FEATURED AUTHOR: LARISSA REINHART

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Cherry Tucker’s invited to paint the winning portrait for Big Rack Lodge’s Hogzilla hunt contest, it seems like a paid vacation. Back in Halo, Georgia, a Hatfield-McCoy-style standoff builds, forcing Luke and Cherry to keep their relationship secret. She’s ready for a weekend away, hobnobbing with the rich and famous of hunting.
But as the Georgia sunshine turns to bleak December rain, Cherry’s R&R goes MIA when she finds a body. While the police believe the town drunk took an accidental spill, Cherry has her doubts, particularly when a series of malicious pranks are targeted at the rifle toting contestants and she’s warned off investigating. With loyal companions at her side — sort-of-ex-husband Todd and a championship bayer named Buckshot— Cherry tracks suspects through a forest of pitfalls and perils. And all the while, a killer’s stalking the hunt party with Cherry and the contestants in their crosshairs.

INTERVIEW WITH LARISSA REINHART

Larissa, what's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Coming up with stories. I’ve always planned stories in my head as cheap entertainment. I still love to do that. The real work comes when applying those thoughts to paper. I’ve got so many stories waiting to write, it’ll probably take me through retirement to get to them all. Which is a good way to keep me off the streets. That and chocolate.

How long is your to-be-read list?
So long, I can’t even count that high. I stopped marking “Want To Read” on Goodreads because it just got ridiculous. Luckily, my mother and I share a Kindle account, so all the books that are waiting on me to read, she can work on. I’ve got a problem with trying a new author or book in a series, then dropping everything else to read the complete series. Then I’ll reread my favorites. I’m a big re-reader, which doesn’t do my TBR pile much good. And that pile is in print and digital.

What books do you currently have published?
The Body in the Landscape is my fifth Cherry Tucker book but sixth publication. The Cherry Tucker Mysteries: Portrait of a Dead Guy, Still Life in Brunswick Stew, Hijack in Abstract, Death in Perspective, and the prequel novella, “Quick Sketch” in Heartache Motel.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
Does Netflix count as a TV station? I’m in Japan now, so I can’t get anything other than Netflix, although we do get HBO Now. That’s pretty sweet because I can watch all the old miniseries. Right now, I’m watching Benedict Cumberbatch in Parade’s End. But I’m a Netflix junkie. I love to binge watch series. Just like I love to binge read series. And all my guilty pleasure viewing is done on Netflix. You don’t even want to know, but if it involves teenage vampires, I probably watch it.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I love Facebook, despite its obvious flaws. I think the world is becoming a lonelier place, and Facebook is a great way to reach out and touch people’s lives, let them know they are not alone.

I’m living in Japan now and able to keep up with friends and family best through Facebook. I actually began Facebook the last time I lived in Japan. I meet new people all the time, people I’ve grown to consider friends although I’ve never met them in person. My street team, The Mystery Minions, are on Facebook and they’re like family to me. When I travel, I always get postcards to send to them. My girls love to help me pick out postcards for the Minions!

YouTube is . . .
Great for funny cat videos and . . . what else is on Youtube?

Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?
Morgan Freeman. He could make the phone book sound interesting. Which would be a similar reading.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
I make popcorn on the stove. Just oil and kernels. It’s the best and the stove does all the work. I never touch the microwave stuff. If I wanted to go nuts, I’d add M&Ms to the popcorn. That’s my favorite childhood treat. They melt in the hot popcorn and get all gooey on your fingers. Salt and sugar. Sooooo goood.

Here’s my recipe: use a heavy bottom pot, cover the bottom in kernels, pour cooking (vegetable) oil to just cover the kernels. Put on a lid and turn the heat to medium high. Start your movie. When you start to hear popping, get out a bowl. When you haven’t heard a pop in three seconds, turn off the stove. Pour it in a bowl. Salt. Toss in M&Ms. My kind of cooking.

Yum! You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I named a daughter for her. Wouldn’t everyone love to meet Aslan and save Mr. Tumnus? Lucy’s such a spitfire and so wonderfully brave, despite her age and naiveté. Plus her love conquers all and isn’t that heart of the best stories?

Do you sweat the small stuff?
The small stuff is what drives my deodorant shopping. TMI?

