to swimming. When I was an adult with kids he told my teenaged nephew that I could beat him swimming. The kid had his own pool to swim in and I only had the ocean. I wasn’t too happy with my dad, but we raced across the pool and I won by sheer determination. I don’t think I took one breath. Because of my dad, when I decided to become and author I just kept on writing, submitting, rewriting, submitting, until I finally found a publisher—sheer determination kept me going.

Mary: Is there anything you’d like to add? Anything you’d like to tell young authors?

F.M: Read the kind of books you want to write. Learn as much about writing as you can through books, going to writers’ conferences, and finding a critique group to join. Learn to really edit your work. When you’re ready to send out queries and manuscripts follow the agents’ and publishing houses’ guidelines exactly. Each one wants submissions in different ways. And never ever give up.

Thank you, Marilyn, for joining us in the garden today. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having you.

Kiler Grover Winery in the garden

Good Morning everyone, do you think maybe spring has finally sprung in the garden? Let’s so hope. Today we have a special treat, Mike Knight and Rhea Cook are in the garden. Mike is the owner, and Rhea the Tasting Room Manager at Kiler Grove Winery and Tasting Room. And they’ve provided our delicious wines today. Help yourself to a glass and some fingers foods also. Take a seat and let us get started.
Before we begin, if you'd like a history of the winery please visit the Kiler Grove Winery web site. I've tried to keep my questions to topics, not found on the site.

We're going to begin with Mike Knight, the owner of Kiler Grove Winery. We'll find out about the business side, before we turn to the yummy tasting part.
Mary: Is the fact that the grapes grown in California and processed in Utah, cost prohibitive? With the high cost of gasoline, could you be producing the wine in California at a lower cost and higher profit? 
Mike:  Yes, it is expensive to send the grapes and wine up and down the highways, and risky too, but having been denied a tasting room (among other restrictions) for our winery the expense and risk of transportation become moot points as we wouldn’t have had a chance for success under those San Luis Obispo County restrictions that were attached to the approval of our permits.
Mary: Why Utah with all its peculiar liquor laws?
Mike:  While Utah’s laws are goofy they are not prohibitive to the extend San Luis Obispo laws are. 
Mary: You make six variety of wines is there any other variety in your future?
Mike:  We are contemplating several additions to our line-up.  I am very keen on the idea of a late harvest zinfandel.  Zin makes a very good late harvest prospect on our vineyard as it is the earliest to ripen and could therefore run the course of the late summer and autumn giving us the chance to get some extra sugars plus some raisining in time to harvest before rains come.  Also we have a north facing slope to our vineyard which has not been planted yet, but which may lend itself to another white grape such as Albarino, or Godello, or Fiano, or Falanghina, or…
Mary: Mmm, I like the sound of a late harvest zinfandel, I'm going to have to keep in touch. Obviously most wine makers produce wine because they love the art of wine making. Would you continue to produce a quality wine if it were not profitable? 
Mike:  Yes, but it would be in my garage.  Cheers!
Mary: Your wines are so great, we'd find you! Anyone need a refill? Or some more food? Let’s take a small break before we continue. Rhea, are you ready now?

Mary: Rhea, can you tell us a bit about your background. Have you always lived in Utah? What are your hobbies outside of work—though I think your job sounds like a hobby.
Rhea:  I've lived in Utah since the mid-70's, most of my life, so at this point I consider myself to be a native.  And you're right...wine is my favorite hobby, as well as my work, so I'm very lucky to be able to do something I love for a living.  In addition to wine, I  enjoy traveling, reading, cooking with my friends and family, and spending time outdoors.  I also love the arts, and attend performances of music, ballet, opera, and theater whenever I can.
Mary: This question is a little tricky to ask. At this point, I’d ask if you’d always worked in the wine industry, but we’re in Utah, is that even possible? I was shocked to find a winery here. So let’s word it this way, have you worked in other wineries before this? If so, where?
Rhea:  My background has always been in health care;  working in a winery is something I've always wanted to do, but never got an opportunity until now.  Whenever I travel I visit wineries and tasting rooms when I can find them, and have tasted wines in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii,  Arizona, Colorado, and New York, as well as California, and always knew being around wine and wine lovers would be a fascinating occupation. 
Mary: Oh, we have so much in common! We visit wineries wherever we go. How did you find such a fun job? Did you know the owners prior? Or did you see a job posting a beat everyone else to the punch?
Rhea:  Elva Knight, one of the owners, and I share a mutual friend, so I heard about the winery from her and she put in a good word for me. 
Mary:  Can you tell us a typical day at the winery? What are your duties?
Rhea:  I'm usually only there when the tasting room is open, so on those days I arrive a few minutes early to get set up, which includes opening the wines and bringing then to the ideal serving temperatures, setting out glasses, snacks, water, etc. and stocking shelves.  When customers arrive my focus is on welcoming them to the winery, educating them about our wines, answering any questions they may have, pouring small amounts  of the wines for them to taste,  and hopefully selling them wines from our small retail store to take home and enjoy.  Other duties include keeping the facility clean and tidy, communicating with our customers by e-mail and other social media, and helping Mike in the production area in any way I can with blending, bottling, and labeling.
Mary: Do you have a funny story about working at Kiler Grove? If so, can you tell us?
Rhea:  Maybe not a funny story...but the most FUN we have is definitely on bottling days.  We usually do this on a Sunday afternoon, when we can call on some of our friends and customers who have volunteered to come in and help us.  We set up the bottling line and everyone takes part.  We have food, beverages, and tons of fun while getting a lot done in a short time. Recently we bottled about 1500 bottles of the 2009 Interpretation, our Rhone-style red wine.
Mary: I’m excited to host a Wine Tasting and Book signing (details below) at the winery. Rhea do you have many events at the winery? If  so tell us a bit about them.
Rhea:  We've had several memorable events so far.  We don't have a lot of room, so attendance is limited to about fifty, but we had a wonderful grand opening party on March 2.  More recently we've hosted members from Wasatch Mountain Food and Wine, Meet Up.Com, the NUTS (Northern Utah Tasting Society), and Grape Expectations.  We've also had a few birthday parties and pre-dinner get-togethers.
Mary: Rhea I know you’ve read my Classic Murder: Mr. Romance, what do you think? Now remember what Thumper’s mother said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Just kidding, honestly how did you like it? (I love putting people on the spot)
Rhea:  I enjoyed it very much.  I found the main characters, Adam and Katie, very fun and engaging, and loved the little twist at the end.  Kiler Grove is very excited to be a part of your event....we're all looking forward to this weekend!
Mary: Thank you, I love hearing from readers!
Thank you, Mike and Rhea, for visiting my garden. I cannot wait until Friday! 
By the way, you are all invited to the Wine Tasting and Book Signing extravaganza--yes anyone reading this! 
Here are the details promised:
Where: Kiler Grove Winery and Tasting Room

53 W. Truman Avenue (2330 South)
Salt Lake City, UT

Mary will be signing her newest book release, Classic Murder: Mr. Romance. Guests will be encouraged to mingle while sampling wines from Kiler Grove Winegrowers and delicious hors d’oeuvres. (they are going to be yummy!)
Featuring Glass Directions and Art Studio
Owner/Artist—LeeAnn Honeyman Nay offering engraved stemware and other glass designs. On display or custom ordered during the event. For more information www.glassdirections.com
Books and Glassware: cash or check only







Win a Book Bag full of goodies:
A Bottle of Kiler Grove Wine, a pair of butterfly wine glasses designed by LeeAnn, a signed book of Mary's. A signed copy of Hearts through Time by Marie Higgins. A DVD of Arsenic and Old Lace, Healing Waters Blue Gardenia Bubble bath, Mint creme sticks Candle and holder, and Creme de Pirouline Artisan Rolled Wafers (Dark Chocolate)
Every person who purchases something at the event--whether it is wine, book or glassware--will get a ticket in the drawing for this bag full of goodies!
For more information about the event email mary@marymartinez.com 

It's summer in the garden

It's time for light and fun dishes. How about some pasta veggie salad? Now remember I have a big family, so it's a big recipe. Great for a side with BBQ chicken or anything really.

