What Will I Do on My Summer Break?

Dear Readers,

I always find these month-of-blogging gigs pretty tiring, and I tend to take a break from regular postings on that blog for a while. During the break from "Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time", rest assured I will be busy!

But if you miss me too much, there are many archived articles and recipes and support pages on this site. Oh, and check out the book club kit for Mission Impastable. Have fun exploring the site.

So what will I be working on?

I need to finish Prime Rib and Punishment by the end of June if I want it out to you by Thanksgiving!

I must research what I need to begin books three, four, and five: Ancient Grease, Cooks in the Can, and Potluck. Here's a sneak preview of each:

Prime Rib and Punishment (lots of meat recipes) takes place a few months after the end of Mission Impastable. Alli and Gina are still struggling to support themselves as personal chefs, but they also now teach at the newish cooking school in their hometown of Glendale, AZ. The owner of the school loves them. His executive chef, not so much. Chef Fournier only respects classically trained chefs and these homecooks are anathema. He and Alli have an especially bumpy relationship. Murder, mayhem, and menus abound!

Ancient Grease (many Mediterranean recipes simplified Alli-style) takes Alli and Gina on an Aegean Cruise where they get a free trip in exchange for being demonstration cooks on the ship. The format of this culinary mystery is different. There are five novelette mysteries (in different locales) in one book. They are linked by being on the same cruise, but each mystery can be read independently of one another. Tentative novelette titles include "On the Lamb", "The Garden of Eaten", and "Something Fishy". They visit "The Garden of Eden Theme Park" which wasn't much fun for one visitor. Somebody goes overboard. Jewelry disappears from a locked stateroom. Smuggling of illegal food products gets someone killed. This format will be fun to try. Can I do a mystery in 10-15 thousand words?

Cooks in the Can (featuring many recipes made with canned goods) has the financially struggling Alli and Gina cooking as substitute cooks for inmates at the Maricopa County Jail. They uncover evidence of fraud that jeopardizes someone's life. And Pearl, BFF of Gina's mom, has twin brothers who were swept up and jailed, inadvertently, she claims. She wants Alli to spring them, legally or illegally.

Potluck (dishes for group dinners and recipes to add cannabis to) finds Alli and Gina back in Glendale where Alli wants to take advantage of the medicinal properties of cannabis to create a new food product line for their "Wild Cinnamon" business. Gina is absolutely opposed to branching out that way so their whole business plan is jeopardized. The illness of a client tugs heartstrings and then the pain hits even closer. And who killed their supplier?

So, that's what I'm working on! I hope you enjoy the mysteries I've got planned for you! See you in June!