Tara Laskowski, One Night Gone and The Allison and The Maureen

Award-winning author, Tara Laskowski, joins us today on Drinks with Reads to celebrate the publication of her debut novel, One Night Gone. She has previously published two short story collections, one of which was named a best book of 2017 by Jennifer Egan in The Guardian. Her Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine story, "The Case of the Vanishing Professor" won the 2019 Agatha Award and her Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine story, "States of the Matter," was selected by Amy Hempel for the 2017 Best Small Fictions anthology. Tara was the winner of the 2010 Santa Fe Writers Project's Literary Awards Prize. Let's see what drinks she's picked for One Night Gone.

My debut novel, One Night Gone, is set in Opal Beach, a fictional town on the New Jersey shore. It has two points of view and two timelines—Maureen, a teenager, has come to Opal Beach during the height of summer in the 1980s. Allison, a recently divorced 40-year-old, is house-sitting in Opal Beach during the offseason in 2015. 

Both women are drawn to the beach town as a way to escape their past and start anew. But both find trouble there—Maureen vanishes by the end of the summer, and when Allison begins looking into the teenager’s disappearance nearly 30 years later, she discovers that the residents of Opal Beach like their secrets to stay buried.

Beyond that, Allison and Maureen are very different people with very different life experiences. For that reason, I knew they each needed drinks that represented not only their personalities, but also the time of year in which they visit Opal Beach.

The Allison, aka a Seafoam Sangria, has beachy hints to it, but it’s more sophisticated with its wine base. Sweet—but not overly so—and subdued, the drink is easy to sip but doesn’t scream “BEACH PARTY!!!” It’s a drink you’d enjoy in early autumn on an expansive wooden deck while gazing out at the horizon.

On the other hand, The Maureen, aka The Blue Mermaid, is a beach drink to be reckoned with. Pineapple chunks, cherries, paper umbrellas, pink flamingos—all these garnishes would be happy to crowd up in its business. It’s got rum and pineapple juice—a Kool-aid-esque refreshing cocktail that you can drink and drink before you realize you’ve had a little too much. I added a rim of crushed graham cracker “sand” to the drink to give it an even more fun look. (Maureen would enjoy that detail.)

So pick your poison—or make two and sip them alternately while you switch chapters! These drink recipes—along with one other, plus a reader’s guide and some other goodies—are also available on my Book Club Guide on my web site.

Happy beach reading—and drinking!

The Allison (Seafoam Sangria)

Ingredients:

• 3 parts white wine
• 2 parts blue Hipnotiq liqueur
• 1 part ginger ale

Mix ingredients together. Serve chilled or over ice.

The Maureen (The Blue Mermaid)

• ¼ cup ground graham crackers (for rimming)
• 1 oz Malibu Rum
• 1 oz Blue Curaçao
• 1 oz vodka
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1 maraschino cherry

Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine, like sand. Place in a shallow bowl. Wet the edge of a double old fashioned glass with water and dip into the graham crackers, rimming the glass. Add ice to the glass, then pour in the rum, blue curacao, vodka, and pineapple juice. Stir. Add a cherry for garnish.

Tara Laskowski’s debut novel One Night Gone was published this week by Graydon House Books. She is also the author of the short story collections Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons, tales of dark etiquette, and Bystanders, which won the Balcones Fiction Prize and was hailed by Jennifer Egan as one of the best books of 2017. She is an Agatha Award winner and a member of Sisters in Crime.

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Podcast of "Taking Care"

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine has released a podcast of "Taking Care," one of my short stories.  It's a half-hour of mayhem, murder, and fun. I had the opportunity to record the story with Alfred Hitchcock's Editor, Linda Landrigan, and we had a great time.  Just click on the link below to hear the story...

Witchy Brew For Halloween

Carol J. Perry joins us today to celebrate the release of her new cozy mystery, Late Checkout. Let's see what she's got brewing...

Thanks for inviting me back to Mystery Playground’s Friday Drinks with Reads!. Late Checkout, book number nine in the Witch City Mystery series from Kensington, was just released this week. This time  Lee, Pete, Aunt Ibby, and O’Ryan the cat share an adventure that begins with a dead body showing up in the stacks at Salem’s main library.  The victim turns out to be a former minor league baseball player—and ex-con—named Wee Willie Wallace—who hasn’t been seen in Salem for twenty years.

It’s October in the witch city and the traditional Halloween haunted happenings are in full swing. With help from Lee’s detective beau Pete Mondello, her Tarot reading BFF River North, her tech-savvy librarian Aunt Ibby, .her clairvoyant cat, O’Ryan and a few costumed collaborators, Lee steps up to the plate to catch the killer who took the old ballplayer out of the game!

New Englanders love their rum, and today’s special Halloween drink features three varieties of that tasty tipple! This Witchy Brew is great tasting, but powerful. Park your broom, stay home and enjoy.

WITCHY BREW

• 1 ounce light rum
• 1 ounce dark rum
• 1 ounce 151 rum
• 1 ounce Cointreau orange liqueur
• 3 ounces orange juice
• 1 ½ ounce lemonade
• ¼ ounce grenadine

Put one cup of ice into a cocktail shaker. Add all ingredients and shake to combine. Pour into appropriately festive Halloween glass and fill with ice. Garnish with orange wheel and straw. Serve.

(It’s wicked good.)

Fault Lines Editor Margaret Lucke Answers Our Questions

Editor and author, Margaret Lucke joins us today to talk about Fault Lines: Stories by Northern California Crime Writers, a short story anthology published by the Northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is the author of three mystery novels: A Relative Stranger (nominated for an Anthony Award), House of Whispers, and Snow Angel. She has taught writing classes for more than 20 years, and she has published two how-to books on the craft of writing.

Margaret will be appearing at the Book Passage bookstore this Sunday at 4pm on a panel called "A is for Anthology: the Writing and Publishing of Short Stories." Also appearing on the panel are Robin C. Stuart, Deborah Lacy, JJ Lamb, and Judith Janeway. 

What do you want to tell readers about the anthology? What can they expect when reading it?

Sisters in Crime NorCal has long had a goal of producing an anthology to showcase its talented members, and we’re very excited to see it become a reality. Fault Lines contains 19 stories of crime, justice, guilt, and innocence. There is plenty of suspense, a touch of humor, and fascinating characters that readers will be glad to meet. Some of the stories are by well-established writers, while others are new voices. If you’re a fan of crime fiction, Fault Lines has stories you’re sure to enjoy.

Not only are you the editor of the anthology, but you also have a story in it. How did it feel to be both a writer and an editor? Was switching hats hard?

While this is the first anthology I’ve edited, I have a lot of experience as both a writer and an editor. Both of those functions are necessary to produce the best possible story. They require different kinds of skill and attention, they are two sides of the same creative coin. So when I go from one to the other, I don’t think of it as switching hats so much as flipping one hat inside out.

In this case, I wrote my story, “Two Hundred Miles,” well before the editing process for the anthology began. Reading it during the editing phase was almost like reading someone else’s tale. But at that point I had other people read it with their sharp editorial eyes.

What was your biggest challenge with this anthology?

Wrangling all of the many tasks and details. In addition to being the editor, I’m the chief project wrangler, coordinating the entire project, from chairing the first planning meetings to arranging for some of the publicity. SinC NorCal choose to act as its own publisher, and that has meant become familiar with the demands and techniques of indie publishing. 

But I did not do it alone. One of the most rewarding aspects has been working with a wonderful team of talented and enthusiastic people—our submissions manager, the selection panel, the proofreaders, the interior designer, the cover coordinator, and many more who contributed their efforts and ideas.

What was the most fun?

Celebrating the publication of the book! We introduced Fault Lines at Left Coast Crime in Vancouver in March and had a festive book launch party last month at Borderlands Books in San Francisco. It was very exciting to finally hold a copy in my hand after all of the hard work.

