Ellen Byron's Blog, page 5

BAYOU BOOK THIEF, the first book in my new Vintage Cookbook Mysteries series, officially launches June 7, but is available for presale. I'm so excited about this new series. It incorporates several things I love - historic homes, the New Orleans Garden District, and my very own collection of vintage cookbooks. Isn't the cover beautiful?

Here's a synopsis of the series...

,A new series from ,USA Today, bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author

,Ellen Byron.

Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital.

Ricki’s career dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff running Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, one of the city’s most legendary restauranteurs. The mansion, built in 1867, has recently been opened to the public as an historical site. Ricki is excited about turning her avocation – collecting vintage cookbooks – into a vocation by launching the house museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware, where she’ll sell the cookbooks along with unique kitchenware. In her free time, she’ll hunt for the birth parents she never knew. But when murder bedevils the site, Ricki suddenly finds herself thrust into the role of amateur sleuth, putting to use the observational skills she’s developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures.

Will Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware be a success… or given some of the Crescent City’s nefarious denizens, a recipe for disaster?

,Each book will include recipes inspired by Ellen’s personal collection of Vintage Cookbooks.

Here are covers from some of the cookbooks that inspired recipes in ,BAYOU BOOK THIEF. I hope you enjoy the book - and the recipes!

To celebrate the October 26th launch of IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE MURDER, the third book in my Catering Hall Mystery - which I write under the pen name Maria DiRico - I wrote at blog post at Chicks on the Case about my real family, which inspired the series. Click here to read it! Here's a photo you won't find in the post, just for you. It's of my nonna, who I loved dearly, and my grandfather, who I never met. He passed away before I was born.

And fun fact - "Maria DiRico" was my Nonna's maiden name.

And here's the cover of my book! It'll put you in the mood for the holidays.

Wednesday, August 25, 2021: Bouchercon, the massive mystery convention I was supposed to attend, has been cancelled due to the Delta variant. But our daughter is a senior at Loyola University and my new mystery series is set in New Orleans, so I decide to make the trip anyway. In a case of famous last words, I say to my husband as I leave Los Angeles, “I hate the drought. If I don’t get some rain in New Orleans, I’ll be disappointed.”

I arrive to cloudy skies and a lovely room at the French Quarter Marriott where the convention was to be held. My kid and I meet for dinner at one of my favorite NOLA hangouts, Napoleon House. If there’s talk of an approaching hurricane, I miss it. I enjoy a nightcap in the lobby with fellow mystery author Mary Monnin and her husband Bob, who also made the trip to NOLA.

The view from my hotel window

Thursday, August 26, 2021: Bob, Mary, and I have a lovely time at the Milton Latter Library book sale, followed by lunch at Commander’s Palace, where I haven’t been in years. Talk of a hurricane coming is suddenly ramping up. After lunch, they return to the hotel. I wander the Garden District, where my new series is set, for a happy hour. Around 5:30 p.m., I rendezvous with my friend, book blogger Debra Jo Burnette, and we attend an art opening at the Newcomb Art Center on the campus of my alma mater, Tulane University. My friend Jan Gilbert, a renowned New Orleans artist, has a piece in the exhibit. We talk art… and the hurricane. The conversation continues over dinner. But we have not entered crisis mode, as you can see from these fun photos.

Mary and me, Debra Jo and me, and my squash salad at Commander's.

Friday, August 27, 2021: I go for a walk in the Quarter before checking out. The signs of an impending storm are making themselves apparent.

I leave the Marriott for an AirBnB uptown to be closer to my daughter. Rumblings about Ida have turned into a drumbeat of dread. My lodgings are lovely, as is my hostess, Giselle. But I feel terribly lonely and distressed. I can’t decide – do we stay or go? I have dinner with my pal Greg Herren, mystery author and VP of Mystery Writers of America. Our usual gabbing is punctuated by my Hamlet-like dilemma. To go or not to go? Greg drops me off at my kid’s apartment and she makes the decision for me. We’re going. But to where? We call Florida. No hotel rooms. Mobile might be in the hurricane cone. We settle on Houston. I’m so flummoxed at this point that I don’t remember I have four close friends in the city. We find a Marriott somewhere in Houston and book it for two nights.

