Tag Archive for: One Taste Too Many

Recognition, Writing and the Ladies Room

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 Recognition, Writing and the Ladies Room by Debra H. Goldstein

Do we write for recognition? Or, is it something in our
blood that makes it impossible to do anything else?  I’ve heard many people say, “I write because
I have to” or “Even if I never become a New York Times bestseller, I have
stories that need to be told.” These remarks may be true, but let’s face it,
even the shyest among us loves to be recognized.  Of course, there are preferred time and
places to be singled out.

When I was doing my first Sarah Blair book tour for One Taste Too Many, I flew from Alabama to Michigan for
two speaking engagements.  In the waiting
area, I noticed a compact curly white haired woman. Her multi-colored plaid
shirt made her standout from the grey crowd waiting for the plane to load. When
we got on the plane, our eyes met for a moment, but we both looked away.

After we landed, I did the age old action of jumping up,
grabbing my stuff, deplaning and heading for the restroom. As I was coming out
of my stall, she exited the one across from me and said, “Debra?”

“Yes/”

“I’m Becky.” How nice. 
I had no idea who Becky was, but I could tell she believed herself to be
a long lost friend. “I loved that mystery conference in Birmingham.”

Clue number one – she attended Murder in the Magic City in
February. She must have remembered I was a panelist this year. 

“I was sorry to miss that conference with Reed Coleman conference.  I just love that Reed Coleman.”

I hastened to agree with her. While she gushed on about Reed
and his books, I racked my brain trying to remember how we knew each other
while sticking my hands under three different sink soap nozzles before one
finally worked.   Distracted wondering
about some of the people wandering the airport who had been in this bathroom, I
glanced up to see she was already drying her hands.

“You spoke to our book group years ago, before we disbanded.
I liked your Maze in Blue book and your talk was funny.”

 Eureka, now I knew
where we’d met. “If you enjoyed that book, you might like my new one, One Taste Too Many.  It was released a few weeks ago. In fact, that’s why I’m here in Michigan.  I’m doing two book talks and signings”

“Can I get it on my kindle? 

After I replied in the affirmative and pointed out it was
only $3.99 for the e-book, she smiled. “I’ll have to get it. I’m on my way to
my vacation house for three weeks. What did you say the name of the book is?”

“One Taste Too Many.” Thinking like the marketer I
have had to become, I asked: “would you like a bookmark?”

“Oh yes,” was the answer. 
Only problem, she was ready to walk out of the bathroom and my hands
were still under the running water.

“Um, here, let me dry my hands.”

Another woman and I grabbed for the small piece of exposed
paper towel.  I won, but it wasn’t enough
to do the job.  In the meantime, the
other woman got the next two sheets. I finishing the drying process on my
jeans, searched inside my purse for a bookmark, and proudly presented it to
her.  She smiled and slipped it into her
pocket.

We walked out of the bathroom together – a fan and an author
whose only thought was “Now, I know why they say never approach an agent in the
bathroom.”

—-Since then, Two Bites Too Many and Three Treats Too Many have been published. Four Cuts Too Many comes out May 25, 2021, but is already available for pre-sale.  And here’s a secret, Kensington is running One Taste Too Many on various promotions for $1.99 for the e-book —a better price than Becky paid.

My World is Upside Down

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My World is
Upside Down by Debra H. Goldstein

I should be
promoting my new book, Three Treats Too Many, the third book in the Sarah Blair
mystery series that was released last week, but I’ve been busy. We moved.

Moving is not for
sissies. Moving is not for anyone. It’s exhausting – especially if you sell the
house you lived in for fifteen years in seven hours and need to move into
temporary housing ten days later. This translates into moving everything you own
into 3 storage bins. Six weeks later, everything came out of storage and was
brought to the house.

The kitchen alone
had just under 40 boxes to unpack, but we got them done.  Other than needing to go through some more
books and get a stand for my printer and a record player, the boxes downstairs
are gone.

Anyway, I’m going
to cut myself some slack this week and ask you to consider doing three things:

1) Join me and other members of Booklovers Bench  (Maggie Toussaint, Nancy J. Cohen, Cheryl
Hollon, and Anna Gerald/Diane A.S. Stuckart) for our Fall Cozy Mystery Party on
September 14   https://www.facebook.com/events/1221072701585246 

2)   
Think about purchasing or having your library
purchase Three Treats Too Many – or read it and pass it on to a friend.
Remember, it is a standalone, but for one day, today, September 11, you can get
a kindle or e-book copy of One Taste Too Many for only $1.99 –https://openroadmedia.com/

3)   
Grab a book, mine preferred, curl up somewhere
and enjoy a few hours of respite.