But much of that work was fun too. I enjoy editing and helping authors achieve their stories’ full potential. And working with the team—the brainstorming, the idea exchange, all of the assistance, support, and friendship we gave each other: that was perhaps the most enjoyable part of the project.

Where did you get the idea for the Fault Lines theme?

It seemed like a natural theme for a Northern California anthology, and it was one of the first decisions that the planning team made. The most obvious reference is to the earthquakes and seismic activity and susceptibility that many people associate with our region. But the phrase Fault Lines has various meanings and nuances, and a writer’s imagination could take it in many directions. These stories explore the faults that exist not just in the earth but in people—the flaws and failings that lead us to commit grievous acts against someone else, and the guilt and culpability we bear. They also examine the lines that we draw to connect clues, expose secrets, establish bonds, and lead us to justice.

What short story writers inspire your work?

Oh, so many! A well-crafted short story is a small treasure. They make different demands on a writer than a novel does, and I admire writers who can do them well. In terms of mystery and crime stories I’ll mention the one of the classics—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. For a more contemporary short story master, there’s Lawrence Block. And of course all of the authors in Fault Lines.

What is the best thing that has happened to you as a result of your writing?

It’s impossible to single out one best thing. Here are a few things that I love about being a writer:

* The spark and excitement when a new idea takes hold.

* Getting to know my characters as they gradually reveal themselves to me.

* Coming up with just the right plot twist.

* Those (rare) days when the writing goes so well that time flies and dinnertime arrives five minutes after breakfast is over.

* The many interesting experiences I’ve had while doing research and going to conferences.

* Friendships I’ve developed with fellow writers.

* Hearing a reader say, “I loved your book.”

What are you working on now?

I’m putting the final touches on House of Desire, a follow-up to my haunted house mystery, House of Whispers. While attending a fundraising party in a grand San Francisco Victorian, reluctant psychic Claire Scanlan runs into a mysterious young woman in old-fashioned garb whom no one else can see. When a murder occurs in the mansion, the invisible girl—a time-traveling “soiled dove” from the 1890s—is the only witness. To find her and solve the crime, Claire must risk a perilous journey into the past from which she may never return. The book will come out later this year.

I’m also putting together a series of handbooks of fiction craft, based on the writing classes I teach. The first one, on creating characters, is almost ready to go.

The Good Cop and das Radler

Author and artist Peter Steiner joins us today on Drinks with Reads to talk about his book, The Good Cop. You can read about Peter approached the beginning of this book over on Art Taylor's First Two Pages Blog. 

The Good Cop is set in Munich, Germany, amid the chaos and revolt that followed World War One. Maximilian Wolf, a veteran of that war, just wants to forget it all and have a normal life.  But in Munich, that is easier said than done. There is hunger, massive unemployment, fascists and communists are fighting in the streets.  And yet, Maximilian finds a job as a newspaper artist, meets and falls in love with Sophie Auerbach, a reporter, and—before all hell breaks loose—life starts  to look good. 

“One Sunday morning Sophie and Maximilian took a train from Munich to Bad Aibling, forty minutes southwest of the city.  She had been there once as a child and remembered it as beautiful.  They walked on tiny farm roads for two hours, passing wayside crosses, country churches, pastures where the hay had been cut and stacked. They sat in the sun on the terrace of Zum Braumeister, a small Gasthaus facing the shimmering snow-covered Alps to their east and drank cold beer with lemonade.”

We do not normally think of beer as an ingredient in mixed drinks, but the Germans do.  They have an extensive list of Biermischgetränke (beer mixed drinks). Beer with lemonade (Bier mit Limonade) or das Radler is a favorite in Germany, particularly in Bavaria, and especially on a hot summer day.  It is tall, cold, light, and refreshing.