Saturday, August 28, 2021: This day will go down as one of the most traumatic of my life. We set out for Houston. People recommend we take route 90, which I know goes through the area the hurricane but as friends point out, those residents have already evacuated. The journey starts out fine. Then we somehow get accidentally re-routed onto I-10. Don’t ask me how, but I am never, EVER traveling without a paper map again. When I say I-10 was parking lot, I am not exaggerating. We are going five miles an hour. When we’re moving at all. At this point, I honestly fear we will be on I-10 when the hurricane hits. I bring up turning around and riding out the storm at the kid’s apartment. She is adamant that we continue. She’s the veteran of the late October hurricane 2020, Hurricane Zeta, as are we to a smaller extent. We arrived the night after the hurricane to a partially blacked-out city and a cancelled hotel reservation because they had no power. We spent a cold night on the floor of the kid’s then-apartment, which also lacked power. In the morning, we found a hotel that had power. My very smart daughter did not want to take the chance of duplicating this experience, especially since Ida was forecast to be a much bigger monster than Zeta.

Eliza is driving. She reroutes us north to route 190. Also terrible traffic. She reroutes us straight up north. She’s been driving for five hours and every time we check the route, we’re still five hours from Houston. She develops a migraine, poor thing. We switch, and I drive the next eight hours.

I have no idea where we are or where we’re going. Even though we’re only a quarter of a tank down on gas, I stop to top off the tank. I’m exhausted and considering giving up on Houston and searching for lodgings wherever we are. I see a state trooper and ask if the town we’re near is in the cone. “From what they’re telling us,” he says, “the whole state is in the cone.” We continue to Texas.

The next few hours will forever be emblazoned on my brain. We’re forced to trust GPS as it directs down empty two-lane roads in the pitch dark, through small towns, and half-abandoned (and one full-on abandoned) villages. The gas stations in the towns that are inhabited are all out of gas. We have half a tank, but we’re still hours from Houston. The only thing keeping me from hysteria is knowing I need to be strong for my kid. She’s all I care about. After a year of Covid misery, she was so happy and excited to having classes and activities back on campus again. It’s all I want for her. Desperately. She wakes up and I try to lighten the mood by making up a short story – a murder story, of course. She groans in amusement and then in pain and goes back to sleep. Finally, finally, we see a sign: Welcome to Texas. I’ve learned that by the time we get to our hotel, the bar will be closed, so I buy this because I know that after our thirteen-hour journey, I will need a drink…

Sunday, August 29, 2021, the sixteenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina: The blessed Marriott Westchase upgraded us to a suite. I pace the two rooms, watching the news. New Orleans’ airport is closed. I was supposed to fly out Monday. My Houston friends have all offered to shelter us past our two-night hotel stay. Stew, who only lives about fifteen minutes from the hotel, is the "lucky" winner. He invites us over for dinner. It’s an amazing meal of parmigiana made from an eggplant he grew himself, and pesto he also created from homegrown ingredients. But I’m depressed and my stomach is roiling, partly from the shrimp I’d devoured the night before which had been sitting in the car for thirteen hours – we never stopped for food – and partly from feeling terrible that I was enjoying a lovely meal while my friends and beloved New Orleans, home of my heart, was suffering Ida’s impact. I check Twitter and see a thread about evacuee guilt. I’m comforted in knowing I’m not alone in this feeling. Debra Jo sends me this picture. The main power grid to New Orleans is down.

Monday, August 30, 2021: We move to Stew’s. And learn that the power grid to New Orleans has suffered catastrophic damage. Classes at Loyola are canceled for two weeks, then online for what the school president has optimistically determined will be one week. I pray she is right. My heart breaks for my kid. For New Orleans. My friends. The businesses. My stomach continues to roil. We make the decision to fly back to Los Angeles. Stew, our guardian angel, says we can park my kid’s car in his driveway for as long as we need to. I know that my dear friends Charlotte and Pam and Gayle and Millie would have made the same offer. I am so grateful to all these amazing people. And so grateful we chose to evacuate to Houston before I even remembered due to my panicked evacuation fog that I had friends there.

Tuesday, August 31st, 2021: We land at LAX during rush hour due to a flight delay. It takes Jer an hour and a half to get to us thanks to Los Angeles traffic. It’s all so normal. And yet so not normal. We finally get home. I’ve been gone seven days. It feels like I’ve been gone a year.

Wednesday, September 1st, 2021: I wake up at 5:30 in the morning. I can’t sleep. Then I remember it’s the 1st of the month and I follow the superstition of saying “Rabbit, Rabbit” as the first words to say on the first day of the month to bring good luck. Some people say “Bunny, Bunny,” so I say that too. I also say, “Loyola, Loyola” and “New Orleans, New Orleans.”

It’s now 9:12 a.m. on Wednesday. I couldn’t go back to sleep because I was writing this in my head, so I sat down to write it on my computer. A curious thing happened before I left town last week. I found my late Nonna’s rosary. I was so happy because I thought I’d lost it. Due to Covid, I don’t know if any of our local Catholic churches are allowing walk-ins, but I’m going to see if I can find one that’s open. I will bring Nonna’s rosary, light a candle for her, and say prayers for New Orleans, Louisiana, Loyola, and my kid’s future.

Rabbit, rabbit. Bunny, bunny. Loyola, Loyola. New Orleans, New Orleans.

I made a video to celebrate! Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter and get access to my secret Downloads page, plus a link to a free short story I wrote.

Now, here's that short video. :-) I'm still learning how to make this, as you'll soon see for yourself, lol.

In 2018, I interviewed Governor Edwards on the occasion of his 90th birthday. In honor of his passing, I'm sharing the interview again. Love or hate him, there's no denying he was a character with a very quick wit.

Four-term former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards turns ninety today. His past achievements and peccadilloes - including a prison stint - are well documented. I chose to focus on the present. Read on to find out what the nonagenarian politician is doing these days, and his take on the current political climate.

Me: Governor, what have you been up to the last few years?

Governor Edwards: When I first got out of prison, I spent a lot of time going around the state making speeches for pay and selling copies of my biography. Later on, Trina [Edwards’ third wife] and I got into the real estate business, and that’s what we’re doing now mostly. We work together, but she handles most of the residential listings and I handle most of the businesses and commercial enterprises.

Me: How’s that going?

Governor Edwards: It’s good. It’s enough to supplement my retirement income and give us a comfortable living.

Me: What do you like about being a real estate agent?

Governor Edwards: It gives me an opportunity to work with my friends and people I know, and people who are interested in buying a home or establishing a business. It’s an opportunity to deal with people and the public, and of course that’s been my strong suit all my life.

Me: You have a four-year-old son, Eli, with your wife, Trina. You also have four children from your first marriage. Is fatherhood different for you this time around?

Governor Edwards: Very much so. Unfortunately, young men such as I who were busy in a profession and earning a living don’t realize that life doesn’t last forever. Sometimes we don’t pay as much attention to our young children as we should. In part, I’m guilty of that. But my four older children, all of whom are over sixty years old, and I are very close. We’ve always had a good relationship. They all live here in Baton Rouge and we talk and see each other on a regular basis.

Me: What is something special you enjoy doing with Eli?

Governor Edwards: I guess everything. (Laughs.) We have a water slide in the backyard and he spends a lot of time on that. We also have swings and I spend a lot of time swinging him. He loves bubbles, so we have a couple of bubble machines. We sit and watch the bubbles come out. I put him in the golf cart and ride him around the golf course [where we live] at least three or four times a day, and also at least one time a day to the local grocery store for an icy Coke.

Me: What are some special activities you enjoy as a family?

Governor Edwards: We just got back from a cruise to some Caribbean islands. We also spent a week in Florida. And a friend of mine has a very fine guest ranch in Mississippi, so we spent a week there. We spend a lot of time together, but always with Eli.

Me: What do you appreciate about your life now?

Governor Edwards: Not only is Trina a loving and attentive wife, she’s been very helpful to me because I’m getting on in years. She’s more than a soulmate, she’s like a nurse and a companion to me. But also, she’s a wonderful mother. I know that if I die in the next few years, my child will be left in good hands.

Me: You’re going to be ninety years old. What’s your key to longevity?

Governor Edwards: I’m very lucky. I have very good genes. My mother lived to ninety-six, my father to seventy-six. I have two grandparents who lived to be over a hundred years old. Because of my upbringing and my own personal discipline, I never used tobacco of any kind, never drank anything. Let me repeat that, I never drank any alcohol and I never used illicit drugs. Frankly, I’ve taken care of myself. I have only one bad habit. I love hog cracklin's.

Me: Do you have an exercise regiment?

Governor Edwards: Yes. I run after Eli.

Me: You have a great sense of humor. How did you develop your wit?

Governor Edwards: Some people say I’m just half-witted. (Laughs.)

Me: What are you most proud of in terms of in terms of your political legacy?

Governor Edwards: I’m the only person who’s ever been elected governor of Louisiana four times. That’s a great achievement and makes me very proud, considering my humble beginnings. Even when I was in prison and since then, repeated polls have shown me and continue to show me as the most popular former governor, and I’m very, very honored by that.

Me: Is there anything you did as a governor that you’re particularly proud of?

Governor Edwards: In my first term in the early 1970s, I did something nobody said I could do: write and get a new constitution adopted. We were the first state in twenty-five years to do that on the first try. The constitution is still in effect and has helped us to reduce the size of government, which reduces the cost of government and makes it more effect and more responsible.

Me: Do you have any thoughts about our current political climate?

Governor Edwards: When I was in Congress, we had Republicans and Democrats, and we met in principled compromise and got things done. Now, if the Democrats are for it, the Republicans are against it, and vice versa. That’s not the way to run the government. The government is to serve the people and those who are elected need to understand that.

Me: Parting thoughts?

Govern Edwards: People ask me from time to time what I think is wrong with the country. There’s too much animosity between people of different ideologies. In part, I think it’s because when Congress and state legislatures divided the districts so that they would accommodate either parties or races, they created other districts that had just the opposite. When I was in Congress, I had a district that was 35% black and 65% white. I had to be very careful to represent the best interests of both parties. Now so many people represent only all white districts or all conservative districts, and they have little regard for the liberals and the poor and needy and other people outside of their party. On the other hand, some represent only major black districts and don’t have enough regard for the concerns of white folks. My point is, legislatures and members of Congress should represent districts that combine what is great about America – people of every stripe and religion and economic status - and give them every opportunity to make life better for themselves.

A 90th birthday celebration for the governor will take place on August 12th at the Renaissance Baton Rouge Hotel. To purchase commemorative artwork and souvenir photos, click here .

HELPFUL HINTS FROM ELLEN BYRON, AUTHOR AND NEW ORLEANS AFFICIONADO

It's official. The Big Easy has beat out my hometown, The Big Apple, as my favorite city in America. I adore New Orleans' warmth, exuberance, and fascinating culture. But even though the Crescent City is magical, it's important to remember that it's still an actual city, replete with all the pluses and minuses of a major metropolis. Here are Do's and Don'ts that will help you laissez les bon temps rouler - let the good times roll. Most of this info relates to the French Quarter, since that's where visitors, especially first-timers, spend the bulk of their stay.

DO: Eat at off hours. During normal meal times, you may find an hour-long wait at the most casual French Quarter restaurant. So go earlier or later. We went to Mother's, one of my favorite haunts, at 4:45 one day simply because we were starving at that time. We got right in. Ten minutes later, there was a line down the block. This is especially true if the Saints are in town. Those fans like to eat and party!

DO: Visit quirky museums and watering holes. You certainly want to go to The Presbytere, with its wonderful exhibits and beautiful location next to St. Louis Cathedral. But the city's quirky museums are absolutely worth a visit, like the funky New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum and the also-funky New Orleans Historical Pharmacie Museum. For a memorable Vieux Carre afternoon, follow a museum visit with a little libation at one of the city's historic bars like the Napoleon House or Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, the oldest bar in the Quarter. And add the World War II Museum to your list. Bring tissues and plan to spend at least a few hours there.

DO: Take the time to stroll along the Moonwalk and watch vessels glide down the Mighty Mississippi. I've always loved relaxing on the wooden stairs that abut the river at the foot of Jackson Square. Nothing soothes me like listening to the Mississippi lap at my feet with occasional ship's horn in the distance. Adjacent to the Moonwalk, you'll find both Washington Artillery Park - a raised plaza that offers a great view of Jackson Square - and in the other direction, Woldenberg Riverfront Park. Enjoy a lovely walk with river vistas in one direction and the Quarter in the other. Sidebar: Moonwalk is named for the city's legendary mayor, Moon Landrieu, who spurred the walk's development in the 70s.

DO: Take a streetcar ride up St. Charles Avenue. The St. Charles Avenue streetcar offers a beautiful, old-timey ride that passes through the city's gracious Garden District and the mansions of Uptown. (Built later than the Garden district, this area is also known as the Silk Stocking Ward.)You’ll tootle by Loyola University and my alma mater, Tulane University. (Roll, Wave!) Both are across the street from Audubon Park. You can stay on the streetcar to the Riverbend neighborhood and stop for lunch at Camellia Grill, whose waffles, burgers, and pecan pie are legendary. But make sure you get on the right streetcar, or you could end up going in the wrong direction.

DO: Wear comfy shoes and be careful on the streets and sidewalks. New Orleans is a centuries-old city and some of their infrastructure reflects that. You can be walking on asphalt streets one minute and cobblestones the next. Stick to shoes you can trust and keep an eye on the pavement under your feet.

