An Interview With Nancy J. Parra

Hi Nancy and Welcome.

Thanks for having me.

You’re welcome. You have a few books coming out this Spring. Can you tell us about them?

Yes, I have three actually. The end of April, Oh Say Can You Fudge – the third in the Candy-Coated Mystery series with Kensington comes out. This story takes place on Mackinac Island on the 4^th of July. The book begins with a bang as Allie, fudge maker and amateur sleuth, gets a call from the pyro tech in charge of the island’s three firework shows asking her to meet him at the warehouse where the fireworks are stored. She discovers him dead just before the entire warehouse goes up in smoke.  Allie must scramble to find a new pyro tech or the Mackinac Island’s Star Spangled Fourth will be ruined.

The first week of May, Flourless to Stop Him arrives.  The third in the Gluten-free Baker’s Treat series, It’s Christmas time and we find protagonist Toni Holme’s brother Tim implicated in his best friend’s murder.  Toni must choose between helping her brother prove his innocence and saving her bakery.

The first week of June, Bodice of Evidence arrives. This is the second in the Perfect Proposal series. Pepper Pomeroy, owner of Perfect Proposals, discovers the owner of a wedding dress shop stabbed to death in the alley behind her shop. Pepper steps in to help figure out who the killer is while helping her sister plan her wedding and getting her fledgling proposal planning business off the ground.

Wow! That’s a lot of murder and mayhem.

*laughs* Yes it is, but it’s also fun who-dunnit puzzles.

Everyone wants to know how do you come up with your ideas?

I put myself in the protagonist shoes and look at her community, friends and family. Then I throw a dead body into the mix and give her a compelling reason to investigate. After that, it’s a matter of following clues and find the killer before it’s too late.

Have you ever killed off anyone you knew in your books?

Ha! No. You’d be surprised, though, how many people ask if I would kill them off in a novel. I certainly am surprised.

With three books out this Spring, is there anything else on your plate for 2015?

I have an e-novella coming out the end of October. It’s part of the Candy-Coated series [by Nancy Coco], but this one is told from the point of view of Allie’s best friend Jenn.  I think it’s a lot of fun.

Our last and most important question. Will there be recipes?

Of course! There is nothing better than fudge for the holidays, except maybe gluten-free cookies.

Thanks for stopping by, I know I’ve got these titles on my preorder list.

Thank you! I hope you enjoy them.

Nancy J Parra AKA Nancy Coco is the author of 19 published novels which include three mystery series: The Gluten-free Baker’s Treat Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), The Candy Coated Mysteries (Kensington), and The Perfect Proposal Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime).  Her writing has been called witty and her protagonists plucky by reviewers around the world.  Nancy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America and writes for the Killer Character Blog on the 8th of every month.  Nancy loves to hear from readers. Find her at www.nancyjparra.com