Scone Cold Killer - An Interview, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Lena Gregory back to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Lena writes, the All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series. Scone Cold Killer is the first book in the series and was released this past Friday.

Kathy: You start a new series with Scone Cold Killer. Did you have a specific inspiration for it?

LG: When I was a kid, I worked at my grandfather’s deli in a small town on the east end of Long Island. I loved working there, getting to know everyone in the neighborhood, hearing all the good gossip as soon as it came out. That was the inspiration for the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries series. I wanted to recapture that hometown feel.


Kathy: Gia Morelli opens up an all day breakfast cafe. Why did you choose only breakfasts?

LG: I worked in a deli, and I worked grill at Friendly’s. And I always worked the breakfast shift, so it was the most comfortable for me. Plus, I love having breakfast for lunch and even dinner sometimes.


Kathy: I'm a fan of breakfast foods myself, from pancakes and bacon to biscuits and gravy. What's your favorite breakfast food.

LG: Yikes! It’s so hard to choose. I think my favorite is a western omelet on a roll with American cheese, bacon, and pepper.


Kathy: You change the setting in your new series. I know why Gia did it, but why did you move from New York to Florida.

LG: I lived in Florida for a couple of years when I was younger and my husband got a job offer down there, and I loved it. But it was very different from New York, and it definitely took some getting used to. I thought it would be fun to revisit the time I spent there and have Gia struggle with some of the same things.


Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?

LG: When I started writing, I was without a doubt a panster. After writing my characters into a corner a few times, I started plotting a little more. I guess now I fall somewhere in the middle but more toward a plotter.


Kathy: Authors are required to do a lot of their own marketing, especially for a new release. What's your favorite part of marketing your work? What do you dislike about marketing?

LG: I absolutely love having facebook parties for my new releases! I enjoy getting to know my readers and other authors, and I really have a lot of fun. I think the thing I dislike most is selling myself. I don’t like pushing my books on people, and I’m not very good at it.


Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

LG: Book three in my Bay Island Psychic Mysteries series, Clairvoyant and Present Danger, will be releasing on February 6, 2018. Murder Made to Order & Cold Brew Killing, All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries #2 and #3 are also scheduled for release in June and September.


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Review

SCONE COLD KILLER by Lena Gregory

The First All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery

Gia Morelli wanted nothing more than to leave New York City and start a new life in Florida without the taint of scandal surrounding her. With the help of her good friend, Savannah, she opens her All-Day Breakfast Café with relative success, despite not having grits to serve and dealing with a lazy cook she needs to fire. Gia soon discovers that her past has followed her when she takes out the trash only to find the dead body of her ex-husband in her dumpster. Does someone want her to pay for her ex-husbands sins?

Friendship is one of the key themes in SCONE COLD KILLER. What does it mean to be a friend? What lengths will you go to to help a friend? Do I want to be friends with the people inhabiting this book? I have some issues with Gia Morelli. While she certainly is a well developed character, I found her fearfulness, admittedly warranted to some degree, and carelessness off putting. The secondary characters, however, are interesting, likable people with whom I want to hang around, especially Earl, Harley, and Savannah. There is backstory just oozing out of these characters and I can't wait to read more about them.

The first All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery is a promising start to a new series. There is an interesting mystery with lots of undercurrents, good food, a cute puppy, and a warm feeling of friendship.


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