The Radler has only two ingredients—cold beer and the cold lemony soft drink of your choice mixed in equal parts.  You may eventually prefer 60/40 one way or the other.  When the drink was first invented, dark beer was used, but not any longer.   When you order a Radler in a Gasthaus, they will put  the lemonade in the glass first, then the soft drink.   That way there will be less foam.  When you make it yourself, start with the beer, then add the soft drink.  The beer is lighter in weight, and so das Radler mixes itself.

Prosit! 

Crypt Suzette and Spiked Spiced Cider

Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan joins us today on Drinks with Reads. Maya writes the Five-Ingredient Mysteries: By Cook or by Crook, Scam Chowder, Final Fondue, The Tell-Tale Tarte, S’more Murders, and Crypt Suzette. The series, set in a historic town along the Chesapeake Bay, features a café manager and dinner-party caterer solving murders with her live-wire grandfather, the Codger Cook. Each book has five suspects, five clues, and Granddad’s five-ingredient recipes. Let's see what she has in store for us today...

When Val caters a party at Bayport’s new bookshop on Spooktacular Saturday, a costume contest is part of the festivities. Everyone dresses as characters from books. Among the contestants are the Fictionistas, a creative writing group started by Suzette, the secretive young woman who rents a spare bedroom in the house Val shares with her grandfather. As Val tells her best friend, “People choose costumes that mirror their personalities.” If that’s true, Suzette’s fellow Fictionistas reveal a violent streak. They dress as the ambitious Lady Macbeth, the obsessive Phantom of the Opera, a zombie from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and the vengeful Morgan le Fay, evil sorceress from Camelot. 

After Suzette is found dead of an apparent accident, Val and Granddad suspect foul play. When the Fictionistas gather at the bookshop on Halloween eve, Val offers them a drink perfect for a chilly day—warm spiced apple cider. Though non-alcoholic, the cider she serves seems to be spiked with truth serum. The Fictionistas lose their inhibitions and accuse each other of murder. Did one of them kill Suzette or was her death rooted in the past she’d kept secret and tried to escape? Having dressed as Nancy Drew for the bookshop party, Val tries to answer that question and almost becomes the next “accident” victim.

The drink related to my book is an alcoholic version of the warm spiced cider Val makes. Spiked Spiced Cider works well for a Halloween party or any cool-weather party. It’s also a tongue-twister, so you can challenge your guests to say it five times fast. 

This drink is also known as mulled apple cider. Like mulled wine, it’s simmered in a crock pot or on the stove with spices and citrus for flavor. The spices should include cinnamon and cloves at a minimum, but you can also add a star anise or grated fresh ginger if you like that flavor. Put the smaller spices in a tea ball or wrapped and tied cheesecloth. If you don’t do that, you’ll need to strain the cider before serving it. Simmer the spices and cider, keeping them below the boiling point, and only add the alcohol after you remove the cider from the heat. 

Ingredients

½ gallon(1.9 L) unfiltered apple cider

2  cinnamon sticks 

10 whole cloves

1/2 oz. (15 ml) orange juice or lemon juice if you prefer a less sweet drink

1 oz. (30 ml) dark rum or brandy [Skip for a non-alcoholic cider]

Sliced oranges and cinnamon sticks for garnish

Put the apple cider, spices, and juice in a large pot or Dutch oven. Heat up to the point of boiling and then simmer for 1-3 hours. If you use a slow cooker or crock pot, turn it to low and cook for 3 hours. Turn off the heat and remove the spices from the pot, straining if necessary. Add the rum or brandy for an alcoholic version of the cider. Serve it warm, garnished with sliced oranges and a fresh cinnamon stick in each cup. 

To find out more about the Five-Ingredient Mysteries, including Crypt Suzette, visit Maya’s: 

Blog: https://www.mayacorrigan.com/smorgasblog

Newsletter: https://www.mayacorrigan.com/newscontact.html

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mayacorriganbooks

Amazon Author Page: https://tinyurl.com/yakfszxo

Goodreads Page: https://tinyurl.com/y84uzloa

First in a Series: The Corpse with the Silver Tongue by Cathy Ace

The Fabulous Cathy Ace joins us today for a special Drinks with Reads: the inaugural entry in our First in a Series profiles. This is where we introduce the first book in a series so you can keep reading and reading through the great adventures of one set of characters. Cathy was one of our first guests on Mystery Playground when we started way back in 2012, so we thought we'd start her off here too with the first book in her Cait Morgan series, The Corpse with a Silver Tongue. And the series is on flash sale this week electronically...