Veggie Pasta Salad 14 / 1 cup servings
2 - 13.25 Oz boxes of Rotini Pasta --cooked and drain
4 Radishes chopped
1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper chopped
1/4 cup yellow Bell Pepper chopped
1/4 cup green Bell Pepper chopped
1 cucumber (large) diced
1/2 can olives sliced
1/2 red onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes cut in half
Toss pasta and veggies.
Dressing
1/3 cup Olive Oil
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp crushed chili's
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp savory
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp marjoram
Grind all the spices/herbs together add to vinegar and oil and whip thoroughly. Add to salad and toss until coated evening. Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

1 cup serving, 274 Calories, Total fat 7g, Saturated Fat 1g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 23mg, Carbohydrate 44g, Dietary fiber 6g, Sugars 4g, Protein 7g. Vitamin A 4%, Vitamin C 24%, Calcium 3% and Iron 11%

A nice crisp white wine goes nice with this salad.

Tasty fast dinner

It's summer--well in some part of the world it is, we can't even get spring here in Utah. However, with busy lives, fast is always good. So here's an idea for a quick easy dinner.

Cajun pork chops, sweet potatoes and salad.

Cajun pork chops 2 servings
2 chops -your choice of size chop
in a bowl put the two chops. Pour 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over to coat. Then take 1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning and rub thoroughly into the meat. Cover and let sit at least 30 minutes then grill.
Calorie depends on chop size, the olive oil is 50/60 calories and seasoning is 13 calories.


The sauce on the potatoes needs to be a little less pasty! sorry about that. But tasted great.
Sweet Potatoes
2 sweet potatoes baked and split in half.
In small sauce pan mix the following:
1/4 cup Fat Free Half & Half
1 Tbsp Butter - w/canola oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
Heat until a little thickened. Takes only a few minutes Do not cook too long or it will turn into a paste like mine did. It is still tasting, but it need to be just a little more saucy. spread over potatoes.
1/2 mixture serving size 79 Calories, Total Fat 3g, Saturated Fat 1g, Cholesterol 2 mg, Sodium 76 mg, Carbohydrate 12g, Dietary fiber 2g, Sugars 2g, Protein 1g. Vitamin A 6%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 8% and Iron 7%.

Then add a salad and your choice of wine and you have a 30 minute dinner.

Lindsay Downs is back in the Garden

Welcome to the garden everyone! Today I have a return guest, Lindsay Downs. The last couple of times we didn’t discuss books/writing though. If you’d like to get to know him outside of the writing arena check out his lasts two interviews: interview one and interview two.

Please visit the refreshment table before we begin. Grab a seat and settle in. You too, Lindsay.

“Hey Mary,” Lindsay calls. “You did get the Chard for me didn’t you?”

Mary: Would I have you as a guest and not have a Chardonnay for you? Shame on you for even asking!

Just an FYI everyone, this picture is Kebi Lindsay's collie, not Lindsay, LOL. There is so much going on in publishing today; traditional, electronic, small publishers and self-publishing. Your new release, Target Identified is self-pubbed is that correct? What led you to this decision?

Lindsay: There you’re right. Kebi’s better looking and since I used him or at least his name and persona in the book I thought you’d like to see a picture of a real character, in more ways than one. Except in the book he’s a she.

Mary: I always thought that when you self-published that you did everything yourself, and you had to pay booku bucks. Can you tell us a bit about the process?

Lindsay: Well Mary, you’re partially right in that you have to do everything yourself. Find someone to do the cover art unless, and I’m not, graphically inclined. Depending on who you choose and how complicated you want the cover it can run into big bucks. The person I use is Rae Monet and she has done all my artwork to date-website, T-shirt, business cards and now the book cover. She knows what I want and gives me perfect results every time. And she’s worth every penny I pay, which is confidential. For the final edits it wasn’t looking for the best or most expensive but finding that one person I had trust in. Putting the book together wasn’t that hard as I had an eBook of how to format the end product. In all the end expenses weren’t as much as I’d anticipated. Time to do it all is the biggest expense.

