Table of Contents
Book Club Kit
for: Mission Impastable
By Sharon Arthur Moore
Published 2014 by Oak Tree
Press, California
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Summary
of Mission Impastable
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1
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What
Do Reviewers Say?
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2
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Author
Biography
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3
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Excerpted
Interviews with the Author
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4
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Do
You Want to Skype with Sharon Arthur Moore?
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6
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Pasta
Recipe from the Culinary Mystery, Mission
Impastable
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7
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Reader’s
Guide to Discussing Mission Impastable
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8
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DVD
with Mission Impastable Book Trailer
and Alli and Gina’s Cooking School Video for “Hermosillo Salsa”
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9
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How
to Contact Sharon Arthur Moore and Find Her On-line
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10
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Books
in the “Dinner is Served” Series
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11
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|
Other
Culinary Mystery Authors You Might Like
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12
|
|
Did
You Wonder about …?
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13
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Tips:
How to Run a Book Club Discussion
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15
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Book Club Kit: Mission
Impastable 1
Summary of Mission
Impastable
Gina and Alli, best friends
since 2nd grade, have a rocky start-up to their personal chef
business when their first customer, Gina’s boss at her day job, ends up
poisoned. Since they are the prime suspects, Alli sets out to clear their
names. She finds there are many who wanted the dreaded “Dragon Lady”, her
nickname at the hospital, out of the way.
Perhaps she was murdered by her
abused administrative assistant, or the former CEO ousted when she was hired,
or the antique dealer who sold her a jade dragon, or maybe by her husband who
might have a gambling problem.
Along the way to solving the
mystery, Alli confronts abandonment pain from her past. When she unmasks who
killed the hospital CEO, she also deals with a threat to Gina’s family. Alli
does what she must to get the murderer in jail despite the angst she suffers
from the revelation.
Book Club Kit: Mission
Impastable 2
What Do Reviewers Say?
Mission Impastable is
the ultimate cozy cooking mystery. The heroine Alli is a modern version of Lucy
Ricardo from the old I Love Lucy TV
series. She and her sensible best friend Gina Smithson become entrapped in a
robbery and murder as they try to start a business as personal chefs. The
action is constant as Alli tumbles from one escapade to another, and the cast
of characters is large enough that the villain is not obvious. A great, fun read.
Alli’s recipes look
innovative and good. Who wouldn’t want to try Chocolate Chocolate Kick Cookies
with ground coffee beans, cocoa, and chocolate chips?
--J.L. Greger, author of Coming Flu and Murder: A New Way to Lose Weight
A delightful cozy mystery featuring lots of
yummy-sounding recipes. Friends, Alli and Gina, are trying to start their home
catering business. However, until they are established, Gina needs to continue
her job at the local hospital. The plan changes when the Dragon Lady, Gina's
boss, is poisoned. The cooks become suspects because they have been preparing
the lady's meals. Lots of twists and turns lead the girls--and the reader--down
an ever-changing path to the solution.
--Lorna Lund Collins, author of Murder . . . They Wrote and Ghost Writer
Mission
Impastable’s delightful heroine, Alli, and her equally delightful friend and
business partner, begin a personal chef service, Dinner is Served, but a murder
complicates everything. Besides the clever premise, the description of great
meals, intriguing characters, and the quest to solve the mystery, at the back
of the book are some recipes to die for. (Pun intended.)
--F.
M. Meredith, author of Murder in the
Worst Degree
Gina and Alli are the kind of friends you want in
the kitchen or at your side in the event of a murder! “Mission Impastable” has
great characters, an intriguing mystery, and lots of great recipes. I look
forward to more of Gina and Alli’s adventures in and out of the kitchen!
--Amy M. Bennett, author of End of the Road
Mix
together two life-long friends and their newly formed business partnership as
personal chefs; stir in a stolen jade dragon, adultery, family dysfunction, a
nasty and very dead client, and a large helping of suspects; add a dash of an
eccentric mother and a pinch of a couple of potential love interests; don’t
forget the red herrings; move all the ingredients from the back burner to the
front; let simmer until they begin to boil; skim off the guilty party after it
bobs to the surface; and you have a no fail, delicious recipe for a culinary
mystery series. For extra seasoning, check out the recipes at the end. Mission Impastable
is the first in what I hope will be a long-running series. Kudos to Sharon
Arthur Moore for a fun and engrossing mystery. I’m hungry for more.
--
Ilene Schneider, author of the award-winning Rabbi Aviva Cohen Mysteries,
Chanukah Guilt and Unleavened Dead.
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 3
Author Biography
Growing up in Ohio
farm country, one of Sharon’s earliest memories is at age four standing on a
kitchen chair stirring scrambled eggs. That was just the beginning. This early
interest in cooking delighted her mother who could cook, but who clearly didn’t
love it as much as Sharon did.