It’s such a thrill to be invited to participate in Mystery Playground’s Friday Drinks with Reads. I’ve been able to celebrate the launch of most of my books here – but I’ll admit I didn’t know of the site’s existence when my debut novel was launched, which is why you won’t find an entry for the very first Cait Morgan Mystery, THE CORPSE WITH THE SILVER TONGUE, in the archives. 

It’s almost impossible to remember a time when Cait Morgan wasn’t part of my life…some who know me might say this is because she’s very much like me (I couldn’t possibly comment!) but it’s also true that she was “born” in a short story back in 2007, and has been with me constantly since then; there are now eight novels in the series.

I always wanted Cait to travel the world solving traditional – as opposed to specifically cozy – mysteries, of the type Agatha Christie used to give us. I always loved the Poirot and Marple books set in “exotic” locations, and I wanted Cait’s adventures to take her to places where the history, art, architecture, food and drink are fascinating. I’ve been a bit of a nomad throughout my life, so she gets to visit a different country in each book – each being somewhere I have either lived, worked, or have spent at least several months, if not years, in total. 

So, why did I choose Nice, in the south of France, for her first novel? Honestly, I love it, and I miss it. I used to spend three or four months a year there and was delighted that friends of mine allowed me to “use” their home as the setting for the sudden death (OK…you guessed it…it’s a murder!) at a birthday party which sits at the core of the book. Writing it allowed me to “be there” again, though, sadly, without the unique light of the Cote d’Azur illuminating my laptop. (If you want to know why there’s a cast iron snail in the photo, you’ll have to read the book!)

What makes this appearance here today even more special is that it gives me the chance to share some exciting news: I have just reacquired all the publishing rights for my Cait Morgan books (except the English print rights), which means I can now control their digital availability and pricing. So – drum roll please – I can tell you that the prices for ALL the digital Cait Morgan Mysteries have been dropped to $4.99 USD (or equivalent). 

While you’re reading THE CORPSE WITH THE SILVER TONGUE, you can enjoy Cait Morgan’s favourite tipple. It’s not fancy, but it is quite specific. She adores Bombay Sapphire gin…yes, specifically Bombay Sapphire. Now I know there are a good many gins out there these days, and – of course – you might have your own gin-of-choice, but with a good tonic (something “plain and normal” like Schweppes, as opposed to one of the myriad available with added flavours) and a good quality lemon – one that feels heavy, so is likely to be really juicy (roll the lemon before cutting into it to get those juices moving!) there’s nothing quite like a straightforward Bombay Sapphire and tonic! This is how Cait enjoys hers:

Fill a large glass with ice

Squeeze a thick slice of lemon that you’ve cut into two over the ice and drop it in

Pour over ONE part Bombay Sapphire gin, then THREE parts tonic water

Stir slowly for a moment or two, allowing the ice to chill the drink

Enjoy! Cheers, folks!

(NB: yes, some gin was drunk during the shooting of this photograph!)

Here are links to more of Cathy's wonderful Drinks with Reads posts:

The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb and Lime Margaritas

The Corpse with the Diamond Hand and Mai Tais

The Corpse with the Garnet Face and The Holland Gin Cocktail 

The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes and the Gin and Tonic

The Corpse with the Platinum Hair and the Tsar!Tini

The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer and the Dewi Sant

The Case of the Dotty Dowager and "Tipples"

To find out more about The Cait Morgan Mysteries, and Cathy Ace:

Facebook

Twitter: @AceCathy

Sign up for Cathy’s newsletter at her website.