DO: REALLY Watch where you step on Bourbon Street. Everything you've heard about Bourbon Street is true. There's nothing like walking past a strip club barker with your sixteen year-old just as the man yells out jovially, "It's T--ty Time!" (Hope I didn't offend anyone, but I had to share!) All party roads eventually lead to Bourbon Street, and the unpleasant result of too many Dacquiris or Hurricanes can be icky puddles of you-know-what on the ground. So keep one eye on the crazy and one eye on the ground.

IMPORTANT MUSIC NOTE: The music venues were silenced by COVID. But they're slowly opening up to live music. Make sure to stroll Frenchmen Street and stop into a club. Click here for more information on the music, bars, and food you can find on this glorious street.

AND NOW SOME IMPORTANT DON'TS:

DON’T: Wander off the beaten path at night. New Orleans - especially the French Quarter- may feel like an adult Disneyland, but it's not. There's crime, like in any major city, so protect yourself by making your wallet as inaccessible as possible and doing your nighttime exploring in a group. I was told by natives that it’s best not to stray past Dauphine Street in the late evening. Where's Dauphine, you ask? I couldn't tell you north, south, east or west in NOLA if you put a gun to my head - which unfortunately has happened to some visitors. I can tell you that it's away from the river. Sidebar: you'll frequently hear these kind of directions in the city. "How do I get to Decatur Street?" "Walk two blocks toward the river." "Where's Rampart Street?" "It's six blocks away from the river." The Mississippi serves as a de facto compass for NOLA.

DON’T: be surprised when your hotel bill shoots up at checkout. Holy moly, we were! The city tacks a lot of taxes onto your room rate. By the time they were figured into our bill, our nightly rate increased by 20%. It didn't break the bank, but it did up-end our budget a bit. So either check before you make a reservation or assume there will be an increase and prepare for it. And if you dodge it, let me know where you stayed.

DON’T: lose track of your liquor consumption. In a city where people walk around wearing sixty-four ounce fish bowls full of liquor around their necks - I kid you not - this is very easy to do. New Orleans is open-carry when it comes to booze. As long as it's in a plastic container of some kind, you're good to go, which is why you see people stumbling drunk at 8 a.m. Pace yourself, people. If you don't, there's a good chance you’ll be the one barfing up what others are trying to step over.

DON’T: be shocked by the number of homeless people with dogs. Especially on Decatur Street near the French Market, where you'll see them in practically every doorway. I nearly went broke handing out dollar bills, along with warnings that the money was to be used for the animals. I saw homeless men and women who cherished their pets, and vagrants who seemed to use them as a tool to garner sympathy dollars from rubes like me. I will say that the dogs seemed well-fed. But it still upset me, which is why I'm including this warning in my list.

DON’T: be afraid to be a tourist. Go ahead, hit those restaurants you’ve heard about for years. Places like Antoine’s, Brennan's, Galatoires, et al, have been around for decades and even centuries not because they’re tourist traps but because the locals still frequent them. Here's an example. My family was at Brennan's having a drink before dinner during a recent visit when I was surprised by an old college pal who happened to be there with her daughter. She told me that Antoine's would be closed the next night for a private debutante party. (Being a deb is a huge deal in NOLA.) To take advantage of Antoine's Happy Hour at their Hermes Bar, we flipped around our evening plans.

DON'T: forget to carry a sweater or light wrap and an umbrella. As hot and humid as it might be outdoors, it's usually that cold and clammy inside. The temperature transition is enough to make your sweat freeze. I had some of the worst colds of my life when I lived there. Stick a light sweater or shawl into your tote bag. Along with an umbrella. NOLA's climate is semi-tropical, meaning a downpour might drench you at any given moment. If it's a bright, sunny, incredibly hot day, the umbrella can double as a sunshade. In the summer, there may be days when it's called upon to provide both functions.

NOW FOR THOSE SHOPPING TIPS!

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites:

PRALINES AND CANDY:

Leah's Pralines

SOUVENIRS:

The Historic New Orleans Collection (also a free museum with great exhibits)

Roux Royale

Toulouse Royale Gifts

STITCHING CRAFTS

The Quarter Stitch

Needlework Vault - not in the Quarter, but a fab selection of New Orleans canvases, especially small ornaments featuring local sights and signs

TAROT AND SPIRITUAL READINGS, ETC.

Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo - this also links to Reverend Zombie's

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

BOOKS

Faulkner House Books

Octavia Books

Garden District Bookshop

More bookstores in the Quarter

And my favorite book sale - the Friends Book Sale at the Milton Latter Library's Carriage House Bookshop on St. Charles Avenue

And of course... MY FAVORITE BAR

It used to be Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, but the tourists found it and now it's packed. So my new favorite bar is...

Patrick's Bar Vin

And I live for the Pimm's Cups at Napoleon House, which also has great jambalaya and muffalettas, as well as other delicious eats.

These are just a few suggestions on how to have a great time in The Big Easy from moi. Readers, if you have any do's and don'ts about visiting New Orleans, I'd love to hear them! Scroll down to write or read COMMENTS.

Here's the cover for CAJUN KISS OF DEATH , the seventh book in my Agatha Award-winning, bestselling Cajun Country Mystery Series...

The next shot from Cupid's bow may be fatal in USA Today bestselling, Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron's hearty and delightful seventh Cajun Country mystery.

In Pelican, Louisiana, Valentine's Day has a way of warming the heart, despite the February chill. But the air at Crozat Plantation B&B turns decidedly frigid when celebrity chef Phillippe Chanson checks in. And when the arrogant Phillippe--in town to open his newest Cajun-themed restaurant--perishes in a fiery boat crash, Maggie Crozat's dear friend JJ lands in very cold water.

Did JJ, proprietor of Junie's Oyster Bar and Dance Hall, murder Phillippe because he feared the competition? Might Maggie's mother, Ninette, have bumped off the chef for stealing one of her cherished recipes? Or was the culprit a local seafood vendor, miffed because Phillippe was somehow able to sell oysters for a remarkably reasonable price, despite an oyster shortage?

Maggie had planned to devote her February to art lessons in New Orleans, a present from her sweetheart, Bo. But now she has to focus on helping her friend and her mother cross a murder charge off the menu. Meanwhile, Maggie receives a series of anonymous gifts that begin as charming but grow increasingly disturbing. Does Maggie have an admirer--or a stalker? And are these mysterious gifts somehow related to Phillippe's murder?

Blood may be thicker than water, but this case is thicker than gumbo. And solving it will determine whether Maggie gets hearts and roses--or hearse and lilies--this Valentine's Day.

And here are some new headshots...

Thanks for visiting. Soon, a cover reveal for IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE MURDER, my third Catering Hall Mystery, which I write under the pen name, "Maria DiRico."

Hi, it's Maria DiRico, who is also Ellen Byron. People often ask about how I come up with the recipes in my books. Basically, I'll get an idea of what fits well with the plot, then either create my own recipes or tweak existing ones until I can call them mine. It's not easy. Sometimes I fail. (See "R.I.P. Sweet Potato Praline Recipe in my Cajun Country Mystery, MURDER IN THE BAYOU BONEYARD.) But I am super proud of my recipe for Cannoli Cake, which you'll find in my latest Catering Hall Mystery, LONG ISLAND ICED TINA.

This photo is from my friend Kim Davis's blog post on her fabulous website, Cinnamon Sugar and a Little Bit of Murder. She did an amazing job of recreating the recipe, adjusting to her baking needs. She even produced a video to show how she made the cake! You can read her post and see the video by clicking here. Or... you can pick up a copy of LONG ISLAND ICED TINA and see the original version of my recipe by clicking here.

P.S. If you haven't read HERE COMES THE BODY, the first Catering Hall Mystery, it's available on Kindle Unlimited right now. Click here!

Did you know that "Maria DiRico" and "Ellen Byron" are the same person? That's right, "Maria DiRico" is the pen name for the Catering Hall Mysteries. How did I come up with that name? Well, it was inspired by a real person very special to me. As I celebrate the upcoming launch of LONG ISLAND ICED TINA, my second Cajun Country Mystery, watch this video to learn about the real Maria DiRico.

And here's cover for LONG ISLAND ICED TINA. I love it!

Hi, reader friends! I just learned that the e-editions of two of my Agatha-nominated Cajun Country Mysteries - A CAJUN CHRISTMAS KILLING and FATAL CAJUN FESTIVAL - are on sale through at least December 22 and hopefully the rest of the month for $1.99. Click here for a link to all e-editions of A CAJUN CHRISTMAS KILLING. And click here for a link to all e-editions of FATAL CAJUN FESTIVAL. I can never figure out the vagaries of publisher's sales pricing, so I sure hope these deals last.

Thank you so much for your support. I hope reading my humorous mysteries helps bring joy to your holidays. Enjoy these images of homemade ornaments featuring the covers for both books currently on sale. (I make them for all my book covers. :-) )