Mary: Now that you’re through with edits, and your book is available. Are you glad you choose that route?

Lindsay: Actually, I am. Yes. Selling the book through Amazon and Smashwords the royalty rates are better, which doesn’t hurt and I’ve got control of the process. I also don’t have to wait twelve to eighteen or more months before the book comes out. Having gone the small press route I had to do most of the promo work myself. I’m hearing the same with the larger publishing houses. More and more the author has to do their own promo or pay someone to set things up for them, so if I have to, why not get paid for it with the higher rate.

Everyone okay? Fill up your plates and glasses, we still have to hear about Target Identified and you’re not going to wanna miss that!

Mary: You hear me, so tell us how you came up with the idea for your new release.

Lindsay: Actually the idea first came to me back during Desert Storm when there were several friendly fire incidents. That’s part of the story. The other, also military oriented, was taking an existing piece of Army equipment and having a specialized company manufacture a new weapon similar to the existing one. Then everything sort of just fell into place. And since I write from the female POV that made everything so much easier and fun. One element I’d wanted to include in a book was a dog, but not as a walk-on, walk-off character. I wanted the dog, in this case a collie, to take an active role in the story.

Mary: Is this going to be series? What’s next?

Lindsay: Yes, this is the first in ‘The Target Series’. The second, Target Acquired, should be coming out in the late fall is set in England. Then, as if I don’t have enough to do, I’m in the process of developing a spin-off series, Special Agent Emily Dahill Series. SO you can get an idea about this series I’ve got a series of short stories staring her and Dakota on my blog- http://murdersandmysteries.wordpress.com. I’m not sure when the first book in that series, Terror on the Mountain will be released.

Mary: Can you give us a blurb? And how about places where we can find the book to purchase, where people can find you, web site, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Lindsay: Here’s the blurb for Target Identified, available now at Amazon and Smashwords.

Target Identified 
The body count continues to rise. Unexplained stock transfers persist. Is there any connection between the two, or is it coincidence?

Ezra Swanson receives a mysterious note. Far more cryptic than the one he’d received the year before.
On the anniversary of her brothers funeral Alison Swanson observes a soldier place something by his headstone. Could this person hold a clue to what’s been going on, or is he the stranger she’d met twice before?

When she returns to Myrtle Beach, Sergeant Richard Bosch, the soldier from the funeral, is also staying there along with his collie.

Alison and Richard return to her parents’ home in DC only to find someone has kidnapped her father.
During their attempts to rescue her father, Alison and Richard confront a possible suspect, Shane Goodrich.
Unfortunately, he has the perfect alibi.

Richard is captured when he sets out, with the help of several special ops friends, to rescue her father.
Now it falls on Alison, her feminine logic and planning to save not only her father but also Richard.
Identified and cornered will the perpetrator of the murders, kidnapping and stock thefts escape; or will they get what is coming to them?

People can find me at-
my website http://lindsaydowns.com
my blog- http://murdersandmysteries.wordpress.com
Twitter- @ldowns2966
Facebook- Lindsay Downs
LinkedIn- Lindsay Downs

Review by Mary Martinez
Alison and Richard are attracted even before they're properly introduced and the chemistry builds from there. Target Identified is full of quirky secondary characters that includes Kebi the Collie--you'll want to keep your eye on Kebi as you read. Lindsay's characters also have great taste, like Sumatra coffee. Alison is by far one of the strongest heroines I've read in a long time. The story makes it easy to overlook the bit of head hopping, I found. Lindsay's story is full of twists and turns and surprising... And that's all I'm going to say on that, because I honestly do not want to give anything away. Some of the military technology went over my head but Lindsay did the necessary homework. If you like suspense, this is a must read.
Target Identified earned:



Buy Links: Amazon and Smashwords

Thank you, Lindsay, for joining us in the garden again. Drop by any time!

Welcome Jean Henry Mead to the garden

Good morning everyone, welcome Jean Henry Mead my second guest in Mystery We Write Blog Tour. We’re all in for a treat because Jean is not only a novelist but a photojournalist. I hope you brought your jackets, it can still be a little breezy in the garden this time of year. Grab yourselves some refreshments, and let’s begin.