What are you working on now?
Cherry Tucker #6, which is still untitled. However, it’s set back in Halo at an independent living home, Halo House. Cherry’s trying real hard to stay out of trouble, but the ninety-year-old CEO of Meemaw’s Tea likes Cherry’s suspicious way of thinking so much, she confides in Cherry that she’s afraid she’ll be murdered. Then has a heart attack. What’s Cherry to do but suspect Belvia Brakeman’s been murdered?

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Cake.
Laptop or desktop? Laptop.
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Bill Murray
Emailing or texting? Emailing.
Indoors or outdoors? Indoors with a window. And a couch. And some books. And coffee. And chocolate.
Plane, train, or automobile? Train!

Books in the Cherry Tucker Humorous Mystery Series:

• QUICK SKETCH (Novella prequel to PORTRAIT in HEARTACHE MOTEL)
• PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY (#1)
• STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW (#2)
• HIJACK IN ABSTRACT (#3)
• DEATH IN PERSPECTIVE (#4)
• THE BODY IN THE LANDSCAPE (#5)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A 2015 Georgia Author of the Year Best Mystery finalist, Larissa writes the Cherry Tucker Mystery series. The first in the series, Portrait of a Dead Guy (2012), is a 2012 Daphne du Maurier finalist, 2012 The Emily finalist, and 2011 Dixie Kane Memorial winner. The fifth mystery, The Body in the Landscape, released December 2015. Her family and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit, now live in Nagoya, Japan, but still call Georgia home. Visit her website, find her chatting on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, or join her Facebook street team, The Mystery Minions.

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Featured Author: Larissa Reinhart

Fans of Larissa Reinhart will be happy to know the third book in the Cherry Tucker cozy mystery series, Hijack in Abstract, is out. She's on tour with Buy the Book Tours, and she's stopping here today. Follow the tour and enter to win a $25 gift card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the book:

Humor, Hijackings and a Handful of Hunks . . .

With a classical series sold and a portrait commissioned, Cherry Tucker’s art career is in Georgia overdrive. But when the sheriff asks Cherry to draw a composite sketch of a hijacker, her life takes a hairpin as the composite leads to a related murder, her local card-sharking buddy Max Avtaikin becomes bear bait and her nemesis labels the classical series “pervert art.”

Cherry’s jamming gears between trailer parks, Atlanta mansions, and trucker bars searching for the hijacker who left a widow and orphan destitute. While she seeks to help the misfortunate and save her local reputation, Cherry’s hammer down attitude has her facing the headlights of an oncoming killer.

Interview with Larissa Reinhart:

Sophie’s choice, Larissa: Do you have a favorite of your characters?

Obviously, Cherry is always my first choice, but in Hijack in Abstract, I love the orphan, Jerell. He lives in a trailer park with his great grandma who’s dying of emphysema, and his father’s been murdered. But he’s more accepting of his life situation than Cherry. He’s a tough, little kid. I wish I could hug him, but he’d probably just push me off and tell me to get a grip.

When you start a new book, do you know what the entire cast will be?

In the Cherry Tucker series, she has her motley crew -- Luke Harper, her on & off flame; Todd, her sort-of-ex-husband; Max Avtaikin, the local, foreign racketeer; her sister and brother, Casey and Cody; Grandpa Ed and his girlfriend, Pearl; her uncle Will, the sheriff; Red, the bartender; and Leah, her best friend -- and of course, that list grows because it’s a small town and you run into some of the same characters. They come and go with the setting.

Then, I begin to build my new characters that specifically go with the new story. My antagonist is the most important. They have to have a backstory, even if I never reveal much of it in the story. And that antagonist will have a company of characters that go with him/her. My victims are also important, but sometimes they crop up as I write. And as I write, more characters, some helpful and some adversarial, will just pop into the story.

I’m constantly on the lookout for new names. How do you name your characters?

It’s kind of random. I’ve used obituaries (to keep the names Southern) and random name generators. Sometimes, the name pops into my head and sticks. Cherry Tucker did that. Occasionally, I’ll let my daughters name someone (Luke). And in my upcoming book, one of my Mystery Minions street team crew won a contest and her name’s used in the book. That was fun.

Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

Only one. Max Avtaikin. He was inspired by the rich Russian with the tiny giraffe on the DirectTV ad a few years ago. I love that guy.

If you could be one of your characters, which one would you choose?

