Leslie Budewitz and I share something in common, besides our love of mysteries. When I asked her about her childhood reading, she mentioned the Happy Hollisters. That series marked my first foray into mysteries. I was eager to read what else the former President of Sisters in Crime had to say in this interview. Thank you, Leslie, for taking time to answer questions.
*****
Leslie, I reviewed Assault and
Pepper, your first Spice Shop Mystery, and we’ve met up at conferences, but
I’ve never interviewed you. Let’s remedy that. Would you introduce yourself to
readers?
Pepper, your first Spice Shop Mystery, and we’ve met up at conferences, but
I’ve never interviewed you. Let’s remedy that. Would you introduce yourself to
readers?
Thanks, Lesa! I’m a lawyer turned
mystery writer, living in the woods in NW Montana with my husband, Don Beans,
aka Mr. Right, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and our cat, a big
gray tuxedo. I’m passionate about books, food, art, and small-town life.
mystery writer, living in the woods in NW Montana with my husband, Don Beans,
aka Mr. Right, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and our cat, a big
gray tuxedo. I’m passionate about books, food, art, and small-town life.
Would you introduce us to Pepper
Reece?
Reece?
Ah, Pepper. She didn’t get her name
from her job, running Seattle Spice in the Pike Place Market, but it suits her.
(Her grandfather gave her the nickname when she was a toddler, and you’ll have
to know her a long time before you find out her birth name. Or read Killing
Thyme.) She loved her life—married to a cop who worked the bike patrol and
running staff HR for a major Seattle law firm. Then she turned 40 and it all
fell apart. She literally tripped over her husband and a meter maid practically
plugging each other, then the law firm imploded in scandal. So she bought a
downtown loft and the spice shop. (Wouldn’t you?) She never expected to find
solace in bay leaves, and it hasn’t always been easy—not with murder investigations
regularly dropping in her path. But when you’re in trouble, Pepper is the woman
you want on your side.
from her job, running Seattle Spice in the Pike Place Market, but it suits her.
(Her grandfather gave her the nickname when she was a toddler, and you’ll have
to know her a long time before you find out her birth name. Or read Killing
Thyme.) She loved her life—married to a cop who worked the bike patrol and
running staff HR for a major Seattle law firm. Then she turned 40 and it all
fell apart. She literally tripped over her husband and a meter maid practically
plugging each other, then the law firm imploded in scandal. So she bought a
downtown loft and the spice shop. (Wouldn’t you?) She never expected to find
solace in bay leaves, and it hasn’t always been easy—not with murder investigations
regularly dropping in her path. But when you’re in trouble, Pepper is the woman
you want on your side.
Tell us about Chai Another Day,
without spoilers.
without spoilers.
When Seattle Spice Shop owner Pepper
Reece overhears an argument in an antique shop, she finds herself drawn into a
murder that could implicate an old enemy, or ensnare a new friend.
Reece overhears an argument in an antique shop, she finds herself drawn into a
murder that could implicate an old enemy, or ensnare a new friend.
It’s about loyalty, trust, and
identity—that last is a theme in all the Spice Shop Mysteries. Pepper’s
starting a new relationship, and struggling a bit with knowing whether she can
trust this man and her own judgment. She’s juggling employee crises and
conflicts, as every business owner does, and trying to be a good daughter to a
mother going through shifts of her own. It’s about an ever-changing city, and
yes, it’s about chai.
identity—that last is a theme in all the Spice Shop Mysteries. Pepper’s
starting a new relationship, and struggling a bit with knowing whether she can
trust this man and her own judgment. She’s juggling employee crises and
conflicts, as every business owner does, and trying to be a good daughter to a
mother going through shifts of her own. It’s about an ever-changing city, and
yes, it’s about chai.
Why spices and Pike Place Market for
this series?
this series?
My Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries
debuted in 2013 with Death al Dente; the series is set in Jewel Bay, Montana,
based on the real village in the NW corner of the state, near Glacier National
Park, where I’ve lived for nearly 20 years. When I decided to write a second
series, I picked Seattle, where I went to college and practiced law for several
years, partly for the contrast to the village and partly to let me spend time,
on the page and on my feet, in a magical place. I fell in love with the
Market my first year in college, more than 40 years ago, and still love it.
It’s the oldest continuously operating public market in the country – founded
in 1907 – and it’s constantly evolving. Think of the research! And by research,
of course, I mean eat.
debuted in 2013 with Death al Dente; the series is set in Jewel Bay, Montana,
based on the real village in the NW corner of the state, near Glacier National
Park, where I’ve lived for nearly 20 years. When I decided to write a second
series, I picked Seattle, where I went to college and practiced law for several
years, partly for the contrast to the village and partly to let me spend time,
on the page and on my feet, in a magical place. I fell in love with the
Market my first year in college, more than 40 years ago, and still love it.
It’s the oldest continuously operating public market in the country – founded
in 1907 – and it’s constantly evolving. Think of the research! And by research,
of course, I mean eat.
The urban cozy requires a community
within a community, which defines Pike Place. In my early forays to the Market,
I always stopped at Market Spice, next to the fish market, for a cup of tea,
and it was the whiffs of herbs and spices that lured me into learning to cook.
Spice has been luring humans for millennia! Giving my protagonist a spice shop
not only gives her a popular market haunt, but it also connects her to the
city’s food and restaurant world, giving her good reasons to investigate.
within a community, which defines Pike Place. In my early forays to the Market,
I always stopped at Market Spice, next to the fish market, for a cup of tea,
and it was the whiffs of herbs and spices that lured me into learning to cook.
Spice has been luring humans for millennia! Giving my protagonist a spice shop
not only gives her a popular market haunt, but it also connects her to the
city’s food and restaurant world, giving her good reasons to investigate.
It’s been a few years since the last
book in the series, Killing Thyme. How have you been killing time since then?
book in the series, Killing Thyme. How have you been killing time since then?
I finished the Food Lovers’ Village
Mysteries, with Treble at the Jam Fest (2017) and As the Christmas Cookie
Crumbles (2018). I discovered another captivating character, “Stagecoach Mary”
Fields, a real-life historical figure who stars in a series of historical short
stories set in Montana Territory beginning in 1885. The first, “All God’s
Sparrows,” appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and just won the 2018
Agatha Award for Best Short Story. The second, “Miss Starr’s Goodbye,” will
appear in AHMM this fall. Another short story, “With My Eyes,” set in Seattle
and Athens, appeared in Suspense Magazine and won the 2018 Derringer Award,
given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. And “A Death in Yelapa: A Food
Lovers’ Village Story” is in the new Malice Domestic anthology, Mystery Most
Edible.
Mysteries, with Treble at the Jam Fest (2017) and As the Christmas Cookie
Crumbles (2018). I discovered another captivating character, “Stagecoach Mary”
Fields, a real-life historical figure who stars in a series of historical short
stories set in Montana Territory beginning in 1885. The first, “All God’s
Sparrows,” appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and just won the 2018
Agatha Award for Best Short Story. The second, “Miss Starr’s Goodbye,” will
appear in AHMM this fall. Another short story, “With My Eyes,” set in Seattle
and Athens, appeared in Suspense Magazine and won the 2018 Derringer Award,
given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. And “A Death in Yelapa: A Food
Lovers’ Village Story” is in the new Malice Domestic anthology, Mystery Most
Edible.
I’ve also got a couple of book
projects I hope I can talk about soon.
projects I hope I can talk about soon.
Everyone’s journey to publishing is
different. Tell us about your journey to publication for Death al Dente in your
Food Lovers’ Village series. Then, that book went on to win the Agatha for Best
First Novel. How did you learn about that?
different. Tell us about your journey to publication for Death al Dente in your
Food Lovers’ Village series. Then, that book went on to win the Agatha for Best
First Novel. How did you learn about that?
