FEATURED AUTHOR: ELLEN BYRON

ABOUT THE BOOK

USA Today bestselling author Ellen Byron is back at it with fan-favorite plantation B&B owner Maggie Crozat in a fourth installment of the Cajun Country mysteries. 

Southern charm meets the dark mystery of the bayou as a hundred-year flood, a malicious murder, and a most unusual Mardi Gras converge at the Crozat Plantation B&B.

It’s Mardi Gras season on the bayou, which means parades, pageantry, and gumbo galore. But when a flood upends life in the tiny town of Pelican, Louisiana―and deposits a body of a stranger behind the Crozat Plantation B&B―the celebration takes a decidedly dark turn. The citizens of Pelican are ready to Laissez les bon temps rouler―but there’s beaucoup bad blood on hand this Mardi Gras. 



Maggie Crozat is determined to give the stranger a name and find out why he was murdered. The post-flood recovery has delayed the opening of a controversial exhibit about the little-known Louisiana Orphan Train. And when a judge for the Miss Pelican Mardi Gras Gumbo Queen pageant is shot, Maggie’s convinced the murder is connected to the body on the bayou. Does someone covet the pageant queen crown enough to kill for it? Could the deaths be related to the Orphan Train, which delivered its last charges to Louisiana in 1929? The leads are thin on this Fat Tuesday―and until the killer is unmasked, no one in Pelican is safe. 



A simmering gumbo of a humorous whodunit, Mardi Gras Murder is the fourth piquant installment in USA Today bestselling author Ellen Byron’s award-winning Cajun Country mysteries.

Book Details:


Title: Mardi Gras Murder

Author: Ellen Byron

Genre: Cozy mystery

Series: Cajun Country mysteries, book 4

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (October 9th, 2018)

Print length: 304 pages

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH ELLEN BYRON

A few of your favorite things: My rescue dogs and all my gorgeous needlepoint. Especially the Christmas ornaments.
Things you need to throw out: Pretty much everything else. Our house could be on that show, Hoarders, these days.


Things you need in order to write: My fingers and a computer.
Things that hamper your writing: The Internet and… the Internet.


Things you love about writing: The magic of coming up with a great plot twist or a truly unique turn of phrase.
Things you hate about writing: Having to tear myself away from Facebook.

Things you love about where you live: My neighbors! I live in the Hollywood Hills, and five of us gals power-walk at least one night a week. We call ourselves the West Donas Walkers because our neighborhood is nicknamed the Donas, and we’re on the west side of it.
Things that make you want to move: Typical Los Angeles complaints: terrible traffic and self-involved people. Also, I love rain and desperately miss is.

Words that describe you: Funny, loyal, pragmatic, driven, honest, questioning, passionate, caring, emotional.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: Annoying, impatient, neurotic, stubborn, self-centered, opinionated, procrastinator.

Favorite foods: Chocolate, pasta, pizza, jambalaya, cake, gumbo, all kinds of meatball soups.
Things that make you want to throw up:  Coffee and cilantro. I despise them both. I have to rinse out my mouth if I accidentally eat either of them.

Favorite song: “Get Down Tonight,” by KC and the Sunshine Band. I consider it the best pop dance song ever written and no one will ever convince me otherwise.
Music that make your ears bleed: Heavy metal and anything by Drake. He is ALWAYS off key!

Favorite beverage: Unsweetened iced tea.

Something that gives you a pickle face: Sweetened iced tea – or any sugary drink.

Favorite smell: Night-blooming jasmine.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Tar.

Something you wish you could do: Dance en pointe in ballet. A dream of mine I never realized.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Spend money!

Something you like to do: Dance.

Something you wish you’d never done: Roll stop signs. All the tickets I’ve ever gotten – except for one speeding ticket – have been for rolling stop signs.

Last best thing you ate: Rum raisin cake. I was testing a recipe that will go into the fifth book in my Cajun Country Mystery series. Thumbs up for me, it came out great!

Last thing you regret eating: Rum raisin cake. It totally demolished my Weight Watchers points for the day.