Cherry’s best friend, Leah. She’s the epitome of grace and charity, always knows the proper thing to say, but is also a talented musician and singer. And she’s got a super hot body she hides under bulky clothes. I’d be strutting around in a bikini if I were Leah. Well, maybe not...

With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck on a deserted island?

Max Avtaikin. He could probably charter us a helicopter for a rescue. There’s a few Max fans out there who probably wouldn’t mind getting stuck on an island with him for different reasons...

What song would you pick to go with your book?

That’s an awesome question! I always have a soundtrack. I listen to a lot of Miranda Lambert and Eric Church for the Cherry Tucker books. I’ll choose “Mama’s Broken Heart” by Miranda Lambert for Hijack in Abstract because Cherry’s suffering from a broken heart, having broken up with Luke Harper at the end of the previous book, Still Life in Brunswick Stew. But I also like “Lemon Drop” by the Pistol Annies because it’s about optimism when life is looking pretty negative. Cherry’s an optimist. And the fan of life has turned a pile of horsehockey on her since book one.

Where’s home for you?

I live in a planned community south of Atlanta called Peachtree City. It’s beautiful with parkways, trees, and about sixty miles of golf cart paths winding inside the city. It took some time for me to get used to seeing people walking their dog from a golf cart, but now I drive my girls to school on a golf cart. This area has become movie-filming central lately. The Walking Dead & Drop-Dead Divas are filmed nearby, and Pinewood Studios have moved in down the road. That’s kind of fun, although I never see anyone famous because I’m always at home in front of my computer. Or at Target.

Is there anything in particular that you do to help the writing flow? Music? Acting out the scene? Long showers?

Showers are awesome for plotting! So is driving. And that dream-infused state just before you fall asleep, although I sometimes forget what I was going to use and that’s frustrating.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?

I have trouble saying no, so this is my virtual sticky note quote on my computer: “Don’t write a check with your mouth you can’t cash with you a**.” It’s from Sucker Punch, which was a so-so movie, but I love that quote.

What three books have you read recently and would recommend?

Double Dip by Gretchen Archer (hilarious, especially if you’re a fan of Carl Hiaasen.) Small Town Spin by LynDee Walker (she’s awesome at fast paced dialogue). And Diner Impossible by Terri L. Austin (she is so funny and very talented with the romance scenes).

If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go? (Don’t worry about the money. Your publisher is paying.

We’re hoping to visit Japan this summer. My husband and I have lived there three times, the last time was three years ago with our children and they miss Japan. But since that trip is somewhat planned, I’m going to pick Spain. I’ve always wanted to travel to Spain ever since I read The Seville Communion.

What are you working on now?

I just finished Death in Perspective, the fourth Cherry Tucker mystery that comes out June 24th. Before I start number five, I’m working on a paranormal detective agency set in Japan, kind of an urban fantasy. The heroine is an English teacher in Japan with a  missing roommate, but she’s also hiding her own preternatural abilities. I’m having a lot of fun with the Japanese mythology.

About the author:

After teaching in the US and Japan, Larissa writes full time, with a particular focus on sassy female characters with a penchant for trouble. The Cherry Tucker Mystery series is published by Henery Press. The first in the series, Portrait of a Dead Guy (2012), is a 2012 Daphne du Maurier finalist, 2012 The Emily finalist, and 2011 Dixie Kane Memorial winner. Still Life in Brunswick Stew (2013), Hijack in Abstract (2013), and Death in Perspective (June 2014) follow, with the Cherry Tucker novella, Quick Stretch, in the 2013 anthology, Heartache Motel, as a prequel to Portrait.

She lives near Atlanta with her family and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit. Visit her website or find her chatting with the Little Read Hens on Facebook; at her Facebook page; Twitter; and Goodreads.




Connect with Larissa:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Publisher 

Buy the book:
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Featured Author: Larissa Reinhart

Larissa Reinhart is touring with Cozy Mystery Book Tours to talk about her novel, Still Life in Brunswick Stew, published by Henery Press. Larissa's book is a humorous southern mystery with quirky characters. What's not to love?

