1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
It’s Christmas time and a country singer’s manager is murdered. Because she’s friends with the cupcake bakers, they feel that they have to prove her innocence before her career is frosted for good.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
It’s a series, so Scottsdale, AZ is where the bakery is located and where the mysteries take place.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely. She bakes cupcakes for a living. She has to be my friend!
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Smart, talented, and funny.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Sugar plums are not plums! Who knew? They’re actually little oval or plum shaped candies. I had no idea!
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I wait until the manuscript is done.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Cake. Always cake.
9–Describe your writing space/office!
I have an office in my house that is full of bookcases and my desk is set so that I can look out the window at the birdfeeder. I’m a birder.
10–Who is an author you admire?
I have recently discovered T. Kingfisher and I am loving her voice and word-smithing as I’m busily reading everything she’s ever written! Nettle and Bone was superb!
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
I think all books change my life. Some in small ways and others in huge ways but all stories have an impact, no doubt.
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I was holding my three-month-old son (he’s 22 now) when the call came. I was so sleep deprived when the editor said she wanted to buy my book, I said, “What book?” She said, “Wow, usually authors scream when they get this call.” To which I said, “That would wake the baby so I’m screaming on the inside.”
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
All of them. Mystery, romance, and fantasy – love them all!
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Romancing the Stone – I’ve seen it at least 20 times.
15–What is your favorite season?
Autumn. I grew up in New England and love the colors of the leaves and all that comes with it (apple picking, Halloween, pumpkin spice, all of it).
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I like to do outings, you know, something memorable. Last year, my son and I hiked Piestewa Peak in Phoenix. It had been on my list forever. It was AMAZING!
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I’m watching Bad Sisters on Apple+ right now and it’s fabulous. I can’t figure the mystery out and that never happens. Plus, it’s set in Ireland and I have a book coming out (LOVE AT FIRST BOOK next May) that’s set in Ireland so it’s great to confirm the slang and whatnot.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Mexican. Living in AZ, there is so much diversity in the Mexican food – truly, you can’t go wrong.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Read, knit, garden, DIY projects on my house, play with my pets, go to the movies, hike, annoy my children (they’re in their twenties), you know, the usual.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
FATAL FIRST EDITION comes out in February of 2024 (there is a cameo of Kate Carlisle’s characters from her Bibliophile series so that’s a hoot), then LOVE AT FIRST BOOK (a romcom in Ireland) in May of 2024, and then another cupcake bakery mystery FONDANT FUMBLE in June of 2024. A very fun year coming up!
SUGAR PLUM POISONED by Jenn McKinlay
Cupcake Bakery Mystery #15
It’s Christmastime, and this holiday season, things are heating up for the bakers at Fairy Tale Cupcakes, in the newest Cupcake Bakery Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.
When up-and-coming singing sensation Shelby Vaughn arrives in town for two weeks of concert dates, she hires her old friend Angie and the rest of the bakery crew to supply cupcakes for the VIP guest lounge every night.
After overhearing Shelby in a heated argument with her manager, Mel is concerned, but she and the crew decide to make the best of their time working with the star. Just as the bakers fall into the rhythm of the job, Shelby’s manager is found dead, clutching a bit of fabric from a Santa suit and a cupcake. With the bakery crew and Shelby’s backup dancers all dressed in similar Santa costumes, it’s impossible to say who is the killer. When all suspicions lead back to Shelby, Mel and Angie stand up for their friend, determined to prove her innocence before she’s frosted for a crime she didn’t commit.
Mystery Cozy | Mystery Culinary | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Berkley, On Sale: October 10, 2023, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593549124 / eISBN: 9780593549131]
Buy SUGAR PLUM POISONED: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Love’s Sweet Arrow | Walmart.com | Target.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Jenn McKinlay
Jenn is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. She is also the winner of the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for romantic comedy and the Fresh Fiction award for best cozy mystery. A TEDx speaker, she is always happy to talk books, writing, reading, and the creative process to anyone who cares to listen. She lives in sunny Arizona in a house that is overrun with kids, pets, and her husband’s guitars.
No Comments
Comments are closed.