Things you always put in your books: Recipes.
Things you never put in your books: Gory violence or torture of any kind. Yuck!

Things to say to an author: I love your series! 

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: You’re shorter in person than I thought you’d be.

Favorite things to do: Read, dance, needlepoint, hang with family and/or friends, wine-taste, just plain drink wine.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: Cleaning my house.

Things that make you happy: My doggies and my family, when everyone’s in a good mood. Also, see my list of “favorite things to do.”
Things that drive you crazy: People who would rather be right than happy.

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

Plantation Shudders
Body on the Bayou
A Cajun Christmas Killing



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ellen Byron authors the Cajun Country Mystery series. A Cajun Christmas Killing and Body on the Bayou both won the Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery and were nominated for Agatha awards in the category of Best Contemporary Novel. Plantation Shudders, was nominated for Agatha, Lefty, and Daphne awards. Mardi Gras Murder launched October 9th. Ellen’s TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents. She’s written over 200 national magazine articles, and her published plays include the award-winning Graceland. She also worked as a cater-waiter for the legendary Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing.

Connect with Ellen:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Instagram

Buy the book:

Amazon  |  
Barnes & Noble  |  Bookbub

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH ELLEN BYRON'S MAGGIE CROZAT

ABOUT THE BOOK

Christmas in Cajun Country is magical. Elaborate decorations adorn homes and businesses, and Pelican residents come together for a raucous Christmas Eve festival featuring giant bonfires on the levee that light the way up the river for Papa Noël. But this year, there’s coal in the stockings at Crozat Plantation B&B. Someone is flooding travel websites with vicious negative reviews of the B&B. The culprit may be one of the Crozats’ own holiday guests, among which is Don Baxter, a nasty businessman who’s an innkeeper’s worst nightmare. When Baxter is found stabbed to death at Doucet Plantation, where heroine Maggie Crozat works part-time, she and her entire family are considered suspects. They establish alibis, but her boyfriend, Detective Bo Durand, also a suspect, remains under suspicion. With Bo sidelined during the investigation, Maggie finds herself with an unlikely ally, longtime family enemy Rufus Durand. Her sleuthing uncovers a viper’s nests of dysfunctional family dynamics, and puts her in the crosshairs of a murderer. She and Rufus must track down Don Baxter’s killer, or it will be the opposite of a Joyeux Noël for those at Crozat Plantation Bed & Breakfast.

ABOUT MAGGIE

Maggie Crozat is a thirty-two-year-old artist who’s moved home to tiny Pelican, Louisiana, after attending art school and living in New York City. She helps out at her family’s plantation-turned-B&B and also works as a tour guide at a plantation that belong to her mother’s family but is now run by a non-profit foundation and open to visitors. Her artist’s eye gives her a visual acuity that the average person doesn’t possess. She can spot clue and suspicious body language that even the local law enforcement professionals might miss.

INTERVIEW WITH MAGGIE CROZAT

Maggie, how did you first meet Ellen Byron?
I was enjoying a beer and some Cajun popcorn – that’s fried crawfish - at our favorite local hangout, Junie’s Oyster Bar and Dance Hall, when she appeared and said, hey, wanna be in a mystery series?

Cool! Want to dish about her?
She’s smart, but pushy. Sometimes we get into a tussle when she wants me to do something I don’t want to do. But guess what? I always win in the end.

Why do you think that your life has ended up being in a book?
Because I’ve discovered I have a unique talent for solving mysteries. I’m an artist, so I have a knack for spotting details other people don’t see. Plus, I have the great good fortune to live in a town my author likes to call “A Cajun Brigadoon,” so it’s a great setting for a mystery series. Our family B&B is a centuries old plantation that’s just beautiful. There’s a bayou in our backyard. And the food is amazing! That’s why the books I’m in include recipes – that my mother, Ninette, is famous for. I’m more of an expert microwaver.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
I love when I go to New Orleans and have to spend time with an incredibly snobby family in the Garden District in order to pick up clues to help solve a murder. The prodigal son of the family hits on me because of my fancy Louisiana lineage. He’s horrible, but in a funny way.