About the book:

Cherry Tucker’s in a stew. Art commissions dried up after her nemesis became president of the County Arts Council. Desperate and broke, Cherry and her friend, Eloise, spend a sultry summer weekend hawking their art at the Sidewinder Annual Brunswick Stew Cook-Off. When a bad case of food poisoning breaks out and Eloise dies, the police brush off her death as accidental. However, Cherry suspects someone spiked the stew and killed her friend. As Cherry calls on cook-off competitors, bitter rivals, and crooked judges, her cop boyfriend get steamed while the killer prepares to cook Cherry’s goose.

Interview with Larissa Reinhart:  

Larissa, it's no secret I love your genre. Are any of your characters inspired by real people?

No real people, although one of my characters was inspired by another character. Max Avtaikin, Halo’s notoriously rich foreigner and Cherry’s mental sparring partner. Max hails from an unnamed ex-Eastern bloc country, collects War Between the States artifacts, and hosts illegal poker in his basement. He was inspired by the rich Russian with the tiny giraffe in the Direct TV ads. I loved those commercials.

If you could be one of your characters, which one would you choose?

Cherry’s friend Leah is level-headed, a talented singer and musician, and patient with Cherry. Leah’s mother is too controlling, but Leah has all the virtues I wish I had. Particularly a tall, curvy body which she hides behind shapeless, ruffly, grandma clothes. I would ditch the clothes and walk around in a bikini. Maybe.

To be Cherry for a day would be fun, though...

With which of your characters would you most like to be stuck on a deserted island?

Hmmm. Maybe Cherry’s brother Cody because he’s a genius mechanic. If we were on the S.S. Minnow’s three hour cruise, Cody would have fixed that boat by episode two and sent us back to Hawaii.

Now if I didn’t want to leave the island....probably Luke. Or Max, he entertains me. Todd’s pretty yummy, too. All three might be fun.

Where’s home for you?

I grew up in Andover, Illinois, a farming town of six hundred founded by Swedes. My parents moved to this town from another part of the state, whereas most of the people living there were from the area, so I spent my childhood feeling like I were stuck in an anthropology project. Of course, at eight I didn’t know anthropology. I did know I wasn’t Swedish.

Tell us one weird thing, one nice thing, and one fact about where you live.

We live in Peachtree City, Georgia, a planned community with a ninety mile network of golf cart paths set in a heavily wooded twenty-four square mile area. What’s weird is to see people driving golf carts while walking their dogs. What’s nice is taking my children to and from school on golf carts. I’ve lived here for fourteen years and I still find it beautifully odd.

It sounds wonderful. Do you ever get writer’s block? What do you do when it happens?

Of course, although getting writer’s block is nothing as dramatic as you see in the movies. When I can’t seem to move forward in a story, that means I’ve done something wrong. I have to back up, reread, and rewrite. Kind of like driving down the wrong street and having to turn around to go back and find my route.

Is there anything in particular that you do to help the writing flow?

Showers are the best for finding your muse! What is it about showers? Long drives, too. Sitting in church. Singing actually helps me. I am inspired by country music when I’m writing Cherry Tucker. I’ll drive and sing and ideas just pop into my head. I think it’s a zen thing of emptying your mind while keeping your hands (or mouth) busy.

I totally agree. I get ideas while driving too. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

My family loves to travel. We’ve lived in Japan, and my little girls are excellent travelers. They are good with local or exotic destinations, will eat almost anything, and find other cultures fascinating. We’re really lucky. My daughters are adopted from China, so we spent our first moments with them in hotel rooms!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
 
I’m pretty happy where I am, but my family and I do miss Japan. We loved living there. I think we could live most anywhere, but I’d probably complain a lot if we were someplace really cold.

What are you working on now?

I’m doing my revisions for the third Cherry Tucker mystery coming out in November, Hijack In Abstract. I’ve also got a Cherry Tucker prequel novella that will be in The Heartache Motel, a mystery anthology coming out in December. The anthology is set in the Heartache Motel, a total dive, in Memphis. There’s many crazy Elvis inspired adventures set at that motel. It’s been fun to write with my Henery Press friends, Terri L. Austin and LynDee Walker.

Excerpt from Still Life in Brunswick Stew

The officials had abandoned the booth for the cook-off, but a gigantic source of distraction did stand in the empty tent. With hands on his hips, he surveyed the flyers scattered over a picnic table. When you’re five foot and a half inch, any guy over six foot is big, but this particular man would put a steroid-infused Soviet weight lifter to shame. A frown twisted his mouth and his glacier blue eyes appeared troubled.