I started writing in my late
thirties, during a personal crisis. Turns out that’s not uncommon—if we’ve got
a creative urge, it will often demand our attention during difficult times. I
wrote four manuscripts, all set in Montana, that got attention and agents, but
didn’t sell. Finally, I followed the lead of Doug Lyle, MD, well-known in the
mystery community for providing medical and forensic info to writers, and
turned my newsletter columns on legal topics into Books, Crooks &
Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom
Procedure, which won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction.
thirties, during a personal crisis. Turns out that’s not uncommon—if we’ve got
a creative urge, it will often demand our attention during difficult times. I
wrote four manuscripts, all set in Montana, that got attention and agents, but
didn’t sell. Finally, I followed the lead of Doug Lyle, MD, well-known in the
mystery community for providing medical and forensic info to writers, and
turned my newsletter columns on legal topics into Books, Crooks &
Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom
Procedure, which won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction.
But passionate as I am about helping
writers get the facts about the law right, I wasn’t through writing my own
fiction. I love cozies—the light side of mystery, with no graphic sex or
violence and lots of graphic food—and thought my Montana village would make a
fresh setting for a series, with each book focused on a festival, some real and
some made up. (We love our festivals out here.) Happily, Berkley agreed. I
headed back to Malice Domestic, where the Agatha Awards are given, and got to
share the joy of winning with my editor and many friends from the Sisters in
Crime Guppies chapter, who were my fairy godmothers on the path to publication.
writers get the facts about the law right, I wasn’t through writing my own
fiction. I love cozies—the light side of mystery, with no graphic sex or
violence and lots of graphic food—and thought my Montana village would make a
fresh setting for a series, with each book focused on a festival, some real and
some made up. (We love our festivals out here.) Happily, Berkley agreed. I
headed back to Malice Domestic, where the Agatha Awards are given, and got to
share the joy of winning with my editor and many friends from the Sisters in
Crime Guppies chapter, who were my fairy godmothers on the path to publication.
Leslie, you were president of Sisters
in Crime for a year. What are your favorite memories from that year? Your
greatest accomplishment as president?
in Crime for a year. What are your favorite memories from that year? Your
greatest accomplishment as president?
It is such a deep joy to hear from
members—whether published or not, and of course, many aren’t writers—telling me
how much SinC means to them, both nationally and in their chapters. I had a
fabulous board, in 2015-16, and we did a lot of work behind the scenes, so that
SinC’s finances and publicity work could run smoothly, and to enable us to
support our chapters with the organizational nitty-gritty, ideas for programs
and projects, and most exciting, the education grants. I had a blast
representing SinC at the mystery cons, the Edgars (where we were awarded a
Raven for contributions to the mystery community), the Writers’ Police Academy,
American Library Association, and more. It was a thrill to interview our
founding mother, Sara Paretsky, as part of our 30th anniversary celebration, and to work
with the chapter liaison and members to establish new chapters. And now
it’s a joy to watch subsequent boards and presidents continue the good work.
members—whether published or not, and of course, many aren’t writers—telling me
how much SinC means to them, both nationally and in their chapters. I had a
fabulous board, in 2015-16, and we did a lot of work behind the scenes, so that
SinC’s finances and publicity work could run smoothly, and to enable us to
support our chapters with the organizational nitty-gritty, ideas for programs
and projects, and most exciting, the education grants. I had a blast
representing SinC at the mystery cons, the Edgars (where we were awarded a
Raven for contributions to the mystery community), the Writers’ Police Academy,
American Library Association, and more. It was a thrill to interview our
founding mother, Sara Paretsky, as part of our 30th anniversary celebration, and to work
with the chapter liaison and members to establish new chapters. And now
it’s a joy to watch subsequent boards and presidents continue the good work.
If you had to recommend 5 books for a
person to read so they could get a feel for you and your reading taste, what 5
would you pick?
person to read so they could get a feel for you and your reading taste, what 5
would you pick?