Countdown to a Joyful Form of Insanity

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Countdown to a Joyful Form of Insanity by Debra H. Goldstein

Two things I’ve noticed reading the Stiletto Gang blogs for the past few years is that we are a diverse group of women in terms of ideas and lifestyles and we are a group of overachievers. There isn’t anyone in the group who isn’t over-extended in terms of family, writing, volunteering, handling health issues, teaching, or things I’m not even aware of.  Occasionally, in a post, we bemoan our status or announce we are prioritizing our lives, but the fact is there isn’t anyone whose picture appears on the side panel who ever fully has changed her lifestyle. While there might be some who have learned to balance better than others, the truth is we’re all some version of a Type A personality.

Periodically, I say I’m going to slow down and smell the proverbial roses, but I don’t. Right now, I’m in a countdown to true insanity. As you know, One Taste Too Many, the first of the Sarah Blair cozy mystery series, was published in January 2019. Although it already is up for pre-order, the second book in the series, Two Bites Too Many, will be in stores on September 24. Because of the close sequence of these books, I’ve been feeling mildly pressed.

In the past two months, I’ve turned in the final copy of the third book in the series, celebrated the birth of a grandchild, attended festivals and conferences as I continued promoting One Taste Too Many (btw, Kensington has reduced the e-book to $1.99 through October 1), and started writing blogs and other promotional pieces in anticipation of the release of Two Bites Too Many.

It sounds like a lot, but it works because I do one thing at a time, but even I’m a little nervous about

the next three months. The reality is I’m not good at balancing promotional activities with the other things I need to do. Somehow promotion always takes longer than I anticipate or when I finish a public speaking engagement or attending a conference, I have an adrenaline drop that makes me only want to do laundry or veg out in front of the television.

So what’s on my agenda for the next three months? Family obligations, which always come first; Kensington cozy cons, conferences, speaking engagements; my Birmingham book launch at Barnes and Noble at the Summit 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, October 6 and at Little Professor on October 17 from 4:30-7; the writing of blogs and other promotional pieces tied to the new book or that I write on a monthly basis; trying to make time to work out; and, beginning to write the fourth book in the series (yes, Kensington has contracted for a fifth and sixth book in the series which means there will be more Sarah Blair in 2020, 2021, and 2022).

I don’t think I’ll see daylight until December, but I’m not complaining. In some ways, I thrive on this type of insanity. What about you? What tips you into feeling insane? What makes you happy?

I’m on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and I Don’t Want to Get Off

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I’m on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and I Don’t Want to Get Off by Debra H.
Goldstein

The first
time I rode Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, a dark attraction at Disney, I loved it. It
was fast paced, had quirky turns that led to unexpected encounters, and was
fun. I look at everything to do with One
Taste Too Many as being like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

In reviews,
the book has been called suspenseful, fast paced, and edgier than most cozies.
I think that’s because I tend to write a cozy that edges into the traditional
mystery. I have the cat, small closed setting, cast of suspects, and murder off
the page, but I also have numerous quirky turns and unexpected encounters. As in
Mr. Toad’s Ride, where when intellectually I knew nothing would happen, out of
a fright response, I put my hand up once or twice to avoid something touching my
face or jumping out at me, there are red herrings and twists to keep readers on
edge.

From the
moment of One Taste Too Many’s
launch, it has been a wild ride. Expected and unexpected reviews have been
favorable and plentiful, blogs galore have appeared (forty-four plus, but whose
is counting?), I had the delightful opportunity to write four blogs with one of
my favorite writers, Barbara Ross, comparing our cooking styles (non-existent),
settings (North and South), regional food, and showing what might happen if the
characters from Steamed Open and One Taste Too Many met, and people have
been genuinely kind and excited for me.

There is a
lot of work involved with launching a book. I’m not particularly good at
juggling PR duties with writing, and while I’m trying to move my work in
progress along, I’m savoring every moment of my wild ride.  Thanks for being on it with me!

One Taste Too Many:

For culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one
thing scarier than cooking from scratch—murder!
Sarah knew starting over would be messy. But things fall apart completely when
her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by her twin sister’s award-winning
rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah, her Siamese cat, wanted by the woman who broke
up her marriage and her twin wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to
figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out.
Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates,
catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate
worse than death—being in the kitchen 

Untitled Post

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My Little (Southern)
(New England) Town by Barbara Ross and Debra H. Goldstein

It’s axiomatic that settings in cozy mysteries are a part of
the subgenre’s appeal. In the ideal cozy series, the reader mentally moves into
the series setting. People who don’t read cozies often think the towns are
generic, but actually, a setting for a cozy has to specific. Even if the town is fictional, it needs to feel like it could exist for the magic to work.

Debra H. Goldstein
and Barbara Ross both recently
released mystery novels. Debra’s One
Taste Too Many, the debut in her Sarah Blair Mystery series, takes place in
Wheaton, Alabama. Barbara Ross’s Steamed
Open, the seventh in her Maine Clambake Mystery series, takes place in
Busman’s Harbor, Maine.

Recently, Debra and Barb got together to talk about the
differences between their small southern and New England towns.

Barb: First off,
Debra, congratulations on your series debut. So exciting!

Before we dive in, tell the readers something about Wheaton, Alabama.
Is it a real town? Is it near

a bigger metropolitan area?

Debra: Thank
you!  Except for the bridge and river
walk I stole from Wetumpka, Alabama, Wheaton

is a composite Southern town. A center
square houses its Alabama crystalline white marble public

buildings, including
city hall, the library, and the fire and police departments. Standing in the
square, one can turn in three directions to find where most of Wheaton’s five
thousand residents reside. While married, Sarah and Bill lived in a big home on
Main Street, with his mother in the carriage house behind them. The streets in
the fourth direction contain businesses, including the law firm where Sarah
works and the strip center with the restaurant where her twin is employed. There
is a big city fight going on as to whether Main Street should be rezoned as an
entertainment district.

For contrast and excitement, I located Wheaton about fifteen
minutes from Birmingham, the largest city in Alabama. Birmingham has more than
two hundred thousand people and has become a foodie destination


How about Busman’s Harbor? Does it being a tourist town have any impact
on your series?

Barb: Busman’s
Harbor, Maine is also fictional, though it has a lot in common with Boothbay Harbor,
Maine where my husband and I owned a house for many years. As the name
indicates, the town is on the water and the primary occupations are lobstering
and tourism. The populations swells to over 20,000 in the summer, but is only a
little over 2,000 in the off-season. Midcoast Maine is beyond the more
populated southern part of the state, but it’s still a lot more populated than
other parts of Maine

Being a tourist town has a huge impact on the Maine Clambake
Mysteries. My protagonist, Julia Snowden, runs a tourist business, an authentic
Maine clambake. One of the really fun things about writing the series is the
effect the seasons have on the stories. One thing my town has that I imagine
yours doesn’t is big snowstorms. There’s one at the climax of the fifth book, Iced Under.


Does being Alabama-based have any significant effect on your series?

Debra: As you
noted, we don’t get many snowstorms. Every few years, though, we have an ice
storm that completely closes everything and, unfortunately, we have a tornado
alley. Other than the weather, being Alabama based influences my character
portrayal. My protagonist, Sarah Blair, speaks slower and softer than, for
example, a New Yorker. Many residents, like her mother, are colorful story
tellers; all of them take religion, politics, friendship, loyalty, and their
animals very seriously; and, none, except the Sarah we meet in One Taste Too Many, have a problem
looking anyone straight in the eye and saying, “Bless your heart” before
delivering an expression of sympathy or an insult. 

Do your characters reflect your region of the country?

Barb: I’m
laughing because the main regional trait all my characters have in common is
that they don’t feel the need to chat when they run into one another in the
grocery store, and they don’t butt into (or even comment on) each other’s
business, which is occasionally handy when I don’t want Julia to get information
too quickly. My Main-i-est character is Gus, the proprietor of a restaurant and
Julia’s landlord. Gus only serves people who he knows, no tourists. He is based
on a real person who really did that. Julia’s mother comes from a wealthy
summer family, which is another kind of Mainer.

What about the food in your series? Is it regional?

Debra: For dishes
prepared by Chefs Emily, Marcus, or Jane, I incorporate a lot of farm to table
fresh ingredients, but there are some recipes that must be breaded and fried.
Sarah, being allergic to her kitchen, uses as many pre-prepped short-cut foods
and methods as she can find.

Barb: The other
difference to my mind is the food. In addition to the clambake, the recipes in
my books focus on seasonal, local ingredients, so lots of fish, chowder and
wild Maine blueberries.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barbara Ross is the author of seven Maine Clambake Mysteries. The latest, Steamed Open, was released December 18,
2018. Barbara’s novellas featuring Julia Snowden are included along with
stories by Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis in Eggnog Murder and Yule Log Murder. Barbara and her husband
live in Portland, Maine. Visit her website at http://www.maineclambakemysteries.com

Steamed Open by Barbara Ross

It’s summertime in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and the clamming
is easy—or it was until a mysterious new neighbor blocks access to the beach,
cutting off the Snowden Family Clambake’s supply. Julia Snowden is just one of many
townspeople angered by Bartholomew Frick’s decision. But which one of them was
angry enough to kill?

Judge Debra H.
Goldstein is the author of One
Taste Too Many, the first of Kensington’s new Sarah

Blair cozy mystery
series. She also wrote Should Have Played
Poker and 2012 IPPY Award winning Maze
in Blue. Her short stories, including Anthony and Agatha nominated “The
Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” have appeared in numerous periodicals and
anthologies including Alfred Hitchcock
Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and Mystery Weekly. Find out more about Debra at www.DebraHGoldstein.com

One Taste Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein

Sarah knew starting over would
be messy. But things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly
poisoned by her twin’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah, her cat,
wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police
for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before
time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral
paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean
facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Many-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496719476

The Importance of Pre-Orders by Debra H. Goldstein

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The Importance of Pre-Orders by Debra H.
Goldstein

Until I
became an author, the only time I thought of pre-ordering a book was when I
knew a new Harry Potter was being released. Once I was published, I heard from
other authors that pre-orders were extremely important. Knowing that the first
book in my Sarah Blair cozy mystery series, One Taste Too Many, releases on December 18, but is available for
pre-order now, I decided to research what the importance of pre-orders is.

 It turns
out there are several reasons to encourage (beg) for pre-orders:

1)   
If publishers see books are receiving numerous
pre-orders, they will increase the print run. More books being printed means
the publisher will put more advertising help toward the book because it doesn’t
want to get stuck with unsold books. More promotion translates into additional
sales.

2)   
Pre-orders are reported in first week sales. People
often have a surge during their launch parties, but the additional numbers
created by pre-sales may help a book make a national or local best-seller list.
Word of mouth and recognition again translates into more sales.
3)   
Whether Amazon, other online sources, big box stores
or independent booksellers receive numerous pre-orders, they will tend to stock
more copies of the book. Often, the booksellers will check out and potentially
promote a book that customers are showing an interest in.
4)   
Authors want publishers to accept their next
books. Publishers want to sign authors whose books sell. Pre-order numbers serve
as an indicator to a publisher as to whether there is interest in additional
works by an author.

5)   
Pre-orders are especially important when a
series is debuting its first book. Few know of the existence of the series, so
it is important to use any means possible to build excitement and interest immediately.
One of the best ways to do this is through high numbers of pre-orders which
catch the eye of booksellers and readers.

Now that
I know how important pre-orders are, I hope you will consider spending $7.99 (paperback)
or $4.99 (e-book) to pre-order One Taste
Too Many from one of buy links listed below.

About One Taste Too Many:

For culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one
thing scarier than cooking from scratch—murder!

Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty‑eight, Sarah Blair reluctantly swaps
her luxury lifestyle for a cramped studio apartment and a law firm receptionist
job in the tired town she never left. With nothing much to show for the last
decade but her feisty Siamese cat, RahRah, and some clumsy domestic skills,
she’s the polar opposite of her bubbly twin, Emily—an ambitious chef determined
to take her culinary ambitions to the top at a local gourmet restaurant.

Sarah knew starting over would be messy. But things fall apart completely when
her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by Emily’s award-winning rhubarb crisp.
Now, with RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted
by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack
the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good
china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about
it could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!

Pre-Order/Buy Links:

Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/One-Taste-Too-Many/Debra-H-Goldstein/9781496719478