I hesitated at offering help. Max Avtaikin might be a supporter of the arts, but he had a dubious criminal background. And I kind of accused him of murder a few months back. Which is just plain embarrassing.

Before I could skedaddle, Max turned and caught me gawking.

I skimmed a hand over my limp, blonde ponytail, flapped the sweat off my neon pink halter, and entered the booth. “Hey, Mr. Max. You need help?”

He leaned in for one of those European double kisses. “Cherry Tucker. A pleasure, as always. Do you have the artist stand?”

It took me a second to understand his meaning. Max grew up in one of those Eastern bloc countries when they were still more bloc than country. Using his wily business acumen, he got rich and then got the hell out of Dodge. He settled in small town Georgia because of his odd love for the War Between the States. His accent moved with him.

“I’m selling little oils,” I said. “Still lifes mostly. And trying to advertise my portraiture business. I’ve got a booth with my friend, Eloise Parker. She does pottery. You should check it out.”

“I am wanting to see this art works, but I was asked to judge a food competition,” Max said.

“Really?”

“You sound surprised, Miss Tucker.”

“I just thought, with your, uh, recent trouble, folks would kind of...”

“I am involving in the community services.” He shifted his stance. “You disapprove?”

“Helping the community is a good start.”

“But?”

“You’re still playing cards in your basement?” I asked, referring to his illegal poker games busted a few months ago. Men like Max would play it cool for a while, but find a stealthier way to restart their business. Some folks don’t care about local vice if it’s kept indoors. There’s a history of juke joints and moonshining in rural Georgia that’s transferred to other realms in the modern era. However, I grew up around a county sheriff and know for a fact that doings behind doors eventually seep outside and run havoc elsewhere.

“I’m not understanding your meaning,” he said.

“Oh, I think you do. But it’s none of my business.”

“That didn’t stop your interest a few months ago.”

I fiddled with my sunglasses, wondering what good manners dictated in this situation. Grandma Jo never covered apologies for accusing criminals of the wrong crime. “Well, I hope you’re not messing around with poker anymore.”

“I like games,” Max paused. “And you do, too.”

We shared a long look. I had an inkling Max had some tricks up his sleeve that might warrant closer scrutiny. And oddly enough, he seemed to enjoy baiting me. Maybe he missed the excitement of outsmarting the secret police in his old country. I couldn’t help a small shiver of pleasure at the thought of Max finding me a worthy opponent. Although he probably just found my antics amusing.

I gave Max a half-hearted shrug to show this rabbit wasn’t about to sniff around his traps. If he wanted to corrupt Halo with his shady dealings, well, he just better be careful. I was dating a deputy.

“I have noticed you no longer have use of my nickname,” Max said, steering the conversation down a different current.

“You want me to call you Bear?” Max’s shadier cohorts called him The Bear.

“You used to call me Bear.” He stroked his chin. “Maybe there is significance to your more formal manner?”

A shriek cut off our conversation. “Dangit, I’m missing the fight.” Thankful for the excuse, I fled the stuffy tent.

Max caught up with me in two strides. “What is this fight? A boxing match?”

“Maybe boxing if we’re lucky. Probably just some smart mouthing and shoving.”

“Is this usual at the American festival?”

“America, I’m not sure. But Sidewinder, you bet. Partly it’s the weather. My Grandpa says Southerners used to handle the heat until everyone got air conditioning. You find a shady spot for fishing or sit on your porch and wait for the sun to go down. Now we’re running around in the sun like stray dogs working up a lather.”

Judging by that shriek, it sounded like a stray dog howling up a storm.

And that stray dog sure sounded a lot like Shawna Branson.

About the author:

Larissa Reinhart loves small town characters, particularly sassy women with a penchant for trouble. Still Life in Brunswick Stew (May 2013) is the second in the Cherry Tucker Mystery Series. The first, Portrait of a Dead Guy, is a 2012 Daphne du Maurier finalist, a 2012 The Emily finalist, and a 2011 Dixie Kane Memorial winner. She lives near Atlanta with her minions and Cairn Terrier, Biscuit. Visit her website, her Facebook page, or find her chatting with the Little Read Hens on Facebook.


Connect with Larissa!
Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble