Guest Post: So Why Would a Suspense Novel Have Recipes?

I met Kim at a Left Coast Crime conference and asked her to review MISSION IMPASTABLE on her wonderful blog, Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder. She is an extremely supportive friend to the culinary mystery family, and we’re delighted that she has joined us with her new book. I just read A GAME OF DECEIT and will be reviewing it here next month. Be sure to get your copy! Welcome to Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time, Kim!

Sharon, thanks for having me on Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time! I love your tagline: mysteries, recipes, cooking tips, food facts, and more. When a person typically thinks of mystery books they don’t automatically associate food with the story.

As I started writing my suspense novel, A GAME OF DECEIT, it had a darker edge and I didn’t plan on adding a food element to the story. However, over the course of several rewrites and the development of supporting characters, a variety of mentions of dishes started to creep in. At first I wasn’t sure what to think of the addition of food but the more culinary cozy mysteries I read the more I embraced the idea even though my book is a suspense. As a result, A GAME OF DECEIT became somewhat of a crossover book, mostly suspense with a bit of a cozy mystery feel.

My protagonist, Kathryn Landry, is a loner and definitely doesn’t cook. I created circumstances that would force her to learn to accept the help of friends, specifically her grandmotherly assistant, Marianne. Marianne, on the other hand, is a great cook and it was fun to write situations for her talents to shine.

When I first started writing A GAME OF DECEIT I was in my late thirties, a bit older than my protagonist, Kathryn. Over the course of my rewrites and putting my manuscript in a drawer and ignoring it for a few years (okay, a lot of years!), I became Kathryn’s assistant’s age. I think it’s safe to say that Marianne took on many of my own attributes such as a love of baking and cooking for others.

Sharing meals together and chatting about the ongoing mystery over food seems to be a more natural way to discuss important information and a way for the characters’ personalities to be exhibited. Once the dishes made their way into the story I started thinking, “Why not add the recipes?” At the encouragement of several authors, I decided to do just that.

I enjoyed experimenting and trying out my recipes to get the measurements just right since I’m more of a “little bit of this and a little bit of that” type of cook. I also decided that I really needed to research the proper way to write recipes. If I was going to share my recipes with people reading my book I wanted to make sure that my recipes were easy to follow. Fortunately there are several good tutorial books and information available online that are readily available.

The other thing that inspired me to include recipes with my suspense book is 2-1/2 years ago I started a blog called Cinnamon, Sugar and a Little Bit of Murder. My blog’s focus is to showcase authors, their mysteries, and recipes that they include in their books.

Cinnamon, Sugar and Little Bit of Murder has allowed me to connect to so many authors who have been very supportive of my own writing. In addition, my blog has given me a creative outlet in the kitchen along with developing my photography skills. Of course, the bonus is getting to sample so many yummy dishes and treats. Now when I read a book, I’m always paying attention to the food that is mentioned and often want to try the dish myself at home. I appreciate when authors take the time to include the recipes and wanted to do the same thing for my readers.

Please share this post with others. Thank you!

Facebook: Curious why a suspense novel includes recipes? See why I blurred the line between the suspense and cozy genres. And there’s prize! Just comment, and be entered in a contest to win a copy of A GAME OF DECEIT. http://bit.ly/2yn2ONi

Facebook: According to Kirkus Reviews, debut suspense novel, A GAME OF DECEIT, by K.A. Davis is “An impressive thriller…” and can be purchased at: https://goo.gl/8muPuf or comment to be entered in a drawing at Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time.  http://bit.ly/2yn2ONi

Twitter: Blurred lines between #suspense and #cozy #mysteries. Guest blogger, K.A. Davis, dishes about it http://bit.ly/2yn2ONi Comment for contest

Twitter: Kirkus Reviews: A GAME OF DECEIT, K.A. Davis, “An impressive thriller…” Contest http://bit.ly/2yn2ONi or buy https://goo.gl/8muPuf

K. A. Davis lives in Southern California with her husband, near wildfire country. During the Portola Hills fire in October 2007, she had to evacuate her two young granddaughters, one of whom has Rett Syndrome, as a wall of flames crept towards their home. Thankfully, due to the brave efforts of firefighters, their neighborhood was spared. She used that event as inspiration for one of the scenes in her suspense book.

In addition to authoring suspense novel, A GAME OF DECEIT, she writes the Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder blog and has several children’s articles published in a variety of magazines. When not busy with her granddaughters, she can be found writing her next book and blog, baking, or working on her photography skills. K. A. Davis is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Links:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Kim-Davis-Author-1532277473479031/

https://www.facebook.com/Cinnamon-Sugar-and-a-Little-Bit-of-Murder-187400864778608/

Twitter: @Kookiesandbooks

Websites:

http://kimdavisauthor.com/

https://cinnamonsugarandalittlebitofmurder.com

Purchase A GAME OF DECEIT:

Amazon: https://goo.gl/8muPuf

Barnes and Noble: https://goo.gl/Q6uVZP

Kobo: https://goo.gl/28Nsdo

Apple: https://goo.gl/sVzo6B