FEATURED AUTHOR: CAROLINE FARDIG

ABOUT THE BOOK

Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich and Diane Mott Davidson, Caroline Fardig’s captivating new mystery novel takes readers behind the counter of a seemingly run-of-the-mill coffeehouse . . . where murder is brewing.
 
After her music career crashes and burns spectacularly, Juliet Langley is forced to turn to the only other business she knows: food service. Unfortunately, bad luck strikes yet again when her two-timing fiancé robs her blind and runs off with her best waitress. Flushing what’s left of her beloved café down the toilet with her failed engagement, Juliet packs up and moves back to her college stomping grounds in Nashville to manage an old friend’s coffeehouse. At first glance, it seems as though nothing’s changed at Java Jive. What could possibly go wrong? Only that the place is hemorrhaging money, the staff is in open revolt, and Juliet finds one unlucky employee dead in the dumpster out back before her first day is even over.
 
The corpse just so happens to belong to the cook who’d locked horns with Juliet over the finer points of the health code. Unimpressed with her management style, the other disgruntled employees are only too eager to spill the beans about her fiery temper to the detective on the case. Add to the mix a hunky stranger who’s asking way too many questions, and suddenly Juliet finds herself in some very hot water. If she can’t simmer down and sleuth her way to the real killer, she’s going to get burned.

INTERVIEW WITH CAROLINE FARDIG

Caroline, what's your favorite thing about the writing process?
I enjoy doing the first read-through of my completed first draft. The hard part (researching and writing) is done, and it’s fun to go through and let the story come alive in my head.

How long is your to-be-read list?
Unending. I do a lot of beta reading for my author friends, and I have four in the queue at the moment.

How long have you been a writer?
It’s been five or six years since I sat down and started writing my very first book.  Since then, it’s been a wild, fun ride.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
Can I watch DVDs? Because right now I’m in the middle of binge-watching The Following, and I don’t know if I could give that up. To answer the question, I could probably make it through with TV Land, because they play Friends, Younger, and Impastor, although I wouldn’t be happy about it. I’m a TV junkie. I would have a hard time without Game of Thrones, You’re the Worst, and Killjoys, just to name a few.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I like Facebook. I’m a little tired of the memes, but I absolutely love getting to see photos of what my friends are doing. It makes me feel like we’re still close even though we might be separated by thousands of miles.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
Overflowing.

What's your relationship with your TV remote?
See above. I have a real problem.

Do you spend more on clothes or food?
Purses! But probably food. I HATE shopping, and I go as infrequently as I can — usually about two to three times a year.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Homemade pizza and homemade popcorn. When I was a kid, every Friday night we would make a homemade pizza (out of a Chef Boyardee box) and my mom would make real popcorn on the stovetop. We would sit down together and watch The Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas. Good times. I’ve upgraded from Chef Boyardee to making dough in my breadmaker and developing my own sauce recipe, but I’m still making the real popcorn on the stovetop for my kids. We’ve traded the 80’s Friday night lineup for family-friendly movies.

What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
I wish I would have start writing earlier in my life!

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“Do what you love; love what you do.”  And I do.


How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Not nearly enough. As I said before, I have a TV problem, so I stay up late to watch my shows. I usually get a little over 6 hours.

What is your favorite movie?
Get Over It. It is the funniest movie ever. Great cast, and it’s full of horrendous (on purpose) music!

Do you have a favorite book?
There’s no way I could narrow it down to one.

How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?
I really liked Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts, and the movie was wonderful. I’ve seen it many, many times, and I still tear up at the end.

Do you sweat the small stuff?
Nope. I’m an “it’s close enough” type person. It drives my husband (and probably my editor) insane.

What are you working on now?
I’m making a rough outline and timeline for the third book in the Java Jive series!

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Cake
Laptop or desktop? Desktop
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Bill Murray
Emailing or texting? Yes. (I hate talking on the phone.)
Indoors or outdoors? Indoors
Tea: sweet or unsweet?  Unsweet
Plane, train, or automobile?  Automobile! (I’ve had bad experiences on planes and trains.)

The Lizzie Hart Mysteries series: It’s Just a Little Crush, That Old Black Magic, Bad Medicine

It’s Just a Little Crush
Meet Lizzie Hart.  Small town girl...big time problems.
Hindered only by her raging crush on the office hunk, wannabe sleuth Lizzie Hart spies, accuses, and gossips her way to the truth in this bestselling first book of The Lizzie Hart Mysteries series!