At age 12, her
favorite aunt gave her a spice rack filled with exotic spices like basil and
tarragon. To that point, the only spices in her home had been cinnamon, pepper,
and salt, which her mother used like a spice. Seeing the unwrapped spice rack,
her mother turned to her aunt, horrified, and asked, “What have you done?”
Even as a child,
she was always trying to create a better version of something she had eaten. It
is no surprise that she didn’t always succeed, but she kept trying. Today she
continues that derring do and is always trying to figure out how to create a
new taste adventure in quick and easy ways.
A reader and
writer from a young age as well, she gravitated naturally to reading and then
writing culinary mysteries. “Writing mysteries is the hardest writing I have
ever done,” she claims. “Not only do you have to write the main story line
whodunit, but you have to create multiple other plausible story lines for the
other suspects. I love it!”
Sharon is happily
married to a man who will eat anything, bless his heart. They have three sons,
a daughter, daughter-in-law, and grandson. She writes in a variety of genres
from plays to short stories to paranormal to historical fiction to women’s
fiction to naughty. She believes jumping around in multiple manuscripts keeps
writer’s block at bay.
Book Club Kit: Mission
Impastable 4
Excerpted Interviews with
the Author
COMING SOON
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 5
COMING
SOON
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 6
Do You Want to Skype
with Sharon Arthur Moore?
What is Skypeing?
Skype is a free download (for basic service) allowing you to
have a video and audio chat with people around the world. Other features allow
text chats or phone conversations.
How does it work?
1. You need a webcam, an Internet connection, and a computer with
microphone and speakers. (Also tablet, cell phone, TV, or home phone)
2. Download Skype for free for the basic program at www.skype.com
3. Open Skype from your desktop or start menu.
4. Create your account name and the name others will see.
5. There is a small charge for the calls.
6. Create contacts by clicking on the + (for Mac) or head and + sign (for
PC)
7. “Add New Contact” click and follow directions
8. The contact you added has to accept the connection, too. Skype will
notify you when they are added.
9. Tell your contact when you want to Skype (e-mail, phone, etc.)
10.Check if your contact is online. A green checkmark means yes; gray is
no.
11.You’ll see in the bottom, right hand side when your contact logs on. If
they have, the name will be in a list on the left side. Click on the name.
12.You can chat (text box at bottom) or talk.
13.Say good-bye, click on the red phone button at the bottom of the screen
How do we connect?
The contact information for Sharon Arthur Moore to put into
Skype is authorsam.
Request permission to add her to your contacts at
authorsam@gmail.com
Read more about
Skype:
http://www.skype.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTVElj-cg2w
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/tips/how-to-use-skype.htm
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA11098/getting-started-with-skype-windows-desktop
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 7
Pasta Recipe from the
Culinary Mystery, Mission Impastable
Lasagna Roll-Ups (serves 4-6)
This
is the second of the book’s pasta recipes. The book titles in this series will
signal what the focus is for recipes in each book.
Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed
and drained
1½ cups ricotta cheese
1½ cups shredded Asiago cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 2 teaspoons
fresh basil)
2 cups Sorta-Skinny Alfredo Sauce (recipe
follows)
Directions
1) Heat oven to 350°. Cook noodles to al
dente in boiling salted water. Drain and cool to handling temperature.
2) Mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup of Asiago, and
basil in food processor until slightly lumpy. 3) Pour into medium bowl and blend
in spinach.
4) Put one cup of Sorta-Skinny Alfredo
sauce in bottom of 9”x13” pan sprayed with Pam.
5) Put spinach-cheese mixture down the
middle of a noodle and roll-up from the short end to make a pinwheel.
4) Place pinwheels in the pan. Cover with
remaining sauce. Sprinkle on remaining Asiago.
5) Bake for ~35-45 minutes or until bubbly.
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 8
Reader’s Guide to Discussing
Mission Impastable
As you read, which character(s) did you think killed Clarice
Franklin and why? Did you figure out the culprit before the end? How?
How would you describe the author’s writing style? Describe
a favorite scene.
Besides the main characters, what stood out to you in the
story (setting, dialogue, another character, premise) ?
Which clues helped you think along with the mystery to solve
it?
How effectively did the author use plot twists and red
herrings?
Could you “hang out” with Alli or Gina? Why? What would you
do together?
Why is Alli torn about Cal’s revelations about their
relationship? What is their future relationship going to be?
Do you buy Craig/Cal’s explanation for Clarice’s death? Why?
Does Mission Impastable
rely or major or minor coincidences? In what way? Are they plausible?
Necessary?
In what ways was the ending satisfying? What do you think
happens next?
Which, if any, recipes did you try or plan to try? Why?