Mary: It sounds like you’ve lived a very diverse writing life. Could you tell everyone a bit about your background, how you started, etc.

Jean: My first writing job was as a news reporter for my hometown daily newspaper while I was a college student serving as editor-in-chief of my campus paper. I was also, at that time, the divorced mother of four young daughters. I worked 35 hours a week at the newspaper and drove 25 miles to the next town to attend classes, carrying 15 credit hours each semester. It makes tired just thinking about it. I remarried and we moved to San Diego where I served as a staff writer, photographer and editor. We then moved again to my husband’s home state of Wyoming where I worked for the statewide newspaper and was later editor of In Wyoming Magazine. I also freelanced for various magazines, domestic and abroad, including the Denver Post.

Mary: What were you like growing up? Before the novelist, journalist or photojournalist? And what inspired you to go in the direction you have?

Jean: I was a shy child with four younger brothers in a neighborhood with no other girls. So I was a tom boy who liked to read. I’d walk three miles every Saturday to a library in Los Angeles and return home with an armload of books, both fiction and nonfiction.  I also liked to sing and I played the violin badly in orchestra, but was chosen as the soprano to represent my high school in the Los Angeles All-City Choir. I also wrote my first novel when I was nine but didn’t write another until many years later after I had published five nonfiction books.

Mary: In your bio, it states you were in San Diego for a while. I love San Diego. Please tell us a bit about the city. What your favorite restaurants were and what you did for relaxation. Did the city inspire any of your books?

Jean: I also love San Diego, but I lived there during the late 1970s and can’t remember the names of any restaurants. We had five children at home at the time and I don’t think we could afford to go anywhere but McDonalds and other fast food restaurants. My husband was in the navy and my news reporting job didn’t earn much over $400 a month. I wasn’t writing books at that time, so the beautiful city didn’t inspire anything but awe.

Mary: There’s more appetizers and drinks if anyone would like some more, help yourself. Jean, when writing, if you come to a scene and your mind goes completely blank—as in stumped what to do next—what do you do to bring the characters back and focus on your writing?

Jean:  Journalism teaches writers to sit down and begin writing. You can’t keep your job by staring at the screen, so that has carried over into my novel writing. I always have more than one project going at the same time, so if the characters in one book decide to go on strike, I go to another. I currently have three projects under construction: an historical Western, a children’s mystery and the fourth novel in my Logan & Cafferty mystery/suspense series.

Mary: You’ve had a wonderful career, I’m sure you have some advice for the newbie writer. What is it?

Jean: Persistent is more important than talent in this business. If you really want to become a published author (with a traditional publisher), you have to have patience, tough skin and learn from rejections. Also important is submitting your best work. Put it aside when you consider it finished, and take it out a month later to read as though someone else had written it. Then edit and polish again. If you can afford a freelance editor, by all means hire one. There’s less than stellar work flooding the market by self-publishers, which can ruin a fledgling writer’s reputation. So always make sure it’s the best you can produce. My first novel took ten years to research, write and publish and it’s still my best selling book and has sold three times. Several others were written quickly and haven’t sold nearly as well, so I know from experience that editing and polishing contribute to a good reputation.

Mary: What is your current release? Can you share with us a blurb and where to buy?

Jean:  Murder on the Interstate is the third novel in my Logan & Cafferty mystery/suspense series. I think the blurb written by Carolyn Hart sums it up pretty well:

“Careen into crime with two intrepid sleuths who outwit terrorists in a fast-paced plot taken from today's headlines. A page turner.”

Murder on the Interstate is available at Amazon.com and other online outlets in print, Kindle, Nook and ebook and can be ordered from bookstores.
Barnes and Noble Print
Amazon Print

View Trailer here.

Mary: Great trailer, thanks for sharing. Last, is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to share?

Jean: I like to add humor and light romance to my novels, and aim to entertain as well as inform. My novels—as well as my nonfiction books— are heavily researched and based on relevant facts.

Mary: Thank you, Jean, for visiting with us today. I hope you have had a great time.

Jean: I had a wonderful time and I love your garden. Thanks for inviting me.