The sleepy town of Liberty hasn't seen murder in...well...ever.  Residents are stunned when the body of a young woman is found strangled, and reporters at the Liberty Chronicle are thrilled, rather disturbingly, over the biggest news story to hit town this century.

Lizzie Hart has even bigger problems.  Lately, she can't seem to concentrate on her job as copy editor at the Chronicle with the new hunky investigative reporter, Blake Morgan, swaggering around the office.  How can a girl work when she's using all of her energy combating Blake-induced hot flashes and struggling to repress the giggly inner schoolgirl that's constantly rearing her dorky head?  It's a good thing that Blake barely knows Lizzie exists. 

After an odd string of events, however, Lizzie begins to wonder if Blake is really as fabulous as she has fantasized.  When Lizzie and Blake find a co-worker dead, Blake's personality changes completely--and not in a good way.  Even though the police rule the death as an accident, Lizzie immediately suspects foul play and senses a connection to the recent murder.  She is determined to bring the killer to justice, but is having some trouble getting her Nancy Drew on thanks to the pesky stalker she's picked up--Blake Morgan.  Wait, didn't she want him to follow her around and pay attention to her?  Not like this.  Blake has turned from cool and smooth to cold and downright scary, making Lizzie wonder if he should be next on her suspect list.

That Old Black Magic
Lizzie Hart is back—snooping, lying, and chick-fighting to uncover the truth in this sequel to the bestselling first book of The Lizzie Hart Mysteries series, It's Just a Little Crush. 

Lizzie Hart hoped her first day back at work after nearly being killed would be uneventful. No such luck. Before she can finish her morning coffee, Lizzie and her co-workers find a dead body on the rooftop of their office. Media vultures that they are, the Liberty Chronicle employees are psyched to have first-hand news to report. Lizzie, however, is devastated when she realizes that the victim is her ex-boyfriend’s brother. 

When evidence begins piling up against one of Lizzie’s friends, she reluctantly dons her detective hat once again, determined to find the real killer. She’s not thrilled about chasing another psychopath around, but she’ll do anything for a friend. Lizzie’s love life is rapidly becoming a hot mess, too. Her latest attempt at sleuthing isn’t leaving much time for her budding romance with town hunk Blake Morgan. Add that to the fact she’s hiding a secret so big it could rock the very core of their relationship, it’s no wonder that Lizzie’s in a tizzy. 

Poor Lizzie ends up juggling a murder investigation, a wacky Wiccan coven, and two men vying for her attention—all while nursing injuries left over from the last time she decided to play Nancy Drew. It’s a good thing she always has a few tricks up her sleeve.

Bad Medicine
What do a smokin’ hot detective, an evil chiropractor, and a couple of blind dates from hell have in common? Lizzie has to wrangle them all in the third book of The Lizzie Hart Mysteries series! 

Lizzie Hart is overjoyed that six whole months have passed without a single murder in the sleepy town of Liberty. It’s also been six months since Blake Morgan heartlessly dumped her, but she’s determined to get over him. She’s slimmed down, ready to party, and injury-free, except for a little nagging pain in her ankle. She’s also very single, but her friends are doing everything in their power to fix that—including setting her up on one disastrous blind date after another. 

Lizzie’s reprieve is short-lived when an old friend of hers is found dead from an apparent drug overdose. She wants to write it off as bad behavior after having seen the guy cheating on his wife with the new chiropractor in town. However, when she sees that same chiropractor playing doctor with another man who ends up dead, she worries there could be murder afoot. 

Doing her best to stay on the right side of the law this time, Lizzie decides to go straight to the police with her suspicions. Unfortunately, the only cop available to speak with her is the stern yet hot new detective who has already given her a traffic ticket and a reprimand for public intoxication. Not surprisingly, he brushes her off, leaving her no choice but to begin snooping on her own. Lizzie soon learns she’s going to need help to get to the bottom of this mystery, but her best partner in crime solving, Blake, has turned into her worst enemy. 

Can Lizzie and Blake find a way to work together to catch the killer . . . or will they kill each other first?



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caroline Fardig is the author of Death Before Decaf and The Lizzie Hart Mysteries series. She worked as a schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

Connect with Caroline:

Website  |  
Blog  |  Facebook  |  
Twitter  |  Goodreads

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