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 9
DVD with Mission Impastable Book Trailer and the
Cooking School Video for “Hermosillo Salsa” made by Gina and Alli
You can view the videos at
“Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time”
www.sharonarthurmoore.blogspot.com
OR
On YouTube at:
“Hermosillo
Salsa”
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 10
How to Contact Sharon Arthur
Moore and Find Her On-line
“Like” Sharon Arthur
Moore on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sharon-Arthur-Moore-Fan-Page/178609722159624
“Follow” her on
Twitter at:
@Good2Tweat
“Follow” her on Pinterest
at”
http://www.pinterest.com/authorsam/
“Comment” on Sharon’s
blogs at:
“Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time”:
www.sharonarthurmoore.blogspot.com
“Write Away”: www.samwriteaway.blogspot.com
View her YouTube
videos at:
“Hermosillo
Salsa”
E-mail her at:
authorsam@gmail.com
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 11
Books in the “Dinner is
Served” Series
Mission Impastable, Oak Tree Press, 2014
Prime Rib and Punishment, Oak Tree Press, 2014
Potluck, Oak Tree Press, 2015
Ancient Grease, An Anthology of Five Short Mysteries, Oak
Tree Press, 2015
Cooks in the Can, Oak Tree Press, 2016
The Taming of the Stew
Much Ado about Noshing
Fried and Prejudice
Glazed and Infused
Roux the Day
Under Lox and Quiche
Bone Appétit
Doughmestic Tranquility
Batterfingers
Loave’s Labors Lost
Wok and Roll
Fowl Play
The Grill Next Door
Tequila Mockingbird
Book Club Kit: Mission
Impastable 12
Other Culinary Mystery
Authors You Might Like
If you enjoyed Mission
Impastable, odds are good you would like other books in this cozy mystery
sub-genre. This is not an exhaustive list, merely a start for you. Though she
did not create the culinary mystery sub-genre, Dianne Mott Davidson is credited
with popularizing it.
Here are some authors to check out and get another two-fer:
a tasty mystery with a cookbook!
Allen, Robin Kilpak,
Josi
King, Peter
Beck, Jessica
Bishop, Claudia Lamalle,
Cecile
Brady, Jacklyn
McKevett,
G.A.
Cates, Bailey McKinlay,
Jean
Coyle, Cleo Myers,
Tamar
Culver, Carol
Page,
Katherine Hall
Davidson, Dianne Mott Pence,
Joanne
Davis, Krista Pickard,
Nancy
Dennis, Pat Pollard-Johnson,
Lori and
DuMond, Pamela Jeffrey
LeCompte
Fairbanks, Nancy Rich,
Virginia
Farmer, Jerrilyn Richman,
Phyllis
Fluke, Joanne
Scott, Michele
Girdner, Jacqueline Shelton,
Connie
Grogan, S.P. Shelton,
Paige
Swanson,
Denise
Hart, Ellen
Hemlin, Tim Temple,
Lou Jane
Hughey, Carolyn
Hyzy, Julie Washburn,
Livia
Weber, S. Kay
Johnson, Claire M. Wells,
Melinda
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 13
Did You Wonder about …?
Authors do a lot of research for each book they write.
Sometimes the research is on clothing or cultural/historical events. Sometimes
it is on locales in the book.
I thought you might be especially interested in two of the areas
I researched for this book: poisoning from plant extracts and how the personal
chef business works. Here is some of what I found:
Poisoning
Hubby is worried the NSA is suspicious of my computer
searches. He may have a point. What normal person would scour the Internet for
undetectable poisons? How to die an agonizing death? Where to buy poison? I
told him not to kill anyone, and we’re good!
One thing you learn is that there is no such thing as an
undetectable poison. Some are harder to find than others. Some don’t show up in
normal tox screens, but if they search with the right search parameters,
they’ll find it. Thus, the poisoner should be very careful to keep the trail
he/she follows as clear as possible. Craig/Cal did not. He left clues all over
the place. Maybe that is the most compelling evidence for his argument the
death was inadvertent.
I have files and dozens of pages on various poisons, their
side effects, and toxicity levels. I landed on the rosary pea for my
poison-du-jour because it is highly toxic, has debilitating side effects, and
could masquerade as part of the tropical plant hobby of my killer.
I almost chose using zinc to overdose on since the body
already has zinc in it, and it is not a normal poison to use. But the
overdosing has to occur over a longer time period than I had. It has some great
side effects however so the victim may not suspect poisoning.
Selenium is another drug I considered. Its most interesting
side effect is neurological problems. Think what a writer could do with that!
I’m not discarding this for future use. There are only so many ways to kill
people!
Read more at:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/abrin/basics/facts.asp
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/z/zinc_overdose/intro.htm?kcplink=1
http://www.easy-immune-health.com/selenium-overdose.html#ixzz11hAwZ7WY
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 14
Personal Chef
This is one of the fastest areas of growth in the food
industry. Have you noticed how crowded restaurants are ANY night. Eating out is
no longer an event for weekends only. People apparently have more money than
time, and they are willing to pay others for their nourishment.
