Bowled Over Book Tour: An Interview with Victoria Hamilton

About the book:

Stirring up trouble...

Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two.

With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton…

Q - What inspired your Vintage Kitchen Mystery series? Do you collect vintage kitchen items or cookbooks? 

A - My own collection inspired the series. I have a true love for vintage kitchen collectibles, especially utensils, bowls, and Pyrex of all sorts. I also collect vintage kitchen linens – they are so beautiful and much better quality than new ones - and old cookbooks, though I have to be careful. I don’t have a lot of space, so it’s always a fight over what can I squeeze in to my cabinets or on to my shelves! 

Q - Are the recipes in your books your creations? 

A - I take old recipes and ‘re-imagine’ them with a modern vision. When you read old recipes you’ll come across a lot that just don’t make sense to the modern cook. For one thing, years ago ovens didn’t have accurate temperature readings, so they called it a ‘slow’ or a ‘fast’ oven, or a ‘medium’ oven. Some even have ingredients that we just don’t use or can’t get! My idea is to take old recipes and make them accessible for those who want to try them. 

Q - What are some of your favorite books/authors? 

A - I read a fair bit, so I’m always discovering new writers to enjoy. But my reliable good reads are Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, Anne Perry, Stephanie Barron. I’ve recently added Louise Penny to the list. 

Q - I know you also write historical romance...which is your favorite to write, cozies or historicals? 

A - Cozies, I think. That’s a hard one. It’s kind of like food… if you could only eat one thing, like pasta, you’d start yearning for salad or cake! I am thrilled that I get to write cozies full time now, but my mind does wander to historical ideas. I hope to be able to continue my Lady Anne mysteries with some novellas. 

Q - Do you have a favorite book that you've written? 

A - Oh, no! that’s like asking a mom, which is your favorite child? Impossible. My favorite book is always the one I’m writing that moment. It has to be! You have to be genuinely excited to get up every day and work on a book of 80,000 words or more. 

Q - What's a typical writing day for you? 

A - I get up every morning and after waking up (coffee and Facebook) I get right down to it, unless there is something pressing, business wise, like copyedits that have to be in or a blog tour to take care of! But when there are no other distractions, I write for a few hours from seven am or so until lunch, then after lunch I try to take care of other business like letters or synopses. 

Q - What's next for Jaymie? 

A - Freezer I’ll Shoot is book 3 of the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and comes out November 5th of this year. Jaymie is overseeing some work on her family cottage on Heartbreak Island when… you guessed it… she comes across a dead body. I can also say with excitement that the series has been renewed for at least two more books! 

Q - You have another new series coming out later this year, the Merry Muffin Mysteries. What can you tell us about it? 

A – I am so excited to introduce my readers to Merry Wynter, unexpected heiress! In Book 1 of the Merry Muffin Mysteries - Bran New Death - Merry (muffin baker extraordinaire!) inherits a castle in the middle of the woods in upstate New York, but when she arrives to try to fix it up to sell, she is faced with the uncomfortable truth that the locals don’t want her there, and there is some mystery surrounding the castle that is causing someone to dig deep holes all over the property! When Merry finds the body of a fellow she argued with at the bottom of one of the holes, she has to solve the mystery, or maybe be handcuffed by the local sheriff! Which might not be all bad, since he’s a good looking guy. 

Q - What's one thing about yourself that readers might find surprising? 

A – I’m really a homebody. I have everything I need and want right here at home, so I don’t go on vacation away, I do ‘staycations’. Last year my summer vacation was reading a trilogy of YA books on my back patio! 

Thanks so much, Melissa, for having me as a guest!

About the author:

Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym for nationally bestselling author Donna Lea Simpson. As Victoria, she writes the bestselling Vintage Kitchen Mystery series (Book 1 – A Deadly Grind – May 2012) and the upcoming Merry Muffin Mysteries, also from Berkley (Book 1 – Bran New Murder – September 3rd, 2013). Victoria loves cooking and collecting vintage kitchen utensils, as well as reading and writing mysteries.


Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Publisher | Amazon

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There is a tour wide giveaway for Kindle books, a Kindle Touch and gift cards. There are four prize packages for authors Victoria Hamilton, Lucy Burdette, Billie Thomas, and Marie Moore.

The prizes are -

Prize 1 (US/Canada only)
* a Kindle Touch
* a $15 Amazon.com giftcard
Prize 2 (International)
* a Kindle copy of Topped Chef and Bowled Over
* a $15 Book Depository giftcard
Prize 3 (International)
* a Kindle copy of Murder on the First Day of Christmas & Game Drive
* a $15 Amazon.com giftcard
Prize 4 (US/Canada)
* your choice of a cozy mystery paperbacks (up to $25 in value)

To enter:
1. Fill in the form here.
2. There is no requirement to follow any of the blogs participating, but we hope you will support these amazing blogs by following them. They do a great job, many of whom host for us every month.
3. Giveaway ends on May 15, 2013 at midnight and the winners will be contacted via email.