My tastes are nothing if not
eclectic. I am a devotee of the poets Ted Kooser and the late Mary Oliver. It’s
a treat to sink into long-running mystery series where the characters are old
friends who take me places I’ve never been, particularly those of Deborah
Crombie, Barbara Ross, and Jacqueline Winspear. I’ve read A Mercy by Toni
Morrison countless times, and few modern writers capture the voice of the young
boy better than the late Ivan Doig, although I find Jamie Ford’s young
protagonists very appealing. (I say modern because of Mark Twain.)
eclectic. I am a devotee of the poets Ted Kooser and the late Mary Oliver. It’s
a treat to sink into long-running mystery series where the characters are old
friends who take me places I’ve never been, particularly those of Deborah
Crombie, Barbara Ross, and Jacqueline Winspear. I’ve read A Mercy by Toni
Morrison countless times, and few modern writers capture the voice of the young
boy better than the late Ivan Doig, although I find Jamie Ford’s young
protagonists very appealing. (I say modern because of Mark Twain.)
And apparently, I can’t count.
What books did you love as a child?
The usual mysteries, of course,
starting with the Happy Hollisters. But the one book I most loved and still
keep on my writing room shelves is Calico Bush by Rachel Fields, published in
1931. It’s the story of Maggie, a French girl orphaned on board ship to the New
World in 1743. She’s “bound out” to a young family homesteading along the coast
of Maine, where she finds courage and hope in the face of loss and struggle..
It’s a marvelous book, still in print.
starting with the Happy Hollisters. But the one book I most loved and still
keep on my writing room shelves is Calico Bush by Rachel Fields, published in
1931. It’s the story of Maggie, a French girl orphaned on board ship to the New
World in 1743. She’s “bound out” to a young family homesteading along the coast
of Maine, where she finds courage and hope in the face of loss and struggle..
It’s a marvelous book, still in print.
As a librarian, I like to end
interviews with the same question. Tell us a story about how a library or
librarian influenced you?
interviews with the same question. Tell us a story about how a library or
librarian influenced you?
I grew up in Billings, Montana, where
the main library was built in 1903 as a gift to the city from the Billings
family, who made their fortune in railroads. It’s a sandstone building with
turrets and cubbies and fireplaces in unexpected places, including the
children’s room. We all called it “the Castle,” and though the city outgrew it
in the late 60s and it now houses the Western Heritage Center, it started me on
a long, magical road paved with books. These days when I visit libraries, they
may be modern architectural wonders, refurbished schools, or spaces in
strip malls. But they’re all castles to me.
the main library was built in 1903 as a gift to the city from the Billings
family, who made their fortune in railroads. It’s a sandstone building with
turrets and cubbies and fireplaces in unexpected places, including the
children’s room. We all called it “the Castle,” and though the city outgrew it
in the late 60s and it now houses the Western Heritage Center, it started me on
a long, magical road paved with books. These days when I visit libraries, they
may be modern architectural wonders, refurbished schools, or spaces in
strip malls. But they’re all castles to me.
Thank you, Leslie.
CHAI ANOTHER DAY Seventh Street Books — June 11, 2019 Paperback: $15.95, Kindle $9.99 ISBN: 978-1633885363
*****
L
Leslie is a 2018 Agatha Award winner for Best Short Story and also
a recipient of the 2018 Derringer Award in the Long Story category.
a recipient of the 2018 Derringer Award in the Long Story category.
CONNECT WITH LESLIE BUDEWITZ ONLINE Website: LeslieBudewitz.com Facebook: /LeslieBudewitzAuthor Twitter: @LeslieBudewitz Goodreads: /LeslieBudewitz
You can also join Leslie for more food, books and
fun at Mystery Lovers Kitchen and Killer Characters!
fun at Mystery Lovers Kitchen and Killer Characters!
Another great interview. I am looking forward to starting the Pepper Reece series. Thanks.
You're welcome, Gram!