The personal chef business is a wonderful niche. Mom or Dad
can throw a home-cooked meal on the table fast without all the attendant time
and mess issues around grocery shopping, measuring, dirtying pans, and so on.
Singles can avoid the fast food or cereal supper.
My protagonist and her partner itch to become independent of
bosses. They want choice in how to spend their working days. But they are not
so good with business sense. A real personal chef (author Carolyn Hughey) met
with me and set me straight. So I
have my PCs making mistakes they need to fix later.
Things are not going well with the PC biz in book two, Prime Rib and Punishment, so they take
on a teaching job at the local culinary institute. While there, they teach a
couple of courses on how to run a PC business. Doing the research for that (and
meeting a PC in the region) helps them figure out what they need to do to fix
the reasons they aren’t successful. They acknowledge what they did wrong and
then rectify their mistakes. They get pickier with clientele, learn business
basics, and business picks up. Life looks good!
Another thing they learned was how important it was to bring
their own tools since they couldn’t relay on clients having them and it was
just plain easier. In their supply box they have: an assortment of plastic
color-coded cutting boards, citrus zester, paring knife, chef’s knife, peeler,
large sauté pan, bamboo spoons, measuring cups and spoons, nesting stainless
steel bowls, storage bags and bowls, cookie sheets, large pot, mini-food
processor, colander, and spatulas. Sounds like good basics for any kitchen.
Authors need resources. But in the end, the mistakes are
those of the author, not the experts they called on.
In case you are interested in how personal chef-ing
works, try these resources:
www.personalchef.com/
www.uspca.com/
www.personalchefassociation.com/
Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 15
Tips: How to Run a Book Club
Discussion
|
Book clubs vary in organizational structures. Perhaps your
book club has everyone reading the same book and then you gather to discuss
your reactions. Or it might be that each month, each member brings a
recommendation for a book to read and spends a few minutes summarizing the
book and fielding questions about it. Sometimes the discussion prompts are
given in advance of the meeting to allow focused reflection while reading.
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No matter what structure you use, discussions are enhanced
when deep reading of the text leads to insightful comments. One should exit a
book club meeting feeling smarter!
Odds are you made the following decisions early on:
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When,
where, for how long, and how often to meet
If
there will be food served and what kind
If
you have a leader for the year or one who rotates with meetings
What
the leader’s role is
What
types of books the group will read/discuss and who picks them
Whether
you will read books with movie tie-ins
Who
develops the discussion questions/topics
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Perhaps these issues will never raise their heads in your
book club, but if so you’ll be more successful if you address what are
acceptable and unacceptable behaviors before your first meeting. You might have
people who:
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Behavior
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Possible Fix:
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Dominates the conversation
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Set a timer; everyone must share before one can share
again
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Bullies others to get them to agree
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Leader intervenes to say each opinion is to be valued
whether or not you share it
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Always hates the book chosen
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Rotate who selects books or put person on the selection
committee; rotate genres
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Never reads the book
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Decide before it happens how you will handle this for
members whose lives get complicated. Participating in discussions is okay.
|
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Gets off topic during discussion
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Leader intervenes to bring the discussion back in focus
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Book Club Kit: Mission Impastable 16
I provided discussion topics for Mission Impastable on page 9. However, you may want to develop your
own. Avoid Yes-No questions as that short circuits discussion. Either ask a
substantive question or raise a topic for an issue to discuss. What follows are
prompts you can adapt to any novel. This is certainly not an exhaustive list.
Generic Discussion
Prompts:
What personal meaning does this book hold for you? What
connections did you
make?
How does the author deal with broader social issues? How are
subcultures/belief
systems/political systems dealt with?
How did the author use symbolism? How do characters interact
with the
symbols?
What is the structure of the novel? (alternating points of
view, flashback, linear)
How
well does the structure match the novel?
What is the author’s theme? How well does it work for this
book?
Authors often revisit themes. Does this book develop a theme
in another book
you’ve read by this author or
others?
How does the author connect the theme to the setting?
In what ways do you identify with one or more characters?
Why?
What are the strengths and limitations of the major
characters?
What is driving the characters to act as they do?
What growth/lesson learned do you see in characters?
Describe the interactions among characters. How are the
interactions believable?
Are the characters believable? What is an example?
How does the author use language? Dialect? Unfamiliar words?
Creating new
words?
Identify some memorable phrasing--good or bad--and explain
why.
Were the main and subplot lines clearly developed and
engaging? Why?
In what ways were the plot lines believable?
Is the ending satisfying? If you were writing the sequel,
where would the book
go next?
If the author were with you, what question(s) would you ask?
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