Today I welcome author Gail Pallotta as she shares about her book, Cooking Up a Mystery. Read through -- Gail is offering a free ebook to one lucky winner, randomly drawn from those who leave a comment.

Where did you get the idea for your book, Cooking Up A Mystery,  and character?

I wanted to write a series of books about women entrepreneurs who started their own businesses and succeeded. I enjoy reading and writing about mysteries, so I knew I wanted a mystery. Searching my thoughts for a skill I knew well took me back to my mother, grandmother and aunts’ kitchens. They created gourmet Southern dishes from scratch and made it look easy. I can’t replicate a lot of their delicacies, but I have most of their recipes and the advantage of watching them prepare them for many, many years, so I decided my entrepreneur would cook.

From then on, I could see Laney Eskridge, the heroine, in the commercial kitchen at her tea house. Laney needed a reason to start her own catering service and tea house, and what better than having her husband leave. Starting a business requires expertise, determination and hard work. In addition Laney needed the motivation to persevere in spite of grief over her parents’ deaths, disappointment, financial difficulties and a mysterious noise she hears in the kitchen late at night. How about sending her husband through dental school instead of going to college herself? Oh, that motivated her all right. She intended to make a go of her little tea house and catering service no matter what. Other than customers served, she wanted no association with men at all. Even with big spoonsful of faith and courage to succeed, a dash of mystery and a sprinkling of colorful characters visiting the tea house, something was missing. Of course, romance. Now, with Laney’s background, how could I manage that? It’s revealed in the pages of the book along with how someone could bang and clang in the kitchen, but still have nothing disturbed when Laney looked to see what happened.

Getting to know Gail:

Where is your favorite vacation spot?

Destin, Florida, where the soft, white sand meets the crystal, clear emerald sea. When we’re there, we love to eat at The Back Porch. It overlooks the ocean and has such a friendly, fun atmosphere. Many of the tourists who flock to it arrive at the reception desk rolling their luggage. One day a group of around ten people entered with suitcases in hand, and the host pointed to a bench on the open-air deck right beside his stand. “Baggage check’s over there,” he said. Bags of all different colors, large and small, already covered the bench and the area around it. 

Do you have a dedicated place to write, or a nook or corner of a room, or the kitchen table?

I have a desk and bookcase in front of the utility room and beside the kitchen. Even though it can get noisy with the washer and dryer running and busy with folks coming to the refrigerator, I’m thankful to have a spot set aside for my writing. Years ago, when I wrote mainly freelance articles, my neighbor took a trip to Ireland and brought me back a picture of Ireland’s authors. It’s hung beside my desk ever since.

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?

Oh please, please, pretty please with ice cream and a cherry on top, put up a review. Reviews are so necessary, and they don’t have to follow a particular length or formula. A review can be as short or long as the reviewer wants it to be. Not only do reviews help a book’s exposure, but I’m encouraged when I know a book of mine has entertained someone, taken them to a relaxing or fun place, informed them or inspired them in some way.

About Gail:

Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A 2013 Grace Awards finalist, she’s a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner and a TopShelf 2020 Book Awards Finalist. She’s published six books, poems, short stories and several hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums.

Connecting online with Gail:

Website – https://gailpallotta.com

Newsletter - https://www.gailpallotta.com/mainphp.html and visit her website at gailpallotta.com

Blog - https://www.gailpallotta.blogspot.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsandMore

Buy link: Buy on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3dfKATd

Barnes and Noble - Barnes and noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cooking-up-a-mystery-gail-pallotta/1136612098?ean=9781522398806

Books a Million - https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Cooking-up-Mystery/Gail-Pallotta/9781522398813?id=8248990640083#

Kobo -https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cooking-up-a-mystery

Google https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Gail_Pallotta_Cooking_up_a_Mystery?id=Z-TUDwAAQBAJ

Apple - https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1501903072?mt=11&app=itunes&id=1501903072

Giveaway – I will give away a Kindle copy of Cooking up a Mystery to a random winner. Leave your answer to the following question, along with your email address cleverly disguised like this: donna AT livebytheword DOT come

Question – Do you have a favorite recipe?

The first page of Cooking up a Mystery

Laney Eskridge took a breather from polishing the bakery display case and surveyed the dining area in her small tea house. A soft glow from the lamppost out front shone through the large window and danced on the blue flowered curtains. She rubbed the fabric of a tie back between her thumb and forefinger. Sometimes in the quiet moments after the customers and George, her assistant, left, she gazed around and marveled that the place belonged to her. Mom had named it Laney’s Delectable Delights. She would’ve loved the decor.

Pots and pans clanged in the kitchen.

Laney jumped. Was the rolling worktable bashing into the wall? Not by itself. Horror that an intruder wrecked the new appliances buckled Laney’s knees. She leaned against the counter and slid to the floor.

Clanks, bonks, and crashes reverberated. Laney buried her head between her legs and trembled like a leaf in a storm. Rattling and slamming resounded. Tears cascaded down Laney’s face. Had she lost everything? Silence fell as suddenly as the commotion had started, and the aroma of her bread baking tickled her nostrils. She raised her head and wiped her cheeks. Calling on all the strength she had left inside, she stood. Would her wobbly legs take her to the kitchen?

***

Laney rolled the gray food warmer up a cement walkway past a white hydrangea. Each click pounded the importance of every customer in her head. How could a person with no college degree run a business? She never would’ve opened the place if she’d known Mom would die. She breathed in false confidence and pressed the bell by the beveled glass door. No one answered.

She shielded her eyes from the May sun and tapped her foot. Come on. I have work to do. Her gaze fell on a mountain laurel bush and nearby dogwood blossoms. Soon summer would bring tourists to the North Carolina Mountains, and she’d hardly noticed the spring flowers. She rushed around like a mosquito in a chef’s hat trying to cook and serve enough food to keep Laney’s Delectable Delights afloat. If only she and Mom could’ve run the business together, as they’d planned.

Mom would be minding the restaurant, and the future would look secure. Laney wouldn’t wake each day trembling with fear she might have to close because she’d mismanaged money and supplies, or she hadn’t cooked enough gourmet meals to bring in customers. Last night after hearing those horrible noises, she’d dreamed the sheriff evicted her and padlocked the business.

Was anyone here? Laney shifted her weight and mashed the bell several times. Still no one responded. She glanced at the food warmer then the SUV and started to leave. Instead, she cracked the portal. “Mr. Crider, it’s Laney’s Delectable Delights here with dinner.”