Did you have a hard time convincing Ellen to write any particular scenes for you?
Yes – my author has a really hard time writing romantic scenes! She’s very squeamish about them. But hey, I’m dating the hottest guy in town, so there has to be at least a little romance. Between us, my author is kind of a prude.

What do you like to do when you are not being actively read somewhere?
I love to draw and paint, particularly the magical scenery that surrounds our family’s plantation. I also love spending time with Xander, the seven-year-old son of my boyfriend, Detective Bo Durand. Xander has Asperger’s Syndrome and didn’t talk for three years. I started giving him art lessons and discovered he’s phenomenally talented. In fact, this almost puts him in danger in my new book, A Cajun Christmas Killing.

If you could rewrite anything in your book, what would it be?
I’d force my author to stop being so squeamish and write some great love scenes. (See #5.)

Tell the truth. What do you think of your fellow characters?
I’m lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people. It’s what keeps me from moving back to New York. Except for Rufus Durand, my boyfriend’s cousin, who’s also the local police chief. He thinks that about a hundred and fifty years ago, my family put a curse on his family’s relationships. But guess what? Rufus has changed since he became a father to a baby girl with his ex-fiancé, Vanessa Fleer. (That’s a whole other story you can read about in my author’s last book, Body On The Bayou.)

Do have any secret aspirations that Ellen doesn’t know about?
My dream is have a major museum purchase one of my paintings for their collection.

If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?
Eat tons of my mother’s great Cajun cooking, paint or draw for a few hours, and spend the rest of the day – and night! – with my boyfriend, Bo.



Tell us about your best friend.
I have some wonderful friends, but I’d have to say my best friend is my grand-mere. She’s witty, sharp as a tack, and has a great sense of humor about herself. She’s also gracious and elegant in a way I can only dream of being, and so incredibly wise.



What’s the best trait Ellen has given you?
Passion.

What’s the worst?
Impatience.



What’s Ellen’s worst habit?
Spending too much time on Facebook!



If your story were a movie, who would play you?
Anne Hathaway.

Describe the town where you live.
Pelican is a small town nestled between the Mississippi River and Bayou Beurre. Its beautiful 19th century building are adorned with intricate wrought iron balconies and surround a grassy town square with a bandstand and giant, ancient oak trees.

Describe an average day in your life.
I help entertain our B&B guests at Crozat Plantation, then go off to put on an antebellum costume and give tours at Doucet Plantation. I come home, help out some more, paint or draw, then meet Bo at Junie’s Oyster Bar and Dance Hall to try and puzzle out a solution to the latest murder. For a tiny town, Pelican has a ridiculously high murder rate.

Will you encourage Ellen to write a sequel?
Absolutely! I know she’s already written a fourth book, Mardi Gras Murder. She and I both have our fingers crossed that her publisher will ask for more books in the Cajun Country Mystery series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Body on the Bayou, the second book in Ellen’s Cajun Country Mystery Series, recently won the Left Coast Crime Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery, and was nominated for an Agatha Award in the category of Best Contemporary Novel. Ellen's debut novel in the series, Plantation Shudders, was nominated for Agatha, Lefty, and Daphne awards, and made the USA Today Bestseller list. Book three, A Cajun Christmas Killing, launches October 10th. TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, Fairly OddParents, and many pilots. She’s also an award-winning playwright and journalist. Ellen lives in Studio City with her husband, daughter, and two spoiled rescue dogs.



Connect with Ellen:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon  |   Barnes & Noble 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: ELLEN BYRON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Maggie Crozat agrees to be frenemy Vanessa Fleer’s Maid of Honor.  When it looks like the investigation is zeroing in on Vanessa as the prime suspect, Maggie reluctantly adds keeping the bride-to-be out of jail to her list of Maid of Honor responsibilities in Body on the Bayou, Ellen Byron's funny and engaging follow up to her critically acclaimed novel Plantation Shudders.

