Murder in the Wine Country - An Interview

I'm happy to welcome Janet Finsilver back to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Janet writes the Kelly Jackson Mystery series. Murder in the Wine Country is the sixth book in the series and was released last month.

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

Murder in the Wine Country (A Kelly Jackson Mystery) 

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/

Author Links:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/janetfinsilverauthor/?fref=ts  
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JanetFinsilver  
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/janetfinsilver/  
Web – http://janetfinsilver.com/  

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N –

Redwood Cove Events - A Guest Post

I'm pleased to welcome Kelly Jackson to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Kelly on the pages of the Kelly Jackson Mystery series by Janet Finsilver. Murder at the Marina is the fifth book in the series and was released earlier this month.

Redwood Cove Events

by Janet Finsilver

Hello! My name is Kelly Jackson, and I’ve been asked to do a character guest post. I manage Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast in the lovely fictional town of Redwood Cove created by Janet Finsilver for her mystery series. It’s located in northern California on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Talk about a dream job! I’m in a beautiful setting and work with wonderful people.

I’m new to the area and want to learn as much about it as possible for my guests. This means going to all the food and wine festivals…of which there are a lot. Like I said, a dream job. Redwood Cove has kept its charm because it’s only accessible by a fairly long drive on twisty roads from any densely populated areas. Because of this, the community puts on a lot of events to entice people to make the drive.

I’d like to describe a few of them to you. The first one I attended was the Chocolate and Wine Festival. Wine is part of most events because Redwood Cove is located in the wine country. This was my first experience of having chocolate and wine paired together, and I found the combination tasty. Fountains flowed with rich chocolate. We used toothpicks to spear a wide variety of fruit and coat the pieces with the warm chocolate. There were entrees as well using dark chocolate as part of the ingredients. And, of course, an abundance of the type of delectable goodies you’d expect at an event involving chocolate.

Next came the Whale Festival. This takes place during the time of year the whales migrate south. I’m from Wyoming, so it was very exciting for me to see the giant creatures leap out of the water and observe their plumes of spray. The event started with chowder tasting in the morning. Chefs from numerous restaurants brought their favorite chowder creations. Not surprisingly, everything was delicious. In the afternoon, you can buy a ticket, get a glass and a map, and walk through the town sipping, you guessed it, wine and sampling a variety of appetizers from participating businesses.

The most recent event I attended was the Russian Heritage Festival which is described in Janet’s latest book, Murder at the Marina. I got to see demonstrations of candle making, what a Russian tea service looked like in the eighteen hundreds, and best of all, I watched the Cossacks perform wonderful feats on horseback.

Festivals and events are woven into all of Janet’s books so readers have a chance to experience some of the fun taking place. I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into Redwood Cove activities!

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Murder at the Marina (A Kelly Jackson Mystery) by Janet Finsilver

About the Book

 

Murder at the Marina (A Kelly Jackson Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 5th in Series  

Lyrical Underground (April 2, 2019)  

Print Length: ~200 Pages 

She’s got to solve this—or her friends are sunk . . .

Kelly Jackson, manager of the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast, is fond of the Doblinsky brothers, Ivan and Rudy, members of the Silver Sentinels, a crew of crime-solving senior citizens in their Northern California seaside hamlet. After she discovers a jewel-encrusted dagger—with what appears to be dried blood on the blade—on their fishing boat, they share their family history with Kelly, and she learns that the knife may be part of a set from their long-ago childhood in Russia. Its sudden reappearance is eerie, but the mystery grows much more serious when a body is found on the boat. The victim was staying at Kelly’s inn, in town for a Russian Heritage Festival, and some of the organizers were clearly harboring some bitterness. But the story behind this murder seems as layered as a nesting doll—and Kelly’s feeling completely at sea . . .

About the Author

 
Janet Finsilver is the USA TODAY bestselling 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. Her second book, MURDER AT THE MANSION, was released on June 7, 2016. Book 3, MURDER AT THE FORTUNE TELLER’S TABLE was released on March 14, 2017.    

Author Links:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/janetfinsilverauthor/?fref=ts  
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JanetFinsilver
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/janetfinsilver/  
Web – http://janetfinsilver.com/  

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Google Play

Researching Mushrooms - A Guest Post with Recipe & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Janet Finsilver to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Janet writes the Kelly Jackson Mystery series. Murder at the Mushroom Festival is the fourth book in the series and was released April 17th.

Researching Mushrooms

By Janet Finsilver

All of the books in my murder mystery series have special events in them based on real ones that take place in northern California. For the fourth book, Murder at the Mushroom Festival, I decided to use the Mendocino County Mushroom, Beer, and Wine Fest for my model. I read about the different activities and culinary choices and decided to attend several of them.

I participated in a cooking class put on by Assaggiare Mendocino. Chef and proprietor Julia Kendrick Conway provided an opportunity to learn about different types of mushrooms, a foraging walk, and a cooking session. The class met in her lovely home in the redwoods in Fort Bragg.

She had prepared a display with many different types of fungi. Later we used them in the recipes we prepared. Julia explained that for the classes she was required to buy commercially certified mushrooms, and we wouldn’t be using any of the ones we found. The class then went on a walk starting in her backyard and then into the surrounding area.

One of the surprises I had was how many mushrooms were all around us. Once we began to look, people were pointing them out almost constantly. Another new piece of information had to do with the wide variety of shapes and colors. The ones I was familiar with were the common varieties in grocery stores. What I now saw was a mushroom fantasyland as you’ll see in the photographs.




After the hike, we assembled in her kitchen. Julia had chosen a number of recipes for us. Everyone in class participated in cleaning mushrooms, chopping, and mixing. The mini wood-fired pizzas were my favorite. Julia had chosen local wines to accompany the fabulous food. It was a lot of fun!

I attended a few culinary events and a display at the Ford House Museum in Mendocino, then headed home. As the book began to take shape, a mushroom festival became an integral part of the story. I felt I needed to know a lot more about the fungi and headed back to Mendocino. I enrolled in a mushroom ID class put on by the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Mycologist Mario Abreu taught the class. I had met him when doing research for Murder at the Fortuneteller’s Table, which involves poisonous plants.

I decided to create a contest in the book. Originally I was going to have a prize for the most mushrooms found and one for the widest variety of fungi. Mario created a display of mushrooms he’d found on a couple hour walk near his home. It was on a huge table and the fungi covered it from end to end. I took out the “most mushrooms found” contest in my mystery!

At the end of the class he asked if I’d learned anything helpful for my book. I said yes, but I’d also have to change my opening scene. Mario told the class it’s a myth that you will get poisoned by touching a poisonous mushroom which I had in my opening scene. After some discussion, he agreed an allergic reaction could happen. Chapter one was back in place!

Porcini Crusted Paillard of Chicken

½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms

4 half breasts of chicken, sliced in half horizontally and pounded lightly

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pound mixed wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup crème fraiche or heavy cream

Salt and pepper


Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until tender and aromatic, but not browned. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add the wine, simmering until liquid is almost fully reduced, 1-2 minutes. Add the crème fraiche and cook, stirring, until evenly blended. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Put the dried porcini in a spice mill or coffee grinder and reduce to a fine powder. Transfer the powder to a plate. Pat chicken filets dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Coat chicken filets on all sides with porcini powder, patting lightly to remove excess.

Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat (non stick works particularly well). When hot, add chicken and reduce heat to medium. Cook until the surface is browned and caramelized (the chicken will lift easily when ready to turn), 3-5 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until they spring back to the touch, but are not hard. Remove to a plate and serve with the warm mushroom ragout on the side.


© Assaggiare Mendocino, 2008

Murder at the Mushroom Festival (A Kelly Jackson Mystery) by Janet Finsilver

 

About the Book

Murder at the Mushroom Festival (A Kelly Jackson Mystery)  

Cozy Mystery 4th in Series  

Lyrical Underground (April 17, 2018) Paperback: 176 pages

There’s a corpse among the chanterelles!

Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast manager Kelly Jackson is hosting a cooking class during the Week of the Mushroom festival to attract guests, not drama. But soon after she finishes foraging for an edible mushroom species on sacred Native American land, a local newspaper reporter gets shot dead at the same site. With suspicions spreading like fungi in the quaint Northern Californian community over the culprit’s identity, Kelly and a savvy gang of sleuthing seniors known as the “Silver Sentinels” must uncover the truth about the secluded property before a tricky killer prepares another lethal surprise . . .

About the Author

 

Janet Finsilver is the USA TODAY bestselling 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. Her second book, MURDER AT THE MANSION, was released on June 7, 2016. Book 3, MURDER AT THE FORTUNE TELLER'S TABLE was released on March 14, 2017.

   
Author Links:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/janetfinsilverauthor/?fref=ts  
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JanetFinsilver  
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/janetfinsilver/  
Web – http://janetfinsilver.com/    

Purchase Links Amazon B&N Kobo Google+ BookBub
 
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