Today I’d like to welcome Shari Randall and her new release Curses, Boiled Again! to Daring Debuts.
Here’s some praise for Curses, Boiled Again!
“Delightful! A fun whodunit full of New England coastal charm and characters who feel like friends. Warm humor, a delectable plot, and clever sleuthing will keep you turning the pages.” Krista Davis, NYT Bestselling author of the Domestic Diva mysteries
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Shari: Today I’m with Sharon and our awesome writing group Authors 18 at one of my favorite lobster shacks, Ford’s, on the southeastern shore of Connecticut. The sun’s sparkling on the water, a warm breeze is blowing, and sailboats are sliding by the dock. Lobster rolls for everyone!
Sharon: Yay! These lobster rolls are delicious! I love the melted butter.
Shari: I knew you’d like them.
Sharon: *sips frosty beverage* Can you tell us something bout your new cozy mystery Curses, Boiled Again!?
Shari: Curses, Boiled Again! is a mystery set in a New England village called Mystic Bay. There’s a murder at a food festival which entangles my heroine, Allegra Larkin, a former dancer who is working at her aunt’s Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack while she recuperates from an injury.
[bctt tweet=”Curses, Boiled Again! is a mystery set in a New England village called Mystic Bay with a murder at a food festival and a former dancer who’s working at her aunt’s Lazy Mermaid Lobster Shack. ~ Shari Randall #authors18 @s_randallauthor” username=”sharonbwray”]
Sharon: I love the title. How much research did you do for this story?
Shari: Last summer I spent a week on a lobster roll eating extravaganza, er, research tour. My husband and I traveled along Route 1 – which runs along the New England coast — visiting quaint towns along the shore, checking out cedar-shingled lobster shacks covered with sun-faded buoys and circled by hungry diners and thieving sea gulls. Did I learn anything beyond how nice it is to sit on a dock with a cold beverage and a hot lobster roll as the sun sets? You bet, and I put all those delicious details into the books.
Sharon: How fun! I love research. LOL. Why is New England such a great setting for a mystery?
Shari: The appeal lies in several elements, one of which is right in the name. New England has many small villages, just like the ones you’ll find in British mysteries — charming places where the residents have known each other forever, where there are long memories and long buried secrets. I do like long-buried secrets.
[bctt tweet=” New England has many small villages, charming places where the residents have known each other forever, where there are long memories and long buried secrets.~ Shari Randall #Authors18 @s_randallauthor” username=”sharonbwray”]
Sharon: There’s nothing like a long-buried secret! What’s the recipe for a good mystery?
Shari: An intriguing setting, a fish out of water detective, and a tightly plotted mystery.
Sharon: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Shari: A plotter outlines carefully. A pantser writes without a plan. I just read a blog that said there’s a third option – a puzzler. A puzzler writes individual scenes and then figures out how they go together. That fits me to a T.
[bctt tweet=” I just read a blog that said there’s a third option (to pantsing and plotting) – a puzzler. A puzzler writes individual scenes and then figures out how they go together. That fits me to a T. ~ Shari Randall #Authors18 @s_randallauthor” username=”sharonbwray”]
Sharon: I’m a puzzler too! What are people saying about Curses, Boiled Again!?
Shari: One reviewer compared Curses, Boiled Again to Murder, She Wrote. I was really happy about the comparison – I’ve always been a fan of that show.
Sharon: Me too. What’s next?
Shari: Book Two of the series, Against the Claw, releases on July 31 from St. Martin’s Press. When the body of a young woman is pulled from the waters off Mystic Bay, Allie – oops! Don’t want to give any spoilers!
Sharon: No! Please don’t share spoilers!! Thanks so much for spending time with us today, Shari, and helping us eat all of these lobsters. I hope you come back when your next book comes out!
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To learn more about Shari, head on over to her publisher’s page at Macmillan
You can find Shari, and learn more about her mermaid obsession, here: Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Facebook | Website
You can find Curses, Boiled Again! here: Amazon | B&N | Books-a-Million | iBooks | IndieBound
Sharon Wray is a librarian who once studied dress design in the couture houses of Paris and now writes about the men in her Deadly Force romantic suspense series where ex-Green Berets meet smart, sexy heroines who teach these alpha males that Grace always defeats Reckoning.
Her acclaimed debut book EVERY DEEP DESIRE, a sexy, action-packed retelling of Romeo and Juliet, is about an ex-Green Beret determined to regain his honor, his freedom, and his wife.
It’s available on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | |
And adding it to your Goodreads TBR list is also always appreciated!