INTERVIEW WITH ELLEN BYRON

Ellen, how did you get started writing?
I got a degree in theater from Tulane University and was determined to be an actress . . . or so I thought. I joined Actors Equity and suddenly stopped getting work because my competition for roles was actresses like Holly Hunter. With time on my hands, I decided to write a play. In doing so, I found my true calling , and I’ve been writing ever since.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
Well, right now I’m struggling with the outline for my fourth book–I’m actually procrastinating by answering these questions! – and so I’d say creating a layered, engaging plot.

What’s more important–characters or plot?
Characters, because they can inspire plot. But it’s harder for plot to inspire characters.

How often do you read?
Every. Single. Night. At least when it comes to books. But I’m always reading on the internet. I barely watch TV anymore.


What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
When to keep my mouth shut.

Is writing your dream job?
Absolutely!!!


What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but when I was a struggling actress in my twenties, I got a gig where I was paid to wear a Styrofoam straw hat and hand out cigarette samples. It taught me to give up smoking AND being a struggling actress!

Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?
Don’t spread yourself too thin on social media. Choose one or two platforms you’re comfortable with and focus on those. And find creative ways to keep your work in the public eye. I just did a giveaway on Facebook where the main prize wasn’t even my book. It was a grocery bag with my book logo, plus a bunch of swag. I shared it on a couple of cozy groups and had over a hundred people enter the contest.

How often do you tweet?
I force myself to tweet at least once or twice a day. It hasn’t been my favorite platform (see above!), but I just learned how to break who I follow into lists and that has been a game changer for me. I’m much more apt to tweet and retweet now.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I LOVE it. I’ve been on FB since 2008, years before I became a published author. I’ve found old college roommates, friends from other countries I’d lost touch with, friends from elementary school. For me, it’s always been a truly social tool, but now I combine that with my business of being an author. It’s tricky because sometimes my friends get buried in reader and author posts. So again, I have to separate people into lists.

For what would you like to be remembered?
Being generous, kind, honorable . . . and funny!

What scares you the most?
Death.

Would you make a good character in a book?
I already have, LOL! Kidding. Maggie Crozat is like me, but I’m less vulnerable. At least now I am. I was a lot more like her when I was actually her age.

What five things would you never want to live without?
Wine, chocolate, pizza, theater, and all forms of reading material.

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
Lip balm.

What’s your favorite fast food?
Pizza.


What’s your favorite beverage?
Jasmine green tea.

What drives you crazy?
Ridesharing with motorcylists on the freeway. It’s so dangerous!

Name one thing you’re really good at and one thing you’re really bad at.
I’m really good at reading people. I’m terrible at drawing. No artistic talent whatsoever, although I am very craftsy.


What do you wish you could do?
I will always regret not sticking with ballet long enough to go en pointe.

What is one of your happiest moments?
When my husband, daughter, and dogs are all lazing on the bed with me. It rarely happens these days, I’m afraid. She’s a teen and has a very busy life. As do all of us, actually.

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
I’m a wife, a mother, a pet mother, I have a full-time job as a television writer, and I write a mystery series. There’s never nothing to do!

Where is your favorite place to visit?
New Orleans and Cajun Country.

What would you name your autobiography?
Never Slam the Door of a Jaguar. That’s what a guy once said to me after I exited his car on our first and last date.

Sounds like an idea for a character! Do you procrastinate?
I am right now!

What’s your favorite Internet site?
Facebook.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.” -Indiana Jones

Pretend you have a personal chef for the night. What would you ask him to prepare?
Homemade pasta and gravy like my Nonna and Zia used to make.


How do you like your pizza?
I am so rigid about my pizza. I like the thin-style straight-up regular pizza I grew up with in New York. (We always called it a “a slice of regular.” Never “a slice of cheese pizza.”)

What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
It’s a wonderful photo of Bayou Teche behind St. Martinville, Louisiana. I took it when we visited the area over the holidays last year.

What’s your favorite song?
“Get Down Tonight,” by KC and the Sunshine Band.

What is your favorite movie?
Fellini’s Amarcord,  and Robert Wise’s The Haunting.

Do you have a favorite book?
Wuthering Heights.

If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

What are you working on now?
Books three and four in my Cajun Country Mystery series, A Cajun Christmas Killing and Mardi Gras Murder.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ellen's debut novel, Plantation Shudders, made the USA Today Bestsellers list, and was nominated for Agatha, Lefty, and Daphne awards. The second book in her Cajun Country Mystery Series, Body on the Bayou, offers “everything a cozy reader could want,” according to Publishers Weekly, while the Library Journal says, “Diane Mott Davidson and Lou Jane Temple fans will line up for this series.” A TV veteran, Ellen has written for many hit sitcoms, including Wings and Just Shoot Me.




Connect with Ellen:
Website  |   Facebook  |   Twitter   |   Goodreads    

Buy the book:
Crooked Lane Books

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: FRANKIE BOW

ABOUT THE BOOK

A graduate student from Hawaii visits the tiny bayou town of Sinful, Louisiana to investigate the effects of the oil spill on the local wildlife. Sinful resident Fortune Redding, who happens to be a CIA operative hiding out from a ruthless arms dealer, worries that the nosy newcomer might blow her cover. In fact, he does make a disturbing discovery – and unleashes forces that will go to any lengths to protect Sinful’s darkest secret.

INTERVIEW WITH FRANKIE BOW

Frankie, what do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
I think it’s the middle. Outlining the plot is fun; polishing the manuscript is rewarding; forcing myself to sit down and translate the plot outline and story beats into a manuscript, that’s the toughest part for me.

How often do you read?
I read a little every day, while I’m exercising on the elliptical machine. It’s really the only chance I get to read for pleasure.

Do you have any marketing tips you could pass on to indie authors?
If you can participate in Kindle Worlds, do it. I’d never written fan fiction, but then Amazon introduced Kindle Worlds, a forum for “legit” fanfic. Bestselling authors granted permission for fans to write in their worlds, the resulting works were put up for sale, and the fanfic writers split the royalties with the original authors. Now, I’d already read and loved a lot of Jana DeLeon’s work, so when I saw that her Miss Fortune world was open on Kindle Worlds, I just had to try it. I was comfortable writing in the Miss Fortune world because I was already a fan of the books and had read the whole series, and I really had fun with it! Sinful Science has done very well on Kindle Worlds, and I’m seeing some sell-through to my other books. If you can find a Kindle World similar to your own writing, it’s a great way to connect with new readers.

How often do you tweet?
I’m a haphazard Tweeter. I’ll always retweet NASA’s Picture of the Day, just because it’s cool, but that’s the only think I do consistently. My “method” is that every so often I open up Twitter and then retweet things I think are funny or important.

Would you make a good character in a book? 
Maybe I could be the “straight man” foil to the wacky main character, but I’m too boring and sensible to carry a story by myself.

What do you love about where you live?
Well I live in Hawaii, so there’s a lot to love. Of course there’s the weather and the beautiful scenery. But one thing that’s great about here, especially when you have kids, is how indifferent most people are to brand names and status symbols. There’s no pressure on kids to wear a certain brand of shoes, and no one cares what kind of car you drive. When people have money they spend it on experiences like travel.

What’s your favorite thing to do on date night?
A casual Pau Hana, or happy hour. Invite a few friends over for potluck, have someone bring a guitar, and spend the evening eating, drinking, listening to live music, and unwinding.

What do you wish you could do?
Star Trek-style teleportation. Hawaii is the most isolated inhabited land mass in the world; it’s a five-hour flight to the West Coast. As safety regulations have become stricter, and the number of flights has declined, flying has become less and less enjoyable. And there’s really no alternative.

Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
Like me, my protagonist Molly Barda has a touch of social anxiety, so she shows up late to Mass on purpose to miss the Passing of the Peace.

What would you name your autobiography?
“Let me get back to you.” Seriously, procrastination is a struggle for me.


Scroll down for the Rafflecopter. One lucky winner will get paper copies of The Case of the Defunct Adjunct and The Musubi Murder.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Like the characters in her campus murder mysteries, Frankie Bow teaches at a public university. Unlike her protagonist, she is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, and a perfectly nice office chair. She believes if life isn't fair, at least it can be entertaining. In addition to writing murder mysteries, she publishes in scholarly journals under her real name. Her experience with academic publishing has taught her to take nothing personally.

Connect with Frankie:

Website and blog  |  
Facebook  |   
Twitter  |   Goodreads

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: ELLEN BYRON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Check in for some Southern hospitality in Plantation Shudders, the Cajun Country series debut from Ellen Byron.


It's the end of the summer and Prodigal Daughter Maggie Crozat has returned home to her family's plantation-turned-bed-and-breakfast in Louisiana. The Crozats have an inn full of guests for the local food festival – elderly honeymooners, the Cajun Cuties, a mysterious stranger from Texas, a couple of hipster lovebirds, and a trio of Georgia frat boys. But when the elderly couple keels over dead within minutes of each other – one from very unnatural causes – Maggie and the others suddenly become suspects in a murder.

INTERVIEW WITH ELLEN BYRON

Ellen, how did you get started writing and when did you become an “author?”
I began my career as an actress. I got bored waiting around between roles and started writing plays. They got me way more attention than my acting did, so a writer was born! I became a freelance journalist to support myself, and eventually segued into television. Because I spent years doing improv comedy, I wound up writing mostly for sitcoms like Wings and Just Shoot Me.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Finding a fresh way to say something familiar.

How long is your to-be-read list?
It’s not a list, it’s a bookcase! I buy books at stores and library sales and online, and I have a bookcase-ful. But I have a list, too. So maybe . . . a hundred?

Can you share some of your marketing strategies with us?
I’m really just finding my way as I go in that area. I’m guest-blogging – like here! – and running contests through my own website, and on Facebook through heyo.com. I tweet whenever possible, and grab any chance to do a signing or panel that I can. I’m lucky because CLB has a wonderful publicist who lined up some great blog stops for me.

How long have you been a writer?
Since I was twenty-seven. But I won’t tell you how old I am because no TV writer ever shares their age. There’s too much ageism in the business.

You have a day job . . . how do you find time to write?
Our daughter is a sophomore in high school and has a zero period class. I drop her at 7 a.m., and then come home, walk the dogs, and start writing until I have to leave for work around 10 a.m. Then I write after dinner and on weekends.

How often do you tweet?
Once or twice a day.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I’m a fan. I’ve been on Facebook since 2008. I love that it’s allowed me to re-connect with old friends that I thought I’d never be in contact with again. And lately I’ve gotten to FB-know all these great mystery writers I’m meeting through conferences and groups like Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. I recently started an author page, which has been a great way to connect with readers. I love when they touch base.

For what would you like to be remembered?
For being funny, warm, and giving.

What scares you the most?
Flying!! And death – especially death by flying! As I write this, I’m thinking, what if I die in a plane crash, and then someone reads this and thinks, oh, it’s so sad and ironic that she just told A Blue Million Books that was what she was most afraid of!

That's a writer's mind for you! What five things would you never want to live without?
My husband, daughter, dogs, laughter, and money. I know it’s a little crass to list money, but I’m being honest. There ain’t much laughter when you’re low on dough.

True. Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?
Tina Fey.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
No. It would be overflowing!

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Oh, definitely an extrovert.

What's your relationship with your TV remote?
Since I’m writing day and night, I hardly see it anymore.

Do you spend more on clothes or food?
Food. I barely attempt being stylish anymore. I found these great black cotton drawstring pants at Target. I went to buy another pair, but couldn’t find them in Juniors or Misses. A salesgirl checked, and told me that they were men’s pajama bottoms. Did that stop me? No. I have five pairs and wear them all the time.

What is the biggest lie you ever told?
When I was about five, I was using the bathroom and as I sat there, I absentmindedly pulled off a loose piece of wallpaper. When my furious parents asked if I’d done it, I said no. So they blamed my younger brother, who burst into tears. I still feel terrible about it. I apologized to him years ago, and he didn’t even remember the incident. But I’ve never forgotten it. I feel bad even writing this!

What is the most daring thing you've done?
Two things I swore I’d never do were ride on a motorcycle or in a helicopter. Then on a vacation, I got trapped in a snowstorm in Zermatt, Switzerland. I was supposed to meet my parents and brother in Venice, Italy, the next day. I kept checking at the hotel desk to see if there was any way out of Zermatt, and they finally said that the only way was by helicopter. I hesitated for maybe a second, and then said, “Sign me up!” It was like the fall of Saigon at the helicopter pad. They were throwing people on the copters and waving them off. It was actually a really gorgeous ride. We didn’t fly that high up due to the storm, and there were forests of snow-laden pine trees below us. I made it onto a train to Italy, thank God. I heard that my helicopter was the last one out that day.

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Opened my big mouth to the wrong person about something that was none of my business.

What is your most embarrassing moment?
Um . . . wearing men’s pajama bottoms as pants everywhere?

What choices in life would you like to have a redo on (besides wearing men's pajama bottoms everywhere)?
See “what’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.” And I wouldn’t mind taking another crack at some business opportunities I passed on.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“Forward ever, backward never.” It’s from The Year of Janie’s Diary, a book I read in 7th grade. When I go to that “shoulda, woulda, coulda” place, I recall that quote and get back on track.


Where is your favorite library, and what do you love about it?
I love all libraries, but my favorite might have to be the Scarsdale Public Library. My parents moved to the town when I was ten, and the library was only a few blocks from our house. It was old and made of fieldstone, and it had the most beautiful reading room (or maybe it was the children’s library) with a giant bay window.

You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
A guest at one of Jay Gatsby’s incredible Jazz age parties.

Who would you invite to a dinner party if you could invite anyone in the world?
Tina Fey, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, and Emily Bronte.


What's your relationship with your cell phone?
Way too tight. My excuse is that as a working mom, I need it to keep in touch with my daughter, which is totally true. But really, I could do that with a flip phone. So who am I kidding?


How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Usually about five. Which sucks. I want more, I really do. I just always wake up way before I need to. It’s nuts because when I lived in New York City, I was a total night owl.

What is your favorite movie?
I have three: Amarcord, The Haunting (original version), and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Do you have a favorite book?
Oh, yes. Wuthering Heights.

How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?
I love Great Expectations, and I’ve actually enjoyed every version of that I’ve seen. And I’ve seen a lot.

Do you sweat the small stuff?
Honest to God, I’m not even sure what the small stuff is anymore. Remember, I only get five hours of sleep.

If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

How long is your to-do list?
I add to it every day, so . .  endless.


What are you working on now?
Book two in my Cajun Country series, Body on the Bayou.

Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Frosting, fo sho!
Laptop or desktop? Both.
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Oh, no contest, Bill Murray.
Emailing or texting? Email. I have to text, but I hate it. I think it’s giving me Carpal Tunnel.
Indoors or outdoors?
Indoors. But I like to look at the outdoors from my indoor window.
Tea: sweet or unsweet?
I live on tea and it must be unsweetened. I love nothing more than a pure cup of green jasmine or Earl Grey.
Plane, train, or automobile?
My husband and I are train fiends. I’d go everywhere by train if I could. We took an Amtrak route called The Pioneer from Portland to Denver before it was discontinued. I have two embossed wine glasses from the trip that I’ve saved as mementoes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ellen Byron is a native New Yorker who loves the rain, lives in bone-dry Los Angeles, and spends lots of time writing about Louisiana. She attributes this obsession to her college years at New Orleans’ Tulane University. Her debut novel, Plantation Shudders: A Cajun Country Mystery, was chosen by the Library Journal as Debut Mystery of the Month. Her TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and many network pilots. She’s written over 200 magazine articles, her published plays include the award-winning, Graceland, and she’s the recipient of a William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant.

Connect with Ellen:
Website  |  Blog  |  
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads