Cozy Up With Kathy: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder: An Interview, Review, & Giveaway

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder: An Interview, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Valerie Burns to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Valerie writes the Baker Street Mystery series. TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER is the first book in the series and will be released Tuesday!

Kathy: You start a new series with TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER. Why start a new series and what was its inspiration?

VB: I wrote 3 cozy mystery series for several years. However, in 2020 I finished my last contractual book, and I had no other books on the horizon. It was a bit of a shock to realize. I needed to regroup. Here was an opportunity to do something different. So, I evaluated my likes/dislikes. I briefly considered writing a something completely different, but my heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t enjoy it. I wanted to write the types of books that I love to read, cozy mysteries. So, I dusted myself off and wrote two proposals for new series. I love dogs. I love food. Both of the new proposals included dogs. One included food. Here was an opportunity to write something fun and different. To my surprise, and joy, both proposals sold. Then my publisher decided to continue my Mystery Bookshop series. So, after a brief hiatus, I’m back in my happy place, writing 3 cozy mystery series.

Kathy: After being left at the altar, Maddy Montgomery gets an opportunity to regroup and rebrand. Have you ever rebranded yourself?

VB: Like Maddy Montgomery, I have regrouped and rebranded myself many times. Returning to grad school for another Masters Degree (MFA) to pursue a career as a writer, and moving from Michigan to Tennessee, were both big regrouping/rebranding opportunities. Starting this new series is a rebranding of sorts. Maddy (and Baby) are both very different from my other series. Even using my name, Valerie Burns, instead of V. M. Burns, is another form of rebranding.

Kathy: Maddy is a social media maven. Are you all things #media or do you prefer it in small doses?

VB: I get a great deal of pleasure living vicariously through my characters. Maddy is the social media diva that I long to be. Maybe one day…

Kathy: Maddy is tasked with running her late aunt's bakery. Do you like to bake?

VB: I do enjoy baking, but the planets have to be aligned perfectly for me to actually do it. I enjoy the creative process and eating the finished results. I’m not a fan of the cleanup.

Kathy: Maddy also has to care for a 250-pound English mastiff named Baby. I love dogs, especially big dogs, but I've never known a dog as big as Baby. What about you?

VB: I love dogs and I have 2 toy poodles (Chloe and Kenzie). I have 2 friends who both had English mastiffs and loved them. Both were well over 200 lbs. Including a mastiff in this series, provides an opportunity for me to live vicariously through Maddy. I get all of the benefits without any of the consequences of owning a big dog. I consider it the best of both worlds.

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?

VB: I’m a pantser who longs to be a plotter. I’ve tried many times to switch, but I was miserable. My editor requires a synopsis, so I have a general idea of where the story is going, but I get a great deal of pleasure in letting my characters free and seeing where they take me.

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?

VB: Promoting my books forces me outside of my comfort zone in many ways. I enjoy talking to readers. However, talking to strangers is the scariest and also one of the best parts of promoting my books. I’m often nervous before a book event. However, afterward, I come away energized.

Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

VB: In December 2022, the 8th book in my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series, BOOKCLUBBED TO DEATH will release. Next year, be on the lookout for a new cozy mystery series, which is yet untitled. Check out my website and sign up for my newsletter to get the latest information when its available.

**********************************************************************

Review

TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER by Valerie Burns
The First Baker Street Mystery

Humiliated when her fiance is a no show for their live streamed wedding, social media expert Madison Montgomery is eager to get out of town and lie low. The opportunity arises when a great aunt she barely knew died and named Maddy her sole heir. Leaving LA for New Bison, Michigan Maddy learns she must live in Aunt Octavia's house, run her bakery, and take care of Baby, her 250 pound English Mastiff. Eager to prove herself, Maddy takes on the challenge, even though she can't cook. Things get more difficult when a fire breaks out in the bakery and the mayor is found dead inside. What was the Mayor doing in her shop after hours? Will Maddy be able to start a successful new life? Or will a killer stop her before she can even get started?

As I started TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER I did not like #SocialMedia Maddy. I found her shallow, snobbish, and immature. Or, as Great Aunt Octavia said, spoiled. However, I soon discovered that Maddy had a good heart and was willing to see her imperfections. As the book progressed, so did she, and I see her growing as the series continues. In the end, I like her! I also like the friends she's made in New Bison. Now, I had to willingly suspend my belief. I know a few people with dementia, and I've never seen it presented like Hannah, who is perfectly fine, then doesn't know who anyone is, but docilely goes with them, naps and wakes perfectly lucid again. I also doubt a sheriff quickly makes friend with a person of interest, even if they don't believe them guilty. Still, suspending my disbelief, I really liked them and the friendship they cultivated with Maddy. I grinned at the fact that a romantic interest happens to be a vet, when she's done with doctors and I enjoy the navy/army ribbing. I absolutely adore Baby.

I enjoyed the mystery and while we have a conclusion, I think we'll discover not all has been resolved. There's a lot more shady things happening in New Bison and I can't wait to discover more! There are recipes at the end of the book, but, while it may be a family secret, I hope Maddy eventually shares Octavia's chocolate cake recipe. In the meantime, I'll have to be satisfied with those of her apple turnover and lemon zucchini bread.

TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER is a satisfying tale of deceit and murder, while coming to your own. New friendships, delectable dishes, and an engaging mystery make a great start to a new series.

*********************************************************************

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder (A Baker Street Mystery) by Valerie Burns

About Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder (A Baker Street Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - Michigan
Kensington Cozies (August 30, 2022)
Paperback: ‎ 272 pages

In this delectable new cozy mystery series, social media maven Maddy Montgomery’s perfectly ’grammable life has come undone, and she’s #StartingOver in a tiny town with one giant problem—a killer on the loose . . .
When Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their livestream wedding, it’s a disaster that no amount of filtering can fix. But a surprise inheritance offers a chance to regroup and rebrand—as long as Maddy is willing to live in her late, great-aunt Octavia’s house in New Bison, Michigan, for a year, running her bakery and caring for a 250-pound English mastiff named Baby.
Maddy doesn’t bake, and her Louboutins aren’t made for walking giant dogs around Lake Michigan, but the locals are friendly and the scenery is beautiful. With help from her aunt’s loyal friends, aka the Baker Street Irregulars, Maddy feels ready to tackle any challenge, including Octavia’s award-winning cake recipes. That is, until New Bison’s mayor is fatally stabbed, and Maddy’s fingerprints are found on the knife . . .
Something strange is going on in New Bison. It seems Aunt Octavia had her suspicions, too. But Maddy’s going to need a whole lot more than a trending hashtag to save her reputation—and her life.

About Valerie Burns

Valerie (V. M.) Burns is the author of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. Her first book, The Plot is Murder, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Debut Novel. She is the author of the Dog Club Mystery Series, the RJ Franklin Mysteries, a three-time finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and an Edgar Award-nominated short story. Her newest series, Baker Street Mysteries, will release later this year, and her Pet Detective Mystery series will release in 2023. Valerie is on the board of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a member of Dog Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, and International Thriller Writers. She is a manager for a Fortune 100 company and a mentor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie currently lives in the southeastern United States with her two poodles. Readers can visit her website at vmburns.com.

Author Links:

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/v-m-burns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vmburnsbooks/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16534140.V_M_Burns

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vmburnsbooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vmburns

Website: vmburns.com

Purchase Links: