Please Welcome AVERY AAMES to our Month of Cozy(ish) Crime!

[Avery_Aames]

More like a Monterey Jack?

[Avery_Aames]

Becke,

Yes, I'm the first to write about a cheese shop owner.  I think there's a one-book story about a cheesemaker, but I haven't read it.

Note:  I do have lots of cheesemakers and farmers in A Cheese Shop Mystery series, so along the way, there will be info about making cheese.  

~Avery

[Avery_Aames]

My personal favorite(s) are quiche and cheesecake.  I have even more recipes on the blog with Mystery Lovers Kitchen.  And there are five other foodie authors on it so there are all their recipes as well.

I love quiche.  Love the texture, love the flavors that can be added, like bacon and leeks, garlic, zucchini, and fruits like pineapple or apple. Cheese goes with so many things!

Cheesecake I love because, well, it's cheesecake and there's just nothing bad about it.

~Avery

[Vermontcozy]

Hi Avery..Becke Picked a Favorite of mine "Mascarpone " What a Great Recipe Avery..I dislike Cream Cheese..So I use Mascarpone instead..I have for so many years..I think once I tasted it I knew I found a favorite .Tiramisu which I made a few times,was how I discovered Mascarpone...I could go for  one right now,,Yummy...Susan Vtc...

[becke_davis]

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Avery_Aames wrote:

Hi, Debbie.

I never had the flash and glitter of TV.  I was a working actress who did a lot of commercials and TV shows, an occasional small part in a movie, and I did a lot of stage work.  I went to one or two parties, but I was never a party person.  It was work...work I LOVED.  I would act again if I had the time, but writing is taking up all my time.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Angela Lansbury.  She is one of my idols!!

~Avery (who worked as an actress under my "other" name:  Daryl Wood Gerber)

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This is sooooo cool! You were in Matlock? And Hart to Hart? Tell us about it!!!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1092840/

Wow, I just found your film/tv/commercial resume online, too - impressive!

I don't have many Hollywood connections, but two people in my high school graduating class have worked in there a lot - Jim Dean and Stephanie Faracy.

This is Jim in a Seinfeld episode:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0212804/

http://www.jamesfrankdean.com/resume.html

And this is Stephanie:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266995/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Faracy

[becke_davis]

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Avery_Aames wrote:

More like a Monterey Jack?

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The brick? Yeah, closer to that.

[becke_davis]

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Avery_Aames wrote:

Becke,

Yes, I'm the first to write about a cheese shop owner.  I think there's a one-book story about a cheesemaker, but I haven't read it.

Note:  I do have lots of cheesemakers and farmers in A Cheese Shop Mystery series, so along the way, there will be info about making cheese.  

~Avery

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I'm so excited to read this! I've preordered it - wish we didn't have to wait!

[Leann_SweeneyLS]

Hi Avery!

I can't wait for your book release! It sounds like a delicious read!

Leann Sweeney

[Avery_Aames]

Thanks, Leanne.  I had a yummy time writing it.  

Avery

[Avery_Aames]

Becke,

I started out my career wanting to be a stage actress.  But my path took me to Los Angeles and I found TV and film stimulating so I focused on that.  I did some nice roles on a number of TV shows, and I made most of my "living" doing commercials like Milky Way and Wonder Bread, etc.  People think being an actress is glamorous, and it is for some, but it's hard work, it takes grit to make it through all the rejections (you're too short, too brunette, not blonde, too young, too old, too athletic, too...fill in the blank.)  I did so I have a pretty thick skin, and I took class after class after class.  

I have two characters in A Cheese Shop Mystery that draw on my past.  Grandmere (with the French accents in the book) is Charlotte's grandmother.  she is a former ballerina and runs the local theater in Providence that puts on some pretty quirky plays and wins all sorts of regional awards.   And then there's Delilah, an ex-dancer from Broadway who returns home to Providence to run the local diner, Country Kitchen.  I can infuse them with a lot of experience.

Avery

[becke_davis]

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Avery_Aames wrote:

Becke,

I started out my career wanting to be a stage actress.  But my path took me to Los Angeles and I found TV and film stimulating so I focused on that.  I did some nice roles on a number of TV shows, and I made most of my "living" doing commercials like Milky Way and Wonder Bread, etc.  People think being an actress is glamorous, and it is for some, but it's hard work, it takes grit to make it through all the rejections (you're too short, too brunette, not blonde, too young, too old, too athletic, too...fill in the blank.)  I did so I have a pretty thick skin, and I took class after class after class.  

They say writers need to develop a thick skin, but it sounds like you practically need body armor to be an actress! We who aren't in the business think of it as glamorous, but it sounds absolutely brutal.

I have two characters in A Cheese Shop Mystery that draw on my past.  Grandmere (with the French accents in the book) is Charlotte's grandmother.  she is a former ballerina and runs the local theater in Providence that puts on some pretty quirky plays and wins all sorts of regional awards.   And then there's Delilah, an ex-dancer from Broadway who returns home to Providence to run the local diner, Country Kitchen.  I can infuse them with a lot of experience.

Avery

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How cool! I'll take special note of those characters now.

Were you always a "foodie" or is that something that's happened in the course of your writing and research? Have you reached the point where you never want to hear the word "cheese" again?

[becke_davis]

Shoot from the Lip (Yellow Rose Series #4) 

A Wedding to Die For (Yellow Rose Series #2) 

Pushing up Bluebonnets (Yellow Rose Series #5) 

Dead Giveaway (Yellow Rose Series #3) 

Pick Your Poison (Yellow Rose Series #1) 

The Cat, the Professor and the Poison (Cats in Trouble Mystery Series) 

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Leann_SweeneyLS wrote:

Hi Avery!

I can't wait for your book release! It sounds like a delicious read!

Leann Sweeney

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Thanks for joining us, Leann! I'll go ahead and post links to your books, too!

The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse (Cats in Trouble Series #1)

 

[Avery_Aames]

I have always been a foodie.  I actually catered my way through college.  Then I worked restaurants both in the kitchen and in the front of the house.   I love to cook, always have.  Love to experiment with recipes.  (So does Charlotte.  In fact, she offers a new quiche in The Cheese Shop each week.  There are recipes at the back of the book, too.) 

Re: my affair with cheese.  I don't think I can grow tired of cheese yet.  There are so many different kinds of cheeses, you can have a different one every day of the year (for years)!!    I'll be starting a "blog tour" in a few days and one of my blogs, on Romance Bandits, deals with my love affair with cheese.

[becke_davis]

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Avery_Aames wrote:

I have always been a foodie.  I actually catered my way through college.  Then I worked restaurants both in the kitchen and in the front of the house.   I love to cook, always have.  Love to experiment with recipes.  (So does Charlotte.  In fact, she offers a new quiche in The Cheese Shop each week.  There are recipes at the back of the book, too.) 

Re: my affair with cheese.  I don't think I can grow tired of cheese yet.  There are so many different kinds of cheeses, you can have a different one every day of the year (for years)!!    I'll be starting a "blog tour" in a few days and one of my blogs, on Romance Bandits, deals with my love affair with cheese.

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The Romance Bandits are buddies of mine - what day will you be visiting? I'll definitely stop in!

Here's the link for everyone else: http://romancebandits.blogspot.com/

[Avery_Aames]

July 19 at Romance Bandits.  for a complete list of blog events, check out this link: 

http://www.averyaames.com/blog_tour.html

You can also see my book signing tour, read a first chapter SNEAK PREVIEW, and sign up for a contest.

Enjoy.

[becke_davis]

I just marked it on my calendar, but you're welcome to come back and announce any of your blog stops, non-competitor book signings, etc. here any time in the future, too. 

This is "your" thread now, and you can bring it back to the front of the board at any time simply by posting a new comment. The view count is visible on each post, but go to the first post in my introduction for the most accurate count.

I encourage you to come back and post here any time you have news - new releases, award nominations, book signings, guest blogs, etc. You don't have to wait for an invitation - this thread will always show up when your name is searched here, so add as much information as you want!

[Avery_Aames]

Becke, that's very sweet.  Thank you.

~Avery

[becke_davis]

Sorry if I made that sound as if I was saying good-bye! Just wanted to be sure you knew this thread is yours to add to whenever you want.

We have readers, authors and some unpublished writers who frequent this board. What advice would you give to anyone who is looking for a career as a mystery writer?

[becke_davis]

Avery - I remember reading someplace that you have an "adorable mutt named Max." I know we have a lot of dog lovers here. Can you tell us more about Max?

[Avery_Aames]

Advice:  Learn to persevere.  Take a writing class. Take two.  Write one book (and then another).  Join groups like Sisters in Crime and its online group  Guppies (for the great unpublished) because there are chapters and friends and people in the same "newbie" boat.  Within Guppies, there are critique groups, groups to  help you search for agents, write query letters etc.  Get into a critique group.  Develop a tough skin.  Learn about publishing.  Read books on publishing.  Get Writers Digest magazine.  Lots of good tips in there.  There's a great book by independent editor Chris Roerden called Don't Sabotage Your Submission and another called Don't Murder Your Mystery.  Terrific!  Helpful to all, even once you're published.  Also get The Chicago Manual of Style and stick by its principles.  But most of all feel passionate about what you do.  Passion and perseverance and friends who support you will carry you through.