ABOUT THE BOOK
Alene Baron doesn’t go looking for mysteries, they find her. When the highly disliked owner of a business neighboring the Whipped and Sipped Cafe turns up dead, the list of potential suspects is pretty long, including all of the members of his quarrelsome family. Missing wills, convenient accidents, and enough red herring to feed the lunch crowd spice up this tantalizing tale. As always, while pondering the evidence, Alene also comes up with creative vegan dishes to serve her customers and share with you.
Book Details:
Title: Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery
Author: G.P. Gottlieb
Genre: culinary mystery
Series: Battered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery, book 2
Publisher: D.X. Varos Ltd. (February 16, 2021)
Print length: 256 pages
IFs ANDs OR WHATs INTERVIEW WITH GP GOTTLIEB
Ifs
If you could time travel for an infinite period of time, where would you go?
I’d like to take all the great train rides in the world, including the Orient Express and the Rocky Mountaineer.
If you could be anything besides a writer, what would it be?
I always wished I could be a torch singer but that never worked out!
If you had to do community service, what would you choose?
Until the pandemic struck, I used to volunteer every week at a nearby hospital. I’d walk over with my guitar and spend a few hours singing to patients. Mostly, I sang one on one for those on the long-term care floors filled with broken hips and elderly, sometimes there for weeks without visitors. I have a masters in voice, so I loved to watch their faces when they realized that I could really sing. I compiled a repertoire of feel-good songs and made a songbook for groups like the mental health unit or the headache clinic. I loved making people smile, especially those who were suffering and had few reasons to smile. My heart breaks to think of all those people who have suffered from the virus, who’ve been forced to lie alone in hospital beds, sometimes struggling for their lives. If only I be impervious, immune to this virus, I’d march over there with my guitar tomorrow.
If you were on the Amazon bestseller list, who would you choose to be one before and one below you?
Donna Leon and Louise Penny.
If you could meet any author for coffee, who would you like to meet and what would you talk about?
Agatha Christie – I’d meet her in London, perhaps for High Tea at some fabulous place like The Savoy.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?
I can – and I choose to live right in the great city of Chicago (other great places are good for visiting)!
Ands
5 favorite possessions:
- my 4 guitars
and - electric piano
5 things you need in order to write:
- my Laptop
- a cup of herbal tea
- a comfy chair
- quiet
and - a full tummy
5 things you love about writing:
- creating characters
- imagining dialogue
- putting characters in funny situations
- throwing readers off with red herrings
and -
coming up with tricky solutions
5 things you love about where you live:
- family
- Lake Michigan
- Lyric Opera
-
Art Institute
and - Botanic Gardens
5 things you never want to run out of:
- water
- electricity
- healthiness
-
love
and - bananas
5 words to describe you:
- creative
- kind
- caring
-
considerate
and - a little kooky
5 things that drive you crazy:
- pollution and litter
- inconsideration of people or the earth
- rudeness, especially while driving
-
lies/liars
and - people who make a ridiculous amount of noise while chewing food
5 people you consider as heroes:
- veterans of our armed forces
- people who stand up for truth no matter what it costs them
- people who devote their lives to helping others
- people who sacrifice themselves for the sake of others
and - everyone involved in figuring out a vaccine to protect against Covid 19
Whats
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
People yelling.
What’s the loveliest sight you’ve ever seen?
The Northern Lights.
What’s the most beautiful sound you’ve heard?
My first child’s laughter (and the 3rd movement of the Brahms Symphony #4 Opus 90).
What’s your favorite time of day?
Sunrise.
What’s your favorite meal?
It’s a draw between breakfast and dinner- lunch isn’t much of anything.
What’s your favorite vacation spot?
Puerto Vallarta.
What’s your favorite thing to do?
I love to walk.
What’s your favorite snack?
A fresh peach or apple (depending on the season).
What’s your favorite dessert?
Ice Cream.
What’s your favorite beverage?
Water.
What’s your favorite ice cream?
Depends on the moment – and does it come with jimmies?
What’s your favorite thing to do when there’s nothing to do?
READ.
What’s your favorite quote?
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And, if not now, When.” -Rabbi Hillel
What’s your favorite candy bar?
Three Muskateers.
What’s your favorite movie snack?
Popcorn.
What’s your favorite social media site?
I read Twitter to check the pulse of the nation and Facebook to check the pulse of my friends and family or to post what I’m thinking about, but I ADORE scrolling through Instagram, watching cooking or baking videos, looking at delightful art and recipes. It feels like when I used to flip through fashion and gossip magazines only while waiting for the dentist or getting my hair done.
What’s your favorite color?
I love rich, peacock blues, the color of a summer sky before sunset.
What’s your all-time favorite picture of yourself? 
What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
Lip gloss.
What drives you crazy?
I’m crazed about children going hungry, getting poor educations, and not being taken care of in one of the richest countries in the world!
What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
I wish I’d committed to writing a book and getting published when I was younger instead of waiting until a battle with cancer gave me the impetus to make my dream happen.
What is your obsession?
I’d have to say cookies.
What is a pet peeve?
I once started writing an essay about how to become a murder victim in one of my books. It was a list of irritating things that drive me around the bend, and on top of the list was people who chew and pop their gum so loudly that I can hear them on the other side of a store.
What are your idiosyncrasies?
I like my apartment to be clean and organized at all times – even though nobody is allowed to gather and we haven’t had guests since the pandemic began. I wake up and start straightening up.
What do you collect?
I used to collect record albums. Then I collected cassettes, and later C.D.s There doesn’t seem to be any music to collect these days.
What smells remind you of your childhood?
There’s this mildewy smell in old apartment buildings that reminds me of visiting my grandparents. I remember walking up the stairs and wondering if it was the smell of old people – and of course it turns out that they were younger than I am now.
What author would you most like to review one of your books?
Do you think I could get Agatha Christie?
What book are you currently working on?
I’ve started on book 3 of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series (all the titles are both cooking and murder terms). It’s set in the summer of 2020, you know, remember when we were in the middle of a pandemic and nobody could go anywhere?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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