Kathy: In Murder in the Wine Country Kelly Jackson is participating in an event involving wine tastings and a culinary competition. I would love to attend such an event. Have you been to something similar?
JF: Yes, I have. My books, which are set in the fictional town of Redwood Cove, all have festivals or events in them based on real ones that I’ve attended in northern California. I REALLY enjoy the food and wine research I do for the series! In Murder in the Wine Country I used ideas from Sostenuto: A Celebration of Sustainability as well as the Lexus Grand Tasting.
Sostenuto is a fundraiser for the Mendocino Music Festival. Five food areas are set up in the gardens of a private home along with wine tasting stations. The Grand Tasting featured chefs from all over the country with very creative food offerings. Local wineries participated as well.
Kathy: I'm lucky in that I live in the center of three distinct viticultural areas and have lots of local wines to love. Are you a wine drinker? Do you have a favorite type of wine?
JF: I also live near wine country. Napa, Sonoma, and Livermore are just a short drive away. When I drink red wine, I like a merlot. Sauvignon blanc is my choice when it comes to white wine.
Kathy: For the competition here professional chefs will forage for wild edible greens. I've always been interested, but afraid I'd pick the wrong thing...with possible deadly results. Have you ever foraged for food?
JF: No, I haven’t. I enjoyed the research I did and was surprised to find out how many varieties of wild edible plants there are. While preparing to write Murder at the Mushroom Festival, I attended several classes about identifying and picking mushrooms. After what I learned, I decided I wasn’t going to be foraging for wild mushrooms. That particular season I learned over a hundred people had died in Mendocino County from eating poisonous mushrooms.
Kathy: The Silver Sentinels join the Succulent Saviors to thwart the poaching operation here. Why do you think senior sleuths are important to stories?
JF: Seniors can add a different perspective to a story based on their many years of experience and the events that have taken place during their lives. In addition, my Silver Sentinels have lived in Redwood Cove for a long time. They have many connections as well as being very knowledgeable about the area.
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?
JF: There wasn’t one specific inspiration. I’m always on the lookout for unusual and interesting ideas to weave into my mysteries. There was a front-page story in our local newspaper about the massive amount of plant poaching happening on the coast. My town of Redwood Cove is based on Mendocino, California. That’s where they made the first big find regarding the plant thefts. I’d never heard about plant poaching before and decided that would go in Murder in the Wine Country.
At the Lexus Grand Tasting, I spoke with a chef who was excited about the plant foraging she was going to do when the event was over. She had never hunted for wild edibles in California before and had signed up for a class. I thought it would be fun for the chefs in my book to go hunting as well.
There’s a wine merchant who teaches Kelly Jackson, my main character, about some of the finer points of wine tasting. She manages Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast in the wine country and wants to learn more so she can “talk wine” with interested guests. A winetasting class was offered near where I live, and I decided to take it. It was really fascinating. The gentleman teaching it was extremely knowledgeable. He also was a retired police officer, so I had a chance to ask some questions about things other than wine!
Kathy: Are you able to share any future plans for Kelly?
JF: The relationship between Kelly and Scott will continue to evolve slowly. She might convince him to go horseback riding with her. I’m considering having her parents come for a visit. If they do, they’ll bring Kelly’s buckskin horse, Lucy.
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
JF: I’m happy to share some thoughts I have. A stable near Mendocino used to offer horseback rides with overnight stays at different inns. Kelly and the owner of Redwood Cove Stable talked about doing something like that in a previous book.
One event I attended and haven’t incorporated into my books yet is the Mendocino Music Festival. Groups from all over the world attend. There’s a massive white tent that is set up on the headlands in Mendocino to accommodate large musical performances. There are many small groups playing throughout the town at various locations. It attracts a wide variety of people in terms of performers and attendees.
A few years back, I attended the Fourth of July parade in Mendocino. One local said to me that it attracts many of the people living in the hills. For some, it is the one time they come to town and mingle with the townspeople. The parade itself had some unusual floats with people artistically displaying their different beliefs and opinions.
These are just some of my ideas. We’ll see which ones make it into my future books!
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Murder in the Wine Country (A Kelly Jackson Mystery) by Janet Finsilver
About Murder in the Wine Country
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Underground (April 28, 2020)
Paperback: 178 pages
Weeding out killers wasn’t part of the job description . . .
Kelly Jackson, manager of the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast, is excited to participate in an event to raise awareness for the plight of struggling veterans in their Northern California coastal community. Local wineries are sponsoring tastings, and to prepare for a culinary competition, professional chefs will forage for wild edible greens. Kelly plans to come along, despite a warning to beware of poachers, who have been stealing the highly valued succulent Dudleya farinosa. The senior sleuths who call themselves the Silver Sentinels join forces with environmental activists known as the Succulent Saviors to thwart the poaching operation. When a consultant for the sale of a local winery is murdered, the poachers are suspected—but so is a wine merchant, Kelly's friend Phil. As Kelly and the Silver Sentinels attempt to root out the real killer, what she digs up might just put her permanently underground . . .
Janet Finsilver is the USA TODAY best-selling author of the Kelly Jackson mystery series. She worked in education for many years as a teacher, a program administrator, and a workshop presenter. Janet majored in English and earned a Master’s Degree in Education. She loves animals and has two dogs—Kylie and Ellie. Janet has ridden western style since she was a child and was a member of the National Ski Patrol. One of the highlights of her life was touching whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon. MURDER AT REDWOOD COVE, her debut mystery, was released on October 13, 2015. Five books followed with her most recent release on April 28, 2020, of book six, MURDER IN THE WINE COUNTRY.
Janet Finsilver and her husband reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. She enjoys cooking, and a recent attempt to reduce the number of cookbooks in the cupboard wasn’t very successful. She’s an avid reader—of course!
Please feel free to visit and/or contact me on my author Facebook page and my website. https://www.facebook.com/janetfinsilverauthor/ http://janetfinsilver.com/
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I envy you living in the SF bay area I lived there for 49 years then married an Iowan and now live in Iowa. Would love to see all of my grandchildren I have 5 several of them I have seen for 13 yrs but I do talk to them I am battling a disease called RSd. Good luck with your book which is on my TBR list in print so i can read and review peggy clayton ptclayton2 at aol.com
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